LGHTNOVELBOOK Chapter 32
032.
There are quite a number of baseless rumors surrounding the Hiart Family.
The environment they are in is inevitably secluded, compounded by the fact they have governed the Northern region for generations, lending credence to many unfounded tales.
Many are curious about what lies beyond the barrier that resembles city walls, yet setting one’s heart on discovering it is not easy.
After all, there’s little reason to risk going to a place defined by cold, a border region at the forefront of conflict, and where the only attraction is Winter Island.
These unfounded stories thus come about.
Rumors spread from person to person, gradually growing into tales filled with unnecessary embellishments.
Nowadays, among the many baseless tales linked to the Hiart name, which is first thought of when mentioning the North, one is particularly seen as truth.
What came first is not known.
Some say the mountain was named after the family, while others claim the family named the mountain after itself.
However, whichever the case may be, the essence remains the same.
Whatever the circumstances, the Hiart Family and Hiart Mountain are believed to be connected in some way.
This is how people talk about the North.
*
“Isn’t it absurd? Not a single person from the North has said such a thing, and yet these tales are regarded as truth.”
Far from the Hiart Family’s mansion, and closer to the front lines instead, lies a mountain that is hardly special except for being large and covered in snow.
Serasie was ascending Hiart Mountain in search of monsters.
As decided in the meeting, Serasie and her followers had begun to clear out the monsters.
Some knights stayed near the front to deal with remaining monsters while the rest positioned themselves around Hiart Mountain.
Naturally, Serasie was leading them at the forefront, personally climbing the mountain ahead of everyone else.
She ascended upwards to capture the monsters encountered along the way.
By now, everyone was likely cleaning out their designated areas.
“The most absurd thing of all is that no one even bothers to confirm if it’s true. But then again, I think it might be true.”
“Why is that?”
“Well, because we don’t know either?”
Maintaining focus on the monsters was not easy. Not long after, Serasie brought up a topic about the Hiart Family out of boredom.
“Well, there might be someone who knows. But come on, would you really cross to the North just to confirm a rumor that’s barely relevant to the situation?”
“That’s true.”
“So, that’s why everyone probably just accepts it as fact without question, because no one speaks against it.”
Kalen nodded faintly.
“Anyway, why has there been such a sudden increase in monsters centered around Hiart Mountain? If Makbel’s data is to be trusted, even if it ends up being a trap…”
Serasie had not once turned to look at Kalen ever since they set out that morning.
Kalen could not guess why.
Had she been upset at him for reopening old wounds? Or was she afraid of betrayal by Makbel? Or could it have been from the unexpected chaos from the night before?
Although her voice was as usual, Serasie never once turned her head towards Kalen.
Such was the excuse she crafted to keep herself entertained.
Only Kalen knew that this wasn’t something she could afford not to say.
What was the purpose of his escort?
In exchange for helping Serasie, Hiart promised to join forces with Lakatus to aid in the return of the Dranunus family.
Though all this was a ploy orchestrated by Serasie, now the situation compelled Kalen to help her succeed in the civil war.
Even if the trap was obvious, it was risky.
Serasie’s defeat in the civil war had to be prevented at all costs.
Thus, it was necessary to awaken some awareness.
Kalen initiated the conversation, thinking Serasie hadn’t noticed at first.
He had contemplated whether mentioning the possibility of Makbel’s betrayal would reopen old wounds.
However, Serasie already knew.
She was already aware that Makbel’s actions were suspicious and that this entire affair could very well be a trap.
Yet, she refused to acknowledge it.
In Kalen’s view, this was more dangerous than being entirely unaware.
Ambiguous hope breeds even greater despair.
If Serasie was desperately clinging to her last shred of hope with Makbel with her scarred hands, the possibility of her getting into serious trouble would soar exponentially.
Hence, these harsh words slipped out of his mouth.
Kalen was not a knight sworn to unwavering loyalty. Nor did he share nearly two decades of memories with Serasie.
That’s why he had blurted out such an embarrassing remark.
Though his desires lay elsewhere, he would trust her.
And so, she should trust him.
The awkward words of caution Kalen let out contained just such a meaning.
Still, all of this was only Kalen’s perspective.
From Serasie’s point of view, she found it suddenly grating to have her old wounds re-opened by someone she hadn’t met long ago—someone much younger than her, at that.
As a result, she didn’t even want to look at him.
Kalen watched Serasie stride ahead and felt certain of this.
“You’re too serious sometimes, Kal!”
The thought of Synd’s words…
He decided to set them aside for the moment.
*
It was after the cleanup of monsters had been underway for some time that the hint of an anomaly began to arise.
“…Where are they all coming from?”
It was a given that the number of monsters had surged. Wasn’t that why they had come here?
Still, even considering all that, it was unusual.
Even taking into account Hiart Mountain’s size relative to other mountains, and the notable increase in the number of monsters centered around this area, finding this many monsters within the mountain was bizarre.
-Quwak!
-Grak!
If there were this many past the mid-section of the mountain, what did that imply about the numbers higher up?
And why would such a fact not have been reported till now?
It was a scale that would have legitimately put the Northern region in dire straits. It was beyond any mere description of an increase in numbers.
“Has the inside of the mountain not been investigated?”
“If there wasn’t ever the intention to catch them all at once like now, I suppose that does make sense.”
There was some weight to that argument.
If Serasie had come to Hiart Mountain with the intent to clear it of monsters, the inspectors would have only conducted a ‘survey’ of the mountain.
Noticing an abnormal number of monsters would fall into the category of subjective experience. One wouldn’t realize it without personally tackling them one by one.
Kalen casually turned his head over his shoulder to look back.
“Miss. You’ve fallen too far behind.”
“Ah.”
As she absentmindedly turned to look back at Kalen’s words, Serasie paused, realizing her mistake.
Before she could even fully turn her head, Serasie was speaking again.
“…Should we head down?”
“That would be for the best.”
Leading was pushing it too far. Gradually, the sounds of monster hunting that had reached them had died down. Kalen and Serasie had drifted too far from the others.
In an emergency, things could get complicated.
Thus, Serasie decided to retreat, quickly catching up to Kalen.
“Let’s go.”
The two set off without giving Kalen time to feel wistful, their heavy hearts stemming from different reasons.
For that reason, they didn’t notice that the fog had already begun to surround them.
Plok-
Another beast falls, its head pierced by a fiery streak, collapsing like molten flames.
So many creatures had been slain, countless. Now was one more done.
“It seems we’re cornered.”
Kalen stated casually, receiving no response.
Serasie looked sternly at the thick fog that had enveloped their surroundings.
Concluding that they were trapped wasn’t difficult.
They had been descending for a while, but even considering how far they had ascended, they should have reached the ground by now.
When they came to their senses, they were surrounded by dense fog.
From that point on, despite heading downward, they only encountered more mountain scenery. After marking the surrounding trees and returning to them, nothing had been resolved.
Meanwhile, monsters began pouring in from more directions.
From the sides, and now from above, monsters poured in from every side except for the fog-laden lower area. This was more than Serasie alone could handle.
With isolation already accepted as fact, their goal in hunting monsters had shifted from duty to survival.
Eventually, Kalen joined Serasie in fighting off the monsters.
Rank 1 Magic: Ignition.
However, unlike the typical use of Ignition, a long streak of fire manifested.
“S-Seemingly random, Kalen?”
“Even guarding a distinguished Miss of the Lakatus family isn’t done haphazardly.”
Serasie wasn’t unfamiliar with Ignition, being a mage herself.
But Kalen’s use of Ignition was different in some way.
She had thought her father, Azcalc, who combined Northern traditional sword arts with magic, was the most imaginative user of magic she’d ever seen.
But Kalen’s Ignition had a certain something more.
It was like threading a needle.
The heads of approaching monsters were being pierced one by one, much like being threaded onto a needle.
It wasn’t just a simple act of burning; the monsters pierced through their heads emitted a sizzling sound and collapsed.
Following Kalen’s movements, the streaks of fire spread out, forming a defensive boundary around them, as if pushing back the monsters.
“Miss, could you use some magic on the fog?”
“On the fog?”
“Yes. We need to check if we can pierce through it.”
“…Understood.”
The sight was thoroughly reassuring.
The real reason Kalen was brought along was not for his mere escort duties; despite being around the same age and even younger than her, Serasie had never thought she would lag behind him magically.
She’d thought she could protect him in a dangerous situation and never expected to be one truly in need of an escort.
But now that it had come to this, Serasie nodded.
Pwoof!
The ice spikes created by Serasie hit towards the fog with a loud noise.
Kalen, who had been watching her while fending off monsters, exhaled lightly upon seeing the fog remain intact.
“Can’t pierce it?”
The fog appeared to block the way down, with monsters surging from all sides.
Still, the monsters themselves were manageable for now. If not down, then up.
Since Hiart Mountain’s summit hadn’t been sighted by anyone since the magic era began after the appearance of monsters, there was some uneasiness.
However, the fog was still only on the lower half. If it closed in above, it would be disastrous. They needed to break through upwards.
Moreover, what concerned Kalen the most was the fact that Serasie’s breathing appeared to be getting rougher. Whether due to physical fatigue or the start of altitude sickness at such elevation was unclear.
If it was the latter, then leaving her where she was and going alone to explore above made more sense. But altitude sickness would make it impossible for her to handle so many monsters alone.
Kalen hesitated slightly before making a decision.
After all, breaking through should be upwards.
Then, approaching Serasie as she panted looking downwards,
“Excuse me.”
“What are y-”
“Staying here won’t change anything. The fog is unpredictable. At least reaching the top should eliminate the monsters approaching from above.”
“B-But what are you…”
He then lifted her up.
It was the style often referred to as “princess carry” among people.
“You’re tired, aren’t you?”
“A short rest will fix it! So put me…!”
Whether from fatigue or altitude sickness, it didn’t matter.
She had dealt with the monsters alone while climbing here, and they were well past the mid-section of Hiart Mountain, high enough to cause altitude sickness.
Both explanations were valid.
The important thing was to leave this place.
With Serasie squirming in his arms and demanding to be put down, Kalen found her annoying and covered her mouth with one hand.
“!”
“You’re too loud.”
Ruby had magnified immensely.
Kalen, using Serasie’s temporary quietness due to her embarrassment, glanced upwards.
“Hold on tight. I’m running.”
The boundary-like streaks of fire which had circled around stopped and began forging forward as Kalen started to run.
“I’m your older sister…”
Serasie’s arms, which had been wrapped around him, gradually tightened as they ran.
Thus, he who no one knew about, headed towards the summit of Hiart Mountain.