episode_0028

What could it be?

I was looking at the envelope handed to me by the person in front of me in the corridor.

It was clearly someone sent by the Princess.

It couldn’t be anything else.

The look in their eyes, trembling with fear.

Seeing their trembling body, delivering orders while so terrified and agitated, there could only be one ruler who has such a subordinate.

‘The Princess….’

I stared intently at the white envelope in my hand.

I didn’t think she would have cast any magic on it, given her soft and timid personality.

So, I opened the envelope without much worry and read the text inside.

[The third trial is a very simple gathering mission. You just need to bring a mandragora from ‘The Garden’.]

‘Crazy bastard.’

[A.lone.]

‘I thought she was innocent, but she was a lunatic….’

***

“Hiccup.”

In that room, the Princess, who had been barely existing, almost evaporated, and had become completely flustered, suddenly hiccuped.

“Whimper…My subordinates told me to act tough, so I had no choice but to do it…But surely he’ll give up and come to me now….”

The Princess, even more flustered, mumbled, letting out a sound like a deflating balloon.

***

“Um…excuse me…?”

The maid asked very cautiously when she saw me trembling, holding the paper.

“Yes…what is it…?”

I asked, biting my lip.

The Garden,

It might be an easy place for me, as I can use the power of the constellations and their strength to some extent,

but it is a ‘place’ on a completely different level from the Queen of Vampires.

A garden that changes in real-time, and countless monsters that emerge from it.

Furthermore, it was known that species hostile to humans lived there, and that rumor was true.

It was called a garden, but a World Tree stood in its center, maintaining its natural essence, and to collect mandragora, one had to enter their territory.

For an ordinary person, no, even for a skilled individual, entering this place alone was tantamount to suicide.

It was fortunate that it was me; if it had been someone else, slitting their throat here would have been one way out.

In fact, if this mission came up during the third trial, though it was a low probability,

there was even talk of just deleting your character and starting over.

“Um…If Her Royal Highness says you absolutely cannot proceed with the mission…she’ll just let you pass into the best academy in the Eastern Continent without even taking the exam…”

“Haa….”

I let out a deep sigh.

Mistaking my actions as agreement with her words, the maid smiled brightly and spoke to me again.

“Right? It’s impossible after all…isn’t it? Then quickly, to the Eastern Continent…”

‘This is almost like…’

Hearing the subordinate’s words, I felt a surge of defiance.

Of course, it was crazy to go searching for a ‘place’ with a Heart Sword that was only effective against people or monsters, that is, living beings.

However, that wasn’t the only weapon I possessed.

And by completing this mission, I felt that the benefits I would gain here would be even greater.

‘She’s telling me to come if I’m scared…’

I imagined the Princess looking down at me, saying “Scared?”

I brushed aside the maid’s hand, which was reaching out to take the paper back, and put the paper into my pocket.

“Eh…yes…?”

A too-dark shadow.

A shadow fell across her face, which had been relieved as she reached out to take the paper.

That shadow seemed to tremble as if feeling the fear of death.

“You…should reconsider…”

“No, I will go.”

I said firmly, turned around, and started to head towards the training ground.

“When should I depart?”

A calm voice reached the maid as I stood with my back to her,

and she, who had been flustered, stammered.

“Uh…uh…well…you can depart tomorrow…”

She hesitated as she answered, as if everything had been decided on the premise that I wouldn’t go there.

“Hah…I understand. I also need to prepare, so I will depart around tomorrow.”

The maid looked as if she wanted to stop me, but I returned to the training ground.

Whispers.

As if they couldn’t believe I had defeated the former Swordsman, everyone around me pointed at me in astonishment.

“Is that…the person…?”

“How can a blind person exert such power?”

“How strong must he be to defeat the former Swordsman?”

“Finally, is there someone entering ‘that class’ in this generation?”

Various whispers were clearly heard through the flow of magic.

‘Ah, is the Swordsman okay?’

When I helped him up from the rubble, he seemed a bit injured,

but still, with an unperturbed face.

He was swatting away the priests rushing toward him with a hearty laugh.

The priests kept following him, carrying bandages, as if his injuries were not minor.

Seeing such a sight, I couldn’t help but smile, finding it amusing.

“Ah, Ray, what did you come back from?”

“I just finished the third trial.”

I spoke calmly and handed the paper from my pocket to Aris.

As she reread the few lines of text, the life slowly drained from her eyes.

“Who?”

“No, it’s just a mission I have to do…You don’t need to get angry.”

Aris stared at the paper as if she would kill the person who had given me this mission.

“No…that can’t be. This is absolutely not a properly processed third trial…”

“It was processed correctly.”

I took the paper from her and put it back in my pocket, saying,

“Ray, you know what kind of place that is. No matter how strong you are, that place is dangerous.”

It would only be dangerous for those who rely on sight and cannot use magic to explore their surroundings.

Since it’s not a place with clear visibility.

“It’s fine. Are you worrying about that?”

I said that to reassure her,

but she seemed to interpret it as a flag and shook my body, saying,

“Ray, absolutely do not accept this third trial. I’ll ask the professor.”

“Aris, I’m getting dizzy. And I told you, you don’t have to do that.”

I spoke in a voice that was too calm, completely contrary to Aris’s agitated tone.

“Do you think I don’t know how many people have died in ‘The Garden’…? Even your swordsmanship will be useless if you get trapped in that labyrinth…!”

Aris was on the verge of tears, truly worried about me.

I realized I would regret it for a while if I went without this person’s permission,

so I hugged her and said,

“Aris, I will definitely come back. You saw me defeat the Swordsman, didn’t you?”

“That’s true, but…”

Aris lowered her agitated voice as I suddenly hugged her.

“Besides, with Aris here, there’s no reason I wouldn’t return. I’ll come back for your sake, too.”

I cupped her face and smiled.

‘Ugh, so cringey.’

I wasn’t someone who usually said such things, so it felt a little, no, quite cringey, but perhaps fortunately, she seemed to quite like it.

“Mm…alright…But if you get hurt anywhere…”

The vibrancy in her eyes suddenly vanished at the mention of getting hurt, and she looked at me.

“I’m going to scold you…”

***

[The Next Day]

Just in case, Aris asked the instructor to confirm my third trial, and although the instructor was surprised, he apologized to me, saying it was ordered by higher-ups.

Ultimately, I had no choice but to head to Elgard, the city from which one could access ‘The Garden’, and departed this morning, seen off by Aris and others who had approached me after witnessing my battle with the former Swordsman.

As I was the first person to undertake the third trial, it was natural that attention would be focused on me.

“Excuse me, how much longer until Elgard?”

Rattle rattle.

I was talking to someone inside the rattling carriage.

“Hmm…I suppose we’ll arrive around tomorrow…? That is, if we don’t meet *that* guy.”

This is a flag.

My intuition told me so, and I tried to stop him from speaking, but he had already opened his mouth.

“There’s a rumor that a strange monster always appears on the road to Elgard…Isn’t that scary…? Hehe…”

The coachman seemed to have said that for fun, but I made an annoyed expression and covered my face with one hand.

‘It’s going to appear, alright…..’

“You know, they say that monster has the body of a lion and looks like a mix of various animals…The young master staying at our academy should protect me, you know…”

The coachman said this jokingly and laughed to himself.

I was the only one in there maintaining a poker face.

“Ohh…how interesting that such a monster exists!”

I looked to my side at the bright voice, and there was a red-haired girl speaking, carrying a bag larger than her own body.

She had been there before I boarded, but she was someone I hadn’t exchanged a single word with.

‘I feel like I’ve seen her somewhere….’

However, since I felt as if I had seen her somewhere, I merely stared at her intently.

“If it’s that kind of monster, does it have blood flowing where a lion’s eyes should be?”

She spoke in an incredibly lively voice, and the coachman turned around with a surprised expression and said,

“No, how did you know that?”

“It’s right in front of us?”

Even in such a serious situation, she was just smiling.