It seemed that Fenric was planning to quickly return to the capital.
From his perspective, this was normal.
He was expelled by the Emperor as if he was hated, and investigating the Forbidden Forest and protecting Vanessa's village were the tasks of the Order Knights.
But Precipe's situation was a little different.
She had to find even the slightest clue and return, but all she knew was that Prisippi's father was the dragon Nidhogg.
[The Devil King has disappeared.]
Of course, I heard about the Devil King…
[Maybe he found a way to disappear. As far as I know, he was working hard on it.]
She couldn't believe everything Vidar said.
Even at the northern end of the Forbidden Forest, at the placenta of the creatures, she did not even see the shadow of the Demon King.
Everything I did was in vain.
Vidar also said that the Demon King was living in the west of the Forbidden Forest before he disappeared.
She wanted to go there.
Fortunately or unfortunately, since the blood of the creatures mixes in Precipi's veins, she will not be attacked.
But escaping secretly seemed absolutely impossible.
All the surviving soldiers returned to the village, and Fenric strengthened the guard more than before.
And he himself had no intention of leaving Presibe's side.
“If Vidar’s words were true, could she have died because her birthplace was there?”
It seemed that the placenta of the creatures he referred to was indeed the birthplace of the creatures.
It was even more clear after what he saw with his own eyes.
“And if the Devil King is still alive, the knights won’t let them approach there quietly.”
Fenric told him that the only place he and the knights had clearly set foot was in the center of the Forbidden Forest.
Last time, the force was small for investigation purposes only.
If he had gotten as close as he could to the creatures' placenta, the Devil King would have been in danger.
Because if they found a way, killed the creatures that were still being born, and filled the swamp, he would be left alone and survival would become more difficult.
But is it reasonable for them to quietly monitor this matter?
...Is the Devil King really dead as Vidar said?
All these fears ended in the same result.
So what should I do?
In addition, this was his first time for Secret Mode, so he didn't know how Prisippi met the Demon King in the game without programming errors.
[◆ Kill Siegfried.]
He even chose that damned option, and stepped on Siegfried's foot hanging on the edge.
There were witnesses.
Even knowing that Prisippi was of creature blood wasn't a good thing, but they had tried to kill Siegfried, who was described as being born to protect Atlawaya, so it was unpredictable what would happen.
But, strangely, these concerns were of no consequence.
—
In the early dawn, Fenric realized that something strange was happening.
He was lying on the floor next to the bed, his face contorted slightly, then he stood up.
Approach the tightly closed window.
“….”
Presibe also couldn't sleep.
When Fenric moved, Presibe sat up as well.
“—“
“Sir Duke?”
Prisippi approached with a surprised expression.
Fenric opened the window, and at the same moment, Precipe's expression changed greatly.
“The smell of fire...”
What happens suddenly?
Did I accidentally burn something? Maybe food?
But Precipe quickly realized that this thinking was wrong.
outside the window.
Gray smoke covers the entire sky.
It's the smoke rising from the Forbidden Forest.
"a fire…?"
whispered Precipe, with a pale and terrified face.
It was clear even to the onlooker that this was not just a small fire.
Even the villagers felt the foul smell of smoke and ran out of their homes in panic.
But, suddenly and like this?
Why?
how?
And even a fire of this size...
“Duke Fenric!”
Then Kevin's urgent voice was heard.
Fenric, who was standing at the window, quickly headed towards the door to greet Kevin.
With a serious face, Kevin looked at Fenrick and said:
“A massive fire broke out in the Forbidden Forest.”
“….”
“What exactly is going on...?”
Kevin continued:
“It is better to go yourself and see the situation closely, you have to understand what is happening.”
Fenric nodded briefly as if he understood.
Then, over his torn shirt, he quickly put on his coat.
“Prisibe, you should stay here and rest…”
But Precipe's movement was faster.
She had put on a coat like Fenric's, and looked directly at him.
“I want to go with you.”
“….”
“I better not be left here alone.”
Fenric showed some hesitation but eventually nodded.
"Don't walk away from me. You know what I mean, right?"
“Yes, I promise.”
After receiving this confirmation, Fenric, along with Presipe, left the residence.
—
All the way to the Forbidden Forest on the back of the horse led by Fenric, Prisippi's thoughts were constantly mixing in her head.
Should this fire have happened at all?
Is it also a software error?
What about the Devil King?
“…”
Presibe, who was half leaning on Fenric, was expressing distress as she closed her nose from the foul smell of smoke.
The closer they got to the Forbidden Forest, the thicker the smoke became intensified until it became difficult to breathe.
Prisippi stifled a few hard coughs.
When they arrived at the entrance to the forest, where Siegfried and the Order Knights were, Siegfried was waiting for them with a grim face, just as Kevin was.
Siegfried advanced with the knights, and when he saw Presibe, he straightened his face a little and straightened.
Precipi automatically avoided his gaze, but that didn't stop the knights from casting suspicious glances at her.
“What's going on here?”
Fenric looked at the burning place with his red eyes.
The Forbidden Forest is still burning.
It seemed that Siegfried and his knights were able to extinguish the fire all the way to the entrance, but that was the limit of what they could do.
“We don't know the real reason yet.”
Siegfried sighed deeply and said:
“We were waiting for the creatures to attack, so we put up guards and did maintenance. But suddenly the fire broke out, so we ran to see what happened...”
Of course, Siegfried didn't know why any more, that's all he told Fenrik.
“The fire started from the west and center of the forest, and spread quickly everywhere. We did not suffer any damage to the camp, as we were able to put out the fire up to the entrance, but we cannot get any closer.”
West of the forest and the center?
Precipi paused for a moment when he heard her.
They said that the Devil King exists in the west of the forest.
“There is a lake to the east of the forest, but there is no way to fetch water, and before we reach the center, we will be burned.”
Suddenly, a ragged scream was heard, and it was impossible to tell whether it was an animal or a creature.
“As you can hear, the creatures are in chaos. In the worst case scenario, the creatures might come out of the forest to escape the fire, so we better monitor the situation from here. If the fire spreads to the village, we have to stop it.”
“Has there ever been a fire like this before?”
“No, nothing like this has ever happened before. However, if the entire forest burns down because of this fire, and the number of creatures decreases...”
Siegfried shook his head and continued:
“It may not be that difficult to investigate then.”
...investigation?
“Anyway, the Forbidden Forest has been a heavy burden on Atloria for a long time, and if it burns completely, it will do no harm. Rather, it will be beneficial to the villagers rather than harmful.”
“….”
"But it must be confirmed conclusively. So, Duke Fenric, sorry for the inconvenience, can you wait until the fire subsides and go with us into the forest?"
Did that mean that they would be able to go as far west as where the Devil King was said to be located?
Maybe they would be able to confirm the whereabouts of the Demon King.
While these thoughts were running through Prisippi, she looked at Fenric with trembling eyes.