PROLOGUE

Sprouting from the Scorched Earth

01

What is the source of fear?

For the Gold Lion General Leonhardt, leader of an army that faced powerful monsters with sword, magic, and his own flesh, fear was nothing but an emotion to conquer.

Leonhardt’s skill, Lion’s Roar, bolstered the fighting strength of the troops he commanded. If the commander of valorous and mighty soldiers was trembling in fear, it would be impossible for him to make use of that power.

For this reason, Leonhardt asked himself what he was afraid of in order to always be strong and calm.

For example, the Fell Forest. A dark place even in the daytime where fiendish monsters lived beyond the trees.

How many monsters lived there? How many powerful enemies lurked there? It was the kind of place where, even if lovely flowers bloomed at your feet, they might hold poison that would send you into eternal sleep if you took but the smallest taste of their nectar.

Another example: the Aqueduct flowing under the Labyrinth City. The vast water vein, into which the City’s drainage flowed, conjured images of fearsome monsters. Even the ground underfoot there felt like it was on the verge of collapse.

Facing a powerful opponent whose capabilities can’t be guessed at—the unknown—can certainly elicit fear.

This was the very reason the Labyrinth Suppression Forces had a scout unit with the task of investigating the Labyrinth. They explored new strata, ensured the safety of routes, and surveyed the types, numbers, and weaknesses of the monsters inhabiting them. Even if there were monsters that exceeded the strength of the incursion, it was possible to defeat the creatures if there was enough information to formulate an appropriate strategy.

That was what the Gold Lion General Leonhardt believed. Beyond the effects of his own skill—Lion’s Roar—it was human wisdom that would overcome difficulties, quell fear, and clear a path to the future.

He couldn’t have known that a being who surpassed his understanding, who would cause a paradigm shift, had just awakened from the deep, barren earth of the Fell Forest. He couldn’t have known that the powerful A-Rank earth dragons had attacked the being extolled as a “Calamity,” nor that this entity had recently finished turning them into charred pieces of meat as a reprisal. Leonhardt didn’t yet know the Labyrinth City had caught the fearsome mage’s eye, or the distance between that mage and the City was closing rapidly.

02

I am the Calamity. Now, I stand atop scorched earth.

I remember. I overslept just a little. Well, I don’t really know if it was just a little. Good morning, everybody! It’s a fine day for some outdoor grilling.

Mm, nothing’s wrong with my magical power. In fact, it’s perfect. So perfect, I overcooked three dragons with my Good Morning Fire, and now I dunno what to do for breakfast. Well, I guess it’s not breakfast time. The sun’s quite high in the sky. Anyhoo, I’m starving. That girl’s probably awake by now, too, so I’ll wish her a “bad morning” and we can eat together. I bet she’ll be delighted to cook for me if I bring some tasty meat.

Oh, there’s an earth dragon in the perfect spot. I may have overcooked those three from earlier, but this’s a new one. Earth dragons sure have excellent technique for their size. They shoot out those stone lances real quick; makes them incredibly annoying. They’re like hedgehogs. Anyhoo, I’ll toss some flame blast magic into its mouth and blow its head off. Ah, this time it worked much better. The meat from the neck down is still fresh, so I’ve got some cooking ingredients. It’s bad not to drain the blood from your prey after killing it, but that’s too much trouble. I’ll just carry it like this.

Mm. I thought I was gonna carry it, but turns out it’s huge and heavy. I can’t. I’ll just cut off the back, the most delicious part, with a wind blade, wrap that in some leaves, and carry it. I’ll incinerate the rest. Too bad I have to waste it. Monsters can evolve by eating the flesh of something powerful like an earth dragon, so it’s good manners to burn up the corpse and return its magical power to the ley line.

I’ll take only what I can eat and release the rest.

I was gonna sing my own praises for my exemplary deed, but I guess I shouldn’t have done that. Seems like the smell of delicious cooked meat lured in a swarm of small fries from the Fell Forest. I didn’t send any invitations to a barbecue party.

What the heck? Has the monster population exploded recently? Are people slacking off on culling them?

“Grant me nourishment. Consume and burn the many foes that defy me. Flame Pillar Chaos.”

Fire!

Every last one of the whelps facing me caught fire, and the flame pillar swept them skyward.

Ahh, they’re really burning. These monsters are great to eat. They have so much fat, they burned reeeal well. I wonder if someone’ll come to get me after that big pillar of fire.

I hate walking.

03

The wall surrounding the Labyrinth City was protected by the City Defense Squad.

In this City, where subjugating the Labyrinth took top priority, the strongest people were assigned to the Labyrinth Suppression Forces. As a result, the overall combat strength of the City Defense Squad was barely enough to defeat swarms led by C-Rank orc kings. To account for this, soldiers who excelled in sensing magical power would always be stationed among those keeping watch, and they were to report to the Labyrinth Suppression Forces as soon as they sensed the approach of powerful monsters.

Nevertheless, day and night they guarded the wall separating the Fell Forest from the Labyrinth City. They bore witness to the Labyrinth Suppression Forces as they took down fearsome monsters from the Fell Forest on countless occasions. Each member was a gutsy soldier in their own right, and no matter what kind of monsters appeared, they had been sufficiently trained to deal with them in a calm and orderly manner.

One of those normally staunch guards of the City Defense Squad rushed into their unit’s station in a great panic and pale-faced.

“R-reporting in! We have confirmed a tremendously powerful magical reaction approximately six miles away in the southwest part of the Fell Forest!”

Kyte, the captain of the City Defense Squad, listened to the report, and although the guard’s unusual behavior had startled him, he maintained an outward calm and asked for more information on the situation.

“The southwest area of the forest…… Earth dragons?”

“No, sir, it was a far more powerful response! That kind of sensation of magical power was most likely from a human……”

A person would have to train vigorously to effectively imitate the voice of a beast. Magical power was the same way, as the type of source could be discerned to some extent. But a human with more powerful magic than an earth dragon’s wasn’t something you encountered every day.

Understanding the gravity of the situation, Captain Kyte hurriedly reported to his boss, the colonel.

“Who could it be? A departing adventurer?!”

“That isn’t possible. No adventurers above B Rank have departed today, sir!”

Nothing but thick trees filled the southwest part of the Fell Forest, and there shouldn’t have been any villages or the like in that region. So if no adventurers had left the Labyrinth City, who had used such powerful magic, and for what purpose?

As Captain Kyte was making his report regarding the adventurers who departed from the City, another messenger burst into the room. This one was even paler than the last.

“Reporting in! We have confirmed another powerful magical reaction approximately five miles away in the southwest part of the Fell Forest!”

“What?! So it’s getting closer… Continue to observe. I will report to the Labyrinth Suppression Forces. Captain Kyte, strengthen the southwestern gate’s defenses.”

“Sir!”

With a firm salute, Captain Kyte headed for the southwestern gate with his subordinate in tow.

This was no doubt the most serious incident they’d seen since the giant slime’s rampage. No, even more serious than that.

The City Defense Squad wasn’t especially powerful. However, the strength of their desire to protect the Labyrinth City was no less than that of the Labyrinth Suppression Forces.

Due to the low risk of the Squad’s duties, many people from good families and with lower combat strength comprised its ranks. However, if what defined the group was the idea that “the City Defense Squad consists of weak people,” both the will and morale of its members would falter. In time, the residents of the City would look down on them, hindering their duties. Therefore, the City Defense Squad was defined as “a force that demands character and intelligence.” In particular, the current colonel, Telluther’s successor, had set forth a policy for the Squad to be “the shield of the people,” and he fully enforced courteous and exemplary conduct toward commoners and adventurers alike. As a result, the City Defense Squad garnered a surprising amount of popularity.

Plus, the City Defense Squad had more points of contact with the City’s residents compared to the Labyrinth Suppression Forces, who only appeared in public for the large-scale expedition parades or when something major occurred. Otherwise, they continued their expeditions into the Labyrinth in secret. Although many people couldn’t read or write very well, the well-bred soldiers of City Defense treated them with respect. It was almost a task for them not to become well liked.

In particular, they had caught the eye of a group of young women. The salary of a soldier in their ranks was low compared to one in the Labyrinth Suppression Forces, but it was a stable job that carried few risks. Unlike soldiers in the Forces, who were immersed in vows and secrets, and who were awkward when it came to conversation, the gentlemanly Squad soldiers had a wealth of topics they could talk about. They were a real bargain.

Being well-liked by pretty young girls made things all the easier. Whether or not they were truly gentlemen or intelligent, all of them were simple at the core. If the key to popularity was gentlemanly conduct, they would strive to act in such a manner. As such, the soldiers of the City Defense Squad immediately acted as the citizens’ shield in this crisis and basked in the lovely praises of those cute girls.

Under the direction of Captain Kyte, they immediately strengthened defenses at the southwestern gate, sent the gathering of young ladies assembled nearby to their homes, and observed the movements of the approaching mystery person without missing a beat.

On the opposite side of things, there was Adviser Telluther.

“The Labyrinth Suppression Forces? That’s where His Excellency General Leonhardt is, right? I-I’ll go, too! Take me with you!”

“……Adviser Telluther, you do understand we’re in a state of emergency?”

“Of course, of course! If memory serves, at this time of day His Excellency General Leonhardt should be with His Excellency Lieutenant General Weishardt in a regular liaison council meeting at the base of the Labyrinth Suppression Forces!”

Telluther was one who latched on to the chance to meet General Leonhardt, the object of his admiration. His starry-eyed fondness for exceptional people was truly impressive, still going strong even at a time like this. Perhaps someone should have ordered him not to come in direct contact with Leonhardt?

It took a moment for the colonel of the City Defense Squad to regain his composure after Telluther’s inability to read the mood. Having done so, he made for the Labyrinth Suppression Forces’ base along with Telluther, who insisted, “There’s no time to waste.”

04

I am the Calamity. I have emerged from the river.

I recognize this river. It’s a branch of the Kingdom of Endalsia’s underground Aqueduct and flows into the rivers on the south side.

I’ll get there soon; magic has made progress quite smooth. Well, I say I used magic, but stride length is important. I love having long legs!

There should’ve been a bridge across this river, but I sure couldn’t find it.

Seems like people haven’t been in this area for a long time.

How careless. The fruit you can get around here makes some of the best booze you’ll ever have, but it doesn’t look like anyone has been to harvest it. I can’t believe they gave it up!

The lack of a bridge pissed me off, so I cut down several big trees nearby to make one myself. I noticed, after felling them, that the strength of the monsters around here differs depending on the side of the river. Powerful monsters might cross my bridge and gain access to the Kingdom of Endalsia, but oh well. Surely the fruit and the alcohol you can get from it are more important.

Pleasant drink and tasty snacks—the pickings she made were fantastic. Oh, come to think of it, I just realized something.

If powerful monsters stray onto the kingdom’s side of the river, she’ll be super angry. She always lectured me not to cause trouble for others ever since she was a little squirt.

Way back when, I used daidara snail mucus to make bumps appear all over my face and pretended to be sick as a little joke, but she got real mad at me afterward.

What would I do if she prepared something with those pseudo-snails as the only ingredient again? I mean, it wasn’t bad, but if I ate daidara snail for every meal day after day, I’d be escar-gone.

She forgave me for that gag back then, but I bet she won’t next time.

Monsters gathered around me again while I pondered such things.

They look much weaker than the ones around the scorched earth, but there sure are a lot of B-Rankers, like frenzied bears. These guys have parts that make good materials, like their livers, but beating them one by one takes a lot of time, and I’ve already got the earth dragon meat as a present. Mm. I’ll cook them all in one go.

“Flame Pillar Chaos.”

Fire!

My smoke signals are clearly visible, and I hit the bull’s-eye on all of those bad boys. I pinpointed the monsters when I fired the pillars; otherwise, I might’ve burned down the whole forest, and then I’d have to wait on the meat. I think I deserve a pat on the back for my control. Feels good to have my intuition back, but I’m still pretty hungry.

The fire pillars should be visible from the kingdom now, though. I wonder when they’ll come to welcome me.

05

“What of the unidentified person randomly firing off high-level magic as they approach the Labyrinth City?”

As Telluther and the colonel of the City Defense Squad were making their report to Leonhardt and the others, a messenger under Captain Kyte arrived to provide a progress report.

“Reporting in! We have confirmed another major magical reaction about three miles to the southwest! We’ve also confirmed from the watchtower at the top of the wall that a large number of fire pillars are visible near the rivers!”

“About how many?”

“Many, sir. At least a few dozen.”

Normally, when attacking multiple enemies with magic, you could specify the spell’s targeting coordinates. Some spells targeted in a line, like Wall, while others targeted an area, like Storm. If you didn’t, the magic likely wouldn’t connect. It was easy to understand if you thought of it like throwing stones at a moving target and then considering how many of the stones would actually hit. However, the wider the range, the weaker the magic’s attack power.

One could say that striking enemies with perfectly aimed magic was an exemplary method of attack, but…

“Dozens of fire pillars at once?!”

Weishardt was astonished. Even if there were an adventurer with such incredible skill and accuracy, how high would their rank have to be? Not to mention they were using fire pillars. Even casting a Fireball was much more difficult than launching a simple projectile because it was an embodiment of fire. Fixing coordinates ought to be necessary to activate far stronger fire magic.

And there had been dozens of those pillars all at once. If this was the work of just one person, they’d have to exceed A Rank. However, there had been no word of the likes of an S-Ranker who could control fire in the surrounding countries, let alone the Empire itself.

“Who could it be……? Are they even human……?”

Only one thing was certain: A creature in possession of truly fearsome power was heading for the Labyrinth City.

“We haven’t yet determined if they’re an enemy. Call the insect summoner. We’ll try to use his insects to scout, and discover the identity of this person undetected. Gather the Labyrinth Suppression Forces at the southwestern gate, just in case. Have them hide and mask their presences. The City Defense Squad’s station is the closest place to the southwestern gate. We’ll go as well.”

The Labyrinth Suppression Forces began to move immediately at Leonhardt’s orders.

Telluther caught a messenger who was leaving ahead of the others to send word to the Squad of the general’s visit.

“Hey, you can tidy up my room, right? Please check my toilet and water basin, too! And decorate it with flowers to make it smell nice! And then, after that……! There’s some first-class tea in my room I’ve been saving for a special occasion, so get that ready, please!”

“……Understood.”

Is he a girl inviting her boyfriend to her room for the first time? the messenger wondered, but he kept a straight face and hurried back to the City Defense Squad’s station.

06

I am the Calamity. I can see the ramparts.

I’ve walked so far, yet I haven’t even come across a single adventurer, let alone received any kind of welcome. What’s the deal? No sooner had the thought crossed my mind than I realized I was looking at the protective wall.

The Stampede destroyed the Kingdom of Endalsia, didn’t it?

Their lovely white wall’s been repaired with stones from around the area. The barricade’s been overrun by daigis ivy, too. Well, it feels a little more lived in this way than back when they were so picky just about the white wall’s look.

As I pondered, I was approached by some little buzzing gnats.

Magic insects.

Just when I thought I was finally receiving a proper welcome: magic insects. They stopped right in front of my eyes and nose.

Are they mocking me? This is just rude, you know? I thought I’d try burning them up a little, but I needed to be an adult about this. Calm down, calm down. If they think I’m an enemy and won’t let me inside the wall, I’d be in a real bind.

Because she’s probably in there.

I could blow away this wall no problem, but then I’d have to deal with the aftermath. And if I don’t give her this meat soon, I’ll miss dinner. That girl’s so clueless that, even with her skills, someone might be exploiting her. She could be living in poverty, barely anything to eat. Dang, I’m hungry.

So these’re probably magic insects, but I would’ve liked a friendlier greeting. I’ll turn on my chummy mode, smile, and address the likes of these bugs.

“It’s an honor to be welcomed. Now, lead the way.”

Yet the magic insects just buzzed about and then flew off high into the sky.

Grr, so rude! As I surveyed my surroundings and wondered if I should turn the whole area into a sea of fire and kill the bugs, a pack of forest wolves gathered around. Woof, woof.

Ahh, so that’s why you ran? More importantly, why are these doggies appearing so close to the City? They should be using monster-warding potions out here. She’s not slacking off in her work, is she? I’ll have to scold her.

Anyhoo, this barking’s annoying me. Time to roast the doggies.

“Flame Pillar Chaos.”

Fire!

Now, then. It’s just a little farther to the City.

07

“Ack!!!”

“What is it?” Weishardt asked the insect summoner, who had broken into a cold sweat and stiffened with a start.

“I was spotted……”

“What?!”

The magic insects sent out by insect summoners were used to investigate the Labyrinth, a place crawling with monsters. At first glance they looked like normal insects, they were small, and they only made a faint sound, so they excelled at spying by blending into the scenery. Without them, the Forces wouldn’t have been able to investigate the Labyrinth, which contained over fifty strata. Spotting a magic insect at first glance was no small feat…

“It wasn’t merely your imagination?”

“With all due respect, sir… She turned toward my insect and asked it to lead the way, so I don’t think I’m mistaken.”

“I see. And what kind of person was she?” Weishardt asked, still doubtful of what he was hearing. The summoner replied, “I think it would be faster to see for yourself, sir.”

I am the Calamity. I am in front of the gate.

She had trudged all this way and finally made it to the City, only to find the gate was shut tight.

Moreover, a group that appeared to be soldiers were clustered inside.

Do they think they’re hiding? That I can’t see them? Come on, it’s not like fire pillars are that uncommon, so what’s all this fuss about? Well, I miiight have made a lot of them, I guess.

Thinking it over while staring at the closed gate, a small door next to the larger entrance into the City opened, and a lone soldier stepped toward her.

“My name is Kyte. I’m the captain of the City Defense Squad. I can gather from your appearance that you’re a famous adventurer, but I’d like to hear your name and the reason for your visit.”

As one might’ve expected, Captain Kyte drew the short straw.

He didn’t know whether she was friend or foe, but according to Weishardt, even if she was human, she commanded a dangerous amount of power. He’d understood what the insect summoner had said, but this was first contact with a stranger who had produced pillars of fire in the Fell Forest as she rapidly approached the City. This was an encounter with the unknown.

If she wasn’t an enemy, any rudeness would adversely affect subsequent interactions, so someone who held a position suited to the occasion was required to respond to her. However, if she was an enemy, it would be a touch-and-go situation that promised sudden death.

It was quite the difficult mission, but Captain Kyte was believed capable of showing a calm response under the conditions because of the bravery he’d shown back when confronting the enormous slime. There was no doubt he was a courageous man.

But even so, the man was relieved when he saw exactly who the curious visitor to the southwestern gate of the Labyrinth City was.

If he were a soldier of the Labyrinth Suppression Forces who had fought the fake mermaids in the fifty-fourth stratum of the Labyrinth, he wouldn’t have been so likely to judge someone on appearances alone, but Kyte belonged to the City Defense Squad. One could say he was still a greenhorn, in some respects.

“I’m Freyja. I came to visit my pupil. Could you let me in?”

The owner of this voice was probably around twenty-five years old, judging from her sprightly and voluptuous body.

Her golden eyes were full of strong will, and her red lips were turned up in a grin. The long hair trailing behind her caught the light and shone golden, or orange. No, it was as if red, orange, and yellow blended together like a flickering flame. This person calling herself Freyja was a beautiful woman.

“Who is your pupil?”

“Ugh, I hate bureaucracy. You don’t want to let me in, do you?”

The golden eyes glinted like a carnivorous animal’s as she glared at him, and for an instant the beautiful woman before him resembled an enormous fire beast. Cold sweat ran down Kyte’s back.

“F-far from it. However, I assume from your appearance that you’re quite a high-ranking adventurer. Our city is glad to host such adventurers. I’m simply asking questions so we may welcome you to the fullest extent possible and not be discourteous…”

Kyte’s incoherent excuse wasn’t a lie.

The Labyrinth City tended to treat high-ranking adventurers more cordially. Even penal laborers could be set free should they ever reach A Rank. Nothing would have been more welcome than this woman named Freyja joining the fight down in the Labyrinth.

The dangerous glint vanished from Freyja’s eyes as she realized he was telling the truth, and she gave him an answer.

“I don’t intend to bring harm to this city. My pupil’s name is Mariela.”

“Wha—? The alchemist?!”

Through the spells Wind’s Whispers and Telepathy, the conversation between Captain Kyte and Freyja was being immediately transmitted to Leonhardt and Weishardt.

The mage named Freyja who’d come to the City, loosing fearsome fire pillars all the while, appeared civil enough to hold a conversation. And although seemingly short-tempered, she apparently was not inclined toward hostilities. That, at least, was a good thing, but…

“It is possible she means somebody else with the same name.”

“……Do you really believe that, Weis?”

The privacy of Leonhardt and Weishardt’s conversation was protected by soundproofing magic.

In a corner of the room, the adventurer-loving Telluther said to himself, “Freyja? That’s the first time I’ve heard that name. Maybe she’s an adventurer from a far-off foreign country.”

If Telluther didn’t know her, then there was no mistaking it. No A-Rank or higher adventurers like Freyja existed in the countries surrounding the Empire. At least, not until now.

The high-ranking mage who’d suddenly appeared at their doorstep had addressed the Alchemist Pact-Bearer, who shouldn’t exist in the Labyrinth City, as her pupil.

It would be strange to believe those two weren’t acquainted.

If they were truly master and pupil, there would be no problem. However, Leonhardt and Weishardt found it hard to believe such a high-ranking mage of unknown character was an alchemist’s master.

“Where is Lady Mariela?”

“Today she is in Sunlight’s Canopy.”

“Tell her to close the shop and not to set foot outside. Lead Lady Freyja to the best lodgings and show her the utmost hospitality. Say we’re looking for her pupil and try to get more information out of her.”

“Sir!”

Leonhardt’s orders reached Kyte immediately, and the southwestern gate of the Labyrinth City was opened to Freyja.

“Lady Freyja. The Labyrinth City is immense. We will prepare the best lodgings for you in the City, so please make yourself at home there. And we will provide you with the finest meal. We shall find your pupil, Lady Mariela, and bring her to you.” Captain Kyte bowed his head very deeply.

“Thanks, but no thanks. I want to eat with Mariela today. If you don’t know where she is, I can find her.”

Freyja passed through the gate, turned down Kyte’s offer, and chanted a spell unfamiliar to him.

“I search for thee, kin of my soul. Answer my call. Soul Signal.”

The man had never heard of that spell before. Captain Kyte was a shield knight, and his level wasn’t particularly high. It wasn’t right to say he was well acquainted with magic, but as captain he’d received basic training on its systems. Despite his instruction, this was the first time he’d ever heard of this spell. Moreover, he’d never heard of any magic that could find the whereabouts of a specific person.

“Found you. So you did wake up.”

Freyja let out a laugh, and although Captain Kyte tried to detain her, she smoothly slipped away from him and began walking toward her goal without hesitation. She surveyed how the landscape of the City had changed over time, and she gave hardly a single thought to the soldiers lurking in the alleys.

The fire-haired woman’s actions sent Leonhardt and Weishardt into a panic.

They’d tried to be courteous to her so she wouldn’t take offense, and to ascertain if she was someone who would harm the alchemist, but they hadn’t been able to buy enough time.

“I will go, Brother. I have a greater affinity with mages,” Weishardt said. He stood up and hurriedly made for Sunlight’s Canopy along with several mages under his command. For some reason, Telluther followed. It was reckless of him to want to get a peek at the newly appeared high-ranking adventurer, but the emergency of the situation had all but shrouded his presence.

Was the man completely unaware of what the Labyrinth Suppression Forces were dealing with?

Freyja hummed some unknown tune to herself as she appeared to glide along the main road of the Labyrinth City. Although she was taking her time and enjoying the sights, Captain Kyte was just barely able to keep pace behind her at a jog.

And following farther behind the two in a great hurry was Weishardt.

It was a mistake to travel to the City Defense Squad’s station. If we were at the base of the Labyrinth Suppression Forces, we probably could have cut through underground and arrived there first.

Praying that the messenger delivering the warning had made it in time and the door to Sunlight’s Canopy was closed, Weishardt’s group ran through narrow alleys on their way to the shop.

08

I am the Calamity. I am in front of the door.

Far removed from the panic of Weishardt and the others, Mariela and Sieg fed off each other’s sadness from the loss of Lynx, and the gloom around them dampened the mood so heavily that mushrooms could have popped up around them. No, they hadn’t changed their jobs to farmer, and no actual mushrooms had grown so far.

Mariela had received a message from the Labyrinth Suppression Forces to close the shop and firmly shut the door. She’d approached the door to lock it, and she turned her head to look at Sieg with tears in her eyes.

“Sieg… Thanks to Merle, we were able to close up without any trouble, but why would they suddenly tell us to close and to not go outside? Something’s probably happened… I wonder if it’s something bad again…”

“Don’t worry, Mariela. I’ll protect you no matter what.”

Drip, drop, drip, drop.

Although the rainy season had ended, it was still quite damp. It was only a matter of time before mushrooms started to sprout. No doubt some kind of fungus was taking root already. Some damp, moist kind. Mariela and Sieg needed to be disinfected, and only way to do so was with blazing flames.

Incidentally, Mariela had been so preoccupied with the weepy conversation that she had completely forgotten to lock the door.

Bang!

The unlocked door of Sunlight’s Canopy flew open.

Mariela was standing with her back to the door. And behind her was…

“Marieeelaaa!”

“H-huwhaaaaaaaaaaaa??!”

Mariela panicked at the sudden hug from behind, and Sieg floundered, unable to assess the situation.

“Marielaaa, it’s been so, so long. How many years has it been? Have you gotten bigger?”

“Wha—? W-wait. Could it really be?”

“H-hey, who the hell are you, lady?!”

The mystery woman was embracing Mariela and vigorously rubbing her own cheek against the startled alchemist’s. In a panic, Sieg tore the woman away from Mariela. Freed at last, Mariela turned around, and both her eyes and her mouth widened in surprise and disbelief.

“M…Master???!!! How?!”

“Ah-ha-ha, I overslept a bit. Bet you did, too, right? You always were suuuch a scatterbrain!”

Her master belted out a hearty laugh, while Mariela’s mouth remained agape.

Sh-she really is her master……? So that means she’s the second……?! But that attack power…

Weishardt, watching the whole thing from the back of the building, was relieved at realizing there was no danger to the alchemist. However, the situation still proved to be quite puzzling to him.

“By the way, looks like you grew a bit taller. But nothing else about you has really grown, huh, Mariela? No, I don’t mean your chest! Alchemy, you dunce. Well, we’ll talk about all that later, I brought you a present. I’m starved. Cook it for me.”

Mouth still wide open, Mariela had looked down at her chest and back up to her master’s face. Freyja handed her the leaf-wrapped monster flesh.

“I-is this…earth dragon meat?! Wait, what were you thinking leaving this at room temperature without draining the blood?! What a waste. Hmm, how can we make it taste good now… Oh. I know, I know. But we don’t have enough herbs. Sieg, could you go get some?”

Mariela immediately came alive at the thought of high-quality ingredients, and earth dragon meat, which couldn’t even be found in the wholesale market, was among the best of the best. Excited as she was, the girl was not above feeling frustrated with her master’s sloppiness; if her master had just frozen the meat, it would have made a better dish.

“U-um, understood.”

Although Sieg was taken aback by Mariela’ sudden change in tone, he nodded all the same. The reply came reflexively, but even if this woman was the girl’s master, Mariela’s escort couldn’t afford to just leave her. Taking notice of the man, Freyja thoroughly surveyed him from the tips of his toes to the top of his head. Apparently pleased with her estimations, she grinned and asked Mariela a question.

“Hmm? Oh-ho-ho-ho? Is that your man, Mariela? No way! What a specimen.”

“Y… Y-y-y… You’ve got it all wrong, Master!”

“Geez, kids these days. To think she’d choose someone so experienced and sullied. Kids really scare me.”

“W-what are you talking about, madam?”

“Yeah, Master. Sieg keeps himself clean, he’s not sullied.”

“That’s not what I meant. Ahh, but I’m so glad Mariela’s still the same as ever.”

Sieg understood. Mariela did not. Freyja gazed at the pair and smiled knowingly.

“Madam, please don’t teach Mariela strange things……”

Sieg could tell this person was dangerous, and he gently rebuked her.

“Hmm? What’re you trying to say, Dark Sieg? I’m Mariela’s master. An alchemist’s master is akin to their parent. You get my meaning? If so, scoot off shopping now.”

“Uh! Understood, Most Respectable Mother! Off I go!” At Freyja’s words, Sieg about-faced and rushed off. What happened to being Mariela’s escort?

In actuality, there were guards on standby around Sunlight’s Canopy, so it likely wasn’t a problem for Sieg to leave the shop for a little while.

Incidentally, a heavier perimeter than usual had been imposed after Mariela was told to close the shop, but her master had slipped through all of it. She had appeared to them as an ordinary passerby. If any of the guardsmen had noticed her, it was only after she’d gone past them.

Not a one of them realized this was the effect of the song Mariela’s master had been humming to herself.

Utterly ignorant of this fact, Sieg—who’d been overpowered by Mariela’s master within minutes of meeting her—dashed off toward Merle’s Spices to handle the impromptu shopping.

“I’m going to make this into a stew today since you didn’t drain the blood, Master. But roasting it would have given it the best flavor, you know. So next time, please let the blood out and freeze it before you bring it.”

“Ehh, too much trouble. Why don’t you come with me next time?”

“…I think I’ll pass. I’d be dead in less than a minute.”

Mariela made free use of both her magical power and skills to prepare the high-class ingredient, and the resulting stew proved to be a gloriously delectable achievement. An absolute masterpiece. It was so wonderful, Margrave Schutzenwald’s family chef might have even tipped his hat to it.

Despite the miraculous reunion, no one said a word as master and pupil both greedily devoured the food while Sieg served them. The night quietly wore on as the silent dinner continued.

A second alchemist, Lady Mariela’s master, and what’s more, a high-ranking mage…… If we can obtain her assistance, then maybe…

Weishardt lost track of time as he stood motionlessly on the street near Sunlight’s Canopy, engrossed in his own thoughts. Telluther grew impatient and called out to him.

“Umm, Your Excellency Lieutenant General Weishardt, I wonder if we should go greet Lady Freyja? The young man I happened to see leave the shop a little while ago is an acquaintance of mine……”

“Hmm? Telluther? Why are you…? Well, no matter. The woman is in the midst of sharing the joy reuniting with her pupil. She has proven her connection to a citizen of the Labyrinth City. It would be uncivilized for us to interrupt. Let us withdraw.”

“Oh, yes, sir… You know, it’s quite interesting ‘Freyja’ is the same name as the ‘Sage of Calamity’ in fairy tales. The sage had the same name and occupation as this woman. Ha-ha, quite the coincidence.”

Telluther was undeniably disappointed that this wasn’t the real Sage of Calamity, but he recovered quickly enough. His innocuous statement, however, had made something click within Weishardt.

It couldn’t be…

He recalled a topic of conversation from a dinner with Mariela a few days back.

It was said the Sage of Calamity had slaughtered many monsters during the Stampede two hundred years ago. Could they be one and the same? Alchemists had been sleeping in the Aguinas family’s cellar under the Magic Circle of Suspended Animation. He couldn’t deny the possibility.

However, the name “Sage of Calamity Freyja” was mentioned in fairy tales from far earlier than the Stampede.

I’m overthinking it. Perhaps the name of a hero from two hundred years ago merely replaced the earlier name of some fairy-tale character, Weishardt assured himself.

However, he couldn’t deny the thought that had risen from the depths of his mind.

It was all no more than a guess, certainly not an assumption. The only thing he could say for certain right now was that neither Elmera’s husband, Voyd, nor Mariela’s master, Freyja, were people he could afford to neglect.

Telluther interjected excitedly, “I guess we’ll just have to meet Lady Freyja tomorrow!” But as soon as he returned to the Labyrinth Suppression Forces’ base, he was forced to make the vow, “From now on, I will not approach Freyja or Sunlight’s Canopy, and I will not disclose the information I already know by any means, including by way of writing.” As such, he couldn’t even approach Sieg, his benefactor during the giant slime incident and whose whereabouts Telluther had discovered through sheer dumb luck, let alone Freyja. The man’s despondence was unspeakable.

If this were their only issue, Mariela and Sieg’s daily life in Sunlight’s Canopy could have become quite peaceful, but the inquires of an overcurious man were trivial compared to the uproar caused by Mariela’s explosive master.

09

“Master, you forgot to put out the lantern, too?! The almighty lantern?”

“You’re saying you did, too? Such a kluuutz. Ah-ha-ha.”

Mariela’s master burst out laughing and mocking her pupil despite her own accidental two-hundred-year nap.

“You’re impossible!” Mariela exclaimed with a pout, which served to only elicit even more laughter from her master.

Sieg had bought a stash of alcohol with his own allowance for times when Edgan came crying to him, and it was obliterated in a matter of minutes. The culprit was, of course, Freyja. She would look at a bottle and say, “Mmm, Drops of Liiife,” and then promptly drain it. Although she was a disgrace to alchemists for likening alcohol to Drops of Life, it probably seemed like an accurate comparison to a drunkard.

Sieg was in charge of the household finances for Sunlight’s Canopy. Watching the alcohol disappear made him think seriously about factoring “Master Expenses” into the budget as he brought in new bottles of alcohol from the storehouse. He very much wanted to support his “mother-in-law,” but unfortunately his own spending money didn’t seem like it would suffice.

It had been a little over two hundred years since Mariela’s master departed and left the little house in the Fell Forest to her pupil.

With no advance warning whatsoever, the woman had reappeared and made herself at home, and pestered Mariela to make dinner for her.

The meat her master had brought as a souvenir was exquisite, and although master and pupil had indeed enjoyed a truly miraculous reunion after ages of separation, they wordlessly tore into their food once the cooking was done.

Even if one were to disregard the two centuries they’d slept under the Magic Circle of Suspended Animation, it had still been several years since they’d seen each other. They had so much to talk about, yet Mariela’s master acted casually, as if she’d only been gone for a few days. The pair who’d been buried for more than two lifetimes carried on rambling conversations that resembled idle gossip. By all rights they should be talking about the time line of events since Mariela awakened, but Freyja’s influence was too strong.

“Master, how are you here after two hundred years?!”

After eating so much of the earth dragon stew she was fit to burst (or at least rediscover Chubby-ela’s waistline), Mariela finally asked the question she should have asked some time ago.

“Whoa, has it really been two hundred years? I can’t believe it. Looks like the Kingdom of Endalsia was destroyed, so what country are we in now?”

“Why are you so casual about this?!”

“This is the Empire’s Labyrinth City, a territory under the jurisdiction of Margrave Schutzenwald.”

Mariela’s mouth, once full of earth dragon stew, gaped open again at her master’s feigned ignorance, so it was Sieg who had answered the question.

“Ahh, I see. The Labyrinth City, huh?”

Freyja hemmed and hmmed to herself, and it seemed like she understood everything just from Sieg’s explanation.

“Wait just a second! Master! Why did you sleep for two hundred years in the first place? You said I graduated and then went and vanished, and now you show up all of a sudden! I mean, you even figured out where I was, even though the house in the Fell Forest is completely gone.”

“Huh? It’s because I forgot to put out the lantern and overslept.”

Mariela brought the conversation back around to its initial topic, and her master responded.

Freyja acted as if she’d simply overslept and was late to an appointment. She gazed cheerfully at her interrogator as Mariela pressed further.

“Still naive, huh, Mariela? I just figured if you’d woken up, you’d be in the nearby city, because the house in the Fell Forest was probably destroyed by the Stampede. If I get close enough to you, I can find out where you are.”

Apparently, her master had come straight to the Labyrinth City. If Mariela hadn’t woken up, or if she had and her life had already reached its end, what would her master have done? Try as she might, Mariela couldn’t picture her master being at a loss.

Oh, whatever. Master… I’m just glad I get to see you again…

This was the kind of person her master was.

No matter how inconceivable a situation, she seemed to understand everything just from the briefest of explanations, and this was completely incomprehensible to Mariela.

Mariela felt happy to see her master, relieved she was the same as ever, and just a little baffled at her way of doing things. Little had changed in the last two hundred years. This red-haired woman was unmistakably Mariela’s master.

That’s why Mariela decided to share some small portion of her true feelings in the same way she used to, before her master had left.

“I was kinda sad when I thought I’d never see you again, you know?”

“Oh my gosh, what’s this all of a sudden? You’re so cuuute!”

Mariela’s master squeezed her tight.

“M-Master, that hurts. And it’s hot.”

Freyja had a high body temperature, so a hug from her was extremely warm, except during winter.

That’s right—it hasn’t rained recently… It’ll be summer soon. I hadn’t even realized…

As she tried to break away from her master, Mariela realized the rainy season had ended. The young alchemist felt like she hadn’t been able to see anything around herself ever since they’d lost Lynx. When she looked about, even the familiar interior of Sunlight’s Canopy felt strangely nostalgic, as if walking through memories rather than a solid place.

I bought that big glass vial in the corner thinking it would be cute if I put a variety of soaps in it. The colored paper I bought to make it easy to tell smoke bombs apart is still wrapped up.

And then there was Sieg, always at her side. He was waiting for an unguarded moment as Mariela’s teacher continued to hold her student close. Mariela’s innocent gaze exposed him, and the man turned uncomfortably as his eyes restlessly roamed around the room.

“Hee-hee…”

A completely spontaneous giggle slipped from Mariela’s lips.

After Lynx had died, she was so sad, lonely, and certain it was her own fault that she thought she’d never laugh again. Mariela felt like a horrible person for laughing like this when she had lost him, and he could never enjoy himself, be happy, or laugh again.

“Master…um…”

“What’s wrong, Mariela?”

Smiling through her tears, Mariela told her master about Lynx, starting with her waking up from suspended animation about half a year ago and meeting him in the Fell Forest.

Her master was an irresponsible person and normally hardly listened to what someone else had to say, but at times like this she listened intently to the very end. Even when Mariela’s words caught in her throat, Freyja gently urged her to go on and stayed with her until she’d pulled out the thorn piercing her heart.

“Thaz why…hic, I decided I wanna kill the Labyrinth… Sob… Because iz my fault…”

She started crying again. Gripping a cleaning cloth that had been sitting on the table, Mariela recounted Lynx’s death to her master in a mumble of a voice.

“I see. So that’s what happened. Then you think Lynx’s death is your fault, right?” the young alchemist’s teacher asked gently. The woman softly stroked Mariela’s head as if she were a small child. Sieg held a clean hand towel and fidgeted as if he wanted to join in.

“Uh-huh. Thaz why I…”

Mariela had been about to continue speaking as her instructor continued to comfort her, but that’s when—

“Well, it’s not! Imprint!”

“Gyaaah!!!”

“M-Mariela?!”

It was the young woman’s first Imprint in two hundred years. It really, really hurt.

Sieg grew flustered at Mariela’s sudden strangled shriek.

“M-Master?! Hey, what the heck? Why the Imprint? What is this? ‘How to call your newly Pact-Bearing pupil back’?! I’m…not grateful at all, you know? The Library will open to me once I can make special-grade potions. There is no reason for you to do this! I was going to learn it really soon anyway, but this Imprint is stupid! And it hurts! Argh, Master!!!”

Mariela was even more flustered than Sieg.

The shock was so great that she’d stopped crying.

“It’s your fault for not being able to make special-grade potions yet! And it’s those guys’ fault for not being able to deal with the Labyrinth even after two hundred years! Everyone bears a little of the blame. What’s done is done. So it’s not a matter of who’s at fault. Got it? If you’ve got time to blame yourself and cower for that Lynx guy, then face the future and start moving forward for him, too! You’ve been sad long enough.”

Freyja spoke with a grin as she answered her student’s gaze with her own. Mariela’s eyes grew as round as apriore fruit at her master’s assertion.

“Master, do you really mean it……?”

“Of course. Who do you think you’re talking to?”

“…Masterrr.”

Mariela’s quiet answer seemed to satisfy the woman. Laughing, she said, “Well? I’m right, aren’t I?”

Far from merely being pulled out, the thorn piercing Mariela’s heart seemed to have vanished without a trace from the shock of her master’s Imprint.

“You are, I’ll do my best. For Lynx, too.”

Lynx had been a very important person to Mariela, and losing him had thrown her into a deep depression. But it wasn’t as if she’d lost the time she’d spent with him. She remembered all of it. At last, Mariela had realized that Lynx wouldn’t be happy to see her moping around forever.

With a determined expression, Mariela looked straight into her master’s eyes.

“You’re a good girl, Mariela. Now then, I bet you’ve been slacking off this whole time, right? You’ve got a lot of makeup work, so get ready to be worked to the bone!”

“Wha—???!!”

Her master smiled impishly. That wasn’t a good sign.

That’s just the kind of person she is…

Mariela had completely returned to normal. When she pondered the kind of unreasonable demands her longtime teacher might make, her head started to ache as though she’d been hit with another Imprint.

“Okaaay. I’m ready. Oh, that’s right. While we’re at it, there’s something I’ve wanted to ask you. Why did you choose the Magic Circle of Suspended Animation for my graduation test?”

This was something that had tickled the back of Mariela’s mind for a long time. Even she knew Magic Circles of Suspended Animation weren’t common, but if it hadn’t been for that, she wouldn’t have survived the Stampede. That’s why it seemed so curious. Why did her master have her learn the magic circle at all? As perhaps should have been expected by now, however, Freyja’s response was far from the girl’s prediction.

“What? It’s because the thing’s a pain in the ass for me to draw myself.”

“Huh?”

Mariela’s master had been the one who’d Imprinted the Magic Circle of Suspended Animation on her. The woman could easily have drawn it herself.

She’d made her student do it simply because it was a bother to take care of herself.

It was exactly the sort of reasoning Freyja would employ, but Mariela wondered if this was why her instructor kept Imprinting countless magic circles on her from a young age.

“Mariela, you’re good at drawing all the tiny details, you know?”

“Well, I guess, but… Is that really why you made me draw it? Because it was a nuisance to do it yourself?”

“Yup,” her master answered readily.

“You’re impossible…”

Mariela felt as though her knees were buckling under her, and her master proceeded to metaphorically kick her while she was down.

“I mean, you’d get it if you really thought about it. Magic circles have nothing to do with alchemy.”

“!!!!!”

The shocking truth was revealed after two long centuries.

The impact was so immense that Mariela froze in place. The red-haired teacher roared with laughter at the sight and took another brazen swig of Sieg’s prized alcohol that she’d had the man pour for her.

“Please, no more…”

Mariela felt a fool for taking the words of her master so seriously. Freyja was that kind of person.

Evidently the young alchemist had over-glorified her master during the years she’d lived in the Fell Forest alone.

I haven’t had a drop to drink, but my head is spinning.

As Mariela held her head, her master delivered a clean coup de grâce.

“Oh yeah, the upstairs guest room is my room now! Maaan, never in my wildest dreams did I think you’d be living in such a snazzy house, Mariela. Oh, Sieg, bring alcohol to my room later. And call me when my bath’s ready.”

“Certainly, Most Venerable Mother.”

“Master, you’re gonna live here?! And Sieg, what’s with that name you’re calling her?!”

In the end, that was the best Mariela could muster in trying to stop Sieg from calling Freyja “Mother.”

“Yeah, nice, isn’t it? I mean, you’re like my daughter, after all.”

“But! If I’m your daughter, how did Sieg become your son?!”

“Huh? I just thought I’d back Sieg on this one is all…”

“I am in your care, Most Venerable Mother.”

Eventually, the red-haired woman had told Sieg to call her “Lady Frey” in a rather pompous tone. When Mariela had, quite plainly, informer her master that the title sounded self-important, Freyja replied, “What? I am important.”

Sieg was conflicted, stuck between relief and loss, at seeing Mariela return to her former vigor. He felt lazy for having sunk into a deep abyss of sadness along with her. Having not yet begun to move on himself, he wondered if Mariela would leave him behind and just how far from him she would drift.

Freyja’s golden eyes flickered like flame. They appeared wholly capable of seeing all the way through to the innermost thoughts of her beloved pupil and the young man who was her escort.

10

Siegmund couldn’t sleep that night.

He was a light sleeper, prone to wake up at the slightest sound. He believed it was a remnant of his long life as a slave. His former master, the merchant who tyrannized him for far too long, would accost his slaves when they dared to sleep in his presence, even if they were exhausted from hard labor.

Sieg’s bedroom was dim, illuminated only by the scant light of the sinking moon, but it proved enough that Sieg’s single eye could discern the outlines of the handful of furniture. He sat on his bed, leaning against the wall with his arms around one knee, and he listened, without moving a muscle, to the sounds of approaching daybreak.

The night wasn’t silent.

The section of the City where Sunlight’s Canopy was located wasn’t unsafe, but hardly anyone walked around in the middle of the night, so it made for a nice, quiet place to live. Even so, he could hear leaves swaying when the wind blew, the sounds of insects, and the fluttering of bird wings.

As daybreak neared, early-rising animals began to stir. He heard a window or a door opening from somewhere far off. Perhaps a baker was beginning preparations for breakfast? When Sieg held his breath so he could even hear his own heartbeat, sounds of the awakening City also reached his ears.

A bird’s song rang from some distant place.

A morgena…?

A morgena was a bird that started being active before dawn. Its cry told him daybreak was near.

That’s something my father taught me.

Sieg’s father had been a hunter. He came from a long line of them. With bow and arrows, he stalked his prey for days at a time in the forest. He would rest in the woods exactly the way Sieg was sitting now, spending the night holding his breath. Apparently, his father even slept with his eyes open depending on where he was.

Sieg remembered the first time he went hunting with his father and spent the night in the forest. As a boy, he’d taken in everything his father taught him. His father had had no formal education, and at the time, Sieg had simply thought the teachings were easy compared to what he imagined the lectures about science and etiquette under a teacher might be like.

He understood now. Everything his father had taught him, he’d inherited through the blood coursing in his veins. That was why he took to even advanced skills with ease. Sieg’s light sleeping wasn’t really because of his previous life as a slave. Rather, it was more like an instinct to him.

I understand…

Sieg picked up the bow he had previously set aside.

His hands were made to hold a bow—not his knee, not even a mytrhil sword.

This was his true weapon. Holding a bow, spending the night leaning back against a tree or the wall of a cave. Now he leaned on the wall of his room and waited for daybreak.

Back then…back when he and Lynx lured away and fought the death lizards so that Mariela could escape, Lynx had watched his back. It was the first time Sieg had fought back-to-back with another, shared that mutual trust. Enemies had only ever appeared in front of him. Although he’d been fighting for his life, he’d never feared anything behind him. That was the first time Sieg had ever experienced that, and he felt he’d become the kind of person who could do that with another. That was who he’d wished to be.

If only I’d been able to use a bow back then…

If he’d just been able to use a bow, he was certain Lynx wouldn’t have died. Even if he couldn’t have killed the death lizard in one shot, if he could have made it flinch just a little, he had no doubt buying that bit of time would have given Lynx the opportunity to parry the monster’s blade.

No, Sieg was already able to confidently wield a sword after just half a year. If he’d faced the monsters with a bow, a weapon he was confident he could learn even faster, he might have been able to protect Mariela himself.

Every time he thought back on it, his regret was never-ending.

That day, even Medical Engineer Nierenberg of the Labyrinth Suppression Forces had been absent. If only they hadn’t gone into the Labyrinth.

If only they’d carried potions despite the apparent safety of the stratum. If only they hadn’t taken along a baggage-carrying slave like Jay, who had no sense of loyalty.

The “if onlys” continued to pile up. Siegmund, who’d endured a harsh life as a slave, understood better than anyone that he couldn’t change the past or the present circumstances born from that past.

If only he’d known back then. He’d never have guessed how many times those regrets would play back in his head.

But none of them had any meaning. Mariela had been the one who met Siegmund by chance and saved him from the brink of death. That was why he’d wanted to say farewell to his own past and never make those mistakes again. His previous self was no more. Mariela had saved Sieg’s new self, and he’d wanted to continue living on using the sword she’d given him.

And he wasn’t even able to protect her.

Lynx had been the one to protect Mariela. He had been Sieg’s most treasured, closest friend. The one who watched his back, and Sieg had lost him. He hadn’t become a “new self” at all.

Light trickled in from eastern skies. Somehow it was enough for him to make out the target set up on the wall of the rear garden. Siegmund slung his practice quiver onto his back, shifted his bow into one hand, and stood up.

If only he’d known back then. No matter how much regret he felt, he couldn’t change the past. Lamentation did no good by itself.

He understood in his head that no one person was at fault, just as Freyja had said. But no matter what he tried If I’d been able to use a bow was the only thought he couldn’t drown out.

Siegmund thought back on the half year since he’d met Mariela.

“Geez! Quit moving around! Sieg! Use a bow! Aren’t you an archer?!”

That’s what Lynx had said while they were fighting the needle apes during winter at the Ahriman Springs.

And it wasn’t as if the bow’s usefulness for fighting foes from a distance, like when they were hunting wyverns, hadn’t occurred to him. Even Elmera’s husband, Voyd, had pointed him out as a former archer. Sieg had made excuses for it all and kept the bow, and his past, at a distance.

I can’t lose her. Even if Mariela’s all that remains… I can’t…

At Sieg’s waist was the mythril sword Mariela had given him. And the short sword Lynx had lent him and never taken back. Lynx had entrusted Sieg with a wish along with that short sword: “Protect Mariela.”

Unable to give it back, he would carry it forever. His body had been bought for no more than two large silver coins, and even after all this time, it was worth no more than that. He longed to be an escort worthy of an alchemist like Mariela, but he was physically incapable.

But even so…

He wanted to do what he could to help her, even if only a little. She’d reunited with her master and begun to move forward once more. If he could just stay by her side even a little longer…

Siegmund quietly went out to the rear garden and took aim with his bow. The target was hazy in the morning mist.