Chapter 82

The day after my Valdish was completed, I finally entered the Forest of No Return.

I would be going into the Forest of No Return in a cart with a Holof. The one pulling the cart would be a Sleipnir. In Fullfordball, it seems that only wild Sleipnirs that have been captured and tamed are used to enter the Forest of No Return. If a Sleipnir that has been bred by humans is used, the survival rate when attacked by a monster in the Forest of No Return is lower.

However, I think that breeding Sleipnirs is still done to some extent, even if not actively, as they do have their uses. I don’t think it’s completely nonexistent.

The equipment for entering the Forest of No Return includes the shell of a turtle-type monster, the Zaratana, and a protector made from the hide of a King Boar, which I wore when I sparred with Theo before. It seems that wearing armor for monster hunting is quite rare. I guess it’s all about ease of movement. Also, since there’s a flow of magic for defense, it’s apparently not good to be overly encased in metal armor.

There are several placement bases within the Forest of No Return, and the monsters are hunted centered around these bases. There are two bases in the shallow layer, five in the middle layer, and eight in the deep layer. The Forest of No Return has a deepest layer, but since the original purpose of entering the forest is to thin out the monsters that invade the territory, there’s no benefit to going all the way to the deepest layer to hunt monsters, so they only go as far as the deep layer.

This time, we are going to a placement base in the shallow layer. The cart vibrates quite a bit, but the road to the placement base is well-maintained, so I think it’s probably better than other places.

The old man has put a lot of effort into the road maintenance within the territory, and people with earth elemental magic, regardless of whether they are nobles or commoners, are accepted for employment in road maintenance. Indeed, not only in the capital where Fullfordball Castle is located, but also in the nearby towns and villages, the roads are beautifully paved with cobblestones and bricks. I’m sure the other places are similarly well-maintained.

We set out early in the morning and finally arrived at the placement base in the shallow layer, which was around just before noon. There were two men there, one about the same age as Krieger, and the other a young man who looked two or three years younger than the twins.

"Nice to meet you, young master. I’m Tref. I’ll be accompanying you today."

The first to greet us was a thin-eyed man who looked about the same age as Krieger.

"I’m Piet! Wow, I’ve been looking forward to meeting you, young master!!"

The other young man grabbed both my hands and shook them vigorously.

"Nice to meet you, Tref and Piet. I’m Albert. It’s my first time, so I don’t know anything. I’d appreciate it if you could teach me a lot."

"Sure, ask me anything."

"Ah, right. Tref, Piet, these are my friends."

After greeting the two, I introduced Nebel and the others.

"I’m Nebel Krefte."

"Ah, could you be one of Lord Helbert’s new children? Lord Lang has been saying that if he was going to take you in, he could have done it himself."

Piet then grabbed Nebel’s hand and shook it vigorously.

"I’m Brünnhild. It’s hard to say, so please call me Hilt."

"I’m Hedvige. Please call me Hetta casually."

Hilt and Hetta deliberately did not mention their family names. They might have been wary of being told to wait at the placement base if it was known that they were noble ladies. But, you know, from their appearance and manners, it’s obvious that they are high-ranking noble ladies.

"You’re coming with us, ladies? The danger in the shallow layer is relatively low, but anything can happen, so please stay close to us."

Tref’s words were met with nods of agreement from Hilt and Hetta.

"I’m Theodora, nice to meet you!"

"I’m Kurt Schrüssel. Nice to meet you today."

Theo, you know, when you greeted me, you didn’t have that air of being a noble’s child at all. You should try to be a bit more proper.

"Yes, nice to meet you."

While Theo and Kurt shook hands with Piet, Fairvalter asked Tref.

"How’s it looking today?"

"It’s quieter than usual."

Fairvalter frowned.

"Is everything okay?"

"I don’t know about the deep and middle layers, but the shallow layer is usually quiet."

"Your senses are off. I hope there’s no Train monster."

"I think it’s a different kind of quiet. It’s like they’re on alert for something."

They both looked at me.

"Huh? Do you mean, we shouldn’t go today?"

Aw, we’ve come this far.

Tref and Fairvalter quickly reassured me.

"No, no, no, no, it’s fine! Young master, the monsters in the shallow layer are usually quiet!"

"If anything happens, Tref and Piet are here. They are experts in monster hunting in the deep layer. Please rest assured."

Huh? Really? Such amazing people are going to be our instructors?

"Is it really okay? Should we cancel?"

When I asked again for confirmation, Tref nodded firmly.

"Yes, it’s fine."

That’s a relief. If we turned back here, I wouldn’t be able to meet the one who called me. But then again, the Forest of No Return is huge, and I don’t even know where in the forest he is. How am I supposed to find him?!

I just realized that, but, well, my goal today is to go on my first monster hunt. The feeling of being called has gotten stronger since entering the Forest of No Return, but today, I’d be happy just to meet him. I’m sure I’ll come to this Forest of No Return many times in the future, and I’ll be living in Fullfordball permanently once I come of age.

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