Chapter 08
To be honest, he had allowed himself a sliver of hope.
There had been far too many strange things about the way she looked at him.
It was too complicated to be pity, yet too restrained to be greed.
That was why he had hoped.
‘So it really was all an act.’
The Black Dog let out a quiet, mocking laugh.
Even now, look at her.
For someone who was lying, she looked far too confident.
“So… I’m Philion Elfert?”
“That’s right. You’ve heard of him before, haven’t you?”
“Far too many times.”
The corners of the Black Dog’s lips curled upward again.
This time, it was a sneer.
“As the lunatic who threw everything away for one woman.”
“…Did he?”
The woman answered with an odd expression.
She glanced away awkwardly, as though somehow embarrassed.
“Then you must know him too.”
“Hm? Who?”
“Raiel Volks.”
Her eyes wavered.
“Ah… um… not really…”
“You’re lying.”
The words slipped out before he even realized it.
Her shoulders jolted.
A long sigh escaped her lips.
“…You’re right. I know him too.”
The Black Dog laughed bitterly.
Ah.
‘So now she’s pretending to know him too?’
According to Dale, she had been born in the Eastern Continent and had spent her entire life there.
How could she possibly know two men from the Western Continent?
…He didn’t bother asking.
There was no point.
She would only lie again.
“I see.”
“…You’re not going to ask anything else?”
“He’s already dead, isn’t he?”
With those final words, the Black Dog looked away.
His interest in the woman vanished.
Why had he expected anything from her?
He almost felt pathetic.
‘No matter how I look at it, she’s a complete stranger.’
The feeling that she looked familiar…
That had probably just been an excuse to approach her.
Neither her appearance nor her aura stirred even the slightest memory.
He had stared at her for quite some time, yet nothing came to mind.
It wasn’t like when he had met Dale.
The very first time he saw him…
“Do you think you would’ve followed that guy if he hadn’t had red hair and glasses?”
Red hair.
Yes.
For some reason, the sight of that color always gave the Black Dog an inexplicable sense of comfort.
And this woman didn’t have red hair.
Just as he’d said, nothing came back to him.
Well…
Even if it had, he still wouldn’t have disobeyed Dale’s orders.
‘I have to finish her in one strike.’
That was why he had come this close.
Once the monsters appeared and chaos broke out, he would kill her instantly with the dagger.
Afterward, he would deliberately lure the monsters over to damage the corpse, eliminating any suspicion.
The only problem was…
Even after their conversation ended, he still couldn’t sense a single monster nearby.
The Black Dog stole another glance at the woman.
Just as he’d expected, she was still watching him warily.
The conversation was over, yet he remained close to her.
It was only natural she’d be nervous.
Still, for his plan, this distance was perfect.
He decided to distract her.
“Do you happen to know why I lost my memories?”
“Hmm… I don’t really know either. Maybe it’s a side effect of using the forbidden tome? You’re the only person who’s ever used it, so I can’t say for sure.”
“If I’m really Philion Elfert, then why does the wanted poster show a different face?”
“Good question. I’d like to know that too.”
“Then why hasn’t House Elfert come looking for me?”
“I don’t know.”
“And the forbidden tome? Where did I hide it?”
“I don’t… know.”
The Black Dog looked down at her coldly.
“So you don’t know anything.”
“You only asked impossible questions! How would I know where you hid the forbidden tome?”
“You could at least make an educated guess. Somewhere I used to visit often, for example.”
“How would I know where you used to go? To me, you were practically my sworn ene—!”
She hurriedly clamped a hand over her mouth.
But the Black Dog had already heard it.
“…Sworn enemy?”
His hand instinctively moved to the dagger at his waist.
The woman froze as well.
Silence settled between them.
Neither spoke.
The tension thickened.
Just as the Black Dog tightened his grip around the hilt—
“Wait.”
The woman suddenly turned her head sharply to the side.
Her expression became much more serious.
Only then did he realize the surrounding fog had grown denser.
“I think it’s here.”
Even so, he couldn’t tear his gaze away from her.
Sworn enemies…
‘That doesn’t sound like the kind of lie she’d make.’
Then…
Did she really know him?
‘Who exactly is this woman?’
I quickly sorted through the types of monsters capable of creating fog.
‘If it lives in a dense forest like this, there aren’t that many possibilities. They said only Grade 4 monsters appear around here…’
Something suddenly burst out from the bushes.
“They’re finally here!”
Bridin’s axe swung down without hesitation, cleaving the charging shadow in two.
With a heavy thud, a wolf with countless eyes crashed onto the ground.
“More are coming! Get ready!”
No sooner had Hemil shouted than three more wolves emerged.
We responded immediately.
Well…
Everyone except Dale, who had vanished somewhere, and Philion, who still looked as though he wanted to kill only me.
“What are you doing? Help us!”
“You don’t appear to need my assistance.”
He wasn’t wrong.
These were Rune Wolves, Grade 4 monsters.
Despite their ferocious appearance, they were actually smaller than ordinary wolves, and their attacks weren’t all that powerful.
Bridin and Hemil could handle them easily.
But if there was this much fog…
“You idiot! Their alpha is about to—”
At that moment—
Awoooooo—
A spine-chilling howl echoed through the forest.
The fog thickened even further.
But as a mage, I could see perfectly.
A silver wolf.
Within the pale mist, it looked almost ghostlike.
Smaller than an ordinary Rune Wolf.
Yet its magical power far surpassed the others.
It was the alpha that summoned thick fog and led the pack’s hunt.
‘Selling that one would definitely fetch a fortune.’
But if it had appeared…
That meant there were at least fifty Rune Wolves nearby.
If they all attacked at once, Bridin and Hemil wouldn’t survive.
Even Philion couldn’t handle them without using magic.
That meant…
I had no choice but to step in.
“It’s dangerous. Stay here.”
I grabbed Philion’s arm tightly.
The Philion I knew would have made some sarcastic remark.
But the current one simply obeyed.
You really did lose your memories…
The realization struck me again as I gathered my mana.
What spell should I use?
Maybe I should just burn the entire area…
I was still deciding when—
Awoooooo—
The alpha howled once more.
Unexpectedly…
The Rune Wolves began retreating.
“They’re… just leaving?”
Bridin muttered blankly.
Ignoring him completely, every Rune Wolf turned around at once.
Even the silver alpha had already disappeared.
Bridin leaned against his axe and sighed in relief.
“Thank goodness. I thought it was calling in more Rune Wolves.”
“‘Thought’? I was hoping it’d bring more.”
“Yeah, yeah. Of course you were.”
“…Why did they just leave?”
That last question came from Dale.
So he’d been hiding after all.
“Let’s collect the corpses and leave. After a pack that large passed through, no other monsters will show up for a while.”
“They know they’d lose in a numbers game,” Bridin added.
“Even aggressive monsters will keep their heads down until the Rune Wolves are long gone.”
It was a perfectly reasonable conclusion.
Yet I couldn’t shake the uneasy feeling.
It felt like…
Like I was overlooking something.
‘Come to think of it… why hasn’t the fog disappeared?’
Were they afraid we’d pursue them?
But they vastly outnumbered us.
Why retreat instead of attacking?
‘It’s almost like they were running away…’
Then Bridin spoke.
“Huh? A snake.”
“A snake?”
While extracting a magic stone from a Rune Wolf’s corpse, Bridin pointed at the ground.
Dale walked over curiously.
And at that instant…
It felt as though someone had dumped a bucket of ice water over my head.
Forest.
Snake.
If something could frighten over fifty Rune Wolves into fleeing…
“Bridin! Run—!”
Boom!
A tremendous impact shook the earth.
My legs nearly gave out.
Even so, I tried to rush forward.
I would have…
If Philion hadn’t grabbed me.
His powerful arm pulled me back instantly.
Losing my balance, I fell straight into his chest.
His large hand wrapped around my shoulder.
It was the first time Philion and I had ever been this close.
But I couldn’t push him away.
Because…
A snake had just slithered past my ankle.
Damn it.
Feeling the heavy tremors drawing nearer, I squeezed my eyes shut.
Medira.
Medira.
Also known as the Snake Queen.
A Grade 2 monster.
And an exceptionally rare one.
She fed on monsters rather than humans, making encounters with her incredibly uncommon.
She stood around two meters tall.
Though she had the appearance of a woman, her body was astonishingly heavy.
Because countless snakes coiled around her from head to toe.
If your eyes met even one of those snakes…
You would turn to stone instantly.
It didn’t matter how powerful a mage you were.
If Philion hadn’t caught me…
I’d already be a statue.
I had identified what she was.
But I never imagined she’d gotten this close.
My legs had moved before my mind because all I could think about was saving Bridin.
…That this guy would save me instead…
I never expected that.
He’d been watching me so suspiciously… and yet he still helped me.
Even as that thought crossed my mind, Medira continued approaching.
Not long afterward, her footsteps stopped.
I heard slow, heavy breathing.
I could even sense the mana in the air shifting.
Fortunately…
She didn’t stay long.
“…Is she gone?”
I cautiously opened my eyes.
She was gone.
Completely.
A sigh of relief escaped me.
Then I turned my head—
And met Philion’s pale violet eyes.
“Ah…”
My heart gave a small, unexpected thump.
Like I said…
This had never happened before.
It was the first time I’d ever been this close to him.
Maybe that was why.
Even though I knew how awkward the situation was, I couldn’t help staring at him.
Philion didn’t let go either.
He simply gazed back at me in silence.
If Hemil hadn’t called out…
We might have stayed like that much longer.
“Anyone alive?”
“Y-Yes! Over here!”
I slipped free from Philion’s grasp and hurried into the clearing.
“I’m here! Phil—… the Black Dog is too!”
“Good.”
“What about Hemil? Are you okay?”
“Yeah.”
Hemil stepped out of the bushes and shrugged.
“I’m fine.”
“Then… where’s Bridin?”
The moment I looked away from Hemil…
I found him.
No…
“Found” wasn’t the right word.
He had already been turned completely to stone.
Like an exquisitely carved statue, Bridin remained frozen forever with the same shocked expression on his face.
…And right beside him—
“Oh no…”
In front of Dale, who had been petrified with the exact same expression as Bridin…
Philion slowly dropped to his knees in silence.
