Chapter 148

Taking the First Step

Once matters within the territory had settled down to some extent, Ferda contacted Count Consilus for the first time in a while.

"How are things in your territory, Count?"

"To be honest, there hasn't been much to do besides the funerals."

The Principality of Valdrova had celebrated its victory with a grand banquet.

Count Consilus's territory, on the other hand, had held only a modest gathering after a joint funeral service.

Most of the casualties had come from the Far Eastern Alliance. Compared to the size of the army, the number of deaths had been relatively small.

But death was still death.

"I'll contribute additional compensation."

"There's no need. We can still manage it with our own finances."

"Don't refuse."

"Take it and distribute it to the bereaved families."

"If you insist, then I shall gratefully accept."

"I'll make certain every family of the fallen receives their share."

The reason Ferda was being so generous was because he understood his own position.

Even if he currently stood at the pinnacle of the Far East, he could never become its unifying figure.

That role belonged to Consilus, the eldest among them and the man who had watched over these lands for decades.

Whenever Ferda supported him, he intended to do so wholeheartedly.

"That reminds me."

"I heard someone else slew the colossal monster you had originally planned to eliminate."

"That's correct."

"He stood alone on the battlefield, cut down countless monsters, and finally slew the beast himself."

At the time, Ferda had received only a brief report that a single warrior had defeated everything.

Now he decided to ask for the details.

"Was it a mage?"

"No."

"A knight."

"A knight defeated a colossal monster by himself?"

It was difficult to believe.

"Then perhaps he was highly skilled in magic?"

"Not that either."

"I asked the court mages."

"They said he couldn't even use aura, let alone magic."

No aura.

No magic.

Yet overwhelmingly powerful.

The image of the armored knight who had crushed the wolf monsters into pulp became even clearer in Ferda's mind.

"I believe he's the same knight you mentioned before."

"The knight I was searching for..."

"The one you described as wearing armor so imposing it could take your breath away."

Ferda remembered immediately.

The Moving Fortress.

Alberdo.

That was how he had described him.

Of course, Ferda had never seriously expected to find the man.

Alberdo was a wandering knight who lived only to hunt monsters.

"When people asked how he wished to be rewarded for this campaign..."

"...he pointed toward the Principality of Valdrova."

"So he intends to give the credit to me?"

"That seems to be the case."

"He departed alone immediately afterward."

"I should have informed you yesterday..."

"But I only managed to contact you now."

"You've told me now."

"That's enough."

"Don't worry about it."

Ferda had no complaints.

If anything, the very man he'd been searching for was coming to him of his own accord.

Why would he object?

"When is he expected to arrive?"

"Judging by his pace..."

"...probably sometime tomorrow morning."

Tomorrow morning.

Even if he wasn't riding a horse, Alberdo was the sort of man who never stopped walking.

In practice, he traveled almost as quickly as a mounted rider.

Ferda simply waited for his arrival.

***

As stability gradually returned to Hestia...

Valdrova finally donned her suit of armor again and ventured outside.

The last time she had spoken with Hanson, she had said she was returning to her hometown.

So now she merely had to pretend she had come back.

I've been away for far too long.

A wave of guilt washed over her.

In reality, she had never left.

She had remained alone atop the lonely mountain the entire time.

But as far as everyone knew...

the armored knight had vanished without a word.

It weighed heavily on her heart that she had been absent when everyone needed her.

Will everyone hate me because I wasn't there?

Where were you when we needed you?

Do you know how many people suffered because of you?

Carrying those fears, she cautiously approached Hestia's walls.

The walls had been completed during her absence.

Guards now stood watch at the gates.

"Halt!"

"State your—"

"...Huh?"

"Sir Knight?!"

"I'm Hans."

"I worked on the construction."

"Well... mostly I just watched from afar."

The young man named Hans beamed as he stepped aside.

"Please, come in!"

"Everyone's been waiting for you!"

Waiting... for me?

She stepped through the gate.

Just as the guard had said...

people had indeed been waiting.

The moment they recognized her, cheers erupted.

"The knight!"

"The knight has returned!"

"It's the armored knight!"

"Our savior!"

Far from blaming her...

they welcomed her with overwhelming enthusiasm.

Surrounded by a sea of people, Valdrova thought,

Why...?

She was utterly bewildered.

After becoming a hero during the monster attack, she had certainly become well known.

But never to this extent.

She thought carefully.

All I really did was help build buildings...

Was that it?

Had they become this grateful because she had built the walls and houses so well?

Come to think of it...

They did keep saying my help sped up the construction.

Because she had quickly built homes and fortifications capable of sheltering countless people...

everyone was thanking her for it.

That must be it...!

With that wonderfully simple conclusion, she accepted the explanation without another thought.

Receiving the villagers' admiration and warm smiles, she headed toward the Labor Union office.

"Oh!"

"Our hero's finally back!"

Now serving as chairman of the Labor Union, Hanson welcomed her enthusiastically.

"I had a feeling you'd come here first once you returned."

"Come in, come in!"

"As it happens, someone has been hoping to meet you."

"Would you mind speaking with her?"

Valdrova nodded.

Hanson stepped aside.

Inside the office sat a young woman.

Blue hair.

A refined, gentle face.

She wore an adventurer's outfit with a platinum guild badge pinned to her chest.

Seeing Valdrova, she warmly extended her hand.

"Hello."

"I'm Eri."

"The branch manager of the Far Eastern Adventurers' Guild."

Though she was using an alias to conceal her identity...

Valdrova recognized her immediately.

That's one of Iorga's cherished children.

Whenever Valdrova had encountered Iorga...

this young woman had always been by her side.

Just like Iorga herself, she possessed a calm, intelligent presence.

Valdrova had secretly admired her for years.

Why is she pretending to be human?

She desperately wanted to ask.

Then she remembered her vow of silence.

Quietly, she accepted the offered hand.

The brief handshake alone somehow made her feel smarter.

"I've heard so much about you."

"They say you've been here ever since construction of the village began."

Valdrova nodded.

"They thought you were simply someone blessed with incredible strength..."

"...until the monsters attacked."

"That's when everyone saw what you were truly capable of."

She nodded again.

"And this time..."

"I heard you personally cut down an entire colossal monster."

"I was deeply impressed."

"...Huh?"

Valdrova tilted her head.

A colossal monster?

Slaying such creatures was ordinary for her.

But Erika clearly wasn't talking about that.

The only monsters this suit of armor had ever defeated were two wolves.

Besides...

I was here the whole time...

Had the armor somehow wandered off by itself?

The Bronze Dragon who forged it was undoubtedly a master craftsman...

but Valdrova knew he would never have installed such a function.

Then...

There must be another armored knight.

Only then did she finally understand why everyone had welcomed her so enthusiastically.

She had unknowingly been basking in someone else's fame.

Her face flushed with embarrassment.

At the same time...

she found herself in an awkward predicament.

She needed to explain the misunderstanding.

But because of her vow of silence...

she couldn't utter a single word.

"Thanks to your dedication to Hestia's prosperity..."

"...many adventurers now have someone to look up to."

It wasn't me!

She desperately wanted to say so.

But everyone kept showering her with praise she had never received before.

She couldn't find the right moment to interrupt.

"If it isn't too much trouble..."

"...could you at least tell me your name?"

"If you're an adventurer, I'd need to verify your registration."

Her name.

Of course she couldn't tell them.

Maintaining her disguise was one reason...

But the moment she imagined Luri glaring at her with murderous eyes...

the words caught in her throat.

"I thought it might be difficult."

"I understand."

Erika smiled knowingly.

Taking Another Step

Erika seemed to understand and chose not to press the matter any further.

"Guildmaster."

"Y-Yes, ma'am!"

"I'm sorry for borrowing your office without permission, but would it be all right if I spoke with our guest privately for a moment?"

"O-Of course!"

A mere labor union chairman was hardly in a position to refuse the request of a Platinum-ranked adventurer.

Hanson promptly excused himself.

Even that wasn't enough for Erika.

She cast a spell, completely sealing the room off from the outside world until only the two of them remained.

Valdrova waited quietly.

She trusted that one of Iorga's children would never intend her harm.

"What I'm about to discuss is something that would only cause trouble if others overheard it."

"So I'd prefer we speak in private."

Valdrova nodded.

She couldn't help feeling nervous.

Erika cast another spell.

In an instant, the guildmaster's office disappeared.

Or rather...

the space around them transformed into a perfect recreation of another place.

Valdrova recognized it immediately.

It was where she had stood during the wolf monster attack.

"I reconstructed the scene of your battle with the wolves."

"Please forgive me for doing so without your permission."

There...

a wolf monster faced a knight clad in armor identical to Valdrova's.

Growl!

Without hesitation, the wolf lunged.

Thud.

It died instantly beneath the armored knight's hand.

"It took only 0.3 seconds to kill a single wolf."

Unable to hide her amazement, Erika continued,

"A swordsman at the level of the Empire's Swordmasters could certainly defeat one of these wolves alone."

"But you are fundamentally different from those Swordmasters."

"..."

"You didn't use a weapon."

"You didn't use aura."

"You killed it through nothing but raw physical strength."

At the word strength, Valdrova instinctively tensed.

Erika replayed the scene over and over before speaking again.

"They say overwhelming power renders all techniques meaningless."

"But this wasn't mere strength."

"It was refined skill."

"You've fought dozens..."

"...perhaps hundreds..."

"...of monsters before."

"You possess the experience of a true veteran."

Overwhelming strength.

Experience.

Inside the armor, Valdrova trembled.

Please... don't reach that conclusion...

Am I finally being discovered?

By one of Iorga's children?

The lecture that would surely follow filled her with dread.

Am I going to die...?

"Please don't worry."

"I have no intention of digging into your past or your identity."

"What matters to us isn't who you are."

"It's your ability."

Valdrova relaxed ever so slightly.

"Based on that ability..."

"...I'd like to make you an offer."

Erika handed her a document.

Across the top was written:

Plan for the Exploration of the Blighted Lands

"As the Far Eastern Adventurers' Guild Branch Manager..."

"...and as an adventurer myself..."

"...I'm currently assembling an expedition."

Valdrova nodded.

"I'd like you to join it."

An adventurer.

Someone who traveled across the continent of Cerdes...

uncovering mysteries...

defeating evil...

living and working alongside others.

Such journeys often meant being away from home for days.

Valdrova shook her head vigorously.

She tried to convey that she was perfectly content staying here and building houses.

Erika nodded as though she had expected the answer.

"I thought you'd refuse."

If she had expected rejection from the start...

then why make the offer?

Clearly, she already understood Valdrova's concerns.

"Judging from your behavior..."

"I imagine prolonged teamwork makes you uncomfortable."

"I can make accommodations for that."

Even after hearing that...

Valdrova continued shaking her head.

"I see."

"So there really is a deeper reason."

A knight possessing overwhelming strength and extraordinary combat experience...

yet refusing to seek honor.

Erika understood that state all too well.

Something that had once supported the person's heart had collapsed...

leaving them unable to care about anything else.

She had seen the strongest hero of the Twelfth Expedition become exactly that.

But Erika couldn't simply give up.

"If you truly care about Hestia..."

"...then I ask you to reconsider."

She spoke of the village's purpose.

"Hestia exists to conquer the Blighted Lands."

"It was built to house adventurers..."

"...and to develop methods for fighting the monsters."

Valdrova had heard that before.

She had simply believed it had nothing to do with her.

"As always..."

"Having noble intentions doesn't mean everything goes smoothly."

Ferda spared no expense supporting the territory.

Under Burnell's leadership, technology advanced by leaps and bounds.

But changing people's hearts required more than funding.

Everything depended on human will.

Everyone dreamed of striking it rich.

But only when the risks and rewards were clear.

The Blighted Lands offered no such certainty.

That was why truly capable adventurers refused to go.

Only mediocre ones continued gathering there.

It was precisely to change that situation that Erika had become branch manager of the Far Eastern Guild.

"I don't know what happened in your past..."

"...but I'm certain you want nothing more to do with violence."

"Even so..."

"...someone with your ability shouldn't spend the rest of their life building houses."

Erika's voice became firm.

"If you truly love Hestia..."

"...then please help us accomplish what no one else can."

...

What no one else can...

No one could carry materials better than she could.

But if enough people worked together...

construction could always be accomplished.

Monsters were different.

Even dozens of ordinary people stood no chance against them.

I like things the way they are now.

Ever since arriving in Hestia...

all Valdrova had done was build homes and walls.

Working quietly.

Earning honest wages.

Watching people smile.

That simple life made her happier than anything.

But if I start killing again...

Once she resorted to violence...

she feared she would never stop.

What if...

while trying to protect everyone...

she accidentally lost control of that power?

If she killed someone...

she would never forgive herself again.

Watching Valdrova's hesitation, Erika thought,

She's going to refuse after all...

By now she had already realized Valdrova wasn't mute by nature.

Much like Ferda, she simply carried secrets she couldn't reveal.

Erika needed her desperately.

But if Valdrova refused once more...

she intended to let the matter rest.

Adventure was never something that should be forced upon anyone.

After a long silence...

Valdrova finally answered.

She nodded.

"...You're refusing..."

"...No..."

"You mean..."

"...you'll accept?"

Startled, Erika asked again.

Valdrova nodded once more.

Had this been the day before the Spring Festival...

she would undoubtedly have refused.

She would have been perfectly content living as a humble construction worker.

The reason she no longer could...

was because she had seen it with her own eyes.

The monsters beyond those distant lands.

Even from so far away...

they were unimaginably enormous.

Meanwhile...

Hestia Village beneath her castle looked so tiny.

So fragile.

Lives that could be swept away by a single careless mistake rested beneath her wings.

That realization had filled her with sorrow.

With anxiety.

At the same time, another thought had taken root.

If those lands no longer existed...

Then no one would have to live in fear.

That girl was right.

Building alone wasn't enough.

I have to do what others cannot.

She had to stop those abominations from being born.

She had to destroy them.

A hatchling that had broken free of its shell...

had finally reached the moment to take its first step.

***

Outside Hestia's main gate...

the guards chatted idly as they enjoyed the quiet.

"What's for lunch today?"

"Mixed stew."

"They're trying to use up all the leftovers."

"Must be nice being a cook."

"When in doubt, just throw everything into the pot."

"I've got a whole bundle of sausage saved up."

"I'm tossing it in."

"Share some."

"Don't hog all the good stuff."

"Buy your own."

"You greedy pig."

"Eat it all yourself."

"How much longer until shift change?"

"The sun was over there when we came on duty."

"So... about twenty minutes."

"We should get ready."

"Only twenty?"

"I swear it's been three hours."

"I'm dying of boredom."

"Boredom's better."

"If monsters started pouring in again..."

"...we'd be the ones working ourselves to death."

"True enough."

"I'll take boredom any day."

The land they had once lived in had been filled with goblins and hungry beasts drawn by the scent of food.

Now...

the forest before them was eerily silent.

It was so peaceful that it hardly felt as though the Blighted Lands lay just beyond.

One guard stretched with a huge yawn.

"Hm?"

"What?"

"Doesn't it feel like the ground's shaking?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Can you even feel the captain tapping his foot?"

"No, seriously."

"Stand still."

"It feels like something heavy is stomping this way."

"Oh, come on."

"You're just trying to mess with—"

He stopped mid-sentence.

The vibration reached him through the soles of his boots.

It grew stronger.

And stronger.

Far too strong to dismiss as imagination.

Something...

was approaching.