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In the world, there were quite a few mountains where rockfalls continued perpetually.

Physically speaking, it might sound absurd, and one would think that the mountain would eventually disappear, but the fact was that they existed, so there was no use denying it.

Some said that rocks in the valley bottom melt and vanish, returning to a part of the mountain, and then falling again… but Kafal tilted her head in skepticism upon hearing this, so that was perhaps too dubious even as a theory.

Even in such mountains, people choose to dwell.

“Living” mountains were invariably fertile lands where robust crops thrived.

Naturally, there were accompanying difficulties, but humans, as a species, somehow managed to come up with ways to deal with them.

A sturdy carriage, almost like a safe, traveled along a road carved out of a rocky mountain. The road was reasonably wide, but on the left side, there was a deep valley, and on the right side, there was a steep cliff. Moreover, from the top of that cliff, rockfalls occurred one after another, rolling down, crossing the road, and tumbling into the valley.

On the sturdy carriage, there was a small second-floor seat with a robust roof.

A man with a twisted cane sat there, constantly watching the cliff on the right, where rocks were tumbling down in the direction of travel.

“Rock!”
“Rock!”

The coachman and the ‘Rock Watcher’ yelled at the same time.

There was a route of falling rocks that would directly hit the carriage if they continued like this.

The ‘Rock Watcher’ assessed the situation and waved his cane.

This was the ‘Gnome’s Left-hand Cane,’ a magical item. It could freely change the shape of earth and stones, and adventurers often used it. The light emanating from the cane pierced through the falling rocks without missing its aim, turning them into dust that scattered in the wind.

“Quite a spectacle. So this is your daily life…”

Looking out through the latticed, unopenable glass window, Lucella marveled.

To prevent inhaling the dust when breaking rocks, the carriage had high confidentiality. The compartments for passengers, the coachman’s seat, and the exposed second floor were strictly separated. Additionally, for dust protection, crow-like masks were prepared for everyone. The coachman and the Rock Watcher wore these.

Lucella in the passenger compartment didn’t feel the need for a mask, but in a poor-quality carriage, even the inside of the passenger compartment would become dusty, necessitating the use of masks.

Kafal seemed intrigued by the peculiar masks, and sat while wearing the crow-face that hid her expression.

Monica initially observed the crow masks with interest, but now she seemed a bit bored, gazing out of the window toward the opposite side of the cliff.

Lucella found this strange.

“Is something wrong?”
“It’s nothing. Just feeling a bit queasy on this unfamiliar mountain road.”
“Don’t lie.”

Her voice was slightly louder and firmer than usual.

Monica’s words sounded like a lie. Simultaneously, the urgency of what would happen if her words were indeed false was pressing on Lucella.

Even in the shaky and unstable interior, Lucella stood firmly.

She peered into Monica’s azure eyes.

“…I’m sorry.”

Surprisingly, Monica, as if yielding to the pressure of the gaze, averted her eyes a little and uttered an apology. Lucella remained still.

“What?”
“Didn’t expect you to apologize…”
“What do you take me for?”

Monica seemed annoyed, but given their interaction so far, Lucella felt it was understandable and wanted to assert that.

“Please stop the carriage. I’ll perform a little healing.”

In the midst of the lively mountain road, where rocks were rolling down, the carriage came to a halt.

Lucella and Monica descended from the carriage and began a ritual.

Around Monica, water danced, and the once rigid road turned into a muddy slush.

Manipulating the principles of ‘water,’ a part of the world’s laws, Lucella created flows, which painted over and eliminated others. The voice of ‘Wisdom Eye Vortex’—the rope around Monica’s neck— was temporarily severed.

“Rock!”
“It’s okay.”

A single rock was rolling down the route that would have hit the carriage and the two of them directly. However, it was ground to dust well before reaching the carriage.

Much like how a rock, carried by river, would be pebbles by the time it reached the sea, it wore down at an unimaginable speed, eventually disappearing into the cliff’s face like mud splatter.

“Why did you notice I wasn’t feeling well? Does it show on my face so much?”
“It’s not like that, but…”

Amidst the swirling water droplets in the air, Monica asked Lucella, while covering her hair so it wouldn’t get wet.

“I’ve seen someone pretending to be okay even when she was suffering. I can somehow sense how tough it really is… and it’s painful to watch.”

The reasons for putting on a brave front might be different for each of them, but there was still a shared understanding.

Giselle carried a curse that led to a fatal illness, yet she never complained. She remained resolute until the end. Perhaps it was her stubbornness, or maybe it was because she accepted everything. Perhaps she didn’t want to burden ■■■■■ with worry. Remembering this, Lucella couldn’t help but feel a sense of sorrow at the sad reality that she never had the capacity to be relied on by her.

“Lucella, apparently talking about the women of the past during times like this makes people dislike you.”
“Did Viola make you read some disturbing books?”

Kafal, with the crow mask on, brought life-prolonging elixir, and while Monica drank it, her expression remained disgruntled.

“Bah-choo!”
“…That’s quite a peculiar sneeze.”

During the incantation, Viola sneezed, and Tim chuckled.

“No, no, without a doubt, this is a mage’s intuition that someone is gossiping about me.”
“We’re probably being talked about by someone, somewhere, all year round.”
“Absolutely, especially now.”

As he spoke, Tim stepped forward, his heavy armor clanking, and swung his greatsword like a whirlwind. The ridiculously oversized greatsword cleaved through the torsos of two human-shaped figures in one go.

The severed entities scattered like the spray of spilled water, disappearing.

Next came an attack from a water sword. Water formed into the shape of a sword and swung with precision. Although it appeared as mere water, its cutting power was tremendous. Anything less than robust armor would be sliced cleanly in two along with the one donning it.

With minimal movement, Tim blocked the attack with the thickest part of his shoulder guard. His Adamantite superheavy armor only suffered a minor graze.

“Though they went on a trip only in appearance… I wonder if Monica is enjoying it.”
“Why the sudden concern?”
“It just suddenly came into mind. No, well, it won’t be an understatement to say that it has always been on my mind.”
“Well, you know, despite appearances, she’s surprisingly earnest and straightforward.”

Wein rotated close to the ground, somersaulted, and then executed a mid-air flip using only the spring of his legs to dodge all the lethal attacks.

Furthermore, in mid-air, he pulled out knives from his sleeves and threw all four simultaneously. Each knife pierced the chest of one of the four ‘enemies.’

The ‘enemies’ seemed to show little damage, and with the knives still embedded in their chests, they continued to approach him. However, Wein landed, somersaulted twice in quick succession to create distance, bounced back up, and snapped his fingers, causing the four knives to gleam.

Dazzling electric flashes raced between the knives.

“You sound like you understand her well.”
“She’s just sulking towards the entire world, right? Considering the life she’s had, it’s amazing that she’s only sulking, to be honest.”

After the lightning bolt streaked through, there was no longer any trace of the ‘enemies.’ They seemed to have evaporated.

Wein kicked up one of the knives and picked up the falling knife with his sleeve.

“Let’s leave it to Lucella.”
“…There’s no other choice, and it’s worth trusting her.”
“Well, we’ll do what we can. If ‘Wisdom Eye Vortex’ reaches Gufare, then at that time…”

The three of them stepped back, closing the distance between them, and stood back to back.

“How about a sightseeing tour of Gufare together?”
“Oh, that sounds good. I’ve always wanted to try a waterfall climbing tour.”
“You guys, seriously.”

In response to the carefree words of the two, Tim expressed his discontent with a sigh.

“I know I know. Let’s make sure to prepare a proper welcome.”

The three members of the Golden Helmet—excluding Lucella—were already members of the Gufare Union. Their current location was the western edge of Gufare, which meant it was the battlefield between Gufare and Maltgartz.

The three were surrounded by ‘enemies.’

They weren’t soldiers from Maltgartz; they were something more otherworldly and incomprehensible.

“■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■”
“■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■”

They had a humanoid form, speaking in a language different from human speech but with some semblance of pattern. Transparent water-like masses took on a human shape, wielding swords made of water, and then they attacked.

They didn’t communicate or coordinate in conversation with each other. They simply expressed something to the three.

It was something sorrowful and heartfelt.

“But what are these things, really?”
“Who knows. I’ve encountered similar monsters and spirits, but they give me the impression of golems. In any case, it’s intriguing.”

The battlefield was now in utter chaos.

Mysterious water figures appeared from nowhere, indiscriminately attacking anyone in their path. Contrary to appearances, they were formidable—numerous and solely focused on killing. Both sides in the war were forced to halt their engagements as they desperately fought against the water figures.

In response, adventurers were also called upon.

The Golden Helmet members had been hired by the Gufare Union to assist. While adventurers weren’t mercenaries and fundamentally didn’t take part in wars, they often contributed indirectly by undertaking tasks like monster extermination.

“What’s certain is that we can defeat them.” Viola declared as she swung her staff. A thunderclap roared through the clear sky, transforming into arrows from the heavens that obliterated the water figures.

The three supposed the appearance of the water figures was likely connected to dragons or the Regalia. The “Wisdom Eye Vortex” was currently heading their way, and sensing some kind of omen, the Golden Helmet members set out for Gufare.

They prayed for nothing extraordinary to happen and for their mission to be a mere business trip.