Chapter 43
"Hey, hey, Candy."
The man rummaged through his pocket, thinking she wanted candy.
"No, not that. Since you won't tell me your name, I have nothing to call you by."
So Cecil had decided. Though it felt a bit childish, since he had no other distinguishing features, she would call him “Candy” for now.
The man maintained an indifferent attitude as if he didn't care either way.
When he moved toward the stream to prepare breakfast, Cecil followed.
"Hey, I'm coming with you."
The stream was less than three minutes away from their campsite.
The man rolled up his pants and entered the stream. He threw his wooden sword like a harpoon to catch fish.
Cecil also dipped her feet in slightly but jumped out with a start.
"Crazy, it's too cold."
The chill was so intense it made her afraid to even wash her face.
Her whole body ached with muscle pain, and though she'd been sweating all day, she couldn't change clothes or take a bath.
"What kind of hardship is this?"
Giving up on washing, she crouched on the pebbles and watched the man catch fish.
Gathering precious children from noble families for this?
She wanted to confront Eternia about whether there wasn't a more dignified method.
After watching the man quietly for a while, she sighed and said, "Candy, come here!"
When the fish hunting took too long, she beckoned him over.
As he stopped what he was doing and approached, Cecil took out a magic bomb from her bag and handed it to him.
"Use this."
The man alternately looked at the bomb and Cecil as if asking what it was.
"Ah geez, let me show you."
Cecil twisted the bomb's body once and threw it at a spot where fish were gathered in the stream.
Bang!
Soon after, with an explosion, white frost burst out in all directions.
And all the water in that area froze completely transparent.
"You're a novice at this, huh? It's a Frost Wind Bomb. I don't need to explain the effect, right? Just go and collect the frozen fish."
The man stood there blankly, seemingly impressed.
"From now on, use this for meals. I was saving it for important times but I'll use it now. In exchange, you have to take full responsibility for me until we reach the checkpoint. Got it?"
The man nodded.
Cecil smiled broadly.
Actually, they would reach the checkpoint by evening at the latest and part ways, so there wouldn't be much use for it. It was just for show.
"Hey, this is important. Promise me with words."
The man stared at Cecil for a moment. Then, ignoring her request, he went into the stream to collect the fish, as if refusing to do anything unnecessary.
When her ploy didn't work, Cecil flared up and jumped to her feet, shouting. "Ugh, why are you being so difficult about letting me hear your voice just once!?"
***
After finishing their meal, the masked man and Cecil headed toward the checkpoint again.
As she grew somewhat accustomed to traveling with him, Cecil poured out words to him.
"Why do you cover your face? Are you shy? Or are you really ugly? Are you the Empire's secret human weapon?”
“...”
"You know, I really can't stand not knowing things."
"..."
"Haa, I should've just taken it off while you were sleeping."
The Plantera ambushes continued several more times. Fatigue gradually accumulated as they dealt with them.
Cecil felt like she could collapse at any moment, but the man showed no signs of exhaustion.
Cecil sat on the body of a Plantera with dismembered limbs, puffing on her tobacco, and said, "Aren't you tired? What did you do in life to have such good stamina? Did you carry fortress bricks or something?"
He half-listened, then started walking again without much rest.
Cecil complained heavily at the sight, "Ughhhh, what's wrong with resting a little longer?"
After advancing like that for several hours, they came upon a wide road with an open view. It was a sign that the checkpoint wasn't far.
The man stopped and stretched out his arm to hold Cecil back.
A moment later, there was a rustling sound from the bushes some distance away.
Then, a group of people poured out from there.
Five in total. Four wore swords, and one wore a robe.
They were also wary of strangers nearby. Though it should have been a situation where they'd be relieved to meet other applicants, they didn't seem to feel that way.
They looked tired and worn and gave off a hostile atmosphere toward Cecil.
Though she sensed something odd, Cecil stepped forward boldly, thinking that joining up with them wouldn’t put the other group at a disadvantage.
"Perfect. Let's go join them."
She grabbed the man's wrist and pulled him toward the group.
However, they reacted sensitively.
Shing!
They all drew their swords at once upon seeing the approaching pair.
Then, the group slowly moved sideways to block the path leading to the checkpoint.
Cecil said to them, "What's this?"
The one who appeared to be the leader spoke, "You tryna pass through here?"
Though wearing neat knight's clothing, his tone was like that of bandits trying to collect a toll.
Cecil answered, "Why? Can't we? Do you own this path?"
"You two take another route. We're going this way."
She frowned and said, "What nonsense is this?"
"You think you can just follow along and freeload after we clear the path? That won't do."
Cecil burst out laughing.
What a pathetic notion. They’re talking as if they had pioneered a path no one had traveled before.
Cecil could quickly sense that it was simply to eliminate competition.
Cecil crossed her arms and snapped back sharply, "What's your problem? What are you going to do? Kill us?"
There was a reason why applicants shouldn't directly fight and compete with each other.
Rules about conflicts between applicants were written on the back of the distributed maps.
— We strongly discourage the use of force. In case of unavoidable conflict between applicants, subduing opponents to unconsciousness or exhaustion is permitted, but there will be immediate disqualification for causing severe injury.
In a situation where everyone was heavily armed, fighting intensely would inevitably lead to serious injuries, even unintentionally.
Are they planning to cause conflict despite risking disqualification?
"Ya think there are eyes watching here? If I cripple you, I can just say I didn't know."
"..."
Some of the sword-wielding men unpleasantly glanced between Cecil's face and her legs, exposed by the torn skirt.
The man who looked like a mage approached the leader and whispered something. While listening, the leader looked at Cecil's face several times. He seemed to recognize who she was.
"Oh... are you from the Magic Engineering Department?"
"What of it?"
The leader smirked unpleasantly and spread his arms as if welcoming her, withdrawing his sword.
"Since you're not our competition, things are different now."
Cecil frowned at their sudden change in attitude.
He looked her companion up and down and said, "You look like a hopeless pair at first glance, but if you promise to cooperate with us, we'll let you come along. Pretty good offer, isn't it?"
He patted the emblem on his shoulder as if telling them to look carefully and said, "You probably know roughly how skilled we are. You must know what this symbolizes."
The emblem of the Igilon Knights. They were known for exclusively handling magic creatures. They were a group with strong mercenary characteristics rather than emphasizing knightly honor. Though their skill and fame were well-known, she never imagined they would be so narrow-minded.
"..."
The leader pointed his sword tip at the masked man and continued, "Of course, the condition is leaving that bastard behind. Sorry, but we're in no need of sword-wielders."
Cecil looked to the side.
The masked man stood like a wooden post, observing the situation despite their threats. He didn't make any particular gesture toward Cecil.
She thought for a moment.
Cecil could handle them alone. However, the problem was that her magic tools weren't designed for use against humans and could potentially kill someone.
Of course, their offer wasn't worth considering.
"Candy, let's just take another path."
Backing down is the best option for now.
When Cecil turned to leave, the masked man grabbed her wrist.
"...?"
The man quietly met Cecil's eyes. He seemed to have different thoughts than Cecil.
Then he calmly whispered in her ear, "Stay back."
"What?"
It was the first words he'd spoken since meeting Cecil. It was sudden, and his voice was surprisingly normal, leaving her momentarily dumbfounded.
Cecil blinked several times and said, "You're going to fight...?"
He nodded slightly.
"Fine, do as you please."
The man's eyes, visible through the mask, were faintly glowing golden.
What unique eyes. I should remember that.
Cecil silently followed his words, curious to see what he would do. Seeing how he handled Planteras, he was clearly skilled, so he was worth trusting.
She glared at the knights while taking big steps backward.
The leader saw this, and veins bulged in his neck.
"Ha, so you're going to be like that?"
Once Cecil had created enough distance, the masked man drew his wooden sword and strode toward the knights.
The leader raised his blade and gave hand signals to his companions.
The knights took defensive positions and surrounded the man. Their movements were as natural and skilled as flowing water as they took positions around their prey. They seemed to have worked together for a long time.
The mage stood in the rear, chanting spells and summoning five fireballs. These floated in the air, targeting the masked man.
Cecil watched anxiously from a distance.
The tense standoff continued for a while.
The masked man moved first.
His action overturned everyone's expectations.
The man lightly threw his wooden sword at the mage's feet and raised both arms as if surrendering.
The knights stared incredulously at him throwing away his sword without any resistance.
"...?"
"What?"
Soon they started looking at each other and snickering.
"Hehehe."
"Pfft."
"Kukukuk, ahahahaha!"
"Trying to act cool in front of a woman, puhahaha."
The knights held their stomachs and roared with laughter, unable to contain themselves.
Meanwhile, the wooden sword began to writhe strangely.
Suddenly, the mage shouted, "Wait, wait! Hey, w-what's this!"
The wooden sword had vanished, and in its place, a sapling had appeared, entangling the mage's body like a spider web.
Simultaneously, the masked man swung his arm down greatly, as if he had been waiting for this moment.
Suddenly, an intense light burst from his hand, and a large explosion occurred.
BOOM!
In the blink of an eye, the place where they stood was completely covered in dust.
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