IATAOTHKG | CHAPTER 35

~CHAPTER 35~

Ocean Agency’s reception room.

Late in the evening, Banze called for Maina and went straight to the point.

“A letter has arrived from Prince Viterion.”

She added,

“To be precise, it’s a reply to the one I sent him.”

Banze placed an envelope on the side table.

Maina immediately opened it.

As I said before, I have no intention of engaging in guild activities.
It’s neither my duty nor something I am able to do.
—Viterion Parker.

It was a curt letter of refusal.

“I tried persuading him with everything else since I knew he couldn’t be bought with money.”

Banze frowned.

“This won’t be easy.”

He had the look of someone who couldn’t rest until he got what he wanted, Maina thought.

Just then, the reception room door swung open.

“Why did you call me?”

It was Caliph.

He looked surprised to see Maina sitting there, but quickly turned expressionless and faced Banze.

Maina moved to the right, giving him space to sit.

After standing for a moment with an unreadable expression, Caliph quietly took a seat beside her.

They saw each other at home every morning and evening, yet it felt like ages since she’d last seen him outside.

“Gates are opening all across the Empire, but since the cause remains unknown, the Imperial family is deeply concerned.”

Banze immediately brought up the reason he had summoned Caliph.

A shadow crossed Caliph’s face.

“I investigated and destroyed all three dungeons, but as you said, the cause is still unclear. It seems the source lies elsewhere.”

As Maina silently listened, something flashed in her mind.

“Wait a minute.”

The monster she’d encountered in the Forest of Time.

That corpse-colored creature with its blue tongue flicking out and smacking its lips…

“It said it had been trapped for three years and two months.”

Both Banze and Caliph turned toward her at once.

“If we can find out where the gate closed three years and two months ago…”

Before Maina could even finish her sentence, Caliph suddenly stood up.

“My Lady.”

“Yes, Professor.”

“Nice!”

Banze smiled brightly. His eyes and mouth were all laughter, but there was a hint of surprise in his face.

After having a brief tea time with Banze, Maina left the agency building.

With Banze seeing her off, she stopped by Gillingham Square.

After a bit of shopping, she returned to Winslet Castle, unpacked, then went out again after some hesitation.

She wanted some air to ease the tightness in her chest.

Night had fallen quickly over Whedon.

While walking through a quiet park, Maina frowned just as she was about to sit on a bench.

“……”

A sharp pain struck her lower abdomen.

It had been happening often lately, but she hadn’t paid it much attention. She had neither the time nor the mental space to visit a doctor.

Just as she thought about heading home—

“Ah…!”

An unbearable wave of pain surged through her.

Maina clutched her stomach and collapsed on the spot.

***

“It was the Western Continent.”

Caliph muttered to himself while reviewing the guild activity reports.

“The gate that was closed three years and two months ago.”

The one who had provided the key to that unsolved mystery was, surprisingly, Maina.

The western continent, Sahal, was known as a land of the unknown.

The areas near the capital were much like any other, but the further west one went, the more barren the land became, leading to endless mountain ranges.

Because of that, the outer regions of the continent were nearly uninhabited.

Three years and two months ago, the dungeon in Hiscarn, a western city of Sahal, had caused problems—not because of casualties, but due to a strange phenomenon with mana.

For reasons unknown, mana from within the dungeon had started leaking out, killing the nearby soil, plants, and trees, and even contaminating the water.

“Even back then, I thought something was off.”

That eerie, indescribable feeling returned vividly.

But since no monsters had gone on a rampage and no one had been hurt or killed, he’d pushed it aside in his memory.

Outside, the sky had grown deep and dark.

Caliph activated the emergency network and gathered members of Guild 928.

***

Through the portal, three people arrived in Hiscarn: Caliph, Rob, and Gamri.

It was late and the mission had been sudden, so Caliph had called only a small elite group.

“We’ll just take a quick look around and head back.”

Rob and Gamri both nodded. Both looked a bit tense.

Drawing his longsword, Caliph led the way. Rob followed close behind, and Gamri, carrying an axe, took up the rear.

“When were we last here?”

Rob asked, and Gamri added,

“Yeah, I remember coming here, but I can’t recall when exactly.”

Caliph, walking in front, replied,

“Three years and two months ago.”

“Hmm.”

Rob tilted his head slightly, trying to recall the past.

“Now that you mention it, I remember. There were reports of mana leaking out and killing all the nearby plants and animals, right?”

Caliph nodded silently.

“By the way, Captain.”

Gamri called out to him.

“What does that have to do with everything that’s been happening lately? Why bring us here?”

Caliph quickly summarized what he’d learned from Maina.

“Incredible!”

Rob exclaimed a little louder than usual.

“That’s quite a convincing deduction. Lady Maina really is impressive.”

“We’ve been chasing the wrong leads all this time, huh.”

Gamri chimed in.

“Enough chatter. Focus. You never know what might jump out at you.”

Caliph’s voice cut through their conversation sharply.

“Yes, sir. Sorry, Captain.”

“I’m already tense enough to make my backside itch, sir.”

Caliph clenched his jaw.

Truthfully, he was the one struggling to focus. Ever since Maina’s name had come up, his thoughts kept drifting.

“It’s obvious no one’s touched this place for years.”

Rob looked around as he spoke.

Just as he said, Hiscarn felt like an abandoned city.

The streets were lined with ruined buildings, and trees that had once been lush stood as nothing but stumps.

The exposed ground was dry and cracked, and from time to time, hungry stray dogs and cats circled them warily before disappearing into the darkness.

“Even if it’s night, it’s weird how not a single person’s around.”

Gamri muttered.

All the shops were closed, many with signs fallen off.

A few houses were visible, but every one of them was dark.

So in a way, it was natural that the streets were empty.

“That mountain over there looked creepy even three years ago, didn’t it?”

Rob pointed at the mountain ahead.

The Thales Mountain Range stretched endlessly west from Sahal’s capital, Kasadin.

Its name, meaning “Mountain of Silence” in an ancient tongue, inspired both fear and awe among the Empire’s citizens.

“That’s just because you’re easily spooked, Rob.”

Gamri teased, and Rob rolled his eyes back at him.

But all three knew the truth. Whether one was brave or not, the Thales Mountains were a dangerous and mysterious place.

Caliph stared at the range in the distance.

Dozens of towering peaks pierced the dim gray sky.

Through the drifting clouds, he could see jagged rocks and massive trees, and even from far away, the landscape exuded a chilling sense of oppression.

“Have you heard about the herbalist who tried climbing to the summit to gather herbs?”

“Someone actually did that?”

Gamri answered with a disbelieving laugh to Rob’s question.

Rob nodded and explained.

“He climbed for five straight days, and then the weather suddenly changed. Snow started falling, windstorms blew, and then came the rain.”

“Digging his own grave just for a few plants, huh?”

“Well, that was his profession after all. Anyway…”

Kind-hearted Rob continued, still defending the nameless herbalist.

“He endured all that and spent more than ten days climbing before finally reaching the summit. And there, everywhere he looked, there were rare trees and herbs, and fruits he’d only ever seen in textbooks.”

“So? Did he pick them all and get rich?”

“No.”

“Huh?”

“He returned to his family ten years later.”

Rob added,

“As a skeleton.”