After the rain, the forest path is muddy

Soldiers wearing waterproof hoods moved cautiously, their steps slow and deliberate.

Sel followed diligently from the rear ranks.

The rain poured incessantly, but fortunately, it wasn’t dense enough to obstruct visibility.

As they walked at a pace slightly slower than usual, Sel’s complexion turned pale.

Did she have indigestion?

All she had eaten that morning was the warmed milk Lavi had handed her and soup prepared by the watchman on duty. These were supposed to be easy to digest, yet her stomach felt heavy and unsettled. Sel tapped her chest lightly with her fist.

“Are you feeling unwell, Sel?”

It was Philip, walking beside her, who noticed her condition.

Just then, the expedition team halted. At the forefront, Lavi called out loudly:

“We’ll regroup here. The magical field is intensifying—make sure to adjust your condition accordingly.”

The path they stood on marked the boundary of a dense forest of tall fir trees. Beyond the boundary, a new forest began, shrouded in mist that crept low to where Sel stood.

It felt like crossing a river of fog.

“This is the current pattern of the magical field in this forest,” Lavi explained, releasing a wave of sword energy.

The blue energy, which should have flowed straight, wavered and dispersed into several directions under the influence of the magical field. It looked like a writhing mass of serpents scattering in every direction.

Watching this, Sir Graham, the captain of the imperial knights, also released his sword energy beside Lavi.

As the energy scattered in a similar manner, Graham’s eyes gleamed with curiosity, though his expression remained solemn.

As a knight commander, Graham maintained his dignity by keeping a stoic face at all times.

“Wow, I’ve never seen anything like this before.”

“This is incredible.”

Murmurs of awe spread among the group.

Tense, they each imagined what kind of creatures might emerge from beyond the mist.

“If we go any further, the intense magical field will disrupt the magic formulas. Store all magic devices in this box before they malfunction. The box is sealed and will keep them safe inside.”

Lavi spoke as he placed a magic sword into a black wooden box.

One by one, the team members orderly deposited their weapons into the box.

Lavi strapped his body diagonally with a leather harness and tucked in various weapons—a regular longsword and throwing daggers.

Others prepared their non-magical weapons, which wouldn’t malfunction, gathering their gear piece by piece.

Sel also secured a manual pistol in the holster on her thigh.

The pistol used ordinary bullets instead of magical ones, making it less powerful but reliable in this environment.

Lavi’s sharp eyes scanned their surroundings.

Confirming that the preparations were complete, he spoke again.

“From here, the path will become confusing. The defense team will stay here to guard the weapons and prevent monsters from entering our destination. The mining team, follow me.”

“Yes, understood!”

“Stay alert, everyone. Don’t lose your minds to the magical field.”

As Lavi signaled with his arm, the teams swiftly moved to fulfill their roles.

“Sel, you’re with the mining team? Lucky you.”

Philip pouted in envy. Sel shrugged her shoulders.

“I need to check the Moon’s Fragment. I had to plead with the commander to make this happen.”

“Ah, a man’s reasons… I get it. Everyone has things they can’t easily explain.”

Feeling a pang of guilt toward Philip, who readily accepted her vague explanation, Sel simply patted him on the shoulder.

“Next time, you can join the mining team, and I’ll stay on defense.”

“Really? You’d come on the next expedition with me, Sel?”

“If possible, sure…”

As Sel nodded and patted Philip’s shoulder, the boyish Philip beamed with delight.

“What are you doing, Sel? Get into formation,” Lavi growled, glaring at Philip, who was sticking close to her.

The mining team tied ropes around their wrists in pairs to prevent anyone from getting lost in the dense mist.

Originally, Sel’s partner was supposed to be Eric. However, she ended up with both wrists tied—one to Lavi and the other to Eric—an inconvenience she had to endure due to Lavi’s insistence.

“Quite the overprotective one, aren’t you, Sel?” Eric teased, noticing her predicament.

Still, Eric adjusted his movements to ensure Sel’s wrists wouldn’t feel strained.

“He’s just worried because I’m clumsy,” Sel replied.

“Clumsy? You? If anything, he’s worried because you’re flawless,” Eric remarked dryly.

Perhaps it was the strange influence of the mist, but Lavi, unintentionally, blurted out his honest thoughts.

“…Excuse me?”

“Hah. Try saying that to a friend you’ve known for ten years,” Eric retorted.

“Alright, Eric. You’re a perfect friend. Happy now?” Lavi grumbled.

“…What is this? Did the mist contain hallucinogenic properties? This is serious. I think Lavi’s gone mad,” Eric said, giving Sel a mock-serious glance.

Though initially tense, Sel couldn’t help but let out a small laugh.

“Why am I getting scolded after doing what you wanted?” Lavi muttered under his breath.

The forest shrouded in mist wasn’t as vast as it seemed.

The rain, which had seemed unending, ceased the moment they entered the forest.

Sel removed the hood that had been pulled over her head.

The deeper they ventured, the thicker the mist grew, and the scenery around them remained eerily uniform.

Despite this, Lavi pressed forward without hesitation, never losing his sense of direction.

“Captain, I… I hear something strange. Eek!”

One of the knights suddenly collapsed to the ground with a terrified shout.

“Don’t be fooled. It’s an illusion created by the mist,” Graham said, expertly unleashing sword energy toward the fog.

The mist, which had been tightly coiled around the knight, dissipated and scattered.

“Sel, this mist only shows illusions or hallucinations to those with weak minds. If you see anything unusual, tell me.”

“There’s nothing to fear,” Lavi reassured Sel, who had been silently standing by, in his steady tone.

Sel nodded silently.

In truth, as they ventured deeper into the misty forest, she had been enduring sharp chest pains and nausea.

It hurt so much that she didn’t have the capacity to be distracted by hallucinations, but she gritted her teeth and endured it.

She didn’t want to be a burden to the expedition team.

After walking for about thirty minutes, the mist began to thin, and they came upon a large clearing.

Judging by the crumbled houses and structures scattered about, this wasn’t just an empty field—it was once a village.

“Oh, this is quite the intriguing place,” Eric said, untying the cord from his wrist with practiced ease. He pulled out a notebook and began wandering around, jotting things down like an excited child discovering a stream.

Sel chuckled faintly at his antics, wiping the cold sweat from her brow.

“What a mysterious place,” she said.

“This was a small kingdom where the ancient Igor clan lived,” Lavi explained as he carefully untied the rope that had been fastened around Sel’s wrist.

Though he thought he had tied it loosely, faint red marks were left on her delicate wrist.

Lavi gently ran his fingers over the marks as he continued, “The Igor clan was responsible for guarding a magic stone called the ‘Moon’s Fragment’ They were wiped out by barbarians, though.”

“Then… is the Moon’s Fragment nearby?” Sel asked.

Lavi gestured with his chin toward a cave on the right.

Sel began walking toward it slowly, withdrawing her hand from Lavi’s grasp.

Lavi let go of her hand just as slowly, watching her white hand slip away from his with a sense of reluctance.

The direction Lavi had indicated led to a large cave.

Priests had already gathered in front of it, working to dispel the enchantments that barred the entrance.

“I hear there’s an enchantment at the cave’s entrance. It might take some time to break it, so try to get some rest, Sel.”

Perhaps the grueling march in the rain had been too much. Lavi, noticing how pale Sel had looked for a while now, was visibly concerned.

He led her to a tent set up by the excavation team.

“I feel uneasy resting when everyone else is working,” Sel murmured.

“I’ll feel more uneasy if you don’t rest,” Lavi replied firmly.

His gaze dropped to the nape of her neck, which was exposed beneath her slightly damp hair.

Lavi’s large, rough hand cupped Sel’s pale neck, starkly contrasting in size and tone.

Though his hand looked as though it could snap her neck with ease, his touch was surprisingly gentle as he stroked her skin.

His fingers brushed upward, tracing the curve of her neck and following the line of her spine down toward her collar.

When Sel’s shoulders flinched, his previously unwavering hand came to an abrupt halt.

“…You’re running a fever,” Lavi muttered, quickly withdrawing his hand and clenching it into a fist.

He was furious at himself for briefly entertaining improper thoughts about someone who was unwell.

Lavi scooped her up and placed her inside the tent, meticulously covering her with a sleeping bag.

“Get some rest. As I told you before we set out, your job here is to take care of yourself.”

“Understood,” Sel replied.

“Good. Then… rest well,” Lavi said softly, brushing her forehead with his palm before stepping out of the tent.

Sel watched his broad back disappear into the distance, slowly catching her breath.

Was it because of the magic field? The deeper they ventured, the heavier and more nauseous she felt, making it difficult to breathe.

She hated showing weakness but felt ashamed for ultimately doing so.

“If I sleep for a bit, I’ll feel better,” she told herself, desperately trying to fall asleep. As Lavi had said, recovery was her priority.

***

Something cold pressed against her forehead.

Sel slowly opened her eyes to see a priest and Eric gazing at her with concern.

The priest was in the middle of casting a healing spell on her.

“Are you awake, Sel?”

Sel couldn’t manage to speak, so she simply looked up at the priest.

“Ah, you hadn’t regained consciousness and kept sweating profusely, so Commander Lavi sent me to check on you,” the priest explained.

Apparently, Lavi, worried about Sel being alone in the tent with a male priest, had asked Eric to stay with her.

As Sel slowly sat up, Eric handed her a cup of water.

She bowed her head slightly in thanks and took the cup, sipping carefully.

But almost immediately, she gagged.

“Sel?”

“It’s… just some nausea and tightness in my chest,” she managed to say.

Though she hadn’t overindulged the previous night, her condition had been deteriorating since earlier.

Perhaps it was, as Lavi suggested, due to the magic field. Sel pressed her temples with her fingers.

“There is indeed an unusual energy emanating from you,” the priest noted, tilting his head curiously.

“Energy?”

“Yes, I didn’t sense anything like this before, but perhaps it’s due to the magic field. There’s also a light shining from your side. I wonder what it could be…”

The priest glanced at Sel’s side, where the faint light was emanating.

He had been curious to examine it more closely, but the modest scraps of fabric Sel preferred to wear had made it difficult.

Sel quickly waved her hands in protest, reluctant to reveal anything that might require her to lift her clothing.