Chapter 400 – To the Old Capital of Nahalbia

After finishing our business at Masmadol’s Adventurer Guild and sharing what we’d learned with Princess Stephania and the others in the camel carriage, we headed toward the Sirius.

Upon arrival… Lindwurm and the others, who were being cared for by Ambrum in his servant guise, seemed to notice our approach.

After calling out to the other wyverns, they all took off from the water surface simultaneously. Flying in formation over the oasis as if shaking off the water clinging to their bodies, they then moved to the deck of the Sirius.

They didn’t come all the way to us – perhaps their own consideration to avoid startling the camels.

Saphir, who had been bathing, followed suit, gliding just above the water surface before soaring up and moving to the deck.

So did Corulis, who had been swimming leisurely in the deeper part of the oasis with only its face and back above water. Sensing Princess Stephania’s arrival, it floated on the surface, shook its body with a shiver to shed water, and flew through the air to the Sirius.

Only Alpha seemed to have been sitting on the deck from the beginning.

“Good morning.”

When I greeted them, Lindwurm and Alpha nodded their heads vertically.

“Ah, Corulis. Thank you for watching over things.”

When Princess Stephania waved one hand slightly in greeting, Corulis also raised its hand in response.

“Good morning.”

The one who called out to us upon arriving before the Sirius was Elmer of the Demon-Slaying Knight Order.

“Good morning, Sir Elmer.”

“Besides Commander Elliot, several others have gone to the market to purchase supplies. They should be returning soon.”

“Understood.”

Even as we spoke, Elliot and the others returned. They were coming down the slope with several carts loaded with supplies.

“Good morning. Thank you for your efforts with the shopping.”

“Ah, good morning, Sir Theodore. Thank you.”

As Elliot smiled, the other knights returned the greeting.

Once the carts arrived before the Sirius, the loading of goods began immediately. Since everyone could use Levitation or possessed Magic Tools, they efficiently floated heavy water barrels and transported them directly to the deck.

“We just returned from the morning market and shops where we bought various items. The selection of ingredients and supplies was quite abundant.”

“Perhaps supplies found by adventurers in that forest are making their way to Masmadol. We also visited the Moon Temple and Adventurer Guild. We’ll share what we learned there while traveling on the Sirius.”

“Understood.”

While conversing with Elliot, I lifted chunks of smoked meat and barrels filled with fruit. I decided to help with the loading to quickly complete departure preparations.

And then… With departure preparations finished, it was finally time to set out for the old capital and the forest.

“Well then, Your Highness Elham. Please take care.”

“Yes. Fatima, you stay well too.”

Princess Elham and Fatima exchanged words. After finishing her farewells with Princess Elham, Fatima turned to me and bowed deeply.

“Once again… allow me to express my gratitude as the one entrusted with Masmadol. Had you not been here, Sir Theodore, the situation would certainly not have been limited to confusion around Masmadol alone. I pray for your martial fortune and the success of your task.”

“Thank you. Regarding matters of the Naharbia royal family… if we learn anything, we’ll come speak with you again.”

“Yes. I’ll be waiting.”

Saying this, Fatima bowed once more. We all boarded the Sirius via the gangplank, and after confirming all personnel were present, the Sirius lifted off.

Apparently, the forest in question seems rich in Monster-related Materials as well. We were able to fully restock the wyverns’ food supplies. As for Corulis’s ore, since we departed Termwills with sufficient quantities stored in the ship’s hold from the beginning, knowing stable resupply might be difficult, there’s no issue there. Well… leaving ore aside, it seems food and water can be resupplied in the old capital too, making investigation somewhat easier.

“–So that’s the situation. We obtained low-credibility information about someone being knocked unconscious by a small humanoid figure in the forest – something that spoke words – and being driven out. Considering communication might be possible, if we encounter what appears to be that entity, I intend to attempt negotiation. However, if they take actions that feel threatening to your safety, intercept at your own discretion.”

Through the speaking tube, I communicated to all members of the Demon-Slaying Knight Order that while prioritizing their own safety, they should avoid excessive attacks or pursuit too deep, leaving room for potential negotiation.

“…I wonder who they are. Are they the same as the forest’s sinners, or something separate?”

After moving away from the speaking tube and returning to the bridge table, Rosemary said while playing with her feather fan, opening and closing it in her hand.

“If there’s a possibility besides the sinners, could they be dwarves or Elves?”

Grace tilted her head. That makes sense. Just looking at their behavior, there are aspects resembling Elves.

“If they were Elves, it would be strange for adults not to appear. When intruders show up, adult Warriors should handle the response. Well… you can disregard my appearance. Particularly when magical power is high, appearances can become less indicative of age.”

So said Auria. Compared to us, Elves tend to be slender and delicate, but even so, distinguishing adults from children should be possible. As for Auria, well… she’s just petite and baby-faced even among Elves.

“Dwarves… I heard they live on the grasslands.”

“Indeed. Those folk don’t live in forests. They basically welcome guests too… and fundamentally, they’re folk who prefer ease, so they rarely show themselves in desert regions and such.”

Hmm. As expected, we have too little information. Perhaps it’s better not to have preconceived notions.

As we advanced while discussing exploration methods in the forest, eventually something appeared beyond the bland, dry desert scenery – a green landscape. The color’s source was plants, but… clearly different from Masmadol’s growth pattern where greenery flourished around rivers and oases.

“That’s the Sacred Land…”

It gave the impression of grassland suddenly appearing in one corner of the desert, immediately spreading into a densely overgrown forest. Quite an abnormal sight.

The canopy’s… density is high. With that, just looking from the air won’t reveal the forest’s interior conditions. We’ll need to actually enter and search, but the forest’s range seems quite extensive too. Since it’s not maintained by human hands, searching exhaustively would take too much time.

First, we should look from the air and narrow down candidate exploration areas to investigate. That means we need to establish criteria or we’ll have no starting point.

Considering which direction to view from and where the forest’s depths would be… we should probably treat the old capital side as the baseline and consider the desert-facing side as the forest’s “entrance.” The adventurers likely used that as their starting point too.

“We’ll advance exploration of the Sacred Land from the old capital side and first look at the forest from the air. We might learn something. Before that, I’d like to see the royal castle ruins of the old capital.”

“Indeed. Understood. In any case, we begin from the old capital.”

Old Sigmund advanced the ship. The Sirius was camouflaged with a Light Magic field to be invisible from the ground. There shouldn’t be any commotion in the old capital.

And that old capital gradually drew nearer. Though called an abandoned capital, the outer walls and such remained intact. I could even see what appeared to be a market. Those using this as their base seemed to be mainly adventurers and Merchants. Those engaged in trade and those doing business with people utilizing the old capital… There are soldiers too.

Those are apparently soldiers dispatched by Fatima. While it’s hard to say Baharzard’s control completely extends over Old Capital Naharbia… with adventurers and Merchants gathering like this, maintaining public order becomes necessary.

I have a letter from Fatima saying I can use her name if needed. With Princess Elham here too, explaining to the soldiers shouldn’t be too difficult.

In the city center was an oasis. And – near it, a building surrounded by walls came into view.

“That is… the royal castle of Naharbia.”

Princess Elham said in what seemed an unintentionally somber tone. The large structure in the compound’s center had its interior layout completely visible from above. Furniture and furnishings seemed to have been removed, leaving nothing behind. Whether from looting or being disposed of and converted to money by the surviving Queen Sheriti and others remained unclear.

There were stories of the upper floors being swallowed by darkness and obliterated… well.

“We can probably land the Sirius in the royal castle ruins’ courtyard.”

“Indeed. If there are no objections, we shall do so.”

Old Sigmund responded to Claudia’s words.

“Of course. We came to investigate the reason for the royal castle’s disappearance.”

Princess Elham nodded with a serious expression.

Since the royal castle ruins were said to be off-limits, they should serve as a suitable place to moor the Sirius.