Chapter 125
This Hellish Place (2)
It was unusual right from the start.
That was Reis’s impression after seeing Ludwig’s post.
It was remarkable enough that he had created a fixed nickname immediately after logging in, but he had even used his real name.
Considering that fixed nicknames could never be changed once created, it was all the more astonishing.
But what shocked her even more was that he had revealed his face as proof of his identity.
People normally authenticated themselves by writing their names on a piece of paper, but Ludwig had openly shown his face.
“Commander.”
“Speak.”
“You do realize that your face is fairly well-known, don’t you?”
If he had not been famous, this might have ended as nothing more than a minor incident.
Ludwig, however, was a warrior through and through. He knew absolutely nothing about the Gallery.
Other people had at least heard a little about it, but he had devoted himself solely to martial arts.
Under normal circumstances, his face should therefore have been known only within the Holy Kingdom—and more specifically, within the Holy Knight Order.
“I do not believe I am that well-known.”
“You showed your face during the Hero’s desertion incident. Everyone probably knows what you look like now.”
“I see. I only read the newspaper occasionally.”
“Good grief. At least write something in the comments. The damage is already done.”
Following the Hero’s desertion, Ludwig had been forced into the public eye.
He had taught the Hero martial arts and had also educated her in various other fields.
Because of that, he had been dragged to trial under the accusation that he had planted “subversive ideas” in her, causing the Goddess to deliver her ominous prophecy.
His face had been exposed by the press during the proceedings, and the numerous testimonies had made him a reluctant public figure.
‘But is this really all right? There must be someone monitoring the Gallery in real time.’
Reis glanced out of the carriage window.
The investigation team included not only holy knights but also personnel assigned to assist them.
They were called assistants, but in truth, they were watchdogs sent by the Pope’s faction to prevent the knights from trying anything suspicious.
There was no reason those people would not use the Gallery as well. They must have seen Ludwig’s post.
Scribble, scribble—
Meanwhile, Ludwig wrote something in his notebook.
He stared intently at the page for a moment before putting it away again.
After watching him, Reis accessed the Gallery.
Ludwig had just posted another message.
└ I saw that man’s face in the newspaper. Didn’t he testify during the Hero’s desertion incident?
└ Probably. Ludwig is a common enough name, but even his surname is the same.
└ Isn’t he just role-playing? He probably made the account in a hurry after Grylls said he’d give him a gift.
└ You can still say that after seeing his face? Kekeke.
└ If he really wants to prove it, he should write his name and today’s date on a piece of paper.
└ LudwigVanerold) [Photograph of a piece of paper bearing his name and the date] Will this suffice?
└ Wow. He really is the real deal. Kekekekeke.
└ That man was put on the investigation team? I thought it was only a rumor;;
└ The Holy Kingdom bastards really are purging everyone they don’t like. Kekekekeke.
└ And they keep calling it an “investigation” instead of a purge. Kekeke.
└ Ah, kekeke. They weren’t killed. They were merely “reported missing.” Kekekeke.
└ DontAbandonTheHero) Why would Mr. Ludwig…? Why were you assigned to the investigation team?
└ LudwigVanerold) I received an order. That is all.
└ DontAbandonTheHero) I see. Understood.
└ What’s wrong with the manager all of a sudden? Didn’t they usually end every sentence with an exclamation mark?
└ Right? Wasn’t there a rumor that they used to be a holy knight?
└ Ludwig was an instructor for the Holy Knight Order. He trained the Hero too.
└ I guess this must be pretty upsetting for them.
“…”
They had openly revealed the entire situation.
Reis suppressed a hollow laugh.
But what did it matter if they said it aloud? It was already public knowledge, so revealing it changed nothing.
They called it a disappearance, but Eldorado had assembled the investigation team both as a purge and as a warning to others.
‘I want to see Asella’s face.’
At times like this, she missed the Hero, Asella.
She had been an innocent yet levelheaded woman.
There was something truly remarkable about the way she delivered brutally weighty truths with a bright, innocent smile.
After browsing the Gallery for some time, Ludwig suddenly exclaimed in wonder.
Wondering what had happened, Reis accessed the Gallery as well, but nothing stood out.
Just as she tilted her head in confusion, something changed beside Ludwig.
Swoosh!
“Huh?”
It was a sword—a long sword with a dull silver sheen.
It had appeared out of nowhere atop Ludwig’s thighs.
That could mean only one thing.
Grylls had sent Ludwig a gift.
“Oh.”
Ludwig, however, seemed more impressed by the fact that the item had appeared than by the gift itself.
Instead of admiring the sword, he had exclaimed the instant it materialized.
He reacted like a father encountering some strange new technology for the first time.
“Commander? What in the world is that?”
“A man named Wild Grylls gave it to me. He told me to use it to reach the place where he is.”
With that dull-looking sword?
Reis gave it a doubtful look.
It looked like a thoroughly unimpressive weapon. An ordinary steel sword appeared far superior.
“What kind of sword did he say it was?”
“I cannot tell you. He asked me to keep it a secret.”
“…”
Did it possess some other ability?
Reis looked at it skeptically.
It was Wild Grylls’s gift, and it had fallen into Ludwig’s hands of all people.
That would make it difficult for the watchdogs to confiscate it by force.
They were members of an investigation team, after all, not prisoners.
Creak—
Not long after Ludwig received the sword, the carriage came to a halt.
Normally, there was only one reason for a carriage to stop: to take a break.
But they had rested only thirty minutes earlier.
That left only one possibility.
“We have arrived. Everyone, disembark.”
They had reached the entrance to the Forest of Four Seasons.
So the inevitable had finally come.
Reis squeezed her eyes shut.
She did not want to get out.
She did not want to go.
If she entered, she would die.
All manner of tormented thoughts flooded her mind, but they did not last long.
Ludwig was preparing to disembark with his new sword in hand.
Reis stared at him, silently asking whether he truly intended to obey without resistance.
Ludwig met her gaze before turning his head away.
It was a silent declaration that he would not answer.
Reis sighed.
‘This is far too disappointing.’
Ludwig could be frustratingly inflexible, but he was not entirely incapable of adapting.
She could not tell whether he had surrendered to authority or simply fallen into despair.
Barely managing to contain her gloom, Reis stepped out of the carriage.
Outside, the holy knights and the watchdogs assigned to the investigation team were all staring in the same direction.
“There it is.”
“…”
They were looking toward the place known as the entrance to the Forest of Four Seasons.
Even its appearance was anything but ordinary.
An aurora—a phenomenon said to be visible only in regions of extreme cold.
A brilliantly colored aurora completely covered the entrance to the Forest of Four Seasons.
Beyond it stretched a variety of landscapes.
One section contained nothing but leafless trees.
Another was a desert filled with nothing but sand.
Another was a snow-covered mountain battered by raging blizzards.
And another was a perfectly ordinary forest.
This was why it was called the Forest of Four Seasons.
No one knew where they would begin once they entered, and no one who entered could ever escape.
That was why it was called an inescapable labyrinth.
“…It’s damnably beautiful, at least.”
Ludwig silently nodded at Reis’s bitter assessment.
Behind that beautiful phenomenon, an endless hell undoubtedly awaited them.
It was a region that could not be explained by magic, science, nature, biology, or any other field of study.
“Well, well. It has been a long time since I last came here, but it truly is beautiful.”
As the Holy Knight Order stared at the entrance to the Forest of Four Seasons, a man’s voice came from behind them.
Reis turned around and faced the speaker.
“To think that hell lies hidden behind such beauty. Do you not find it ironic?”
A beaming smile and plump cheeks.
A short, squat build.
Greed seemed to ooze from his blunt nose and drooping eyes.
“…Archbishop Odon.”
Reis frowned as she spoke his name.
Her expression openly displayed her displeasure. It was anything but a friendly reaction.
And for good reason.
Odon belonged to the Pope’s faction.
More than that, he served as the Pope’s loyal henchman.
At present, he was the leader of the watchdogs tasked with confirming that the investigation team entered the Forest of Four Seasons.
Clank—
As the archbishop stepped forward, the holy knights escorting him formed a line at his side.
Unlike Ludwig and Reis, who had revealed their faces, they wore helmets.
Reis turned away as if she wanted nothing more to do with them.
Even as conversations continued behind him, Ludwig merely stared silently at the Forest of Four Seasons.
Perhaps because of his taciturn appearance, an oppressive aura slowly emanated from him.
His role was to prevent the investigation team from attempting to resist.
“Please do not look so displeased, Lady Reis. If you refuse this mission, His Holiness will be most displeased.”
“Fuck off.”
“That sharp tongue of yours has not changed. It only makes me like you even more.”
Odon stared at Reis with greedy eyes, making her scowl fiercely.
Although her short hair gave her an androgynous appearance, Reis was exceptionally beautiful.
Her looks were strikingly distinctive, making her popular with both men and women.
Beautiful flowers inevitably attracted insects.
Odon was a perfect example.
“I would rather go inside. Get away from me.”
“How unfortunate. It seems I was being overly ambitious.”
“…”
Odon was not so oblivious that he failed to notice what was happening.
He quietly approached Ludwig.
That allowed him to see the sword Ludwig had received from Grylls with his own eyes.
Ludwig’s usual sword remained sheathed, while he held a sword Odon had never seen before.
Odon immediately realized that it was the sword Grylls had given him.
Monitoring the Gallery was essential in case someone on the investigation team exposed what was happening.
“Sir Ludwig, I never imagined that you would access the Gallery.”
“…”
“Well? Do you feel any desire to enter that place and punish the subversive?”
Instead of answering, Ludwig turned his head and looked at Odon.
Because of their considerable difference in height, Ludwig was looking down at him.
“And that sword must have been given to you by the subversive. Am I wrong?”
“You are correct.”
“Hand it over. As it was given to you by a subversive, it must naturally be confiscated.”
It was pure sophistry.
Grylls was not a subversive but a survivor.
He had merely uncovered the truth by chance while doing everything he could to survive.
Even if he had acted with a specific intention, it was highly unlikely that his claims were lies.
Eldorado, however, had already branded him a “subversive.”
Ludwig stared silently at Odon before wordlessly extending the sword.
Odon’s expression instantly brightened.
Just as Reis’s fury was about to explode, something unexpected happened.
Grab!
“Huh?”
Ludwig seized Odon’s wrist as the archbishop reached for the sword.
Whoosh!
“Aaaaaaargh!”
Then he hurled him straight into the Forest of Four Seasons.
The holy knights escorting Odon were startled and rushed forward, but they were already too late.
Odon had fallen into the Forest of Four Seasons and vanished completely.
They had failed to react because the sudden act had been committed by Ludwig of all people.
“What is the meaning of this?!”
“Do you honestly believe you can return safely after doing this?!”
The watchdogs drew their weapons and threatened Ludwig.
Naturally, Reis and the other members of the investigation team also reached for their weapons.
It had been a sudden act, but there was no mistaking Ludwig’s intentions.
“Sir! We’re running away, right?!”
“Whew…”
Ludwig released a complicated sigh at Reis’s shout.
He then looked toward the Forest of Four Seasons and muttered quietly.
“I had planned to take up farming after retiring…”
“Sir!”
“It seems I shall be sowing a different kind of seed.”
After muttering those cryptic words, Ludwig turned around.
The moment he did, he saw that they had been surrounded by a force more than twice the size of the investigation team.
The Forest of Four Seasons lay behind them.
The watchdogs stood before them.
It was a battle with no visible chance of victory.
But Ludwig did not give up.
He gripped the sword he had received from Grylls.
[Reina. I will break through one side. Escape and find Asella.]
In that explosive situation, Reis heard Ludwig’s voice clearly.
No—she had not heard it with her ears.
His voice had been transmitted directly into her mind.
It was a voice transmission technique said to be usable only by the strongest warriors.
Reis flinched before glancing at Ludwig.
What will you do, then?
Her gaze silently conveyed the question.
[Do not concern yourself with me. I will do what must be done.]
As he spoke, Ludwig slowly began walking forward.
In his hand was a sword that gleamed like an emerald galaxy.
The radiance was so brilliant that merely looking at it filled one’s entire body with a sense of wonder.
Until moments ago, the blade had possessed a dull color, but it had now transformed completely.
“What in the world is that sword…?”
“Be careful! It has been confirmed to be a gift from the subversive!”
Someone who had overheard the earlier conversation must have shouted the warning.
It was now known to everyone that Grylls had given Ludwig the sword.
But that did not matter.
Reis stared at the blade gleaming like an emerald galaxy.
‘It must be an excellent sword, right?’
Shiiing!
The instant that thought crossed her mind, Ludwig acted.
Unlike a certain someone who grew stronger in an absurd, inexplicable fashion, Ludwig’s aura possessed a distinct and tangible form.
An Aura Blade—also known as Sword Force—was one of the standards by which a true powerhouse was measured.
But its size was anything but ordinary.
Normally, an Aura Blade merely extended the sword’s length slightly.
The Aura Blade now enveloping Ludwig’s weapon extended beyond the length of a longsword, manifesting at a size that surpassed even a greatsword.
“S-Sir… What in the world is that?”
Even the energy it emitted was terrifying.
It felt so intense that anything touching it would be severed instantly.
As someone had once said, increasing the size of one’s aura was inefficient.
But that applied only when using raw aura.
The Aura Blade stage was different.
A person’s skill could be judged by the size of their Aura Blade.
By that logic, Ludwig’s abilities must have improved.
However—
“…I do not know.”
“What?”
“I said I do not know. What is this?”
Even Ludwig looked bewildered.
“It is frightening.”
He seemed completely sincere, which made the situation all the more absurd.
Meanwhile, beyond that world, Grylls—the man who had sent Ludwig the sword—
“Cough! Cough! Ugh, that’s strong. Maybe I shouldn’t have checked.”
—was clearing the forest to produce a large quantity of charcoal.
‘I can always make another sword.’
If he needed another sword, he could simply forge one.
‘Still, who is that man? Why did the manager personally ask whether I could give him something?’
He was somewhat curious.
He would ask when the man eventually reached his location.