Volume 4 Chapter 12 Secret Passage
It's been a little over a week since we began our journey towards the invasion zone of the Forest King's Army.
We switched carriages and traveled from town to town and village to village, pushing steadily eastward.
Along the way, there were many times when we had to pass through monster areas on foot.
However, strangely enough, we were hardly attacked, and our journey became as calm as a still surface of water.
Since it was my first time forming a party, I had braced myself for some minor troubles, but I never expected it to go this smoothly.
Still, it wasn't all smooth sailing.
"It seems that the weather in the Slug Mountains is rough, and we won't be able to pass for a while."
The massive mountain range──the Slug Mountains, situated between the Compost Kingdom and the neighboring Sphagnum Kingdom.
Upon reaching the small rural village right in front of them──Rohm Village, we unexpectedly ran into a setback.
To proceed further east from here, we needed to cross the mountains.
However, in an unfortunate turn of events, the mountains were hit by bad weather, making it impossible to cross.
"Well, there's nothing we can do about that. It's dangerous to try to cross the mountains in bad weather."
"Yeah. No matter how strong everyone is, it doesn't matter if we get lost in the mountains."
While having lunch at a village eatery, I gazed at the mountains through the window.
My companions are all exceptional talents, surpassing even heroes.
Still, even they can't match the threats of nature.
So here, we have no choice but to wait patiently for the weather to improve.
Then, Cosmos quickly finished off a set of bread and soup while writing something with paper and a pen, and casually asked me a question.
"If we get through the Slug Mountains, we can reach the neighboring Sphagnum Kingdom, right?"
"Yeah. I mean, we can't head east without crossing this."
That massive mountain range marks the border between the Compost Kingdom and the eastern Sphagnum Kingdom.
So, we can't progress eastward unless we cross it.
It seems that if the weather is good, crossing the mountains isn't that difficult, and we can use the mountain paths that have been developed for trade.
So, I thought it would be fine, but who would have guessed the weather would turn bad at such an inconvenient time.
As I quietly bit into my bread with a wry smile, Cosmos, looking serious, continued to write with her pen and asked another question casually.
"How long do you think it will take before we can pass through?"
"It's likely to take almost a week until the weather improves. Some say it might take even longer."
In this Rohm village, there are many people who know a lot about the mountains, and they all gave the same estimate of time.
Stuck here for a whole week.
It's frustrating, but it's unavoidable due to the whims of nature.
Then, Ms. Nemophila, sitting up straight and sipping her soup with a spoon, lowered her voice to ask.
"It's better to reach the Forest King's Army invasion zone as soon as possible, right? How long does the cursed tree take to revive?"
"I don't know anything in detail. It seems Dahlia and the others also didn't know when their plan would be put into action."
However, it is believed they will show some movement before long.
The fact that the Demon Lord army, which hates to get cozy, teamed up is the best evidence of that.
So, we really should head to the Forest King's Army's invasion zone as quickly as possible to check the situation.
"The sooner we can get there, the better, right?"
"Yes. It wouldn't be surprising if they moved as soon as tomorrow."
Therefore, I'm staring at the mountain range outside the window, secretly praying for the weather to clear up.
At that moment, Cosmos, who was fiddling with a pen in hand, muttered casually.
"Wouldn't it be faster to just blow the whole mountain away with a Meteor?"
"That doesn't sound like a joke, so stop it."
I really wish someone with the power to erase mountains wouldn't casually say such things.
Sure, if she actually erased the mountain, we wouldn't have to worry about bad weather and things like that.
"By the way, what has Cosmos been writing since earlier? 'This and that' while scribbling. If it's just drawing, you should wait until we get back to the inn."
"Don't treat me like a child! There's no way I'd be drawing at a time like this!"
Then what are you seriously writing this whole time?
I couldn't help but be curious as I caught glimpses of it during our conversation.
Then, Cosmos, with a proud look on her face, pointed at a piece of paper on the table and showed it to me.
"Of course it's practice for my signature! From now on, we're going to stop the schemes of the Forest King's Army and the Spirit King's Army, and be celebrated as great heroes, so if I don't practice now, I'll be embarrassed later."
"You're getting ahead of yourself, don't you think?"
──I'm already practicing my signature.
Has it only been a little over a week since we set out on this journey with this party?
"You guys should start thinking about it now too. If someone suddenly asks for your signature, you'll end up writing an awkward, unpracticed one."
"Well, it's embarrassing to practice now when I don't even know if anyone will ask for my signatures."
If no one asks for my signatures, it will just feel empty.
I think there's a good chance the other 3 will be asked for theirs, though.
"Then, I'll think of a better one for you. Just 'Trainer Aroze' feels a bit lacking, doesn't it... How about 'Master of Adventurer Training, Ultimate Trainer Aroze'?"
"Stop, stop!"
If I had to be remembered with such a strange name, I would come up with one myself.
As I was stopping Cosmos, who was already trying to write it on the paper saying, 'I'll try writing it for you,' Rose suddenly tilted her head.
"By the way, can we not go through 'this road'?"
"Huh?"
She opened the map of the mountains we received in this village on the table and pointed to a certain spot with her finger.
When I looked, there was a straight path drawn through the mountains.
It's not a mountain path to cross over the mountain; it seems to be a tunnel dug underground.
"Is this... a 'mining tunnel'?"
It's probably an underground passage created for extracting ores and resources.
At first glance, it was hard to tell, but it seems the tunnel is quite long and extends to the other side of the mountain.
"If we go through here, we can get past the Slug Mountain Range without being bothered by the bad weather, right?"
"Well, if it's underground, the weather doesn't matter, does it?"
If permission to pass through the tunnel is granted, I could still go to the Sphagnum Kingdom even in this bad weather.
Having found a path of hope, I popped the last piece of bread into my mouth and was about to get up from my seat.
"Alright! Then let's go check out this tunnel for now..."
At that moment...
"You can't go through there."
"...?"
Suddenly, I heard a gruff voice from the back of the seat, and I instinctively stopped moving.
Then, I turned around, wondering what it was.
There was...
"The tunnel has been closed off for decades. It's pointless to go there."
An old man with a bent back, covered in cuts on his face, arms, and all over his body, was sitting there.
He had short white hair and a white beard.
Just that made him look like he had lived quite a number of years.
He had a towel draped over his shoulder, and on the edge of the table where he was eating, there was a hoe, so he was probably on a break from working in the fields.
"Um, well, who are you...?"
When I asked the old man who suddenly interrupted me, he answered while stroking his beard.
"I am Sage, the village head of this village called Rohm. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to eavesdrop, but I happened to overhear your conversation. You were talking about going to the mine, weren't you?"
"Y-yes. I thought that even in this bad weather, we might be able to get through the Slug Mountains..."
However, according to the old man who called himself Sage, the mine was sealed off decades ago.
It seems he called out to us to prevent us from wasting our time since we were heading toward the mine without knowing that.
"Um, is it true that the mine is sealed?"
"Yes. So even if you go, you won't be able to get through. It's best to wait quietly until the weather clears up."
Ugh, I thought we had finally found a shortcut.
If we could go through the mine, we wouldn't have to be stuck here and could have gotten closer to the Forest King's Army's invasion zone.
As I let out a big sigh, Rose tilted her head while looking at Sage.
"Why was the mine sealed off?"
It was a pure curiosity, or rather, a question that had arisen.
As the village head who knows a lot about the Slug Mountains, he surely seems to know various reasons behind it.
In response to that question, Sage lowered his voice a bit as he answered.
"Let's inform the travelers who are not familiar with this area. The tunnels of the Slug Mountains were commonly used for mining ores and gems until several decades ago. However, it had to be abandoned due to unavoidable circumstances. If it hadn't been completely sealed off to prevent anyone from approaching, there would have been many 'victims' born in those tunnels by now."
"...?"
Why?
When we all looked puzzled, Mr. Sagecontinued in an even lower voice, as if to frighten us.
"Because there are 'monsters' living there."
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