Immortal's Ascending Path-22
22. Journey
"The wedding will be held in Eisleburg."
At the entrance of the forest, looking at the sun in the sky, Ulrich said.
"Not Solna, where the grand temple is?"
Roberta pulled the reins behind him, stopping the horse and asking.
"Richard doesn't get along with the Pantheon. He hates the involvement of the Priests. So he abandoned Solna, the old capital and home to the grand temple, and made Eisleburg, his core base, the new capital."
As she remembered, Eisleburg was a city at the southern end of the kingdom. Compared to the Ditmarsken duchy, it was at opposite extremes.
The reason why Ulrich, Roberta, and Fritz were stopped at the entrance of a certain forest was there. To go directly to their destination at the southern end, Eisleburg, they had to pass through this forest.
"Ah… so that's why you're not heading to the main road."
Ulrich nodded.
"There's enough time until the wedding, but if we don't go through this forest, we'll have to go around quite a bit via the main road. Then it will be difficult to afford any leeway. As you know, you never know what might happen with people's affairs."
Roberta and Fritz looked at the forest.
It was a forest made up of trees that grew so tall it hurt their necks. The intervals between the trees were wide, but each tree was so massive that it gave the feeling of standing in front of a fortress wall.
"The name of this place is Snow Forest."
It was a truly unfitting name.
Far from snow, it was nothing but green, and the weather was so hot.
"A long time ago, um… it was named when Ditmarsken belonged to the Ice Peninsula. Because it was the boundary separating the peninsula and its south, it was always covered in snow due to the peninsula's influence. Back then, snow fairies lived here in groups."
Snow fairies, a race she had never seen in person. According to literature, they were small, winged fairies with pointed ears, and they liked cold places so much that there was a saying, 'They bring winter.'
"Don't they live here now? Lord?"
At the word fairy, Fritz asked, his eyes sparkling.
"They can't live here even if they wanted to. A snow fairy living in such a hot place is no different from a human living in the Ice Peninsula. They left for other places when the temperature rose."
Ulrich said that and spurred his horse into the forest.
Roberta and Fritz followed behind. The moment they entered the forest, the shade covered the humans, and their vision was dyed black. It was because their vision was confused as they entered the darkly shaded interior from the summer sun shining outside.
Even outside the forest, it felt grand, but it was even more so when they entered. The giant trees blocked the sky, to the point where even if they tilted their faces back, they could only see leaves, not the sky.
What would happen if they lost their way? There were no traces of people, so they had to make their own path, and since they couldn't see the sky, they felt like they would never be able to escape the forest.
"Don't worry. We won't get lost."
Ulrich said, as if reading her worries.
"I've been here a few times before."
"When was that?"
Ulrich thought for a moment and replied.
"Well, the last time I came was about 80 years ago."
80 years?
She tried hard to swallow the rising cough. That's right. They were going to pass through a path where they could easily get lost, relying on memories from nearly a century ago. She trusted him, but she couldn't help but feel a sudden surge of embarrassment.
On the other hand, Fritz, who was standing next to her and going side by side, simply pursed his lips and sparkled his eyes. The boy, who had just turned sixteen, seemed to like anything an elder said.
"Quite, quite a long time ago."
"That's right. But it doesn't seem to have changed much."
Ulrich said, looking around.
"Do you remember? What it looked like back then?"
"No, I didn't pay attention to the scenery back then. All I remember is that I passed through this place with Adnan… my vassals at the time, looking for monsters."
However, Ulrich added that there was a feeling he got when he saw the same thing.
Roberta looked around the forest and thought that was likely. It was a deserted forest. Before their visit, who would dare to set foot in the forest?
A forest untouched by human hands does not change easily unless a disaster strikes. The scenery that Ulrich had glimpsed about a hundred years ago and the scenery now would not be much different.
Perhaps they were walking the same path they had walked back then, and perhaps the tree that had greeted Ulrich back then was greeting them this time as well.
"Beyond this, if we get out of the forest, there's a village. It belongs to the County of Goetten, and I don't remember the name, but I caught the monster I was chasing there. We'll arrive there tomorrow."
What kind of feeling was he getting?
Experiencing the same place with a gap of not a few months or years, but the length of a person's life, was an experience she had not yet had. No, would she ever be able to experience it even once in her life?
"It must have changed a lot, after so much time has passed."
"It would have."
Living a long, long life, he had wandered the world under countless names. He must have had countless experiences like this. Was that why he never stopped, lost in thought?
Rather, he simply moved forward as if passing through a familiar path.
"…Or maybe the village itself is gone."
The three spent a day in the Snow Forest. Because the forest was so wide, they couldn't get out of it in a day even on horseback.
As the sun began to set, they stopped their horses and prepared to camp. The forest darkened faster than anywhere else, so they gathered firewood from around and lit a bonfire. Soon, the surroundings were completely covered in darkness.
The Snow Forest was cool at night, even in summer. It seemed that the influence of the Ice Peninsula was considerable. They sat around the bonfire, had dinner, shared a short story, and went to bed.
Ulrich stood guard. He put the two to sleep, saying he didn't need sleep, and spent the night under the night sky, which was invisible due to the leaves. And when morning came, he woke the two and left the forest.
#
The time they arrived at the village was late afternoon. They had left the Snow Forest early in the morning, but the distance from the forest to the village was considerable. It was a distance that would have required another camping trip if they hadn't been riding horses.
Even if it was less affected by the peninsula than Ditmarsken, it was not completely unaffected. It was only natural to move far away to avoid that influence.
The village was small, but it was quite well-defended compared to its size. The outskirts of the village were surrounded by stone walls, and even a flimsy watchtower was built. The villagers spotted the group from the watchtower first and stood guard.
"Do not approach any further!"
A middle-aged man shouted loudly at the entrance of the village.
Behind him stood a dozen young men. Each of them carried spears or swords, strongly revealing their警戒 against strangers.
"State your purpose!"
Indeed, what reason would strangers have to come to such a remote place? Moreover, they were strangers who had appeared from the direction of the Snow Forest. Strangers who had crossed a path that no one passed through, they couldn't help but be wary.
"Ah… what should we do?"
Fritz asked in a voice full of disappointment. He had been expecting to have a warm place to sleep, away from bugs and wild animals, but it seemed that was not to be.
"Just a moment. I'll talk to them."
Roberta said that and stepped forward.
"May the grace of Ganymea be with you. We are passing travelers. We have not come to you with any other intentions. We have simply stopped by to rest for a day on our way."
The villagers saw the Priest robes she was wearing. And they also saw her, who had dismounted from her horse, moving mana to brightly display a blue pattern on her bare palm.
"Were you a Priest?"
The middle-aged man who had shouted to stop hesitated for a moment, then lowered his spear and approached her. There was hesitation, but the警戒 was lessened. It was because he had judged that the woman in front of him was a formal Priest.
The position of a person who worships God in a world created by gods guarantees so much. Especially in remote areas, life is difficult, so people tend to rely on God and expect blessings.
"I apologize for being rude, Priest."
He took off his hat, greeted her politely, and revealed his name as Gunter.
"I understand. It's because we appeared without a word."
She smiled and asked if they could stay in the village for a day.
"This is a very inadequate place to serve a Priest, but would you be alright with that?"
"Anywhere is fine as long as I can avoid the night wind."
"In that case… I will take you to the village chief's house. That is the least uncomfortable place for a Priest to stay in this place."
"Yes. Then I'll ask for your favor."
After finishing the conversation, Roberta gestured to Ulrich and Fritz. While the two were approaching, Gunter dismissed the young men and stood in front of Ulrich's group.
As three strangers entered the village, the residents flocked out and watched them. Did so few people visit the village? They shone their eyes as if a great person had visited.
'He said 80 years ago.'
Ignoring the gazes and whispers of the people, Roberta took in the appearance of the village. Lord Ulrich had revealed that he had stopped by here back then. To hunt monsters.
She had also participated in monster hunts a few times. And every time, she saw only villages with the dead left behind. That's usually the case when monsters appear in a village. No one survives.
Unlike monsters that hide in deserted places and wait for prey, monsters that go to human residences have the power to support their boldness.
The fact that they appeared alone in front of a group meant that they were confident that they could catch all the prey in front of them. If such monsters are not dealt with immediately upon discovery, the damage will increase uncontrollably.
The monster that Ulrich chased 80 years ago must have been such a monster.
'Moreover, if he went out to chase it himself…'
But the village survived.
Clearly, the damage would not have been small, but it had continued its lineage for nearly a hundred years since then. That meant that many people had survived.
Roberta looked at Ulrich's profile. He was walking calmly, observing the surroundings. What thoughts, what emotions was he harboring? Even though they had been connected for over a year, he was still difficult to know.
He was by no means a person without emotions, but he had too much patience, or perhaps he was used to it, he was a person who expressed himself very little.
She was far from understanding his feelings.
However, she had this thought. The reason why he chose this place after leaving the Snow Forest might have been because he wanted to see this village.
#
The village chief was an elderly old man.
When Ulrich's group entered the house, the village chief was sitting in a chair. The chair was facing the wide-open window, so he was looking outside, but his eyes were closed.
As if he had reached the end of the lifespan that an ordinary human could enjoy, his face was full of wrinkles, his body was emaciated, and his breathing was weak.
"Village Chief."
Gunter approached and whispered in his ear, and he slowly opened his eyes.
His cloudy eyes looked at Gunter and then scanned the three people standing at the door. His focus was not right.
"Are they guests?"
The village chief asked in a voice that leaked wind.
"Village Chief, these people are…"
Then Gunter told him that Roberta was a Priest of Ganymea, that Ulrich and Fritz were his companions, and that they had stopped by the village to spend a day. The village chief breathed heavily and nodded.
"Ah, I see. I am sorry to have you in such a shabby place."
With Gunter's support, the village chief got up from his seat.
"I am Ruman. I am in charge of the village here. I heard that the Priest and his companions need a place to stay?"
"Yes. I am suddenly sorry, but may I ask for your favor?"
"A request from the Priest… This is not such a great place."
Ruman coughed dryly a few times and approached the three people.
"Come this way. I will guide you."
He narrowed his eyes. Because he couldn't see properly, he seemed to be able to recognize the other person's face only after keeping a step's distance from them.
His cloudy eyes lingered on Roberta for a long time before his focus finally matched. He shifted his gaze to look at Fritz. And after finishing the same confirmation, he turned to Ulrich.
The moment his focus matched for the third time, his eyes trembled. Gunter, who was supporting him, was flustered when Ruman began to tremble, but Ruman grabbed Ulrich's hand before he could ask anything.
"U, Lord Ulrich…?"
"…Do you remember me?"
Ruman wore a bright smile on his wrinkled face.
"How could I forget… You saved us. The youngest child among the people you saved on the day the monsters struck… That was me. Do you remember?"
Ulrich closed his eyes for a moment as if retracing his memories.