Approaching the Mire

The rooms for rest at the Wolf's Head Tavern were all located on the second floor. The wooden floorboards on this level showed their age, and each step echoed with the lingering sounds of time. Through the thick, dust-covered glass of the windows, one could see the beds placed within the rooms. The rain had been falling for a long time and showed no signs of stopping. The sound of the downpour seeped indoors, catching the eye of the tall adventurer leaning by the window, gazing outside.

His face appeared weathered.

"The situation in Eisole Forest has become quite complicated recently—black mist has contaminated the wild boars, but the source can't be found for now," Forresten said calmly, sitting by the round wooden table in the center of the room, describing the troublesome matter.

"Frenzied wild boars? Has the black mist's power increased this year?" Wickel tapped on the window.

"Indeed. My research hasn't made much progress. The black mist has been untraceable since the Month of Elements (①) this year... Theoretically, its strength shouldn't be too great this year," Forresten stated.

"What does Willondon say? They'd have a hard time explaining so much black mist—the Holy See must be preparing to organize a purge, right? If they can't provide a reasonable explanation this year, their arrogance will only grow," Wickel said with a hint of mockery. "The Holy See is also doing nothing, yet they don't have to bear the brunt of nameless anger."

Forresten gripped his staff, a trace of helplessness appearing on his face. "There's nothing that can be done about it—while there are always ways to explain things, the problems are never solved."

"I recall your research has made considerable progress—are you bringing your students along this time?" Wickel changed the subject.

"I'm old, Wickel," Forresten's voice was filled with deep sorrow. "But without my Starfall, progress cannot halt, or we will never achieve our shared wish."

This meant he hoped someone could inherit his legacy, or at least, he hoped someone could gain some experience.

"As you wish, then let's give it a try... I hope we can see some good progress." Wickel didn't attempt to comfort Forresten. Instead, he turned to look at a girl sleeping with her back to them—Fatenai had gone to bed early, making no sound throughout, giving the impression she was fast asleep.

In reality, on the side they couldn't see, Fatenai's eyes were open, filled with deep thought.

The rain stopped just as it was "dawn"—the clock hanging in the tavern indicated morning.

"Morning." When Wickel came down from downstairs and brought the breakfast up, Fatenai was already seated by the window. She wasn't wearing her cloak, her platinum-blonde hair cascading down. Her slender frame made her seem chronically malnourished. Her face, not particularly attractive, was very pale—Wickel greeted her.

"Good morning, Mr. Auster." Fatenai spoke slowly.

"You're too kind, just call me Wickel." Wickel seemed embarrassed to receive such a respectful title, but perhaps it was more because he wasn't used to it.

Fatenai understood his sentiment; she knew adventurers disliked receiving honorifics in the noble sense. But she pretended not to notice because she couldn't accept one person having the same name as another friend of hers. Unable to change the situation, she thought about it and compromised: "Alright, Wickel."

After that, there was no further conversation. Fatenai walked to the table and sat down, picking up the bread Wickel had placed there. It was as hard as stone, clearly made from inferior, unscreened wheat. One could easily bite into a piece of gravel if not careful. Fatenai picked up a piece, frowned, and finally, with great effort, broke it into small pieces, eating them with cold water, bite by bite.

"Aus... Wickel, could you tell me what Willondon is?" Fatenai ate slowly. Seeing Wickel on the opposite side about to finish his bread, she asked, "There aren't many adventurers where I live, so I haven't heard of these things."

"I see," Wickel readily accepted Fatenai's explanation and then said, "Willondon was the 'first' hero who, with the Holy Sword, tore through the sky's veil and awakened the light. Later, he established a Hero's Hall, which we call Willondon. Adventurers who achieve a certain qualification can receive some negligible praise there."

The first hero was named Willondon... This actually didn't align with what Fatenai knew.

Originally, the divine Allentia dispatched her messenger, Emore, who hurled the divine spear that pierced evil from the heavens, bringing light to the world and pushing evil back into the corners. This day marked a new beginning.

Fatenai did not worship Allentia, but nobles were her fervent followers and had memorized the Divine Language. That was the first scripture, The Genesis of Divinity. Among those who believed in Allentia, the pioneer was Emore, not Willondon.

No wonder she had never heard of Willondon's name.

"Then where is Willondon?" Fatenai didn't mention Emore and asked.

"At the Crossroads." Wickel's explanation was ambiguous.

The Crossroads.

What was it? What kind of place could be considered the Crossroads? Perhaps Willondon itself didn't have a fixed location.

Fatenai remained silent. She ultimately concluded that Willondon might be similar to Allentia, a form of faith, the faith of adventurers. In other words, Wickel, who could be called Willondon, must hold a significant position among adventurers.

"Where did they go?" Fatenai decided to change the subject.

When she woke up, Helise, Hubert, and Forresten were no longer in the room.

"They went to prepare the items the mages need. You know, mages always have a lot of equipment—one must be careful in the forest," Wickel said. He had finished his bread and stood up.

Fatenai fell silent. It wasn't that she couldn't find a topic, but rather that there were no more questions she could get answers to.

"This is for you." After Fatenai finally finished the last bite of bread, she suddenly saw something flying towards her. She caught it with quick reflexes—it was a dagger less than half her forearm in length. The blade, shimmering like water, was etched with Shu Zhu Flowers, reflecting Fatenai's somewhat astonished gaze. "It seems you don't have a very suitable weapon."

The Shu Zhu Flower was a very interesting flower, symbolizing feminine courage and hope, while also carrying a meaning of rebellion.

"Thank you very much, but don't you think my origins are questionable?" It wasn't clear if Wickel suspected her—although Fatenai believed the answer was yes, her handling of the dagger wasn't perfectly fluid, yet it was quite skilled.

"Adventurers rarely have clear origins," Wickel said. "Why are you in Helurando?"

"Someone wanted to kill me, and Helise and Hubert helped me. They planned to wait for their teacher here, so I came along with them," Fatenai recounted some less important details.

"It seems we'll have to keep an eye out for whoever is chasing you," Wickel said, though his tone didn't suggest the matter was troublesome, merely that there was one more thing to do.

If there was any overlap between him and the Wickel she knew, it might be that inexplicable "hospitality"—they were strangers, yet they offered help.

"He won't be coming back anytime soon," Fatenai thought of the scene at the time and wasn't particularly worried.

The two fell silent again, but this silence wasn't awkward due to a lack of conversation. Instead, Fatenai found it quite comfortable.

Not long after, the three mages returned to the tavern. Fatenai had also tidied herself up. They shouldered their belongings and headed towards Eisole Forest. Fatenai pulled down the hood of her cloak a bit. In the dim environment, people hurried along the waterlogged ground, kicking up splashes.

"During the Rose Month, the most worrying aspect is the darkness. In dark environments, many forest plants are inedible, animal activity becomes concerning, and dangers increase significantly." Not long after they entered the forest, a soft light emanated from the top of Forresten's staff, illuminating the path ahead. "We have reason to fear the darkness."

Fatenai didn't know their destination—nor did she have any destination to choose. Thus, they didn't walk too quickly, almost as if they were strolling.

Returning to the forest from the town, it was this place that made her feel comfortable.

"What is that?" Suddenly, they heard rustling in the grass, followed by a figure darting past agilely, only revealing yellowish-brown fur in their sight—Helise asked in surprise.

"An Aquile Lynx, an animal that doesn't like to provoke others but has a rather hateful appearance because its fangs look very aggressive," Fatenai said casually.

Darwin's research had given her a great understanding of the local flora and fauna, so this was a very easy task for her. She didn't notice the surprise in their eyes.

"Are you still going forward? There's a swamp ahead, and it becomes very dangerous after rain, at least very difficult to traverse," Fatenai suddenly stopped as they walked.

Her eyes were fixed on the plants appearing ahead. Although she was accustomed to various situations encountered in the forest, swamps were, besides ferocious beasts, the most troublesome for her.

Few people would enjoy the dampness and mud.

"Impressive, Forest Hunter, but we need to go this way," Forresten praised. "Don't worry, we have a mage."

① Kingdom of Luther Monthly Calendar: The thirteen months are Month of Awakening, Month of Sprouting, Month of Blessing, Month of Elements, Month of Praise, Month of the Empress, Month of Wisdom, Month of Destiny, Month of Trekking, Month of Birth, Month of Mist, Month of Progress, and Month of the World. The thirteen months are divided into Early Month, Midday Month, and Late Month. Early Month and Late Month each have thirteen days, and Midday Month has two days (Midday Month of the Month of Praise has three days). The entire year thus has 13 × 2 × 13 + 2 × 13 + 1 = 365 days.