The Altre Mountains began to appear after riding the carriage for about 8 hours from the capital, Belita.

Just a month ago, a crack had appeared and been dealt with near the western part of the mountain range. Fortunately, since it was in one of the western front areas, there were no casualties.

As the carriage stopped, Aris gathered her heavy luggage and got off. The bleak and chilly air touched her skin. Thinking that this was once a war-torn area made her feel a bit eerie.

‘To prevent that terrible war from my past life, I must find out something.’

Aris boldly raised her head and looked up at the misty mountain range visible in the distance. Although she had many worries, facing this unknown world with so much to research filled her with excitement.

Aris called out to Mishuan in a spirited voice.

“Let’s go, Sir Mishuan!”

“We can’t.”

A voice of objection immediately flew back. Aris, her spirits dampened, turned to look at him with questioning eyes.

“Why not…?”

“We’ve been traveling by carriage for a long time, so how about resting at a nearby lodging today? It seems realistically impossible to carry all this luggage anyway.”

Mishuan said, looking at the bag that was larger than her body. Aris felt a bit embarrassed. But these weren’t just odds and ends; they were all tools necessary for research.

“Even if I unpack, there’s not much that would reduce… Except for a few changes of clothes, everything is essential.”

“Still, there were strict orders from His Highness the Crown Prince to rest before proceeding.”

Aris was at a loss for words.

“His Highness the Crown Prince gave such an order? You mean, an order to rest after a long carriage ride?”

Who was this order for, anyway? Since he, who only cared about research results, had no reason to be considerate of her, could it be for Sir Mishuan’s sake?

Convinced of her thoughts, Aris asked him.

“Sir Mishuan, are you feeling unwell somewhere?”

Mishuan’s face suddenly hardened, as though he had guessed what she was thinking. Then, seemingly feeling a bit creeped out, he rubbed his arm.

“This isn’t for me, but for you, Doctor. For him to be looking after me, unless the world turns upside down…”

As if just imagining it made him upset, he frowned.

“Why would His Highness the Crown Prince… care about me?”

“I don’t know either.”

Mishuan answered curtly. Aris pondered for a moment and muttered.

“I suppose that’s true… It’s hard to understand what’s going on in his mind.”

Somehow, it was even harder to understand him than in her past life. Thinking about him seemed to dampen her mood a bit.

“I agree. Maybe even he doesn’t understand himself well because he thinks too much. He was like that in the past too…”

Mishuan chimed in on Aris’s words. Though it was nothing special, Aris smiled at having someone agree with her words.

“Is it okay to say such things? His Highness the Crown Prince leads the knight order, after all.”

“It’s better than saying he has no thoughts at all. Isn’t this a compliment?”

Mishuan said playfully, shrugging his shoulders.

“You’re right.”

Aris looked at him with curious eyes, admiring his open and unrestrained personality. She couldn’t understand why there were so many people in the world she wanted to emulate. Aris felt a little envious of Mishuan’s personality.

“It’s almost sunset, so let’s rest for today. I’m not in a position to disobey His Highness’s orders.”

“I understand. Once we start climbing the mountain, we can’t come down midway anyway.”

Aris followed Mishuan into a nearby inn. The place where the carriage had stopped was near here from the beginning.

The small three-story inn felt more like a family home than a place for travelers to stay. Although the exterior certainly gave that impression, once inside, well-dressed people systematically welcomed Aris and Mishuan and guided them to their rooms.

Moreover, they informed them when dinner would be prepared and brought to the room, and that bath water could be requested…

“It’s just like… a hotel in the capital.”

“Ah, you see, His Highness the Crown Prince bought this house and brought in trustworthy staff. You should be able to stay comfortably.”

“Are all the people here employed?”

“Yes, His Highness was concerned about where you would be staying, Doctor.”

Aris felt puzzled for a moment but soon nodded in understanding.

The reason he was doing this was simple. Just as Aris felt responsible for this work, he too felt responsible for overseeing this department. So he was just being considerate.

She felt a bit displeased. Just how much did he intend to work her, for him to be this considerate? Although he showed consideration, he had previously told her not to overwork herself and then dumped an enormous amount of documents on her.

Feeling gloomy about the future, Aris let out a faint sigh and said to Mishuan.

“Shall we meet at dinner later? I think I need to unpack.”

“Yes, let’s do that. I’ll see you later, Doctor.”

Aris entered the room where she would be staying. The room was very comfortable. The interior was unbelievable considering the shabby exterior of the building.

She put down her luggage, changed into comfortable indoor clothes, and sat on the bed. When she was about to reach for the thesis she had brought, she hesitated.

‘Come to think of it, I woke up at dawn to prepare. And I couldn’t sleep at all during the carriage ride because Sir Mishuan was sitting opposite me…’

Maybe it would be good to rest a bit?

Aris pulled back the neatly laid blanket and lay down on the soft bed. The bedding was soft and new, and the bed was plush without a single dent.

She had bad memories of accumulating fatigue and overworking.

‘Rest is important. For tomorrow. And, for myself…’

Soon, Aris fell into a deep sleep.

Just a little nap, just a little.

That’s what she thought.

* * *

The next day, Aris was shocked to see how much time had passed when she opened her eyes only after the sun had risen. She had fallen asleep before dinner and slept straight through until morning.

After having breakfast first due to hunger upon waking, Aris finished preparing for the expedition and found someone waiting outside. She spoke dejectedly,

“You should have woken me up…”

“You were sleeping so well, it seemed rude to wake you.”

It was extremely embarrassing to have shown such a sleepy side of herself.

“Shall I carry your luggage?”

“No, it’s not that heavy. I packed as lightly as possible.”

She had even changed to a smaller bag, the leather crossbody bag she often used.

Aris, dressed in thick clothes suitable for the chilly weather, looked up at the mountain.

“Since it’s the first day, we’ll just take a light look around. I plan to stay here for at least two weeks to conduct the investigation.”

“I see. Shall we go then?”

Aris nodded vigorously and headed towards the mountain. Mishuan followed behind her, pointing out the direction where the crack had appeared.

‘This is harder than I thought…’

Aris, catching her breath, unconsciously let out a groan.

“Are you alright? Should we rest for a moment?”

“Ah, no! I’m fine!”

It wasn’t that hard yet. However, Mishuan looked at Aris with a rather displeased expression. He didn’t seem to find her words credible.

He looked at Aris, wrapped up like a package in thick clothes, and nodded.

“I think we’ll be there in about two more hours. Let’s hang in there, Doctor.”

“Alright!”

Aris answered with deliberate vigor.

It was around lunchtime when they arrived at the place where the crack had appeared. The location was near the summit of the mountain.

It wasn’t a very high mountain, and fortunately, the slope was relatively gentle, so it wasn’t as harsh an environment as Aris had imagined.

However, because it was a place where a battle had occurred, the ground and nearby trees were in a mess. Aris stopped as she passed through the broken trees in the desolate atmosphere.

“This must be where the crack appeared.”

There was a particularly deep depression in the ground. From her previous research, Aris knew that this was the exact spot where monsters had poured out of the crack. Now, there was nothing unusual except for the slightly sunken ground.

Aris took out a small glass bottle from her bag, crouched down, and collected soil from around the area.

Just in case, she used tools instead of touching the soil with her hands. The soil here had a strangely dark color, like ground on a rainy day.

Aris carefully closed the lid of the glass bottle, put it away, and stood up from her crouched position. With a suddenly serious look in her eyes, she said,

“Judging by the width and depth of the depression in the ground, this crack must have been medium-sized. Is that right?”