As they advanced, Elias briefly summarized his background—his upbringing, his rise to knighthood, and his recent appointment as a Holy Knight, which had led to his reassignment from the Eastern front to the North.
Misheana listened attentively without interrupting, and once he had finished, Elias decided to ask her a question in return.
“For those working on the Northern frontier, do you ever hear much about what happens in the East?”
Misheana tilted her head slightly before replying.
“Not really. At least, not that I’ve heard.”
She then turned to her companions.
“What about you guys?”
One by one, her comrades shook their heads.
“Yeah, seems like information about the East doesn’t really reach the capital or the North.”
Elias frowned slightly.
“…You mentioned ‘frontier experience’ earlier?”
Misheana nodded.
“Yep. My three companions have been on the frontier for at least five years.”
Elias glanced at her.
“And you…?”
He was about to ask further, but after observing her youthful appearance, he reconsidered.
“I started at seventeen, so I’ve been here for about half a year.”
“…You earned the title of Hero in just six months?”
The word “prodigy” immediately came to mind.
“Did your companions form a party to support you?”
“Pretty much. Though honestly, I spend most of my time realizing how weak I still am.”
Misheana chuckled wryly. Elias had no doubt that before coming to the North, she had been winning every battle without difficulty.
“How exactly did you become a Hero?”
“Huh? I just trained hard, then went on a monster-slaying spree until the kingdom recognized me.”
“Reckless charge, huh…”
“Pretty much. I originally planned to come to the North alone, but these three insisted on tagging along.”
“She wouldn’t listen when we told her it was insane to go solo.”
The warrior in her party, a broad-shouldered man, let out an exasperated sigh.
The others exchanged knowing smirks.
“Even the monsters we fought today would’ve been a pain if you had faced them alone. We were lucky you showed up.”
“So you weren’t worried about losing, just… taking unnecessary injuries?”
“Exactly.”
Elias folded his arms.
“I don’t have much perspective on these things, but how is her strength generally evaluated?”
The warrior took a moment to consider.
“Compared to legendary heroes, she still has a ways to go. But among rising stars? Easily at the top.”
Misheana grinned.
“Fufun~.”
Her companion sighed, rubbing his temples.
“As a general rule, a hero should be able to defeat Danger Level Two monsters solo. If it’s Level Three, though… it depends. There’s a wide range in that category.”
“Agreed.”
Elias recalled the pack of wolves they had fought earlier.
“Individually, they were Level Two, but as a pack, their collective threat level increased. And if there’s a leader among them, extermination will require an entire force of knights and warriors.”
“Which is exactly what we’re trying to find out.”
Misheana nodded as they continued deeper into the mountains.
The terrain gradually steepened, signaling their approach to the true frontier.
Some of the knights likely expected they would push all the way to the front lines—but when Elias stopped to scan the surroundings, he noticed something unexpected.
“The monster trail veers away from the front lines… It’s heading northeast.”
He pulled out a map.
“Hmm… If we head northeast, we’ll reach a break in the mountains—there’s a gorge there.”
One of the knights spoke up.
“That area has been left undeveloped. The terrain is too difficult to work with.”
“A gorge, steep cliffs, and dense, uncharted forests… along with rocky outcrops that are nearly impossible to traverse.”
(…That sounds similar to the Eastern front.)
Elias glanced at Frenn, who nodded slightly.
(Uninhabited zones tend to breed troublesome monsters… Because no humans venture there, any creatures that settle in remain undisturbed, with no natural predators to cull them. And since monsters grow stronger with age…)
“We won’t go deep into the gorge itself, but can we approach its edge?”
He turned to one of the knights.
“The monster trail is definitely leading northeast. I want to get a visual of the terrain.”
“It should be possible, but we’ll need to remain on high alert. That area is rarely visited.”
The knight then turned to Misheana.
“Will that be acceptable, Hero Misheana?”
“Yeah, no problem.”
With their next objective set, the group altered course northeast.
As they neared their target, Elias sensed something.
“Even from this distance… I can feel them. There are a lot of them.”
Frenn’s gaze sharpened.
“That’s what concerns me.”
Elias turned to her.
“What do you mean?”
“If these monsters really came from a region untouched by humans, then they weren’t displaced by expansion.”
She looked toward the distant gorge.
“So why did they suddenly leave their domain?”
A chill settled over the group.
Several knights turned their gazes to Frenn, clearly considering her words carefully.
Elias frowned.
“The geography might differ between the East and the North, but monster behavior remains constant.”
Frenn continued, her voice even.
“Once monsters establish a territory, they rarely expand beyond it—unless something forces them out.”
Elias narrowed his eyes.
“That leaves us with three possibilities.”
Misheana’s eyes flicked to him.
“What are they?”
“The first possibility…”
Elias began, speaking loud enough for everyone to hear.
“The knights’ expansion efforts may have unknowingly encroached upon their territory. If the wolves already had a large hunting ground, they might simply be driving humans away.”
But then he shook his head.
“However, in that case, there would be no reason for them to appear near our fortress. If they were merely trying to reclaim their land, they wouldn’t need to travel that far.”
Misheana nodded slowly.
“Makes sense… What’s the second possibility?”
Elias exhaled.
“The monsters’ behavior itself has changed.”
His voice grew sharper as he continued.
“Something has disturbed them. A change that caused them to break their usual patterns.”
The knights stiffened at his words.
And deep within his mind, Elias felt a lingering premonition—
That whatever had caused this disturbance…
Was only just beginning.