Reincarnated as the Mastermind of the Story Volume 2 Chapter 12

Chapter 12: On the crimson-covered silvery peaks

Ren and Fiona had returned to the fortress and were now on the rooftop.

If they hadn’t clung to the suspension bridge using nature magic, they would have been burned alive in the lava flow filling the bottom of the gorge.

There had been no other way to save Fiona.

Even knowing they would have to turn back to the fortress, Ren couldn’t afford to prioritize anything over her life.

“......I’m sorry. This is my fault.”

“No, Lady Ignat, you’re not to blame.”

Ren tried to console Fiona, but she trembled with frustration.

Even though she wasn’t at fault, she blamed herself for dragging Ren into the situation and putting him in danger.

Ren, moved by her noble spirit, turned his thoughts to what lay ahead.

(We managed to make it out somehow, but the real problem starts now.)

Right after escaping the suspension bridge, Ren had searched for a way to descend the mountain from nearby.

However, the lava flows surrounding them made it clear that was impossible, forcing them to give up and return to the fortress.

(The people who crossed the suspension bridge should be safe.......I just hope the ones who clung to it are okay too.)

The knights, adventurers, and examinees who had gone ahead should have a safe path forward.

If the lava was flowing the way he knew the terrain dictated, then the route used for climbing should still be intact.

However, the paths available for Ren and Fiona’s descent were now limited.

Only a longer, more roundabout route remained.

In the first place, they needed to decide whether their best option was to wait here for rescue.

(If we just sit here in silence, this place is going to be swallowed up by the lava too.)

From the rooftop, they had a clear view of how rapidly the mountain range’s landscape was changing.

There was no sign of the lava’s momentum slowing.

Sooner or later, lava flows and flames might start erupting from the ground near the fortress as well.

“Adventurer, we......”

Fiona had also realized that simply waiting here wasn’t an option.

“I think our best choice is to find another path down the mountain.”

“......I feel the same way.”

There were still a few possible routes down from the Baldor Mountains.

Ren pointed in one direction.

“The closest one is that way.”

The place he pointed to was the territory of Viscount Given.

However, compared to descending toward the Clausel domain, it would take considerably more time.

(If this doesn’t work, we’ll have to take an even more troublesome route.)

They could also descend using the same path the examinees had taken.

But that was a last resort.

It would take far too long, forcing them to remain in the Baldor Mountains amid this catastrophe.

With a sigh, Ren muttered,

“Too many strange things are happening in succession. Someone must have caused all this for a reason.”

Fiona tilted her head.

Ren continued,

“For example, as part of a factional struggle.”

“Oh, I see.”

Fiona nodded, understanding his reasoning.

But then she quickly shook her head.

“It might not be a simple factional struggle. Adventurer, do you remember the boy the adults were paying special attention to before we crossed the suspension bridge? That child is the heir to a high-ranking noble of the Hero Faction.”

Ren immediately grasped the implications.

“With Lady Ignat also here, this situation wouldn’t have been caused by a factional struggle...... at least, not in this manner.”

“Yes. Of course, we can’t say for certain, but there’s no benefit for either side in doing something like this.”

While there were nobles like Viscount Given, the Hero Faction would still adhere to certain limits.

Likewise, the Royal Faction wouldn’t recklessly cause trouble with Fiona present.

Then who could have done this?

(Did this happen because the headmaster was away? No, more likely, someone orchestrated this incident because the headmaster was absent.)

And if Marquis Ignat had been here, no one would have been able to cause such a commotion so easily.

It was possible that someone with power equal to or greater than him had been involved, but—

(Was it the other faction?)

Perhaps those seeking the Demon King’s resurrection had made a move here.

But speculating about the culprit wouldn’t help them now.

First, they needed to focus on protecting themselves and escaping the Baldor Mountains.

“We need to leave the Baldor Mountains as soon as possible. Let’s get ready and head out immediately.”

“Yes! I’ll check our supplies right away!”

Since it was still early in the afternoon, they had plenty of daylight.

With lava flowing everywhere, even nighttime would be somewhat illuminated.

They needed to cover as much ground as possible while they could.

Just as they were about to head back inside the fortress, Fiona suddenly stopped.

“────”

She pressed a hand to her chest.

For an instant, she felt an inexplicable, powerful pulse.

“Lady Ignat?”

“N-No! It’s nothing!”

But it was only for a moment.

She feared her body had returned to how it was before she took the medicine, but there were no signs of that.

Fiona quickly patted her cheeks and put on a lovely smile.

It was a beauty capable of captivating an entire kingdom—like an angel’s.

◇ ◇ ◇ ◇

They chose a path that had yet to be consumed by the lava as they descended.

The terrain surrounding the Baldor Mountains was gradually being eroded.

Molten rock poured down the jagged mountain slopes, painting the entire region red.

On the morning of the second day after leaving the fortress—

Ren woke up at dawn and was preparing breakfast when,

“Good morning, Adventurer.”

“Oh, good morning.”

Fiona emerged from the tent, her voice still drowsy.

Ren turned toward her as he responded.

“Breakfast is almost rea────”

“I’m sorry. I woke up late aga────”

Both of them fell silent mid-sentence.

Ren wasn’t sure why Fiona had stopped talking.

As for him, the reason was simple.

(......That ahoge.)

It was a side of Fiona he never could have imagined from her usual composure.

The moment Fiona stepped out of the tent, a single ahoge stood adorably atop her head, likely sprouting from her cowlick.

Should he point it out?

That might just end up embarrassing her.

Ren forced a casual smile and pretended not to notice.

“It’s nothing fancy, but here you go.”

“Oh, not at all! This is more than enough of a feast!”

Fiona quickly pulled herself together and stepped closer to the campfire, taking a bite of the simple breakfast Ren had prepared.

She sat down beside the fire, cradling a cup of soup in both hands.

(There it goes again.)

With each sip she took, the ahoge bounced.

It felt rude to keep staring, so Ren quickly looked away.

But then he realized Fiona was looking at him.

He tilted his head slightly in confusion, only for her to quickly avert her gaze.

She curled up slightly as she sat, making herself smaller while quietly sipping her soup.

“I’m going to get our things ready. We don’t have to rush, so take your time eating.”

As Ren stood, Fiona hesitated for a moment, as if about to call out to him.

Her hand instinctively reached toward his back, but then she hesitated and pulled it back.

“Oh—thank you so much!”

Her voice was tinged with slight surprise.

Once inside the tent, Ren began packing up their minimal belongings.

“Hm.”

He silently nodded to himself as he packed the utensils away.

Then, as he stretched his arms, his fingers brushed against his hair—

And there it was.

A single strand of hair sticking straight up.

(Guess that makes it a tie.)

It wasn’t a competition, but he stubbornly smoothed it down anyway.

From outside, Fiona’s shocked voice rang out.

“W-Wait, I had one too?!”

She must’ve noticed after catching a glimpse of her reflection somewhere.

◇ ◇ ◇

“...Crap.”

Under a sky full of stars, Ren sat beside the campfire, suddenly jolting awake.

He tried to recall what had happened before he fell asleep.

They had decided to camp here for the night, packing down the snow and setting up two tents.

After dinner, he had urged Fiona to get some rest.

So he had taken the night watch—only to doze off himself.

“It’s fine, Adventurer.”

A voice spoke up beside him.

Fiona.

He turned to see her sitting by the fire.

“Nothing happened while you were asleep. No monsters attacked or anything.”

“...I’m sorry. It’s my duty to keep watch, and I still ended up falling asleep.”

Ren bowed his head, but Fiona immediately shook hers.

“I should be the one apologizing. You stayed up last night too, didn’t you? That’s why you seemed a little drowsy today…”

“Don’t worry about it. It’s part of the job.”

“No. In a situation like this, I want to help too.”

She gave him a gentle smile.

Bundled up in her warmest clothes, she still hugged her knees for warmth.

A steaming wooden cup sat in her hands, releasing a faint aroma of tea.

Seemingly struck by an idea, Fiona passed the cup to Ren and reached for a small pot by the fire, brewing another batch.

“The Ignat family has some servants who once worked in the Imperial Castle, you know.”

“Wow… That’s the Ignat family for you.”

“...But even they had to stifle a smile whenever they tasted my tea.”

Ren wasn’t sure how to respond to that.

But one thing was certain—he couldn’t just refuse to drink it.

Fiona smiled sheepishly.

“If it’s too bad, you can pour it out.”

Ren took the cup with a cool smile and brought it to his lips.

(Hmm.)

That woke him up.

The tea was… incredibly bitter.

“It’s good.”

“That’s a lie, isn’t it? I saw your eyebrow twitch just now.”

“That’s just a habit of mine. Don’t worry about it. I meant it when I said it’s good.”

“Well… I’m happy to hear that, but please don’t force yourself, okay? If you get an upset stomach, that’d be awful…!”

He didn’t find the food unpleasant.

As Ren swallowed another bite, then another, Fiona felt both guilty and happy about his actions.

"Do you think it’ll take about two more days to get down the mountain?"

After a brief silence, Fiona spoke, and Ren responded.

"I think so. We should be able to reach Viscount Given’s territory by then, but… huh? Now that I think about it, is it even right to call it Viscount Given’s territory anymore?"

He voiced the question because the viscount was no longer around.

There was no doubt that he had falRen from power after the incident, but more importantly, he had taken his own life before that could happen.

"Um… since it’s under imperial custody now, probably not…?"

"…For the sake of simplicity, let’s just call it Viscount Given’s territory this time."

Ren scratched his cheek, and Fiona let out a small chuckle, her eyes narrowing.

There was no trace of sorrow in her expression.

She looked up at the night sky, filled with countless twinkling stars, exhaling a white breath as the firelight illuminated her face.

"You’re a strong person, Lady Ignat."

"Huh? Where did that come from all of a sudden?"

"Apologies if I’m mistaken, but… even back at the suspension bridge, you never once showed fear."

"Hehe. If that’s what you mean, it’s for the same reason I told you before."

Her smile was resolute, and her voice betrayed no trace of fear, confirming that Ren’s impression of her strength wasn’t just his imagination.

"I mentioned before that the people at the fortress displayed symptoms similar to vessel breakage, didn’t I?"

It felt like the topic had changed, but Ren quickly nodded.

However, it hadn’t changed at all.

This conversation had a purpose.

"I had vessel breakage too. Mine was so severe that healers, apothecaries, and even magic tool artisans declared it impossible to cure. It was said to be an unprecedented case."

(…So that’s why she had that necklace.)

The anti-magic necklace was for that very reason.

Originally, it had been crafted by one of the Seven Heroes to conceal the presence of their comrades.

By suppressing their overwhelming magic, they were able to confuse enemies, including the Demon King.

By utilizing its magic-suppressing effect, they must have hoped to alleviate Fiona’s condition, even if only slightly.

"My father provided me with a magical healing device and potions. A bookshelf filled with books I could only read on days when I felt well. A chair I couldn’t sit in without assistance.

And a small patch of sky visible from my window. That was my entire world."

Moving on her own had been nearly impossible without help.

Even on good days, all she could manage was sitting up in bed, drinking, or eating by herself.

And even that was rare.

The sky she saw was limited to the view from her window.

If the Fiona of a year ago had seen the scenery before her now, she would have dismissed it as nothing more than a dream.

"But one day, my father and the servants started acting differently."

"Acting differently?"

"Yes. They suddenly became distant… as if no one wanted to meet my eyes."

Fiona misunderstood, thinking she had been diagnosed with only a short time left to live.

That night, without her knowledge, a certain drug was secretly administered to her.

Marquis Ignat had arranged for it to be given to her in secret to avoid giving her false hope.

The change in his and the servants' demeanor was simply because they were praying for the medicine to work.

(That drug… was it made from Sheefulfen materials?)

Fiona didn’t explicitly say it, but Ren was convinced.

"When I opened my eyes, I was relieved to be alive. I wondered if, with assistance, I could stand today. If I could sit up on my own. How many more times I could feed myself. I prayed for small miracles like that. But I quickly realized something was different about my body."

When she awoke, her body felt strangely light.

Everything in her vision shimmered, vivid and dazzling.

"My body didn’t hurt…That alone felt so strange that I tried to stand from my bed without assistance—only to collapse onto the floor. I hit my head and got a bump. I bruised my cheek, and it swelled up. But that was all. All I did was crawl on the carpet pathetically… and yet, for the first time in my life, I cried tears of joy."

Fiona turned her face away from the sky and looked at Ren.

Her eyes shone with such mystical brilliance that the stars overhead seemed like mere specks of dust in comparison.

Had Ren not been Ren, Fiona would have died as she was fated to.

Seeing her fighting so desperately to live in the present made her seem all the more precious.

And now, he fully understood why she feared nothing.

"That’s why I’m not afraid of anything now. Compared to those days, this is nothing."

She repeated herself as if to reaffirm her own words.

"And besides, I can keep going if I think about what comes after we make it down the mountain."

She whispered something under her breath, though she left it unsaid.

But whatever it was, she held deep meaning in those words.

It was what drove her forward.

Ren didn’t hear her murmur, but that was fine.

"We’re going to make it down safely. I swear I’ll get you beyond the Baldor Mountains, no matter what."

The words came naturally from Ren’s mouth, his determined gaze piercing through Fiona.

"Honestly… they were right about you. You really are such a kind person."

She whispered those words so quietly that Ren couldn’t hear them, chuckling softly to herself.

Then—

"…"

She suddenly placed a hand over her chest.

She took a deep breath, and Ren sensed something was off.

"Are you okay? Is something wrong…?"

"N-No! I’m fine!"

Fiona hastily denied it, but her expression was calm enough to be convincing.

She looked so composed that Ren almost believed he had imagined the moment of unease.

"Get some more sleep. I’ll be fine on my own."

He had dozed off earlier, but he could stay awake a little longer.

When he showed concern for her, Fiona hesitated for a moment before apologizing.

"Then… I’ll take you up on that offer and rest first."

She stood up, apologized once more, and then walked away from the fire where Ren sat.

She returned to the tent she was using and closed the entrance.

At the same time, she dropped to her knees with force.

Lying down on the spot, she extended her arms across her chest and lowered her gaze.

While enduring the intense pain coursing through her body, she muttered,

“…Why… suddenly…?”

In order to ensure that Ren wouldn’t notice, she suppressed even her breathing, holding it in as much as possible.

The voice she couldn’t fully suppress was desperately muffled by her hands over her mouth.

◇ ◇ ◇ ◇

The two of them left the campsite as soon as the night broke.

Compared to a few days ago, the surrounding snow had greatly diminished.

Although the effects of the heavy snowfall were still visible, the lava flow had melted much of the snow with its heat.

Thanks to this, the descent seemed to be progressing smoothly, but—

(…This is the worst.)

The path leading to Viscount Given’s territory was blocked right in front of Ren.

The steep slope below was covered with lava, and the lava splashed and hissed as it bubbled up.

(When Marquis Ignat tried to revive Asvar, it wasn’t nearly this bad.)

It wasn’t right to mix the game with reality, but the situation was undeniably severe.

Along the way, Ren had tried using his wooden magic sword’s natural magic to clear the path.

Fiona had also tried to stop the lava flow with her ice magic.

But of course, the tree roots and vines were burned away.

“It seems the magical concentration of the lava flow is increasing.”

As Fiona had said, the lava flow was imbued with magic.

Even when Fiona froze it with her magic, the lava quickly regained its fury after only a few seconds.

It was as if the lava flow itself were alive, resisting the ice magic as it raged.

“In that case, this doesn’t seem like a natural phenomenon.”

“I agree. This situation feels as though it’s deliberately cornering us, like someone’s pushing us into a trap.”

Just like with the incident at the suspension bridge, it was hard to believe this was a natural event.

At this point, it felt like turning back to search for another route would be an unwise move.

The road to the fortress was either already gone or would be soon.

(There’s no way out from here—well, no, it’s not that there’s absolutely no way.)

There was no time to be picky about the descent—no, perhaps there never was.

“I remember one other path.”

“Another path… Can we still descend from there?”

“Yes. Without a doubt.”

It was a hidden map that Ren knew about.

The problem was whether that location even existed in this world.

Also, there was the ever-present threat of the steel-eating gargoyle and the surrounding environment of the hidden map, which had made Ren avoid using that route in the past.

“It’s a dangerous path, as it has D-rank monsters. If we can’t reach that path, it might be better to stay at the fortress and wait.”

“No.”

Fiona gave a bittersweet smile.

“You should understand, adventurer. We can no longer expect help from the outside.”

Even if the people who had parted ways at the suspension bridge were alive and had safely made it back, they’d likely have already finished descending the mountain by now.

Afterward, they might seek reinforcements—or perhaps, knights and adventurers who had just descended might be on their way to help Ren and Fiona.

But that was impossible.

If they didn’t pass through the suspension bridge, the only way to reach the fortress was to go through the canyon.

But going through that deep canyon wasn’t realistic, and the lava flows continued to intensify.

(That said, we can’t rely on help coming from another path either.)

If help were going to come from those routes, Ren and Fiona would have already descended by themselves.

Given that, waiting for help would only lead to the lava flow claiming their lives.

“We should go. Even if it’s dangerous, the only way for us to survive is by taking the path you know.”

If they were to be swallowed by the lava flow by waiting, they had no choice but to move forward, even knowing the danger.