The Ruined Temple (1)
The Ruined Temple (1)
The second-year students and I returned to the Seal Grounds for the first time in a year.
The first-years teleporting alongside us seemed incredibly young.
Even though only a year had passed, it felt much longer than I had expected.
Just as we had a year ago, we arrived at the Seal Grounds—a terrain split between forest and jungle—using the Headmaster's teleportation ability.
Upon arriving, the students who had undergone teleportation began to dry heave, just as they had a year ago.
Although the second-years fared slightly better, only a few managed to suppress their dry heaving entirely.
"Gather in your groups! Check your equipment! This is the Seal Grounds! We don't know when monsters might strike!"
"Second- and third-years, look after the first-years! What are you doing? Do you bastards still think you're fresh-faced chicks?!"
The professors and knights, who had arrived ahead of us and were waiting, shouted at the students who were dry heaving.
The entire clearing was in utter chaos, but our group was different.
Unlike the other groups, which were made up of a mix of first-, second-, and third-years, ours remained exactly the same as it had been during our group project.
Unfortunately, the Administration Faculty didn't participate in practical lessons, so Mirisa had no choice but to be excluded.
But the Princess, Balea, and the Grand Archduchess were all in the same group, gathered around me.
Though everyone's face was pale, none of them were dry heaving.
"Is everyone alright?"
Katrin, who had arrived earlier, came over and asked.
Everyone shook their heads.
"Good. Let's rest for a bit, then move out after the Headmaster's address."
Katrin explained the upcoming schedule to the other group members, then turned to me and spoke.
"As you know, since I'm the supervising professor, you must tell me if you have any other plans."
Although sending our group project team separately into the Seal Grounds was an absurd decision, there was no way the Academy would send us off without taking any follow-up measures.
Katrin was accompanying us as our supervising instructor, and the Academy knights waving at me from over there—Knight Miro and Knight Axel—were coming with us, too.
Knight Miro and Knight Axel were the Academy knights who had been with me when we were stranded in the Seal Grounds last year.
They were knights of average skill, but they were familiar faces with decent personalities, so having them along wasn't a bad thing.
"By the way, is something worrying you? Your expression doesn't look good."
I was a little concerned that our traveling party had grown larger than expected, but that wasn't the reason.
The reason for my grim expression was the message window that had appeared before my eyes right after we teleported.
<You have arrived at the Seal Grounds. Would you like to set a new 'Save Point'?>
I couldn't help hesitating when I saw the message window.
This was the kind of window that would never appear unless something was about to happen.
The place where the sword rested might be a treacherous dungeon, or there might be dangerous monsters along the way.
Since trouble brewed every single time I came to the Seal Grounds, there was no way I could look pleased.
On top of that, I had to decide whether to establish a 'Save Point'.
Since it could be dangerous, I could have simply chosen 'No' and been done with it.
But even if I repeated everything, it didn't seem likely that I'd achieve a better outcome.
I had obtained a sword at the blacksmith's, gained an ability through the 'Knight's Sword' after the Knight Tournament, and acquired the 'Divine Sword' at the temple.
If I had to do it all over again, these would be difficult feats to replicate with the same results.
Besides, to obtain those abilities and swords, I would have to repeat the exact same steps all the way to this point.
In that case, it was better to do my absolute best here at the Seal Grounds.
Lastly, living the same life over again was incredibly exhausting.
Ultimately, I made my decision.
This time, I answered, "Yes."
While the other students regained their senses and gathered into their groups, the Headmaster, having recovered from the aftereffects of the teleportation, came over to us.
He surveyed our group with a thoroughly displeased expression.
Finally, his gaze landed on the two princesses, and he opened his mouth.
"I only permitted this because the two royals promised to take full responsibility if any problems arose. To be honest, I still do not approve of this, but I hope you return without any incidents."
As expected, the Princess and the Grand Archduchess seemed to have exerted their influence. It was a formidable power, producing results despite the Headmaster's opposition.
Although this decision was far removed from the First King's words about establishing an Academy that kept its distance from political power, the outcome wasn't so bad for me either.
I had wondered why the Headmaster had bothered to come over, but he was simply confirming that he bore no responsibility.
Talk about acting true to form.
Still, looking at the Headmaster's face, which resembled that of a weary middle manager, I felt a bit awkward criticizing him too harshly.
Once the Headmaster finished speaking, our group left the clearing with Katrin.
Seeing us leave the clearing first, the other students began whispering among themselves.
Judging by their expressions, it seemed that once this practical lesson was over, the Academy would be flooded with strange rumors once again.
Leaving the students behind, we stepped into the forest.
As I took the lead, cutting through the vines to clear a path, the group members followed behind me, while the knights and Katrin kept watch on our surroundings from the very back.
The knights keeping watch wore full plate armor, while we wore breastplates over our Academy uniforms.
The Grand Archduchess and Balea did the same.
It would have been better for the Princess to wear plate armor, but there was no armor that fit her frame.
Besides, the Princess found plate armor uncomfortable, just as I did.
The way she kept matching my actions almost made it look like she was copying me.
Each member of our party also carried their respective weapons and wore a light pack on their back.
We had to survive in the Seal Grounds for several days, so everyone needed to carry their own emergency rations.
Although the supplies weren't enough for a stay of several days in the Seal Grounds, it didn't matter because I had the rest.
I had a massive backpack slung over my back.
It was a relic backpack I had acquired during the break.
Since I hadn't had any use for the relic backpack until now, I had left it neglected in my dormitory room.
But with this trip to the Seal Grounds, I had dusted it off and brought it along.
Inside, food, tents, and outdoor camping gear were packed to the brim.
Once we were a fair distance from the clearing, I stopped and spoke to the others.
"I'll reconfirm our route."
I pulled a sword out of my backpack. It was the sword I had retrieved from the temple.
When I drew a sword longer than the backpack itself from inside it, everyone's eyes widened.
"Could that be... a relic backpack?"
At Knight Axel's question, I replied immediately.
"I borrowed it. Despite how it looks, the interior isn't actually that spacious."
Since they were bound to catch me pulling out other items anyway, I had decided to let them know it was a relic backpack.
But I couldn't let them think I actually owned it.
An Academy student carrying a relic backpack was unusual enough in itself.
And if they thought the relic backpack was mine, it would be more than unusual—it might arouse suspicion.
Since there weren't many items in the backpack right now, I had to make it look as ordinary as possible.
I could have shown them a relic pouch instead of the relic backpack, but the relic pouch was my secret weapon.
Although its capacity was smaller than the relic bag's, it allowed me to carry items stealthily, making it far more valuable to me than the relic backpack.
The knights accepted my explanation well enough.
They figured that since I was the son of the Duke of Gracia and was traveling with the Princess and the Grand Archduchess, I could easily borrow a low-capacity relic backpack.
But the others—the Princess, the Grand Archduchess, and Balea—didn't seem to believe me at all.
And judging by their deeply skeptical looks, it seemed no other excuse would work, either.
I decided to simply play dumb.
Grasping the sword in my hand, I channeled mana into it and flipped the switch.
Fortunately, the Mana Thread became visible.
This time, it was a single thread.
The Princess's eyes narrowed. She, too, had spotted the thread drawn in the air.
It couldn't be helped. Since we were traveling together, I couldn't keep hiding it forever.
Ignoring the Princess's intense gaze, I climbed the tallest tree nearby.
Even with a sword in one hand, I climbed the tree as effortlessly as if I were walking on flat ground.
Reaching the very top of the tree, I checked which direction the Mana Thread was pointing.
The Mana Thread stretched northward, extending far beyond the dense forest and jungle.
Fortunately, it didn't disappear past the horizon. Our destination lay within my line of sight.
What a relief.
If it were too far away, we would have had to turn back after merely confirming its location.
These Seal Grounds, where the Demon King was sealed, were as vast as a decent-sized kingdom. On top of that, the place where we'd arrived via teleportation was on the outer fringes of the Seal Grounds.
The likelihood of reaching our destination during the practical lesson hadn't been very high.
To be absolutely sure, I pulled another sword out of the backpack on my back.
Hum.
The moment I pulled it out of the backpack, a Mana Thread cut across the sky.
And this time I could even see the Mana Thread originating from the Marquisate.
"When all three sibling swords are connected, do they link to the sword further up, and when there's only one, does it link to the nearest sword?"
It was merely a hypothesis, but considering everything that had happened so far, it seemed quite plausible.
Having confirmed the location, I switched off the swords and put them back into my backpack.
At the same time, the priests and the Purge Squad members had also come to a halt.
The area around them was littered with monster corpses.
Because they had been moving rapidly in the direction indicated by the relic, they had run straight into a monster nest.
All the monsters in the nest had been annihilated, and the Purge Squad was currently cleaning up the aftermath so they could resume their march.
A priest approached the Purge Squad Leader, who was delivering finishing blows to the fallen monsters.
"Just now, there was another reaction. The previously confirmed location was correct."
"Have you figured out the reason why the reaction is occurring?"
"I am sorry. It is difficult to determine within the Seal Grounds."
"Understood."
The leader nodded at the apologetic priest.
"We are ready."
At the Shrine Knight's words, the leader began walking.
In the center of the nest, among the monster carcasses, a Shrine Knight lay still.
The knight was no longer breathing.
He had lost his life in the battle just moments ago.
As the leader stood before him, the knights and priests gathered around the deceased knight and closed their eyes.
The leader drove his sword into the ground and began to pray.
"Our brother who lies here today was a true believer who dedicated himself to his mission until the very end."
Though it was a prayer for his subordinate's final moments, the leader's voice was incredibly cold.
Yet no dissatisfaction could be seen on any of the priests or knights, all of whom had their eyes closed. "...We swear to inherit his will and carry out our mission to the very end."
The cold prayer concluded with an oath to God.
Unlike the chilly prayer, the oath resonated with incredibly firm resolve.
"We swear."
Leaving their comrade's corpse behind, they began marching toward their destination.
Among those who marched, not a single person turned to look back at the comrade they had left behind.