08

“Hey, Silica! And Ains!”

One of the crowd, Evan, spotted them and ran over.

“What’s wrong, Dad?”

“It’s serious. Very serious.”

From the tension in Evan’s expression, it was clear this was no ordinary matter.

“Evan-san, did something happen?”

Ains asked, tilting his head.

“You two were over by the great tree just now, right?”

“Yes, we were.”

“Did you see any children?”

“Huh? No, I didn’t see any. We didn’t pass them on the way back either.”

“…I thought so. The children headed toward the great tree and still haven’t come back.”

“That can’t be…”

In Tas Village, children were strictly told by their parents to return home once the sun began to set. Silica herself had been repeatedly warned of this when she was young.

And the reason was—

“…They might have gone into the forest.”

The great tree stood a short distance away from the village.

If one strayed even a little from its surroundings, they would enter a dense forest.

And that forest was extremely troublesome.

During the day, adults entered it for hunting, but they always finished before evening. That was because once dusk arrived, not animals but vicious monsters began roaming the forest.

If there were only one or two, Evan and the other adults could handle them. But by evening, the forest overflowed with monsters. Fortunately, the area around the forest was surrounded by a warding barrier, so they did not invade the village.

But if children were still inside that forest, they were in grave danger.

“Evan, we need to form a search party immediately!”

The village men looked to Evan, the young leader, for a decision.

“Of course. That’s what we must do. …But.”

Even if they formed a search party and entered the forest, it might all be for nothing.

And the search party itself would surely become targets of the monsters.

“Dad. No matter what you decide, it’s better to decide quickly.”

Surprisingly, it was Silica who had often pushed Evan’s back when he was forced into harsh decisions like this.

Having experienced many difficult situations under Evan’s leadership, she had developed considerable nerve.

“In this village, children are a treasure beyond price. Form a search party immediately and enter the forest!”

Evan made his decision and instructed the gathered men to bring bows, swords, and armor.

“Move! Hurry!”

The men immediately rushed back to their homes.

“Silica, Ains, we’ll head home once first. Silica, get ready quickly—we’re going into the forest.”

“Got it!”

It wasn’t only Ains who had grown.

Perhaps she lacked talent with the bow, as her improvement there had been modest, but her swordsmanship had advanced far beyond the others in the village.

She had grown to the point where she could now fight Evan on equal footing and had become one of the village’s core fighting forces.

“Evan-san, Silica. Please go on ahead. If I come with you, I’ll slow you down. I can get home by myself.”

Even though he could now move by wheelchair, Ains, with only his left arm, wouldn’t be able to make proper progress. He could get home, but it would take a great deal of time.

Given the situation, however, Ains’s judgment was correct. Every moment mattered.

“…All right. Ains, be careful on your way back! Silica, let’s go!”

“Ains, wait at home with Mom, okay?”

Ains nodded in reply.

Evan and Silica ran off toward their home.

“Now then. Magical beasts, huh… I wonder if magic will work on them.”

Alone, Ains turned his face toward the forest.

From deeper within, the cries of magical beasts could be heard.

“…Incantation: ‘The tracks are made by you. I will not stop them, and you shall only run forward.’”

Ains wove the words.

The wheelchair that Silica had been pushing until now began to move on its own.

Without Ains needing to turn the wheels, it ran exactly as he wished.

“As I thought, abbreviated or non-chant casting through ‘magical conversion’ of phenomena whose image isn’t fully defined is still very difficult. Magic really is profound.”

He muttered to himself, rubbing his chin with his left hand.

Amid the village’s commotion, none of the adults noticed Ains.

Only a small child being held by their mother stared wide-eyed at the strange sight of a wheelchair moving by itself.

The wheels advanced regardless of slopes, uphill or downhill. Even over unstable ground or muddy terrain, they kept moving.

Once past the mud, cool air clung to Ains.

Trees so dense they blocked out the setting sun.

A damp, ominous forest appeared—worlds apart from the golden wheat fields.

“From here on, it’s unknown territory to me. I’ll need to be more careful than ever, or I’ll become food before I even see any magic.”

The wheels rattled on as Ains entered the forest.