Chapter 58: The Former Duke, Harua
“Big Sis!”
Julia’s face appeared right up against the communication orb, while Zien stood behind her, shyly bowing in greeting.
“Have you eaten?”
“Yes.”
“Yep, we did!”
“How about your homework?”
“I did it.”
“.......”
“Julia?”
Why aren’t you answering?
Julia looked away sheepishly while Zien crossed his arms behind her. Ceres gave Julia a pointed look.
“...I will. I was just about to.”
It had already been five days since Ceres arrived in the western region. Having left in such a hurry, she didn’t have a chance to properly explain things to Julia, Antonian, and Zien. However, she made sure to contact them through the communication orb every day.
“How’s Uncle Bei?”
“He’s much better.”
“That’s good!”
Julia nodded enthusiastically. Ceres smiled.
“Jailo came to the Academy today!”
“Really?”
After being kidnapped, Jailo had been too traumatized to leave his house for some time. Julia and Christine had visited him every day, playing with him and sharing their strength. And today, he finally returned to the Academy.
What about the other children...?
Around fifty children were rescued from that place along with Jailo. Meanwhile, nearly two hundred children had gone missing recently.
Of course, Ceres couldn’t say that all of them were connected to this incident. There were always shitty people who kidnapped children, regardless of whether it had anything to do with this particular case.
But... they’re the ones most likely to have been victims this time.
Ceres clicked her tongue.
If only I had met them.
If she had, she could’ve sent Sooty to find the other missing children too. But for now, there was no way.
That man is the only lead.
The Captain of the Imperial Guard. Would he tell Aseraian where the other kidnapped children were? She doubted that.
Maybe...
Ceres let out a long sigh.
When she went to find Jailo, the Black Forest had already begun killing the children. If she’d arrived a little later, she wouldn’t have been able to save them.
Then what happened to the children who were taken before him...?
Ceres sighed again, more heavily this time.
What are they trying to accomplish?
They weren’t simply kidnapping children and killing them. They were deliberately creating the Black Forest to kill them.
No matter how much she thought about it, she couldn’t figure out why. Once again, the only clue was the man she had captured...
“By the way, Big Sis.”
“Hm?”
Ceres, who had been lost in thought, suddenly looked up at Julia’s voice.
“What’s that white thing next to you?”
“......”
“Whitey?”
Ceres turned around and saw a small creature perched on the chair beside her, wagging its tail eagerly as if asking for attention.
“It’s Whitey’s baby! Whitey! It’s the baby of the Whitey I saw before!”
Julia leaned even closer to the communication orb, her eyes sparkling.
My Julia really does have a good eye.
How did she know it was a wolf the moment she saw it? Ceres thought it was a puppy.
[This little guy is a wolf. And not an ordinary one, either.]
Jubelios corrected Ceres, who had mistaken it for a puppy.
A wolf, huh.
The moment she saw the pup, something about it had seemed familiar. Of course, she never once thought it was a wolf.
Its eyes really are the same color as that wolf’s.
The white wolf that ruled the Forest of Ice Trees, who had protected Julia from the monsters, had the exact same vivid blue eyes.
A Divine Beast, was it?
Her former disciple had said that the white wolf was probably a Divine Beast.
If this really is that wolf’s pup...
It would explain why it had brought her a precious medicinal herb. Divine Beasts were known to have all sorts of mysterious abilities, after all.
Though there are still plenty of things I don’t understand.
How did it know she wanted that herb and show up with it?
“Looks like it’s Whitey’s baby!”
“Maybe.”
“Is baby Whitey going to live with us now, too?”
“...Maybe.”
Even after giving her the medicinal herb, the wolf pup refused to leave. It kept following her around, so she opened the window and showed it the way out.
[Whimper....]
...But when she told it to go, it looked up at her with such pitiful eyes that she couldn’t bring herself to chase it away. So the little thing was still here, sticking close to her.
If this little guy really was the pup of the Forest of Ice Trees’ Master...
..Am I going to be mistaken for a kidnapper?
[Whine, whine.]
Ceres let out another sigh as the little creature clung to her arm, panting as it begged to be petted.
***
The mercenaries and soldiers were fighting their way through the B-rank Black Forest when they suddenly sensed something massive approaching. They stopped dead.
Boom. Boom.
“...This is insane.”
“...How are we supposed to kill that?”
“...So it really was true?”
A gigantic monster soon appeared in the distance, leaving everyone speechless. How were they supposed to kill something like that?
“...Everyone has one, right?”
“Yes!”
At the captain’s words, everyone pulled something from inside their clothes. Each held a tiny mana stone, about the size of a thumbnail.
Flash!
Vrrrrm...
They threw the stones onto the ground and shattered them.
A faint hum filled the air as a transparent barrier formed around them. The mercenaries and soldiers quickly spread out, rushing to protect the civilians who didn’t have protective stones.
Whoosh!
Vrrrrm...
Boom! Boom!
Will this really work?
A soldier swallowed nervously as the giant monster approached. The closer it came, the more oppressive its presence felt.
Please... Please hold!
The soldier closest to the monster squeezed his eyes shut when he saw its massive foot coming down on the transparent barrier.
The civilians inside the barrier felt the same way. They were certain they were about to die.
Crash!
Crack!
“—!”
But after the deafening impact, they slowly opened their eyes and realized they were still alive.
“I-it worked!”
Everyone erupted in cheers. The monster’s leg, which had slammed into the barrier, was stuck fast and gradually freezing over.
An ice-element barrier.
It was an item recently distributed by Cheion, the Master of the Magic Tower. He had been supplying them throughout the Empire in preparation for the strange Black Forests that had been appearing lately.
After word spread that low-rank Black Forests could produce S-rank bosses, people began avoiding them altogether.
Money and glory were one thing, but staying alive came first. If they entered a low-rank forest only to encounter an S-rank boss, they wouldn’t stand a chance. Naturally, everyone played it safe.
To prepare for such situations, Cheion had developed the ice-element barrier.
Every time a Black Forest appeared, its rank was measured first, and mercenaries and soldiers were sent in accordingly.
After some time had passed, the rank was measured again. Black Forests capable of producing S-rank bosses could suddenly rise several ranks as time went on.
If that happened, a report was sent immediately. Then, additional forces were dispatched to deal with the S-rank boss.
The new barrier Cheion had developed was meant to keep everyone safe until those reinforcements arrived.
Whoosh!
“—!”
Just then, the giant monster’s head burst into flames.
[Gyaaaaaah!]
The monster let out a horrific scream for the first time. Its leg remained frozen to the barrier, leaving it unable to move.
“Wow. I have to say I really outdid myself this time. Nice work, me!”
A strange voice rang out. Everyone turned to see a man enthusiastically patting himself on the shoulder. He kept congratulating himself with one hand while firing off magic with the other.
It was none other than Cheion, the Master of the Magic Tower.
Slash!
[Kyaaaaaah!]
The giant monster was still reeling from the barrage of magic when one of its arms was sliced clean off. Someone casually stepped back to avoid the falling limb.
“That’s all thanks to me.”
Kainel calmly replied as he prepared his next attack.
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