Chapter 114
－POV: Commander of Emperas Kingdom's First Knight Order－
A report comes in from the Fifth Knight Order that everything is proceeding smoothly.
The knights throughout the castle are cheering as well.
A quiet office.
The only sound in the room is the rustle of turning pages.
A sound announces someone entering.
One is my friend, the commander of the Fourth Knight Order.
The other is a man who serves under me.
Both of them look somewhat relieved.
I gather the documents I have finished processing.
As always, the documents contain requests from the various villages and the like.
Lately, the documents have also begun to include more and more anxious appeals from the citizens.
They are calls for explanations from the officials holding key positions in each village.
An inexplicable light streaking across the sky.
Even if people thought nothing of it at first, repeated sightings gradually fanned their anxiety.
By now, the light can be seen several times a day.
That is only natural.
It would not be a problem if we could explain it, but we still do not know what it is.
It seems we have confirmed that it affects magic stones, but nothing beyond that at all.
I feel as though something is steadily falling apart.
"Commander, did you hear?"
"Yeah."
They successfully entered the forest as planned.
Even after entering the forest, they have been able to advance deeper inside without being attacked by the light.
As far as I am concerned, so what?
"You do not look very happy about it."
The deputy commander seems displeased.
"The Fourth Knight Order had no problems up to that point, did it?"
"Huh? No—we were attacked at that point."
"An attack? What kind?"
"Huh?... We were attacked by the light."
"...Did anyone die or get injured in that attack?"
"..."
I ignore the deputy commander's displeased expression.
My friend also seems somewhat confused.
"You say the light attacked you, but there were no wounded or dead. The only thing that happened was that the slaves escaped."
"That's..."
"There were no casualties. That was probably a warning."
A sign of the composure only the truly strong possess.
It means they have enough composure to issue a warning.
If they were desperate, they would have attacked immediately.
It could be a bluff... but I doubt it. This is a warning from a truly powerful being.
"But, Commander, if it was the Fifth Knight Order..."
"What comes after a warning?"
"Huh?... A warning... then an attack."
"That's right. This country has given it a reason to launch an attack."
No one has died in an attack from the forest so far.
The mage with no memories was killed by this country, not by the forest.
That's right. The forest has not killed anyone yet.
Though we do not know what happened to the slaves who escaped.
Now, suppose the Fifth Knight Order entered the forest and attacked.
How would the forest respond?
"It would recognize them as enemies without a doubt. And if the warning has already been issued, then an attack is next."
My friend and the deputy commander both inhale sharply.
The Fifth Knight Order managed to enter the forest, but that's all.
We have no idea what kind of being the enemy is or how much power it possesses.
So what if they were able to enter the forest in that state?
They will only recklessly provoke the forest's wrath.
"But we have to subdue the forest..."
The deputy commander understands none of this.
He has no idea that we are facing an enemy whose depths cannot be fathomed.
As knights, it is difficult to accept the reality that there are beings in this world we must never oppose.
But commanders and deputy commanders also have a duty to lead their men.
If only to keep them from dying in vain.
"Deputy Commander!!!"
The instant I called out to the deputy commander, something heavy bore down on my entire body.
The entire room—no, the building itself—seems to creak.
I cannot speak.
I cannot even raise my head; it feels as though I am being slammed into the desk where I was sitting.
My body cries out.
It is as though something terrifying is forcibly pinning me down from above.
I cannot see its form. It is probably an oppressive aura.
I have the illusion that something is crushing me from within.
No, it is not an illusion. If this continues...
"Hah, hah, hah, hah."
I breathe in short, repeated gasps.
The pressure disappears in an instant.
I force my screaming body upright and look toward where my friend and the deputy commander had been.
The deputy commander's arm is bent at an unnatural angle.
The deputy commander appears to be alive, but unconscious.
My friend is somehow still conscious, but is in much the same condition as I am.
The anger of the World's King has finally spread beyond the forest.