After all, the Church had plenty of mages and wielders of special skills to go around. There was no telling if someone out there could reconstruct the details of the conversation we’d had there in my father’s office in the Olipiage house, even days after the fact. There were plausible whispers that people with those kinds of skills actually existed.
I’d tried to ask the soldiers about it, but they’d maintained silence toward me. That was disappointing, since we’d been able to have cordial conversations back when I was at home. But they had families of their own to consider, so they had to keep their jobs and stay loyal to the Olipiage family.
In other words, after they left me someplace, they had a duty to return to the house and deal with the Church’s rigorous questioning. In those circumstances, we could expect the Church to use any of the means at its disposal. It was entirely conceivable that they might even have their minds read.
Are there really any special skill-wielders who can do that? I had my doubts...but the Church’s track record made it seem like the only explanation.
For just one concrete example, a child of a prominent figure had supposedly been hidden somewhere where nobody would ever find them, but was rescued after interrogating just one man. A man who hadn’t said a single word.
Exercising caution was about the only thing you could do.
While I contemplated this, the canopy of the coach rustled open and a familiar face peeked in. It was Bach Rogue, the captain of the Duke of Olipiage’s knights who were escorting the coach. He had stern features and a serious look in his eyes. He was also the one who had taught me how to use a sword. Thanks to that, we’d had a pretty friendly relationship before, but...
“Noah. Get out,” he curtly ordered me to exit the coach.
This was by no means the first time he’d taken a tone of authority with me, so it wasn’t startling. During my swordsmanship lessons, he always spoke harshly and forcefully so I wouldn’t be coddled. But otherwise, he never forgot his manners. Hearing him speak so sternly to me like this made it clear that my status really had drastically changed.
I thought I’d mostly come to terms with the fact, but having it thrust in my face so bluntly made me feel unexpectedly...sad? Or perhaps the right word was “empty.”
My exile guaranteed the bare minimum of safety for my parents and brother. I was okay with being a necessary sacrifice for them. But I couldn’t go back anymore. I couldn’t return to the light or ever live a happy life again. My sentence had been pronounced.
Moreover, I was about to be ditched who-knows-where. It was almost like I was just being told to go die. Actually, that was pretty much the case.
I’m starting to really hate this.
Bach pulled me out. Once I was beyond the canopy, I found myself in a forest so dense that there was hardly a road through it anymore. The only tracks on the ground were the furrows left by the coach I’d been in and the horseshoe prints of the knights’ steeds. Everywhere else was overgrown with unchecked, moss-covered tree roots. It wasn’t a current road—it had probably been in use ages ago and then been abandoned a while back, while still being maintained by the wild animals and people with unsavory professions who passed through occasionally.
That was probably the story here, right?
They weren’t really going to abandon me here, were they?
I’d naively hoped that they’d at least leave me at a village or something, but I never would’ve expected that they’d seriously bring me somewhere completely uninhabited.
To be fair, going to a populated area as an exiled noble meant running the risk of getting mobbed, but I’d heard that if I could just grit my teeth and work hard for a while, there was some chance that I could be accepted as one of the villagers. I’d placed my hopes on that possibility...but I’d been completely off the mark.
What am I supposed to do?
What’s going to happen to me?
As these kinds of thoughts raced through my mind, Bach explained things. “This is the western region of the kingdom. Strictly speaking, this area isn’t incorporated into the Oraculum Kingdom. It’s a place commonly known as the Purgatory Forest. Noah, you’ve heard of it before, haven’t you?”
“P-Purgatory Forest?! Are you serious?! If you leave me here, I really will die!”
The words “Purgatory Forest” shook me to the core. When I saw that they had brought me to an uninhabited forest, I’d expected it’d be some small grove in a sparsely populated region, far away from the urban areas. But this was infamous for being monster territory.
Sure enough, monster territories had no people around, were located beyond the kingdom’s lands, and were definitely remote. That wasn’t the issue here, though. What was extremely problematic for me was that these were places where powerful monsters dwelled, determined over a long period of time to be unfit for human residence. Anyone who could survive after being abandoned in such a place would have to be a warrior or mage with an inhuman level of strength.
And you’re leaving me here?! Give me a break, seriously! I clung to Bach and his knights, who had merrily begun preparations to return home already. “W-Wait, please! Can’t you just drop me off a little closer to civilization? In this place, there’s no way I can—”
Despite my pleading, Bach callously peeled me off. “Noah. This is an order from the master. It cannot be disobeyed. Give it up,” he replied gravely. He didn’t tear me away roughly, but rather with the tough love of a teacher admonishing his rebellious student. It gave me a little bit of comfort, but this was still a death sentence, so it was no real help whatsoever.
Bach continued. “I’m leaving you with a few days’ worth of rations and a short sword. This is a parting gift from the master and myself. I’m not supposed to say this, but... Noah? Don’t give in. Survive. I won’t say this is goodbye forever. Farewell.”
With those final words, he took the lead of the coach and went off into the distance.
I stayed there for a while, at a loss.
“Don’t give in”? Even if I choose to not give up in this situation, I’ll still die within a few days anyway, won’t I?
Doubts swirled around nonstop inside my head.
∗ ∗ ∗