96 – The Forest (7)
“At last…!”
El was overjoyed, her face filled with emotion at the sight before her.
Was it because the journey had been tough, or because she had longed so desperately to arrive here in her heart?
The answer was not clear…
“Hmm…”
“…”
The group’s reaction was subtle.
No, to be precise, my and Charlie’s reactions were subtle.
Dorothy didn’t seem too concerned about this sight.
The reason why Charlie and I showed such a subtle reaction was that the sight before us was quite different from what we had imagined.
“What should I say… Ruins, I suppose.”
With just one word, Charlie summed up the sight before us.
Ruins.
Yes, they were ruins.
What we saw now were the remnants of an ancient empire, common in the forest, with nothing particularly remarkable about their scale or condition.
There had been a building there, that was clear, but it stood alone, with walls and everything else collapsed, leaving only the foundations.
Truly, ruins.
It seemed like this was probably our destination.
…
I hadn’t expected anything grand.
But this was beyond imagination.
At first, I didn’t think this place could be our destination.
However.
“At last! We’ve arrived!”
Seeing El so happy, it seemed like this was indeed the right destination.
“Um… Miss, is this really our destination?”
Charlie hesitated for a moment, as if sharing my thoughts, before asking.
To this, El smiled broadly.
“Yes! This is the destination!”
He ruthlessly shattered the hopes of Charlie and me.
“Hmm….”
This being the destination, the end of the quite long journey.
I felt a bitter taste rising in a corner of my heart.
Although it wasn’t a great ordeal, and I didn’t have high expectations, the outcome was disappointing.
Just in case, I examined every nook and cranny of the ruins, but nothing special caught my eye.
Because of its small scale, it didn’t take long to inspect.
“Hmm… It’s my job to guide you to the destination… But what in the world is the purpose of this place—”
Charlie, looking defeated by futility, tried to say something, but El moved before he could finish.
With a smile, El leaped into the ruins, starting to move his feet as if dancing before the group could react.
“….?”
Charlie looked puzzled, but I recognized it immediately.
It wasn’t just a dance, and it wasn’t aimless footwork either.
El’s foot movements had a clear purpose.
It just had a certain pattern, making it look like dancing.
And those moving feet struck the floor of the ruins.
How long had passed in that state?
Thud—
Suddenly, a vibration began to sound.
“What…?!”
Charlie was taken aback, and I widened my eyes as well.
I quickly realized that the vibration was coming from the ruins.
Naturally, my gaze returned to the ruins, and I could see it.
“That’s…!”
The floor of the ruins was opening.
Thud—
With a heavy sound, the floor slowly opened, revealing…
“Stairs…?”
Stairs leading downwards.
“What on earth…?”
Charlie muttered, his eyes wide with surprise.
I, too, felt a similar emotion, although our expressions differed.
But we didn’t have the luxury to dwell on that emotion slowly.
El immediately started descending the stairs.
“Miss!”
Seeing that, Dorothy was startled and ran towards El.
Since it was obvious we couldn’t just leave them behind, Charlie and I followed right behind.
After descending a staircase longer than expected, we were met with a large room at the end.
Except for one door, it was an empty room with nothing in it.
“This is…,” Charlie frowned as he looked around.
“What on earth is this place, miss?”
Unable to contain his curiosity, Charlie asked El again, but she remained silent, her gaze fixed on the door across the room.
“Do you know anything, Miss Dorothy?”
The subject of Charlie’s question shifted from El to Dorothy.
He must have thought that Dorothy, as El’s escort, might know something.
However, Dorothy shook her head.
“I don’t know anything about this place either.”
“I see.”
Reluctantly, Charlie nodded his head.
“Nevertheless, we should explore this place for now and investigate—”
Even in such a situation, Charlie tried to fulfill his duty.
If this was the client’s destination, then exploring here would be the client’s purpose.
As the one entrusted with the mission, he felt he had to do what was required.
And he would have thought this way:
As long as he was exploring, he had to proceed with utmost caution.
It was an unknown space.
He didn’t know what traps might be set, or what awaited him.
So, he would have planned to thoroughly investigate first and then proceed with the exploration.
But once again, it didn’t go as planned.
El dashed forward again this time.
“Miss…!”
Almost shouting in astonishment, Charlie tried to grab El immediately.
But his intention never came to fruition.
“What…!”
Dorothy blocked Charlie.
Without paying any attention to the scuffle between them, I followed El’s back with my eyes.
While Charlie and Dorothy were engaged in a minor struggle, El reached the door, her delicate hands grabbing the handle.
Eventually, the door opened—
And the world suddenly changed.
***
The moment the door opened, everything around me changed.
The stone room and door disappeared, and suddenly I found myself standing in a completely pitch-black space.
This was a new experience in itself, although I had had similar experiences before.
It was a space reminiscent of the dungeons I had entered at the academy.
I had no idea what principle it was based on.
Magic emanated from the door, enveloping me, but that was all I perceived.
Truth be told, I could have resisted.
For an ordinary person, and even for an ordinary non-human, it might have been impossible, but if a non-human had reached the level of determination, they could have resisted even if it wasn’t me.
Or perhaps a wizard at that level could have done it.
However, I didn’t resist.
Because I didn’t feel any ominousness from the magic emanating from the door.
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No, I did feel something.
After descending the stairs, I had a strong intuition.
An intuition that I had to open the door.
That’s why I didn’t stop Elle, and I didn’t resist the magic of the door.
And now, this is the current situation.
“…….”
Although I acted based on intuition, honestly, I had no idea what to do.
There was nothing around, just darkness.
I couldn’t even see my companions, nor could I sense their presence.
Should I wait for something to happen, or should I take action from my side?
While pondering this, suddenly, Elle appeared beside me.
“Huh?”
With a puzzled expression, Elle looked around, then finally spotted me and widened her eyes.
“Miss Andel? Where are Dorothy and Charlie?”
Inquiring as if she knew nothing, I hesitated for a moment before answering.
“Well, I can’t see them.”
“Really? What’s going on…?”
Elle looked around again with wide eyes.
“…Miss, do you know anything?”
Unable to hold back, I asked.
“Me?”
“Yes. You chose the destination, and you discovered the hidden space, didn’t you.”
That was the confusing part.
Elle was the one who chose the destination in the first place, discovered the hidden staircase, and seemed to have waited as she opened the door.
But her reaction now seemed as if she knew nothing.
“How do you know this place? Who on earth taught you about this place?”
If we were to make a likely assumption, it must be that the creator of this space, or someone well acquainted with it, had informed her.
Otherwise, it was strange that she, who had never even been to Durville, knew the location and how to reveal the hidden space.
The problem is, even with that assumption, there remains an unresolved question.
If she had heard about this place from someone, why did she know nothing about this dark space now?
That someone may not have disclosed everything.
However, no matter how curious Elle might be, her judgment was not clouded enough to risk her life over suspicious matters.
Believing in just one suspicious story and venturing to a distant and endlessly dangerous forest isn’t necessarily foolish.
If the information comes from a highly reliable source, one might consider moving based on that trust. However, this time, a question arises as to why this ‘someone’ didn’t inform her about this space.
In many ways, there seems to be an inexplicable corner.
I intended to dispel that question at this moment.
But.
“No one told me.”
The words that came from her mouth were beyond my expectations.
“…Excuse me?”
I unintentionally responded.
Well, it was an unbelievable story.
If no one taught her, how did she come to know about this place?
Was my unbearable question evident in my eyes?
El spoke again.
“I saw it.”
“You did?”
Her green eyes sparkled.
“I saw it. The sight of me coming here. Ever since I was young.”
Accompanied by unbelievable words.