Chapter 172
Chapter 172
The Empire’s South, famous for its vast stretches of parched desert beneath the blazing sun. Perhaps due to its proximity to the Great Jungle, even in the South there still existed small patches of woodland that had yet to be desertified.
Because of safety concerns and the problem of securing drinking water, these places had been left untouched by human hands, allowing the small forests to barely survive. And yet, in one such nameless forest, rarely visited by people, signs of human presence were heard for the first time in a while.
“Whew… Makes you wonder if it’s really okay for me to take such good timber all for myself. Everyone ran off saying they were evacuating, so I really hit the jackpot.”
The owner of that presence was a man with a sharp-bladed axe slung over his shoulder—Jack the woodcutter. Jack looked up at the tall desert tree rising before him and smiled in satisfaction.
“Ha, if I just pull off this one big job and leave, there’ll be no starving when I evacuate with the wife and kids. Really, what lucky people they are. War’s about to break out in their own backyard, and they still don’t turn their noses up at desert trees. Tsk tsk.”
Even within the rare southern forests, desert trees were infamous for being exceedingly hard to come by. Often compared to elephant ivory, monopolizing a desert tree like this was a stroke of fortune beyond fortune.
It was dangerous work, venturing down beneath the Southern Defensive Line of the Empire in Valaris. Occasionally, monstrous beasts that roamed near this area without fully retreating into the Great Jungle would appear, making it extremely perilous—but the profit was just as substantial.
“Ah, look at me spacing out. I should hurry up and finish, then go see the kids. Hoo… well then, shall we begin? Heheh—”
As always, Jack muttered to himself and hummed a tune before starting work. Thinking about the windfall, the heavy axe felt as light as a feather.
Swoong—!
Jack’s axe traced a smooth arc before biting deep into the base of the tree.
Kraack—!
“Ho! That’s a good sound—!”
Following his powerful shout, the rhythmic thud-thud of chopping wood echoed through the once-silent forest.
About thirty minutes later, Jack took a short break.
“Ugh, this is tough. Not really a tree meant for one man… Looks like it’s going to take longer than I thought.”
Resting briefly in the shade, Jack wiped away the beads of sweat forming on his brow and caught his breath. And then, suddenly, another sound of movement reached his ears in the nameless forest.
Rustle—
“I heard a sound around here…”
“Hm?”
Jack turned his head toward the unfamiliar voice, and there stood a man he had never seen before.
“Ah! There you are. Good sir, pardon me for the suddenness, but may I ask you for directions? Whereabouts in the South is this place?”
In a place where it was not just rare but nearly impossible to see another person, a man suddenly appeared—and then asked for directions in terrain that was hard to reach even intentionally. Jack narrowed his eyes and examined the stranger.
‘Judging by that robe pulled low and the sword at his waist, he’s probably some mercenary trash hoping to pick up scraps from the war.’
From the looks of it, at least he was not a partner trying to lay claim to the tree Jack was chopping. Only then did Jack relax and answer more comfortably.
“Losing your way and asking for directions in the South, where you’d die without even finding drinking water. Doesn’t look like you’re from around here… a mercenary?”
At Jack’s question, the man glanced once at the sword at his waist and shrugged.
“Well, I don’t make a living off killing with a blade, but I am alive because of it, so let’s say it’s close enough.”
“Heh heh. Well, even if you’re not a mercenary, living because of a sword isn’t exactly wrong. If you’re heading to the battlefield, you’ve gone way off course. What you’re looking for is much farther north. It’d take you at least two full days of walking through the night.”
“Hm… I thought so.”
The man nodded calmly, as if unaware of how dangerous the place he was lost in truly was. To Jack, the sight was almost amusing.
“Haha… Still, you did well coming into the forest. If you want to make it to your destination alive, you’ll need to stock up on water here. But with that kind of awareness, do you really think you’ll survive near a battlefield? There’s a hundred-thousand-strong army stationed near there, stirring up chaos. How did you miss that and come all the way down here?”
At Jack’s question, the mysterious man burst into hearty laughter.
“Hahaha. You could see it that way. But you’ve got it wrong. I didn’t come down from the north in the first place—I’m heading up from down below.”
The answer made Jack doubt his own ears.
“From below? There’s nothing south of here to make a living swinging a sword…”
Below this lay only wasteland, with no towns or villages—and beyond that, the Great Jungle. To Jack’s confusion, the man left behind a cryptic reply and turned to leave.
“If you’re thinking of evacuating now, give it up. It’s already too late.”
“…What are you talking about?”
At first glance, the man’s words sounded like nonsense, but Jack could not simply brush them aside. Evacuation was a matter of life and death for him and his family.
“With war so close, the fact that you’re chopping wood here without being conscripted suggests you’re a resident of Valaris. Am I right?”
Faced with the man’s accurate deduction, Jack could only nod. The man continued.
“I figured as much. Like I said before, it’s too late, so give up on evacuating. Even if you return to Valaris now, the northern evacuation routes will already be blocked.”
“That can’t be… Count Valaris wouldn’t stop refugees—”
“Even if the Count lets you go, the Empire won’t accept you. Unless they plan on raising enemy spies in their midst, there’s no way they’d take in people who waited this long to evacuate when war is right at their doorstep.”
The logic was sound, and Jack’s head began to ache.
“Th… then what am I supposed to do? My wife and kids will be ready to leave the moment I return….”
“If you want to live, go south.”
“South? I figured you were lost, but this is beyond clueless. There’s nothing further down—no cities, no anything. South of here is nothing but the Great Jungle. Are you telling me to go there?”
The question was not meant literally; it was asking if the man had lost his mind. Whether he understood that or not, the man simply continued speaking.
“I think I’ve repaid you enough for the directions. You’ll understand once you return to Valaris anyway. That you’ll either fight there, or have no choice but to head south. Take care. And thank you.”
With that, the man waved his hand as if everything was settled, passed by Jack, and went on his way. Left alone after the man disappeared into the thick forest, Jack clicked his tongue.
“Tsk. Sounded convincing at first, but telling me to go to the Great Jungle? That’s nonsense if I’ve ever heard it. Judging by the look of him, he’ll die in the desert before he ever reaches a battlefield. Well… not my problem.”
Even so, the strange words the man left behind made Jack uneasy. Ending his break, he picked up his axe once more.
“I should hurry and finish. Just in case the evacuation routes really do get blocked….”
The axe that had felt light now felt strangely heavy.
The mysterious man who had interrupted Jack’s rest continued on past him, following the sound of gently flowing water until he found a stream. Clear water shimmered as it reflected the light in the shallow creek.
“This should be safe to drink.”
The sunlight filtering through the leaves was scorching, and the inside of his robe was already soaked with sweat. Planning to quench his thirst and wash himself, the man threw off the robe he had been wearing.
Fwoosh.
As the robe slipped off, it revealed a face as finely sculpted as a work of art, previously hidden beneath it. The clear stream reflected that face back at him.
Long black hair falling to his waist, and cold eyes like a winter sea. His identity was none other than Yurion Aphahiel. Yuwon.
It was strange. Yuwon should have been heading to the battlefield, yet here he was, standing midway along the route connecting Valaris and the Great Jungle.
In any case, what mattered most to Yuwon right now was securing drinking water. After quenching his thirst, he took out several empty canteens from his subspace bag and filled them to the brim.
Having stocked up on more than enough water, Yuwon neatly set aside his clothes and stepped into the stream to wash himself. Though it looked shallow thanks to the clarity of the water, the center of the stream was deep enough for him to immerse his body.
“Hm… now what should I do…? Seems like something definitely went wrong….”
Yuwon clearly remembered boarding the teleportation magic circle together with his companions, yet upon arrival he found himself alone, with no one else in sight. He suspected that the coordinates had been interfered with during the teleportation.
“…Well, no need to worry. None of them are the type to die in a place like this.”
If anything, they would be the ones doing the killing. There was no need to worry about getting separated either—their destination was the same.
“Valaris… We’ll meet again in Valaris.”
In a desert region over a hundred kilometers away from the forest where Yuwon stood. In a place that should have been filled with nothing but the sound of shifting sand, the desperate scream of a man echoed instead.
“Graaah—! You bastards, I’ll boil you alive in filth! How dare you interfere with my teleportation magic!”
The one raging in fury was none other than Third Prince Bernid. Beside him, Hastings’s voice rang out.
“It’s proof that Valaris is surrounded.”
“Proof? You’ve been getting awfully casual with me lately. What, you want to be my equal? Go on, try it.”
“Oh? Works for me. I never liked speaking politely to you in the first place.”
The exchange flowed as smoothly as if he had planned it from the start. Having fallen neatly into Hastings’s trap, Bernid glared daggers at him.
“You little— I tell you to do it and you actually do? I’m still your elder, Yurion’s older brother. Or do you think this situation is some kind of joke?”
“You told me to drop the formalities, so I did. You wouldn’t go back on your own words now, would you? An Aphahiel, no less.”
Hastings was right. Bearing the Aphahiel name, it was awkward for Bernid to retract what he had said himself.
“Ugh… I can’t even punch you. Fine. Do whatever you want. I don’t feel like playing nice with someone who clearly hates me either.”
“Then let’s keep it this way.”
“Yeah, do whatever. Who’s stopping you?”
Already on edge from the disrupted teleportation, Bernid showed no sign of backing down.
“So what’s the plan now? Reuniting with our lord should be the priority.”
“Obviously. But things have gotten complicated. There’s no way to make contact.”
“…? Don’t we all have at least a magic mirror?”
At Hastings’s reply, Bernid’s already twisted expression contorted even further.
“You idiot. You’re only good at catching people. The coordinates were interfered with and everyone got scattered, and you want to use a magic mirror now? Why don’t you write the Imperial Army a nice letter while you’re at it, detailing exactly how screwed we are.”
The phrasing was crude, but the meaning was clear.
“…So it could be intercepted.”
“Not ‘could be.’ It will be intercepted. I deliberately set the arrival point hundreds of kilometers away from Valaris just in case something like this happened, and still this mess occurred. If they’ve set up coordinate interference over such a wide area, intercepting magic mirror signals would be child’s play.”
“…The Imperial Army’s magicians are quite capable.”
“Capable? Capable? This isn’t ‘capable.’ At this level, it’s those old men from the Magic Tower—usually too busy bickering over whose faction is better—holding hands and praying together to hunt me down and kill me. And you call that ‘capable’?”
As feared, the Magic Tower Masters had truly stepped in. Bernid’s expression darkened.
“Then… even the Magic Tower Masters are involved?”
“‘Are involved,’ not ‘might be involved.’”
Bernid nearly snapped back at Hastings’s tone, then stopped himself.
“Tch. Forget it. Do whatever you want. Let’s just get out of here first.”
“Agreed.”
“If it’s Yurion, he’ll trust us and head straight for Valaris. You agree, right?”
“Most likely. Wandering the desert looking for companions without a magic mirror and with limited water would just get him dried up and dead.”
By unfortunate coincidence, Bernid and Hastings were the ones paired together. Still, given the situation, both of them refrained from unnecessary clashes. This alone was a significant concession from both sides.
Then, suddenly, the worst possible scenario crossed Bernid’s mind.
“Hey, but there’s no way our teacher and that Orc Chieftain Mukwiam got dropped together like we did, right?”
“…Don’t say things like that.”
“Ah… yeah. You’re right. That’d be bad….”