The Real Mission Starts Now
A wet slash split the air. Raon took the head of a goblin that had been about to fire a poison needle at their guide, then cleaved the kobold charging in behind it—club and all.
"Th-thank you."
He nodded at Kanbar's gratitude and spread his perception even finer.
From the east this time.
The gaze that had been watching every last trainee was coming from the east now. It seemed to have shifted from west to east.
Now I know. I know where I've felt that gaze before.
Raon flicked the blood from his blade, his mouth drawn into a hard line.
Eden.
Eden was one of the Five Demons, the so-called darkness of the continent—and among every faction that existed in the world, they were easily in the running for first or second place when it came to sheer lunacy.
Their goal was Reversion.
A thousand years ago, humans had been hunted by monsters and shunned by every other race. Eden looked upon that age of despair and called it paradise. They wanted to return to it—and to resurrect the god of monsters.
They were, in every sense, a congregation of madmen. Unfortunately, madness was not all they had. Their martial power rivaled even House Zieghart's.
They commanded monsters the way a tamer would, and they wielded monster abilities while still wearing human flesh. How they handled such grotesque power was a secret not even the great houses of the continent had ever uncovered.
Except…
Raon knew Eden's secret.
Thanks to Derus Robert.
The mana-stone theft mission Derus had assigned had thrown them against Eden. Ten teams of Shadows. Ninety people, slaughtered to the last. The only one who walked out of that hell alive had been Raon himself.
But how did that bastard know?
Looking back on it now, Derus had known from the very beginning that Eden used monster mana stones. How one of the Six Kings had come by that knowledge—and why he had never revealed it—Raon still could not say.
"You. What are you thinking right now? This King senses a rage both deep and dense."
Wrath surged up over the bracelet, radiating a thick wave of frost.
"Nnh…"
Raon frowned. The moment Derus Robert crossed his mind, fury boiled up inside him—and he could not decide whether that was a blessing or a curse.
"Hah…"
He let the rage drain out on a long breath and tracked the gaze that was still boring into them.
They're looking for the Goblin King's mana stone, most likely.
If Kanbar was right, this mountain would hold a mana stone that had formed over time after the Goblin King's death. Mana stones came in many kinds, but the only ones Eden ever hunted were those of named-class monsters.
That also explains why the monsters have been standing around like idiots.
Eden was feeding them the monsters so that Raon and the trainees could finish quickly and leave.
They have no intention of attacking us.
Whether it was to stay clear of Zieghart's notice, or to prepare for instructors and swordsmen who might have followed them in, Eden seemed determined not to show themselves.
Going this far… it must be something they truly need.
The Goblin King's mana stone buried in this mountain was, without a doubt, of enormous importance to Eden.
For now…
Raon took the head of an orc that had lumbered into reach, eyes narrowing.
I have no choice. We leave it alone.
The instant anyone touched the mana stone on this mountain, the Eden operatives nearby would swarm them like bees. Raon might survive it. The trainees and the villagers would all die. Poking a beehive was a fool's errand.
The smartest play was to pretend he knew nothing, kill the monsters, and go home.
"The monsters are running! Hunt them down to the last one!"
Raon lifted his head at Burren's ringing shout.
"Let's go. It'll be over soon."
He offered a false smile to Kanbar, who had finally steadied himself. A faint bitterness bloomed on his tongue, as if he had been chewing tree roots.
The monster subjugation that had begun at dawn went smoothly, and they reached the mountain's peak before the sun had even set.
"Kieeeek!"
At the orc shaman's shriek from the summit, orcs, kobolds, and goblins came pouring in—a green swarm of bees, rushing them all at once.
"This is the last of them!"
Burren thrust his blood-soaked sword at the sky.
"A cornered rat will bite a cat. Do not let your guard down. Fight to the very end!"
"RAAAAH!"
Burren charged, green aura coiled around him, and the trainees roared as they kicked off the earth.
"Hup!"
Raon ran forward as well, Kanbar at his back, cutting monsters down as he went. He held his swordsmanship in check so that he would not stand apart from the other trainees.
They're still watching.
He knew the gaze for what it was now. An Eden scout called the Crimson-Eyed Ghost—a creature that possessed the tracking ability of a Search Eye, a monster that was nothing but a sparrow-sized eyeball, floating in the air.
"Almost there!"
Burren shouted as he split the flames the orc shaman had belched forth. The instant he lunged for the shaman, a massive sword dropped from the sky.
The impact boomed like the mountain itself had shuddered. Dust exploded outward in a choking cloud.
When the haze finally thinned, the orc shaman lay crushed to pulp, and Marta stood over it with her sword driven into the earth.
"That one was mine."
"Tsk."
Burren scowled, but he read the field in a heartbeat and spun around.
"The orc shaman is dead! Nothing left but small fry—finish them properly!"
"YEAAAAH!"
The trainees, tasting the first real chance of completing their opening battle, dragged up every last drop of remaining aura and swung for all they were worth.
Raon cut down the orcs around him without effort, then drifted back to Kanbar's side. He spread an aura barrier so that not a word would carry, and called to him.
"About what you said earlier. The Goblin King."
"Ah—yes."
Kanbar bent at the waist as he answered.
"After the Goblin King was slain, were any gems or treasures ever found in this mountain?"
"Ah, well…"
Kanbar hesitated, unwilling to speak too quickly.
"There were, then."
"Yes. That's right. I could hardly lie to my benefactor. When I was a child, the village chief dug a red gem out of the mountain peak."
"Where is it now?"
"Buried in the floor of the chief's house, as I understand it. The village has been warm ever since. Most people wouldn't know a thing about it."
"I see…"
Raon bit down on his lip.
That changes everything.
If Eden tore this mountain apart and came up empty, they would hit Sebu Village next. Those lunatics had never been known for their patience.
"We won!"
"First mission, complete!"
"WOOOO!"
The trainees, having taken the peak and cut the monsters down, threw their voices at the sky.
"Hmph!"
Burren looked at Raon with his sword still in hand. The expression on his face said he had carried out the role he'd been given, and carried it out well.
Raon did not answer that look. He only narrowed his eyes. His thoughts were a snarl.
"YEAAAAAH!"
Burren took the silence for acknowledgment and let out a roar louder than anyone else's. Runaan, pleased by the victory in her own quiet way, gave a small nod.
"So noisy."
Marta picked at her ear as if none of it mattered and glanced at Raon.
He watched the cheering trainees for a moment, then looked down at Sebu Village. Smoke was rising over roofs of every color, and the sight only made his chest tighter.
If they find out the mana stone isn't in this mountain—if they find out it's in the village…
All that would be left of that place was smoke.
The moment they returned to the village, a festival broke out.
For a while, at least, no one would have to worry about monsters—and that thought put a bloom of laughter on every villager's face.
"You've worked so hard."
"Thank you!"
The village chief and the townspeople bowed to the trainees one by one, offering their thanks.
"We merely did what we had to."
Burren waved them off with a pleasant smile. They had finished the mission without a single casualty, and his face was bright as a lit magic lamp.
"Thank you for everything you've done for our village."
The chief bowed to Raon as well, standing a little behind the others.
"This fellow here said you were truly remarkable, swordsman. Thank you for protecting him."
"I'll be honest—I had my doubts at first. But your swordsmanship is the real thing."
The chief pointed at Kanbar and beamed. Kanbar smiled too.
"It was nothing."
Raon returned a calm smile. The chief and Kanbar thanked him once more, then moved on to greet the other trainees.
"Hah…"
The look in their eyes made his chest ache. He wanted to tell them. But the entire village was under watch. One wrong word, and they would all be wiped out where they stood.
"You don't look happy."
Runaan sat down beside him and tilted her head.
"Want ice cream?"
She started to pull out the square box she had been hiding in her clothes.
"No."
Raon smiled and shook his head.
"Okay."
Runaan tucked the box away again, looking faintly disappointed. She had wanted, it seemed, to share the joy of ice cream together. The thought was so endearing that a laugh slipped out of him.
"What do you think you're doing! Why would you throw away a chance to eat ice cream?!"
That's not what matters right now.
"Nothing matters more than ice cream! Call the girl back this instant!"
Ugh.
Raon forcibly shoved Wrath—who was even more worked up than when he was being teased—back into the bracelet.
"So."
He looked up at the voice from the tree. Marta was gazing down at him, an apple in her hand.
"Did it go the way you figured? I still don't know what you even wanted."
"I don't really know either."
Raon shook his head. He couldn't speak of it now. There was nothing he could say.
"Don't worry about it. However this turns out, I'll follow your orders until the mission's done."
Marta met his eyes once, then dropped down from the branch.
"Out of the way, all of you!"
She claimed the dead center of the table where the food was being laid out. Typical.
"Let's go."
Raon stood and jerked his chin at Runaan.
"Mm."
Runaan nodded and walked toward the table.
They had prepared in earnest. Dishes of every kind, all of them looking delicious, stood in a dense row—so many it seemed the villagers had gone too far.
"There's still plenty of food we prepared for all of you. Please, eat as much as you like!"
"Thank you!"
"Enjoy yourselves!"
At the chief's and the villagers' cheers, the trainees threw up their hands and started inhaling the food.
Raon let out a thin breath. The laughter, the smell of the cooking—all of it sat wrong in his stomach.
Tomorrow. Tomorrow is what matters.
The next morning, Burren led the trainees out of Sebu Village. The townspeople followed them for more than twenty minutes, waving the whole way.
Went well.
Burren smiled as he climbed the hill that looked back over the village.
It was perfect.
They had cleaned out every monster on Sebu Mountain. Not a single death, not a single serious injury. A handful of light wounds, and that was all. For a first mission, he could call it a complete success.
He glanced behind him.
Raon was walking with his eyes on the ground, sunk in thought. He had not asked for command back. He was simply following, quiet, at Burren's rear.
Of course he is.
There had been no gaps in Burren's command. Aside from Marta taking the orc shaman's head at the end, the operation had been flawless.
I don't know what he wanted to see—but he must be satisfied.
Raon had handed him command and told him to show a manner worthy of Zieghart. Whatever he had been after, there would be no complaints now.
"Pick up the pace!"
Burren and the trainees walked north toward the Zieghart Domain, their chests full of a deep, swelling satisfaction.
They had been walking for more than five hours, the sun just beginning to slip from the center of the sky, when Raon Zieghart—who had been silent the entire way—stepped forward.
"Everyone halt."
"What's this all of a sudden…"
The instant Burren met Raon's eyes, his mouth shut. Those irises, burning a raw and vivid crimson, caught the breath in his throat.