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Howard Cloud had been feeling depressed that day.

He was guiding a one-horse cart pulled by a black horse, making his way home.

He wore a black sun hat and jacket over a white shirt, with gray hair and a mustache peeking out from beneath the hat. His posture as he steered the carriage was straight but uneven. His appearance alone suggested he was an honest man.

Beneath his dark eyebrows were a pair of sharp gray eyes, though they no longer seemed intimidating. Instead, his eyes carried a familiar warmth, now tinged with a hint of hesitation. His mouth, partially hidden by his beard, was slightly twisted, giving him a troubled and thoughtful expression.

Normally, the carriage would have carried Howard’s nephew, Will, who was returning to their home in Amukham. However, when Howard arrived at the stagecoach stop in Cope Town, he was met by the governor, who handed him a letter.

It was from Will, who had inevitably lost track of time due to a sudden exam. The letter was filled with polite apologies for not being able to keep his promise and well wishes for his aunt and uncle.

Will Cloud, the son of Howard’s younger brother Phillips, was a lively young man, 17 years old, and a second-year student at a high school in Dekenbel, one of the twelve cities.

Every summer, Will visited Amukham for a week, spending time with the Cloud family.

For the Clouds, who were now without children, Will’s visits had become an event they eagerly anticipated each year. Since enrolling in the school’s dormitory, Will was expected to visit at the start of every summer vacation.

Howard wondered how he could comfort his wife, Sonia. She had been looking forward to Will’s visit so much. For a week, she and their maid, Elrose, had joyfully prepared for his arrival. Howard could already imagine the disappointment in their eyes.

As he rode alone in his carriage on the way home, Howard sighed thoughtfully.

He understood that exams were sometimes scheduled unexpectedly at this time of year. And it was likely related to the disturbance in the Daypahra Mountains—the sacred mountain range where the gods were said to dwell. Two days had passed since something strange had occurred there.

Some claimed the mountains had shone, with numerous witnesses reporting flashes of light. After the lights, the clouds had parted, and the atmosphere itself had trembled. Everyone in the village had experienced the strange vibrations in the air.

The mountains had also changed shape— Even the peak of the biggest Mountain Dea had been carved away.

Rumors circulated that this was the wrath of the gods or a resurrection of evil deities.

Regardless, the impact on the surrounding regions was immeasurable. A survey team would likely need to be formed, making the organization of personnel an urgent priority.

Additionally, this strange phenomenon had occurred in the mountain of the gods. It was a matter of time before those who sought to deceive other people would appear and before the Demonic Beast began to move. Security would need to be strengthened against such dangers, and a shortage of labor was inevitable.

Will was an outstanding knight candidate student, and on-the-job training, masked as an exam, would likely be conducted to fill the vacancies caused by the redistribution of staff.

As Howard passed a side road in the Amukham Forest, his thoughts lingered on this.

The Amukham Forest lay at the northernmost edge of the village of Amukham, marking the country’s border.

The forest, which shared the village’s name, was part of the southernmost section of the vast Great Iroshio Forest, an endless stretch that covered the northern region of the country¹.

If something had gone wrong in the Daypahra Mountains, it would not be surprising if the Great Iroshio Forest, which spread out at the foot of the mountains, had been affected in some way. For the people of the village, guarding the Amukham Forest was an integral part of their lives and one of their most important duties.

No one knew the forest better than the villagers who lived alongside the Amukham Forest.

(If they’re serious about sending a full-scale survey team in the Great Iroshio Forest, they’ll undoubtedly pull people from the village. And it’s not even guaranteed they’ll be able to get through the forest to reach the Daypahra Mountains. Still, they’ll probably go as far as they can.)

Howard contemplated this as he drove the carriage.

At this moment, he was traveling westward on a side road, with the Amukham Forest to his right. A protective fence made of thick logs bordered the edge of the forest, and the road had been built right next to it. Although he didn’t need to take this road, Howard wanted to check on the current state of the forest.

In truth, he had chosen this roundabout route in a moment of weakness, as he was unsure of how he would explain Will’s absence to his wife.

It was then that Howard suddenly sensed something unusual in the forest.

The village served as both the guardian and manager of the Amukham Forest. There were no Demonic Beasts near the edge of the forest, extending about 200 to 300 meters inward, primarily because the villagers remained vigilant.

If a Demonic Beast was discovered, it was promptly dealt with.

And a weak Demonic Beast living on the forest’s periphery could easily be handled by any of the village’s children.

Occasionally, more powerful Demonic Beasts would emerge from the depths of the forest, but in such cases, the Village Guard took charge. In terms of pure combat strength, the Village Guard was as strong as the Knights of the Royal Capital. In fact, those in higher positions might even surpass the knights in strength.

Now, an unusual presence drifted out from the forest. Since the anomaly in the Daypahra Mountains, the village had raised the forest’s alert level.

Even now, many villagers patrolled in and out of the forest, keeping a vigilant watch, ready to sound the alarm if anything happened.

(Did something slip through the defense line?)

Howard wondered. With a sharp gaze, he pulled back on the reins to stop the carriage. He was currently standing in front of a crossroads with one of the paths leading into the woods. Howard placed his hat on the seat, picked up his favorite sword, and jumped down from the carriage.

He instructed the horses to stay put, and the carriage’s wheels came to a full stop.
Regulus, the black horse², had been with Howard for more than twenty years.

(You’d be pretty old by human standards.)

Howard thought as he stroked the scratches on Regulus’ front hooves.

Having followed Howard for years while also being exceptionally intelligent, Regulus quickly understood what Howard was telling it and turned its gaze to the grass at its feet.

(If I leave the carriage here, a patrol should soon come around and realize that I’ve entered the forest. If August found it, then it’d be even better.)

With these thoughts in mind, Howard ventured into the forest, his beloved sword strapped to his waist.

The path led approximately 100 meters into the woods to a small clearing. It was a clearing with a radius of about ten meters, which the villagers had opened up.

This spot served as a relay point when the village was on high alert or as a battleground for encounters with Demonic Beasts.

Similar clearings were scattered throughout the forest. From this clearing, some roads extended east and west, both of which had similar clearings at their ends. The clearings were arranged throughout the forest like an ant’s nest, every 500 meters to a kilometer apart.

As he reached the clearing, Howard stepped inside.

(There’s something here… Thankfully I wasn’t attacked along the way, but this also means that I’m being watched. There’s three, no wait, four. This is bad; these are not the usual beasts. They’re clearly on a different level from normal small fry!)

It was almost noon, with the sun high in the sky and shining brightly. But the Amukham Forest was deep. Many of its areas were left completely dark, with the sunlight unable to penetrate. Luckily, there was ample sunlight in the clearing, but that just made the shadows of the trees even more obscuring.

Howard sensed movement in the area and heard a strange sound that almost sounded like something heavy being dragged. A pair of red eyes glowed in the shadows, with another pair right next to it. Yet that was not all. Close to the pair, another one appeared, and next to it a fourth.

(Hmph. So it was four. No, wait!)

One of the creatures slowly emerged into the clearing. It was a giant snake with red eyes, its neck about 50 centimeters in diameter. It looked as if it could easily swallow an adult whole. Two necks protruded from the beast’s thick neck, which looked like it was split down the middle. Howard was facing the Demonic Beast known as the Two-Headed Boa.

The body supporting the two heads was thick and flat, with each neck about two meters long, held up by its massive muscular body. A thinner tail, about one meter long, extended from its rear, tipped with a venomous yellow stinger.

(I messed up! This is bad! The Two-Headed Boa usually lives deeper in the forest, far beyond the middle layers³. The young ones patrolling the outer layers will have one hell of a time with this one. Even I’ll struggle with my current equipment. But I can’t let the young ones face it!)

1. Silva: well damn~ for the first 11 chapters, it’s just Susie, and all of a sudden, Boom, all these name drops in chapter 12 by the author.
   Jiro: Don’t get me started. I was a nightmare trying to get through all of them :D
2. Silva: Even the horse has a name!
3. Robinxen: You can probably thank an idiot who thinks this is all some imaginary fantasy for that-.

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