Chapter 49
－Emperas Kingdom, 4th Knight Order Commander's Perspective－
The king has issued a royal command to the 4th Knight Order, which I command.
An investigation of the forest.
Though it was called an investigation, we were to resolve any problems we found as best we could.
That was the king's order this time.
The 4th Knight Order has always had frequent contact with the forest.
Our main duties are capturing and subjugating monsters, but investigating the forest is one of them as well.
This time, they're making a fuss because there's something abnormal about the magic stone, but we only need to conduct a routine investigation.
As far as I was concerned, the fuss everyone else was making was no reason to feel uneasy about this assignment.
"Even if the center of the King's Forest is where the problem might be?"
My friend's words gave me pause, but I wasn't concerned.
Our king considered the king of the forest insignificant.
I had heard that the king had disappeared from the forest several decades ago.
What was so frightening about it?
...
Even among the knights, word spread that the magic stone had cracked.
But when I heard more, the crack in the magic stone was said to be extremely small.
The magic stone was so enormous that it couldn't be compared to an ordinary one.
It was a magic stone a meter across, so a tiny crack in something that large was trivial.
The records also said that cracks had been visible here and there when the magic stone was first discovered.
Why be afraid now?
Even if the king were alive and fighting back, we would only have to subdue it.
A mere king of the forest was nothing more than a relic of the past.
Many people had felt uneasy when the magic stone first cracked, and that included the knights.
But once they heard that the crack was tiny, they mocked anyone who felt afraid...
Of course. Our country is the most powerful in the world, after all.
"I hope that's true..."
I inwardly mocked my friend for being a coward as he gave a weak smile.
...
The mountain path into the forest—the usual road we used to enter it.
But I couldn't bring myself to take the first step.
When I looked behind me, I could see that the faces of my subordinates were tense.
There was no sign of anything unusual in the forest from outside.
That should have been the case, but I could sense something coming from the forest.
It slowly stirred fear in my heart.
I ordered the slave unit to investigate.
Meanwhile, we began preparing our usual sleeping arrangements.
But no one tried to make those preparations.
Perhaps something was preventing us from preparing anything here.
I could see the slave unit returning from the forest.
There were no problems around the entrance to the forest.
I took one deep breath in and let it out.
My unease did not lift, but we had to continue the investigation.
I moved one heavy foot forward and entered the forest.
I remembered my friend's worried expression.
If only I had listened to him carefully back then...