The Search Begins

Several days had passed since we started living by hunting monsters. As usual, we left Ivan-san’s inn early in the morning and headed for the gate, but the situation there looked different from usual.

“It seems rather noisy.”

“Maybe something happened. Let’s hurry.”

Thinking it would be terrible if monsters had appeared, we hurried over, but the gate guards seemed to be focusing their attention not outside the city but inside the gate. So the problem was happening inside the gate rather than outside with monsters…

While thinking that, I called out to a gate guard I had gotten to know, and inside the gate I caught a glimpse of a familiar face.

“Ernesto.”

When I called out without thinking, Ernesto turned his gaze toward us and came out from the gate. It seemed that the commotion had been caused by a knight suddenly visiting.

“You finally arrived. Luca, Rebecca, tomorrow at dawn we will head out to search for Lady Henriette. We will prepare the horses here, but make any other preparations yourselves.”

“Tomorrow at dawn… got it. Still, you came to tell us directly.”

“I had some free time. Well then, I’m counting on you.”

After saying only that, Ernesto mounted a horse that had been placed nearby and rode away. The gate guards saw him off with great formality.

“Rebecca, what should we do today?”

“Let’s see… even if we say preparation, there’s not really anything to do, so maybe we should just do the same as usual.”

“That’s true. Then let’s go. …Is it alright if we leave the city?”

When I spoke to the gate guards who were still bowing their heads toward the direction Ernesto had gone, perhaps because they had just witnessed that we really knew Ernesto, they sent us outside the city with a much more respectful attitude than usual.

And that day we defeated monsters as usual, then returned to the inn a little earlier than normal and took a proper rest.

Early the next morning, we reunited with the knights for the first time in a while. At a glance it didn’t seem like their numbers had decreased, but the expressions on the knights’ faces were the same as ever.

“These two horses are yours.”

Heading toward the horses Ernesto pointed out, we tried to get acquainted with them while calling out to him.

“Thanks. What’s the schedule for the search?”

“We must return within two weeks, so we will head to the site in three days, search for one week from there, and spend three days returning.”

“…What happens if she isn’t found?”

Hesitating about whether it was alright to ask, I quietly posed the question, and Ernesto slightly furrowed his brow before speaking.

“In that case, they will give up on Princess Henriette. I apologize to you two, but…”

“I see… that can’t be helped. What will happen to the knights?”

“That is still unknown. For now, we were told to search first. If she cannot be found, or if she has already died… I would rather not think about it.”

So the knights’ lives were still in danger. I didn’t know whether to be glad that Ann wasn’t such a trivial figure to this country, or to lament that it would make it harder to ask the knights about things.

Ernesto seemed calm, so perhaps I should center my questions around him during this journey…

“Are you ready?”

“Yeah, we can leave anytime.”

“Understood. Then we depart.”

After that we simply rode our horses, continuing until night while taking several short breaks. Once it grew dark we decided to camp, and we were now preparing for it.

“There’s a river nearby, so feel free to use it.”

“Got it. Should we tie up the horses?”

“No, they’re trained, so they won’t go far even if you don’t tie them.”

Once Ernesto left our side, the other knights didn’t approach us, so it suddenly became quiet. Meals were to be handled individually, so even among the knights there was little conversation and the atmosphere was gloomy.

It had been like this for the few days we traveled toward the Imperial Capital too… spending two weeks in this atmosphere would be quite tough.

“Luca, it doesn’t seem like we can ask the knights anything, right?”

When I nodded at Rebecca’s quiet question, she looked around at the knights before furrowing her brow.

“Everyone looks really on edge.”

“I think we’ll have to ask Ernesto after all. He probably knows at least a little about the Empire’s internal situation. …But even if we bring it up as casual conversation, it feels like he might notice we have some ulterior motive.”

“I get it. He seems pretty capable. I wish there was someone a little easier to talk to, someone who was more friendly toward us.”

“For now, let’s observe people again for the first few days.”

We spent that night talking like that, and the next day we rode the horses again just the same. On the third day, we dismounted and began walking through the mountains.

We each equipped spikes for our shoes brought for the search, as well as sticks for probing cliffs, and prepared ourselves.

“Beyond this point it’s dangerous, so move carefully. Don’t break formation.”

“Understood.”

We were at the very rear of the line, and nearby were two quite young knights. Both of them had better color in their faces than the other knights and carried a lighter atmosphere, so they were people I had noticed before.

This seemed like a perfect opportunity… maybe I should try talking to them.