Chapter 82

Chapter 82 - Path of the Castellan (1)

The whispers of the castle ended with two sentences.

"Hey? Are you listening?"

He had many questions about what this chaos was all about, but asking the empty air brought no further answers.

Eventually, he had to stop questioning and focus on the immediate situation. That is, survival and reorganization.

"It is a relief we can get water."

"It's a small garden, but it's densely well-filled."

In the corner of the secret garden, there was a fairly large pond, and a waterway extending from it crossed the garden. Various plants were packed in all directions.

He didn't know what the water source was, but it flowed endlessly and cleanly, so there was no worry about drinking water.

"This place seems like a definite safe zone."

"It must be. Since it's surrounded by a stone gate and walls using the masonry of the ancients."

It must be physically safe, but an aura of protection could also be felt throughout the entire garden. He became certain that evil beings would not be able to enter this place either.

Homi, who had perhaps noticed the safety through her animalistic instincts, showed a relaxed appearance.

Taking off her outer garment and kneeling before the pond, she focused below the water surface.

Focusing without a single movement, she was more reminiscent of a hunting heron than a feline animal.

Splash!

At some point, her both hands dug into the water surface and struck a single fish outwards.

Flap flap!

A forearm-sized bastard fluttered here and there on the grass of the garden.

Thwack!

When Homi's slender finger gave a finger flick, the fish fell limp.

"Did such a big bastard live there?"

Homi, who smiled radiantly at Eugene's admiring face, knelt before the pond again. Even though it is a big bastard, it wouldn't be enough for 3 people to eat.

Homi's two hands and eyes, spread open like a bird of prey's, stopped stationary above the water surface like before.

Flutter flutter.

The only thing moving was her tail, excited by the praise and the thrill of the hunt.

"I cannot stay still either."

Valda's golden eyes surveyed the plants abundantly filling the garden everywhere.

"Are they things that can be eaten?"

"Everything in this garden are purely practical crops. They can either be eaten, or used for hygiene and medicinal herbs."

"I heard castles of a certain scale have many such secret places."

A back door existing separately from the main gate could be an example. In a besieged situation, it's used for an envoy to leave for a rescue request, or for a detached force to launch a surprise attack, or entirely for the castellan to escape.

Large castles where counts and above reside also had various secret spaces internally.

A refuge in case even the inner keep falls, a place of worship for religious figures who cannot proudly reveal themselves, or even a secret passage only for the castellan used for dark purposes.

"Compared to this place, those are merely back rooms reeking of musty smells. Just storehouses without light or proper ventilation."

"It seems to have been neglected without management, yet it is fascinating."

Bright light shone down from the ceiling, and the plants everywhere overflowed with vitality.

"It must definitely be a place maintained by the power of magic."

As Valda took a deep breath, her chest swelled.

"I can feel the lingering scent left by my kin. It is the magic of the forest. A secret art that humans cannot use."

"We could hold out for a long time if we coop up in here."

"Considering when the castle was built, it's not a strange thing, is it?"

The one who ordered the Moving Castle to be built was King Lucius, the final monarch of the ancient kingdom.

With the nation splitting from civil war facing ruin, they would have put exceptional effort into a secret room like this.

Valda, looking around, picked a single flower bud and chanted a spell.

Whoosh!

The flower bud, which was smaller than a palm, bloomed in an instant. Beyond simply growing rapidly, its size grew much larger and its shape also changed.

"Is it a basket?"

"Fufu. Convenient, isn't it?"

Valda hung the small basket the flower bud turned into on her arm. Bringing her left foot to her right heel, she lightly grasped and lifted the hem of her skirt to show it.

It's an appearance like a noble family's girl who encountered a wandering knight in the countryside. Fresh yet elegant.

"It is a magic I used when discovering precious medicinal herbs or appetizing fruits while taking a walk in the forest. It is useful when urgently needing something to put them in."

Valda took a few steps and stopped in front of a human-sized broadleaf tree.

Pluck.

She picked reddish fruits the size of a thumb and put them in the flower basket.

She plucked new shoots looking similar to Aralia elata, and also obtained large leaves to wrap the fish in when cooking.

Smooch.

To the cross-section harvested like that, she offered a kiss.

"Is that something like an Elven prayer of gratitude?"

Eugene recalled the prayer a Centaur who caught prey did.

"No. No matter how much of an Elf one is, they don't go that far. If compared to a human, think of it as just stopping bleeding and applying ointment."

Valda gestured for him to come and see.

"Coming closer will help you understand faster."

"Oh! It wasn't a prayer, but magic."

The torn off leaves or fruits already had their sap stopped, and new sprouts filling the wounds sprouted like moss.

"It is the only safe resting place in an unknown space where all directions are hostile. Rather than just using it consumptively, a symbiotic attitude would be good."

"You are correct."

Splash!

By then, Homi had caught a second fish.

"Good work. But let's only catch up to there. Setting aside fruits and leaves, the fish would be limited in number, so."

Shake shake.

Homi shook her head, and then pointed with her finger to a certain part of the pond.

There was a large water supply pipe seemingly used for circulating water. The water was so clear it stood out easily.

Homi made a cylinder with one hand, then bent the other hand and pretended to go in or come out of the inside of the cylinder.

"You're saying the fish go in and out through there?"

Nod.

"It must probably be a passage leading to a fish farm somewhere."

"It seems to be a castle prepared really solidly."

It was befitting a castle shaped like an ark. Beyond the general concept of simply piling up supplies and holding out, it was a trace of agonizing over self-sufficiency.

Eugene removed the fish innards with a bloodletting dagger and buried them in the ground. Homi lit a fire with the flint she had, and Valda filled the fish whose contents were removed with herbs.

Sizzle.

The fish placed in the fire cooked, and an appetizing scent wafted up. The fruits and herbs Valda picked were also set together.

However, unlike the savory scent, the taste was regrettable. Because it was simply grilled without any salt or seasoning.

"I must get out of here quickly."

Eugene was one who strove to give his two most trusted helpers the best treatment. Thanks to that, his mind was uncomfortable with this lack experienced significantly for the first time in a while.

"I don't dislike it that much."

Nod nod.

However, Valda and Homi's expressions were good.

"Remembering the day the three of us first set out and camped, the emotions are renewed. Do you remember the night we came out of the Emerald Forest and slept outdoors?"

"I think we also ate better then than we did now."

"I am talking about the atmosphere, setting aside the quality of the food. Because you succeeded much faster than I thought, so you were always surrounded by crowds."

The three of them harmoniously preparing a meal and being together in nature. It really had been a long time indeed.

Since when doing outdoor activities he ate together with his subordinates for meal inspections, and when receiving other nobles' treatment or staying in Northfork, people were always passing by.

* * *

While the three men and women trapped in a dangerous place spent a surprisingly intimate time, the outside was changing rapidly.

Beyond simply a festival of Northern nobles, a spectacle for all humanity had appeared, hadn't it?

The flags and tents gathering in the front yard of Rostock increased rapidly. Coming from Barcia, coming from Gord, and visiting from various free cities and small kingdoms in the eastern part of the continent as well.

To meet and treat them, Duke Ismar as well as his vassal nobles were staying outside the city.

"Wouldn't it be better to inform them of the terrorism acts committed by the Emperor?"

"The Duke instructed to keep quiet. That there is no need to necessarily keep it a secret, but do not blab about it everywhere either."

Nobles with a belligerent tendency wanted to throw shit on the Emperor's face at this opportunity, but had to hold back.

Because the Emperor's movements were unusual. Signs of actually sending an army here appeared one by one.

The reserve troops intended to support the Emperor's Faction in the South of Roman were turning back to the capital, and mercenaries were being recruited with money gathered by taking loans or even grave-robbing tombs.

"No matter how great the Moving Castle is, I cannot understand."

"That is what I am saying. Acquiring just one symbolic structure like that won't be able to smooth over the tyranny up until now."

The final legacy of the ancient kingdom will definitely greatly raise the Emperor's political standing. But whether it was an object worth overdoing it this much was a question even to the nobles.

If the Emperor were to be defeated and chased out from his seat of power, it probably wouldn't end with merely exile.

"By the way, whose possession does that castle become?"

When the most important issue came out, the nobles got interesting faces.

"For now, it is a castle that has fallen in the Duke's territory."

"It's not like a vein of ore was discovered or something? One cannot declare to take a castle that fell out of thin air just for that reason."

A common reason for a large dispute breaking out among nobles is a suddenly discovered vein of ore. Without even having to go up to gold or silver, something at the level of iron or copper was enough.

Powerful lords and their vassals, and merchant associations with vested interests all butted in with one leg from all directions drooling.

But this castle was a completely different case.

"Strictly speaking, the Emperor is the one who summoned it, though."

"Shh! You're saying something that'll cause big trouble."

"I'm just saying the words, just saying."

In the world where information is lacking, all kinds of rumors floated around.

- It is something the souls of the ancients sent as a warning about the civil war waged by descendants!

This was the most popular rumor. Commoners suffering damage from the war or ascetics pitying them actively supported it.

- What would be the reason this appeared in the territory of the Nobles' Faction, and the place that drove out the Emperor's Faction first? It is heaven's judgment on the Emperor's usurpation.

This was a rumor the lords of the Nobles' Faction liked and also spread.

- It is a presage of disaster. For the Moving Castle that drifted beyond the world to reveal its appearance. It means the other world has drawn closer to the present world by that much.

The magicians offered advice filled with anxiety rather than curiosity.

Those who know that a magical tool used by the Emperor's subjects is the cause are only a small number of Northern nobles.

"If we make a mistake, the Emperor could claim ownership of the castle on this pretext."

"He might even use it as an excuse to invade entirely. Saying we are unauthorizedly occupying a castle they summoned."

It was the reason Duke Ismar did not openly denounce the Emperor's terrorism acts.

There was guarding against the Emperor's military provocation, but it was to not give an excuse in the ownership dispute over the Moving Castle.

Rex, who heard the stories of the nobles through spies, could only let out empty laughs.

"Why the hell are those retards sharing such bullshit so seriously?"

The true owner of the castle. As one who knew the choice of prophecy and destiny, he was dumbfounded.

"I report my return."

"Good work."

Helga, the tall centurion, raised a military salute to Rex.

Currently, the Blackhand Mercenary Group is only handling requests already received and is not accepting additional requests.

After issuing an emergency to the entire tribe, they tried to gather all their power to Rostock to prepare for contingencies.

"I hope you are not starving."

Rex frowned looking up at the majestic castle.

Whatever existence in the ancient castle wouldn't dare to harm the knight among knights. However, hunger and thirst are things that cannot be slashed with a sword.

* * *

Sizzle.

Unlike Rex's worries, Eugene's party was having a fairly decent meal.

Homi squeezed a fruit similar to a lemon and sprayed the juice on the grilled fish.

"It is amazing, Lady Valda. This seems closer to the alchemy of a god rather than the realm of magic."

It is a work produced by crossing several fruits and growing them rapidly with the magic of the forest.

Nod nod.

The knight and squire looked at the Elf magician with sparkling eyes.

"Since it's a trivial trick, there is no need to praise it so much."

Twitch.

Unlike her words, her long ears received strength and stood in a straight line.

"We have taken plenty of meals and sleep, so let us head out for investigation."

Eugene put on his armor with Homi's help.

"Wouldn't it be better to look at the situation a bit more?"

"We cannot just stay here doing nothing forever."

"People will continue to flock around the castle and they won't just watch. They'll try to enter inside somehow."

Valda advised as if telling him to reconsider. Waiting for a rescue in this safe garden also seemed okay.

"There is no guarantee how long this castle will stay still."

"Ah!"

At a point she hadn't thought of, Valda let out an exclamation. She had tried to judge an existence outside common sense too much within common sense.

"As suddenly as it appeared, it could suddenly return to where it came from."

"That truly is a real danger."

Eugene, nodding his head, tapped the handle of Final Autumn.

"Monsters I can slash with a sword, but in front of a tsunami crashing over, I too would just be swept away."

The other world is like a blazing furnace. Observing from a distance and occasionally putting what is needed on the surface to utilize it. That is the correct attitude toward the other world.

A human entering inside it, whether voluntarily or involuntarily, is an act that can never be recommended.

"Besides, this is the final castle of the ancient kingdom. Forcing our way out would probably be much easier than forcing our way in."

The broad back and nonchalant attitude as always.

Valda and Homi finally realized then. The reason why they could be at ease in this dangerous situation.

The dependable back of the knight who would protect them from all kinds of crises. That was another moving castle, and they were inside it.