“Me?” Elliot hesitantly looked at Maxi before nodding.
"Yes, sir.
Please leave this to me."
Maxi gaped, not believing what she had heard.
It seemed that the men had already decided that she would go with Kuahel Leon.
She turned her head to the mages, hoping for support, but none of them seemed inclined to challenge the knights' decision.
Everyone avoided his gaze.
After observing his companions, Maxi approached Sidina, who was roasting a piece of bacon on a long skewer.
"S-Sidina, don't you want to change places with me?
I'm sure...
you wouldn't want to go to such a dangerous place."
Sidina shook her head with a smile.
"I don't really mind.
It seems like I'm a little cheerful because of the wine I was drinking."
"It would be a lie to say I'm not scared, but I'm sure Sir Riftan will keep us safe.
I plan to take a good look at this city of monsters so I can brag to Anette later!"
“We’re not going on vacation,” Riftan said in disbelief, frowning.
Sidina paid no attention to his cold comment and continued happily: "Now that I'm going, I'd rather be optimistic.
A frown only makes things more difficult."
“I think a little trepidation would do you good,” said Geoffrey with a sigh.
“This blind optimism will only hurt you.”
Sidina shrugged and stuffed the crispy slice of fat-dripping bacon into her mouth.
She washed down the food with the remaining wine and said exquisitely: “I will do everything expected of me, so no more worrying for nothing.”
Seeing that the others were determined to follow Riftan and Kuahel's decision, Maxi shrugged her shoulders dejectedly.
However, Riftan quickly got up after finishing his food.
"You should all rest now.
We will face greater challenges in the morning."
When his eyes briefly landed on her, Maxi looked down with a grim expression.
She couldn't help but be very upset that he had decided to go to such a dangerous place without her.
After quickly draining the remainder of her warm stew, she stood up and crawled into one of the narrow tents.
Inside, she curled into a ball and crawled under her blanket.
Before dawn the next day, the group cleared all traces of their stay behind the great rock and began their descent.
Much to their chagrin, snow began to fall soon after.
Groans emerged from the group one after another.
The knights, on the other hand, seemed to welcome the harsh weather.
“Snow makes the descent more difficult, but helps avoid detection,” Elliot explained, looking out over the fog-shrouded city.
“Still, you have to be careful not to slip, my lady.”
Maxi nodded.
The storm was so fierce that it was difficult to even open your mouth.
His joints felt frozen.
Pulling her hood down further to block as much wind as possible, she headed forward across the rocky terrain.
After a long time without rest, a gentle slope finally appeared.
They stopped to rest at the foot of the mountain, allowing a brief moment to catch their breath.
Soon, it was time for the group to split up.
They divided the remaining provisions and traveling equipment into two.
“As there are five of us and seven of you, this should be enough,” said Kuahel, handing a bag to Riftan.
Riftan opened the bag to check the contents, then passed it to Ulyseon.
“When will we meet again?”
“All investigations must be completed within five days.”
“That’s barely enough time.” Riftan shook the snow off his coat and frowned.
"It will take a while to reach the city without being detected.
We will hardly have enough time to observe the walls."
"How unlike you to complain.
I suggest you do your best," said Kuahel coldly.
"Anyway, it would be risky for us to prolong this any longer.
We should return in five days even if we don't find anything substantial."
Riftan stood still for a long time before looking at Ruth, Elliot and Maxi in turn.
She waited for him to come closer and say something, even though she didn't know what she wanted to hear.
A gentle voice would have been enough.
However, Riftan silently looked to the side and picked up his bag.
“Then let's meet in the cave where the horses are,” he said flatly.With that, he nodded toward Ulyseon and the mages.
Forgetting that they were on uncomfortable terms, Maxi glared at him.
She couldn't believe he was about to leave without a goodbye.
Feeling quite devastated, she stood stiffly as Ulyseon approached her.
"We are leaving, my lady.
Please be careful," he said brightly.
Turning to Ruth and Elliot, he added, “You too, please be careful.”
“You too,” replied Elliot.
Ulyseon's lips curved into a confident smile before he ran after Riftan.
Their figures soon moved into the distance, and Maxi felt the discontent that had been building within her crumble like sand, being replaced by fear.
What if they failed?
It was impossible to tell how many monsters lived within such a vast city.
What if your little group was discovered?
Not even Riftan would be able to fight dozens or thousands of monsters at once.
She bit her lip.
“We should leave too,” said Kuahel, turning to Maxi and Ruth.
With great effort, Maxi managed to look away, but he couldn't stop looking back after just a few steps.
She couldn't bear to be separated from him like this.
“P-Please wait!” she exclaimed.
"I-I won't be long.
Please wait a moment!"
With that, she dashed down the hill in the snow.
“Riftan!”
He turned his head when he heard your voice, his dark blue hair blowing in the wind.
Maxi ran straight into his arms.
A second later, an astonished Riftan wrapped his arms tightly around her waist and lifted her off the ground.
She clung to his neck and cried, "You must return safely.
P-Promise me you won't do anything rash."
She felt a slight tremor run down the back of her neck.
When she rubbed her cold cheek against his, Riftan let out a shaky breath and said harshly, “I should be the one saying that.”
His arms around her waist tightened.
"You must also promise not to put yourself in danger, to think of your safety above all else.
If you do that, I will give you my word as well."
"O-Okay.
I give you my word."
Riftan slowly closed his eyes before opening them again.
His face, marked with worry just moments ago, returned to the stoic visage of a knight.
He pulled the hood over her head and said calmly, “You should go back now.”
Maxi looked up at him with teary eyes before nodding.
He looked at Elliot, who had come up behind her, and turned away.
The wind became more violent.
Soon, his figure disappeared beyond the blizzard.
They headed west along the base of the mountain.
Kuahel once again led the ascent, and Maxi had to climb the rough terrain until his thigh muscles were stiff.
Even with Elliot's support, it was difficult to navigate the rocky path in the increasingly strong wind.
Ruth must have found his march relentless as well, as his complaints seemed endless.
"How far are we going?
The sun is going to set soon!
Don't tell me you're trying to freeze us to death."
Kuahel stopped for a moment to look up at the gray sky.
Maxi sat down on a flat rock and took a deep breath.
His feet hurt as if nails were driven into his soles, making it painful to continue standing.
It seemed like Kuahel wanted to continue a little longer, but he relented with a sigh as he saw that both Maxi and Ruth were at their limit.
“Let’s set up camp back there.”
As soon as he said this, the knights promptly began to set up a small tent on a flat piece of land.
Meanwhile, Ruth summoned a barrier to block the wind while Maxi lit a fire with a magic stone.
Crouching in front of the flames, Ruth muttered, "I doubt we can make a decent reconnaissance at this rate.
It will be a miracle if we don't freeze to death."
“S-Still, we should try to do as much as we can,” muttered Maxi despondently.
While the physical exhaustion was debilitating enough, her worries about Riftan drained her even more.
She fought to push the terrible thoughts from her mind as she watched Ruth take a parchment out of her backpack.
Throughout the walk, he had immersed himself in studying the symbols they had discovered in the ruins at every opportunity.
"Speaking of which...
Ruth, shouldn't you have gone with Riftan?
W-With Master Calto's request and everything."
“Ah…”Seeing him blink rapidly, Maxi concluded that he must have completely forgotten about it.
He shrugged apathetically and said, "There's a limit to what they can learn about the city outside with magic.
It's unlikely they'll discover any big secrets."
"Should you be so nonchalant about this?
If what you told me before is true… it's a serious matter.
We need to do something before anyone else“"
“What are you talking about?”
Maxi jumped at the sudden voice that came from above her head.
Kuahel's piercing green eyes stared back at her.
She waved her hands frantically, feeling a chill run down her spine.
“N-Nothing.”
Kuahel frowned suspiciously, but did not insist.
He bent down in front of the fire and handed them a bag of food.
"We will need you to use search magic starting tomorrow.
How much area can you cover?"
"It depends...
on how tight we weave the mana net.
With a loose net, we can observe this entire side of the mountain...
but the accuracy will be limited."
Kuahel stroked his chin, seeming lost in thought, and Maxi realized that this must be a habit of his.
The Temple Knight took out a map, which he opened in his lap.
“For now, I think it would be best for us to map out the route our army can take.”
Elliot sat next to him.
“We will need siege engines to take the city, which means we must find a wide, smooth valley to transport them.”
Maxi remembered the high walls that surrounded the city of monsters.
The imposing walls looked robust even from a distance.
If the dark mages had also reinforced them with defensive magical devices, they wouldn't be able to break down the walls with magic.
They would have to rely on brute force.
“There is also the problem of supplying the army with provisions and firewood,” said Kuahel.
"The supply route will be our lifeline if the war drags on.
To efficiently supply our troops, we will have to secure several routes just in case."
He drew a long line on the map with a piece of charcoal and added, “Let’s focus on this area for now.”
Elliot looked at the map, head tilted, and nodded in agreement.