Trial of Illusions – Part 04

It was nighttime, but the golden light shone bright.

A tent with a huge signboard depicting a golden boar marked the temporary dwelling of the old chief of the Golden Boar Clan. He was not merely a figure of authority. In his prime, he was a master blacksmith, once ranked among the top five in Ironforge. Many within the nation still held him in high regard.

“Waffa dear, what’s the matter? Why are you screaming as soon as you return? You have to say something, or I won’t know what’s going on.”

“I… I…” Waffa just stomped her feet over and over.

But before Waffa, the old Dwarf was nothing but a helpless grandfather.

The tent was spacious, and with only Waffa and the old Dwarf inside, there was no issue. To him, his granddaughter would always be his little girl, making her anger endearing. Even if her kicks hollowed the ground, she was still adorable. All he felt was gratitude that she had grown up strong and healthy.

“I never thought the Four Eastern Stars would come here!”

“An all-women party like yours, was it?”

“Exactly. Just like ours! But they’re Rank B!”

“Well, promoting you to Rank B should be easy enough, but didn’t you say you could reach Rank B all on your own without Grandpa’s help?”

“Of course! I won’t let you help me. That’d be lame!”

“Wh-What? I’m lame?” Despair flashed across the old Dwarf’s face.

Waffa quickly backpedaled, “N-No. I meant I’d be the lame one.”

“You’re not lame! I guarantee it!”

“Th-Thanks?”

It had been a while since they’d seen each other, and Waffa, at that awkward age, wasn’t sure how to act around her grandfather anymore.

“Anyway, what do you want to do? You can tell your Grandpa.”

“I want to them to crumble at the Mountain of Illusions,” Waffa said with a grin.

---

Crumble?

Hikaru had been lurking just outside the tent. With his Stealth on, he could have slipped inside, avoiding the cold, but the air within reeked of alcohol. He’d take the cold over that any day.

This trial doesn’t sound like just a test of courage or something. Is there more to it?

Hikaru had sent off the Four Eastern Stars, but staying behind at the camp gave him the opportunity to look into things.

He should have been locked up in a cell, but thanks to Gilma from Gittan Trading—more accurately, due to her threat, reminding the guards that Gittan provided their supplies—Hikaru had been allowed to stay with the establishment.

Gilma’s intervention had also spared the lives of the guards. Had she not stepped in, Lavia would have gone berserk, and with her magic, she could have burned down the entire guardhouse. Even a stone building would’ve been reduced to rubble in no time.

Hikaru and Sophie had calmed her down, and after Gilma secured his freedom, Lavia was satisfied. Right now, Lavia was probably reading one of the books Gittan Trading had in stock. These books weren’t exactly flying off the shelves among the Dwarves and Beastmen traders who frequented the area.

“Hmm?”

Just as the conversation between the old Dwarf and his granddaughter had stopped, Waffa emerged from the tent. She passed by the tent where her companions, Fringe Bell Fierce Blossoms, were sleeping without stopping.

Where is she going at this hour?

Hikaru wanted to figure out what the Trial of Illusions was really about. Despite asking Gilma and gathering information from various Dwarves during the day, no one seemed to know the specifics.

Waffa, who had apparently passed the trial before, wasn’t the type to answer questions directly. And so, Hikaru had to gather information indirectly.

“Waffa.”

A member of Fringe Bell Fierce Blossoms stepped out of the tent. Laughter spilled from inside. It sounded like they were having a good time, drinking. When the heavy flap of the tent closed behind her, the voices inside grew quieter.

“Where are you going? Your bed’s over here.”

Waffa stopped in her tracks, then awkwardly turned around.

“I’m just going for a short walk to sober up.”

“You’re not fooling me,” the woman scoffed. “I know what you’re up to. The night’s just getting started. You’re headed to the Trial of Illusions, aren’t you?”

Waffa didn’t answer, but Hikaru took her silence as affirmation.

Why? The Trial of Illusions is for the Four Eastern Stars. What’s she going to do there? Help? No, that doesn’t make sense.

“Sh-Shut up,” Waffa said. “It’s none of your business.”

“Yeah, yeah. Knock yourself out. Just be careful.”

Her companion tossed her a small magic lamp, a gesture that only confirmed Hikaru’s suspicion. Waffa really was heading to the Trial of Illusions. But at this hour? The Four Eastern Stars were probably camped out by now.

Waffa left the camp and made her way through the moonlit hills. The Mountain of Illusions wasn’t far, but it wasn’t a place you’d venture to on foot at night either. Yet, Waffa quickened her pace, until eventually she was half-running.

What’s going on with her?!

Taking advantage of the darkness, Hikaru also ran without much worry, though without a light to guide his way, he had to be careful not to trip.

Suddenly, Waffa broke into laughter. “Haha… Hahahahaha!”

Huh?!

Her eerie laugh sent a chill down Hikaru’s spine. Waffa didn’t stop.

She began her ascent up the Mountain of Illusions. The slope was steep, but she pushed forward without slowing.

Something was off. The Dwarf girl seemed to be up to something, but Hikaru had no idea what.

Hikaru’s heart skipped a beat. Just as the fog began to thicken, Waffa veered off in a direction that seemed completely empty. There wasn’t even a path there.

A shortcut.

Waffa, having already completed the Trial of Illusions, knew the layout of the mountain well, including hidden paths. A flat, trodden path suddenly appeared, tucked behind a large rock.

This was a route that no one would have found on their own.

Without a second glance, Waffa pressed on. Hikaru felt an inexplicable chill run down his back as he watched her move forward.

What is she up to? Are Selyse and the others safe?

The two quickly made their way along the path where the Four Eastern Stars had struggled earlier. Only their footsteps broke the silence of the night.

---

The Four Eastern Stars decided to rest in a relatively spacious clearing they’d found along the mountain trail, but there were no branches to start a fire.

With no other choice, they ate their sandwiches quickly and wrapped themselves in blankets, taking turns sleeping. Without a fire, the night grew cold, but Selyse, who was on watch, didn’t mind much.

“It was colder the night we headed north,” she muttered softly.

She was recalling the time when they chased the Great Labyrinth of Runay-aas. The northern part of the Quinbrand Empire had been bitterly cold.

Not only that, but the Four Eastern Stars had ventured to many places on Adventurers Guild commissions, and there were times it had been even colder. Still, the memory of that particular night stuck with Selyse.

“The night sky was beautiful then,” she sighed.

Here, the fog was thick, and the surrounding was nearly pitch-black. Nevertheless, a faint moonlight managed to filter through.

Selyse remembered the night sky she had once shared with Hikaru.

“So far away.”

She didn’t know the full extent of Hikaru’s strength. If they were to fight purely based on physical ability and swordsmanship, she might have the upper hand. But if the fight allowed anything, she knew she’d lose. She believed Hikaru was a master at hiding his presence—some form of magic or sorcery, perhaps—but she understood that it was part of his strength.

His strength had no limits. He had taken down giant monsters that had escaped from the Great Labyrinth of Runay-aas with long-range shots.

More than anything, Selyse couldn’t forget the image of him easily dispatching the dragon that had once filled her with hopelessness. It was the first time, since becoming a full-fledged adventurer, that she had experienced being protected so completely.

She knew Hikaru didn’t need her strength. And that was why he felt so distant. His heart was already occupied by Lavia.

“Just quietly being by his side would be enough for me,” she thought.

She had once believed she was dead. That was why she wanted to live freely—to use her life for Hikaru, who had saved her and showed her a new world, Japan. Selyse understood that Paula likely felt the same, and she hoped she could become like that too.

“It’s strange,” she murmured. “I never thought I’d feel like this.”

There was a reason Selyse had made the Four Eastern Stars an all-female party. The woman who had taught her the basics of adventuring, Sandra, had fallen in love with a party member, married him, and had children, causing the party to disband.

Adventurers needed parties because of the many dangers of solo activities, and Selyse believed that long-term parties were better off without men.

Yet now, she found herself thinking about a black-haired boy.

She glanced at Serika, wrapped in her blanket. Serika had the same black hair as Hikaru. Selyse never imagined she would envy someone’s black hair.

“No way. I thought homework was page 62,” Serika murmured in her sleep.

It was in Japanese, so Selyse didn’t understand, but it sounded like Serika was having a bad dream. The thick magical energy in the air made it hard to breathe, and Serika seemed to be struggling in her sleep. Selyse felt a little sorry for her.

As Serika tossed her blanket off, Selyse reached out to fix it.

“Sara.”

“Yes?”

Sara, who was supposed to be asleep, opened her eyes, sat up, and drew her dagger, ready for action.