I couldn’t check the time, but judging by the number of steps, it felt like we had moved more than the total area of the city.
If they kidnapped me, they should be in a hurry, yet the two of them continued on a path that felt like circling a maze.
The narrow, stifling air felt like it was strangling my neck.
Just as my patience reached its limit in that endless passage, Heather finally stopped. In front of her was a thick wall that looked like a dead end.
Tap, tap.
She tapped on various stones in the wall, and I heard complex sounds of things being removed and shifted.
Thump—
Then the wall in front of us moved.
No, would “collapsed” be a more accurate expression?
It seemed like magic rather than a simple mechanism; a magic circle glowed faintly underneath.
‘Is it finally over?’
As the blocked wall opened, fresh air flowed in.
I had only been in there for a few hours, but like a prisoner who had been trapped in a dungeon for years, I was moved by the vivid scent of grass mixed in the air.
The headache cleared, and I felt refreshed.
However, we still couldn’t see the outside scenery.
Stepping forward, I let Heinz pass as well—
Rumble—
The magic circle activated, and the stones rose again, blocking the passage.
My gaze naturally drifted that way, but I felt another shove on my back.
It urged me to keep walking, so I had no choice but to turn and move forward.
The path following Heather’s back was a gentle uphill slope.
As we progressed upward bit by bit, the soil began to hold moisture.
‘……Is it a waterfront?’
Though the ground was muddy, my feet didn’t sink deep.
There was just the sound of splashing from small puddles of water.
Continuing the climb, the end of this long, long passage finally came into view.
The end was blocked by a crude iron gate with a grid pattern.
Beyond it, light poured in intensely.
“Whew. To think I’d have to walk this path again.”
“I hope there’s never a next time.”
“That’s unlikely…….”
Only after the exit was in sight did the two of them speak.
Seeing as they knew it so well, they must have traveled this path quite often.
They slumped their shoulders, looking more exhausted than I was.
I considered pretending to be exhausted to match them but decided against it.
They weren’t in a state to pay attention to me anyway.
If there’s no audience, there’s no need to act.
Clang—
Manipulating and pushing the grid gate, the outside scenery finally greeted me.
As expected, a small brook flowed beneath my feet, with boulders placed here and there so one could cross.
It seemed we were quite far from the city, as I couldn’t sense any people.
I first looked up at the sky.
‘Did Aren return?’
I couldn’t see the blue speck that would be clearly visible against the sunset sky.
“You endured well. You can breathe as much as you want now, young master.”
“Now, let’s move quickly. The sun is going down.”
“…….”
Glancing around, it surprisingly didn’t seem like the direction of the forest.
The scenery was a bit different from the area I had become familiar with after several visits.
While feeling doubtful, I moved along the brook as they led.
But the more I walked, the more I couldn’t shake the feeling that we were moving further away from the forest.
‘Is Rodney…… hiding in a place like this?’
I recalled the conversation I had with Klen.
I didn’t think he would move away from a place he was obsessed with.
Did he aim for that very point and hide somewhere else?
‘No, that can’t be it.’
That would only be the case if one of us knew that ‘Rodney is obsessed with the forest.’
Normally, people would think he ran away because his identity as a spy was discovered.
Or is it time to shift my perspective?
Soon, a place appeared before us that wasn’t as dense as the Forest of the Divine Beast but had a fair number of trees.
I opened my mouth slightly.
“What about Rodney?”
“What?”
“Weren’t we going to join Rodney?”
Heather, who was passing between the trees, stopped walking.
Me and Heinz, following behind, also stopped at the same time.
She gestured behind her.
Then Heinz, while remaining wary of me, approached her and leaned his ear in.
“Wait. Do you know who our client is?”
“In a situation like this, it’s worth being suspicious.”
“Are you testing us?”
“Maybe.”
Whether they didn’t care about hiding it from me or felt it was dangerous to get further away, the distance was still close.
The problem was that I could hear their entire whisper.
‘A client, huh?’
It seemed they weren’t colleagues after all.
“So, you aren’t going to meet him?”
“And if we aren’t?”
She could have hidden it or feigned ignorance, but she chose to provoke me instead.
Meanwhile, the two people who clearly had no idea who they were mocking stood there with crooked postures and easy smiles.
“…….”
“…….”
“…….”
A heavy silence fell between us, so still that even the sound of rustling grass felt loud.
If I wasn’t going to meet Rodney, there was no point in following them.
And a Caldrich does not ignore a provocation.
Heather, who had been staring at me as I kept my mouth shut, let out a small smirk.
She turned around and started walking.
Her back seemed to say that was enough and that I should just follow.
However, I didn’t move a single inch.
There was no need for that anymore.
“Hey, young master.”
“In that case, I have no reason to follow you.”
“……What?”
“What does that mean?”
Heather immediately turned around, and the same look appeared on Heinz’s face as he approached.
They looked dumbfounded, as if they couldn’t understand what I was saying.
Soon, that expression turned into the kind of look one gives a child who knows nothing of the world.
“Do you really think you can just leave whenever you want after coming this far?”
“There’s no reason I can’t.”
“Young master. It seems you still don’t understand the situation…….”
Clang—
They made two mistakes.
One was believing the rumors that I was weak and taking a member of the Caldrich family too lightly.
The other was not taking Levatein away from me immediately.
When I drew Levatein, they actually stifled a laugh. I suppose that makes it three mistakes? Because they provoked me.
Heinz’s eyes slowly scanned the blade of Levatein.
“That’s right. Levatein. It’s a wasted item in your hands.”
“Wasted?”
“That was the prize for the hunting competition, wasn’t it? If I beat you, it’s only natural that I should take that sword, right?”
“I suppose.”
“Not a chance.”
Heather’s words and mine rang out at the same time, but our answers were completely different.
He had been eyeing it for a while, and now he was declaring he would take it while pretending he just noticed its existence.
“Even if you don’t agree, wouldn’t other people feel differently?”
Heinz misunderstood me again.
When I said “not a chance,” I didn’t mean that the sword would stay mine even if I lost.
I meant there was no way I would lose to him.
