Crisis Under Ignorance

"Wickel?" Fatenai stared at Wickel in astonishment, watching helplessly as he abandoned the trail and headed in the opposite direction. Even though she didn't care who had caused the wild boar to go berserk—she knew it was Hermes—she was bothered by Wickel's behavior. This was definitely abnormal.

Wickel didn't answer her question, continuing forward without looking back.

"Wickel? Wickel? Wickel!" No one liked being ignored like that. Fatenai repeated his name several times. The tall man and the short girl moved through the forest, appearing harmonious, but in reality, they had a serious disagreement about the direction.

She hoped Wickel would stop and continue the investigation so she could feel useful. Staying by the side of an experienced hunter like Wickel was her best option, rather than wandering the forest like a headless fly.

Recalling her less-than-glorious experiences in the forest, Fatenai shouted a few more times. By the last time, Wickel suddenly stopped. Fatenai thought he had finally compromised, but without a word, he turned and walked toward her. Before she could speak, he grabbed her and hoisted her up! He carried her away just like one would carry a small animal!

Even as a young lady of the Wisdom Family, Fatenai had never experienced anything like this.

"How rude!" Fatenai instinctively shouted.

Of course, it was useless. The hound wagged its tail behind them, looking quite happy. This only made Fatenai want to find a hole to crawl into.

Fatenai's mind was a mess, but she stopped thinking about how to make Wickel put her down or turn back. She wasn't a typical noble lady; once she realized Wickel wouldn't listen to her, she shifted her focus.

Is he worried about something? Is there something in that place? Or... does he not trust me?

Fatenai had many theories, but her first priority was to stay quiet. It was similar to how she acted in her family: until she was sure she could resolve a situation, it was best not to provoke the other party.

She eventually decided to test Wickel to see why he was so unwilling to go in that direction.

Soon, the cabin was in sight. Fatenai had no time to marvel at how unique the forest cabin looked; she simply took a deep breath. Just then, she felt Wickel set her down.

"Hey, Wickel, I want to say..." Fatenai tried to soften her tone, but before she could finish, Wickel walked off into the forest without looking back!

What was going on?!

Fatenai was dumbfounded, and then anger threatened to shatter her reason. Even her calm and wise father had never made her feel this annoyed.

She felt she had been mocked. Looking at the direction Wickel had left—it was clearly the way they had just come from.

This showed he still intended to investigate that place, but his previous actions also made it clear he didn't want her dragging him down, which was why he had personally carried her back.

Was she really that unwelcome? Fatenai was shocked by this realization, followed by a surge of fury.

In the end, she chose to follow him, her only thought being to argue it out with Wickel.

However, things were not as simple as Miss Fatenai had imagined. As she charged into the forest, she encountered two difficult problems. First, she found she couldn't keep up with Wickel at all. Clearly, when they had traveled together before, he had deliberately slowed his pace, or this time, he had intentionally sped up.

Second, she was lost.

Fatenai knew the general direction, but when she finally regained her composure, the scenery before her eyes was completely unfamiliar. She couldn't distinguish one tree from another; to her, they all looked the same.

It was all so frustrating, and it made her inevitably blame the situation. Fatenai scanned her surroundings, cursing The Holy See a thousand times in her heart. If those fanatics hadn't invented that awakening ceremony, why would she have participated? And how could her status in the family have plummeted, leading to her being sent off for a strange arranged marriage?

If not for that hasty marriage, she wouldn't have fled so impulsively, nor would she have been so ill-prepared.

But...

Fatenai took a deep breath, forcing herself to calm down. Venting was only temporary; reality was reality, and it couldn't be undone.

At this moment, the only thing she could think about was whether anything she had learned could help her find her way in the forest.

Music theory, etiquette, basic dance, history, swordsmanship, horseback riding... and some books on the wilderness she had skimmed through in a rush. Of course, those were game books written for nobles, which were useless in this situation.

What about before that?

Fatenai placed her hand on a tree trunk, feeling the texture, thinking carefully. She didn't walk blindly; she stood quietly, as if waiting for something. The rare, short-tempered outburst from earlier was gone—she was once again the familiar, calm Fatenai.

The surroundings suddenly became quiet. Bird calls appeared occasionally, along with the sound of a gentle breeze...

It was quiet, a bit... wait, there was a sound.

Rustle...

Fatenai squinted, looking behind a tree trunk. For some reason, a sense of tension rose in her heart. As time passed, the rustling grew louder. Fatenai took two steps back, feeling very nervous about what might be behind the tree.

Whoosh!

Fatenai jumped back, then suddenly let out a sigh of relief. The hound was wagging its tail, its bead-like eyes fixed on her, its tail swaying back and forth. It seemed to have followed her.

Apparently, it couldn't keep up with Wickel either.

"You scared me to death..." Fatenai didn't know why she said that, as if trying to talk to the hound. She glanced at it and bent down to pat its head. The hound was very docile, stretching its head out to let her pet it, its tail wagging even more happily.

Seeing it like this, Fatenai smiled and stood up. "You should know how to go back, right? Since you can't keep up, you might as well go back. It's better than wandering around here."

The hound wagged its tail, turned its head with human-like intelligence, sniffed the ground, and started walking forward. Every so often, it would turn back to look at Fatenai and bark twice.

Fatenai followed.

Walking through the forest with the hound, having given up on finding Wickel, she began to appreciate the scenery due to an inexplicable sense of peace. The ancient forest, where almost every tree was a towering giant, was something Fatenai had never seen before. The light and shadows filtering through the leaves were bright and flickering, appearing exceptionally warm in the afternoon. Under normal circumstances, the Eisole Forest was always quiet and serene.

As she walked, the scenery made Fatenai feel inexplicably calm.

Perhaps I can only live in a forest like this from now on? Like a Forest Hunter?

Fatenai suddenly had this thought, feeling lost for the first time.

Her goal at the time had only been to leave the circle of noble life, but she had no concrete ideas about the future. She didn't even know how people who weren't nobles lived on this continent.

But she had no time to ponder.

"Can you catch up?" A voice suddenly rang in Fatenai's ears. She hurriedly scrambled to the bottom of a small hill, using the gaps in the branches of a giant tree growing on the slope to look at the source of the sound. It was a group of people wearing black cloaks, moving with light steps.

"We can. Follow this way, go over there," another voice said.

Fatenai's expression changed. Who were they?

Instinctively, she used the Eye of Connection. Mana flowed through her eyes. To her great surprise, these figures in black had very regular mana flows. There were even distinct, peculiar patterns around them; it seemed those patterns were what allowed the mana to be evenly distributed around them.

The word "Mage" suddenly appeared in Fatenai's mind. She wanted to look more closely, but suddenly, a dog's bark rang in her ears!

The hound?! Fatenai realized what was happening and hurriedly grabbed the hound that had appeared beside her, holding it to her chest to make it shut up.

"Who's there?" But it was too late. The black-clad figures, who were about to leave, had clearly discovered Fatenai hiding on the small hill. They moved toward her rapidly. Even the hound in Fatenai's arms could feel the danger approaching, its body stiffening.

She was certain now that these people were Mages. They lunged from the woods—it was a long distance, but they arrived in the blink of an eye. During that process, Fatenai could see the mana flow becoming violent, pouring into the patterns around the Mages, which then triggered some kind of new transformation.

However, Fatenai was in no mood to think about these Mages or the secrets of how they exerted their power. She only felt that she was in trouble for being discovered, instinctively wanting to find a way out, yet feeling deeply powerless.

Is there really... no way out?

Fatenai felt a sense of despair. However, a crisp sound acted like a switch, stopping the charging Mages in their tracks.

What happened?

"A reaction from a Magic Potion? There's actually a high-level Magic Potion that can teleport?" A Mage spoke up. "Her" voice was very pleasant; she was clearly a woman.

"Chase them—anyone who can use this kind of potion must be 'them.' We can't let 'them' take the Eye of Simorely away," another Mage said.

With that, they set off, running into the distance.

Fatenai let out a sigh of relief and collapsed to the ground. Without realizing it, her back was drenched in sweat, though she wasn't sure what would have happened if they had discovered her.

"That was close, Miss." A familiar voice sounded again. Fatenai looked up and saw Hermes squatting in a tree.

He seemed very happy, grinning to reveal his canine teeth.

"Was that your doing?" Fatenai asked. After asking, she felt it was a redundant question—besides Hermes, there was no one around her who could use such things so brilliantly.