Chapter 19. Mezaia Great Forest (1)
Klein was looking at his older brother with an immensely pleased expression.
“So, you are asking to join my team?”
“Yeah. Can’t I?”
There was a reason Klein looked so delighted.
Someone had actually volunteered to become a teammate of his brother, who was regarded around the Academy as the ultimate ‘loner among loners,’ as the younger generation liked to put it.
Meanwhile, Shane was caught off guard for his own reasons.
The person standing before him was none other than Delilah.
“……Why?”
It had been two days since Shane rescued her.
Although he had saved Delilah because he needed her, he had thought it was still too early to make contact with her openly.
Given Delilah’s naturally wary personality, he had intended to build their relationship slowly.
For Delilah to approach Shane first was something even he had not anticipated.
“Well, you know I recently went through something rather…… unpleasant.”
It was somewhat unfortunate to hear a girl in the prime of her youth describe her experience so vaguely, but the one who answered was not Shane.
It was Klein beside him.
“Ah…… Yes. Count Salier. I never imagined he was someone capable of such things. I heard that even a member of the Judgment Knight Order lost his life because of the incident?”
“Uh, yeah. Right. Exactly.”
The truth was entirely different, but that was the story known to the public.
The morning after Delilah was rescued—
A sensational report spread across society.
It revealed that Count Salier had been one of the influential figures controlling the underground city that had long existed only in rumor.
One member of the Judgment Knight Order had caught wind of his activities and undertaken a mission alone, only for a battle to break out.
Count Salier and one of his Guardian Knights were killed at the scene, while the member of the Judgment Knight Order was poisoned during the battle and later died.
The report also revealed in detail that a Demi-Human cadet from the Academy had been kidnapped and imprisoned there.
‘How did the news spread that quickly?’
Naturally, Delilah had been bewildered when attention poured in from every direction overnight.
Still, she had no choice but to remain calm and confirm that the report was true.
She had indeed been kidnapped and imprisoned by Count Salier, and she had lost consciousness in the aftermath.
A member of the Judgment Knight Order had died.
Naturally, an Investigator directly under the Imperial Family appeared, and the thoroughly intimidated Delilah had no choice but to cooperate with the investigation.
At one point, someone even suggested using magic to read Delilah’s memories.
The Academy President, however, rejected the proposal.
Magic that interfered with another person’s mind carried a high risk of side effects.
Of course, Shane had orchestrated all of it.
He had leaked a partially fabricated version of the events to a famous newspaper within the Allied Nations.
By making the information public so openly, even the Imperial Family would find it difficult to harm Delilah.
The Academy also regarded the incident as a major scandal.
A Demi-Human cadet under the protection of the Academy of the Allied Nations had dared to be kidnapped!
That was also why the Academy had protected Delilah from the Investigator sent directly by the Imperial Family.
“A-Anyway, after what happened…… I found it difficult to rely on just anyone.”
“I understand. It must have been extremely difficult for you. But humanity is not composed solely of scum like him, Miss Delilah.”
Klein gently patted Delilah’s shoulder with a sympathetic look.
And immediately—
Countless hostile gazes struck from every direction!
“Gasp.”
At that moment, Delilah’s threat level in the eyes of the Academy’s female cadets rose dramatically.
“But what does any of that have to do with coming to me?”
“Well, from what I’ve heard, you don’t seem particularly interested in people…… and I figured you’d probably be equally indifferent whether someone was human or a Demi-Human. Besides, I heard you’re extremely capable.”
That was not entirely wrong.
Recently, Shane’s reputation had improved considerably.
Of course, people still did not look at him entirely favorably because of his past jealousy toward his younger brother.
But he had placed first in the Department of Command, a department composed of elites at the Academy of the Allied Nations, widely regarded as the finest Academy in the world.
That achievement alone had forced many people to acknowledge his ability.
“You are quite willing to say such things directly to my face.”
“Heh. It’s not like I’m wrong, is it?”
Despite his words, Shane actually welcomed the situation.
Delilah was someone who would eventually need to perform an important role for him.
The closer she remained, the better.
“Okay, then I’ll be going into dungeons with you from now on, right?”
Shane pretended to deliberate for a moment before finally accepting her.
Delilah’s expression visibly brightened.
From her perspective, Shane’s background was reassuring.
Within the Allied Nations, House Clayton, the family of Shane and Klein, was a massive noble house through which virtually every merchant had dealings in one way or another.
Of course, after being deceived once by Count Salier and witnessing the shocking truth behind Dyra, a member of the Judgment Knight Order, Delilah could not place absolute trust in them.
‘But if I keep looking at everyone with suspicion, I won’t be able to trust anyone at all.’
Her distrust of humans had certainly not disappeared.
At the very least, however, she did not show it openly.
“Still, for a member of the Judgment Knight Order to have died…… That must be why she has not appeared these past few days, Brother.”
“Hmm. Probably.”
Shane gave a slight nod at Klein’s question.
“Hasn’t appeared? Who are you talking about?”
Now that it had been decided that she would join Shane’s team, Delilah naturally inserted herself into their conversation.
“We were talking about Miss Aneis. Lintberg J. Aneis.”
“Ah.”
Aneis.
The daughter of the former Commander of the Judgment Knight Order.
Having heard several days ago that a member of the Judgment Knight Order had died, she was probably still attending the funeral.
Even as Shane listened, his expression did not change in the slightest.
“She will handle it herself. There is no particular reason for us to concern ourselves with it.”
“Hmm. If you put it coldly, I suppose that is true. Haha.”
Klein smiled bitterly.
Delilah, meanwhile, wore a complicated expression.
It was not as though she and Aneis were complete strangers.
They had spoken to each other on several occasions.
Until now, Delilah had considered Aneis a fairly decent person.
At the very least, Aneis had never looked at her through prejudiced eyes.
Had the recent incident not occurred, Delilah might even have approached her about joining her team.
But after everything that happened, Delilah no longer knew how she was supposed to regard her.
‘Ah. We weren’t even that close in the first place.’
Right.
There was no reason to think too deeply about it.
Delilah came to that conclusion and looked out the rain-streaked window.
—
The steadily falling rain chilled Aneis’s body, yet she continued staring down at the grave beneath her feet.
This marked the second farewell.
And despite that, she showed no sign whatsoever of becoming accustomed to the feeling.
“Cause of death…… poisoning.”
The White Lion Aura should have been capable of resisting most poisons.
Yet Dyra’s corpse, struck by an unknown toxin, had been reduced to something resembling a dried mummy, as though every trace of moisture had been drained from his body.
Aneis remembered her time with Dyra.
She had been closely connected to the members of the Judgment Knight Order since childhood.
Whenever she learned the sword beside her father, the knights would sometimes join them and serve as her sparring partners.
At other times, they became her friends.
They were not related by blood.
Even so, some had been like uncles to her.
Others had been like older brothers.
They had been family.
Among them, Dyra had been like an elderly uncle.
His easygoing manner of speaking had always been reflected in the relaxed swordsmanship he displayed.
And now he had died fighting for justice.
“He died…… for justice.”
Aneis recalled the words she had heard repeatedly throughout the funeral.
Their faces had been filled with deep grief, along with unwavering belief that Dyra had died for a righteous cause.
But Aneis remembered a question that had long remained in her heart.
“Was it truly for justice?”
It was a question she could never ask the others.
So now she had no choice but to ask Dyra, buried beneath the earth.
—
“What is Mana? Is there anyone who can answer?”
At Professor Jahad’s question, one of the cadets raised a hand.
“Mana is a fundamental element that constitutes this world.”
“And?”
“Mana can become anything. At the most basic level, it can become water, fire, wind, or earth.”
“And?”
“Uh…… environments formed from Mana also contribute to creating the incomprehensible conditions found within dungeons.”
“Good.”
At Jahad’s response, the cadet who had stood up returned to their seat with a relieved sigh.
“Just as that cadet explained, Mana is one of the fundamental elements that make up this world. For that reason, all of us who aspire to command must possess a thorough understanding of Mana.”
A commander whose objective was war differed from one who explored dungeons.
Both had to confront enemies.
But dungeons added environmental factors to the equation.
“Now, borrowing from the answer we just heard…… can anyone name an area with such an incomprehensible environment?”
“The Mezaia Great Forest!”
When one cadet called out the answer, most of the others turned toward a particular person.
“Yes. The Mezaia Great Forest. One of the Cradles humanity has yet to conquer.”
Jahad used a Magic Tool to display several images across the board.
“As you can see, the Mezaia Great Forest is exceptionally difficult to subjugate because of its tremendous rainy season. But that is not the only problem.”
Modern humanity trained their bodies with Mana and had obtained abilities that surpassed ordinary human limitations.
For that reason, something as simple as ‘rain’ could not normally halt the conquest of an entire dungeon.
And yet they continued struggling to subjugate the Mezaia Great Forest because its rain was anything but ordinary.
“In the Mezaia Great Forest, rain with extremely high acidity may fall. Other rain can make the body heavy merely through contact. There is even rain that falls at temperatures below freezing.”
None of these phenomena could be understood through humanity’s ordinary knowledge.
If the temperature fell below freezing, shouldn’t hail fall instead?
Why did it remain rain?
Yet these incomprehensible events began to make sense once Mana entered the explanation.
“That is why commanders require enough knowledge to respond quickly even when the environment changes without warning.”
At that moment, one cadet raised a hand.
“Then wouldn’t it be enough to bring along someone with extensive knowledge of such environments?”
“An excellent question. Certainly, humans are capable of many things, but we are not creatures who can accomplish everything alone. However, the situation on a battlefield can reverse itself depending on every minute and every second of a commander’s judgment. That is why we must be capable of recognizing the situation ourselves, understanding it, and reaching our own conclusions.”
That was precisely why the commander of an Exploration Party could not merely know how to command.
“For that reason, from now on, all of you will need a basic understanding of the Mana and structures found within dungeons.”
Of course, most of the cadets present already possessed some understanding of Mana.
Without even that level of ability, they would never have been admitted to the Department of Command in the first place.
Jahad shifted his gaze toward a certain cadet sitting quietly to one side.
“For example, as Cadet Auston and Cadet Shane demonstrated during the recent exam, possessing extensive knowledge of dungeons can allow you to attract higher-level teammates when forming your party. More importantly…… you may receive recruitment or collaboration offers from other Adventurer Parties.”
As he said this, Jahad looked directly toward Shane.
……When the lecture eventually ended—
Jahad, Professor of ‘Study of Mana and Dungeons,’ called Shane aside.
“You wanted to see me, Professor?”
“Ah, Cadet Shane. Come in. First, I should congratulate you.”
“Congratulate me?”
“Yes. For now, take a look at this.”
Once inside Jahad’s private laboratory, Shane accepted the document he was handed and read through it.
“Hmm.”
It was more or less what he had expected.
A collaboration offer.
As Jahad had mentioned during class, cadets who displayed exceptional talent at the Academy occasionally received collaboration offers from outside organizations.
The short research paper Shane had submitted during the recent exam concerned the Great Rainy Season of the Mezaia Great Forest.
Apparently, one Adventurer Party had taken an interest in him because of it.
“They contacted me sooner than I expected.”
“That probably means the other side is equally desperate. So, what do you think? Would you like to meet them?”
Shane nodded at Jahad’s question.
The Mezaia Great Forest.
One of the Five Great Cradles.
Shane himself had a reason to visit that place in the near future.
