But Geril’s words were cut short. At that moment, Seiden’s horse stopped. At the spot where the horse stopped, there was a large pile of grass that was obviously placed there on purpose. Everyone except Geril’s troops could tell at a glance what it was.

“It’s a hideout!”

Felton whispered excitedly, and Bellota’s eyes also shimmered with joy.

“What is that?”

Only Geril couldn’t easily grasp what it was and was seriously whispering to his subordinates. When Seiden shook the reins again, his horse moved its front legs and crushed a thick branch next to the pile of grass.

Then, due to the recoil, an entrance tied to the branch sprung up, revealing the entrance to an underground cave. At the same time, a boy jumped out of the hole and rushed straight towards Seiden.

“Commander!”

However, Seiden was quicker. As if he anticipated everything, he quickly drew his sword and blocked the boy’s axe. Bellota covered her mouth in shock at the sudden confrontation.

Seiden put strength into his hand that was holding the axe and looked into the eyes of the trembling boy, then gently pushed him away.

“Ugh…!”

Then he stared at the boy, who had fallen backwards because of him, and sheathed his sword. The boy looked to be barely in his teens.

“How many are inside?”

Seiden asked casually, and the boy glared at him with rebellious eyes.

“Are you alone?”

Everyone held their breath, waiting for the boy’s answer. The boy stood up and picked up the axe that had fallen next to him. Everyone flinched, fearing he might charge at Seiden again, but the boy dusted off his bottom and hung the hand axe on his waist before looking up at Seiden.

“Did you come to save us?”

Seiden looked at him with sharp eyes full of anger, then finally answered.

“Yes.”

“But why now? After everyone is already dead?

Silence fell at those words. Bellota, who had been looking at the boy with eyes mixed with guilt and sadness from the moment she saw him, decided to get down from her horse.

“Saintess!”

Felton tried to dissuade her in panic, but Bellota slowly walked towards the boy and met his eyes. Seiden and Geril also held their breaths and watched her actions.

“I’m sorry for being late.”

Bellota apologized sincerely, and the boy’s eyes wavered.

The boy repeated ‘Saintess’ after Felton called Bellota that, and then his eyes widened. Really, was this person Saintess Bellota?

In an instant, the boy became dazed, seeing eyes that were so beautiful they could only be described as blessed by God. Those clear blue eyes had the power to instantly crumble the hostility coiled deep within the boy.

“May I ask your name?”

When Bellota asked in a cautious yet kind voice, the boy hesitated for a moment before answering.

“Abel.”

Unable to hold back at his brusque voice, Geril intervened.

“You brat! How dare you be rude to the Saintess. Tell us how many are left of you inside. Are you going to take responsibility if we have to spend the night here because of you?”

Since the sun was setting, making Geril more irritable, he snapped coldly at Abel, whose eyes sharpened. Bellota quickly turned to Geril and tried to stop him.

“Don’t do that. Abel will guide us without needing to be pushed.”

“But Saintess, the sun will set soon. We can’t camp here. It’s dangerous for you.”

Geril made a shallow excuse for her, and Bellota turned back to Abel.

“Abel, we can help you. But we need your help for that.”

Abel’s expression softened very slightly at Bellota’s polite words. He looked at Bellota with a thoughtful gaze and scratched his neck, where a scab had formed.

“Will you help me?”

When Bellota pleaded earnestly, Abel, who had been lost in thought for a moment, suddenly took out a bottle tied to his waist and gulped down water. Everyone held their breath and watched his strange behavior. After drinking about half of the water bottle, Abel finally seemed to make up his mind and spoke.

“Only the Saintess should come in. The other uncles should stay out.”

Several knights who had become uncles before getting married wanted to protest, but were stopped by Kabillon.

“I’ll be back.”

Bellota said as she turned to Seiden. Seiden looked at Bellota, pondering for a moment, but soon sighed and answered.

“Take Priest Felton with you.”

Then Felton quickly raised his hand and looked at Abel. He tried hard to show a bright smile, as if to prove his harmlessness. Abel squinted at Felton and nodded with a snort.

“Just that uncle can come in.”

Uncle indeed. Felton felt unjustly wronged but had no choice but to dismount and follow Abel and Bellota into the underground cave.

“Wait! I will accompany you too. We don’t know what’s inside; we can’t just send Saintess alone.”

Geril hopped down from his horse and started to make a fuss, causing Felton to turn around and look at him.

“I also received permission.”

“But you are a priest, aren’t you?”

“Sorry, but what does that mean?”

“Of course, you are a noble person, but it means you lack military power. Someone who can protect the saintess should accompany her inside, in case something happens.”

Felton couldn’t help but scan Geril’s golden armor with disbelief. He was certain his own martial prowess was far superior to that of the ridiculous armor’s owner.

Bellota spoke up again.

“There will be no need for force inside. You don’t have to worry.”

“But Saintess…”

As Geril clung to his reluctance, Abel snickered at him.

“You definitely can’t come.”

Leaving just those words behind, Abel quickly disappeared into the cave.

That brat! Geril clenched his fist, but Bellota turned to him and spoke in a calm voice.

“I’ll be back soon, please wait for me, Duke. I ask of you.”

With Bellota pleading so earnestly, Geril found no ground to argue further. Yet, without giving a final answer, he looked at Bellota with dissatisfaction as she turned away without seeking any more permission.

Soon after Bellota and Felton entered the cave, the forcibly raised pile of grass fell back down, completely closing the entrance.

“……”

Seiden stared intently at the grass pile that had swallowed Bellota.

* * *

Following Abel’s guidance, Bellota and Felton walked through the dark cave for a while. Thankfully, due to the light, Felton had suspended in the air using his holy power, they didn’t stumble, but it was hard to imagine how they normally navigated this dark path.

After walking through the narrow and long tunnel for some time, a wide space finally revealed itself.

“Abel! Who’s behind you?”

The people hiding inside the cave, holding their breaths at Abel’s entrance with the two newcomers, were startled and hid themselves.

Bellota surveyed the cave. It wasn’t an excellent hideout, but it was enough to hide from the monsters. It seemed like a hideout made by the villagers pooling their strength together due to frequent monster appearances.

How did Seiden know there was a hideout here? With that thought, Bellota counted the people inside. There seemed to be around 30 or 40 people, mostly women and children. Among the boys, Abel appeared to be the oldest.

“It’s the saintess.”

At Abel’s words, everyone’s eyes widened. Bellota clasped her hands together and bowed politely to them before stepping forward to speak.

“We were sent from the cathedral to help you all. If anyone inside is injured, please come this way for treatment. If you show me your wounds, I can guess the identity of the monster that attacked you.”

At those words, Abel’s eyes narrowed strangely. However, everyone hesitated and only looked around without stepping forward. It seemed there were no patients in urgent need of rushing out.

“I’ve heard that unidentified monsters have been appearing in Vergio recently. Has anyone witnessed such a monster or heard about them?”

At that, people began to murmur amongst themselves. Abel, who had been quietly listening from the back with his arms crossed, suddenly interrupted.

“I saw it.”

Bellota’s gaze immediately shifted to Abel.

“There’s an incredibly huge one among those small fry; it was a monster I’ve never seen before. It first appeared about two months ago. Almost all the adult men died trying to catch it, and the monster hunters have all disappeared too. The adults who went to other villages for food haven’t returned either.”

Bellota asked urgently.

“What did the monster look like?”

“Terrifying, of course. It was a monster that nobody could handle.”

Then Felton frowned and asked,

“Who?”

“The monster hunters who ran away. Those guys would rush at rare monsters like moths to a flame, but even those humans ran away; that says everything. It doesn’t die even if you stab its heart or slash its head.”

At that, Bellota’s eyebrows subtly furrowed. A monster that doesn’t die even if its heart is stabbed or its head is slashed—had she ever heard of such a monster?

“They said we could either run away or just wait to die.”

Abel’s voice was calm as he said those frightening words. The sound of children sobbing could be heard as they were scared by the boy’s words. Glancing at the children, Abel then took out his water bottle from his waist, gulped down about half of the remaining water, wiped his mouth after finishing every last drop, and continued,

“They said our country would abandon us anyway. We’re neither nobles nor rich. They said no one would come to save people like us.”

Bellota’s heart ached sharply at those words.