Chapter 127

“Are you okay? You’re not hurt, are you?”

Milia suddenly stood up and came over to me. Her slightly unfocused eyes were filled with concern.

“Am I hurt? You can tell just by looking at me, right, Milia? I’m all bandaged up, and my armor is cracked in several places.”

“See, I told you. I said if we waited here, he’d show up on his own. Nothing to worry about, right?”

Freide, who hadn’t even gotten up from her seat, nodded calmly. Her tone made it sound like my return was a given.

“Freide-senpai was also restless…”

“Milia?”

“Ah, it’s nothing! Just as Freide-senpai said!”

Milia nodded her head vigorously. Huh, Milia’s attitude is way more respectful than I expected. Like a chick meeting a wildcat. Did she get disciplined while I wasn’t looking?

“Nothing to worry about? If you knew what I went through, you wouldn’t be saying that.”

I plopped down among the group and complained. Only then did Freide seem to notice my injuries, her eyes narrowing.

“Good heavens, look at these wounds! What happened to your face? Here, put this on.”

Milia hurriedly pulled out bandages and some ointment.

“Ointment?”

“It’s a remedy used by folk healers. Not very effective, but… Ha-shal-leur, recovery potions don’t work on you, right? I brought it just in case.”

“Thanks. As always, Milia’s the only one who worries about me.”

“What are you talking about? I was worried too, you know?”

Freide brushed her hair back and grumbled.

Milia carefully removed the blood-soaked bandages and gasped when she saw the puncture wound on my shoulder. Well, that does look pretty serious.

“…The wound is pretty bad. What did you fight to end up like this?”

“Monsters close to the level of masters.”

“Not even masters, but close to masters, and you got beaten up like that?”

Freide asked, sounding like she couldn’t believe it. Well, from her perspective, it’s understandable. She didn’t see them herself. It was just bad compatibility for me. If they had two pairs of limbs, I would’ve won without major injuries.

“There were three of them with eight limbs each. Their bodies were disgustingly tough.”

I even gave them a name: Locust Centaurs.

“Ah, if it’s those kinds of monsters, they would be troublesome.”

Freide nodded.

Troublesome is an understatement. I only won because it was me. If Freide’s group had been there, they’d be dead.

“Yeah. While I was struggling to survive, you guys were here relaxing, huh?”

Even if you trust my skills, you could’ve at least pretended to look for me. Makes me feel a bit sad.

“Relaxing? We had a tough time too, you know?”

Freide snorted and thrust out her chest. Not that I was supposed to admire her small chest… but judging by the torn clothes, they must’ve been busy fighting something too.

“A princess like you shouldn’t be saying ‘tough time.’ You should use more refined language.”

“Of all people, I never thought I’d hear that from you. This is humiliating.”

“You’re so cynical. I always speak properly. Right, Milia?”

“Huh? Uh, yeah… I guess…?”

Caught off guard by the sudden question, Milia stammered her answer. “I guess”? That’s a bit harsh, Milia. I’ve always been honest with you.

“Milia, wrap some more bandages around Ha-shal-leur’s head. I think he might’ve hit his head pretty hard.”

“Uh… well, his head seems fine…”

Milia, fumbling, pulled out a fresh bandage and started wrapping it around my head, as if following Freide’s orders.

Milia, I can’t believe you’re betraying me like this…!

I reached out to stop the bandage wrapping around my head. Freide chuckled at the sight.

“Milia, that was a joke, a joke. No need to take it so seriously.”

“No, it’s not that. Ha-shal-leur, your forehead is also torn. Stay still. I’ll patch it up now.”

Ah. Now that I think about it, it got torn when I shattered the Locust’s greatsword. It’s not a big wound, so I forgot about it.

—-

“So, what exactly did you do to have such a hard time?”

“Obviously, monster hunting. Damien had the toughest time, though.”

“Damien?”

Freide nodded. Damien… now that I think about it, he hasn’t said a word since earlier. I thought he’d at least chime in once.

I rolled my eyes to glance at Damien. I couldn’t turn my head fully since Milia was still bandaging me.

Damien was sitting with his head down, arms crossed, leaning against the wall. A low, quiet breathing sound could be heard.

…He’s asleep. No wonder it’s so quiet.

Damien also looked a bit different. His armor was scratched all over, and the inner lining of his clothes was torn, revealing his skin.

The most noticeable difference was the greatsword leaning against the wall.

The black iron greatsword Asha made for him was nowhere to be seen. Instead, there was an old-looking steel greatsword leaning against the wall.

The hilt and base of the blade looked worn out, as if they could break at any moment, but the blade itself still shone with a sharp light. A faint magical energy seemed to circulate around the surface of the sword.

…That looks similar to the weapon the Locust was using.

“That guy, where did he throw his own sword…?”

“That black iron greatsword? It completely melted.”

Freide shrugged her shoulders.

…Melted? A half-human sword made of black iron?

What on earth did these guys fight against?

“What exactly happened?”

“It’s a long story…”

Freide began to speak.

======[Freide]======

“Ha-shal-leur!”

A scream-like shout echoed throughout the room.

Ha-shal-leur was enveloped as if buried in the bursting light.

Milia, horrified, desperately reached out, calling her name, but before her fingertips could even touch, Ha-shal-leur vanished without a trace.

Her empty hand pitifully sliced through the air.

Freide also tried to grab Ha-shal-leur’s shoulder to pull her away from the door, but she was too startled by the sudden flash to react in time.

When the light subsided, there was nothing left in front of the door.

Ha-shal-leur had disappeared.

Milia, her face pale, looked at Freide.

She was so panicked that she seemed ready to grab Freide’s shoulders and shake her.

“Senior Freide! Ha-shal-leur…!”

“Wait, wait, calm down.”

Freide reached out to stop Milia.

Freide was equally panicked.

But unlike the others, she was a senior who had been through various experiences, so she didn’t want to show her panic and add to the confusion of her juniors.

It would have been shameful both as a senior of the academy and as a princess of Faelun.

Her mind was spinning.

‘Magic. High-level magic at that… What was the effect?’

A strong light, vibrations, and the disappearance of one person.

‘Was it an attack spell? …No. The aftermath is too minimal for an attack. No heat, no shock. Not even a trace.’

Freide internally dismissed the possibility of it being an attack magic.

Even with all her magical knowledge and experience, she had never heard of an attack spell that could erase someone without a trace.

There were spells that could burn someone to ashes or melt them completely… but such spells always left some trace.

Be it ashes or a pool of foul-smelling liquid.

And if it were an attack spell of that magnitude, the aftermath would have been felt by those nearby.

Concentrating flames on just one person without spreading any heat to the surroundings? Not even a high-level magician could pull that off.

‘Then what? Invisibility? No, if that were the case, she would have revealed herself still being here. Ha-shal-leur definitely disappeared from this place.’

As the light faded, Ha-shal-leur’s presence vanished as if it had never been.

‘It’s like… a monster appearing and then disappearing. If that’s the case…!’

Except for the fact that it was a pure white light instead of dark miasma, the phenomenon was eerily similar.

Freide, having finished her thoughts, looked at Milia and Damien.

Milia was trembling, her gaze fixed solely on Freide, while Damien tilted his head, tapping the door with his greatsword.

‘What a peculiar personality.’

Freide muttered to herself as she explained her reasoning to them.

“It’s probably not an attack spell. The aftermath is too weak. From what I can tell, it seems like summoning or teleportation… something along those lines.”

She had heard that teleportation magic was only theoretical and had never been successfully cast, but the same could be said for the permanent magic lamps that had been lighting the ceiling since earlier.

“So, she got sucked into the door or something? Maybe we should test it…”

Damien gestured toward the door, looking like he was about to place his palm on it.

“Da-Damien?”

“Hmm, not a bad idea… but I’m not sure if it’ll work. Ha-shal-leur and I both touched the door at the same time, but only she disappeared. Let’s check.”

Freide placed her hand on the door again.

…Nothing happened.

“Still nothing. I don’t know what the criteria are, but it seems only Ha-shal-leur can activate the magic on this door.”

‘It’s not gender… or religion. Neither Ha-shal-leur nor I have any connection to ancient religions. So, lineage? Or perhaps combat prowess?’

Freide had hit the nail on the head.

Though she didn’t know if it was the correct answer.

The only thing she was certain of was that, unlike Ha-shal-leur, they couldn’t activate the door’s magic.

“Should we break the door?”

Damien raised his greatsword, ready to split the door in half if given the go-ahead.

“No. Let’s keep that as a last resort. There’s no guarantee there’s a passage behind this door. If it’s summoning or teleportation, the other side of the door might just be a wall, and Ha-shal-leur could have been sent somewhere entirely different. In that case, recklessly breaking the door might make it impossible for her to return.”

Damien nodded at Freide’s explanation.