“You don’t know where they fled to?”
—We are in pursuit, so I believe their trail will be picked up shortly. The two of them are not particularly adept at fleeing, after all.
“They were people who lived quietly.”
So they fled with the help of Baron Ruejak.
To be more precise, it was likely the doing of the young lady of the baron. She was probably the one who gave the purification magical artifact to Sister Phrygian as well.
—Though it’s taking a bit longer to bring him down due to Maxel’s remaining forces, since he made such a colossal blunder in the Montel territory, even the remaining moderates will soon make up their minds. Before long, the Crown Prince’s qualifications will be formally called into question. Of course, talk will also arise regarding His Majesty’s unreliable judgment.
“Yes.”
I heard the Emperor has been secluding himself. Of course, I didn’t think the Emperor was voluntarily keeping out of sight. Rather, Heinri must have employed some scheme.
I wouldn’t be surprised if Heinri had crippled his own father, or was feeding him medicine to induce a comparable state.
Hadn’t I suffered worse from my own family?
The world I lived in was such a place. A world where, even among family, reason took precedence over emotion, and calculating gains and losses was the norm.
After all, I too am now trying to completely erase the name of Roam.
A bitter smile touched my lips. No matter how far my body had wandered, in the end, I was a child of Roam and thought like one……
「You’re not going back there, are you?」
Suddenly, Xenon’s voice sprang from a corner of my memory.
It was something he had said to me on a day that felt like an eternity ago.
—Are your affairs proceeding well?
At Heinri’s question, I snapped out of my daze. I answered in a somewhat hurried tone.
“Yes. It seems they will soon be accomplished.”
—That is fortunate.
A faint hint of laughter tinged Heinri’s voice, which was full of weariness. Listening quietly to that voice, I spoke without thinking.
“It is thanks to you, Lord Heinri.”
—Thanks, is it. Was it not merely an exchange?
“Even so. If you, Lord Heinri, had not shown me goodwill in the first place, this relationship would not have even begun.”
At my words, Heinri fell silent.
Towards the mana stone that shone brightly, indicating the communication was still active, I spoke flatly.
“I am grateful for that sentiment.”
—……You really are.
Heinri, who seemed about to say something, closed his mouth again. Instead, he exchanged a few casual remarks in a gentle voice before cutting the communication.
Even after the flickering mana stone had completely lost its light, I continued to gaze down at it quietly.
「You should practice your expressions of gratitude from now on.」
I recalled Xenon’s image, saying this with a beaming smile.
Not everyone desires gold coins, he said. What he wanted was merely trivial thanks.
Until now, I had only understood that intellectually, accepting it as if learning a lesson.
And now.
Ridiculously, I felt I was only beginning to understand that statement, just a little.
* * *
It was night.
As entering the Trevi Mountains, where many Monsters were said to dwell, might not allow for a comfortable rest, we decided to camp at the foot of the range a little early and enter in the morning.
Perhaps the last peaceful night, Nadav, who had no need to sleep, volunteered for guard duty and remained awake alone.
[My mood feels strange.]
Nadav’s gaze turned towards the dark mountain ridge visible in the distance.
The Trevi Mountains. Beyond that dense forest lay their destination. Though its exact location was unknown, an indescribable energy could be felt with his entire being.
However, that energy was not distinct, as if shrouded in thick fog, and Nadav had been feeling frustrated since earlier.
‘If there were other Dullahans, I could have heard their opinions……’
Anelli, who usually kept three or four Dullahans summoned by her side, had not summoned any others besides Mori and Nadav until arriving here.
Even Pallides, who could transform into a human and was thus most convenient to keep close, was in the subspace.
Mori, who had always been extremely taciturn, did not react much even when Nadav shared these impressions.
Consequently, until reaching this place, Nadav had to sense this unidentified energy alone.
[Brother, did you remember something?]
Nadav, who had been staring ahead, turned his head.
Mori, who had been guarding the sleeping Anelli, was crawling over sluggishly, though Nadav hadn’t noticed when he had come out.
[No, strangely, my memories are still not complete.]
Though the surroundings were dark, it was not much of a problem for Nadav, and he could easily discern the black snake looking up at him with concern.
Though Mori and Nadav were brothers, Nadav sometimes thought of Mori as a truly incomprehensible sibling.
Those large eyes seemed to know a great deal, yet Mori had never readily spoken of anything.
Perhaps the ones Mori spoke to the most were the Captain and Soana.
[What about you?]
At Nadav’s question, Mori firmly closed his mouth.
Had it been before, Nadav would have let it pass, but today, for some reason, he could not overlook that silence.
[Mori. Have you regained your memories?]
[Do you think we will regain our memories?]
Mori countered with a question instead of answering. Nadav, who had been silent, shook his head and turned his gaze.
[All the knights of the Round Table have gathered. The Captain will soon guide us to our rest. With the final authority imminent, it is only natural that we too will become whole.]
He had heard Dasha’s condition was poor.
By the time Nadav reunited with Anelli, Dasha had already entered the subspace, so he had not met her directly.
‘They said the reason the Captain is hastening our steps is also because of Dasha.’
Because Dasha is unstable, and it is unknown when she might run amok again.
[Didn’t they say that when Dasha opened her eyes, she didn’t remember the Captain at first, but after meeting him, she regained some of her memories? Just as the other Dullahans have done.]
[Everyone has slowly been regaining their memories. But there is one thing that everyone uniquely cannot remember.]
As Mori said, amidst everyone piecing together their pasts bit by bit, there was one thing they uniquely could not recall.
The traitor.
[Brother, is it alright if we regain our memories?]
Mori asked worriedly. Instead of answering immediately, Nadav let out a long sigh.
Was it because they couldn’t remember the traitor? Even ruminating on the word ‘traitor’ evoked no particular emotion.
From the beginning, the only emotions permitted to all Dullahans were obedience and loyalty towards the Captain.
Though their outwardly expressed behaviors might differ, at their core, they were all the same.
[Regaining memories is not a matter of our will, Mori. It is the goddess’s arrangement.]
The fact that it was a blind emotion was something everyone knew.
They had known since the past.
That their obedience was abnormally blind. Even without Soana going out of her way to enlighten them.
From the beginning, the fact that they could wait for the Captain all this long time—would it have been possible without the goddess’s intervention?
[Brother.]
[That is why the final authority must be exercised.]
At Nadav’s words, Mori only looked up at him quietly.
[The final authority will not only remove the authority of birth but also the authority of death, and we will be free from the goddess. The Captain will be as well.]
Birth arbitrarily designs their lives. Death arbitrarily ends their lives.
The difference between the two is that birth refuses to relinquish its power, while death, knowing its power, seeks to relinquish it.
A grown child ought to become independent, and parents must accept that.
[Even if we regain our memories, what we must do will not change. So do not worry.]
[Brother…….]
[Everyone knows. Mori, they are the twelve knights of the Round Table.]
Those chosen by the Captain, permitted to accompany him on that journey.
[As in the past, this time too we shall follow the Captain’s will.]
Nadav’s voice carried a firm belief. Hearing Nadav’s words, Mori fell into quiet thought for a long while.
Then, he slowly opened his mouth.
[What if the Captain changes his mind?]
[Changes it?]
Nadav repeated the unfamiliar words as if puzzled. Then, shortly after, he let out a low laugh and spoke.
[Mori, do you still not understand the Captain?]
[Huh?]
[Why do you think the goddess chose the Captain as her proxy?]
Mori looked at Nadav with bewildered eyes. Nadav looked at his younger sibling with warm eyes, then spoke flatly.
[The process may differ, but the result is the same. He made us a promise, and he will surely keep it.]
Knowing that, Birth is desperately trying to move its proxy to somehow obstruct it.
Nadav’s head lifted a little more.
[The freedom of the gods. The complete perfection of the world.]
A faint, bright light could be seen rising from the far edge of the sky.
[Rest for all beings.]
Dawn was breaking.
* * *
I had often heard rumors that the Trevi Mountains were rugged, but I hadn’t realized they would be to this extent.
There was no path to enter the mountain range, so simply reaching the foothills was fine, but the problem was the slopes were too steep and covered with all sorts of weeds, making it difficult to find footing.
“……Forget horses, it would be hard to even walk through.”
“Wouldn’t it be better to just burn it all away with magic?”
Listening to Samuel and Xenon’s opinions, I stared at the scene before me.
Xenon was an excellent mage, so he might be able to burn it within a specified range.
“Or how about using flight magic to jump over it?”
“Oh, that might be cleaner. But flight magic only applies to one person besides the caster. You know you’d have to get up there on your own, right?”
“Seems you want to ditch me on this opportunity, but my guidance is not yet finished.”
Glancing at the two who were amiably putting their heads together, whispering as they pondered a way to push through, I slowly approached the slope.
Seeing it up close made it seem even more hopeless.
Stems of unknown origin were tangled everywhere, and upon closer look, thorny bushes were also positioned here and there.
As I looked at them thoughtfully, I cautiously reached out my hand. To roughly gauge how much of the area the thicket occupied and what the shape of the land hidden beneath it was like.
Just as my fingertips were about to touch a stem.
[Captain, be careful!]
Mori, who was in my pocket, suddenly stuck his head out with a startled voice.
“Huh?”
I reflexively pulled my hand back, but a green stem had already coiled around my wrist. Looking down calmly at my firmly gripped arm, I murmured.
“It’s a Monster.”
……Right, it was about time for a plant-type Monster to appear.