The Second Provision (8)

Slaughter after slaughter.

It was a veritable feast of carnage. In barely half a day, they had killed nearly three hundred monsters. Yet Kern wasn't even breathing hard.

'Good heavens.'

Merhen knew he was good with a sword. But fighting people and hunting monsters were entirely different things. Even the academy's most outstanding knight cadets often failed to perform in actual combat. That was why she'd been a little worried.

'... Incredible.'

He was simply incredible. It would be more accurate to say he was toying with the monsters.

They advanced at breakneck speed. Before she could quite process what was happening, they had passed the midpoint of the Demon Forest.

After finding a suitable cave, Kern turned to Merhen.

"We can camp here."

"Okay."

She gathered some branches and used a tool to light them.

CRACKLE.

CRACKLE.

The food they had brought began cooking over the campfire.

"Here, eat."

Kern handed her a thick piece of meat. As they ate, Merhen looked around and tilted her head.

"Was it always this bad?"

"What?"

"The demonic energy feels denser than it did a year ago."

"Really?"

"Yeah. Look over there."

She pointed to a tree badly warped by demonic energy. It was twisted into a spiral, much like a Screw Bar ice pop.

"I heard you only see things like that much deeper in the forest."

Denser demonic energy, huh?

He recalled what he'd read about the Demon Forest. Apparently, some sort of passage channeled energy from the demon realm into the forest, contaminating it. He'd also read that the contamination wasn't severe enough to warrant intervention yet.

'As for culling the monsters that build up...'

The academy's annual practical exam served as a regular extermination operation.

'It's not a bad deal for the academy, either.'

It gave students valuable practical experience. He'd also heard the empire provided a certain amount of compensation for the extermination work. There was a reason this forest was left intact despite the danger posed by its demonic energy.

"If more demonic energy is coming through, doesn't that mean the passage is getting bigger?"

"Huh? You know about the passage, too?"

"I've read a few books myself."

Merhen nodded.

"Usually, yes. The bigger the passage gets..."

"The more likely a monster wave becomes. Right?"

"Yeah. Because there's a greater chance something will come out of the demon realm. They say that makes the monsters gather together and form a wave. So..."

She glanced at him.

"... Um, shouldn't we go back and tell the professors?"

"That a wave is coming?"

"Yeah. I'm a little worried."

"That tree does look bizarre, but can you really be certain based on that alone?"

"No. It just means the risk isn't zero..."

Merhen scratched her head as she mumbled.

"... Do you think they wouldn't believe us?"

"Who knows whether they'd suspend the exam? But do we really need to tell them?"

"Huh?"

"We can just deal with it ourselves."

"... Huh?"

"It'd be a waste. They're all walking piles of points."

Wasn't a monster wave basically an EXP-duplication event?

'I need to feed the Death Spirit Sword some blood anyway.'

If they ran off to report this, the knight order and mage corps waiting on the outskirts might mobilize. He'd heard they ranked in the empire's upper-middle tier. They could probably handle a monster wave reasonably well on their own. Then he'd lose both the EXP and all those points.

Why go out of his way to do that?

"... Um, you have a pretty unusual way of thinking, Kern."

"Someone will report it even if we don't. Right?"

They had reached the interior a little faster, but the top students would make it this far soon enough. After all, killing monsters was how they earned points, and naturally, there were more monsters deeper in the forest.

"... Hmm. I don't know. Even if they notice, would they turn back in the middle of the exam? If it keeps going without them, they're guaranteed to finish last."

"Doesn't that apply to us, too?"

"Uh... You're right. Though we've already earned enough points that I don't think we'd finish last..."

"You're going to settle for that measly score? When you were already at the bottom of the class?"

"..."

Merhen fell silent.

Kim Minwoo casually added, "Still, if that's what you want, Merhen, I'll go back."

The second provision.

His relationship with Merhen was the highest priority here. Nothing else could take precedence.

Acquiring a legion commander—that was why he'd come to undertake this provision in the first place. Even if he wanted something, he couldn't force her to go along with it. That would be sacrificing the greater gain for a smaller one.

'I just need to make her understand the situation.'

Wouldn't someone else report it anyway? Nobody would step forward? Then why should they?

He'd conveyed that much indirectly. Surely she'd gotten the point.

Of course, if she still insisted on going back, Kim Minwoo intended to return without hesitation.

Leveling up and feeding blood to the Death Spirit Sword? He could do those things as much as he liked once he got out. His relationship with Merhen, on the other hand...

'I can only build that here.'

No scenario was set without a reason. If all he had to do was stop her from becoming undead...

'There'd be no need to show me her past like this.'

It could simply start with Merhen screaming in front of the evil Death Lord. Then he could clash with the Death Lord straightaway.

But it hadn't. Instead, he'd been given plenty of time.

Why?

[This is a fragment of the past created from the regrets of 'Banshee Queen Merhen' during her human life!]

[The player will participate.]

'To resolve Merhen's regrets...'

The player needed a certain amount of time. Kim Minwoo believed this period was meant for deepening his friendship with her.

'Building a relationship.'

He couldn't think of any other explanation. Surely this wasn't time allotted for requesting reinforcements.

'They couldn't win even if they came.'

He wasn't the empire's emperor, just a duke's son. How many troops could he possibly muster? If mere reinforcements could deal with the Death Lord, he would never have conquered this continent in the first place.

The conclusion: he needed to grow closer to Merhen. Doing so would grant him some sort of advantage.

That was how Kim Minwoo saw it.

"What do you want to do?"

"... Th-then, should we sleep here tonight... and go a little farther tomorrow? We still don't know for sure..."

"If that's what you want."

* * *

Merhen and Kern ventured deeper into the forest. Increasingly grotesque monsters appeared, along with scattered trees twisted into horrific shapes.

There were a few close calls along the way. Naturally, Kern wasn't the one in danger.

It was Merhen. She had survived several dangerous encounters. In particular, things had almost turned truly dire when a saber tiger lurking in a tree pounced on her.

ROAR!

The monster lunged in an instant, claws extended. Merhen's heart pounded so hard it felt ready to burst.

'Please...!'

Despite her desperate plea, there was no sign of a spell, let alone a manifestation of her magic.

SLASH!

"Are you okay?"

Fortunately, Kern had saved her life. She saw a deep claw wound across his arm.

'... He even got hurt because of me...'

Merhen stamped her feet anxiously at the sight of his injury.

"S-sorry. Because of me..."

"It's fine. This is nothing. It doesn't even tickle."

Kern smiled as though it were no big deal and poured a potion over the wound.

How strange. The saber tiger was definitely dead.

THUMP.

Yet her racing heart still wouldn't settle down. It was especially bad when she looked at Kern.

She hurriedly turned away.

After pouring on the potion, Kim Minwoo looked at Merhen.

'This is pretty serious, isn't it?'

That close call just now—he'd known the saber tiger was hiding there thanks to Snowy. He'd deliberately lured it into attacking. Not because he wanted her dead, of course. He'd heard that magic often manifested in life-threatening situations.

Despite his engineering several such crises, she hadn't even managed to move her mana, let alone manifest her magic.

'This isn't going to work.'

He could see that now. Simply putting her life in danger didn't seem sufficient to make her magic manifest.

'Well, if it were that easy, she'd have done it long ago.'

Merhen must have made efforts of her own. For now, he'd have to abandon the life-threatening approach.

After advancing for another day or so, they noticed several changes. The demonic energy was growing ever thicker. Scattered monster tracks were converging on a single location.

Merhen's expression grew increasingly grim at the sight.

Before, she could tell the demonic energy had intensified, but she couldn't be certain there would be a wave. Now it was different.

Monsters gathering together? That was a clear sign of a wave.

"Kern. It's dangerous to go any farther."

"Yeah. Looks like a wave will break out soon."

"Let's go. We have to tell them."

"Merhen."

"Yeah?"

"I'll send Cedric with you. Go on ahead."

"... Huh?"

He addressed the puzzled Merhen with a serious expression.

"All the monsters will come swarming soon. The students are scattered throughout the forest. A lot of them will die at this rate."

"Th-that's why we need to run!"

"Someone has to stop them."

"B-but..."

It doesn't have to be you.

Merhen barely swallowed the rest of her words, because a sudden thought crossed her mind.

'D-did I put pressure on Kern?'

Thinking back, she had. She was the one who'd kept insisting they warn everyone about the wave.

And Kern? He'd been skeptical of the idea. His attitude had been something like: if you insist, I won't stop you, but why bother?

She'd wanted more points, too. Besides, there hadn't been any definite proof. So despite voicing her concerns, Merhen had vaguely gone along with Kern until now.

But the moment clear evidence of a wave emerged, his attitude suddenly changed. Now he wanted to protect everyone.

Surely he wasn't actually planning to defeat the entire wave alone for points. No matter how she looked at it, the only explanation she could think of was her own attitude.

Merhen spoke urgently.

"I-if you're doing this because of me, you don't have to. I don't care about them at all. Everyone's selfish anyway."

What if the students had reported the anomalies? If even two or three teams had done so, a rescue force would already be on its way. They would have launched magical flares everywhere. Even this deep inside the forest, she would at least have been able to see them.

But not a single magical flare had gone off.

Neither the leading top-ranked students nor those in the middle ranks had gone back to report the anomalies.

Of course, she and Kern hadn't either, so she had no right to criticize them. It was just another reminder that people lived for themselves. There was no reason whatsoever for Kern to sacrifice himself.

Why should he be responsible for an unforeseen disaster? It wasn't as though he'd created the wave.

Merhen urgently grabbed his sleeve.

"C-come with me. It's not too late. If we run..."

Just then, the ground began to shake as though a horde of thousands were charging across it.

Merhen's eyes went blank.

Violent tremors. The wave had already begun.

"They're coming. This way."

"Ah..."

Kern extended a hand. He spoke to the summoned Cedric.

"Take her away."

"I shall."

Cedric grabbed Merhen's arm.

"No! Let go! Kern! I'll stay with—"

"... Come quietly."

Cedric hoisted Merhen over his shoulder and ran. She grabbed his skull with both hands and shook it wildly.

'... What a nuisance.'

Cedric sighed inwardly. This woman knew nothing of his master's true worth. That was why she was losing her mind over a mere monster wave.

He wanted to snap at her and ask what all the fuss was about, but that might earn him months of beatings from his master.

Kim Minwoo was a calculating man. There had to be a reason he hadn't revealed his true capabilities. Looking at his former comrade flailing on his shoulder, Cedric thought he could more or less guess why.

In all likelihood...

'He's trying to score points with her.'

"Let me go!"

"Would you hold still?"

Cedric pulled away the fingers that had slipped inside his skull and sighed inwardly.

Was this really that cold, aloof Banshee Queen?

He could feel his illusions shattering.