1

The new day dawned clear, dry. There was not a hint left of yesterday's misty, foreboding air. The sky above Varnam was beautiful blue and the spirited songs of little sparrows, wagtails, and robins—or their otherworldly counterparts—could be heard clearly through the thin tavern window.

It was nothing but the perfect day to go out on an adventure.

No less than thirty volunteer woodcutters had defied the elder's will and came to seek employment with the Imperials. Even if the town wasn't plagued by poverty, there were always those who preferred to have more rather than less. Of the volunteers, the knights sent back home ten after a superficial examination. Even if there would’ve been work for more, they had to make sure the supplies would last through the uncertain duration of the trip. Still, twenty strong hands were recruited, with their horses, upgrading the caravan to over a hundred and twenty strong.

In less than an hour, the large camp had disappeared from the southern field, the tents and supplies packed away into the three wagons. One more wagon and some additional supplies had been purchased from the town. The riders were assembled into a long line in pairs, ready to depart.

“Company! Order! Attention!”

All the riders straightened up on their saddles and the chatter died down.

At the front, Colonel Miragrave faced the cavalcade and conveyed the marching orders without much passion in her tone,

“As per his majesty's orders, we will hereby commence our expedition into the Felorn Woods. Our first goal point will be the woodcutters' outpost by the river Alams, eighty-five miles from Varnam. Do not tally, I expect us to reach there by midnight. You—expect the night to be a long one. Before anyone rests, that outpost will be reformatted into a stronghold to serve as our foothold in the forest. We have the roads the locals have made to take us there. But what follows thence...we shall discover after. Stay on the path. Listen and respect our guides. Do not cut the trees and do not kill any animals you come across without permission. That is all. The team leaders will give you your tasks when it is time. Let's go earn our pay. Are we ready?”

“Ma'am! Yes, ma'am!” All hundred knights answered in unison, with the level of volume that undoubtedly left no one in Varnam asleep.

“Then, bite the dust.”

“Company! Forwaaaaard, MARCH!”

And so the journey began.

There was a shortage of mounts, so Izumi, having admittedly never ridden a horse before, had to content with a ride aboard one of the wagons.

Not that she minded too much. Horses made her uneasy. They looked identical to the horses on Earth—as far as she could tell—but having lived in a city her entire life, Izumi had never actually seen one outside the TV before. They might as well have been fantasy creatures to her. She didn't like the way the black stallions eyed her, or how they tried to munch her hair if she got too close.

Unexpectedly, Sir Brian joined her on the wagon ride.

The Imperials still didn't trust the man and giving him a horse might have made the idea of escaping at an opportune moment too tempting. He wasn't particularly embittered by the arrangement either. Apparently, riding across two kingdoms in so short a time had taken its toll on his muscles.

Riswelze, on the other hand, had rented a mount for herself from the town. A brown gelding, it was smaller and less dignified than the black Imperial horses, but she seemed right at home on its back. It looked happy to carry her around too and responded readily to her directions, as though they had been friends since birth.

“I'm not much for wagons,” she told Izumi, riding behind the transport. “Bad memories.”

“So you’re leaving me all alone!” Izumi complained.

“Why, aren't you in good company? Maybe you'll stop being single soon?”

Besides Brian, there were also a few Imperial knights who felt under the weather aboard the wagon. Had last night's exciting events been too much even for the nerves of the hardened elite? No. More likely, they had slipped to investigate Varnam's pub culture in the cover of the night and overestimated their tolerance to the local ale. They now sat quietly staring at their knees, avoiding sunlight, and moaning in agony whenever the wheels hit a bump on the road.

“Very funny of you,” Izumi pouted. “How's Yule doing?”

“Up there, right next to the big shots. Seems to be doing just fine, by the looks of it. Sure is quick to go with the flow, our princess. You don't think the iron lady has stolen her heart? 'Master', she keeps calling her, though she's not a kid anymore. Think she even remembers us by this point?”

“Well, can I blame her? Mira-rin sure is cool and glamorous and has her act together. Makes me wish I were twenty years younger. Why must time be so cruel?”

“Aren’t you blaming your time a little too much?" Riswelze asked. "It’s starting to sound like an excuse for not taking your chances when presented.”

“Chances?”

“That's right. Love’s war, you know? You need to keep fighting all the way through, or the treasure will fly from your hands. The moment you start second-guessing yourself—that’s when you’re done. Isn't that how it is? No one can afford to get complacent on the battlefield.”

“Yule and I don't have such an intense relationship, I think...” Izumi awkwardly mumbled.

“Right. Like anyone’s going to believe that.”

“To begin with, we’re both women...”

“What of it?” Riswelze shrugged. “I’ve tried both ways. It’s not that hard. Takes a bit of imagination sometimes.”

“Aren’t you a free spirit? Ever thought about becoming an adventurer for real? I think it’d suit you more than poking people with sharp objects.”

“Thanks, but I’m comfortable enough with my present career plan. Adventure makes for a nice spice, among other things, but tends to get unhealthy in large doses.”

“And murdering people doesn't?”

“At least it pays in real money. That's all I care about. Once I have enough saved up, I’m thinking of settling down somewhere with peace and quiet. And maybe with somebody nice by my side, somebody who cares, who can look after themselves, is a little dense here and there, has perhaps a bit of a wild side, but is mostly dependable where it counts...”

“Does such a person even exist?” Izumi pondered.

“...You know, I have to wonder if you aren’t doing this on purpose.”

“Doing what?”

“Fine, fine. Be that way then. I’m just saying, even if things don’t turn out so well for you with her highness—well, there are always other options available, some even pretty close by. If you get what I'm saying.”

“Appreciate the concern, but no matter how they're fantasy knights, that's not my thing at all.”

“Huh? Oh. No, that's now that I was—”

“Is it your preference then? Not that it's got anything to do with me, but I'd recommend you to go for somebody who's not away from home all year round instead. That kind of thing gets really lonely in the long run. Not that I'd know, but you read all kinds of things online.”

“Like I said, that's not what I—Aah, you’re impossible!” Riswelze groaned, urged her horse on and rode past the wagon.

“I don’t get you people,” Brian, who sat nearby and couldn’t avoid overhearing, commented.

Gazing absentmindedly into the distance, Izumi replied,

“Women just happen to be complicated like that.”

2

The long line of riders dived along the road into the woods. As the open fields were left behind and the tall, majestic trees slowly encircled the cavalcade on all sides, momentary unease gripped Yuliana's heart. As if they were riding into a great trap, or the maw of an enormous monster, whence there would be no escape. It was a whole new world for the princess. There were only a few larger forests in Langoria, but nowhere close in this scope.

However, in a while, as nothing particularly threatening happened, the anxiety melted away and became replaced by child-like awe and wonder.

At the edge, the forest was still relatively new and marked by human care, having been thinned out, cut down, and regrown many times over the course of the long history of the continent. The trees were all roughly of the same age, long, straight, and thick, without many branches until the foliage on top, through which daylight easily penetrated. Roughly eighty, even a hundred feet in height, the trunks stood wide apart and almost evenly spaced, like pillars of the fairy king's palace.

The undergrowth was sparse and shallow. Light green moss carpeted the land, leaving clear visibility far to the sides. All the dry, dead branches had been meticulously gathered to fuel the stoves and ovens of the town. Nature here was used to the human presence, and whatever small animals and birds lived in the area didn't care enough about the visitors to show their faces.

After the tense start, the mood gradually turned almost merry.

Here and there, the silence of the march became broken by casual chatter and song. Rather than an important, classified mission in the name of the Emperor, wasn't it more like an uplifting hunting trip with friends?

“What kind of animals live here, anyway?” Izumi asked Brian. “Do you know?”

“Not at all,” the knight answered. “I'd prefer not to find out, to tell the truth.”

“Don't they have schools in Langoria?” one of the imperial knights heard them and asked. “Or were you too poor to attend one? How can you not know a thing about Felorn? The Darkwood? Nothing? Doesn't ring a bell?”

“I assume you're better informed?” Izumi asked him.

“Of course! A child would know better!” the man replied. “Only someone with a death wish would think of venturing into such a place without bothering to learn the next thing about it. And I'm not just talking about geography class. We trained for weeks for this mission. We studied the texts of renowned scholars such as Ermilius II or Totenheim, who made many extensive excursions into the depths of Felorn, even before Agelaos.”

“They did?" Izumi asked. "And made it back alive too? I thought Akko was the only one?”

“Ha! You southerners fear forests like they're evil itself and only listen to old songs. Let me tell you this: nature is nature. It is no more evil than it is benevolent. It gives and it takes, the weak perish and the strong triumph. For every action, there is an appropriate reaction. That is all. Everything beyond that is baseless superstition.”

“Well, I've heard about Darwin too,” Izumi said, “survival of the fittest and all that. But I still don't know what's out there.”

“Anything!" the knight replied. "Felorn is incredibly diverse. Boreal here in the south, further towards the north it grows tropical, and the types of wildlife and flora vary accordingly. In Felorn, one can experience all seasons in one without ever setting foot outside the shade of its trees. But it is also the kingdom of Elementals. No other known place on Noertia has as high a concentration of spiritual presence. As Ermilius wrote, on our land, Felorn is the place closest to the memory of Galanthea, the Golden Land.”

“Are there Divines too?”

“There are. And drawn by the presence of the higher spirits, a great many beasts have set home in Felorn, fleeing the expansion of human territories. Most of them harmless, others—exceedingly lethal. Man-eating praetons. Manticores. Wyrmids. Arachnids. Fiends. Harpies. Basilisks. Panthers. Rabbits. Cockatrices...There are hundreds of known species. Not close to all of them have been discovered yet.”

“Was it just my imagination, or was something unexpectedly cute included in the list…?”

“That reminds me,” another knight said. “I recall hearing there's a Green Dragon living somewhere in western Felorn as well. The sailors from Melghier have seen it many times in recent years.”

“I've heard the rumors too, but I wouldn't count on the word of pirates. No dragons have been sighted in Tratovia for over four hundred years.”

"You said nature's neither evil nor gentle, but isn't this pretty bad for us?" Izumi asked. "With so many dangerous creatures roaming about, exactly what are our odds of getting out of here alive?"

“Rest easy, madam,” the Imperial said. “Felorn is Lord Matheus's domain. All nature here obeys his will. So long as we do nothing to offend him, we should be safe. In any event, the beasts mostly avoid people. They'll hear our racket from afar and run.”

“That’s how it works? By the way, has anyone ever seen this spirit lord before?”

“Not in centuries. But our Lord Cinilea has told us he is here, so it must be true.”

“And he's nice to people?”

“Lord Matheus was created by the Old God Hamaran, who also created us humans. We are his chosen people. Therefore, he has no reason to seek our deaths. Rather, we should count on his protection.”

“Eeh, is that true?” Izumi was confused. “I thought humans were Ai-chan's chosen race…?”

“Ai...who? Is that one of your Langorian deities?”

“Er, I mean Aiwesh!” Izumi clarified. “The great, all-able, all-knowing, always good fairy godmother of the Langorians, Aiwesh! If I remember right, Ai-chan was made by Brann, or what was the name again? Since she seems to love people lots, I was under the impression humans were—”

“What? No,” the Imperial knight frowned at Izumi's words. “Brann's people are the goti, the sages of the lost continent. Listen. The Gods created one intelligent race each as their chosen followers. Hamaran, the God of Agriculture, created humans. Brann, the God of Light, created the goti, and Aiwesh was his lieutenant. But Brann has gone, and Aiwesh died more than six thousand years ago. She has nothing to do with Langoria! Oh you southerners. Appropriating mythology as you please! Ridiculous!”

“Whaaat,” Izumi gasped. “Ai-chan's dea—I mean, ahaha! What can I say? I was an orphan and a poor student, so...Thank you very much for explaining things to me, nice Sir! Anyway, what do we need to do to stay in Macchan's good books then?”

“As said, Matheus is a benevolent Lord,” the knight answered. “He even allows the people of Varnam and other nearby villages to cut more wood than they need, to sell and prosper. Not many things may anger him. Disrespect towards nature, mainly. Needless destruction and killing. And...”

“And…?”

“Harming his kindred. Whatever happens, we must not hurt the Elementals. That is an unforgivable crime. It was what destroyed Emperor Yollam.”

“Hm? He wasn’t simply punished for his arrogance and greed?”

“What? You haven’t heard this either? No. They say, Lord Matheus gave the Emperor a warm welcome and his blessing to build a road through Felorn. For a time, the work proceeded peacefully. But one day, the story says the Divine sent him a messenger, a unic—”

“—Oh for the love of Divines! Enough of this housewives' blather, Mihar!” Another knight hollered from further behind. “I have the hangover of the century and having to listen to you go on and on and on about that rubbish isn't making it any better! Give us some silence! Ooh, curse this fucked up road and curse the peasants who built it…!”

This time, Izumi’s thirst for knowledge went unsated.

Lost in thought, she sat quietly speculating about the unknown history of her new world. Oblivious to just how costly her ignorance would prove.

3

As predicted, the expedition progressed more or less in peace and harmony. Despite the strict deadline for the march, the cavalcade advanced at a modest pace and kept breaks every two hours, to preserve the horses and riders fresh and alert.

At noon they dined. There was a mobile kitchen with a dedicated support service squad, but being still on the move, the company made do with a light but effective meal of dried goods, water, and bread.

The old road, imprinted on the forest floor by the wheels of the heavy carts with which the locals transported their timber, continued uninterrupted, deeper and deeper. As the journey continued, the formerly level land started to exhibit some shapeliness and more plentiful variations in vegetation. Likewise, the road became less straightforward, conforming to the landscape and adjusting its course to avoid the larger trees, rocks, pits, and eskers, in favor of the most stable possible course.

At times the way seemed unnecessarily roundabout, forcing the riders on a lengthy loop, only to end up at a spot a stone's throw from the previous position. Still, no shortcuts were taken, as tempting as they were. With discipline and patience suited for the military, the company went on—even if a few did individually voice their colorful opinions on such roadmaking.

“Shall we show them how we Imperials make roads then?” The commander's perhaps not so humorous proposal was effective to silence the critics.

Although the forest was indeed a work of beauty in and of itself and the weather fittingly picturesque, the scenery ultimately exhibited little variation to an unaccustomed eye. As the slow hours of the afternoon flowed by, the initial exoticism of it all faded, and the trees gradually became somewhat monotonous to look at.

How many times had they passed an identical turn, crossed a hill exactly like that one, and witnessed a moss-covered rock of equivalent roundness? Being constantly on the move with no visible development, or a grasp of how many more miles were left to go, the trip began to get straining on anyone's nerves.

“Quite some detour, eh, your princessiness?” At some point in the afternoon, Riswelze brought her horse closer to Yuliana's.

“Such is our fate,” Yuliana diplomatically—coldly—responded, without looking back.

“Thought as much,” the assassin shrugged. “To you, I'm still nothing but a cold-blooded killer, am I?”

“You have so far given me very few reasons to treat you otherwise.”

“Don't expect any in the future either. It's all the same to me what you think of me. Just don't sell me out to your new masters. I don’t mean to brag, but I have a bit of a reputation in Tratovia...”

“...And what is that supposed to mean?” Yuliana gave the girl an icy glare.

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“That I killed a lot of people and stole even more money?”

“Not what I meant. Who’s the master of who?”

“What do you think?” Riswelze answered with a teasing smile. “Not that long ago, the Empire was the terrible foe threatening your home and chastity, wanting to play you as a pawn in their nefarious game, and look where you're now? Riding side-by-side into the unknown. You forgot about daddy dearest this soon? Filing for a change of citizenship?”

“Begone,” Yuliana angrily faced forward. “I have nothing to say to you.”

“I'm mistaken then?”

“When are you not?”

“How so? Explain to me.”

“It should go without saying. Unlike you, I do not only see vileness and treachery behind every corner, wherever I go. Yes, there are despicable individuals in Tratovia, some of them even working directly under the Emperor. Does that mean then that every Imperial is equally vile and remorseless? Of course not. There is a rotten apple in every tree, but that is no cause to throw away the whole harvest. I personally have nothing against Tratovia itself. My father was close friends with the previous Emperor and I regret to see our lands drift apart. If I must fight for my kingdom, then fight I will, but I haven’t thrown away all hope yet. If only I could have an audience with his majesty and hear what he has to say, I'll be better equipped to understand the situation. Until then, there is no meaning in going out of our way to antagonize those who hold our lives in their hands.”

“Wow, what a model student answer,” the assassin yawned. “Pardon me, but you really are awfully boring, your highness.”

“I shudder to think what manner of a person you find 'interesting'.”

“Why, aren't our tastes quite similar in that regard? Or, so I thought.”

“What…?”

“You two having a lovers' quarrel or what? After a week of being practically inseparable, you've barely looked at one another for the past few days. Really, it's getting pretty irksome. What's the problem?”

“W-what are you talking about?” The princess turned red all the way to her ears. “Izumi and I are not in such a relationship…!”

“Oh?” Riswelze smirked. “Then what's with that grossly syrupy reaction?”

“Why, you...Is toying with other people all you ever do? Leave me be!”

“Come on now. It's obvious to anyone she's not just a random stranger to you. Then, what is it? You arranged that little sparring session to get the lady to notice your good points, didn't you? You've sure had some terrible role models back home, if that's the best you could come up with. And it didn't quite work out...”

“No, I am determined to get stronger than I am now,” Yuliana replied. “I know I must, if I am to survive. That sentiment is not a lie. Though, I do admit that having my shortcomings so openly displayed was a frustrating experience...”

“Well, not like she’s the type to judge you based on that.”

“You're right. I know that.”

“Then, what is it? Come on.”

For a moment, Yuliana rode on in silence, looking away.

“I made a promise,” she finally said in a hushed tone.

“What was that?”

“Back at the banquet at Haywell, Izumi...um, she asked me to give her a kiss. At the time, I couldn't bring myself to do it, but I promised I would kiss her properly after we'd made our escape. Even knowing she was risking her life for my sake, I said such selfish things, out of childish bashfulness...and I regretted it. Still do. But in the end, although we made it out of that place alive, it really is difficult to bring up again…”

“Huh…?” Riswelze raised her brows, looking blank. “A kiss? What do you mean, a kiss? Just a kiss? What the heck? Haven’t you gone a little further than that by now?”

Yuliana looked like she was about to fall from her saddle.

“Further than—N-no! How could I!? I mean—I wouldn't even know what to do!”

“You’ve got to be kidding me...”

“I, it's the first time for me! I've never felt this way about anyone before!”

“Please, just stop...I can’t, I need a timeout...”

“I used to think it was soothing to be by her side. Simply seeing her, I feel I'm safe, that no matter how bad things get, it will be alright. But, if I take one step closer than that—I become terribly anxious and can't say why. It's as if my heart is going to fail and it makes me scared...I can't even look her in the eyes anymore without starting to tremble. What is wrong with me?”

“Yeah, that's called love, hun,” Riswelze slumped on her saddle, apathetic. “I imagined the level of conversation was going to be a little higher than that.”

“L-love?” Yuliana shrieked, immediately covering her mouth and glancing around to see if anyone heard. “T-t-that's not...W-we're both women, you realize! And she's so much older too...It feels wrong, somehow...”

“And? Technically, she's not even human, right? A being from another world.”

“That makes it feel even more wrong! She's a champion summoned by my Lord! She's way beyond someone like myself...”

“Then, if you don't want her, I'll have her for myself,” Riswelze said.

“What?” Yuliana looked at the assassin in surprise. “You mean, you...feel that way about her?”

“Yes, I do, princess Obvious. My hands may not tremble and there are no butterflies in the belly, but it’s not about the fireworks. Is that a problem for you?”

“W-well, for a villain, I admit you can be surprisingly honest at times...”

“So you’ll dismiss me then? You're confident you'll be chosen instead? Is it because you're a princess and I'm only ‘a lowly killer’? Even though you don't understand the next thing about other people's feelings, never mind your own?”

“No, I didn’t mean...”

“Well, good luck to you. From today on, we're rivals. I wouldn't let my guard down if I were you. A man or a woman, I'm confident I can make anyone fall for my charms. I've had plenty of field experience, after all. Your. Highness.”

“That's...preposterous! I'm not going to—”

——“HALT! COMPANY, HALT!”

At that moment, a loud exclamation from the front part of the cavalcade shook the riders from their drowsiness. The line of horses stopped and those further back tried to extend their necks to better see what was the cause of the unscheduled break.

Yuliana and Riswelze forgot about their argument as well.

Being closer to the front, they had a better view than most others.

At first, nothing appeared to be out of the ordinary.

The forest remained quiet and still everywhere around, the road also devoid of visible obstacles. The first thought to occur to the princess was that a tree had fallen across the road, but she saw nothing of the sort. Only idyllic woodland basking in the light of the afternoon sun.

Then, carefully looking further up ahead, Yuliana spotted it.

There was an obstacle, after all.

As it remained perfectly unmoving, the strange object blended uncannily well with its surroundings, eluding a hasty look. It was only betrayed by the more reflective parts of its outlandish form, which the sun made temporarily glow with eye-catching brilliance.

Everyone who saw it was struck speechless by the vision.

An odd beast stood on the road some two hundred feet before the first riders.

Easily mistaken for a statue, it vaguely resembled a horse in shape but was nearly three times as large. Instead of simple flesh covered in fur, its body appeared to have been carved of wood, of numerous curvy and slim pieces delicately assembled like the famous horse of Troy from the other world. The outlines of its long head, slim back, and round hips were plated with lengthy scales in the colors of golden autumn leaves. The most striking detail of all, however, was the massive, curved headpiece, like a fantastic battleaxe embedded into the creature’s skull, right between the ears. The decoration looked exceedingly dangerous, not to mention heavy, but the wood-horse's thick neck proudly supported it high above the ground.

Like a misplaced, spectacular work of art by an unknown genius artesan of ages long past, the horse statue blocked the road, standing right in the middle of it.

Yuliana had never seen such a thing before. Neither had Riswelze.

But the Imperials, with their local guides, were fortunately better informed.

It was not a statue.

“IT'S A UNICOOOORN!”

The massive pseudo-horse kicked the road with its front leg, nudging back and forth in a most threatening fashion.

“It's about to charge!” Colonel Miragrave shouted. “To the sides! Clear the way! Quickly!”

The unicorn lowered its head and leaped nimbly into motion, despite its weighty looks, lowering its head and the lethal weapon attached. As anyone familiar with horned animals could tell, its apparent intention was to ram straight through the caravan, which it seemed to identify as an enemy. No in-depth knowledge of the Newtonian laws was required to understand what would happen to the much lighter, flesh-and-blood horses and riders in such a contest of mechanical forces.

The knights hurried out of the way the best they could, left and right, splitting up the cavalcade in the middle.

Due to its enormous mass and velocity, the beast had no way to make fine adjustments to its course while in motion. Its very horse-like anatomy also prevented it from effectively seeing what was happening directly ahead of it. Thanks to this, evading it seemed simple in theory.

Still, moving over a hundred horses and four heavy wagons out of the way on such short notice wasn't a simple task either.

The creature kept gaining in speed as it ran.

The riders close to the front managed to avoid the onslaught easily enough, but those further down the line weren't too clear on what was happening and were surprised. A few knights were thrown off their startled mounts, escaping the monstrosity by a hair. But their troubles were nothing compared to the wagon drivers. The equipment loads weren't pulled by horses but bulls, which weren't the most agile of beasts.

It became shortly obvious that the last wagon, the one with Izumi and the under-the-weather knights on board, wasn't going to make it out of the way in time. Seeing this, the soldiers, Sir Brian included, jumped off the ride and bravely tried to push the wagon out of the way, with death mere seconds away.

They didn't quite make it.

With most of the transport out of the way, the men abandoned the effort and dived to safety. But swinging its massive head, the unicorn brushed the wagon as it passed, shattering a few of its back wheels and sideboards, very nearly knocking the whole thing over.

Having passed through the entire cavalcade like this, the unicorn soon realized no more enemies were in sight, stopped, and turned to reassess the situation. The mysterious eyes glowing in the sides of its head, like egg-shaped opals, surveyed the field, looking for a new target to vent its ire on.

And a target was soon found.

Brian struggled up from the sand and unwittingly made eye contact with the beast.

“Well, shit.”

The unicorn immediately turned towards him and jumped energetically forward, brandishing the dangerous extension on its head.

The Langorian knight turned and ran away before the trampling hooves. He spotted one of the black stallions that had shaken off its rider a short distance ahead by the road and made for it as fast as he could.

Reaching the horse, he jumped in the saddle and whipped the reins. The animal was not content with its foreign rider, however, but reared and let out a loud, frightened cry, kicking air with its front legs.

“Come on!” Brian urged it, struggling to stay on.

Then the horse saw the massive monster rushing at it, which was enough to distract the animal from lesser problems, and made it flee at full speed. The stallion galloped into the woods, while Brian could only hold onto it as tight as he could. He glanced over his shoulder and saw his situation barely improving. Thanks to the unicorn’s larger size and stride length, there was no way a regular horse could shake it off on such unstable terrain. It was catching up, fast.

Throwing its head around, the unicorn casually mowed down a tree thicker than a man, sending splinters all around. The collapsing tree hit the earth like a gigantic sledgehammer, further scaring Brian's mount and making it abruptly swerve left.

It nearly fell over in the panicked effort, tripping on a tuffet. Brian quickly dropped off the saddle on the fly, pushed the horse back to balance and leaped back on, allowing the run to continue uninterrupted. This reckless circus maneuver saved both from being trampled. Rushing past them, the unicorn momentarily lost sight of its target and stopped to regain its bearings.

“Brian!”

The erratic chase had taken the Langorian towards the front of the caravan, and on the same side to which Yuliana had retreated. Although Brian had hoped to lead the monster away from the company, unable to control his mount, he had only achieved the opposite.

The princess’s voice now drew the unicorn's attention.

“Yuliana!” Brian shouted, waving at her to get away. “Look out! It's coming!”

The berserk creature charged again, knocking more trees down in its enraged rush.

Those trees, weighing several tons each despite their slim looks, became now the beast's coincidental weapons. Covering a lot of ground as they fell, knocking others down with their mass, they divided the disordered Imperials and scared their horses. In a moment, the company was in complete disarray. At least one rider was unfortunate enough to get left under the collapsing timber, two more were knocked down by the truck-like unicorn breezing by.

Seeing the chaos unfold, Yuliana's courage surfaced.

“Follow me!” she shouted at Brian and turned her horse back towards the road.

Brian's mount might not have obeyed his will, but its attention was now drawn by its kindred under Yuliana, and it ended up blindly following her by instinct. At the same time, the unicorn continued to chase the unlucky Sir Mallory, as if it were an enraged bull and he the matador's red cape waved at its face. This comical trio left the woods and again returned to the path.

Since the road had been vacated, there was no risk of further casualties—such had been Yuliana’s idea, but she hadn't had the time to plan further ahead. Her drive to save others didn't leave her the leisure to worry about herself.

“Get off your horse!” she shouted to Brian coming shortly behind her. “You have to jump! I'll lead it on from here.”

“Have you lost it!?” he replied. “That's my job!”

“You can't control your horse! You'll die!”

“Which one of us was the princess? Better me than you.”

“That has nothing to do with this!”

“It has everything to do with this!”

“I'm not going to let someone else take—”

“—Look out!”

Neither had thought about the weakness of the plan. On the open road, the unicorn could outrun a horse even easier than in the woods.

Being able to accelerate to full gallop, the beast quickly caught up with them. Seeing this, Brian made a split-second decision, stepped up in his saddle and jumped. He pulled Yuliana off of her horse a bare fragment of a second before their mounts got caught by the monster's cruel weapon and flung in the air. Yuliana’s horse was hardly lightweight either, yet it was thrown high up like a mere sandbag, in a horrific show of the mythical being's strength.

Brian managed to somehow shield the princess with his body when they fell, and the moss growing thick alongside the path softened their descent. But neither was left in any shape to continue the escape.

Further ahead, the unicorn slowed down and unhurriedly turned, as if fully aware that its prey was helpless. The gaze of the unearthly eye on the side of its head was fixed on the two frail humans lying on the ground. Brashly kicking the dust, it faced them and prepared to resume its relentless assault once more.

Brian wasn't moving. Had he lost consciousness?

Held under the heavy man, Yuliana was unable to move herself.

She weakly raised her face and looked back at the imposing creature approach.

“Our journey only just began...Isn’t this too much...?”

Whether that unearthly being was moved by her distress or wasn’t, none of it was apparent in the remorseless lightness with which it strode forth again. The heavy rumble of its hooves beat the earth like drums signaling the highlight of the performance.

The princess could only squeeze her eyes shut and pray for a miracle. Surely only a miracle could’ve saved their lives now? But what followed was not a miracle by any means.

Itaka Izumi stepped on the road.

“I’m really sorry about this!”

Waiting until the last possible moment in the unicorn's blind spot, directly in front of its head, she estimated the timing and then stepped left, out of the murderous horn's way.

Turning quickly around, gripping her greatsword's handle with both hands, Izumi lowered her posture and swung horizontally in baseball style, cutting at the galloping monster's front leg with all her might.

Whatever material the unicorn's body was made of, or what mysterious power held it together, the ancient sword sank straight through its knee joint without notable resistance.

Its leg completely severed mid-stride, the great beast was toppled.

It fell down head first, with the elaborate headpiece digging into the sand. The lower half of the monster got thrown over by momentum, propelling its entire body high into the air, well past the people lying flat on the road.

The fantastic beast went rolling through the woods like a cannonball, smashing trees, rocks, and anything in its path, before finally stopping an incredible distance away.

In a moment, complete, deafening silence returned to the woods.

“Um, are you alright?” Izumi crouched before the princess and asked.

“Ah, yes, I'm just fine, ahaha…” Yuliana laughed out of relief, still feeling weak for the thrilling events.

“I can see that…” the woman observed with a pout. “Rather, aren’t you doing a little too well already...?”

“Huh?”

With the girl lying under the Langorian in his protective embrace, their positioning looked highly suggestive when so removed from the context.

“Ah! Sorry about that!” Brian abruptly recovered and hurried to separate from the princess.

“No need to be sorry!” the princess quickly stood up and hurriedly said. “You helped save a great many lives today, I'm sure even the Imperials will acknowledge your bravery now.”

“Not that I did it for their thanks,” he shrugged.

“Oh, don't be like that,” Yuliana patted his shoulder. “Are you all right? No broken bones?”

“Yes. Absolutely. Couldn’t be better.”

“It’s over now, hero. You can stop acting already.”

“Come on, Yulia. This isn’t the academy.”

“Must be nice, being young...” Izumi mumbled, watching the two, but then turned her attention to the forest.

What had happened to the unicorn?

4

The expedition had successfully cleared a difficult hurdle on their path, but the mood was anything but uplifting for it. The unicorn was too heavily wounded to get up again. It was dying.

“What have you done!?” the headman of the Varnamian woodcutters shouted in terror, coming to witness the noble creature's dying struggle. “You have killed a guardian of the fey! An Elemental of the highest rank! How could you!? How could you!? Was this the only solution you could think of!? The wrath of all Felorn will be upon us! None of us is going to live!”

“Um, I'm sorry?” Izumi said.

“Try not to shit your breeches, grown man,” Vizier Attiker scolded the Varnamian. “It was a big, dumb horse. If killing one ever brought divine punishment to anyone, then sausages would've become our undoing.”

“You don't understand, Imperial,” the man only shook his head in disbelief at their carelessness. “Anything...Anything but this. The one taboo I asked you to not break...Barely half a day has passed and you've gone and done it. We should've listened to the elder. You're nothing but savages and fools. Your arrogance knows no bounds!”

“What's done is done,” commander Miragrave said. “Crying over the corpse never breathed life into anybody. What matters is what comes next.”

“Next?” the woodcutter repeated. “There'll be no 'next' anything. We're going back. I'm not taking any part in this farce, not anymore. You've failed your word and lost our trust. If you value your lives, you will return with us. If we hurry, we may still reach back before nightfall. Perhaps in time to escape the rage of the Divines.”

“You...are not going anywhere,” Attiker stepped up to the man and steadily articulated. “We have a contract, gentlemen. A contract you've signed, with your own name. Do you understand what that means? It's no hocus-pocus, but plain black on white, decipherable by anyone. You will do as I ask of you, and in return you’ll be accordingly compensated. Fail this and it's a breach of contract. Which means, by law, that we are entitled to seek compensation from you, for the expenses incurred as a result. The failure of an Imperial expedition—your houses won't be enough to pay back for it. By all means, go. You'll save your own life, but what about your family?”

“What are you talking about?” the woodcutter recoiled in dismay. “What was this then, if not a breach of contract? I warned you, again and again, and you didn't listen! Am I not entitled to compensation by your laws?”

“There's not a word on our contract written about killing or not killing mythical beasts. So far as I'm concerned, it was only a poor bit of advice, which I've since decided to ignore. Perhaps you should've asked that in print if it was such a big deal? A contract is only binding when both parties are aware and consent to the terms. Understand?”

“You—You're a monster, a beast wearing human clothes, damn it…!” the man begrudgingly left with the other locals to grieve by themselves. “Damn you all! I won't be responsible for whatever happens...!”

“Are you threatening me now?” the Vizier called after him. “Good grief.”

Court Wizard Yornwhal examined the unicorn closer and shook his head.

“We may only ease his suffering now. I shall send him off and pray to Lord Matheus for forgiveness.”

“And who will compensate me?” Miragrave asked. “Who will ask for my forgiveness? We've lost five horses. Three men are injured, one with a broken leg, another with an arm. And this on our first day in the woods. It is quite obvious to me that the Divines never had any good intentions for us in the first place. Forgive me for not depending on them either.”

The Colonel left with the Vizier to reorganize their ranks. They also had to make the woodcutters fix the broken wagon before the trip could continue.

Only Izumi, Yuliana, Riswelze, Brian, and the wizard were left at the side of the dying unicorn.

“But why did he attack us?” the wizard said. “Among woodland Elementals, unicorns are of the highest rank. The wisest, the kindest. They embody the land itself. Has Lord Matheus denied us...?”

No one could answer him.