Side Story Chapter 207

Anna could hear what others weren’t able to. The pleasant winds were everywhere, and wind elemental spirits delivered what they heard to Anna.

“...There is a vicious lich in the center of the forest,” Anna relayed.

“A lich?”

Kireua and Cain visibly relaxed.

“We’ve fought countless demons who can control liches, so I don’t think one lich is a big problem.” Kireua chuckled.

“I don’t think you can take it lightly.”

“Huh?”

“If it was an ordinary lich, these spirits wouldn’t have run away from it.” Anna stroked the empty air with quite a serious look. She was stroking the wind spirits, but Kireua and Cain had no way of knowing that, so they were just left confused.

“Is that an arch-lich or something?” Cain asked.

Kireua inhaled. An arch-lich was an undead who was at least Eighth Circle before their death. There was only one such undead that they knew of, the Emperor of Avalon’s mortal enemy and the former Imperial Chief Mage of Avalon.

“Evergrant con Aswald...” Kireua muttered.

“But His Majesty destroyed him.”

“Evergrant con Aswald wasn’t the only mage of his power,” Anna said with a shrug.

“I’m the one who’s confused here. I thought that the North Witch would know this.”

“Know what?” Anna asked.

“It’s impossible for a weak human to become an arch-lich even after their death,” Cain said. “Aside from Evergrant con Aswald, Her Majesty Iceline and Thetapirion Whitesox, the Master of the Magic Tower, are the only Eighth Circle mages in our generation.”

“It’s not impossible.”

“...What are you talking about?”

“Evergrant con Aswald grew as an undead,” Anna reminded Cain.

The knight’s face immediately darkened. Even though Anna was right, the chances of that happening again were exceedingly low. No amount of time could make someone an Eighth Circle unless they were born to be one. The Fifth Circle was the level where mages started to be considered upper-class, but becoming an arch-lich took a mage who was born with the talent to reach the Sixth Circle. Even those mages had to train for hundreds of years to become an arch-lich.

“Every mage of the Sixth Circle and above is noted by every country that learns of them. Why would a mage like that choose that path ...?” Cain wondered.

“Who knows?” Anna shrugged. “Maybe they’re like Evergrant con Aswald, so full of loathing that they want one more chance to get revenge or accomplish something that they couldn’t before their death.”

“Hmm...” Cain grunted.

“Let’s get going; it looks like we’re all that’s coming,” Kireua said. His voice sounded bright, but Cain and Anna knew that he was forcing himself to remain optimistic.

“I see that nobles haven’t become any less full of themselves.” Anna shook her head as she brushed past the men.

Cain gave Kireua a worried look for a moment and was about to follow Anna when the ground began to rumble with the sound of hoofbeats.

“...Huh?” Cain tilted his head, wondering if he was mistaken.

“Please hold for a moment!” someone shouted using their mana

Kireua peered into the distance. “Who...?”

“They’re the lords of the nearby territory.” Cain beamed.

He was the Emperor of Avalon’s First Knight, so it was essential that he was relatively familiar with the appearance, temperament, and daily conduct of Avalon’s nobles so that he could investigate possible treason.

A middle-aged man arrived before them, panting, and quickly jumped off his horse. There were five nobles, leading a group made up of about one thousand people. The Imperial Family had ordered the lords to bring only their families’ elite forces to the mission because of its extreme danger, so these nobles had very literally gathered every knight and mage in their territories.

“G-Greetings to His Highness the Second Prince.” The middle-aged man quickly went down on one knee. “I am Count Froid; I am temporarily leading this group, despite my inadequacy.”

“Nice to meet you, Count Froid.”

“If we may be so bold, would it be possible for us to accompany you on your journey?

Although Kireua was happy, he didn’t let it show.

“I can’t guarantee your survival.”

“That is all the more reason for us to stand by your side.”

Kireua silently examined Froid. “Can I ask why you chose me? What the Black Monster Forest?”

“That is...” Froid hesitated, to Kireua’s surprise. “M-My apologies, Your Highness.”

Kireua gave him a blank look. “Why are you apologizing all of a sudden...?”

“I’m afraid we aren’t here because of our loyalty to you,” Froid answered.

Anna’s head turned, her interest piqued.

“What is the reason, then?”

“It’s because the young people in our lands started to disappear a year ago.”

Kireua’s eyes narrowed. “Disappeared?”

“Yes, the last traces that our investigators found were at the entrance of the Black Monster Forest... These people had a bright future ahead of them, so there’s no way that they would voluntarily walk into their death unless they’d somehow gone mad.”

Kireua finally understood why the lords were here now; the situation was now so serious that they couldn’t afford to leave it alone.

“How many have disappeared?” Kireua asked.

“Over a thousand young men and women.”

“A-A thousand?” Kireua’s mind stumbled over that number. That was a thousand, not a dozen or a hundred. “Why didn’t you ask the crown for help until now?”

“We did. We did...but the only reply we received for months was that you didn’t have the resources available to investigate the Black Monster Forest.”

“Even if this is the Black Monster Forest, it’s still Avalon’s lands, so how—”

Froid shook his head. “No, we understand their reasoning.”

“...You understand?”

“Yes, it’s true that the empire’s recent state of affairs hasn’t been good,” Froid said, followed by a quiet sigh.

He was right. For several years, Avalon had been struggling because of the rebel armies led by Carmen von Agnus in the north and Marquess Drenius in the east. Just when the empire had quelled the civil war, the Second Continental War began, so there was no reason to doubt the answer they’d been given. The empire was surrounded by enemies, so it couldn’t afford to eradicate monsters who were not an issue unless they were attacked first.

“...Get up.” Kireua gestured at Froid.

“My apologies, Your Highness! You must have a lot on your mind already... I’ll pay for my sins with my life—”

“It’s not a matter you should apologize for. You should be praised, if anything.”

Despite what Kireua said, Froid continued to prostrate himself.

“Please kill me!”

Kireua smiled bitterly, and then made a move that shocked everyone.

Kireua kneeled in front of the nobles, drawing an uncomprehending look from Froid.

“Yo-Your Highness, why...?”

“The Imperial Family should have protected their people, even if there were enemies at our doorstep. All of you are praiseworthy, loyal subjects who took action for the people when the Imperial Family proved inadequate.”

Froid shook as a rush of emotion struck him. The other four lords went down on their knees with their emotions clear on their faces.

“Your Highness!”

“We’re honored, Your Highness!”

Kireua immediately helped Froid stand up. “Why don’t the rest of you stand up too? The enemy we’re about to face is too strong for us to exhaust ourselves here.”

“Y-Yes, Your Highness.”

“We will prioritize rescuing the missing people. All of you may disregard our mission,” Kireua said.

The lords, Anna, and Cain all stared dumbly at him.

“Are you nut—” Anna bit her words back. “

Ahem

, are you in your right mind, Your Highness?”

“Please reconsider your choice, Your Highness. I’m not saying that the missing people don’t matter, but we’re at war right now. We need to accomplish this mission so that our army—”

Kireua shook his head decisively. “The people come first. There is no country without our people. Besides, the young are the country’s future.”

“You’re right, but the circumstances are—”

“Let’s say that we go to war and do nothing while our people get slaughtered. Will they be willing to work for the country even if we win the war?” Kireua asked.

Cain fell silent. Perhaps ordinary people were needed most after wars, rather than during wars. With the amount of people with supernatural abilities and destructive magic present on the continent, ordinary soldiers weren’t particularly impactful in a battle.

“...He’s quite good.” Anna smiled and then started to walk again.

The lords were deeply moved by Kireua’s philosophy and looked ready to die for him at a word.

“Count Froid,” Kireua said.

“Yes, Your Highness!”

“Have you heard about the lich of the Black Monster Forest, by any chance?”

Froid froze up at the mention of the lich. “I-Is the rumor true...?”

“What rumor?” Kireua gave Froid an inquisitive look and found that he was looking at one of the other lords who was standing behind him.

That lord quickly stepped forward. “L-Let me explain.”

“You are...?”

“It’s an honor to meet you, Your Highness. My name is Viscount Mynor.”

“Let’s omit the formalities considering the circumstances.”

Mynor bowed gratefully and quickly continued, “The rumors say that the lich is related to His Majesty.”

“What? His Majesty?

Everyone was shocked by this revelation.

“Decades ago, when His Majesty was much younger, he tried to obtain Bronto, a primordial stone, in the Black Monster Forest. In the process, one of the Seven Mages was killed by him for trying to take away Bronto...”

Cain suddenly stepped closer to Kireua.

“...Sir Cain?” Kireua prompted.

“...I think I know who the lich is,” Cain solemnly declared.

“What? How?”

“I never imagined he would become a lich...”

“Wait a minute. Who is he?

Cain pressed his lips into a thin line. “There was a genius Sixth Circle mage who became the Lightning of the Seven Mages decades ago at a young age. His name was Jack Steropes.”