Episode 17: A Glimpse of Darkness

We were making steady progress deeper into the forest.

Our destination was the Sacred Rock, as it was called—a large boulder located at what was considered the deepest part of this forest.

The condition for clearing this trial was to reach that point and bring back a fragment.

It wasn’t particularly difficult.

The atmosphere might be somewhat intimidating, but this forest didn’t have very strong monsters. Even children could defeat them if they tried hard enough.

Well, of course, if you let your guard down you could get injured…

However, when it comes to trial ceremonies, especially for “nobles,” it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say the risk of injury was minimal.

Nobles don’t want to needlessly kill or injure their children either.

They secretly deploy guards all around, setting things up with such fervor that not even a single insect would be encountered. That’s the noble-style trial ceremony.

If you asked whether it still retained its original meaning at this point, I could only keep silent, but I suppose the important thing is doing it as a formality. That’s how these things are.

Well, for that reason, Eleanore also has many guards accompanying her.

Look, if I direct my gaze toward those bushes over there.

“…!”

“…”

Our eyes meet with a snap.

Looking flustered, they bow politely while disappearing into the shadows.

…That one must be a relatively new recruit.

Veteran guards are truly invisible. However, according to the arrangements, there are currently over ten guards concealed in this area.

In the unlikely event of a life-threatening crisis, they would come rushing out.

…I hope such a thing doesn’t happen.

“A-Arcs? Is there something there…?”

Gripping my clothes tightly, she asks hesitantly.

“…No. I was just a bit curious. It was just the shadow of plants and trees though.”

“I-I see… I’ve been feeling gazes since earlier, so I thought there might be something…”

Oops.

She has quite good intuition.

She probably hasn’t noticed the guards themselves, but can she sense their presence…?

I’d like everyone to be more careful not to be noticed…

“Please don’t worry. Even if there’s something, I’ll protect you.”

“Uuu… Really, please do…?”

She closes the distance even more tightly.

No, being that close actually makes it harder to move, which is troublesome…

But well, if that helps her calm down, then fine—

“!”

“Hii…!”

Ahead of us, the grass rustles with noise.

It’s not… the sound of guards moving.

I sense a beast-like presence.

This thing better not be a monster that could kill me…

As I’m breaking out in a cold sweat internally, the source of the noise jumped out.

“——————!!!”

If I had to describe it, it was a high-pitched voice like “kyuu kyuu,” as if being strangled.

White fur, long ears, jumping power that could leap many times higher than its own size.

And the clincher was the short horn extending from its forehead.

“…It’s an Al-mi’raj.”

It was the least dangerous monster in this forest.

Also called a unicorn rabbit, but well, as the name suggests, it’s just a rabbit with a horn.

In this world where magic and swordsmanship flourish, it’s hardly considered dangerous.

Rather, people even call it cute.

I secretly wipe away my internal cold sweat.

But I won’t let my guard down.

Every year, about one person is killed by this monster.

It’s an opponent sufficient to warrant caution.

“Eleanore-sama, please step back a bit.”

I draw my sword and stand in front of her.

“Are you going to kill it?”

“…Yes. They’re hot-blooded, so they’ll attack humans in front of them.”

Growling in circles, the small creature glares at us.

Well, it’s not like it has any intimidating presence though.

“———!!!”

In an instant, the Al-mi’raj leaped out.

A charging attack with its forehead horn thrust out while curled up. A typical attack pattern.

“—Fuu”

I take a short breath in.

It’s not an opponent I need to go all out against, but there’s no need to hold back either.

I swung my sword.

From my feet to my right shoulder, a diagonal sweep.

The dull-colored sword flash overlapped with the charging Al-mi’raj.

In that moment, it suddenly lost momentum and dropped limply to the ground.

It doesn’t move. Something like a lifeless ball of fluff lies there.

An instant kill.

After confirming this, I slowly sheathe my drawn sword.

“…I-Is it over?”

Eleanore asks with a puzzled expression.

Well, from an outsider’s perspective, I drew my sword and swung it, then sheathed it as if nothing had happened.

It might be difficult to instantly understand what occurred.

“Yes. It’s finished.”

“In that one instant…!?”

“That’s right. You can praise me if you’d like?”

I jest proudly with a “hmph,” but she still looks disbelieving as she cautiously approaches the beast’s corpse.

“There’s no blood… or anything.”

“I used that kind of technique. The inside is probably cleanly cut.”

“I… see…”

The surface of the corpse isn’t stained with blood at all.

If you saw it without knowing anything, it would look like it was just sleeping.

Eleanore gently picks it up, but well, there’s still no response.

“Just moments ago… it was energetically jumping around…”

“…Well, life-and-death struggles are like that.”

“…”

She shows a pained expression.

…If you think about it as a small life being extinguished in an instant before your eyes, it must be hard for an innocent child.

Especially for something like this small, cute little animal.

“Are you sad after all?”

“…No. As you said, I… think it couldn’t be helped.”

She gently places the Al-mi’raj corpse on the ground and stands up.

…If she can be that pragmatic at ten years old, that’s quite impressive, isn’t it?

Trial ceremonies apparently have an aspect of learning such things.

As long as you live in this world, killing is an unavoidable part. It would be terrible if you got hung up on it every time.

But children who rarely witness such scenes wouldn’t be accustomed to it yet. For noble daughters and sons, even more so.

So, the idea is to build up a tolerance during this opportunity.

In that sense, she might have fulfilled one of the purposes of the trial ceremony.

“However, it does make me sad when something cute dies.”

“Well, that’s understandable.”

“Yes… But, if it were possible…”

Eleanore closes her eyes for an instant.

Then, directing toward the furry corpse… a gaze that I don’t know whether to describe as compassionate…

“I’d like to confine it somewhere where danger can’t reach.”

…Hm?

Hm.

Hm?

Did I… mishear?

“Al-mi’raj seem to be popular as pets?”

“…Is that so? But, Father definitely wouldn’t allow it. He dislikes animals.”

She shows a smile with a soft laugh.

Her usual tone.

A smile as if nothing happened.

So then that earlier…

Was that mad gaze devoid of light just my imagination?

“There’s no point in standing still here. Shall we go?”

“…Yes.”

I watched her back somewhat dazedly as she led the way.

***

“Haaa, just hiding is tiring too…”

“Hey, don’t slack off. You’re guarding the young lady.”

“Well, even so, you know? What’s with that boy? He’s normally strong, isn’t he? We’re not needed.”

“…True, Arcs is worth keeping an eye on.”

“Right? When our eyes met in the bushes earlier, I kinda felt the captain’s presence.”

“You got spotted, didn’t you? Wasn’t he conveying his intention for you to stay alert?”

“Maybe, but with that kid, monsters that come out in this forest would be a piece of cake, right?”

“That’s true but… however, from the planning meeting, he repeatedly said emphatically, ‘Stay alert, be ready to rush out at any time.'”

“He was probably just scared since it was his first time entering a forest. He’s still a kid. I bet right now he’s thinking it’s super easy.”

“You just want to slack off, don’t you?”

“Ah, you caught me? Well, saying I want to slack off is a bit misleading, though it’s not entirely a lie either…”

“…”

“What’s wrong? Going quiet?”

“…No, there are some unfamiliar footprints.”

“Footprints? …Ah, really. They’re small human footprints. And there are many of them.”

“Was there a monster like this in this forest…?”

“Maybe goblins?”

“That’s possible, but they prefer plains and caves over forests.”

“Then, aren’t they commoner children? The ceremony is happening at almost the same time, right?”

“That’s also likely but… even though the destination is the same, the courses are quite far apart, so it seems a bit forced.”

“Ehhh? …But anyway, it’s probably nothing serious. They’re such small creatures.”

“…Just to be safe, I’ll check with the forward scouts.”

“You’re so diligent. Well then, I’ll continue guarding the young lady.”

“Don’t slack off.”

“Don’t worry. I’m sure nothing will happen.”

“…You…”