The message from Guild Headquarters said that it would be sending a suppression team out of Tris in the late evening. Traveling over evening wasn’t usually recommended, but such was the nature of the emergency that there were simply no other options.
Shiori and Alec thus decided that they had to get back to Tris as soon as possible, and rest up as much as they could before departure. The distance wouldn’t usually have been an issue, but now that they were aware of how dire the situation was, even the ten shilometers from where they were to Tris felt frustratingly long. And while one option was to rent a horse or carriage from a nearby village, searching for one might only make the journey longer.
“Given the situation, and the fact that there were likely other adventurers nearby, there might not even be any horses left to rent,” said Alec.
His words proved clairvoyant. The first village they arrived at had just loaned its horses out, and to adventurers from the Tris branch of the Guild, no less. After asking about their appearances, Shiori and Alec surmised that it had been the Lanellieds.
“Just as I thought,” said Alec. “I think we’re better off just walking instead of wasting time searching for quicker transportation.”
“I agree. And besides, I’m not all that good on a horse by myself. What a pain. To think we could make the distance in just twenty minutes if we had a car!”
There was no use complaining about what didn’t exist, but Shiori couldn’t help herself.
“Twenty minutes?!” exclaimed Alec. “That’s incredible. Transport in your world moves that fast?”
“Yes. You could make the distance from Brovito to Tris in about an hour.”
“I can scarcely imagine it. I hope we end up with something similar here someday, but right now it sounds like a dream within a dream. Huh? What is it, Vio?”
The snow wolf was nudging Alec in the back with his nose, and the message in his eyes was all too clear.
“Enough with jibber-jabber! Hop on and let’s go.”
Alec hesitated, but Vio wasn’t going to take no for an answer. The snow wolf’s mind was made up.
“All right, if you insist. But don’t push yourself too hard. Like I said before, I’m pretty heavy.”
The snow wolf woofed happily, howled, then lowered his body.
“On you get.”
“Shiori, after you.”
“Erm, okay.”
With Alec’s help, Shiori hopped onto the snow wolf’s back. Alec told her to hold her knapsack in her lap, which she did. He then leapt on behind her and wrapped her securely in his powerful arms.
“I’ve got you,” he said. “You just hold on to Vio’s mane.”
“Okay, got it.”
Vio let her know where to hold, and Shiori gripped the hair near the roots. The two slimes then crawled up and wrapped themselves around the wolf’s body.
“We’re ready when you are,” said Alec. “You don’t have to run, okay?”
Vio barked his response and took off at a brisk trot. It wasn’t a full-blown sprint by any means, but still much faster than the adventurers could have managed on foot. It was about the same speed as a station carriage, and perhaps even a little faster. At this rate, Shiori expected them to reach Tris in about an hour.
“I feel so much steadier than I was expecting,” uttered Shiori. “Is Vio factoring our weight into how he’s moving?”
“Looks like it. But it feels to me like he’s done this before.”
As it turned out, the adventurers were the first humans that Violid had ever carried, though he had helped lost young magical beasts back to their families on a number of occasions. Many of them weren’t exactly grateful, especially with the snow wolf’s reputation, but Violid simply couldn’t stand by and do nothing.
“You’re so kind,” said Shiori.
Vio replied with a bark that said, “I just couldn’t bear to leave them to their own devices.”
The snow wolf jogged the rest of the way to Tris in silence.
The adventurers were stopped by knights just once on their way back to town, but Caspar’s letter was all the proof they needed, and the adventurers weren’t hounded with questions. Still, Shiori and Alec used it as a chance to rest and gather some information about what was going on. They learned that the northern knight corps had already left Tris.
“Unfortunately for us, we’re on guard duty,” chuckled one of the guards with a touch of regret.
“Garrison knights have been ordered to protect the areas in which they’re stationed,” added the other.
“We’re proud of ourselves as knights, and we’d be lying if we said we didn’t want to be out there on the front lines proving our mettle. But it’s our job to defend the nation’s citizens. We’re trying not to be too pessimistic about it, but...it’s easier for us than it is for the younger knights.”
In times of emergency, some knights were of course ordered to remain at their garrison, but because they were not playing an active role in things, many young knights saw this as not unlike a demotion. For knights who wanted to take part in battle and, by doing so, achieve greatness, defending quiet regions and the smaller villages within them was unsatisfying.
“If they knew just a little about the history of the Empire, they’d know better,” muttered Alec. “If you pour all your energy into offense and neglect your defenses, you may discover that you’ve lost the very thing you were trying to defend in the first place. After that, it’s all over. That said, I do understand how they must feel, all the same.”
Alec’s words expressed the very thoughts of the two middle-aged knights they were talking to. And it wasn’t uncommon for Alec to sometimes talk about the Empire in this way, as if he’d been there himself. This was naturally due to him being well studied with regards to Imperial history, of this there was no doubt—but Shiori also couldn’t help wondering if, at some point in his life, he’d really been there.
“So what’s the situation?” asked Alec. “I noticed there aren’t as many people on the roads as usual.”
“They’re strictly regulating travel from Tris to the north,” replied one knight. “That’s probably having an impact on things here too. There’s been no order to stay indoors yet, but I daresay it’s just a matter of time before one is given.”
“I see. And how are things at the epicenter, in the north? Have you heard anything?”
“The monster at the heart of it all appeared near the frozen lake,” said the knight, lowering his voice. “Apparently, a group of hunters that just happened to be there at the time was attacked. There have been small-scale stampedes as a result, but we still don’t know if they’re going to get any bigger.”
“The frozen lake?” Alec uttered in surprise. “And it’s a dragon-type magical beast? If it’s some kind of joke, I’m not laughing.”
“None of us wants to think about it much. To be honest, we’re all hoping it’s another one of those experiments that have been roaming around.”
The only frozen lake in these parts was the Dima Frozen Lake. Located near the former Imperial border, the lake was frozen all year round, and in legends it was said that an ice dragon lay in slumber beneath its surface. In the age of mythology, the dragon was said to have ruled the lands and turned them into an icy wasteland, until the day that it had been sealed away after a fierce battle with a hero said to be the Empire’s forefather.
“There’s also some concern that this might cause the refugees to panic,” said one knight. “A lot of them are awfully sick of life at the camps, and their situation has dragged on for a while now. The legend of the ice dragon originates from the Empire, and there’s already a worry that the slightest thing might set them off.”
“Do you mean there’s a chance they might...riot?” asked Shiori.
“So the knights have that on their plate too, huh?” uttered Alec.
“Yep. They’ve had to divide their forces to accommodate both areas of concern. A riot is unlikely, sure, but if it happens, then there’s no way the knights can handle it all on their own. I reckon it’s likely they’ll reach out to the guilds for support.”
“Yeah, we actually just received a message about it,” said Alec. “In any case, it looks like we’d best hurry.”
“Yes,” agreed Shiori.
“Woof,” added Violid.
Shiori wasn’t used to riding magical beasts, and so the short break had been as good for her as it had been for Violid. The two slimes, too, wobbled to announce they were good to go.
“Then let’s hit the road,” said Alec, and then, to the knights: “Do your best out there.”
“We will. Give it a good effort for us, would you?”
Instead of the usual salute, the two knights thrust out their gauntlet-covered hands. In the strong handshakes they shared with Alec was the swirl of emotions they felt at being unable to stand at the front lines themselves.
Tris wasn’t far now, and Violid picked up his pace, keen on performing above expectations on his impromptu “first job.” The adventurers reached Tris quickly and flew through the western gates, which were only half open due to the state of emergency. They completed the paperwork to enter, then headed straight for the Guild, where Zack was waiting for them, completely decked out in his adventuring equipment.
Shiori gasped at the sight of her older brother. She realized then that the guild master himself was going to lead the adventuring forces headed for the north.