Chapter 55
The next morning.
We met up with Elliot and the others in front of the north gate of the royal capital.
"Good morning."
"Good morning."
Behind Elliot were the two people who had come with him to the guildmaster's office yesterday.
"I didn't introduce them properly yesterday."
Elliot looked at the man carrying a large shield on his back.
"This is Dario. He's a frontline fighter and our shield-bearer."
"I'm Dario. Nice to meet you."
"I'm Allen. Nice to meet you."
"I'm Felicia. Nice to meet you."
Next, the woman carrying a bow raised her hand slightly.
"I'm Noel. I handle archery and scouting. Nice to meet you."
"Nice to meet you."
That made five of us.
Elliot looked at us.
"When we get to the site, we'll have Noel check for tracks first. Allen and I will take the front line. Felicia, provide support from the rear. Dario, keep an eye on both the front and back, depending on the situation."
"Understood."
"Yes."
He was quick to give instructions.
Even though this was our first time working together, he'd assigned everyone their roles right away.
"If there's anything that makes it difficult to work together, let me know."
"This is a joint quest, after all. I'm counting on you."
"Likewise. We're counting on you."
Yesterday, he'd seemed interested in me, but he didn't seem like the kind of person who'd prioritize competing with me.
The five of us left through the north gate.
◇
We took a carriage to the entrance of the Old North Road.
We followed the new North Road for a while, then had the driver stop along the way.
"This is the place."
Elliot checked the map.
A narrow path led from the side of the highway into the forest.
It was completely different from the new highway.
Grass had grown along the edges of the path, and it didn't look like many people came this way.
"We'll have to walk from here."
"That's right."
We got out of the carriage.
Since most of our belongings were stored in Storage, Felicia and I were traveling light.
Dario saw us and gave a wry smile.
"Storage really is handy, isn't it?"
"It's very convenient."
"I wish I had it, too."
"I don't know how to learn it, either."
"You don't?"
"No."
There was no way I could explain it.
The five of us entered the Old North Road.
◇
We'd been walking for about an hour when it happened.
Noel, who was leading the way, raised her right hand.
"Stop."
Everyone came to a halt.
Noel pointed down the road.
"Over there."
A short distance away, there was a carriage.
It had been pulled over to the side of the road.
It hadn't overturned.
The wheels weren't damaged, either.
"Is that the caravan from the quest report?"
Elliot checked the map and the documents.
"This should be the right area."
We approached cautiously.
There was no one in sight.
There were no horses, either.
"What about the cargo?"
We checked the wagon bed.
Wooden crates.
Cloth.
Barrels of wine.
Bags of dried food.
A considerable amount of the cargo had been left behind.
Noel picked up a small pouch from the edge of the wagon bed.
"The money's still here, too."
"Doesn't look like bandits, then."
Elliot said.
"Bandits would have taken the goods and the money, right?"
Dario looked around as well.
There were no signs of fighting on the carriage, either.
"There's no blood, either."
Felicia examined the ground.
There were no bloodstains or signs that the ground had been heavily disturbed.
"Noel, can you tell anything?"
"I'll take a look."
Noel crouched down.
She checked the ground as she slowly walked around the carriage, then stopped on the forest side.
"Over here."
We all gathered around.
"There are footprints."
"How many people?"
"Seven."
Elliot checked the quest report.
"The first caravan was supposed to have seven people."
"So, all of them?"
"Probably."
Noel pointed to the ground.
Seven sets of footprints led from the road into the forest.
"They weren't running. Their strides look normal, too."
"Does it look like they were being chased?"
I asked.
"No. There are no drag marks, and it doesn't look like there was a struggle."
All seven of them had walked into the forest on their own.
"Why would they...?"
Felicia looked into the forest.
No one could answer.
"Let's follow them."
Elliot said.
"As long as there's a chance they're alive, we can't stop here. Noel, please lead the way."
"Got it."
We followed the footprints into the forest.
◇
The forest was strangely quiet.
We proceeded with Noel at the front.
Elliot was a short distance behind her.
Felicia and I followed, with Dario at the rear.
After a while, something began to feel off.
"...Doesn't something seem strange?"
Elliot turned around.
"What do you mean?"
"There don't seem to be many monsters."
So far, I had hardly sensed any signs of monsters.
There weren't many signs of animals, either.
"It is pretty quiet."
Dario looked around.
"You'd expect there to be a little more life in a forest, though."
I focused my attention on Mana Detection.
As usual, mana drifted through the area around us.
However, I couldn't sense any large monsters.
"Let's keep going."
At Elliot's words, we started walking again.
We'd gone a little farther when it happened.
"Allen-san."
A voice came from behind me on the right.
"Yes?"
I turned around.
There was no one there.
"...?"
Felicia was walking a little ahead of me.
Maybe I'd misheard.
I faced forward and started walking again.
"Allen-san, over here."
This time, I heard it clearly.
It came from deep in the forest to my right.
It was Felicia's voice.
"Felicia-san?"
"Yes?"
Felicia, who was walking ahead, turned around.
I stopped, too.
"Did you just call me?"
"No, I didn't."
"...I thought so."
"What's wrong?"
Everyone stopped.
"I heard your voice from the forest. Twice."
"My voice?"
"Yes."
Felicia looked into the forest.
"But I didn't say anything."
I'd heard it quite clearly.
"You're sure you didn't imagine it?"
Elliot asked.
"Yes. Both times, it was Felicia-san's voice."
Just then,
"...Mother?"
A voice came from behind us.
It was Dario.
"What's wrong?"
Elliot turned around.
Dario was looking into the forest on our left.
"I just heard my mother's voice."
"Is she here?"
"Of course not. She lives in a village far to the west of the royal capital."
Everyone fell silent.
It wasn't just me.
"You both heard the voice of someone you know, then?"
"Yeah."
"Yes."
Elliot's expression changed.
"Something's wrong here. From now on, no matter what you hear, don't go toward the voice on your own. Make sure to check with someone else first."
Everyone nodded.
He was quick to make decisions in situations like this.
I focused my attention on Mana Detection again.
I searched the mana around us.
As usual, natural mana drifted through the area.
But...
"...Hmm?"
Something was different.
I concentrated even harder.
Mixed in with the naturally occurring mana was another, extremely faint trace.
It wasn't in just one place.
To the right, too.
To the left, too.
And ahead of us.
Mana of the same nature was spread thinly over a wide area of the forest.
"What's wrong?"
Elliot asked.
"There's mana from something out here."
"Is there a monster?"
"It's a little different from that. It feels like the mana itself is spread thinly through the area."
"Could it be magic?"
Felicia asked.
"I don't know. But it's different from the mana that naturally drifts around us."
Maybe it had something to do with the voices.
Right after that,
"Wait a moment."
Noel looked at a nearby shrub.
"What's this?"
A fine, silvery-white powder clung to the surface of the leaves.
It glimmered faintly when the light hit it.
Noel reached out a finger.
"Don't touch it!"
I shouted before I could stop myself.
Noel stopped her hand.
I concentrated on Mana Detection.
I could sense mana coming from the silvery-white powder.
It was the same as the mana spread thinly through the forest.
"It's this powder."
"Is it the same mana you mentioned earlier?"
Felicia asked.
"Yes."
Elliot's expression turned grim.
"So this powder is scattered across a wide area of the forest?"
"I think so."
"Could this be what's causing the voices?"
"I don't know yet. But it seems likely to be connected somehow."
Dario covered his mouth.
"Is it safe to breathe this stuff in?"
"I don't know that, either."
"If we don't know, we should take precautions."
Elliot took a piece of cloth from his belongings.
"Cover your mouth and nose. I don't know how much it'll help, but it's better than doing nothing."
We prepared cloths, too.
We dampened them slightly with water and covered our mouths and noses.
"What should we do?"
Noel asked.
Elliot thought for a moment.
"So far, everyone's still clear-headed. There's a chance the missing people are still alive."
"Let's go a little farther. But if anything seems wrong with anyone, we'll turn back immediately."
"Understood."
We resumed following the footprints.
◇
We'd gone about ten minutes farther when it happened.
Noel suddenly stopped.
"Something's fallen here."
There was a small, plank-like object at the base of a tree.
I picked it up.
It was an Adventurer Card.
"B-Rank..."
A name was written on it, too.
Elliot checked the quest report.
"It's one of the investigation team's."
Everyone's expression changed.
We searched the nearby area.
"There's something over here, too."
Dario called out.
A sword lay on the ground.
It didn't look like it had been drawn from its sheath.
There was no blood on it, either.
"So they didn't fight?"
Felicia said.
"At least, not here."
Noel crouched down to examine the ground.
"The footprints keep going."
Deeper into the forest.
It seemed the B-Rank adventurers who'd come to investigate had continued farther in on foot, too.
It wasn't just the merchants.
Even the adventurers who'd come to investigate the disturbance had headed farther in.
"...Let's go."
Elliot said.
I took a step forward.
That's when it happened.
"Allen."
I stopped in my tracks.
This was different from before.
There was no way I could mistake that voice.
"...Father?"
"Allen-san?"
Felicia looked at me.
Deep in the forest.
The voice came again from beyond the trees.
"Allen. Come here."
It was my father's voice.
But Father was in the Kingdom of Alsrein right now.
There was no way he could be here.
I looked into the forest in the direction of the voice.
"As I thought, this voice is fake."
Just then, silvery-white powder drifted slowly between the trees.
Total P Acquired: 93,145P