Vol. 1 - Ch. 298 - Holy Land Lunzaert (2)

"Damn, you even know how to ride horses at your age......"

Boss uttered in dumbfoundment as he watched Coco and me astride the demon horse we'd borrowed from the police.

"Well, yeah. I was born in the countryside, and horses and cattle were just part of mundane life there... A knight is never without their horse riding skill. So my mother must've not felt any objection to me practicing it."

I, or well past me before awakening, used to live practising horse riding, though it was more of a game to me. Coco was something similar, and in his case he had often been out for field work.

And to add to that, Royal Academy also had riding facilities. We, the students of Class-A, once had a horse-riding contest, and Viz came at the top. Apparently his grandfather had taught him. Still, that was the first and last time I ever saw him ride as these days he’s completely devoted to magical motorbikes instead.

Well, I had seen his expression turned like squeezed lemon when praised for his skills. He probably had some conflicting memories. 

"Back at you, boss. You're an excellent horse-rider too!"

I, too, was honestly surprised by how deftly he handled his horse. Someone born and raised a commoner in the capital—where public transport had come a long way and commonplace—rarely rides this well. Unlike the countryside, keeping a horse in the royal capital isn’t exactly easy.

“…Well, if you’ve been an adventurer long enough, it comes with the job. …Not that being praised by you does anything for me.”

As I spoke, I guided my horse and skewered a monster with an arrow in a maneuver halfway between mounted archery. Old Man Apple replied with a thoroughly unimpressed expression.

Wind magic usually scares monsters off, but its downside is that it sometimes attracts the aggressive ones instead. With such tid-bit, we rode on for a full day.

“…There. That should be the village with the hidden path to Lunazert.”

Looking far below from the narrow mountain road, we could see a small village nestled in the valley.

Even for a mountain settlement, a village marking the entrance to a holy route leading to a sacred site revered by believers across the continent should have been more developed. Instead, the village below felt lifeless, almost oppressive, as though a gloomy air hung over it.

“…What do we do? Outsiders like us would clearly stand out in a village of that scale. If someone is out looking, they can alert others through magic birds.” 

Coco asked quietly. I considered it briefly, then made my decision.

“…Let’s go in and rest. The people in Rosario have probably already reported that we left on horseback, so it’s too late to worry about that now. We need to resupply arrows and other gear anyway. And we might not even get a wink of sleep later. Better to take a short break now, then push hard afterward, that gives us the best chance to catch them off guard.”

I had noticed that among the gawkers gathered in Rosario’s tavern, there were a few suspicious-looking types mixed in. But we didn’t have the time to grab them and interrogate them properly, so we left them alone.

Tracking down and detaining every last associate of theirs would’ve been impossible anyway.

We bought the supplies we needed in that village, took a short rest at an inn, and then entered the hidden approach leading to the Holy Land.

◆◆◆

“So… if there’s a hidden route, does that mean there’s an official one too?”

When I asked that along the way, Coco nodded. Incidentally, we’d left the horses behind in the village at the trailhead, they would’ve just gotten in the way.

“Yeah. The official route is officially used when priests or so on dispatched by the Neo-Starlight Church visit the Holy Land for training, escorted by a proper convoy of Paladins. The hidden route, on the other hand, doesn’t require any special permission. But even though it’s still called a ‘pilgrimage route,’ it’s nothing like the main one. It’s completely unmaintained, crawling with dangerous monsters, and it’s said that anyone without real strength won’t make it there alive unless they’re extraordinarily lucky.”

Well, that explained a lot. Ever since we’d entered the hidden route from that gloomy village, the air itself had felt heavier and heavier.

You could also call it a bad premonition. Maybe it was instinct, a natural aversion born from sensing how high the latent risk was.

“Tch! So what, is it the sort of story like any ordinary folks not affiliated with the Church are supposed to face the Judgment of Vanish before they ever reach the Holy Land, huh? They can wear different faces, but all those figures of authority are the same bastards in the end..."

As the boss muttered his complaints under his breath, Coco and I exchanged wry smiles.

Honestly, I understood why he felt that way. It might be understandable if at least those, who pledged loyalty to the Church, were given priority access to the maintained road. But that was a rose-tinted imagination alas. It was obvious that the wealthy and the well-connected were the ones monopolizing the comparatively safe main route.

The cozy relationship between the Church’s authority and the power structures of each nation was plain to see just by looking at the grand cathedral in the royal capital.

“…Well, it seems that as long as you traverse the pilgrimage route on your own feet, whether main or hidden, the Holy Land will accept anyone.”

Which meant that if Jeu and Rina managed to make it through the hidden route, they too would be formally admitted into the Holy Land.

If they got inside, things would become even more troublesome. Just as I was about to pick up the pace, tensing my body, something off the path caught my eye.

It was the skeletal remains of an adult and a child. Their clothes were torn in places but hadn’t weathered much at all, making the contrast with their completely stripped bones feel disturbingly unnatural.

This meant anyone who had ended up falling here was literally sucked clean to the marrow by monsters.

They weren’t Rina, of course, but these people wore nothing more than ordinary clothes, not even basic explorer’s equipment. What thoughts had driven them to head for the Holy Land?

"......They have Jeu by their side, so they should be safe... anyway, let's hurry up."

I glanced at Boss and Coco, and increased my pace.

◆◆◆

Beyond the first mark, we encountered human bones so frequently we'd grown numb to even care about stopping anymore. 

In hindsight, it meant the party of us three packed enough strength to be unstoppable by any monster, or so Coco's analysis said. We did encounter them multiple times in our journey, but they're effortlessly dealt with.

However, we were still seized by a somber expression than to take it easy as if we're hiking. The frequent appearance of skeletons appearing to be of children made it impossible.

Besides, the St. Angol Mountain Range also harbored legendary monsters like «The Grey Reaper» Ashen Puppy, a deer monster, or «King of Fly» Belzeebub. They're the kind even we might not escape with our lives if we encountered them.

“Stop. Hah… hah… that’s—!”

After advancing along the hidden route for about half a day while maintaining vigilance, Coco suddenly halted. His gaze was locked into the corpse of a fly, roughly the size of a soccer ball, lying on the ground.

“…I’ve never seen one in person, but there’s no mistake. It’s the corpse of a worker fly belonging to Beelzebub. It’s still in the growth phase, but it hasn’t been dead for long.”

After catching his breath, he explained with a pale face.

“S-so this is… one of the legendary King of Flies’ minions…?”

I was about to approach the corpse carelessly, but Coco immediately stopped me.

“Don’t touch it. After a certain amount of time, the bodily fluids of Beelzebub’s minions emit a special scent that draws in others of its kind. And it’s said that whoever carries that death-stench—meaning an enemy of the King—will inevitably be punished.”

His voice echoed with grim urgency. I hurriedly stopped my wind magic range, and scurried around. After the experience with Dark Wolf and Railgators, I had learned enough that domain of wind irked ill-temper monsters. 

The wind magic was a double-edged sword in this situation that could accidentally earn the enmity of strong monsters. 

After severing my mana flow, I strained my ear to parse noise in the surrounding, but I never hear that buzzing sound of wind flapping.

“Hah… hah… so that’s why a corpse like this can just be lying around untouched, even this deep in the mountains…”

Boss spoke while catching his breath, hands braced on his knees. 

He was still an excellent front-liner, but the lack of daily exercise was bound to drop the limit of stamina.

In terms of combat, he was still an explorer who could hold his own on the front lines—but without time for daily basic training, this kind of endurance drain was unavoidable.

And just as he said, in a forest like this—teeming with all manner of monsters and magical insects—corpses would usually be broken down and recycled in no time at all. 

So, conversely, the fact that this corpse was still here was a tell-tale sign already.

Coco carefully examined the corpse and the surrounding area.

"......It appears an adult's boot has repeatedly trampled on it after the monster's right wing was severed. ...This is the territory of the Leverance family, and it's impossible Jeu would be oblivious to the details of threat slumbering in St. Angol. Perhaps—"

...She really can be scary, isn't she? Even while bound by the Choker of Virtue, and with Rina to keep safe, she has been laying the groundwork to eliminate enemies along the way.

And more than likely, this is also a message left deliberately for us to piece together.

“…Let’s hurry. If she deliberately let the minions act so she could calculate how long it would take for the swarm to gather, then we might be closing on to them.”

Coco, who had been pressing his fingers to his temple, seemingly sorting out the situation, lifted his face and said so.

“…You okay, boss?”

“Damn right I am! …Well, that’s what I’d like to say. But don’t worry about me, go all out and chase them down. I’ll catch up, even if it kills me.”

“…Don’t worry about me either. Besides, it's your time to get serious. You’ve still got plenty left in the tank, don’t you?”

“…Fine. Let’s split up here. We’ll regroup later.”

Leaving boss and Coco behind, I sprinted up the hidden mountain path at full speed.

◆

“It has been some time, Doolittle-dono. We have already received word from the Holy Capital. Allow me to congratulate you on your decision to challenge the Final Trial.”

As Doolittle’s procession, escorted by Paladins, arrived at Lunazert via the official pilgrimage road, they were greeted at the entrance by Cornal Hydrangea, the high priest entrusted with managing this holy land, who bowed deeply.

He was the elder brother of the current pope, Cornelius, and one of the church’s highest-ranking figures, holding the eminent post of Deacon-Cardinal. Though some might argue he had been relegated to a ceremonial position after losing the power struggle for the papacy.

Doolittle, positioned near the middle of the group, hurried forward with a flustered expression.

“M-my, Cornal-sama himself. I feel like I would lose my lifespan to be received so formally by someone of your stature. Please, just as in the old days, do call me simply ‘Doolittle,’ without restraint.”

Cornal slowly shook his head and lowered his voice.

“You have not changed, Doolittle. But many brethren of noble intent have gathered here, all aspiring to master the deepest mysteries of holy magic. Though you may be ‘merely’ an archbishop, you are still one who dares challenge the Final Trial. For one who oversees the deacons, I cannot afford to place you beneath me. Surely you understand.”

In contrast, Doolittle deliberately raised his voice, making sure those around them could hear.

“Ah, it's your magnanimosity, Cornal-sama. It's solely due to guidance of your esteemed self and other deadcons that someone as young and unworthy as myself may attempt the Final Trial. My place had, has, and will always be under your grace, and this is unchangeable, even if I emerged from the Final Trial with the blessing of Vanish."

Having said that much, Doolittle then leaned in close to Cornal’s ear and lowered his voice.

“…Oh yes. The cargo behind us is merely a token of appreciation, for all of you who work tirelessly to save those suffering in this transient world. I do hope you’ll find it useful.”

Cornal’s eyes flashed as he cast a glance toward the wagons behind them. Then, in a low, weighty voice, he muttered,

“Oh? How commendable of you. Still… six double-tiered cages, is it? For someone who made quite a name for himself in the kingdom, that seems rather modest. …You can’t take wealth with you into the next world, you know.”

“…Our departure was rather sudden, regrettably. I wasn’t able to make proper arrangements in time. The remainder will be delivered in due course.”

Doolittle replied with an impeccably smooth smile. Cornal snorted.

“Hmph. As sharp as ever. …The ‘cargo’ you sent ahead has already arrived. But you do know where the line draws, right?”

Cornal raised one eyebrow, prompting him. Doolittle continued without hesitation.

“Of course. You know nothing whatsoever of what the cargo contains. Naturally, nothing but the ‘jewel' will be allowed to leave alive. …And should any rats scurry their way into this holy land as planned, we leave their disposal entirely to you.”

Cornal snorted once more.

“Hmph. …Make sure the discipline is thorough. Take your time, break them properly.”

“Yes, sir.”

Comments