“Hmm… I suppose so?”

Mishuan answered after pondering with his arms crossed. His words were vague, as if he was trying to recall an already blurred old memory.

“You still don’t remember clearly even after coming back here?”

Aris said, sounding a bit disappointed. If his memory had been clear, it would have been very helpful.

Still, thinking that he might remember other things, Aris decided to ask a bit more. After all, it shouldn’t be easy to forget the moment when one actually fought on the battlefield.

“Do you remember what characteristics the monsters that appeared here had?”

Generally, monsters that appeared from the same crack had similar characteristics.

“Um… Small bodies that flew in the sky? Ah, they might have been like gorillas too…”

Aris was noting down his words in her notebook when she tilted her head. It seems he doesn’t remember this well either.

“Then, how many monsters were there approximately? Ah, if you could tell me the number of knights who were dispatched at the time, that would be fine.”

“Hmm…”

“…What time did the crack appear? If you’re not sure, it’s okay to tell me around what time you were dispatched.”

“…Night?”

Hearing the answer that finally came out, Aris hurriedly tried to write it down in her notebook, but was soon stopped.

“No… I think it’s better not to write it down. I don’t remember well, you see.”

“You really don’t remember anything?”

“No…”

Aris looked at Mishuan with disbelieving eyes. Her lips protruded ever so slightly in a sulky manner. She seemed displeased.

“I’m sorry, Doctor. I’m not being helpful…”

“Ah, no! Sir Mishuan, you’re here only as my escort, and you have no obligation to help with the investigation. It’s okay…”

Aris waved her hand at Mishuan’s apology, but her eyes looking at him were colder than before. Soon, she began to examine the site of the crack alone, taking out other tools.

Mishuan watched her from a few steps away, feeling awkward.

‘…My big mouth. Why did I say I had blocked the crack in the Altre Mountains?’

Of course, that wasn’t incorrect. Mishuan had indeed participated there with Kalaian to fend off monsters.

But that wasn’t a month ago. It was much earlier, several years ago.

‘It’s fortunate she didn’t seem too suspicious. She doesn’t seem to know that His Highness hasn’t subjugated any monsters recently.’

In fact, it would be stranger to know that. The fact that the Crown Prince could only command the military but not take action himself was being thoroughly concealed.

Aris, who had been busily moving her small frame to check the soil moisture, suddenly let out a gasp.

“Ah…”

“What’s wrong?”

Mishuan, who had been by her side for hours, approached hurriedly with a surprised look. Aris was covering one of her ears with a slightly dazed expression.

“Doctor, are you feeling unwell?”

Mishuan, who had crouched down next to her, grabbed Aris’s shoulder as she seemed out of it. She flinched briefly and then looked at him, blinked her green eyes a few times, and said softly,

“Some kind of sound…”

“Sound? What kind of sound?”

“Ah… it seems like nothing. It was just tinnitus.”

Aris smiled apologetically, saying she was sorry for causing worry.

“Are you sure you’re alright?”

“Yes, I often hear ringing in my ears when I’m tired.”

Aris stood up from her crouched position. The sun was already setting. Her body was fatigued from not only the strenuous climb but also from researching without rest.

As Mishuan stood up with her, Aris cleaned the magical tools she was holding and put them in her bag, saying,

“Shall we head back for today?”

“Yes, there’s no use in overdoing it. Let’s go back and rest.”

They decided to come back tomorrow morning and started descending the mountain. As it was gradually getting dark, Aris had to hold Mishuan’s hand and carefully place her steps.

During this time, she felt a chill on the back of her neck and occasionally looked back.

She felt uneasy, but there was nothing particularly amiss. So, thinking it was just her imagination, Aris arrived at the inn with Mishuan.

That evening, they sat across from each other and had a warm meal. At first, Mishuan refused to join, saying his job was to guard her while she ate.

But Aris insisted and eventually made him sit across from her.

“Meals are more enjoyable when eaten together. It’s lonely to eat alone when there’s someone nearby.”

When Aris said this with a gloomy face, he had no choice but to agree. Mishuan let out a helpless laugh. Like last time, he found himself being swept along by her somehow.

“Sir Mishuan, is the food not to your liking?”

“No… I’m just worried about getting scolded.”

“Scolded? By whom?”

Aris’s innocent eyes sparkled with curiosity. She seemed interested in who could possibly scold such a great knight.

However, when Mishuan showed no signs of speaking, she changed her expression to one of apology.

“I’m sorry if it was uncomfortable to talk about. You’ve worked hard today, so why don’t you eat?”

Aris smiled gently as if comforting him. Seeing her like that, he couldn’t help but smile and reluctantly picked up his cutlery. Aris’s face brightened.

Mishuan thought, ‘It seemed inevitable to be swept along when a small person like her, who’slike a small animal, worked so hard and showed such a harmless appearance.

He was usually quick to become prickly and irritable with others. Even his peculiar nickname was due to his difficult personality…

But with someone as gentle as a lamb like this, he couldn’t be that way even if he tried. Even without the order.

He suddenly realized how heartless his lord was.

“I’ll enjoy the meal, Doctor.”

“Try this too. It’s delicious.”

“Shouldn’t you be eating more yourself, Doctor?”

“I’m eating plenty! It’s indeed much tastier eating together. Um… so, Sir Mishuan.”

“Yes.”

“Could we… perhaps have breakfast together tomorrow as well?”

To her cautious question, Mishuan responded readily,

“It would be my honor, Doctor.”

* * *

The exploration continued for ten days. Perhaps because she had become accustomed to the daily mountain climbing, Aris hadn’t experienced tinnitus since that day.

She breathed in the increasingly humid air and assessed the abnormalities in the surrounding ecosystem. Perhaps due to being exposed to the monsters’ energy, the nearby vegetation was mostly rotting or showing abnormal reactions and dying. Other life forms were also not visible.

According to the materials Kalaian had provided, land where a crack had once appeared would gradually recover its damaged ecology over several years, depending on the degree of contamination.

‘But still, it’s too humid…’

Just as she was beginning to feel uncomfortable, raindrops began to fall one by one. Surprised by the cold raindrops, Aris looked up at the sky.

“Sir Mishuan, it’s raining.”

“This is troublesome. Should we go down now, Doctor?”

“Just a moment.”

Aris took out a magical tool from her bag. When she opened the lid of the compass-like tool, a beam of light shot out and moved towards the gray sky.

And after a moment, there was a response from the magical tool.

“It looks like it’s going to rain heavily soon. It seems to be a shower.”

Hearing her words, Mishuan’s expression hardened, seemingly troubled. With the incoming heavy rain, it seemed difficult to descend the mountain now. It would be troublesome if it started pouring while they were descending.

But staying here was also dangerous…

Noticing his concern, Aris started rummaging through her bag. She took something out and approached him.

“I have tools for camping. They’re enchanted with magic, so they should be sturdy even in heavy rain. How about we stay until the rain stops and then go down?”

Mishuan was impressed by the unexpected solution she offered.

“There’s nothing your bag doesn’t have, Doctor. You wouldn’t happen to have food too, would you?”

“Uh… how did you know? Well, I get hungry when I concentrate too much…”

Mishuan couldn’t help but laugh briefly at her embarrassed appearance. He received the camping tools from Aris.

“I’ll go find a suitable place. Please continue with your investigation, Doctor.”

“Yes, thank you, Sir Mishuan.”

Mishuan passed through the broken trees and disappeared into the relatively intact undergrowth. The land around here was significantly contaminated by the crack, so he had to go further to find suitable ground.

Aris resumed her investigation while he was gone.

The raindrops falling from the gray sky gradually became heavier.