Extra in a Romance Fantasy - Chapter 126
126 – Intent (5)
“Well then, let’s get going.”
As time passed, morning returned to the magically created forest, and we decided to pack up our campsite and hit the road again.
Perhaps due to the small number of us, it didn’t take long to tidy up, and we soon began to make our way back into the woods.
How long had it been since we resumed our steps, with Johanna leading the way and Pana and I following behind?
“It seems you were sharing some interesting stories yesterday.”
Pana casually threw out the remark as we walked.
In that moment, I immediately realized.
She had been listening to the conversation between Johanna and me yesterday.
“…Eavesdropping isn’t exactly a great hobby, you know.”
“I didn’t really intend to eavesdrop. I just happened to hear it.”
“…….”
I was at a loss for words at Pana’s indifferent tone.
She probably didn’t have any such intention at all.
Most likely, she had been in a half-awake state even while sleeping.
Ready to react immediately when something happened.
It would be natural for her to hear the sounds of my conversation with Johanna in that state.
Her senses were far beyond the ordinary.
“Didn’t you say that this tomb might not have been created by Verhabill…?”
It seemed that what she had heard was only the early part of our conversation.
That was to be expected.
From the middle onward, Johanna had completely blocked out the sound.
“What do you think, Pana?”
It wasn’t a story that needed to be overly concealed anyway.
Thus, I decided to approach it with confidence.
“Hmm… to be honest, it is suspicious.”
Pana lightly adjusted her chin as she replied.
“The fact that the hero’s tomb happens to be here, and that it was only discovered now, as well as the interior of this tomb created by Verhabill.”
From her reaction, it seemed she was one of those who had already suspected the tomb’s strangeness for some time.
Considering the rumors surrounding her and the way she had acted since entering this place, it would be odd not to harbor any doubts.
“And yet, you came in.”
“Because my brother wanted to. And… there was also the statement from the scholars of Alundel.”
Her calm voice continued.
“…You must care for your brother a lot?”
I had entered this place of my own accord simply because my brother wanted to.
That sentiment felt rather admirable, and I unconsciously let those words slip.
However, Pana’s reaction to my words was anything but ordinary.
For the first time since meeting her, she glared at me with her brows tightly furrowed.
“Don’t say creepy things. It’s obvious that even if I opposed, you’d recklessly barge in, so I had no choice but to follow.”
“…I’m sorry.”
Her response was so sharp that I found myself apologizing before I could even think.
“You just needed to know.”
Fortunately, Pana quickly relaxed her expression and accepted my apology.
I silently let out a sigh of relief.
“But… what on earth were you talking about that made you block out the sound?”
“…….”
At Pana’s question, I hesitated for a moment.
It was only natural for her to notice that the sound had been blocked.
From her perspective, the conversation that had been clearly audible suddenly cut off, rather than just lowering in volume.
It wouldn’t have been difficult to conclude that we had blocked the sound with just a little thought.
However, it was, of course, impossible to reveal the content of the conversation I had with Johanna to her.
—
So, as I pondered,
“Did you share some heartfelt whispers? Something you can’t tell others?”
Pana asked with a subtle gaze.
“…That’s absolutely not it.”
“Hmmm… then what on earth could you have been talking about? In the dead of night, two people blocking out sound, there’s not much else it could be, is there?”
I immediately denied it, but judging by Pana’s reaction, she didn’t seem to easily believe me.
…Thinking back, she had a point.
As she said, in the dead of night, if two people were blocking out sound, it wouldn’t be too strange to misunderstand it in that way.
Of course, the truth was entirely different.
“Well… I won’t ask what happened anymore.”
Yet, Pana stepped back more cleanly than I expected.
When I looked at her in surprise,
“With that expression, I just want to pry more,” she said.
At that, I quickly averted my gaze from her.
Then, a quiet laugh came from her direction.
“Honestly, prying into that isn’t really polite. We’re not exactly close, after all.”
She wasn’t wrong, but given our current situation, it was something that could easily cause unease.
Especially since among the three of us, Pana was the only one I had no prior acquaintance with.
However, Pana truly seemed unconcerned.
So much so that she didn’t mention it at all afterward.
To be honest, it was quite unexpected.
I hadn’t known her for long, but based on how she had acted until now, I wouldn’t have predicted she would back down so easily.
…Well, in any case, it wasn’t a bad thing for me, so I decided not to think about it any further.
Anyway, as our group was smoothly making our way through the forest,
“…Wait a moment.”
Johanna stopped in her tracks.
Pana and I halted simultaneously.
There was no need to wonder why Johanna had stopped.
The corpse visible ahead made that reason abundantly clear.
*
“…It’s horrifying.”
Pana frowned noticeably at the state of the corpse.
Johanna’s expression was no different.
For two women who typically showed little change in their expressions, the condition of the body was severe enough to elicit a clear reaction.
It was more fitting to describe it as flesh than as a corpse.
Except for the head, every part of the body was a complete mess.
It looked as if someone had taken bites out of it, with chunks torn away here and there, while the untouched areas were shredded to pieces.
For some reason, the face that remained intact was stained with fear and pain, as if it belonged to someone who had encountered a malevolent spirit.
If discovered outside, it would immediately warrant a call to the lord of that territory due to its grotesque and horrific nature.
One might even be astonished at the courage of these women, who could merely frown at such a sight.
“I’ve seen this face before…”
As they examined the state of the corpse, Pana suddenly spoke up.
“I’ve run into him a few times at the camp. I think he was quite a renowned warrior…”
“…I see.”
I nodded heavily.
If Pana remembered that face, it meant he was among the more skilled warriors gathered at the grave.
Such a person had been killed in this wretched manner.
“…It doesn’t seem like the work of a slime monster.”
That was Johanna’s opinion.
I agreed with her.
While the creature’s combat power wasn’t weak, it wasn’t capable of such brutality.
It wasn’t impossible that he had been overwhelmed by multiple slime monsters, but if that were the case, there would have been traces of them nearby.
However, there were no signs of slime monsters in the vicinity at all.
Then, that meant…
“He was taken down by another creature.”
“…That seems likely.”
This meant that a being other than a slime monster had reduced this person to such a state.
Could it have been a human? I ruled that out for now.
The traces left on the corpse had too many conditions for a human to fabricate.
“Could it be the threat that Berhavil warned us about, or… could it be the work of someone other than Berhavil…?”
I listened quietly to Pana’s words, which were almost a soliloquy, and thought to myself.
Perhaps, the plans of those creatures had truly begun in earnest.
*
Even in the face of such horrors, our progress did not falter.
It was because we had a clear goal: we had to reach the end of the grave.
Should I say it was fortunate? We did not encounter the monster that had created that horror.
Instead, we faced something else.
“This is… a door.”
We stood before a door.
A door large enough that three adults could pass through side by side.
“There’s no path beyond it… It seems to suggest we should enter here.”
As Pana said, the narrow path we had been following was cut off.
No, it wasn’t just the path; the forest itself was now coming to an end.
In front of us, at the door’s threshold, there was nothing beyond the wall.
“…Well, there’s really no point in pondering this.”
At this point, the intent of the one who set this up was glaringly obvious.
It meant for us to enter here.
To be honest, I felt uneasy.
The thought of stepping into such a strange space through a suspicious door was unsettling.
However, having come this far, I couldn’t turn back simply because I felt uneasy.
In the end, we decided to go through the door.
I was the first to step forward.
It wasn’t just a matter of wanting to show off; there was a rational reason behind it.
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I didn’t know what awaited us inside that door.
It wasn’t a judgment that dismissed Pana or Johanna.
They were both strong warriors in their own right, but even they could become vulnerable when faced with unexpected situations.
On the other hand, I believed that even if there were traps waiting, I could find a way to deal with them.
With that reasoning in mind, I volunteered to take the lead.
When I expressed my intention to go first, Pana looked at me with a hint of surprise, but she didn’t oppose it.
Johanna simply nodded in silence, her usual stoic expression unchanged.
—
Anyway, with that, the opinions were settled, and I finally stepped through the door.
The strange sensation I felt upon entering the grave brushed against me once more, and in the next moment, I was standing in a different space.
The first thing that caught my eye there was…
“Hmm?”
A man, wide-eyed as he looked at me.
The man, possessing a striking appearance as if painted, soon composed himself from his surprise and, with a similarly picturesque smile gracing his face, spoke.
“Nice to meet you. I am Baran Velort.”