Chapter 89

Part 14: The Way Back (1)

Though I had experienced it many times, seeing the body of someone I knew, even someone I was close to, was always a difficult thing.

Even if they could come back to life by reversing time, the shock of seeing the body never disappeared.

Moreover, there was no guarantee that they could be saved.

Because of this, I felt a tension that tightened my heart even more than the shock of a friend's death.

"Are you okay?"

"Only two of you survived?"

The knights asked the two surviving students urgently. Both of them, overwhelmed with the joy of survival, managed to answer.

"U-Us two only. Professor Cartin held on until the end, but..."

The female student, Bria, answered with a cracked voice.

"Her injuries were severe. We tried to treat her with potions and bandages, but it didn't work."

The male student, who looked relatively better, added.

Looking at them again, I thought I recognized them.

They were the students who had taken the oath of new students. His name was Raid, I believe.

While the knights were taking care of the surviving students, I examined Professor Cartin's body.

The wound on her side, wrapped in bandages, was indeed very severe, as they had said.

The numerous other injuries suggested that there had been a fierce battle.

The confidence I had gained from my growth drained away.

If someone as skilled as Cartin could die like this, I could die at any moment in this sealed zone.

"We need to send a signal and move to a safer place."

At Senior Knight Miro's words, Knight Axel took a flare from his coat.

He raised the flare and struck it with his palm.

Whoosh.

A light shot up from the flare and exploded in the sky.

Bang!

It was a signal flare.

"Now that we've informed them, we'll head to the rendezvous point. We'll go to the cave we saw on the way here. We'll hold out there until dawn and then head straight to the rendezvous point."

Senior Knight Miro spoke to me as if seeking my understanding.

This was because the two knights had seen my skills on the way here.

"Would it be difficult to carry the body?"

At my question, the senior knight shook his head.

"Then, since I know the location of the cave, I'll gather the body and follow you."

At my words, Senior Knight Miro and Knight Axel nodded.

However, Bria and Raid didn't understand.

"Um, by the way, why is Alex here?"

"I'll explain later."

I put off answering Bria's question.

"Wait, shouldn't we go together..."

The senior knight cut off Raid's words and urged the group to move.

"Everything's fine, so let's move quickly. This place is dangerous too."

Leading Raid, who kept stopping out of worry, the knights disappeared in the direction we had come from.

Alone, I thoroughly examined Professor Cartin's body.

I checked every wound, unwrapped the bandages, and examined the side wound again.

I didn't have the skills to perform a proper autopsy, nor was there anything suspicious about the situation.

I just couldn't accept that she had died so easily.

After checking everything, even stripping off her outer clothes to the point of feeling guilty to the deceased, I dug a shallow grave with my greatsword and buried her.

I then set up a large stone and marked the spot by scratching the surrounding trees.

Fortunately, my senses had improved, so I felt confident I could find the spot again.

After a while, I picked up her shield and sword, the items she left behind, and followed the group that had gone ahead.

When I arrived at the cave, the knights who had left earlier had just arrived.

It was a shallow cave dug into a not-so-high rock hill. The cave was only about ten meters deep.

Though it wasn't very high, it was a cave under a rock hill. Since only one side needed to be blocked, even a shallow cave was much safer than sleeping in the middle of the forest.

It wasn't a place to stay for long, but it was sufficient for one night.

Before I arrived, the knights were camouflaging the front of the cave with bushes and branches.

Raid and Bria, who were carrying branches, were relieved to see me arrive early.

"Are you okay?"

At Bria's question, I nodded.

It seemed that Bria and Raid had recovered somewhat with time.

I helped them finish camouflaging the cave, and then we decided to take turns keeping watch and get some sleep.

"Day will break soon, but try to get some sleep. We'll have to keep moving once it's light."

I excluded the two students from the watch, considering their efforts.

I also offered to take the first watch, but I insisted on doing it.

After a bit of back and forth, I ended up taking the first watch.

Senior Knight Miro was next, and Knight Axel would take the last watch.

Though there wasn't much time left until dawn, we decided to delay our departure a bit because everyone was too exhausted.

It was a bit cold, but the knights and capable individuals could sleep without a fire.

While heading to the front of the cave, where the branches for camouflage were piled up,

Raid lay down first, and the two knights, placing their swords by their heads, soon fell asleep.

Bria also lay down, but after a while, she got up and came to my side.

She sat next to me, leaning against the rock wall, and looked into the dark forest.

"I knew it would be dangerous, but I never thought my group would end up like this. Especially Professor Cartin... I never thought she would pass away. She seemed like someone who would never die, no matter what happened..."

She spoke softly, looking ahead.

She wasn't asking for a response; it was just a monologue.

She rambled on about various things and even mentioned me.

"I heard from the knights that the Dean included you in the search party. With your skills, Alex, you deserve to be in the search party, but it's really impressive that the Dean recognized you."

Perhaps because she had sparred with me several times during knight training, she didn't question my participation in the search party.

After listening to her for a while, I asked a question during a pause in her talking.

"What exactly happened?"

"Oh, I told the knights, but you probably didn't hear."

She explained what had happened throughout the day.

They followed the light signal but ended up in a strange place, which turned out to be a den of monsters, leading to a battle with a large number of them.

She described losing her teammates one by one and, in the end, Professor Cartin, who was injured, also died.

While speaking, her body seemed to tremble slightly, but I didn't interrupt her.

Instead, I asked her a question.

"Are you going to sleep, or can I ask you a few questions?"

"Sure, I couldn't sleep anyway. Go ahead and ask."

Despite her expression, she still seemed to be in shock.

After all, seeing people she knew die during their escape, she couldn't have recovered so quickly.

If they had been ordinary people in my previous life, it would have left a lifelong trauma.

In any case, with her permission, I asked about the things I was curious about.

"You said you followed the light pillar but didn't reach the rendezvous point?"

"It's really strange. I don't understand it either. Professor Cartin said the direction seemed off, so I, Leonel, and Professor Cartin climbed a tree to check."

"You said it seemed off?"

"Yes. At first, she didn't say anything, but the more we went, the more she felt it was strange."

"Hmm... So, did you keep going in the same direction from the beginning?"

"No, we changed direction at one point and climbed a tree to check and correct our direction."

"When was that?"

"Right, it was after we found the skeleton."

"Can you tell me more about that?"

Perhaps because she knew I was close to Professor Cartin, Bria told me as much as she could.

She mentioned that the body belonged to a knight of the Raid family and included the story of fighting monsters and the deaths of the students.

"If Raid hadn't fallen behind at the beginning, maybe one or two more could have survived. But, I'm not blaming Raid. It's impressive that he survived alone."

After venting all her regrets, she finally returned to her bed, exhausted.

After a while, it was time for the next watch, so I woke Senior Knight Miro and then went to sleep.

"Everyone, wake up!"

I had just closed my eyes when I heard the call to wake up.

Thinking it might be a monster attack, I quickly opened my eyes, only to be blinded by the sunlight.

Everyone got up and had a dry breakfast.

The trained knights looked fine after a short sleep, and Bria and I, as capable individuals, were also in good condition.

Fortunately, Raid also looked fine, so the group decided to set off immediately.

Before leaving, the two knights had a brief conversation.

"Do you plan to hold out until we return from the rendezvous point?"

"No, we need to meet up with the other knights searching elsewhere and then move to a more defensible location."

Senior Knight Miro's words made Knight Axel's expression dark.

"Will they be alive?"

"Who knows."

The two knights looked at me.

I had heard their entire conversation but pretended not to.

Honestly, the safe journey through the sealed zone last night was all thanks to me.

I found the students and detected the approaching monsters, alerting everyone in advance.

My sword skills were not bad, but my ability to detect monsters alone was enough to say I had done more than my share.

We started moving back to the starting point.

The sealed zone at night and during the day were completely different places.

With the sun up, no dozens of monsters poured in, and there were no surprise attacks.

With my ability to detect monsters in advance, we could easily take them down.

Of course, no one was resting.

The knights, Bria, and even Raid fought the monsters.

I also helped fight the monsters but led the group at other times.

Without the light pillar today, we had to find our destination with our eyes.

Fortunately, I remembered the way, so we could move toward our starting point without difficulty.

Walking hard, we almost reached the clearing, our destination, before nightfall.

"I know the way from here."

At Senior Knight Miro's words, everyone nodded.

I stepped back and joined the group.

"Good job."

As I stood next to him, Raid spoke to me.

At the opening ceremony, he had shown awkward respect, but after learning I was a noble, he spoke informally.

It wasn't anything special. He wasn't a successor, but as the eldest son of a high-ranking noble, he could speak informally to me.

"Prince Raid also did a great job."

"We haven't arrived yet."

"Not much is left."

"Still, we have to hold out for another week."

"That's true."

"By the way, I heard you found the body of a knight from Prince Raid's family yesterday."

"...Oh, right. It was fortunate."

There was a brief pause.

"Still, it was fortunate. Falling behind and then rejoining."

"I just feel sorry."

His responses became slower and shorter.

"By the way, I noticed a bag on your waist that I haven't seen before."

"...It's one I've always had."

At my question, Raid flinched.

Huh? I just mentioned it because I noticed it. What's going on?

I was about to ask again, but Prince Raid's expression had hardened.

Moreover, looking around, I saw an unexpected situation unfolding before me.