Chapter 66
At ten in the morning, Vieta finished a late breakfast and finally left the inn.
It wasn't that she had been dawdling; she had lost track of time while rolling around on a blanket that had dried crisp and carried a cozy scent.
Wrapped tightly in her newly purchased murky beige cloak, Vieta headed to the inner castle to register for the hunting tournament.
“I'm here to enter the hunting tournament.”
When Vieta set her application and entry fee down on the dark-brown registration desk, the man with the impressive beard and mustache made a strange snorting sound.
Rather than reading the application, he crossed his arms and looked Vieta up and down for a long while before shaking his large head and pushing the form back toward her.
“Go home, miss. This isn't a place for you.”
“What? As far as I know, there aren't any particular restrictions on who can enter the hunting tournament.”
“Listen, miss. Even if you want to see Prince Roen that badly, that's no reason to recklessly enter a hunting tournament. What on earth is the prince thinking, entering the tournament himself? He isn't some ignorant child who knows nothing of the world—does the hunting tournament really look that easy to him?"
“Huh?! That's not it!”
Vieta raised her voice at the man's insulting remarks about both her and Blanc. His outrageous rudeness had already left her face flushed with anger.
“If that's not it, then what are you planning to do with those slender wrists? You don't look like you could even snap a branch. My goodness, do the young ladies from the capital like men so much that they'd recklessly throw themselves into danger?”
As Vieta lightly bit her lip and wondered whether to kick the shaggy man in front of her, someone approached the registration desk.
A woman with curly hair tinged faintly red looked back and forth between Vieta and the man, then elbowed him sharply in the side and shoved him aside.
“What's going on?”
“…I'm here to enter the hunting tournament.”
“No, I mean, a young lady can't—.”
Thwack! The man staggered backward, clutching his side. The woman had punched him in the ribs.
“Don't say such strange things! Anyone can tell from the dagger at her waist that she's a bona fide adventurer, so why are you saying she can't enter? If the leather on the hilt is worn down that much, she must be a veteran.”
The woman stamped Vieta's application with a participation seal, then handed her a red-cloth bracelet and a small piece of wood.
“My name is Elodie. If you need any help related to the tournament, say you've come to see Elodie. Wear the red cloth around your wrist while participating in the tournament, and keep the piece of wood with you at all times."
"And don't take the northern men too seriously. They're all idiots and fools."
After whispering softly, Elodie winked at Vieta with one eye.
“Will you be here during the tournament, Miss Elodie?”
“No. I'll be at the entrance to the fields while the tournament is taking place.”
Elodie extended a finger and pointed to the map attached to the tent on the right.
The map, marked with a red circle, was remarkably detailed for something made by a private individual.
“Could I get that map separately as well?”
Of course. Elodie grinned and began laying various items out on the registration desk.
*
Elodie was so capable and affable that she could have been called a master merchant.
She obtained everything Vieta wanted whenever it was within her ability to do so, and Vieta, who liked Elodie's warm and agreeable personality, asked her to guide her around the hunting grounds as well.
However, Vieta had not asked Elodie for directions simply because she liked her.
To protect Blanc, she needed information.
If she had remained with the pilgrimage procession, Blanc or Fulcare would have gathered information for her, but now that she had to act alone, Vieta needed the help of someone well versed in the local situation.
The valley where Elodie led Vieta was frequented by hunters. Because of the tall, dense trees, sunlight barely reached the ground, and it was so dark that it felt as though evening had arrived despite the middle of the day.
“Please forgive Uncle Rotten's rudeness. He's not normally like that, but I think he was a little touchy. A few noble ladies actually registered and then demanded refunds. Besides, Santpol tends to have a lot of accidents even under normal circumstances, so I think he was worried.”
“Is Prince Roen really that popular?”
Meltwater had left the ground muddy. Because of that, Vieta had to stop after a few steps and repeatedly rub her shoes against a rock covered in green moss to scrape off the mud.
“Of course!”
While Vieta was cleaning the mud from her shoes, Elodie, who had been climbing ahead of her, turned around sharply and raised both clenched fists.
“I hear he even caught a Cardu and solved disappearance cases in the south. On top of that, he has such a kind and gentle personality. Prince Roen must be the most popular person anywhere in the Empire! Everyone in Santpol had been waiting so eagerly for Prince Roen to visit!”
The girl's cheeks had turned rosy red. It did not seem to be from the cold alone.
“You said you came from the capital, right, Vieta? Have you ever seen the prince?”
Vieta blinked as she considered what to say.
“No. I've never seen the prince either.”
Elodie's raised shoulders drooped as though in disappointment.
Yet she could not bring herself to tell Elodie the truth. No matter how she considered it, Vieta did not think she could handle the flood of questions Elodie would shower her with throughout the tour.
Her disappointment lasted only a moment, however. As they climbed toward the mountaintop, Elodie told Vieta all sorts of little details that only a local would know, such as places where it was good to stop for water and places where they could escape the cold in an emergency.
“The hunting grounds stretch from that tower over there to the mountain jutting out this way. That mountain is especially rugged, so even hunters rarely go there. The forest right in front of us is often covered in fog, too.”
Vieta sat on a large rock at the mountaintop and swept her gaze over the area as Elodie explained.
The open fields would pose no problem, but if Blanc entered the forest or mountains and she lost sight of him, catching up with him again would be difficult.
After giving another lengthy explanation, Elodie took an unfamiliar, thumb-sized object from the pouch at her waist and handed it to Vieta.
“It's a traditional preserved ration from Santpol. It doesn't taste very good, but it definitely restores your strength, so I eat it from time to time.”
Vieta studied the ration Elodie offered, then cautiously bit off a small piece. It resembled jerky, but along with an unusually sweet flavor came a strong scent of alcohol.
“If you've rested enough, shall we head down? The mountains get dark quickly, so we'll be in trouble if we stay out much longer.”
Elodie stood up, her cheeks bulging with preserved food, and dusted off her hands.
*
After following the ridge, Vieta and Elodie were descending the rugged mountain.
They needed to determine exactly how rough the terrain was.
"What a godforsaken mountain."
Vieta muttered as she wiped the sweat trickling down her forehead.
The steep slopes and mud were troublesome enough, but perhaps the ground was soft. Rocks that looked solid often sank beneath a step, causing her to tumble straight down.
Elodie said that the frozen ground made things somewhat easier in winter, but Vieta thought the best course was never to set foot there in the first place.
Rumble-rumble—.
“A rock's rolling down!”
Vieta shouted to keep Elodie, who was walking ahead, from getting hurt. Perhaps hearing Vieta's voice, Elodie looked up and hurriedly hid behind a large tree.
Not only Elodie but also the wild animals hiding near the rock's path were startled by the boulder rumbling downhill and scurried away with a clatter.
“One wrong move and I'd be dead.”
Since people did not often travel through the mountain, there were certainly more animals there than elsewhere.
No one but someone utterly obsessed with hunting would risk their life climbing this mountain just to catch a few animals.
Vieta silently prayed that Blanc was not obsessed with hunting.
-…Help!
Just as Vieta was carefully stepping forward again, a faint voice brushed past her ear.
Perhaps Elodie had heard it too, because she was also clutching a large branch and turning her head from side to side.
-Help!!! Help!!!!Help!!!!!
The voice calling for help echoed endlessly among the trees and rocks.
Even after straining her ears, Vieta could not tell which direction it was coming from, so she cautiously approached Elodie.
She hoped that Elodie, who often climbed mountains, might know how to determine the direction in a situation like this.
“Elodie, can you tell where it's coming from?”
“No. Surely it isn't a ghost?”
Hugging her own arms, Elodie repeatedly looked around with frightened eyes.
The girl seemed extremely tense at the sudden turn of events.
“Stay here for now, Elodie. I'll look around. Don't move, no matter what.”
After moving away from Elodie, Vieta hid behind a tree and carefully cast a spell.
Normally, she would have returned to the village to bring people back, but darkness would soon descend.
No matter how hunting-obsessed the person was, Vieta could not bring herself to leave them behind in the mountains with night about to fall.
Vieta's red threads spread in every direction and began searching for the owner of the voice.
‘I should widen the spacing a little.’
The total amount of thread Vieta could use was limited.
Widening the distance between the threads reduced their precision, but expanded their detection range by the same amount.
After rejoining Elodie, Vieta carefully moved in the direction indicated by the red mana.