Chapter 89.2: Vol12 C2 Seeking Salvation Part 2

Part 2

After the talks with Blue Rose ended, the diplomatic delegation from the Holy Kingdom to which Neia belonged made an early departure from the Royal Capital. This was because they had already seen that nobody in the Kingdom was willing to aid the Holy Kingdom, researching Jaldabaoth's true form would need several month's time, and also because they knew that the only one capable of beating Jaldabaoth was Momon.

In addition, the thought of the Holy Kingdom's citizens suffering made them anxious to do something for them.

They rested their horses as little as possible, sometimes even casting spells on them, and they travelled east along the roads at speeds that normal travellers could not match.

They passed the final village of the Kingdom, and now they were at the buffer zone between the Kingdom and the Sorcerous Kingdom.

The gently-swelling hills blocked the travellers' lines of sight, and they could catch the occasional glimpse of a densely-packed primeval forest. It felt like a monster might leap out at them at any time. This might have originally been the Kingdom's territory, but that was all. The chance of being attacked by monsters had only decreased. It was by no means gone.

On terrain like this, Neia's sense of vision and smell sharpened, and she forged ahead.

There's no sign of creatures waiting in ambush nearby. No tracks of large carnivores near the road either.

There were many patches of bare earth exposed on the road. If they continued onwards, they would be entering territory which had formerly been controlled by the Crown, whose roads seemed to have been paved. Paved roads were more convenient for travellers, but to Neia, the bare earth from just now would make it easier to spot best tracks.

Neia looked at her hands.

She did not like these hands.

It was not that she resented the hardening of her hands from her training. It was simply distaste for her lack of talent.

She might have inherited her father's keen senses, but sadly, she had not received anything from her mother.

Neia's mother had been a famous paladin in her time, and she had excellent sword skills. However, as her daughter, Neia had no talent for the sword, no matter how much she practiced. Strictly speaking, the bow techniques passed down from her father meant that she could use bows skillfully even without any training.

No, the fact was, Neia was fortunate just to inherit that half of her heritage. However, the skills used by the paladins which Neia so admired could only be used with melee weapons. For Neia, who wanted to become a paladin, being talented with ranged weapons was a waste.

Once more, she gripped the reins tightly.

She straightened her waist and adjusted her position on the saddle. She had spent a long time on horseback after leaving the Royal Capital, and her butt and thighs were quite sore now.

She could have asked the Paladins to use low tier healing spells to get rid of the pain. However, she was a girl, and she was a little embarrassed to ask that of them. Also, it was still not yet at a level where it would affect her ability to work the reins, so that made it even more difficult to ask.

...I'll just apply the herbs afterwards, as usual. I need to thank Dad for that. In the past, when I said my butt hurt, he'd run over with an annoyed look on his face... Did I thank him back then? ...Hah.

Neia forced herself to stop before her tears spilled out.

"—Ah, Captain, I can see paved roads. We're about to enter the Sorcerous Kingdom's domain."

The dirt road suddenly turned to cobblestones halfway through its course. It felt strange.

Neia looked to the sky.

"So, will we ride all the way to the Sorcerous Kingdom? Or will we set up camp at night?"

"I think we ought to be able to make it before sunset if nothing else happens. However, we might be taken for an invading force. What should we do?"

"Let me discuss this."

Remedios tugged on her reins and her horse slowed down, and then she began speaking to Gustavo.

However, this ought to be the Sorcerous Kingdom's domain from here on in... but where are their troops? There aren't any fortresses either. There were forts on the Kingdom's side...

Usually, there would be forts at a country's borders, but there were none here. Since the Sorcerous Kingdom was just one city, had they concentrated all their forces into the city?

Neia's gaze travelled along the paved road.

The gentle slope ran between the hills. In the distance, she could see a patch of leafless winter forest.

She recalled how she had gone camping in the winter with her father. That did not change, no matter where she went. The scenery here felt just like that of the Holy Kingdom.

...Living in the human world's a pain, huh.

The words her father had casually mumbled pricked her heart like a thorn.

Her father had chosen to live in a city because of her mother. If her mother was not around, he would have chosen to stay in a little village near the forest, living off the bounty of nature.

When she had still been a child, she felt that living in a natural setting was a pain. However, after going on this journey, she could understand what her father had meant by his words. Was that a sign of maturity? She ought to be able to talk about different things with her parents now.

Pain flashed through her heart as she thought about these things. However, it was only for a moment. That was because ahead of them — due east along the road — she could see something blurry along the snaking path that passed between the hills.

—Could it be a fire!?

Neia squinted her eyes, and then looked carefully again.

There was a milky-white, smoke-like object there. No, it was not smoke, but fog. And—

"Sorry to interrupt you while you're speaking! There's something like fog ahead!"

"So what?"

After Neia reported to the rear, Remedios took off her helmet. There was a puzzled look on her face.

"Neia Baraja. Is there anything about it that bothers you?"

"Yes. According to this map, there are no large lakes around, yet there's a large bank of fog ahead. I'm sure it must be an abnormal occurrence."

The bank of thick, milky fog seemed to be spreading wider and wider, and it looked like it would reach Neia and the others any time now.

Her father had taught her about all sorts of natural phenomena, and when she pondered the situation based on that knowledge, the appearance of this fog really was quite strange.

"Squire Baraja. Could it be some sort of abnormal climate change?"

That question came from Gustavo, who had picked up on what was going on before Remedios.

These abnormal climate changes referred to usually impossible phenomena occurring in a large area. For instance, there might be a place where a large scale ritual spell gone wrong filled an area with toxic rot-gases, or a place where once a year, a desert might rage with sandstorms for a week, or perhaps a place where multi-colored rain fell at certain times.

In other words, he was asking if this fog was one of those mysterious occurrences. However, Neia had not gathered any information on such things. She sensed that she would probably be scolded if she answered as much, but she had no choice but to answer honestly.

"My sincerest apologies, but I have no information about the fog that has appeared before us."

"In other words, you didn't gather enough intelligence, did you?"

Yet another difficult question. Who could say that they had collected enough information?

"Captain Remedios. Deciding what to do now is more important."

Their horses had come to a halt.

The fog was getting thick enough that horses could not advance through it. Given what they had learned earlier, there were no cliffs near E-Rantel. If they advanced slowly, they ought to be able to deal with whatever came up. However, this rapidly brewing fog made them hesitant to move through it, however slowly they travelled.

Neia sniffed the fog.

It smelled of water vapor and nothing more. There was nothing about it that would have bothered her. However, that was exactly what bothered her.

"Captain, could this fog have been generated by a monster? My father once said that some monsters had the magical ability to generate fog, and they would hide in it to stalk their prey."

"...Everyone, draw your blades! Anyone still on the road, clear off right away!"

This quick decision-making was a sign of Remedios's excellence in battle.

Neia and the Paladins moved their horses as directed and left the road, whereupon they circled up. By this time, the thick fog looked like it was going to swallow up the entire world.

It was thick enough that she could barely make out her companions next to her, and visibility was zero beyond fifteen meters. Her unease boiled in her chest, and she imagined she saw wraiths in the movement of the fog's currents.

It would be good if she could determine what was approaching them by sound, but she was surrounded by fully armored knights. Every move they made caused metal to scrape against metal, and it hampered Neia's sense of hearing. Under these conditions, it would be very difficult to detect anything that was closing in on them. By Neia's reckoning, the only one who could still discern objects by sound in these conditions was her father.

As she realized her father's greatness once more, she desperately pricked up her ears to listen.

"This is a really weird fog; it doesn't get this thick even on the sea."

"Aren't we about to reach the Sorcerous Kingdom's city? Are there still monsters this close to the city limits? Or are these strange things par for the course because it's the Sorcerous Kingdom?"

"I don't know... could it be some sort of defensive spell used by the Sorcerous Kingdom?"

"...Let's leave magic out of it, just talking about it makes my head hurt. If you see anything, let me know, and make it easy to understand. If it's a monster, we'll kill it so we can have the Sorcerer King owe us a favor when asking him to send out Momon. How about that?"

"How do you think that will turn out? While they say clearing out monsters within a country's borders is the responsibility of that country..."

Perhaps it was because she had focused all her energies on listening intently, but she could clearly make out the contents of the conversation between the Captain and Gustavo. However, if she moved away, she was no longer confident that she could hear them. What would her father do at a time like this?

I can't keep relying on someone who isn't here! I need to stand on my own two feet!

However, the fact remained that staying here would only impede her abilities. In that case, should she ask if she could be allowed to move away by herself in order to verify the situation?

—It would be better not to.

Neia quelled her desire to speak up.

Even if she did not do so, the Captain was hardly close to her. If she asked for that and failed, there was no telling how she would be punished. It would be best to avoid causing more problems for herself.

Also, it would be bad if the Captain stopped trusting my guidance as a result.

Neia struggled to make excuses in her heart. However, it would be very bad for her mental health if they ran into danger and she thought, I could have handled this better.

Although part of her mind thought, If we all die here, the people suffering in the Holy Kingdom will have to wait even longer for salvation, Remedios's barbs had already punched countless holes in Neia's heart, and she could not bring herself to care any more.

Just then, Neia saw something from the corner of her eye that she could not possibly miss.

Amidst the dense fog, she glimpsed the murky outline of something huge coming from the Sorcerous Kingdom.

"Say, can you take a look over there?" Neia poked one of the mounted paladins beside her.

"...I don't see anything. Sorry, but the fog's too thick and I can't see anything. Is something there?"

She heard the paladin reaching to his waist and fluidly drawing his sword, then the sound of him tightly gripping its hilt.

"Ah, it's nothing. I thought I saw something, but maybe I was mistaken."

"Really? Well, if you think there's something there, just tell us, no matter what it is."

"All right, I'll be counting on you when the time comes, then."

After thanking him with an earnest look on her face, Neia turned back to the front. If one divided the women in the world into those who were suited for smiling and those who were not meant to smile at all, Neia would fall into the latter category. Even a word of thanks from her was better delivered with a serious expression than with a smile.

Neia continued studying the fog bank intently. It was possible that only Neia could see it because it was too far away, but she was sure she had not been mistaken.

Perhaps her interaction with the paladin had restored her spirits, but Neia decided to say something to the Captain. However, she was still talking to Gustavo.

"What should we do next?"

"It's very dangerous to move around in this fog. Let's wait a bit more, and if there's nothing we'll dismount and rest. Come to think of it, are there fog-emitting monsters in the sea?"

"Of course. However, there aren't any seas or lakes nearby. It's just like Squire Baraja said."

"Is it possible that she made a mistake or overlooked some piece of information?"

"She wouldn't screw up like that. Frankly speaking, she's brought us safely all the way here, hasn't she? When we were leaving the Holy Kingdom, the demihumans patrolling near the broken wall didn't spot us either. We couldn't have done it by ourselves, could we?"

"We could have broken through by force."

Once again, the health gauge for Neia's heart plummeted.

How much frustration had she gone through to bring them all the way here?

Memories awoke in her mind, of how she had asked them to stay behind while she scouted by herself in the freezing rain, crawling around on the ground and getting all muddy in order to prevent herself from being spotted by ranger-type ambush skills.

If she were spotted, Neia, as the sole vanguard would most assuredly die. Even so, Neia had carried on with the determination to die, clinging to the belief that she was doing this to save her suffering countrymen.

That's right, I'm not working hard because I want someone to praise me or anything.

She tried her best to talk herself round. Even if the Captain refused to acknowledge her contributions, the others would surely approve of her efforts, even if they did not say so.

Wanting to be praised or rewarded for working hard is just a child's selfishness. This is what it means to be a shield of humanity. Biting your lip, making yourself a shield, all in order to keep pain and suffering from the people is the duty of a paladin. Surely the Captain must be the same way. Still... could she lower her volume? No, maybe the two of them think they're speaking quietly enough.

The two of them were still talking.

Neia personally thought that they should not focus on talking and instead keep an eye on their surroundings. Especially Remedios, whose beast-like danger sense and fighting ability meant that she ought to be able to respond better than anyone else.

She quashed the frustration in her heart, and focused on the shadow in the fog. That was also because she had not yet regained the strength needed to call out to them again, and also because she did not want to continue listening in on their conversation.

And then — perhaps the fog had been parted by the currents of the wind — for a moment, just a moment, Neia clearly glimpsed a shadowy wheelhouse.

Eh? No way... is that... a ship?

Indeed, Neia had discerned the true nature of the shadow; a ship which floated upon the sea.

In addition, it was a large ship, similar to a galleass. It was a momentary thing, and it was promptly veiled again by the heavy fog, so even she was not sure that she had actually spotted a ship.

Of course, such a thing was not possible by common sense.

The information she possessed notwithstanding, Gustavo himself had already said there were no lakes in the vicinity. No, even if there was, only a madman would float a galleass in a lake.

If this were a coastal region, it might be possible that they had used an old ship as a fortress or moved it onto dry land for some other purpose. In fact, there were several examples of such things in the Holy Kingdom. However, doing so this far inland was impossible.

I was seeing things, right?

That was the best way to think of it.

Still, her eyes refused to leave that direction, scanning over and over again.

"...So you did see something after all, huh?"

Neia squeaked out an Eh!? in response to the question from the knight she had spoken to earlier.

"You were looking in the direction from just now, which means you did see something over there, right?"

"Ah? No, that..."

I saw a shadow that looked like a ship. If she actually said that, they would probably think she was insane. Certainly Neia would. In that case, what should she say?

"Doesn't matter if you were mistaken, but could you tell me if you saw something? It'll help if something's happening over there."

It was a perfect argument.

She peeked around from side to side. Everyone was listening in to Neia's exchange with the paladin, and all eyes were on Neia. Things being what they were, she could not simply bluff her way through this by saying "Oh, I was just mistaken."

"...Ah, I just felt that there was a big shadow out there."

"Is that big shadow a monster?"

The person Neia least wanted to hear fired a question her way. Dammit, don't ask me, she thought, but obviously she could not actually say that.

Neia sighed several dozen times in her heart before answering:

"No, it's not like that. I had the feeling I saw a building or something similar."

"...Did you really see it?"

"I'm not too sure. It just felt that way. It's quite likely that I was mistaken."

"A building? A fort of the Sorcerous Kingdom or something like that?"

"I don't know. However, the fact is that we haven't seen anything that looks like a fort of the Sorcerous Kingdom near the roads, or near the villages. Those wouldn't be out of place on the borderlands."

While she had felt that it was a ship, it would go across better if she said that she had seen a building which looked like a ship rather than a ship itself.

"I see... what do you think, Gustavo?"

"I believe her. Although — you didn't verify that it was a building, did you?"

"Yes, it was just for a moment. It might have been something else entirely."

"Captain Custodio, in any event, I think waiting in the fog is the best option. I don't think the Sorcerous Kingdom's forts will permit foreigners to enter."

"Makes sense. Let's do it, then. Everyone, stay alert."

She was answered by a chorus of voices, as well as Neia.

While they were ostensibly keeping watch, everyone's attention was focused on a single point. That was because everybody wanted to verify what Neia had seen.

The thick fog continued to obscure all vision, and just as everyone was starting to lose interest in the building, something happened.

"—What!?"

Neia and the knight to her right both gasped in surprise.

A shadow was moving in the thick fog.

"W-What? What was that?"

Neia could not answer the paladin's question. Saying it was a ship was crazy talk.

"Is that shadow... moving? Isn't that a building?"

The Captain's question was very reasonable. However, since Neia had not told her what it actually was, all she could say until the end was that it looked like a building.

"When I saw it, it looked like one..."

"But it's moving now, isn't it? Also... the shadow looks like it's getting darker; is it headed our way?"

Indeed, if that was really a ship, then it could move towards them. In other words — that ship was one which could sail on land.

How could that... it's impossible...

In the end, the shadow approached close enough through the fog until even the people other than Neia could see what it really was.

It was indisputably a ship, and it was moving as though it were sailing upon the waves. Rows of long, thick oars protruded from its sides, rowing like they were actually pushing through the water.

"Are you kidding me?"

The shocked words which escaped Remedios's mouth spoke for everyone in the group.

"Do the ships of the Sorcerous Kingdom travel on land? The inland countries have all sorts of surprising toys..."

No, no, not like this, Neia said in her heart. She was probably not the only one to think that way.

"A ship that travels through fog... I seem to recall hearing about something like that before..."

"I expected nothing less of you, Gustavo! Come, try and recall it, I'm sure you can do it. You taught me all kinds of things in the past, I'm sure you can do it. Right, want me to shake your head for you?"

"Please don't do that. Besides, I'm not a sage or anything. It's just because our Captain has no head for such facts which requires me to remember them on her behalf."

"...That's because all I needed to do was ask you or Queralt."

"It seems we've been spoiling you too much. Once we send Jaldabaoth back to hell, I'm going to make sure you make up for all your years of lost learning. Ah, thanks to that, I remember now. It's a Ghost Ship. I heard some sailors talk about it, a ship that appears out of the fog. It's a ship that should have sunk, but which sails once more, and it is helmed by the undead."

"Oh! Yes, I've heard that Ghost Ships are preceded by thick fog. ...Everyone, form up! If it's a Ghost Ship, then we'll be facing the undead! It's the enemy!"

Even the paladins could not help but be shaken by their Captain's order.

"Wait! Please wait, Captain Custodio! The Sorcerous Kingdom which is our destination is ruled by an undead king, so what if this is one of the Sorcerous Kingdom's ships?"

"What!? He brought a Ghost Ship onto dry land and then used it? ...What the hell is this?"

It was only natural that Remedios would be dumbfounded.

The undead could control other undead. However, what kind of undead being could put a Ghost Ship, that would originally have sailed the seas, under their command?

Soon, the ship revealed itself in its entirety.

Indeed, it was truly a Ghost Ship.

It was broken down all over. There was a huge hole in the side of the hull, and the deck planks were curled upwards in many places.

It was gigantic, even bigger than the Holy Kingdom Navy's flagship "Iron Hammer of the Holy King." If it were not so dilapidated, it would give off an impression of tremendous power.

The last of its three masts flew aft sails, while the others had regular square sails. However, they were all torn and tattered, and they did not look like they could accomplish their mission of propelling a vessel.

There was an abnormal sharpness to the way its prow protruded forth. It looked very impressive, like it had been polished. In addition, it glowed with a dim, mystical light, and it gave the feeling that the ship was proud of itself.

After that, the most eye-catching feature was the ensign it flew on top of the main mast. It bore the symbol of the Sorcerous Kingdom.

The ship floated a meter off the ground as it moved forward.

Soon, the ship passed by the group — who were frozen in place by the bizarre sight — from the side.

Nobody was able to move, and then the fog began to thin. Did that ship spew fog as it sailed? No, if that were the case, then the fog would have been thickest when one was near the ship, so they should not have been able to even see the hull itself. It was probably like some sort of concealing layer that shrouded the area around the ship with fog.

Or perhaps it was a cage to keep its prey from escaping. Neia was scared stiff by that thought of hers.

The Sorcerer King... an undead king. He might turn out to be a very scary person.

When she heard he had summoned gigantic goats of uncertain origin, she had imagined them as adorable sheep, so perhaps Neia might have underestimated the Sorcerer King in some small way.

It made her uneasy.

Just like how paladins viewed the undead as enemies, the undead might consider paladins to be their enemies too. If that were the case, the fate of their group would be—

Even so, they had no choice but to beg him for aid, in order to meet Momon, the man who had once fought on par with Jaldabaoth. Neia wiped her sweat away with her palm.

"...The fog's cleared. Everyone, let's go."

The undead king who ruled these bizarre beings.

Neia gathered up her resolve.

The Sorcerer King is undead, yet he permits humans to live... What sort of person is he, really? Well, I won't be able to see that side of him, being a squire and all.