To the Ruins
To the Ruins
'When a large number of humans gather in one place, even more monsters swarm in.'
What I'd heard about the Seal Grounds and its monsters during the field trip was true.
I could see that all too clearly from the monsters swarming toward us.
The monsters charging our party of nearly a hundred numbered more than twice as many as we did. But even more terrifying was the fact that several different kinds were lunging at us at once.
When there were no humans around, the monsters formed their own ecosystem. But the moment humans appeared, both prey and predator monsters attacked us in unison.
With a small group, you mostly had to deal with just one kind of monster. But a large unit like ours inevitably attracted all sorts of monsters from far away.
"Form up!"
The Royal Knights at the front drew their swords and engaged the swarming monsters.
They showed exactly what it meant to be a knight: a noble capable of using an inherited ability.
Those with acceleration abilities sprang forward and scattered the wild dog monsters charging at us first. Behind them, those with physical-enhancement abilities—whose strength and stamina had been boosted—raised their shields to halt the monsters' advance.
Then the Mana Cultivation Technique ability users, standing one step behind, slipped between the shield-bearing knights and cut through the bodies of the monsters they'd stopped.
It was a fluid, seamless combination attack, as though they'd practiced their moves together tens or even hundreds of times.
They shattered the monsters' initial assault that way, but an immense number were still charging toward us.
Following the fallen monsters, all sorts of other beasts burst from the forest ahead.
"Fireball!"
Several monsters leaping over their fallen kin were wiped out by fireballs hurled from behind the knights.
Next, blades of water sliced through the steady stream of monsters, while vines bound them tight.
Lightning poured down, too, and the air exploded.
The noble officers in the rear had unleashed their respective abilities.
As expected, the wide-area attacks created by inherited abilities were on an entirely different level from what individual knights could do.
The number of monsters pouring out of the forest plummeted.
Alongside the noble officers, the Inherited Ability Faculty students also showed off their powers against the monsters. But unlike the officers, they seemed to have trouble dealing any real damage.
"It would be better to team up in pairs or trios and attack a single target."
Still, thanks to the noble officers' advice, the students gradually began to achieve meaningful results.
Finally, we students of the Knight Faculty took up our planned positions, surrounding the noble officers and Inherited Ability Faculty students and holding the line against the incoming monsters.
The Royal Knights were the shield guarding the front, our Knight Faculty was the armor, and the noble officers and Inherited Ability Faculty were the weapons.
The higher-ups who had devised this formation intended to operate the expedition as though it were a single knight.
It wasn't a bad plan—in fact, it was an effective formation. But it wasn't a particularly good strategy for the Knight Faculty students.
Since we kept moving forward, the main body of monsters clashed with the Royal Knights. But the Seal Grounds was a place where monsters poured in from every direction.
Monsters charged at us from other directions, too.
The armor made up of Knight Faculty students wasn't as sturdy as the shield formed by the Royal Knights.
It didn't break badly enough to leave those inside exposed, but we couldn't stop various parts of the armor from taking hits and getting damaged.
Facing a fiercer assault than I'd expected, I stayed close to the Princess and did my utmost to fight off the monsters.
I kept an eye on my surroundings as best I could, ready to help the other students. But the person I needed to watch most closely was, of course, Princess Aisha.
The monsters didn't keep coming in massive waves like that initial swarm, but they relentlessly attacked us as we advanced through the forest.
One or two Knight Faculty students began getting injured, and eventually, people started dying.
Contrary to my expectations, the first to die was the third-year senior who had spoken to me so kindly.
He'd dreamed of becoming the next-generation commander of the Royal Knights, but he couldn't dodge death's blade.
No—his kind nature was what killed him.
He threw himself into danger without a thought for his own safety to help the students nearby, and so he met his end earlier than anyone else.
As expected, the battlefield is a place where kind people die first.
The monsters kept attacking us, but we pressed forward all the same.
When the attacks stopped, we paused briefly to recover our strength. But most of the time, it was a nonstop march punctuated by combat.
By nightfall, after marching through the morning and afternoon, two more students had died. Both were from the Knight Faculty.
It was easy to understand why the Chaipree family's knight order had failed to explore the ruins fifty years ago.
Perhaps a small team of four or five could manage it, but surviving a journey through the Seal Grounds with a massive contingent seemed impossible without extraordinary preparation.
If even an expedition made up of the Royal Knights, noble officers, and Royal Academy professors and students was suffering casualties like this, there was no way a single family's knight order could hold out.
Perhaps Count Chaipree realized that as well, because his expression grew darker by the minute.
Before night fell, the expedition found a place to rest.
In the middle of the forest was a large clearing with enough room to accommodate the entire expedition.
With no trees around, we had a clear line of sight, and the flat ground seemed ideal for making camp.
Once the party had settled in, the Headmaster placed the box I'd seen before in the center of the clearing.
It was an item I'd seen during the field trip—a remarkable artifact that concealed the area around it from monsters.
When the Headmaster opened the box, a pillar of light shot into the sky, and the air around us shifted.
After leaving sentries on guard, the rest of the group began preparing meals and setting up camp.
That was when I realized just how extraordinary artifact bags and the noble officers' subspace abilities were.
Ingredients and camping gear poured endlessly from the bags and subspaces. Those who had arrived practically empty-handed were able to prepare sumptuous meals and comfortable lodgings, making it hard to believe we were in the Seal Grounds.
I'd packed personal gear and food ingredients into my artifact pouch, but it seemed there was no need to sneak them out after all.
"Somehow, I feel like I've lost."
"What do you feel like you lost?"
As I grumbled to myself, Balea nudged her way in.
This was clearly the campsite where the Knight Faculty students had gathered.
And Balea, of course, belonged to the Inherited Ability Faculty.
Yet after finishing her meal, she came over to our side and started chatting with the female students. And, of all things, she stuck right beside me.
I knew she had plenty of friends in the Inherited Ability Faculty, too, so I couldn't for the life of me understand why she was barging in here.
"It's nothing. More importantly, why are you here?"
"Obviously! I thought everyone might be feeling down, so I came to cheer you all up."
She answered my question energetically.
Just as she'd said, the mood among the Knight Faculty students wasn't good.
Three of our colleagues and friends had died in a single day.
All the casualties had been second- and third-years.
As a result, the first-years kept quiet, walking on eggshells around the upperclassmen. The second- and third-years tried to act as though they were fine, but the mood was thoroughly subdued.
"I'm from the Inherited Ability Faculty, you see. So I can liven things up without having to read the room so much."
Even if she wasn't from the Knight Faculty, she really should have been reading the room.
Truly an incomprehensible woman.
Still, thanks to her chatting with the Princess and the other female students, the gloomy atmosphere brightened a little.
Bria, however, had already witnessed death several times and seemed to be having a harder time than the others.
"How much further do we have to go?"
Was it post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)? This world was vastly harsher than my previous life, but struggling to cope with a comrade's death was no different from back then.
I answered her question absently.
"It'll probably take about one more day."
When I said that, everyone nearby who'd heard the question turned to look at me.
"H-How do you know that?"
"Even I haven't heard about that."
As the others looked bewildered and the Princess shook her head, I sighed inwardly.
It seemed I'd let that slip out of needless concern.
Now that I thought about it, there was no way I'd know the itinerary.
Neither the Senior Knight of the Royal Knights, nor the Headmaster, nor Count Chaipree had told us the schedule.
But I did have a way of knowing.
The map I possessed showed a route all the way to the ruins on its front.
When the map had been drawn, this area had been the heart of the Old Empire. Now, with the Demon King sealed away, it was overgrown with forests and vines. But having come this far, I could recognize features of the terrain that matched the map.
'Since the Chaipree County must have wandered around searching for the ruins with the map, it makes sense that I'd recognize the area once we got close.'
Even now, I could spot terrain features like those drawn on the front of the map. The small river flowing past the clearing was marked on it, as was the rocky mountain visible in the distance.
We seemed to be roughly halfway there, so one more day of walking should be enough.
The map contained more detailed markings, but unfortunately, most of the landmarks were buried beneath the dense forest and impossible to find.
Still, I could clearly tell we were heading toward the center of the Empire.
Right in front of my eyes, a broken dish lay rolling on the ground. It bore ancient patterns no longer seen today and was a piece of dishware from the Old Empire.
I spent quite a while lost in these random thoughts.
The others were still staring at me with sparkling eyes.
"I overheard it briefly while passing by."
In the end, I resorted to a flimsy lie.
At my words, the Princess and the other students nodded, but Balea looked at me strangely.
Even at a glance, it was clear she didn't believe a word I'd said.
"Come to think of it, though, I'm not sure we'll even be able to go inside the ruins."
Another first-year student nearby spoke up with a sigh.
His name was Leonel, if I remembered correctly.
He was a male student I'd spent a week with during the field trip.
"That's true. We're not ruins experts or anything."
"Since the noble officers and the Royal Knights came along, they'll probably explore the ruins. As for us, maybe we'll end up guarding the entrance."
The other students joined in.
After just one day, the overly optimistic students had returned to reality.
"Thinking about it that way, maybe everyone engaged in a useless war of nerves for nothing. It doesn't seem all that different from the other practical exercise groups."
Some students were feeling disillusioned...
"Still, since we got to see members of the Royal Knights, maybe we'll get bonus points in our interviews."
Others were trying to look on the bright side, even if only a little.
And as for me...
I glanced at the Princess.
Though she was still a young girl, she was conversing calmly, like an adult.
Unlike me, the Princess seemed like a genuine genius. She must have seemed that way to her two elder brothers as well.
It was clear the Princess would enter the ruins, and if she did, I'd end up taking part in the ruins exploration, too.
The next day, after losing one more student, the expedition finally arrived at an ancient ruin around dusk.
Inside the ruins was a path leading down to the underground ruins.
The Princess came to take part in the ruins exploration, along with a few students.
And I was one of those few students.