SML Ch 35

Chapter 35

It had been a week since the people of the territory had thrown themselves into preparing for the arrival of their “guests.” Thanks to their daily trips into the Swine Forest—a place they had once hesitated to even approach—the territory this spring was overflowing with preserved goods and snacks like never before.

“I’ve never eaten this many wild raspberries in my life! Are you sure it’s okay for us to have all of these?”

“Of course, eat as much as you like. The guests who’ll be arriving soon have such refined tastes that they won’t even touch something as simple as wild raspberries…”

They’d gathered all kinds of berries, herbs, edible greens, and vegetables that could be made into stews or salads, and even a generous amount of spices. The high-quality ingredients were reserved for entertaining the guests, but anything that wasn’t considered fit for royal dining was distributed among the people.

“But the honey smells so good. Can I just have one bite…”

“Sorry, but that one’s off-limits. Even I’m holding myself back, so you’ll have to do the same. If there’s any honey left after the guests leave, we can all share it then.”

The blacksmith bee honey was the most mouthwatering prize, and naturally, that was the one thing they absolutely couldn’t share. Truthfully, even Reynald had opened and closed the jar more than once, seduced by its sweet aroma. But he’d made up his mind: this was something he’d save for when the guests arrived.

Still… it’s about time they got here.

Unless the king had been joking when he dropped his sons’ names, the princes and their knightly escort should be arriving soon. Though young, the princes were skilled in combat, and of course, they would have brought guards befitting their station. Reynald wasn’t too worried. They might grumble about how shabby the place looked, but he trusted they’d arrive safely nonetheless.

However, things never go quite the way people expect.

“Lord Reynald, I think it’d be best if we didn’t go into the forest today. The Swines are acting strange.”

“What do you mean, Volant? What do you mean they’re acting strange?”

“They suddenly started patrolling the outskirts of the forest—and they’re even carrying metal weapons. One of my friends who lives near the forest said he heard a loud chorus of Swines squealing in the middle of the night.”

“Could it be because we’ve been going in and out of the forest so much? Maybe they’re trying to stop us from collecting any more fruit or honey?”

“I doubt they’d be that petty over something like that… Maybe there was a clash with other monsters. They often get into fights with ogres, after all.”

Volant tilted his head thoughtfully as he spoke, but Reynald couldn’t shake his unease. Weren’t the ogres supposed to live in the northern part of the forest? Reynald and the villagers had only been entering from the south. Even if there was a conflict with the ogres, it didn’t make sense for the Swines to reinforce patrols in the south. If anything, they should be pulling forces from the south to strengthen defenses in the north.

Could something else be going on? Something serious enough that the Swines didn’t want anyone entering the forest at all…? Just as a creeping sense of dread began to rise in his chest, Heide came stumbling toward them from the distance, limping and gasping for breath.

“Lord Reynald! Lord Reynald!”

“What’s the matter? Calm down—catch your breath and speak slowly.”

“A messenger bird just arrived from the neighboring village! It’s something about the guests—you need to hear this right away!”

Of all times, now was when news of the guests arrived? Reynald did his best not to let his unease show, but inwardly he already had a bad feeling. If it had just been a simple message that the guests were on their way, Heide wouldn’t have rushed over like that, especially with her injured leg.

“What exactly did it say? Did something happen to the guests?”

“Well, if you can call it ‘something,’ then yes—it seems like something big… About twenty unidentified knights entered the Swine Forest last night.”

“…What?”

Reynald could hardly believe his ears. Unidentified knights, sure—but into the Swine Forest? Why? The most reasonable route to this territory would be through the mountains and then across Wyvern Plains.

“They didn’t enter the village itself—just exchanged a few words with the outer guards. The neighboring lord wasn’t able to get a read on them right away. They asked the guards for the fastest route to our territory, and of all things, the guards pointed them toward the Swine Forest!”

“Are those guards out of their minds? Even if they were asked for the fastest route, how could they send them to their deaths?!”

Calling it “the road to the underworld” wasn’t even an exaggeration. Sure, crossing mountains and plains wasn’t easy either—but trekking through the Swine Forest was outright madness. Ogres lived in the northern part, and at the center, thousands of Swines had established a full-fledged tribal settlement. Twenty knights wouldn’t stand a chance getting through.

“The guards apparently hesitated at first. But the knights insisted—they claimed to be elite soldiers, even bragging about how they’d recently taken down a dragon. They were so arrogant and boastful that it rubbed everyone the wrong way… So in the heat of the moment, the guards just told them to go ahead and try.”

Reynald felt a stiff pain in the back of his neck as he let out a deep sigh. The knights probably weren’t lying. If they were assigned to guard royalty, they had to be part of the Royal Knights—and those were the same ones who had recently returned victorious from a dragon-slaying campaign.

Reynald knew better than anyone, because he had led that campaign. If nothing else, he could vouch that those infuriatingly cocky bastards were the real deal.

But that’s not the point right now, is it? Those crazy idiots…

Suddenly, all the puzzle pieces fell into place in Reynald’s mind. The strange sounds coming from the forest the night before… the sudden patrols by the Swines…

Of course they’d strengthen patrols near the human village. They were living peacefully in the forest, and then suddenly a bunch of sword-wielding humans came storming in!

It didn’t matter how shocked and confused the Swines were—Reynald had no time to worry about that. What mattered was the invaders—the guests.

Maybe, just maybe, the knights were skilled enough to escape. If they had swallowed their pride and fled, shaking off the Swines’ pursuit, that would be the best-case scenario.

But the real concern was… what if they hadn’t been able to retreat?

“…Huh?”

At that moment, Reynald saw it—rising over the Swine Forest, a pillar of smoke he recognized all too well. It wasn’t natural. A deep, reddish hue billowed upward, and every so often, golden sparks flared up from within.

“Lord Reynald, what is that? I’ve never seen smoke that red before…”

“Could it be fireworks? I haven’t seen any since I was a kid, when a traveling merchant lit some…”

Volant and Heide stared at the smoke in fascination, but Reynald didn’t have time to gawk. That smoke—he had seen it far too often during his days leading monster-hunting campaigns. It was a distress signal flare, fired when a unit had no hope of escape and could only pray for reinforcements.

And it was rising from right in the middle of the Swine settlement.

His body moved faster than his thoughts.

The moment he recognized that high-priority distress signal—used only in the direst of emergencies—Reynald ignored Heide and Volant calling after him, sprinting straight into the manor. He belted on the longsword that had been collecting dust, then raced for the stables.

“Lord Reynald! Please, calm down!”

“There’s no time for that—I need to get to the Swine Forest immediately! Every second counts!”

He did the mental math. If he rode hard, how fast could he reach the forest? But no matter how he calculated it, it was too late. Even against Swines, a battle with monsters was unpredictable. If anything went wrong, the lives of the two princes could be snuffed out in moments.

If either prince were to die, part of the blame would fall on Reynald—after all, he had failed to respond properly to the king’s summons and left the princes vulnerable in a dangerous territory. He’d never be able to raise his head before the king again.

More than that, the princes were personally important to Reynald. He’d been with them since they were infants, watching them grow and personally training them in swordsmanship. They were the children of a dear friend—and his longtime pupils. The thought of them dying such a meaningless death after coming all this way to find him… It was unbearable.

Lost in panic, Reynald had just finished tightening the reins and was about to swing up into the saddle when—

“Urgh…!”

“I understand you’re in a hurry, but you can’t just take off on your own!”

Reynald didn’t even make it onto the horse. He was knocked to the ground as Volant slammed his entire body into his side, having waited for the perfect opening.

Footnotes:

• Ogres (오우거): Larger, more brutish monsters typically found in the northern part of the forest. They often come into conflict with Swines.