Chapter 47: Interlude: Past Chapter 7 – A Few Reasons Why Mira Broke

That night, Mira made a request to her mother, Emma.

“Mother, I apologize, but I’m feeling a bit under the weather. Would it be all right if I took tomorrow off from guild work?”

Emma seemed surprised by her daughter’s request but quickly showed a worried expression.

Originally, Emma hadn’t been particularly in favor of Mira helping with guild work. It was a parent’s natural instinct to keep her daughter away from the dangerous world of adventurers.

“Oh my, Mira. Are you all right? You don’t look well either… I understand. Rest as much as you need. Don’t worry about the guild.”

At this unprecedented request from a daughter who had never once taken a day off, Emma was especially concerned about Mira’s condition. But Mira simply answered, “I’m just a bit tired,” and quickly retreated to her room.

Of course, Mira’s claim of being unwell was a lie. A pang of guilt stabbed at her chest for deceiving her mother, but even so, her resolve didn’t waver.

The real reason Mira was taking the day off—it was to reconfirm her own abilities and reclaim the pride and self-esteem that had been severely shaken by yesterday’s incident.

For that, she needed visible results. Results so difficult that ordinary adventurers couldn’t achieve them. What Mira had in mind was retrieving a rare material that could supposedly only be gathered deep within the Great Forest—moonlight stone—which emitted a faint glow in darkness and traded for high prices.

Mira had secretly ventured alone into the Great Forest several times before, hiding it from her mother, conducting training expeditions to hone herself. So she thought she understood, to some extent, both the terror of the Great Forest and her own limits.

This time will be fine too. I can go even deeper than before. I’m not that child from back then anymore.

That’s what Mira told herself.

The next morning, after preparing meticulously, Mira left the city in the still-dim early morning hours without anyone noticing and stepped into the Great Forest.

The Great Forest was vast and boundless, inhabited by a wide variety of magical beasts. As a basic rule, the farther you traveled from the city, the more dangerous the beasts became. Yesterday she had been rattled by the incident with Mikami, but today Mira was… at least at first… cautious.

She avoided combat with magical beasts as much as possible, erasing her presence as she moved through the forest. There were still unavoidable encounters, but with her natural speed and swordsmanship, she dealt with them swiftly and with minimal expenditure of energy.

The exploration proceeded smoothly overall. By the time the sun reached its zenith, Mira had reached the vicinity of an area she had previously reached and considered her limit.

Hmph… I knew it. I’m not a child anymore. I’m much stronger than any ordinary adventurer. Yesterday was… surely… Mikami must have used some illusion or stupid trick.

Mira muttered to herself, having nearly fully recovered her confidence.

Her destination was just ahead now. A cave that gaped open in the middle of a sheer cliff face.

Mira had previously confirmed from outside the faint light characteristic of moonlight stone emanating from within that cave.

However, when Mira had come this far before, she had hesitated to enter the cave and turned back. An unexplored cave deep in the Great Forest, not even on the maps. She had no idea what the interior was like or what dangerous magical beasts might lurk within. The risk was far too high to explore alone—that had been Mira’s calm judgment at the time. And that judgment was probably correct.

But today’s Mira was different. The overwhelming difference in ability Mikami had shown her. The humiliation of being treated like a child. The intense sense of urgency that she had to reclaim her fallen self-esteem. All of these dulled her calm judgment.

It’s fine… With my current strength, I’ll definitely be fine. I’m no longer just a child who needs protecting!

Mira strongly reassured herself, then carefully climbed the cliff and resolutely stepped into the cave.

Inside the cave it was dark, with humidity clinging to everything. As she proceeded deeper, only the pale bluish-white light emitted by moonlight stone growing on the walls served as her guide. After advancing for a while, she discovered a particularly large and beautifully glowing vein of moonlight stone.

Found it…! With this, surely…!

Mira nearly let out a cry of joy, and for just one instant, her vigilance slipped.

—That single moment of carelessness was fatal.

Shashasha!

From the darkness of the walls and ceiling, countless shadows attacked Mira all at once!

They were small magical beasts called Shadow Crawlers, skilled at lurking in shadows. Each individual wasn’t particularly powerful. However, there were many of them, they were agile, and their sharp claws could shatter rock. And most importantly, this was inside a narrow cave with poor footing.

“Damn…!”

Mira responded immediately, but the situation was dire. Close-quarters combat in a confined space with no escape routes. The sheer number of enemies attacking one after another. Her stamina depleted from the exploration so far. And… the fact that she had nearly exhausted the magic power in her magical tool—her trump card—during yesterday’s sparring match with Mikami.

Multiple misfortunes overlapped, and though Mira barely managed to repel the swarm of Shadow Crawlers, the price was far too steep. She had sustained countless cuts all over her body, and particularly on her left leg, where sharp claws had dug deep, making it impossible to walk properly.

Mira leaned against the wall, breathing heavily, staring at her wretched state and the dark depths of the cave. With these injuries, even escaping from this cave was hopeless. Much less traversing the monster-infested Great Forest to return to the city…

…Why… why did I… do something so reckless…?

Regret began to corrode Mira’s heart belatedly. The consequences of her own reckless actions. If this were a heroic tale sung by bards, perhaps help would conveniently appear right now, or a secret healing item would be discovered.

But this was reality. Such miracles don’t happen. Who in the world would come to rescue someone in a cave not even on the maps, deep in the Great Forest? Reality was always cruel and converged toward mundane endings.

The scenes Mira had witnessed at the guild reception with cold eyes. Adventurers who had overestimated their abilities, made reckless challenges, and never returned. Now she was about to become one of them. Yes… she too would have her name added to the list of the “Unreturned.”

Mira dragged her injured leg and collapsed onto the cold cave floor. Looking up weakly, she saw only dark, damp rock face spreading before her.

…Perhaps it would have been better… if those magical beasts had just killed me…

Rather than waiting here alone and immobile for death amidst gradually increasing hunger, pain, and fear…

How much time had passed? No light reached inside the cave, and all sense of time had long been lost. All she could hear were the eerie groans of magical beasts echoing from far away, or perhaps very close by.

Mira was still alive. But this slow march toward death was steadily eroding her psyche.

…I don’t want to die…

Fear dominated her entire body.

Before she knew it, hot tears overflowed endlessly from her eyes, and sobs escaped her lips. It was nothing more than the crying of a mere child—the voice she had suppressed while trying to act grown-up.

“…Mother…”

Unconsciously, she called the name of the person she trusted and loved most. Emma must be worried by now. She might be desperately searching for her daughter who hadn’t returned home.

…I’m sorry… Mother… I’ve caused… trouble again…

She had taken in an orphan like me and raised me with such care. And now, without repaying that debt even once, in a place like this…

Regret, fear, and thoughts of her mother mercilessly tormented Mira’s fragile heart in the darkness.

In the dark, damp cave, Mira was in complete despair. Her injured leg throbbed with intense pain, and she could no longer move even a single step. Her physical strength and willpower exhausted, she simply leaned against the cold rock face, waiting for the death that would slowly arrive. Tears mixing regret and fear silently streamed down her dirty cheeks.

…I don’t want to die… not in a place like this… without anyone knowing…

It was at that moment.

Gogogogogo… Zazaza…

From far away, a strange sound resembling tremors began to be heard, as if something was approaching. It gradually grew louder, transforming into an eerie sound like many beings scratching at the ground as they closed in.

…Magical beasts…? They caught the scent of blood… and finally came…

Mira stared with hollow eyes in the direction of the sound. There was fear, but even more than that, there was a twisted sense of relief that she might be freed from this gradual despair.

…But why now of all times…? Well, whatever… If anything, I’d rather it be quick…

Mira closed her eyes and resigned herself to her final moment. The rumbling approached right nearby, and the entire cave seemed to vibrate. Just as the sound reached its crescendo—

Standing silhouetted against the last light of dusk streaming through the cave entrance was a person Mira never could have expected.

“M-Mikami?!”

Mira involuntarily cried out. Before her eyes was unmistakably the form of that unreliable middle-aged adventurer she was so familiar with from the guild.

Wh-why…? Why is Mikami in a place like this…? A dream…? Is this some convenient illusion I’m seeing…?

However, the Mikami before her eyes wore an expression of real, pressing urgency—not an illusion.

“Thank goodness! Mira! You’re safe!”

He rushed over to Mira and, seeing her face, breathed a sigh of relief. But he immediately returned to a desperate expression.

“Sorry! Mira! There’s no time to explain right now! We need to get out of here!”

Saying that, before Mira could even respond with “Huh?”, Mikami lifted her injured body as if picking up a light package, holding her in a princess carry.

“Wait… Mikami?!”

Before Mira could finish her protest, Mikami had already started moving.

Unbelievable acceleration. The cave walls rushed backward at tremendous speed. Her body felt pressed by wind pressure.

In the blink of an eye, the two burst out of the cave and onto the surface. The sky was already stained with evening darkness, and night’s curtain was descending upon the forest.

Upon reaching the surface, Mikami stopped for just a moment, looking back with a grave expression toward the depths of the Great Forest. Mira, still held in his arms, timidly directed her gaze in that direction as well. And she gasped.

Trees were being mowed down, and with earth-shaking rumbles, massive shadows were heading their way. In the sky, multiple wyvern-like silhouettes—Ancient Wyverns she had only seen in old texts—soared, while on the ground, a Forest-Devouring Behemoth with a mountain-like massive frame roared, and sharp-clawed monster birds flew through the gaps between trees. Each one was a legendary-class magical beast said to be capable of toppling a nation single-handedly. And they were swarming toward them…!

“Ah… ah… what is… that…”

Mira trembled all over in fear and gripped Mikami’s clothes tightly.

However, Mikami acted as if Mira’s fear was nothing to worry about, scratching his head awkwardly.

“Ahaha… sorry, sorry… While I was running around everywhere looking for you, I kinda got lost. Before I knew it, I’d wandered really deep into the Great Forest. Then somehow these weird guys started chasing me persistently…”

W-weird guys?! Those?! Every single one of those is a legendary-class magical beast that could destroy a city—no, annihilate a kingdom—on its own!?

Mira screamed internally, but no sound came out.

Mikami, oblivious to Mira’s inner turmoil, prepared to start running again.

“Anyway, we’re in trouble if I don’t completely shake those guys off, so just bear with me a little longer!”

The next moment, at an even faster speed than before—one that could only be described as a violent storm—Mikami began racing through the Great Forest. Trees, rocks, scenery—everything seemed to dissolve as it flowed backward.

How much time had passed? In reality, it might have been only a few minutes. But for Mira, the experience was so overwhelming and intense with far too much information that it felt like an extremely long time.