Chapter 70

The Fairy and the Young Lord

“Monsters, you say.”

Ulrich, having received their attention, set down his teacup.

“What exactly did the traveling merchant say about these monsters?”

“Huh? Ah, from what I heard, they’re monsters—but they look like people.”

Elias brightened and began explaining what he had heard.

“They walk on two legs like humans, and they’re smaller than adults. When they were first spotted, people thought they were just some ugly demi-humans. But then their numbers started increasing, and now they’ve taken over the forest road and are attacking passersby.”

Ulrich rested his chin on one hand, deep in thought.

“I see.”

“So what do you think? Will you come with us?”

“Well… do you have any other thoughts about these monsters?”

Elias looked at him blankly, as if he had no idea. Ulrich shifted his gaze to Roberta. Though he said nothing, she understood his intent and answered.

“I suspect they are Kkul.”

Ulrich nodded.

“Explain in detail.”

“They are among the most intelligent monsters born from the demonic realm. You said they seem human, right? That’s exactly how they are. They craft tools and even form societies.”

At a glance, Kkul appear to be nothing more than humanoid monsters.

They are savage, as monsters are, but individually weak due to their small size. Like most monsters, their high reproductive rate makes them difficult to eradicate, so those encountering them for the first time often mistake them for insignificant creatures.

However, as a species, Kkul are extremely dangerous—precisely because of their high intelligence.

According to old records, during the chaotic period between the fall of the Second Empire and the rise of the Third, Kkul formed tribal societies and brought down several small kingdoms.

Even if their level was close to that of primitive tribes, the fact that creatures considered little more than beasts could form societies and destroy human kingdoms was no trivial matter.

“Since the founding of the Jokuster dynasty in our era, Kkul have not flourished again. But given their potential, we must not let our guard down.”

“Indeed. Individually they are easy to handle due to their size, but facing them as a group is an entirely different matter.”

“That serious…?”

“If they have gathered in numbers, it is worse than that. Elias, you would do well not to think of handling them alone with just the fairy.”

Hearing Ulrich’s firm statement, Elias glanced at Vermelani’s expression. It seemed she had already realized the nature of the monsters even before Roberta’s explanation—her face was stiff and tense.

Seeing this, Elias’s expression darkened. Greater danger meant a smaller chance she would permit it.

“However, that is only under the assumption that they’ve gathered in force.”

Watching him, Ulrich added,

“Since they have not left the forest to operate elsewhere, their numbers are likely still small. For now, it does not seem like a major threat. If you intend to hunt them, now would be the best time. Roberta, would you agree?”

“Yes. Kkul are dangerous because they form groups. When there are only a few, like now, they are easy opponents. Even just us would be enough to handle them.”

When she shifted her gaze to Fritz, the boy smiled as well.

“It would be a good chance to put what we’ve learned into practice.”

Ulrich nodded and turned to Vermelani.

“That settles it. We do not need payment. We plan to go hunt the monsters ourselves—what will you do? Will you join us, or part ways here?”

Her answer was slow in coming. It was clear she was conflicted. She wanted to refuse outright, yet could not.

Because Elias was staring at her.

…

Though he was fully grown, the young master—who still looked even more youthful than Fritz—was silently expressing his longing. She could not bring herself to reject it.

Yet agreeing was difficult as well. No matter how manageable they were said to be, monsters were still monsters. And she knew nothing about Ulrich. She could not help but worry that something might go wrong.

But if she withdrew now, would another opportunity arise that could satisfy the young master? And even if it did, would it be better than this?

If he turned back without experiencing anything, only regret would remain.

“When time passes and you look back, the things you could have done but didn’t tend to linger the longest. I have many regrets from what I’ve done—but even more from what I chose not to do.”

At Ulrich’s words, Vermelani sighed and rubbed her face.

“…If it is what the young master wishes.”

“Whoa!”

Elias shouted with delight.

“Of course I want to!”

With Elias and Vermelani joining them, Ulrich’s group now numbered five. They left the inn and mounted their horses.

Originally, they had planned to stay the night and depart the next day, but with their purpose changed to hunting monsters, they ate quickly and left the village.

Their destination was a two-day ride away. However, there were no settlements along the route. There were villages if they took a detour, but since Ulrich intended to head straight to the destination, they would have to camp.

Vermelani expressed concern, saying it was dangerous, but when she saw the young master’s sparkling eyes—experiencing camping for the first time—she had no choice but to give in.

“This is your first time camping?”

As the sun dipped beyond the mountains and dusk settled in, the five sat around a campfire, chatting.

“Yeah. I’ve stayed in barracks before, but that’s not really the same, right? Spending the night under the open sky without even a tent—this is my first time.”

Fritz looked at Elias with curiosity.

That was only natural. During this journey, Fritz had grown thoroughly accustomed to camping.

The one leading the journey had no aversion to it whatsoever, so they camped almost every other day. In the boy’s mind, traveling had come to mean camping by default.

“That’s not normal. Avoiding camping is what’s normal.”

Roberta added, trying to correct that misconception.

“Really…?”

The boy tilted his head in disbelief and looked at Ulrich, as if asking for confirmation. But Ulrich simply added more firewood to the flames without a word.

“Still, now that I’ve experienced it, I like it.”

Roberta shifted her gaze to observe the fairy. Though Vermelani sat by the fire, her attention remained fixed beyond the campsite, keeping watch.

“What made you come to enjoy adventure?”

Fritz asked.

“A reason… if I had to say, it would be something I heard when I was young.”

Elias spoke while staring into the fire.

“I had a weak body as a child. I received the sacrament, but it was too early, and my body couldn’t handle it. So I couldn’t leave my bed for a long time.”

It was a rare accident that occurred during the infant sacrament.

The ritual was meant to allow mana to take root within the body. But what if the body was too weak to contain it? A rite meant to strengthen life could instead become one that poisons it.

Elias had been born too early—and had received the sacrament too early as well. It was an accident born from his parents’ impatience to hasten his growth by infusing mana into his body.

“Until around the age of ten, I couldn’t even walk on my own. There were days when I would lose consciousness and sleep endlessly. I was told it wouldn’t be strange if I died at any moment. But thanks to my grandfather and Bel here taking care of me, I was able to recover like this.”

At that time, Elias’s grandfather—Vermelani’s former master—told the child stories of adventures from across the world, giving him hope.

To a child who had scarcely ever stepped outside his sickbed and knew nothing of the outside world, he showed just how vast and wondrous the world was.

“My grandfather used to be a wandering knight in his youth. He wasn’t originally meant to inherit the family, so he traveled here and there. He told me many stories from those days.”

The stories did not remain limited to his grandfather’s experiences. Since it took a long time for the boy to even stand on his own two feet, the grandfather eventually ran out of tales.

Later, he even invited bards and storytellers to continue telling stories…

He had also listened to tales of adventure.

“I made a promise back then. That if I could walk on my own two feet and leave my bedroom… I would travel the world. I would see a world as wonderful as the one my grandfather saw.”

The young master looked up at the night sky and smiled faintly. The sky was clear, with no clouds—only the moon and stars shining brightly.

Two days later, they arrived at the entrance of a forest.

At the entrance stood a monument, praising a wealthy noble who had constructed the forest road. It matched the marker the traveling merchant had mentioned.

“The mana density here is high.”

Roberta held her palms facing each other and gathered mana between them. For a brief moment, a spark flickered between her hands before fading.

“It’s a good place for monsters to settle.”

“Yes.”

Monsters are born from the demonic realm, and such realms form where dense mana accumulates and stagnates. Because of this, monsters are naturally drawn to places rich in mana and tend to establish them as their bases.

“Normally, places like this would already be occupied by mages or spiritists, so monsters wouldn’t be able to settle here. It seems mana has only recently gathered and stabilized.”

Roberta fixed her gaze on the path beyond the monument.

The road, long neglected and now devoid of travelers, was overgrown with weeds, and thick fog hung in the air.

At the forest’s edge, the visibility was merely dimmed, but the deeper one looked along the path, the denser the fog became.

“I will take the lead.”

Vermelani offered. As a fairy, she was naturally attuned to forests.

Even in an unfamiliar forest shrouded in fog, a fairy would not lose her way. Within the woods, their senses were beyond what humans could match.

“No need. Stay behind.”

Ulrich refused her suggestion and stepped forward as he had before.

“But… this is a forest.”

“Yes, a forest. But what we seek are monsters.”

He urged his horse forward along the forest path. The group followed behind him in a single line. The moment they entered, their vision began to turn white.

With each step, their field of view narrowed. Even trees right beside them appeared as vague shapes, easily mistaken for people at a glance.

“To track monsters, you follow mana. And in that regard, I am better suited than you—even if this is a forest, and you are a fairy.”

They remained alert, following closely behind him, but the thickening fog rendered their vigilance nearly useless. Even sound seemed to be swallowed by the mist, leaving their ears dulled.

Yet Ulrich continued to find his way through it.

“Young master, just keep your eyes on my back and follow. Don’t get distracted.”

“…Alright.”

He did not follow the forest road laid by the noble. Instead, he left the path entirely, forging a new route through the woods. Even the fairy followed without knowing where his path would lead.

After a long while, he came to a halt.

“Why did we stop?”

Fritz asked from just behind him, but Ulrich did not answer. Instead, he scanned the surroundings.

Each member of the group placed a hand on their weapon and followed his gaze, peering into the fog. All they could see was a pale, cloud-like world—and hear only each other’s breathing.

“This way.”

After a moment, Ulrich pulled the reins and turned his horse to the right. As they moved forward, a withered tree emerged through the mist—and beneath it lay two decaying corpses.

The bodies were so far decomposed that their original forms were unrecognizable. However, their humanoid skeletal structure and sharp, fang-like teeth remained.

They were Kkul.

“Could someone have come here before us?”

“It doesn’t seem so. Looks like they fought among themselves.”

Ulrich dismounted and examined the corpses.

“It must be because of this.”

He picked up a long branch lying beside the bodies. It looked like an ordinary branch one might find in the mountains, but upon seeing it, Vermelani let out a quiet exclamation.

“Ah… that’s a branch of a spirit tree.”

“A spirit tree?”

Elias tilted his head, and she explained,

“It refers to a tree inhabited by a spirit. Normally, spirits are born with their own form, but in some cases, due to certain circumstances, they remain dormant within another object.”

“I think I’ve heard of that. Like how materials containing spirits are used to make mana-infused equipment.”

“Spirits are made of mana. So if a spirit resides within something, it means that object contains mana. The reason these Kkul died was likely because of this branch.”

She added her speculation—that they had fought each other to monopolize the mana contained within it.

“It would sell for a great price.”

The branch was long. When stood upright, it reached just below Ulrich’s neck and was almost perfectly straight.

“I have no intention of selling it.”

“Will you use it yourself?”

Ulrich examined the branch for a moment, then shook his head.

“No. It should be entrusted to someone more suitable.”

He walked over to Fritz and extended his hand.