In the Mountains of Azuma
As we began our journey, the forest started off as just a thicket, leaving me feeling a bit underwhelmed. However, as we pressed on, the depth of the woods increased. Just when I thought I had descended a cliff, I was met with another steep slope. There was no path to follow; the ground was completely covered by trees. The brightness of the sky was obscured by leaves, making it feel dim even though it was daytime.
Of course, there were wild animals around, and I had already been attacked by bears twice before reaching this point. After seeing the bears of Bears Forest, these creatures seemed almost cute. No matter how they swung their arms or what they did, they couldn’t harm us at all. When one got a bit too persistent, I scared it off just enough for it to shrink back and flee into the depths of the forest.
Next, there were the insects. Before I knew it, I found a thin bug clinging to my leg, and swarms of mosquitoes buzzing around me—truly annoying pests. Thankfully, there were no monstrous insects like the ones Vito had summoned, but there were so many of these little nuisances that squashing them felt endless. I was about to unleash my Sonic Ripper in frustration when Roel scolded me for recklessly destroying the forest.
But I thought to myself, this isn’t the time for that. We were definitely lost.
“I can’t tell which way is which anymore…”
“Yeah, I don’t even know if we’re making any progress.”
I had underestimated this situation. After conquering dungeons that defied common sense, here we were, lost in a mountain devoid of monsters. Honestly, it felt far more dangerous than any poorly designed dungeon. While the atmosphere resembled Bears Forest, the scale and depth were on a completely different level. The information about the mountains being interconnected was accurate. I had no idea where we were or if we had even crossed a single mountain.
At one point, I jumped high to look down at the forest while aiming for Mount Daigami, but the result was disheartening. Mountains, mountains, and more mountains. I had lost track of how many I had crossed and which direction I should go.
Even when I thought I was getting closer to Mount Daigami, it felt like no progress at all. Was there really such a bizarre situation?
“This place is definitely not normal…”
“Could we be lost due to Rash’s illusion magic?”
“That’s possible. If that’s the case, then the one behind it is…”
“Lord Daigami.”
When I stated this confidently, Roel didn’t disagree. If that were true, then what we could see was merely a distraction. I would put into practice what I had learned during my encounter with Rash. Lord Daigami, don’t underestimate me.
“Roel, let’s hurry a bit.”
I gently closed my eyes. The sounds of rustling leaves filled my ears, the only indication that we were indeed in a forest.
“Here we go…”
I leaped over the towering trees and jumped forward. I was relying entirely on instinct. I envisioned Mount Daigami and pressed on toward it, ignoring the scenery before me. I would just keep moving.
Just keep moving.
Moving. Jumping. Moving. Jumping.
I landed, branches snapping beneath me.
But then, I realized I had landed on a steep slope.
“Whoa! Sorry, Roel, hold on tight!”
“Okay!”
The mossy ground was unexpectedly slippery, and I almost lost my balance. Just as I steadied myself, I was sent tumbling down the slope. Unable to stop, I decided to jump with all my might.
“Wooah!”
“Roel, it’s okay!”
Despite being mercilessly battered by branches and leaves, I managed to land. I wanted to take a breath, but that wasn’t going to happen. It seemed I had landed right at the edge of a cliff, and as I touched down, the ground crumbled beneath me.
“Ahhh!”
Not just Roel, but I too had to scream as we fell. No matter how hard I tried, I didn’t have wings, so flying was out of the question. There was nothing I could do about it.
We were falling into what felt like a deep ravine. Our screams echoed, uninterrupted, until we reached the ground.
In the Depths of the Mountains of Azuma
“Yaaah!”
What a situation! Roel and I screamed in unison. Thanks to our levels, Roel was in pain but hadn’t sustained any serious injuries. In fact, I felt like she had cast some kind of defensive magic just before we collided. To think that Roel, who struggled with healing magic, had grown enough to do something like that in a pinch.
“Ouch… We’ve come quite deep, haven’t we?”
“Yeah, but it feels oddly open for a forest… Look, there’s mostly grass here and not many trees.”
“Ah, um…”
I heard a voice. It wasn’t the call of an animal, but a human voice. A girl stood there, her mouth agape in surprise as she expressed her astonishment at our presence. A human! Not some illusion or trick of the mind. I doubted that an illusion would be surprised to see us.
“Is that… a person?”
That was exactly what I was thinking. To meet a girl in such a deep mountain, where bears roam, was astonishing. Roel mentioned that the people from this country wore traditional clothing, and this girl was no exception, though her outfit was much dirtier compared to those from town.
She was a young girl in a red kimono, her bangs and back hair cut to the same length. In fact, she might not be much younger than us. She held something like a basket filled with strawberries.
She blinked repeatedly, as if trying to acknowledge our presence.
“We’re travelers, but it seems we got lost. Do you live around here?”
“Tra…velers?”
“Huh? We’re adventu—mmpf!”
Just as I was about to say “adventurers,” Roel covered my mouth. I didn’t know why, but if Roel stopped me, it meant I was about to say something unnecessary again. Fine, I’ll leave it to Roel. I’ll just stay quiet like a clam.
“Yes, travelers! Welcome to this place! You must be tired, come this way!”
Suddenly, the girl’s face lit up with a smile, blooming like a flower. Her energy surged as she danced forward, inviting us along. Roel and I exchanged glances, relieved.
Bouncing along, the girl moved with practiced ease over the rocky, uneven ground. From the looks of it, she really did live around here. Could she possibly be living alone?
“There’s a village where we live just ahead. It’ll be the first time we have guests, so everyone will surely be surprised!”
“A village? Other people live out here in the mountains?”
“It’s a small village, though. Hey, why don’t you stay at my place tonight?”
Looking up, I noticed that the sunlight filtering through the leaves had diminished. Had it already passed evening and turned into night? I had planned to quickly gather the Millennium Herb and return today, but my schedule had gone completely awry.
The King had said it was just a simple herb-gathering request, but that was a blatant lie. I wondered how Barm and Gilbert were faring. I wasn’t trying to compete with them, but I couldn’t afford to fall behind either.
In the Village Deep in the Mountains of Azuma
It was as if a section of the forest had been carved out, revealing fields where thatched-roof houses stood in rows. The only thought that came to mind was how peaceful it looked. My village had houses made of logs, but here, they were constructed from planks.
It was surprisingly spacious, not easily visible at a glance. Surrounded by mountains and forests, this was a rare open space for humans. It reminded me a bit of Ikana Village. I wondered if that person who had taught me so much had also stumbled into this place like we did.
“Hello, Gensuke!”
“Oh, Nanoka! Hmm, hmm?”
“These are travelers. They seem to have gotten lost, so I’m inviting them to stay.”
“Well, would you look at that! I never thought I’d see someone come all the way out here! How surprising!”
The exchange between the old man working in the fields and Nanoka. When we bowed our heads slightly, the old man insisted we take our time and stay the night, almost too eagerly.
“Wow, they’re welcoming us more than I expected…”
“Well, it’s the first time outsiders have come here. It must be quite a novelty.”
Being treated kindly upon first meeting was a first for me since coming to this country. While I was lost in thought, a crowd of people began to gather, curious about where we came from and what our purpose was. With so many questions thrown at us, I couldn’t possibly answer them all.
“Alright, alright! Save the questions for later! Let’s head to my house!”
“Hey, travelers! We’ll talk later!”
“Tell us about your journey!”
While I didn’t want to be treated coldly, this might be exhausting in its own way. The moment I mentioned Lord Daigami, their attitudes shifted. Why were the people in this country so extreme?
Azuma – Deep in the Mountains, Nanoka’s Home
“Go ahead, don’t hold back!”
The room was simple, with just a single layer of straw on the floor. In the center, a small fire pit held a pot-like object hanging above it. They called it an irori, but I wondered if it could really be used for cooking. It felt strange for someone who couldn’t cook like me to question it.
“Avangarde? I don’t really understand, but you came from far away, huh?”
“Doesn’t your mom know? What about you, Konoka?”
“I don’t know.”
Nanoka, Konoka, and their mother lived together. Though they were twins, Konoka was born first, making her the older sister. It was my first time seeing twins. If they didn’t at least change their hairstyles or outfits, I wouldn’t be able to tell them apart at all.
Nanoka was chatty, while Konoka was quiet. That was about the only way I could distinguish between them. I wondered if their mother could tell them apart, but when she served the food from the pot into their bowls, she called each of their names, so she clearly understood. Impressive.
“Thank you for letting me stay.”
“Oh, it’s only natural to help each other in times of trouble. Otherwise, we wouldn’t have been able to settle in a place like this.”
“Really? You had a tough time, huh?”
“It was so hard that even talking about it is a struggle.”
“Hey! Tell us about your travels! We dream of working outside the village someday! Right, big sister?”
“…Yeah.”
Nanoka suddenly chimed in. I wondered if these two had lived in the village their whole lives. When Roel shared her stories, they reacted with exaggerated surprise at even the smallest details. They were particularly fascinated by Seigel, whom Roel emphasized for some reason. They were filled with admiration for someone they had never even seen. Sure, he was a good person, but I wondered if they were setting their expectations too high.
Then Roel spoke of the Avangarde Festival, the Avangarde Tournament, and her experiences in the Wizard Kingdom. The more she recalled, the more joyful her memories seemed. I had been feeling something was off; Roel was only sharing happy stories.
She avoided mentioning the time when the Demon Lord Army attacked, the casualties in the Wizard Kingdom and Libeard Port. Roel was trying to protect their dreams. Seeing the two of them listen with sparkling eyes, I might have done the same.
――――There are so many fun things outside the village!
――――Hmm, I wonder about that.
Ah. I see. That person felt the same way as Roel. They were trying to keep me from feeling any negativity about places outside Ikana Village, sharing amusing tales instead. I finally understood.
“Golden Warrior Greyman!? And then what happened?”
“G-golden…”
Wait, why did I mention Greyman? And why was Konoka blushing? Did something happen with gold?
“Ahh! I can’t wait to get out of the village! Then I can sell vegetables in the capital and make things easier for Mom!”
“What if a man gives you an escort…”
“Escort? Big sister, what’s that?”
“A man approaches you… and then… boom!”
She turned red again after saying that. She was covering her face, and this big sister was a bit strange. Also, what was this escort thing?
“Roel, what’s an escort?”
“Well, it’s kind of like flirting, I guess?”
“Flirting?”
“In short, it’s love! How wonderful, love! When we go to the capital, we’ll meet charming men and fall in love!”
“I have too many things I want to do…”
“When I save up money, I’ll buy beautiful clothes and turn love into a business! My dreams in the capital just keep growing! Rua and Roel, we are dream-filled maidens! So we won’t lose!”
The two of them were so excited that Roel and I couldn’t say a word. I understood their feelings, but life wasn’t just about fun. There were plenty of bad people out there, and there was so much they didn’t know. I wondered if these two could even read. Without Roel, I truly didn’t know what would have happened to me.
“You two want to work outside the village in the future, huh?”
“Yes! In this village, girls aren’t allowed to leave until they turn fifteen. Once we turn fifteen and complete the purification ritual on Mount Daigami, we can finally go outside! One of our older friends just left safely!”
“B-but can we really get out of this forest…? We got lost ourselves.”
“Apparently, there are secret paths that only adults know about. In a few days, after the purification ritual, we’ll be taught about it.”
“The purification ritual is the day after tomorrow, and we’ll finally be fifteen… I can’t wait!”
What? If that’s the case, I wish I had known sooner. But even if we got out of the mountains, what would it matter?
More importantly, they just mentioned Mount Daigami. Could it be close from here? When I glanced at Roel, she was looking at me too.
“Nanoka, is Mount Daigami close from here?”
“Huh? If you head north from the village, you’ll reach it in no time!”
“I see…”
I got it. I was right. I had to suppress the urge to say “Yes!” out loud. If I did anything unnecessary, I might anger these people too.
But for today, I would stay at this house. Mount Daigami could wait until tomorrow.
Azuma – Deep in the Mountains, Nanoka’s Home, Night
“It might be a bit uncomfortable to sleep…”
With that, Nanoka and Konoka’s mother laid down some straw for us.
I knew there wouldn’t be a proper bed, but surprisingly, it wasn’t too uncomfortable. After all, finding something to cover myself with in the Abyss Cave had been difficult, so I had been sleeping directly on the ground.
“It’s a quiet night… huh?”
Moonlight streamed through the barred window, and I felt like someone had been peeking in. There was a strange presence, as if something had hurriedly hidden itself. Maybe it was a villager.
After a little while, I heard what sounded like hushed voices.
“Is someone there?”
Peering through the bars, I saw several villagers running away in a panic through the darkness. They were carrying what looked like farming tools. Why were they bringing those out at this hour?
Could it be that they were planning to kill us? No, the person Nanoka greeted during the day seemed kind, and if they wanted to kill us, they would have just chased us away. I hadn’t said anything bad about Lord Daigami, so I couldn’t understand why they would want to kill us.
“Well, whatever comes at us shouldn’t be a problem.”
With Roel sleeping soundly beside me, I felt confident I could protect her. It was common to be attacked by monsters while sleeping in the Abyss Cave. Those villagers might be somewhat trained from their farming, but compared to monsters, they posed no threat at all.
“I guess I’ll sleep. Goodnight, Roel.”
I said goodnight to Roel, who was already fast asleep. It didn’t mean anything, but then I closed my eyes and drifted off to sleep.
Shin Report
Rereport! Shin is serious, so he won’t overlook even the slightest detail!
Suddenly, the little girl closed her eyes and started running with Roel on her back. Did she think she was being cool? It was obvious she was lost.
Shin knew it.
The mountains were confusing, and even if you thought you were moving forward, you could easily end up going back and forth on the same path.
Heh heh heh! Unlike that foolish girl, Shin is perceptive.
No matter where you are, I can hide and see everything from afar with these eyes of mine. I won’t let anything escape!
Rua’s weak point!
Directionally challenged! She heads toward the mountains without thinking—what a fool!
And one more thing, Shin discovered something interesting.
While that village treats Rua and the others kindly, Shin has learned a terrible secret.
When you consider what happened in this country and compare it, it makes sense, but those foolish girls will never realize it.
Why do people live in such an inconvenient place?
They should be a little suspicious, the fools.