A Dangerous Journey, Part 4
The boulder we had chosen as a windbreak for our campsite was surprisingly cozy. Night had fully settled, draping the forest in deep, cool shadows. Looking up, the moon and stars sparkled in the vast expanse where the day had departed. Somewhere in the undergrowth, insects chirped, though their chorus was gentle, not at all disruptive. Nearby, a soft, rhythmic breathing drifted through the quiet. Sirien, who had been grumbling about the sleeping arrangements just moments ago, had surprisingly fallen asleep in an instant. No matter how much she complained about the hard ground, she stood no chance against the sheer exhaustion of our journey. Since it was our first night out, I intended to let her sleep as long as she needed.
"Mmm, no... I want more..."
She seemed to be having a happy dream, making me feel a bit guilty about the prospect of disturbing her. Since she had wept and sworn vengeance just last night, she deserved to have a sweet dream tonight, at the very least.
A sudden, chilly gust swept through the trees, causing the campfire's flames to flicker wildly. In the dancing light, the encroaching shadows of the forest seemed to take a giant step back. No threatening enemies were revealed in the newly illuminated space—only the messy traces of our campsite. Yet, even in the stillness, a single presence lingered at the edge of my senses.
Persistent bastard. You'd think he'd have given up and backed off by now.
Though its movements were subtle, its presence was unmistakable. It kept its distance, far back in the gloom. The creature that had been tailing us since the very edge of the forest was still doggedly following our footsteps. It still didn't feel overtly hostile, making no move to attack even as night fell. It simply watched us from a distance where it was impossible to discern its shape with the naked eye. I wanted to get a look at it at least once, but since it didn't even bother to hide its presence, it seemed it would just keep lingering out there. If only my eyes were a bit sharper in the dark. I wasn't completely blind, but my night vision wasn't particularly good.
The original Rajen could see perfectly fine in the dark. Was it an acquired ability?
In the original novel, I was formidable under normal circumstances, but I became an absolute terror in the dark. A human utilizing darkness more deftly than demons spoke for itself. I wondered if achieving the rank of Swordmaster naturally granted such vision, but that didn't seem to be the case. Other Swordmasters in the story never demonstrated anything similar. As expected of a trash novel, there was no detailed explanation. It seemed to be a unique trait belonging only to me—and if so, there was one highly likely source.
The Church of Repose. The Order of Hibras.
Hibras was the deity who guided all living things to their eternal rest. The God of Repose. In other words, the God of Death. In the novel, the God of Repose chose Sirien as his Saintess, and I had joined the order to follow her. Even though Rajen didn't seem particularly devout, he wielded powerful Authorities. Hibras wasn't a god who ruled over night or darkness, but it wouldn't be strange if he had a few hidden Authorities. After all, even the Apostle of the Sun God possessed plenty of useless Authorities—like the ability to make half-burnt cookies taste delicious. The male leads in those novels always used their grand powers to cater to the female lead's tastes... Anyway, it was only in the latter half of the novel that Hibras was branded as an evil god. The holy orders centered around the female lead declared a holy war after uncovering the evidence. Right now, it was dismissed as an order that had died out long ago. But if it had completely vanished, the plot of the novel wouldn't have been possible, so some remnant of their power must still exist somewhere.
But that's what's strange.
In the novel, the Order of Hibras was depicted as an incredibly powerful force. By the final chapter, they had seized nearly half the empire, using the Illencia Grand Duchy as their base. Their expansion was so rapid that other holy orders grew highly wary of them. Yet, right now, the name of the Order of Hibras was nowhere to be found. The knowledge that it was an "order that died out long ago" was just something I had briefly read in an old book back in Reheim Castle. It had never once been mentioned by anyone else. If not for that book, I wouldn't have had the slightest clue where Hibras was or what he was doing. A god whose very name was unfamiliar to ordinary people. Once again, my knowledge of the novel wasn't proving very helpful. How much time would have to pass before this knowledge became useful? I didn't even know if I'd still be alive by then.
Maybe we have to go find them ourselves?
Thinking about it, that might actually be the better option. It was an order barely hanging on to survival in some remote corner. They were probably struggling just to keep themselves afloat, so there was no way they would come looking for us to serve their Saintess. We were the ones who needed power right now. Even if it was the power of an evil god who openly accepted human sacrifices, we needed it.
"Hmm?"
Perhaps the deep night was making me overthink. A rustling sound came from a short distance away. I held my breath, my hand sliding toward my sword. The direction of the sound was clear. Since about half of our surroundings were blocked by the large boulder, I only had to watch one direction.
It wasn't the wind. It's too quiet to be a monster—probably a wild animal. Should I wake Sirien just in case?
My first thought was that it was a small wild animal. Seeing her sleeping so peacefully, I didn't want to wake her just yet. I lit a branch I had set aside earlier to use as a torch. I held the light up to scan the surroundings, but nothing was immediately visible. Only the shadows cast by the wild grass and trees, and the pitch-black rocks. Then, a beast's growl echoed through the silent forest.
Grrrrr...
It was a low rumble filled with clear hostility. Did it realize a surprise attack was impossible and decide to come out in the open? It wasn't close yet, but I had no idea how fast the predators in this forest were. No matter the distance, I couldn't let my guard down. I had to prepare for battle immediately.
"Sirien, wake up!"
It was our first battle in this demon-infested forest.
Gurgle... choke...
From top to bottom, my sword pierced straight through the beast's skull. Blood erupted like a fountain, drenching my body. It had been a close call. Just before its sharp fangs could sink into my flesh, my blade had cut off its breath by a hair's breadth. The things that had ambushed us were two wolf-like beasts. They looked like canine predators, though I didn't know their exact species. It was a relief there were only two; if there had been even one more, I would have definitely lost a chunk of my arm.
"Pah. Blood got in my mouth. It's incredibly gamey."
"Are you okay? I think you got clawed earlier. Are you badly hurt?"
"I don't know. It doesn't hurt that much, so I don't think the wound is deep."
They were about a meter long. They weren't what I'd call formidable foes. I had faced beasts of this caliber a few times during my training as a knight. The only difference was that back then, it was a controlled, safe environment, and now it wasn't. These ones also seemed to have bulkier builds. Perhaps that was why I couldn't defeat them without taking a hit. Not to make excuses, but my movements were a bit sluggish, likely due to my lingering injuries. No matter how good my body's recovery rate was, I couldn't heal deep sword wounds overnight. I had taken a wound I wouldn't have received if I were in perfect condition. Though I couldn't see it, there were probably three claw marks slashed across my right shoulder blade. The stinging pain was gradually becoming sharper.
"It's on my back, so I can't see it."
"Can you take a look?"
"Yeah. Come over here."
I turned my back to the campfire and slipped off my shirt. The cool night wind, mingling with the warmth of the fire, brushed against my bare skin.
"I knew it. You're bleeding. Let me wipe it. What should I use?"
"There should be a clean towel in my backpack. A white one."
"This must be it. Can I wipe it now?"
"Yeah."
I thought they were sharp claws, but the edges must have been rougher than I expected. It stung far more than I anticipated, and I almost let out a groan. When I flinched, Sirien immediately pulled the towel away.
"D-did it hurt a lot? I'm sorry. This is my first time doing this."
"It's fine. Keep going. We need to clean it now so it doesn't get infected."
"Okay. Then bear with me for a bit, okay? I'll be gentle."
Sirien took the word "gentle" very seriously. If it had been a senior knight, they would have roughly scrubbed it clean, but her towel moved delicately, as if trying not to irritate the raw flesh. Since I had no desire to needlessly suffer, I sat still and let her work. A brief silence fell between us. During that time, I stared at the dead wolf's carcass. It was too dark to butcher it now. I planned to skin and butcher it tomorrow out of Sirien's sight. If I did it in front of her, the tender-hearted lady would probably faint. I had never done it myself, so I'd be clumsy, but it had to be done. We needed to harvest whatever meat and hide we could.
"Right. Where did you put the spare sword I gave you?"
"That? I left it next to the backpack."
"Good job. I'll pack it later."
I had given Sirien a sword just in case. I hoped it would never come to that, but in the worst-case scenario, having a weapon was better than nothing.
"Speaking of which, could you teach me how to use a sword starting tomorrow?"
"A sword? It'll be hard."
"Still. Even just the basics is fine, so please teach me."
"Sure, why not."
Did Sirien use weapons well in the novel? I couldn't recall. As the Saintess of the order and the Grand Duke of Ilencia, Sirien never had to run around the middle of a battlefield. Her guards were always top-notch, so there was never a single scene where Sirien fought directly. In fact, she was never even depicted holding a weapon. Sirien's role was mostly intellectual or rear support. Still, it wouldn't hurt to teach her some self-defense.
Tomorrow. I had absolutely no idea that Sirien would discover an unexpected talent.