To be honest, she wanted to go too.

Thinking that, Klaha watched Ziel’s back disappear, but then she reminded herself of her role. She wasn’t here to play. This was an expedition for investigation.

She had to contribute properly in the ways she could.

“Do we need to revise the investigation plan?”

“Yes. To be honest, I didn’t expect him—Ziel—to be able to move that much.”

Ziel had already ventured deep into the forest with Eunice.

Though his back was no longer visible, Roylen’s eyes remained fixed in that direction.

“Even reaching this point was much faster than anticipated. It may sound like an excuse, but I had planned under the assumption that Dewey and Ney’s stamina would have somewhat recovered by the time we got here.”

“Nope,” a voice came from behind.

It was Dewey, still lying down.

“Everything was wrong from the start. Because no matter how many hours I rest, I won’t be able to move a single finger…”

“The problem, then, is that the number of measuring magic tools we can bring is limited…”

Roylen completely ignored him and continued the discussion.

Klaha also figured that as long as he was still cracking jokes, he was probably fine, so she didn’t bother responding either.

“From what I heard beforehand, part of the plan involves periodically retrieving investigation records from the magic tools, correct?”

“Yes. To locate the epicenter, we need to examine data from when tremors occur. So for now, that’s the plan.”

“Then, quickly completing each survey loop and taking frequent intervals could be an option. Short-term explorations would also be less affected by structural changes in the Sea of Trees.”

Roylen, deep in thought, replied, “I had considered the approach of bringing in a large number of measuring tools and extending the duration of each loop to make significant progress in one go…”

From behind, a pitiful cry of “Please, nooo!” was heard. Ney’s voice.

Roylen paid no mind and continued, “If we do that, we wouldn’t need to travel back and forth as much. I believe this would be more efficient.”

Not because she sympathized, but Klaha stated, “We should also consider the possibility that Ziel might become unable to move.”

She firmly voiced the unpleasant but necessary thought.

Roylen looked surprised, but Klaha continued.

“If this investigation is related to the Apocrypha, it’s a reasonable assumption. With Lililia here, it’s unlikely that someone would remain incapacitated for long, but—”

“At that point, I might be out of commission too,” Lililia interjected.

Since she had said the difficult part for Klaha, Klaha continued.

“Of course, Eunice and Wilae’s water magic could provide propulsion. However—”

“It would place too much burden on the remaining members?”

Roylen nodded in understanding. “We’ve already assigned too much responsibility to Ziel, haven’t we?”

To wrap things up, Klaha added, “Since this isn’t a labyrinth but a Mana Spots investigation, we can’t use traversal teleportation. We should allow for flexibility, considering the long-distance attack on the final epicenter and the return journey.”

“…Yes, you’re right. Sorry, I got a little impatient.”

“No, I’m sure you know this area much better, Roylen…”

“Not at all. I’ve rarely gone this deep, and I have little experience with long-distance expeditions. Having someone to discuss with helps a lot. I’d appreciate your input moving forward.”

He seemed to mean it sincerely, which made Klaha sigh in relief.

For now, she had fulfilled her first task. But as soon as one thing was settled, she started worrying about another—that was just her nature. So, once again, she looked towards the forest Ziel had entered, recalling that he had a poor sense of direction.

Would he be okay? Had he gotten lost?

As she scanned the area, something caught her eye.

“Ripples…?”

Something about them felt different.

Unlike those created by their boat or the wind.

And then—

Zuunn—

The water’s surface trembled violently.

“Just the two of us now…”

So what?

The forest was thick—dense in every sense. The green was overwhelming, not just in color but in scent. The breath of leaves filled the air, creating a sensation like being drenched, or even drowning, just by walking.

Centuries, maybe millennia, had shaped this complexity.

As Ziel brushed aside a fern leaf, a branch emerged from the depths, its name unknown to him. The plant life intertwined like a maze, making it impossible to fully grasp the shape of everything he saw.

He lifted his legs high to avoid getting tripped by roots.

And in doing so, he was forced to acknowledge the thick mud clinging to his soles.

Simply put—

“…This is really hard to walk through.”

“Wait a second. You just ignored what I said, didn’t you?”

“Well… wouldn’t it be awkward if I acknowledged it?”

“It’s even more awkward if you don’t!”

Even as Eunice spoke, he silently cast magic.

The spell dried the soil and smoothed out the terrain, making walking far easier. Seeing this, Ziel figured it was his turn and drew his sword, slashing away at obstructing vines.

“Watch out for flying thorns,” he warned.

“Mm,” Eunice nodded.

Then, with a serious expression, he spoke.

“If you had just let my earlier comment pass, I would’ve come off as the kind of guy who, the moment he’s alone with someone, suddenly whispers in a damp, sultry voice.”

“…”

“…Wait, you actually thought that!?”

Not really.

It wasn’t like that, but—

“Wait, hold on. Ziel, I really do think you’re a good person, but—”

“Why am I suddenly getting rejected?”

“No, wait. We can’t be sure yet. Let’s listen to the end carefully.”

“There’s no way this ends well. If ‘but’ comes after ‘I think you’re a good person’—”

“‘I think you’re a really good person. But Keidonius’ bow, the morning star I see…’”

“Don’t start chanting something mysterious at me.”

A soft chuckle followed.

Turning back, Ziel saw Eunice smiling lightly, eyes twinkling as they met his.

“Sorry. Guess I wasn’t being serious enough. Bad habit.”

“No, well… it’s not like there’s much—”

As he spoke, he suddenly realized something.

“…This isn’t what I expected.”

“What isn’t?”

“There aren’t any monsters. You’d think even non-combat adventurers could explore this place at this rate.”

He stopped in his tracks.

Before him was a small, abrupt elevation—too low to be called a cliff, but a minor fault in the terrain.

He easily leapt up with a light step, confirmed the area was safe, then extended a hand to help Eunice up.

As Eunice took his hand, he answered, “Actually, that might be related to the ‘tremors.’”

“The lack of monsters?”

“Yeah. This Sea of Trees is filled with Mana Spots. Normally, it’s supposed to be crawling with all sorts of creatures, making it one of the worst possible places to venture into.”

“One of the worst, huh.”

As Ziel pulled Eunice along, exasperated by his words, he couldn’t help but feel a strange sense of credibility when Eunice continued with, “Professor Roylen said so.”

“This place has a unique environment where it’s difficult to distinguish between flora, fauna, and magical beasts. That makes exploration extremely troublesome. But as Ziel mentioned, the number of magical beast sightings has been decreasing recently.”

Ziel nodded. Was it okay to simply call it lucky? He wasn’t sure. It was true that it made exploration easier, though.

“The local adventurers have stopped entering for now, saying it’s an ill omen. It seems the sea of trees tends to behave strangely before and after significant terrain changes.”

“…Could it be the Ruin King again?”

“Who knows.”

But surprisingly, Eunice just shrugged nonchalantly.

“To be honest, I think there’s a possibility that it’s not.”

“What do you mean?”

“I said, ‘before and after significant terrain changes,’ right? So far, there haven’t been any signs of apocryphal magic circles appearing, so I don’t think we should rule out other possibilities just yet. Connecting the dots can be fun, but when something’s fun, it’s easy to make mistakes.”

“……”

That made sense.

Ziel had assumed from the start that the recent incidents, the current state of affairs, and the timing of the ‘tremors’ all pointed to the Ruin King. But there was another way to look at it.

If that were the case, however, then what was the purpose of gathering himself, Eunice, and even Lililia?

“Ah, here we are.”

Just as he was lost in thought, Eunice tugged at the hem of his clothes.

At some point, they had reached their destination. Not that Ziel had known where they were heading in the first place. In any case, Eunice stopped walking, crouched down as if hugging his knees, and pulled something out of his pocket.

It was shaped like a thin vial.

“Do we just insert it?”

“Seems like it. Go ahead.”

Ziel plunged it into the ground.

With a clink, thin limbs sprouted from the vial.

Like a spider’s legs gripping the earth, the vial’s limbs dug into the ground. Then, with a whirring sound, the vial itself began to rotate, burrowing deeper into the soil.

Pop.

Once it stopped, Eunice poked the top of the vial with his finger.

“That’s it. It’s done.”

“That’s pretty amazing… but is it safe? The soil around here is pretty loose.”

“Professor Roylen apparently prepared for that with magic. I understand how the magic works, but when it comes to knowledge about this forest itself, the Professor is way ahead of me, so I can’t say much.”

Ziel nodded in impressed acknowledgment. A mage more skilled than Eunice—he couldn’t immediately picture such a person. When he voiced that thought, Eunice chuckled and replied:

“I’m not so great that I’m better than everyone at everything. I’m confident in my overall ability, but Professor Wilae’s disciples are highly specialized and talented. Competing in the same field requires proper preparation.”

Then, Eunice stood up.

“Still, I appreciate that you think so. Alright, let’s head back. This place is relatively close to the research facility, and we’ll likely pass through it again in the future. If there’s an issue, we can always come back and fix it.”

“A route?”

“I can recognize it.”

“Watch and learn,” he said boldly, tilting his head back to gaze upward. Ziel, drawn in, lifted his chin as well.

The sky above was a brilliant summer blue—or rather, calling it that would be an exaggeration. That vast, overwhelming blue wasn’t fully visible here.

The trees stretched their branches and leaves toward the sun, sealing off the sky.

The ground was gently cradled in the trees’ embrace, leaving only tiny glimpses of the sky through the gaps.

“Hmm… The stars are aligned correctly. This is definitely the right place.”

What was astonishing was that—to him, to the Arcmage of the Stars—the shapes of the stars were visible even beyond the bright sky.

“…The Ruin King again?”

That thought crossed Ziel’s mind as he beheld the enormous magical beast.

“What the—”

“Whoa—”

Its body was massive, like a river given form. It stretched its back high toward the heavens as if to devour the clouds.

Even in an A-rank labyrinth, such a mighty magical beast was rare.

And there it stood, its enormous body exposed to the summer breeze.

With something like this, of course—

Ziel reached for his sword, about to draw it, when—

“Uwah—!”

Something even more astonishing happened.

A figure lunged toward the magical beast as if flung into the air.

Wreathed in an incredible gust of wind, gripping a sword that shone brighter than the summer sun.

Struggling to contain the sheer force coursing through them, yet seemingly mastering it completely.

That adventurer streaked toward the serpent’s neck without hesitation.

And it was a face Ziel knew all too well.

Which meant—

“Tailwind—!”

Klaha.

She cleaved the massive magical beast in two with a single stroke.