Chapter 44
A flock of birds suddenly took flight from the forest, startled by the explosion.
The dust, thick as fog, formed a massive curtain that completely blocked the view of the path.
Even Cecil, who had some knowledge about explosions, couldn't understand how it had been triggered.
He clearly had empty hands. Given the strong magical energy she felt, it seemed like magic.
"Cough! Damn this dust!"
"Ahhh! This won't come off!"
"Quick, get that bastard!"
Chaos erupted in an instant.
Several flashes of light flickered within the dust cloud.
Though a fight was occurring, there wasn't even the sound of clashing weapons. Only blood-curdling screams occasionally echoed.
After a moment, all sounds abruptly ceased.
The gentle breeze slowly began to sweep away the dust.
The forms of fallen knights gradually became visible on the road.
The battle was over.
The masked man emerged slowly, dusting off his wooden sword.
It seemed to have taken less than three minutes to deal with all the knights.
He didn't show a single wound.
Seeing his composure, as if he'd just finished doing some simple exercise, Cecil instantly realized something.
He was skilled enough to match this exam's key figures like Gale, Sion, Luna, Victor, and Naias. He simply operated quietly to avoid drawing attention for whatever unknown reasons.
Cecil smiled at the man.
Getting such a companion from the start of the exam—perhaps being separated from her companions had been a blessing in disguise.
The man gestured for Cecil to follow and turned to continue down the path.
She followed him through the dust, fanning herself.
The knights laid unconscious and scattered about, with their steel swords broken in half and embedded in the ground.
The fallen showed no signs of cuts or bruises.
It was a strange sight even to Cecil, who had little knowledge of swordsmanship.
The mage's face, in particular, had turned unrecognizably pale.
It was obvious he wouldn't answer even if she asked how he'd done it.
Cecil spoke to his back as he walked ahead, "You're pretty good, aren't you?"
The man stopped briefly and stared at her.
"What, got something to say?"
He took out some candy from his chest and handed it to her.
Usually, he gave just one, but this time it was five.
"Are you giving me more because I complimented you?"
He shook his head.
"If not that, then is it for keeping this a secret?"
He nodded twice.
Cecil complained with a disgruntled face, "Ugh, how frustrating. I'll keep everything secret anyway, so why can't you take off your mask and clothes and sing us a nice song?"
A small chuckle could be heard from behind the mask.
"Wow, so you can laugh. I thought you were a wooden puppet."
While her first impression had been of someone uptight, like a long-term prisoner or monk, now he seemed a bit more approachable.
He grabbed Cecil's wrist, forcefully placed the candy in her hand, and continued walking.
"You're quite willful beneath it all."
Cecil followed him, sucking on one of the candies.
After walking along the main road for a while, Cecil looked back.
In the distance, the Planteras were carrying the fallen ones back toward Eternia.
"Idiots, don't come back again."
***
There was a small chapel on one of the slopes of Mount Grace. It was marked as a checkpoint on the map.
A garden decorated with evergreens spread out around the chapel.
Large rock peaks jutting out from the southern direction cast shadows over half of the checkpoint.
In those shaded areas, about sixty candidates were lying down like patients, recovering.
The Planteras occasionally transported candidates who had fainted or collapsed from exhaustion from the ravine.
Some of the fallen were being tended to by a few alchemists and mages.
The scene resembled a field hospital.
I knew everything from what Silveryn had told me. The journey from the starting point to defeating the gatekeeper was merely preparation to deplete all the supplies candidates had brought with them.
The real test began when they had to gather and craft their own food and potions from Mount Grace.
Candidates had to choose between gathering a team to help others and collect additional points while slowly reaching the summit, or reach the summit quickly with minimal members to score points beyond the additional points.
Cecil needed to rejoin her friends, and I had no place in that group. We would part ways at the checkpoint.
I had made some progress in getting close to Cecil as planned, so I had no lingering attachments.
It had become a bit complicated since we'd gotten closer while I wore the mask, but with more pressing matters at hand, I planned to set this issue aside for now.
Cecil kept looking around, presumably searching for her companions.
Then, someone called out from the direction of the chapel.
"Sis!"
A girl about my age ran toward Cecil.
"Trisha!"
The two embraced upon meeting.
After a while, the girl called Trisha broke the embrace and said, "Oh no! Sis, your clothes again.... Ah, I can't deal with this. Really."
She grimaced at Cecil's skirt.
Cecil pointed at me and said, "It happened while coming here with this friend."
Trisha looked at me intently and said, "Happened... with?"
Both Cecil and I were likely to draw attention with our appearance and attire.
I wished she'd refrain from making statements that could be misunderstood.
Cecil introduced me, "Right. This is my candy pouch. Candy for short."
Look at this, candy pouch?! Candy pouch?!
My relationship with this woman needed to be readjusted later.
Trisha showed no particular curiosity at the strange introduction and greeted me nonchalantly, "I've heard about you. Thank you for taking care of Sis."
They must have been communicating through Stitches, and apparently, I had been mentioned several times.
Cecil's other companion had gone to monitor the gatekeepers' movements.
With dusk falling, it was an awkward time to continue forward. Like Cecil, I also planned to stay at the checkpoint briefly.
After the sun had completely set, her remaining companions returned from their reconnaissance.
The group consisted of one male and four females from the Alchemy and Magic Engineering departments.
When all six gathered, including Cecil, endless chatter erupted. I wondered how Cecil had managed to stay quiet when she was with me.
After Cecil rejoined her companions, I kept my distance from them.
It wasn't my place to join them, and I needed to begin my own activities in earnest from this point onward.
***
Lilith had pushed through to the middle of the checkpoint route with the help of vitality potions.
After that, things had been remarkably smooth.
There was no need to deplete her mana, nor any reason to take out the Century-Old Wood Wand.
This was because she hadn't encountered any Planteras since following the main road.
However, in her haste, she chose to continue forcing her way through with additional vitality potions instead of resting, leaving her with only one potion remaining after reaching the checkpoint.
Traveling alone through dangerous territory was an entirely unfamiliar experience for Lilith. Throughout her life, she had always been accompanied by guard knights when going out.
Though it was just a one-day journey, for Lilith, it brought a terrible loneliness and fear she had never experienced before.
Perhaps that was why, upon reaching the checkpoint, she felt sorrow rather than pride.
Without realizing it, her desperate need for companionship had grown incredibly strong. Regardless of their capability, she just wanted someone to talk to.
When the moon rose, crystal spheres planted around the chapel checkpoint illuminated the area.
The atmosphere was just as depressing here as where the advance party stayed.
She walked around, searching earnestly for any familiar faces.
Lilith was among the earlier arrivals among all candidates. Perhaps because of this, she couldn't recognize anyone.
No one... is here?
All her connections and popularity seemed meaningless here.
Then, beyond the garden, in an open space, she found the masked man sitting against a rock wall.
He was sitting quietly, holding his wooden sword, killing time.
His companions were nowhere to be seen. The man seemed to be in a similar situation to Lilith.
Hmph, perfect.
Lilith sat down against the rock wall about ten paces away from him.
She planned to wait for a moment and speak to him when she saw an opening.
As she sat, quietly observing her surroundings, a woman approached through the darkness from the direction of the garden.
As the woman drew closer, Lilith could recognize who she was. It was an unexpected figure.
Brown wavy hair that reached her chest. Dark eyebrows and large, aloof-looking eyes. Her features emanated the mysterious atmosphere characteristic of mixed-race people.
The genius of Magic Engineering. Cecil Fontar.
Cecil? Why is Cecil here?
She crouched down in front of the masked man to meet his eye level.
After clearing her throat a couple of times, she spoke, "Ahem, hey Candy, we decided to leave early tomorrow morning. Are you leaving in the morning too?"
The man nodded at Cecil. They seemed to know each other.
"I see. We'll be taking a long detour for the Alchemy and Magic Engineering department assignments. We'll arrive at the summit a bit late, but it won't be a problem since we'll earn plenty of cooperation bonus points. However, we don't have anyone who can handle a sword, so we need reinforcement. So..."
Cecil trailed off briefly before continuing, "Um... would you like to come with us?"
What...?
It was shocking news to Lilith.
She hadn't been the only one keeping an eye on this man. Moreover, the one who had recognized him was Cecil, who was likely to be the top entrant of the Magic Engineering Department.
But his response was even more shocking.
The man silently shook his head.
Cecil smiled as if she had expected this and said, "I thought you might say that. I guess I won't see you after tomorrow morning."
Cecil rummaged through her bag and laid out five glowing blue spheres in front of his feet.
They were magic bombs that had undergone high-level mana refinement.
"This is payment for taking good care of me all this time. You know what these are, right?"
She stood up slowly and continued, "Next time, tell me your name. People keep thinking we have a weird relationship when I call you Candy. I only like handsome men, you know."
Lilith briefly pieced together the information. Cecil seemed to be speaking as if she knew the man's face.
Is he wearing the mask because of his face?
Having overheard their conversation, her curiosity about this man grew uncontrollably.
"Well, I'm going. See you!"
Cecil waved goodbye and quickly left.
Judging by the mention of taking care of her and the overall context of their conversation, it seemed these two had traveled together to the checkpoint.
Lilith wasn't feeling particularly pleased.
He had treated her so coldly, yet he had taken care of Cecil well enough for her to say such things.
They didn't even seem to have known each other for long.
He seemed like a superficial person who blatantly discriminated based on ability and fame.
Lilith's dissatisfaction gradually built up until it finally drove her to approach him and speak without thinking.
She went up to the man's side and said, "Hello."
"..."
"You... have seen me before, haven't you?"
***
Though I had expected it, being rejected face-to-face didn't feel particularly good.
Haa, he rejected it without even thinking about it.
As Cecil walked back to her companions, she glanced back briefly.
He was fixated on the well-groomed, pretty, noble-like woman beside him.
The woman seemed to be one-sidedly talking to him.
She seemed to be acquainted with him.
Cecil's proposal to become companions and earn additional points together should have been an attractive option for him too.
No matter how skilled he was, he couldn't break through the gatekeepers and complete routes A and B alone. He would need to gather companions one way or another.
Since he didn't speak with others, he wouldn't randomly seek out companions.
So, there was only one reason for his rejection.
It must be because of that woman.
An indescribable uneasiness lingered.
She didn't have any real feelings for the man. Cecil's group proposal had been made largely out of necessity rather than personal interest.
But somehow, this had turned into an emotional issue.
The problem was witnessing the man with a rather pretty woman.
If she had just left without looking back, nothing would have happened, but because she looked back, she felt an odd displeasure, as if she had lost to that girl.