The Search
“Everyone. Our 1st Squad’s mission is to inspect the villages in this sector and confirm there are no anomalies. Please follow along carefully. Any questions?”
At Serdic’s words, everyone shook their heads.
“Good. Then let’s move out.”
Under Serdic’s command, the group left the fortress and headed toward their assigned sector. Their pace was blisteringly fast. Every member of the squad moved like a superhuman, so even while staying alert to their surroundings, they traveled at a speed that rivaled an ordinary person’s all-out sprint.
In just one hour, we spotted a village of roughly a hundred households in the distance. As we drew closer, an elderly man with snow-white hair and a middle-aged man who appeared to be the village guard captain came out to meet us, as if they had been expecting our arrival.
“You’ve come at just the right time, Sir Knight.”
“A pleasure. Village Chief. Has something happened? The atmosphere in the village feels off.”
Looking around, I saw the villagers whispering among themselves with dark, uneasy expressions. Off to one side, several women were trying to comfort a listless little girl who seemed completely drained of energy. At the chief’s gesture, they quickly brought her over to us.
“The truth is, a few days ago this child’s uncle went into the mountains to gather mushrooms and disappeared. He still hasn’t returned.”
“Disappeared? Did he go somewhere monsters might be?”
“No, that shouldn’t be the case. Jimmy is a local. He would know better than to do something so reckless.”
Uncle Jimmy. Niece Amy. The chief introduced the girl, explaining that she had lost her parents and now relied solely on her uncle, doing his best to stir up sympathy. He even claimed Jimmy had gone mushroom-picking just to feed Amy.
Whether the ploy worked or not, Serdic, who had been listening seriously, turned to us.
“Everyone, it seems we’ll have to search the mountains. Reporting back to the fortress would take too long in a situation this urgent. Does anyone object?”
How many people could possibly object at a time like this? Even if they harbored private complaints, voicing them in front of a child who had just lost her only remaining family would be incredibly difficult.
However, an unexpected development occurred.
“Let’s go right away. We should look for her uncle.”
Of all people, it was Regina Solias who spoke up first in agreement.
That made things easier for Serdic.
“Really? Thank you, Your High—”
“Quiet. Planning to make a scene? Stay still.”
Regina clamped a hand over Serdic’s mouth before he could reveal her identity, then turned to look straight at Amy. She bent her knees, lowering herself to the child’s eye level.
“You said Amy, right? …Are you worried about your uncle?”
What kind of ridiculous question was that? The only blood relative she had left had vanished without a trace—how could she not be worried? Especially when she was only nine years old.
Yet strangely, Amy didn’t nod. She simply stared up at Regina with empty, hollow eyes.
Meeting that gaze, Regina curled her lips into a smirk.
“No, you’re not? I thought so. No need to say it out loud. Fine. I’ll make sure you don’t have to worry anymore.”
After muttering something incomprehensible, Regina straightened up. Just as she turned to leave—
“How did you know, big sister?”
Amy’s mouth, which had been tightly shut, opened.
Regina paused for a moment, then looked back at her and answered casually.
“Just did.”
“…Just did?”
“Yeah. I just knew.”
It was a half-hearted reply, but it seemed to satisfy Amy. She gave a small nod, a faint smile tugging at her lips.
And so, without even setting foot inside the village, we headed straight for the mountains.
“Squad Leader, do monsters come down to the village often?”
“…No. Almost never. These days it’s harvest season, so things are a bit different, which is why we’re being especially thorough with the search. Besides, if it really were monsters, they would’ve attacked the village already.”
“That makes sense.”
Isis nodded at Serdic’s explanation.
While listening to their conversation, I glanced sideways at Regina.
‘What was that about?’
From the way she had interacted with Amy earlier, it was clear she knew something, but I couldn’t begin to guess what. Asking her directly would wound my pride, though. Not that I had much pride to speak of when it came to her, but still. Besides, I doubted she’d answer honestly even if I asked.
‘Whatever. Forget it.’
Once we started searching, things would probably become clearer anyway. No point worrying about it now.
I shook off the stray thoughts. Before long, we arrived at the edge of the mountain where Jimmy had last been seen.
“From here on, we need to be extremely careful. We don’t know when a monster might appear. First, let’s head to the location the village chief mentioned.”
The village hadn’t been left completely unguarded. Using the information provided by the chief, Serdic led us to the spot where Jimmy’s trail had gone cold.
“His tracks really do vanish here. …Your Highness, can you track him from this point?”
“Wait. I’m looking.”
After carefully examining the ground, Regina furrowed her brow and looked up at the sky—or rather, at the dense canopy of trees overhead. Suddenly, she leaped upward and landed on a branch.
Balancing skillfully on the thin limbs, she stretched out her long legs and moved across the treetops. Then her eyes flashed with a strange light.
“Found it. Follow me.”
Without hesitation, she began leaping from tree to tree. We hurried after her.
Soon, Regina landed in front of a hole roughly one meter in diameter, right in the middle of a clearing.
“The trail ends completely here.”
“Wait, why is this here?”
Serdic’s expression turned grim the moment he saw the hole, as if he recognized it.
“Squad Leader, what is this hole?”
“…It’s a tunnel left by a Steel Mole from Mageong. It looks like it burrowed here from an underground passage. The fact that it evaded detection magic… This is bad.”
In other words, Jimmy had been dragged away by Steel Moles.
Isis immediately voiced her confusion.
“Squad Leader, if I’m not mistaken, Steel Moles mainly live underground, right? Not in trees.”
“Exactly. That’s what makes this even stranger. Your Highness, are you certain his trail continued through the trees?”
“Yes. No doubt about it.”
“That means something other than the Steel Moles was involved.”
Serdic fell into thought. He was probably weighing whether to continue the pursuit without reporting the monsters’ infiltration past the fortress. In the worst-case scenario, if we were attacked while tracking them, the Western Front could suffer massive casualties without even knowing what hit them.
Eventually, he made his decision.
“I’m sorry to ask this of you all, but can we keep tracking? There’s a slim chance Jimmy is still alive. Your Highness, would you mind?”
“…You don’t need to beg. I wasn’t planning to stop anyway. Let’s hurry. I can roughly tell where it leads.”
Regina lightly tapped the ground around the hole, detected a faint depression, and took off running in that direction. Before long, we came across an even larger pit than the previous one. Dried bloodstains were visible at the entrance.
“It’s inside. This looks like their nest.”
“This blood… It’s about three days old.”
“…Three days matches when Jimmy disappeared.”
“Yeah. He was probably eaten here.”
Everyone’s faces darkened at the implication of Jimmy’s death—everyone except Regina.
‘What the hell is going on?’
Just as my suspicions flared again—
“Get down!”
Regina’s warning rang out, and at almost the same moment, Isis yanked me backward.
Thud!
My face was buried in her chest. A suffocating tightness mixed with an odd sense of bliss. As I flailed my hands reflexively, Isis pulled me even closer, wrapping her other arm around my waist and leaping backward.
Whoosh-whoosh-whoosh!
Steel-like claws erupted from the ground, tearing into the spot we had just occupied.
Struggling to pull my face free, I turned my head to see the three extra squad members dangling from Serdic and Regina’s hands. After a brief moment in the air, Isis landed and released me.
“Luan! Stay right next to me!”
“Got it.”
Given our formation, Isis and I were already practically glued together. Holding our current positions wouldn’t cause any issues.
Serdic, who had similarly set down the extras, immediately drew his sword and shouted.
“Everyone, form a defensive circle! We don’t know when the next attack will come!”
At his cry, we rushed to gather in the center just as the ground began to churn violently.
Shhh-shhh-shhh!
It looked like earthworms made of soil were writhing. Five Steel Moles had surrounded us, circling and waiting for an opening.
A brief standoff followed.
Boom!
Like flying fish leaping from the water, a Steel Mole burst from the ground and charged, claws leading the way.
Clang-clang-clang!
“Ugh!”
The claws raked viciously across Abel’s shield before the creature dove back underground. They repeated this hit-and-run tactic, clearly aiming to wear us down.
Just as everyone clicked their tongues in frustration—
“Isis. Send them all flying. You can do it, right?”
“Yeah. Finish them off for me.”
After exchanging some kind of signal with Regina, Isis slammed her spear into the ground.
For Victory!
A silver wave spread outward from her unique skill, launching every Steel Mole in the area into the sky.
Immediately after, Regina fired an arrow. The flaming projectile split into five mid-flight and struck each mole, triggering massive explosions.
Boom-boom-boom-boom-boom!
The sheer force roasted the creatures to a crisp, sending them plummeting back to earth. A rich, meaty scent filled the air.
“Huh!? Th-this is…”
Serdic, who had been steeling his resolve for a prolonged fight, looked bewildered at how abruptly the battle had ended.
Isis bowed her head toward him.
“I apologize for acting on my own, Squad Leader.”
“N-no, it’s fine! That was incredible. As expected of the Student Council President. What an amazing technique. I feel much more confident now.”
Serdic smiled brightly. Whether he was genuinely pleased or simply thought it best to move on, the atmosphere didn’t turn awkward.
After confirming the Steel Moles were truly dead, he pointed at the pit.
“Let’s check inside. There might still be more of them, so stay alert.”
Following Serdic’s orders, we maintained our formation and slowly entered the tunnel. Fortunately, there were no remaining enemies. Only scattered bones that had been picked clean remained.
Serdic picked up an ordinary leather watch from among the bones.
“Hmm… This probably belonged to Jimmy. We should at least bring this back.”
We began gathering the remains. While everyone else carefully placed the bones into sacks, Regina tossed them in without a shred of care.
With Jimmy’s bones and belongings in hand, the group returned to the village.