The Sinking Forest (1)
I glanced at Remiella, who was leading the way.
Her pointed ears, beautifully shaped like a high elf's, and the pure white nape of her neck below them were flushed red.
'Could she have heard... the sounds from last night when the three of us were making love?'
Elves had exceptionally keen hearing to begin with. And among them, a high elf noble like her.
So she might have heard every bit of Lucia and Rozette's moans echoing through the room all night long.
As it happened, Remiella was an outsider to the temple, so she'd been assigned a room on the same floor as ours.
Sure enough, when she stole a glance at Lucia and Rozette walking beside me, her ears twitched faintly.
'No way she's a virgin... is she?'
Actually, it occurred to me that she just might be. Remiella was the epitome of an elf—blonde hair, green eyes, and a stunning figure.
But she'd said she had devoted her life to the battlefield as a member of the Royal Knights. With her relentless dedication to duty, leaving no time for rest.
'She might not have had time for romance.'
It wasn't as extreme as dragons, but I'd heard many elves weren't proactive about reproduction. So it wasn't all that strange.
Her friend Tricia had been a virgin for a long time too. lost in such idle thoughts, I followed behind Remiella as she guided us.
And two hours later, our group finally reached our destination.
"Is this the Sinking Forest?"
Remiella nodded at my question.
"Yes, Your Highness Yulian."
At her words, Lucia and Rozette's expressions shifted.
'So they feel it too.'
The Primordial Forest was already brimming with magi. But this place was special. The mana pressure overflowing from all directions was far denser than anywhere else in the forest.
"This is where the great spirit mage and ancient spirit from the ancient empire era slumber together," Remiella explained.
As she said, the area was filled with spirits. From low-grade to high-grade ones, they floated about everywhere.
At that moment, Rozette cried out.
"Hng... Ah... Power... I can feel power gathering inside me...!!"
Rozette was the contractor of the Spirit King. Here, she was receiving buffs beyond imagination compared to the imperial capital.
But her voice had an odd tone to it. Perhaps recalling last night, Remiella blushed again at Rozette's moan-like cry.
"Ahem. In any case, this is a place where Royal Knights come whenever they hit a wall in their training. As you can see, the mana density here is incomparably thick—something you can't feel anywhere else."
But Remiella's expression wasn't entirely bright. Lucia wore a similar look, so they must have realized what this place meant.
"With mana this dense... it might actually make it hard to use proper mana acceleration techniques," Lucia said.
Remiella looked surprised at Lucia's words but soon composed herself.
"Lady Lucia trained at a human academy and became a high-level knight, yes? So it's no surprise she noticed that."
Remiella explained briefly. All mana awakeners absorbed and converted mana into their bodies similarly.
But mages and knights used mana in fundamentally different ways.
"Lady Rozette is a mage and spirit mage, so she can use nature's mana as-is, forming spells through formulas and circuits."
The actual refinement happened through magic circuits or spirits.
"Knights are different. They accelerate mana directly in their Mana Heart to refine it themselves."
In other words, they used their own bodies like living magic circuits.
Thus, mages needed the ability to compute circuits and spells in their minds at once.
And knights needed to constantly temper their Mana Heart to withstand the intense acceleration physically.
"So for knights using mana acceleration techniques, this oppressively thick density is actually poison."
"That's right, Your Highness."
Accelerating this high-density mana in one's Mana Heart would destroy the heart and Mana Roads before proper acceleration could even occur.
"That's why we Royal Knights call this forest the Sinking Forest."
The sensation of resisting that density felt like sinking into a deep swamp.
"But it's not entirely harmful. Skilled knights already have sturdy Mana Hearts and Mana Roads, so absorbing this dense mana and attempting acceleration is excellent experience."
Dense mana had recoil similar to extremely accelerated mana. Get used to it, and higher accelerations become possible later.
"But enduring that recoil... goes beyond sinking into a swamp—it's pain like your limbs are being torn apart. So entry is forbidden to any knight below 5th Tier."
Remiella glanced at me cautiously. Not disdain, but genuine worry.
But her words thrilled me.
"Looks like I came to the right place."
I resisted the swamp-like mana pressure crushing me and moved toward the forest's center.
"I sense an even thicker mana scent over there. If we're training, I'd like to do it right at the source."
Remiella raised her voice.
"Y-You mustn't go there!"
She blocked my path.
"There's a lake in the forest's depths! It's where this forest's dense mana pools into a literal puddle sunk into the ground! One wrong move, and the pressure could shatter your body..."
But I raised a hand to silence her.
"Remiella. Who am I?"
She fell silent. Her concerned expression didn't change, but she finally spoke.
"You are the son of the great Demon King of Cold Cruelty, His Majesty Lucipiel. And..."
With her own resolve, she continued.
"The one who will ascend as the new Demon King, Your Highness Yulian."
I nodded. In the end, Remiella stepped aside without further protest.
Lucia and Rozette stayed at the forest's midpoint, not following me.
That was where Remiella and other Royal Knights trained. Even ordinary mana awakeners would struggle to breathe there without doing anything.
"But both of you endured it splendidly. As expected, you're no ordinary academy students."
I nodded readily.
"They both have special blood like me. And having surpassed 5th Tier already, they can handle it fine."
"I... see. As expected of those acknowledged by Your Highness. Even regular Royal Knights must train there to become High Knights, but many give up unable to endure..."
Then, as if it just occurred to her, she asked.
"So, Your Highness took them as wives for that reason?"
A casual question, as if it were nothing. But I noticed her ears perking up.
Remiella seemed bad at hiding her inner thoughts.
"Not exactly. Both are women I connected with at the academy in the imperial capital."
"A-a love marriage, then."
She seemed flustered by her own words but explained defensively.
"Among high elves, the concept of romance is rare. We either don't date at all or marry arranged fiancés from allied families."
Of course, I had Lilia as a family-arranged fiancée too. Realizing her slip, Remiella turned away in silence.
'She's got a cute side.'
Unlike her straightforward, cool friend Tricia, Remiella's personality was the complete opposite. It was a bit surprising they were close.
But right now, I had something to ask her first.
"Hold on, Remiella. There's something I want to ask you about. The Centriac Knights and the Virea Mercenary Corps."
Her expression hardened coldly at my words.
"You're speaking of those cursed beings?"
I nodded. Just mentioning those groups made her ears tremble.
Unlike her earlier embarrassed twitch, this was pure rage.
"As Your Highness knows, the Centriac Knights are our Demon Kingdom's greatest enemies. The Virea Mercenary Corps is the same—they invade the Demon Kingdom constantly, enslaving demonkin."
I got basic info on the two groups from her. I knew the standard lineup of famous knights and mercenaries.
But Remiella had clashed with them directly on the battlefield, so her details were more precise.
"What about a guy named Chris? Chris, the captain of the Execution Squad."
Suddenly, Remiella went silent. This reaction was different—no ear twitch.
Her whole body shuddered involuntarily.
"The puppeteer... Chris?"
"So you know him. I want everything you know about that bastard."
"Why him..."
I stopped in place and faced her squarely.
"In two days, when we leave the Primordial Forest and head back to the capital, I plan to personally execute the rebel leader. And by that leader's side will be the puppeteer Chris. So I have to take him down myself."
Remiella's face paled.
"Your Highness plans to do it personally?! You are His Majesty Lucipiel's sole heir! You mustn't face that monster directly! If you must eliminate him, let me..."
An unexpectedly vehement reaction. No, it was clear fear of Chris.
I calmed her.
"You're a demonkin, so coming to the heart of the capital would be trouble. Besides, the Royal Knights have a mission against the southern Centriacs, don't they?"
"But... that man, Chris, is too dangerous!"
"Calm down first. Then tell me everything about him in detail?"
Remiella quieted. After a moment's thought, she spoke.
"The puppeteer Chris. He's a necromancer who's existed for centuries without dying."
Remiella and I finally reached the heart of the Sinking Forest.
It was an ominous place, unrecognizable as part of the same Primordial Forest. Everywhere else, massive trees towered.
But here, every tree was withered like ancient stumps.
"The Primordial Forest's trees are all magic trees grown from the World Tree's roots. But even they can't properly absorb mana this dense, causing this."
Mana rose around Remiella's body. To resist the heightened density, she was using mana acceleration.
Beyond the clearing where we stood lay a lake. Not a large one—more like a small reservoir, barely qualifying as a lake.
Yet its blue glow was darker and deeper than the blackest black. The intensely dense mana warped even the surrounding light.
"You can start training here. But approaching that lake is extremely dangerous. It's not water—it's a mana lake. Even brief contact could harm your body..."
"Hold on, Remiella."
I removed the rosario from my neck and handed it to her.
"As long as this rosario's emerald light doesn't fade, my life is in no danger. Don't worry. Guard the area until I return."
"Y-Your Highness? What's this all of a sudden... Your Highness! No!!"
But before Remiella could react,
I shot forward. And plunged straight into the mana lake.