Chapter 113

After teleporting near the Gray Forest with a magic circle, we began our ascent on foot.

The Gray Forest was still a complete mess. The rain, which had briefly paused, began to drizzle again, leaving no spot untouched by the mire.

Kaiel sighed, looking at the mud splattered on his robe.

“I should have cast an anti-stain spell before we left. A careless mistake.”

“I know, right? My robe is so heavy… Ugh! Why won’t my leg come out!”

Yulia grunted, clutching her leg, which was stuck in the mud. Beads of sweat were already forming on her forehead.

“If your foot gets stuck deep, don’t try to pull it straight out. Sit down first and try pushing forward, as if you’re rolling.”

At my words, Yulia promptly sat on the ground and pushed with her feet as if pedaling a bicycle. The squishy mud shifted slowly, and her leg popped out.

Yulia jumped to her feet and hopped around.

“Wow! It worked! Our Guild Master is a genius!”

“Wait! If you jump like that—”

“Huh? Ugh! My foot, ugh! Why is it doing this again…”

Yulia’s face fell as she grabbed her leg, which was sinking deeper and deeper.

“Hmph, I’m stuck again…”

What did you expect, jumping in the mud, you fool?

“Oh, for crying out loud… Don’t move. Just stay still.”

“Are you going to help me yourself, Guild Master? Really?”

I walked over to Yulia and crouched in front of her.

In mud, trying to force your way out only makes you sink deeper. Grabbing the calf and pushing it forward or sideways is the only way to escape with less effort.

“Oh my, I already knew our Guild Master was the coolest person in the world, but you’re so considerate too! Yulia is truly touched!”

…Maybe I should just leave her here.

“But how do you know all this? You don’t seem like the type who’s ever had to step in mud.”

In my past life, there were plenty of monsters that appeared on the coasts.

You learn it naturally after nearly dying not from a monster attack, but from getting your feet stuck in the tidal flats.

“Get up and move slowly. If you can, try using a weight reduction spell.”

“The mana here is too unstable…”

“Just give it a try. It’s a simple spell.”

Yulia tilted her head and muttered the incantation. A moment later, her body, which had been stuck in the mud, floated up by a hand’s breadth.

“Oh… it worked? How?”

“Unstable mana means the effects are heavily influenced by the amount of mana used. In other words, the less mana a spell requires, the easier it is to cast.”

Yulia grabbed my hand, her expression dazed.

“…Is it okay if I fall in love with you, Guild Master?”

“No, it’s not.”

I pushed her hand away and stood up.

I’ll have to consider adding other spells to the uniforms, beyond the anti-stain and damage-prevention magic they already have.

“Guild Master, we’ve lost so much time getting here. Don’t you think the gate might have opened already?”

“That’s your fault. You got stuck every three steps.”

“Hmph, our Guild Master is so cold. But I still like you!”

“…”

I started moving quickly, dragging along Yulia, who had suddenly linked her arm with mine.

As we entered the area beneath the spire in the Gray Forest, it grew abruptly dark, and the rain stopped. The massive spire was acting like a roof, blocking out the light and rain.

When I pushed back the hood I was wearing, my vision cleared, and I saw Johan.

He was staring into the distance with a grave expression.

“Oh no… The gate has already opened.”

Just as Johan said, the gate was wide open. However, not only were there no monsters in sight, but I couldn’t even sense their presence.

Kaiel slowly scanned the surroundings.

“I don’t see anything… It’s strangely quiet.”

The absence of smaller monsters meant this was a gate where only the boss appeared.

And yet, the detection team had measured this gate as S-rank.

‘There aren’t many S-rank bosses that move this stealthily. What kind of creature is it?’

Rain, mud, an unseen enemy, an ominous silence.

As my mind raced, Yulia stepped forward cheerfully.

“We have to set up the pocket barrier anyway. I’ll go check it out and get it done!”

I quickly grabbed her.

“Stop!”

“Huh?”

I pulled Yulia back and retreated slowly.

“Everyone, back away. Very slowly.”

At my command, Kaiel and Johan took slow steps backward.

If it was the one I was thinking of, it detected its enemies through vibrations.

Fortunately, we were still some distance from the gate. The silence meant we were outside its detection range.

‘Though this area will become dangerous once it starts to grow.’

The boss of this gate had a trait of growing larger the more it ate. If left unchecked, it could grow to the size of the Gray Forest.

“Set up the barrier at this distance from the gate. Do not, under any circumstances, step inside this perimeter.”

“…Guild Master, if the distance between the artifacts is too great, the barrier might not activate.”

My order was to install the barrier in an area with a 100-meter diameter centered on the gate.

The problem was that the area was so wide that the D-rank cores making up the pocket barrier might not be sufficient.

But I couldn’t give up. The creature burrowed through the ground freely, so the barrier was an absolute must.

“Just do it. But move quietly.”

“Yes.”

Yulia and Kaiel split the cores and began the installation.

It was a simple task of just sticking them in the ground, but it took a considerable amount of time because they had to walk so slowly.

Kaiel and Yulia had each placed a core, and Yulia was about to move to plant the final one.

Just then, a commotion sounded from somewhere.

Since I was focused on the gate, expecting the boss to emerge at any moment, Johan turned around instead.

“Someone is approaching.”

“Send them back.”

“That might be… a bit difficult.”

I turned around at Johan’s troubled tone.

“…You have got to be kidding me.”

A group from Bluebird was rushing toward us. On horseback, no less.

“How did they find out?”

“Bluebird has priest-type Hunters as well. Nobles who became priests.”

Any priest with divine power can detect a gate in advance, though not as early as we can with our artifacts.

Yulia, having spotted Bluebird as well, stopped and looked at me.

“What should we do?”

That thing is dangerous if let loose. We need to trap it first, keep it from growing any larger.

“Keep going.”

I gave her a nod, and Yulia clutched her robe and painstakingly continued on her way.

In the meantime, Bluebird arrived. The exhausted horses, having galloped through the mud, were lathered in a foamy sweat.

The one at the very front leaped from his horse. He staggered as he landed in the mud, but no one around him offered a hand.

‘Come to think of it, why is the mood so grim?’

For a group composed entirely of self-important pricks, the air was thick with gloom.

The man who had steadied himself pushed back his hood. A sigh escaped my lips the moment I saw his face.

‘Is he insane? Why would you bring a non-Hunter to a gate?’

Igrid irritably swept back his hair, which was soaked with something that was either sweat or rain.

“Damn it all! I rode a horse all the way here and still got filthy!”

He grumbled with every ounce of his being, then shook his robe to flick off the mud and glared at me.

‘Did he come here because of me?’

Igrid strode forward. Though he stumbled in the mud midway, his aura was anything but ordinary. He looked ready to tear me to pieces.

“What brings you all the way—”

I couldn’t finish my sentence.

*Smack!*

Igrid struck me across the cheek.

My head snapped to the side, and a searing pain spread from my cheek to my lips.

“Lady Astell!”

“Princess!”

“Gasp! Guild Master!”

Kaiel stepped in front of Igrid, and Johan moved to shield me. I could hear Yulia’s shriek from a distance.

“Your Highness, what is the meaning of this!”

“Lady Astell, are you alright? Let me see your face. Please?”

I pushed Johan’s hand away and moved Kaiel aside.

Standing before Igrid, I ran my tongue over the stinging inside of my mouth. The inside of my cheek was torn from the blow.

“Ptui—”

As I spat out a mixture of saliva and blood, Igrid’s face twisted into a fearsome scowl.

“How dare you do that to me? Do you think you’ll get away with it?”

I ignored him and wiped my mouth with my thumb. It came away stained with blood.

I glanced at Igrid’s hand and saw he was wearing four rings, all studded with jewels.

He must have known he couldn’t win with strength, so he resorted to cheap tricks to injure me.

I think I knew the reason.

He must have found out his voice clip was circulating on the public forums. And he was convinced I was the one who posted it.

“How absurd.”

“…What did you just say?”

“I said, this is absurd.”

“Y-you… you insolent wench! Show some respect!”

“Have you ever seen a madwoman show respect?”

“I am the First Prince! The man who will soon be emperor!”

My lips twisted into a smirk.

“And I’m a Hunter. The number one ranker who could save your country overnight—or destroy it.”