59. The Familiar Forest
The Forest of Mist.
It was known as the forest where Pai, who was currently called the Witch of Corruption, stayed.
However, since there were several Maze Forests scattered throughout the continent, it was impossible to know exactly which forest she was in.
There probably weren't many people who could find out where Pai was.
She had suddenly appeared twenty years ago and remained active for nearly ten years.
Then, for the past ten years, she hadn't shown herself even once.
Even if someone tried entering every single Maze Forest to search for her, skilled guides capable of finding Pai, who was probably located at the center of one of those forests, were not common.
First of all, simply reaching the center of a forest was difficult.
And once they entered the special mist-covered area inside, the abilities of guides began to lose their effectiveness.
If they really wanted to search every forest one by one, the ideal method would be to gather the Great Heroes, form a subjugation party, and set out.
However, because the Maze Forests were scattered all over the continent, and because the Great Heroes were basically humans who were like tactical nuclear weapons, such a thing was impossible.
Because of this, despite the Witch of Corruption's enormous influence across the continent, no active subjugation had been carried out.
Now, ten years later, people were even saying that she might be dead or that she might have used up all her power.
“If the boss had seen that battle too, you would have believed the story that the Witch of Corruption was so terrifying that she hid herself in the forest.”
“What battle?”
Fortunately, there had been no trace of Pai in the Maze Forest near Haiang Gwe, where active exploration had been carried out under the leadership of Errol, the Great Hero of Salvation.
Because of that, most of the guides here worked comfortably.
That was why the guide in front of us could enter the Maze Forest even while leading three people and one animal whose identities were unclear.
Considering that even the vague possibility that the Witch of Corruption might be living here would have been enough for someone like me to be refused entry, it seemed that Errol was truly trusted to an incredible degree.
“The battle where the Great Hero of Salvation, Lord Errol, and King of Fists Kaiem alone pushed back the Witch of Corruption's army! Whew~! I was there as a guide at the time, but honestly, it was such an incredible battle that I couldn't believe those two were humans like me!”
So Kaiem had a terrifying nickname like King of Fists.
I didn't know whether he was actually as skilled as a Great Hero, but there was certainly nothing good about making him an enemy.
However, judging from how he had acted this morning, it seemed more likely that he would become my enemy because Errol disliked me rather than because Kaiem himself disliked me.
When I mentioned a name that I hadn't even told him about, he could have questioned me several more times about how I knew it.
Yet he didn't seem to care at all.
He also didn't change his expression when Errol suggested giving someone a bribe and committing an illegal act.
Perhaps he was extremely indifferent to everything around him.
Or maybe he was simply pretending to be.
Perhaps he was the type of government worker who only did what he was told.
Or maybe he was simply the kind of person who thought Errol would take care of everything himself and didn't think too deeply about it.
“Um, Uncle.”
While the guide was completely absorbed in his own story, Ien carefully tugged at my sleeve.
How unusual.
She seemed to want to talk about something secret, so I slightly bent down and brought my ear closer.
How was that for consideration?
I was growing as a person when it came to dealing with others, after all.
I deserved some praise.
“Did Lord Errol help Uncle even though he knew that Uncle was connected to the Witch of Corruption?”
Ien, it seemed you had finally reached that conclusion.
Excellent.
This uncle feels proud watching you grow little by little.
Become a great knight and a Great Hero someday.
“Yeah. At first, he seemed to casually brush it off, but if he had actually fought Pai before, it's hard to think of it as something insignificant.”
“What kind of scheme could someone as great as a Great Hero be plotting? Honestly, couldn't someone like Mr. Errol defeat Uncle in an instant?”
Probably.
I didn't know whether he was resistant to something like the power of madness, but I had absolutely no strength that could defeat a Great Hero.
Even if he became infected by madness and went crazy, he might still try to kill me, just like the badgers that had first been affected by madness.
This was a game, so I didn't have only one life.
But I didn't even want to imagine a Great Hero infected by madness wandering around trying to kill me.
I should increase my strength enough to face a Great Hero as soon as possible.
The best situation would be to never become enemies with a Great Hero.
But considering my current position, there was a high possibility that I would eventually have a major clash with one of them.
“By the way, aren't there too few monsters here for a Maze Forest?”
“Ah~ Boss, that's because this is a Maze Forest where safety is guaranteed! Most adventurers come here to improve their skills, so that's why~!”
“Huh, and here I thought it was thanks to the guidance of an excellent guide.”
“What?! Ahem! Ahem! Well, my skills definitely play a part too~! Cough, cough!”
The Maze Forest was a dangerous place no matter what.
In the Empire, being a guide was even a valuable profession that required passing a qualification exam.
So where on earth had Errol found this idiot and introduced him to us?
Could he be deliberately pretending to be a little incompetent?
No.
Why would he do that?
There was nothing to gain from it.
Maybe he was simply trying to lighten the mood.
Hmm.
That actually sounded plausible.
Whatever.
The Maze Forest.
Since I had spent a long time in a place like this, the flow that normally appeared blurry was considerably clearer here.
Right now, even if I couldn't use it as well as Dorfin, I should at least be able to use it enough to help in battle.
Of course, that didn't mean I would let my guard down.
From experience, whenever my confidence reached its peak, I was usually thrown into some completely ridiculous situation.
That seemed to be the pattern of this world.
“Let's see~ I think this was somewhere around here? Or was it not?”
“Hey...”
Even though I had the insane resistance value of 999, it didn't help me deal with the fog or traps of the Maze Forest at all.
But guides were people who could move relatively freely through forests like this.
So even if this guide looked like an idiot, I decided to trust him.
After walking for a while behind the unreliable guide, the fog suddenly cleared.
A mansion that looked as though it had been burned appeared before us.
It looked like burned wood.
But somehow, it felt as if this wasn't a wooden mansion that had burned down.
It felt more like someone had taken already-burned trees and connected them together to make a mansion.
“Ah! Here we are! Twenty years ago, when a war broke out between one tribe of elves and the Empire, the elves' forest was burned down! The only elf who survived that incident lives right here!”
“...Uh... Tsk... Hmm...”
“Uncle, don't tell me...!”
No way.
Errol didn't know and send me here on purpose, did he?
He doesn't know everything I did twenty years ago, does he?!
S-Surely...
The elf who survived back then isn't Errol or something, right?
He didn't bring me all the way here to kill me, did he?!
Wait.
Is that why Grandpa didn't stop me from coming here?
To see how I would come out?
To confirm whether I really was the culprit behind the forest fire, the so-called Mother Forest incident?!
Is someone hiding somewhere around here watching me right now?
No.
If they wanted to catch me on some charge and deal with me, they wouldn't have gone through all this trouble.
They could have simply come to me, made up some crime, and dealt with me.
Who wouldn't believe the word of a Great Hero?
Besides, I was a player who came back to life quickly even after dying.
Errol and Grandpa probably knew that as well.
There was no reason to drag me all the way here just to kill me.
There was a wonderful system called the death penalty!
I heard that if a player received it, that character would be permanently banned.
Ah!
What if they had found a way to imprison me here forever?!
Together with the elf living here?
No.
No way.
The elf living here had no idea that I had set fire to the forest.
Even if she somehow discovered the existence of Modak, his race and appearance had changed completely since then!
He had transformed into a cute and adorable little boy!
There was no way she could recognize him!
Still, considering the possibility that Modak might accidentally return to his wolf form or reveal even a fragment of it and cause a rampage, I decided to go inside for now.
“Oh, right, Boss. I'll wait here. If you don't come out by sunrise, I'll leave, so keep that in mind.”
I understood.
I really did.
But wasn't he being a little too cold about it?
So this was the kind of relationship we had.
He had only secretly brought me here, after all.
I nodded with a bitter expression and rang the bell attached to the pillar beside the door.
Ding-ding.
The clear sound of the bell echoed through the open space like a lingering melody.
After a short while, the door of the burned mansion slowly opened.
Someone cautiously poked their face out.
“W-Who are you?”
It was a young and timid-looking elf girl.
