Chapter 94 - Steady Steps Toward Exploration
A soft smile lit up My Friend’s face. He was clearly pleased by my spontaneous remark. And that—that was exactly the problem. He shouldn’t smile like that so carelessly. It unsettled me far too easily. I cleared my throat and turned my attention to his words.
“You’re spot on,” he said. “The mask draws in outside air through this filter, and the exhaust is released through an anti-backflow membrane located near the mouth. It needs a certain volume, of course, but it doesn’t have to be overly large. That’s the gist of it. Try it out when you head out there—it’ll come in handy.”
“How many did you make?”
“Five prototypes. But those are riddled with flaws from trial and error—I can’t hand those over. What I brought with me today, though, you can consider the finished version. I made twenty-five units as a preliminary production run. The guerilla unit has plenty of work, but not many personnel can be spared solely for forest exploration. So, twenty-five seems about right, don’t you think?”
“...You anticipated all of this?”
“Of course I did! I am a genius, after all!”
With hands on his hips and chest puffed out in pride, My Friend stood tall. No joke—he was the real deal. After just one single trek through the forest, he had grasped the future challenges our guerilla unit would face, and now, here he was—presenting me with a finished magitech device while I was still grasping for solutions. What else could I call him but a genius? Words failed me.
“The mission you’re on must be heavy, right? What you’re trying to do—it’s something necessary, not just for the people but for the soldiers too. As long as it’s not some weapon made to kill people, I’ll help however I can. Just say the word. That’s easier for me, too. Right now, I’m working on a problem I found on my own, but if someone comes to me with a specific ‘request,’ it gives me a clear direction to aim for. Besides, I have to report to the capital. They expect updates on accomplishments. If I’m going to make things, I want them to be useful to the common folk and the soldiers who are struggling.”
“...Thank you. Truly, I thank you from the bottom of my heart.”
“No need for that. You let me stay here, gave me free rein to research, and even full access to all the materials I need. This is my way of returning the favor, my friend. If anything, I should be the one expressing gratitude. Really—it’s helped me more than you know.”
“Those words mean a lot. With this... finally, we’ve taken a major step forward in exploring the middle layer of the Demonic Forest.”
“Damn right! Go ahead and praise me—because I am a genius, remember!”
He deserved all the praise in the world. He’d earned it. And for that very reason, I had to test the magitech device he’d created. No matter how amazing it looked on paper, if it couldn’t be properly used, it would amount to nothing more than wasted potential. First things first: the modified [Telepathy] runes. We’d conduct a trial using it along the widened paths of the Shallow Forest to confirm its practical use.
If this succeeded, supply transport would become dramatically safer. Combat personnel could operate with greater flexibility. There’d be no more surprise ambushes. In short, accidents would drop, casualties would lessen, and we could deliver a fixed amount of supplies to designated locations without delay.
We exchanged glances, silently reaffirming our shared resolve. More than anything, I offered my thanks to My Friend. I never would have come up with this idea on my own. Even if I had, the knowledge I possessed paled in comparison to his. There was no doubt he had gone through twists and turns to bring this to life. Time would not wait for us. And the mission to explore the Demonic Forest weighed more heavily on me than anything—it had become my solemn duty.
And so, time pressed forward—
The situation, accelerating rapidly.
――― § ――― § ―――
The widening of the paths through the forest’s shallow layer was completed far ahead of schedule. All thanks to my elder brother’s leadership. He had permitted the large-scale mobilization of both the main unit and the support units—supply squads, engineers, and escorts alike.
He had recognized that the maintenance of the Shallow Forest wasn’t just for exploration, but a lifeline for those who entered it to earn their livelihoods. Thanks to him, hunters now had a wider range of movement. Adventurers could reach their destinations without excessive struggle. And perhaps most importantly—they could now return from their missions without fearing for their lives.
It wasn’t simply that the paths were widened. The groundwork was reinforced for wagon use, and even overlapping magical communication lines were embedded underground. With those advancements, My Friend’s magitech devices—proven useful through testing—were now being installed in stages.
My Friend’s magitech device—dubbed the Echo—had been installed at key watch posts along the forest paths, and its operation had begun in earnest. From the fortress, magitech auto-scribes periodically spat out slips of paper, each one reporting in near real-time which watch post was being approached by dangerous small- or mid-sized magical beasts.
The communication officers began marking that information onto a large map in my office, as well as another map hanging in the great hall where the soldiers gathered. The update interval was set at every two hours. Since this system had been set in motion, damages and delays to our supply convoys had dropped sharply. Now, at a glance, one could determine both the location and the threat level of any hostile magical beast in the vicinity. Of course, there was still plenty of room for improvement. I had been discussing further refinements with My Friend.
And finally—we were ready to begin expanding the most distant of the Shallow Forest’s watch posts.
This particular post, located above a waterfall, had been carved directly out of the surrounding rock. We widened the space, transforming it into a station large enough to accommodate the entire guerilla unit. We stocked various supplies, installed a simple blacksmithing facility, and even set up basic medical care. It now functioned as a miniature version of the guerilla unit's facilities back at the fortress.
She—our Estarian contact—had dropped by from time to time to observe our progress. And even she was astonished by the speed of our development. I had taken on more direct leadership as well, and now, at last, we had secured a proper foothold for further exploration of the forest. One evening, she visited again, and we stood side by side, watching the sun set over the Demonic Forest, exchanging quiet words.
“You got all this done fast.”
“I’ve been blessed,” I replied. “So many people came together to make this possible. It’s safe to say we’ve all been captivated by the mysteries of the Demonic Forest.”
“Hmm, is that so? …Well, I’ve got bad news.”
“What kind of news?”
“That area you call the ‘Middle Forest’... Parts of it are off-limits to us Estarians. We’re forbidden from entering, and we’re not even allowed to use magical beasts to scout it remotely. It’s a sacred taboo. They say it’s where the sins of the ancient Estarians lie buried. That’s what the elders claim. So if you want to go beyond that and reach the ‘Deep Forest,’ as you call it... you’ll have to do it alone. We can’t help you.”
“I see... So there’s much more to this place than we ever imagined. The forest’s secrets are deeply sealed, indeed.”
“Setting foot in that forbidden ground is equivalent to confronting the sins of ancient Estal. The elders say that how you respond to what you find there will be the true test of whether we can continue working together. They also told me not to give you any information. But I couldn’t do that. Because... the truth is, we don’t know anything either. We don’t even know what’s there.”
“...Is it truly that dangerous?”
“I think you’ll understand once you see it. But I can tell you one thing. The mana density in that area—it’s abnormal. Enormous amounts of mana are swirling there, and it’s still increasing, even now. No one knows why. And I swear, I’m not lying. That’s why I have a request of my own. I want you to find out what’s happening there—what lies within that place. The elders just want to avoid it. They fear it. Hate it, even. But... my soul whispers to me that we can’t afford to keep ignoring it. It’s not just me—every Estarian hunter who has ventured beyond the deep forest and seen the wider world feels the same way.”
She spoke while watching the sun sink beneath the horizon. A taboo buried in the deepest parts of the forest where the Estarians live. The forbidden ground lying deep within the Middle Forest. A place where the very air was said to be thicker with mana than even the deepest forest—its mana density continuing to grow with no known cause. And that place—the one feared and hated even by the Estarian elders—was the path we must walk.
It stood as a barrier we had to cross if we were ever to meet those same elders. We would need to observe it, understand it, and find our own answer from within.
And that place, without a doubt...
...would be our trial.
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