Chapter 84: You Have to Lay the Bait Before You Need It (1)

It was a night growing deep.

The knights of the Kanas Territory, except for those on night duty, were fast asleep in their quarters.

Except for those who had families, most had been living in the barracks continuously.

Then, perhaps because he was thirsty, the youngest knight, Cayman, quietly opened his eyes.

“Mm……”

Rising from his bed, Cayman carefully walked toward the desk where a water jug was placed, cautious not to wake the senior knights.

When he quietly arrived in front of the desk, he reached out to lift the bronze kettle.

At that very moment, a chill ran down his spine.

A pair of red eyes glimmered behind him—eyes that glowed with golden light.

Beneath them was a chilling smile.

“……!”

Startled by the eerie presence, Cayman turned around in an instant—and lost consciousness.

It was right before the ship’s departure for trade.

As morning broke, Patrick entered Raion’s room.

However, Raion was nowhere to be seen. Only a letter was left on the desk.

Patrick read the letter, his hands trembling slightly.

[I’m going to meet my maternal grandfather. Jade and Caldein will be setting sail soon, and Calsios has to guard the entrance to the territory. So, please look after the lord’s castle for me. It’s really important, so I’ll just be away for a short while. If something urgent comes up, contact me through the post.]

[Raion Canel]

“Master―!”

Patrick’s shout echoed throughout the lord’s mansion.

A moment later, a startled Shtefan rushed into the room.

“W-what’s going on!?”

“Phew… The Master has disappeared.”

“What? His Highness has?”

Patrick handed him the letter.

After reading it, Shtefan’s face turned blank in disbelief.

Meanwhile, the knights outside, having heard Patrick’s shout, rushed in belatedly.

“Are you all right? What happened?”

“Haa… What in the world…”

Seeing Shtefan’s baffled reaction, the knight commander, Alkas Derion, stood there without understanding a thing.

“Did something happen to His Highness?”

“It seems the prince caused some trouble. But tell me, have you all not even dressed properly yet?”

Several knights, including Alkas, were in casual attire rather than armor.

It was already time they should have been prepared, which made Shtefan find it strange.

Alkas, looking troubled by the question, opened his mouth.

“Actually, Cayman is missing. He was definitely asleep with us in the quarters last night… I even saw him get up to drink water in the middle of the night.”

“Ah…!”

Shtefan handed him the letter.

Alkas’s reaction upon reading it was no different from the others.

Then, upon reaching the last line, he let out a horrified shout.

[P.S. I took Cayman with me in case I get bored.]

The missing Cayman had been taken by Raion.

But it was impossible for Cayman to sneak out of the dorm unnoticed—

since senior knights were sleeping all around him.

“How could he have slipped out without a sound…?”

Patrick was the one who answered Alkas’s question.

“Most likely, Master secretly went into the knights’ quarters and kidnapped him.”

“How could such a thing…”

If it hadn’t been the prince but an assassin, the entire group of knights would have been slaughtered in an instant.

Imagining that, both Alkas and the others felt a chill crawl down their spines.

Still, Alkas was most concerned about the youngest, Cayman.

“Will Cayman be all right?”

Patrick slowly shook his head.

“He’ll survive, I’m sure. But I can’t say he’ll come back in one piece.”

For some reason, he recalled the time back at Taron’s Palace when Jade had undergone training.

***

A vast ocean spread out before him.

Cayman, immersed up to his chest, felt the warmth of sunlight and the coolness of the sea.

“Wow∼!”

Overcome with joy, he floated on his back and began to swim.

With wide strokes, he split through the water, gliding forward swiftly.

“It feels so nice and cool!”

Splash! Splash!

The sound of waves being cut echoed around him.

Then, suddenly, night fell. The world darkened—and the scenery changed.

“Huh…?”

As his vision gradually brightened again, an unfamiliar cave came into view.

Everything up to now had been a dream.

“Huh?”

Cayman realized that he was slung over someone’s shoulder.

When he turned his head, he saw the back of a familiar red-haired man.

“N-no way…”

Whip―!

In that instant, the red-haired man threw Cayman to the ground.

“Since you’re awake, how about walking on your own from now on?”

The man was none other than Raion.

Cayman still hadn’t grasped the situation.

“Your Highness!”

“Yeah, it’s me. Since you’re awake, how about getting up off the ground?”

“Ah! My apologies. But where are we…?”

Cayman looked around.

The cave was large and dark—hard to make sense of.

“Under the Clamen Mountains.”

“There’s such a cave here? But why am I here… Wait, don’t tell me—Your Highness, last night…”

The red eyes he had seen before losing consciousness overlapped perfectly with Raion’s.

“I had to bring you quietly, that’s all.”

“What in the world for… And where are we going?”

“I’ve got business in a northern border territory of the kingdom. But are you planning to stay dressed like that?”

Cayman was still in the casual clothes he’d been wearing when Raion abducted him.

“Ah… My armor and sword are back at the knights’ quarters. I should really go back for them.”

Feeling uneasy, Cayman subtly tried to hint at returning.

Of course, Raion had no intention of letting him go.

“I figured you’d say that, so I brought them along. Storage.”

As he spoke, a dimensional storage opened in midair, and Cayman’s armor, boots, and sword were taken out.

“……”

“Well? Why aren’t you putting them on?”

“Why me, though?”

“Because you’re the weakest among the knights. Think of it as accompanying me for training.”

“Ha…!”

Unable to find a way to escape, Cayman could only sigh deeply in silence.

In the end, with no other choice, he reluctantly donned his armor and strapped his sword to his waist.

Clank! Clank!

“Hmm? This doesn’t look like my armor.”

While the basic structure was similar, the embossed crest on the chest plate was different.

“It’s from a house I made up temporarily—Dragonia. If you ever need to identify yourself, just say you’re a knight from a house under the Arenvatz Territory.”

As Raion spoke, he tossed him a metal identification badge.

On it was Cayman’s name engraved alongside a blue dragon emblem representing Dragonia.

“Isn’t impersonating nobility a serious crime?”

“It’s fine if royalty does it. Besides, it’s not like it would do any good if my movements were exposed.”

For now, the Duke Alito’s intelligence network would have a hard time operating within the Clamen Mountains.

But outside the range, things were different.

If they happened to encounter nobles under Alito’s command, they would need a false identity to deceive them.

“Then this strange snake-like pattern… is that also from that house?”

Originally, the knights of the Kanas Territory bore a double-headed eagle crest.

“It’s also a kind of dragon. The name Dragonia comes from that word.”

“This snake is supposed to be a dragon?”

Smack―!

Raion slapped Cayman’s head with his palm as he walked past.

“Stop talking back and just follow me. We’ve already wasted time because I had to carry you here.”

“Ah, yes, Your Highness.”

Their pace quickened as they made their way toward the exit of the cave.

The Forest of the Fallen Warriors was located at the northeastern end of the Clamen Mountains.

Hundreds of years ago, monsters had poured out from the Clamen range.

Back then, the allied subjugation force from Praizen and Malren had fought to stop them—only to be defeated.

Since then, the two ruling families of the region had lost their heirs, and other nobles took over their lands.

As time passed, the Forest of the Fallen Warriors had become somewhat settled.

Yet terrifying monsters still appeared there.

High-ranking mercenaries and adventurers often came to hunt those creatures.

Clang! Clash!

It was such a scene even now.

Two warriors and a single mage had formed a party, fighting against a troll.

The warriors stood in front, skillfully swinging their swords and maces.

Behind them, the female mage began preparing her spell, brandishing a staff as tall as she was.

“Lightning Lance!”

Her mana flowed through the spell circle drawn in the air and was channeled into her staff.

From its tip, a surge of blue lightning burst forth, striking the troll.

Bzzzzzt—!

“GRAAAAAAH!”

The troll screamed as the electricity coursed through its body.

However, it didn’t stop swinging its mace, still trying to crush the two men.

Thud! Thud!

The mace cut through the air and slammed into the ground.

The troll’s attacks didn’t stop there—it swept the weapon sideways.

“Howard, roll forward!”

One of the mercenaries failed to hear his leader Allen’s warning in time.

Startled, Howard raised his arms reflexively.

The mace came crashing down on him.

Thud—! Boom!

Slammed into a tree, Howard couldn’t stand due to his depleted stamina.

“Ugh…!”

“Howard! Are you all right!?”

The female mage, Aizel, cried out in worry as she hurriedly prepared her next spell.

“Be careful! Allen!”

“I’m fine! Just get the spell ready!”

Though they had attacked relentlessly, the troll’s rapid regeneration and thick hide made both sword and mace nearly useless.

Magic was their only hope.

Yet even the advanced 3rd Circle attack spell Lightning Lance hadn’t worked.

“Just a little longer!”

Aizel began drawing the spell circle for the 3rd Circle fire spell, Fire Lance.

“Khugh!”

Suddenly, she stumbled before completing the circle.

“Aizel!”

Her mana was completely drained.

Seeing her falter, Allen lost focus while dodging the troll’s attack and stumbled.

“GRAAAAH!”

With a roar, the troll charged, swinging its mace.

Allen, momentarily disoriented, failed to judge its attack range.

Clang!

The mace shattered his sword in two.

Like Howard earlier, Allen rolled across the ground, battered by the impact.

“What kind of troll is this…?”

They had attacked with both magic and steel for a long while—

yet the troll was still brimming with strength.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

“GRAAAAAAH!”

The enraged troll stared at the three fallen humans, taking heavy steps toward them.

Its eyes gleamed as though it might devour them at any moment.

“A-Aizel! R-run!”

The troll’s target was the mage—Aizel—who was still on her knees, unable to move.

Allen shouted desperately upon seeing it.

But Aizel, suffering from internal injuries due to mana overexertion, could hardly move an inch.

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