ESMLT 23

Chapter 23

Even so, I glared at Jaeger, who was trying to cut the rope despite my warning, breathing heavily.

“Don’t cut it!”

“If we stay like this, we’ll all die here!”

Perhaps because he had already sunk in up to his chest, Jaeger raised his voice in uncharacteristic urgency.

My legs trembled, and sweat dripped down my forehead. Gritting my teeth, I squeezed my eyes shut as the rope slowly slipped from my hands.

“Don’t let go!”

Just as my consciousness was starting to fade, I heard Jaeger shout again.

I was human too—my resolve almost broke at those words.

‘Damn it, damn it!’

I clenched my teeth and tightened my grip on the rope.

Don’t be ridiculous. As if I’d let anyone die here. Who do you think I am, someone who brings bad luck to people’s dreams?!

“At least for my sake, don’t you dare die here! If you’ve got the energy to give up, use it to pull the rope!”

I wasn’t going to let any of them die here. Not a chance.

At that moment, the Crown Prince, who had been staring blankly at me, suddenly frowned and laughed in disbelief. A bead of sweat slid down his red eyebrow.

Even he looked strained now, with the sand already up to his neck.

“Can’t be helped. Duke, hold things here for a moment.”

“What are you planning to do?!”

“Your Highness!”

Ignoring both Jaeger’s and my shouts, the Crown Prince swiftly tied the spare rope around his waist and plunged into the sand.

Rumble—

It all happened in seconds.

The sand began to shake, and then, a short distance away, a mole-like hand burst out of the ground.

With a heavy thud, a massive body flew up into the air.

As the mole-like creature fell, blood pouring from it, Jaeger hurled his sword.

Thud!

The blade pierced through it, and after a brief twitch, the creature went still.

With that, the sinking sand abruptly stopped, and silence fell over the area.

After Jaeger climbed out, all of us stared at the spot where the Crown Prince had disappeared.

‘The Crown Prince…? Don’t tell me he’s dead?’

My mind went blank.

Crunch, crunch—

The sound of sand shifting followed, and the tip of a spear emerged. Then the Crown Prince climbed out, brushing sand from himself.

‘Ah… thank goodness.’

I slumped down, clutching my chest.

“Are you okay, Lia?”
Sien patted my back gently.

I nodded weakly and shot a glare at the Crown Prince.

‘Honestly, he’s got a real talent for scaring people half to death.’

The Crown Prince and Jaeger stood side by side, brushing the sand off themselves.

The Crown Prince ruffled his hair roughly, then grinned at me.

“Didn’t know you were such a scaredy-cat.”

“I almost died! Of course I’m scared!”

I glared at him while brushing the sand off myself.

Jaeger sheathed his sword after shaking off the sand. Then, slinging his intact food pack over his shoulder, he looked at me with an unreadable expression.

“What?”

“…I don’t like it, but we lived thanks to you.”

“So that’s your way of thanking me?”

“I didn’t say thank you. I only stated the facts.”

‘Ugh, I should’ve just let him die.’

I glared daggers at his back, but he had already turned away.

“…Haa.”

With a sigh, I brushed myself off and picked up my hammer.

Just then, Sien approached holding something.

“Is this yours, Lia?”

It was an A6-sized traveler’s notebook.

“No, I’ve never seen—”

Then I noticed the name engraved on the leather.

Hayden.

I snatched it from him.

“It’s mine.”

“It looks like you keep a diary.”

Sien spoke lazily, not at all like someone who’d just escaped death.

“Well… sort of.”

A diary, my foot.

I’d been saying I’d keep one every New Year for ten years now, but never filled more than five pages.

Turning away from him, I flipped through the notebook.

‘That’s weird. I don’t remember packing this.’

Had it been in my dimensional pouch from the start?

That seemed most likely.

I opened the thick pages.

They were empty.

‘What, did he also buy a diary as a New Year’s resolution?’

Just as I was about to close it—

I noticed a sentence scrawled diagonally across one page.

My mind went blank.

[I must go to the Sacred Zone. No matter what.]

“…?”

“…??”

“…???”

Why would a shut-in mad scientist who got kicked out of the Mage Tower need to go there?

Sure, he was human and could visit a grave, but he didn’t have anyone he cared about enough to go that far for.

At least, not in the original story.

And the wording—must go.

That meant there was a purpose.

A chill ran down my spine as a thought struck me.

The desert heat vanished, and the sweat on my skin turned cold.

‘What if the zombie miasma wasn’t an accident?’

What if he came to the Sacred Zone to investigate first… and then released it on purpose?

My heart screamed internally.

The original story said it was an accident. But thinking back, it was strange.

How else could zombie miasma reach the Sacred Zone unless his lab was nearby?

I pressed a hand to my aching forehead and shut my eyes.

‘Calm down, Redria. It’s just a hypothesis.’

The novel said it wasn’t intentional.

And yet my heart wouldn’t stop pounding.

“Lia.”

I flinched as someone approached from behind.

Startled, I tore out the page with Hayden’s note and shoved it into my pocket.

“What’s wrong?”

“N-Nothing.”

“Good. Then let’s go.”

Thankfully, Sien didn’t seem to have seen anything. He let my strange behavior slide.

“Miss.”

“Aren’t you coming?”

When I looked up, the two men were already waiting near the hole.

I put the notebook back into my pouch and walked over.

‘Stop overthinking. Jumping to conclusions is pointless.’

Even so, with every step I took, the folded page in my pocket felt like it was stabbing into my thigh.

“Nggh…”

Just as the rabbit was about to collapse, the male leads and I glared at it.

‘You little—try harder.’

The rabbit whimpered and adjusted its posture.

Its fluffy tail, long ears stretched across the ground, and trembling pink body were undeniably cute—but still annoying.

When we’d escaped the trap earlier, we’d caught it eating a squirrel right in front of us.

Naturally, we’d been furious.

‘We almost died, and you’re out here feasting?!’

We’d made it lie flat as punishment, and ten minutes had passed.

Seeing it whimper made my resolve waver.

Maybe I should forgive it.

“Come here.”

“Kyung…”

I gestured, and the rabbit cautiously hopped over.

It climbed onto my crossed legs, fidgeting, and I patted its head.

“Don’t mess with traps again. Next time, I’ll eat you.”

“Kyung!”

It nodded eagerly, which made me smile faintly as I looked around.

It had been about an hour since we escaped the trap.

Everyone was preparing for the next move.

Jaeger was cleaning his sword.
The Crown Prince was practicing his spear.
And Sien was—

‘…Sleeping.’

Anyway, it was time to move.

“Everyone, pay attention.”

After waking Sien, I spread out the map. Four shadows fell across it.

“Before we head into the Western Dawn Forest, I’ll explain.”

Most citizens of the Empire already knew this, but still.

I pointed to the shaded boundary between the Northern Sacred Forest and the Western Dawn Forest.

“Once we cross this line, we’ll be in the Dawn Forest.”

The western region was divided into the Dawn Forest and ordinary forest, with the Dawn Forest being smaller.

But that didn’t make it safer.

Because the Dawn Forest contained periods of absolute darkness.

The Northern Sacred Forest held the Saintess’s grave and was protected by barriers.

The Dawn Forest, on the other hand, experienced unpredictable “darkness,” turning pitch-black even in broad daylight.

And that wasn’t all.

When it happened, the land itself shifted like waves, warping the terrain.

Meaning—once we entered, we couldn’t let our guard down for even a moment.

I shook Sien, who was dozing off again.

“And Mage Tower Lord, for safety’s sake, we’ll look for the former tower master’s remains only when there’s no ‘darkness.’”

The others looked like they wanted to ask questions, but I ignored them.

There was no need to share the full details of my agreement with Sien.