The Extra Strategist’s Royal Road Chapter 181
After the festival ended, a pink atmosphere flowed through the academy.
The number of couples increased as those who had crushes at the festival started dating.
Most cases were between nobles and nobles, or commoners and commoners, but there were also cases where nobles and commoners matched eyes.
In our class too, they were busy talking about who was dating whom, and which noble was meeting which commoner.
If it were the usual me, I would have looked at them pathetically.
“Hmm….”
But I wasn’t in a position to say anything.
Erina, who had come down from Class 1 to Class 17 where I belonged, thanks to Princess Rosa’s arrangement, was sitting next to me with a big smile.
If that was all, it would have been fine, but for some change of heart, her skinship had increased.
“Lord Ars. Let’s go eat lunch.”
Erina suggested, linking arms with me.
I decided to ask first, even though I knew it was a rustic thing to do.
“Why are you like this these days? Aren’t you a bit… More aggressive?”
Erina blushed and then smiled.
“Because now I don’t need to be mindful of others’ eyes.”
Originally, she had to be mindful of her image as a Duke’s daughter. That’s why she tended to be cautious even when she was with me.
“So it’s different now….”
Is it that the limit has been lifted?
Dorofei was the same. It seems the noble kids had a lot to think about in many ways.
I didn’t have such a change in consciousness because I thought nobles and commoners were the same from the beginning, but it seems the two of them weren’t.
Once the shackles of being noble were loosened, there was a change in their mindset.
Dorofei longed for freedom, and Erina stopped caring about appearances.
“More importantly, let’s hurry. We have an appointment with Princess Rosa today, so we can’t be late.”
The place we moved to for lunch was a garden on the outskirts of the palace.
Princess Rosa, Rinoa, and Prince Joseph were sitting at the table there.
The atmosphere at the table was quite hostile.
“Erina, come here.”
Rosa seated Erina next to her. I sat down appropriately next to Rinoa.
I asked Rinoa with my eyes.
‘Why is he here?’
Rinoa shrugged, indicating she didn’t know either. As if to say not to worry about it.
Joseph was glaring at me and Erina with burning eyes.
‘Sigh.’
Was the real troublemaker Prince Joseph, and not Princess Rosa?
Rosa was rather trying to actively support us.
After chatting with Erina, she soon said this, “By the way, Erina. When are you planning to get married?”
“What!?”
Erina yelped in surprise.
“Why are you so surprised? I heard you’ve been together for 7 years. Then it’s not strange to start thinking about it, right?”
“Well, that… It’s been 7 years, but we only started dating recently….”
“What does that matter?”
Erina didn’t seem to dislike the idea. In her original place, she couldn’t even get properly engaged due to family matters and such, but now there are no such constraints.
However, the current situation is what it is. It’s nonsense to have a wedding when we haven’t even properly found the missing people.
Erina, knowing this well, expressed reluctance.
“And, since Lord Ars is in a position of being admired by several people….”
“Several people? Don’t tell me it’s not just you, Erina!?”
“…”
Rosa glared at me sharply.
“What’s this, Wade! Weren’t you only looking at Erina?”
“Well, I have various circumstances….”
“How many more are there?”
It seemed better to tell the truth here.
“Three.”
“Three people!?”
Even Rinoa looked at me with eyes as if looking at trash, seemingly incredulous.
“Well, so, there are various circumstances….”
“What exactly are these circumstances? Are you royalty or something?”
Erina spoke up as if to defend me.
“Princess, please calm down. There really were various circumstances. I fully understand them too.”
“Huh!”
Prince Joseph’s complexion turned red and blue.
Rosa sighs as if frustrated. “Anyway! Is using honorifics with Erina also to deliberately keep a distance?”
“No. That’s just my habit.”
“What’s that? It’s so awkward! Erina, what would you like?”
Then Erina thought for a moment and carefully said. “Indeed, it might not be bad to stop using honorifics now.”
“Right? Wade, try to make an effort from now on.” Rosa keeps nagging.
Since it was all correct, I could only listen quietly.
And the more this happened, the more Prince Joseph’s expression became like he had eaten something sour.
“Tch!”
He seems angry because he wants to say something but has no grounds to do so.
Eventually, he left the seat without a word.
Rosa coldly watched his retreating figure and continued speaking, telling us not to mind him.
“By the way, both of you. I hear you’re starting a club for dungeon conquest?”
“Yes, we’re planning to face the challenges when we have time.”
“I’d like to help too, but given my position…. All I can say is good luck.”
Erina grasped Rosa’s hands tightly, saying that was enough to encourage her.
“So? Where are you going?”
“We haven’t decided yet.”
We still had to coordinate schedules and look for a suitable dungeon as it was our first time.
With the periodic turbulence still about 3 months away, if we wanted to conquer a dungeon, we had to go to a remote place like the island where I first fell, or to a dungeon in the lost lands.
By reuniting with Erina, the number of vassals found so far is four.
There are 14 left. It means we still have a long way to go.
I decided to send a message to Gaspar and Dorofei first, informing them that Erina had been found.
‘Gunther is the problem….’
Despite searching with Rinoa’s help, Gunther, who had lost contact, was still not found.
However, we were able to find out where the trail went cold – a city called Iswakan in the central part of the Southern Continent.
This city had several characteristics, but the most prominent one was that it was a city pioneering the Lost Lands.
As a result, there was a lot of information about the Lost Lands.
‘Surely Gunther….’
I wondered if he might have heard some information in Iswakan and entered the Lost Lands.
Given that the trail had completely disappeared, it was hard to deny this possibility.
If so, it would be right to make Gunther the top priority for the search. Although Gaspar was also scouring the Lost Lands, he at least went in with a plan, fully aware of the risks.
‘I need to move quickly.’
I decided to consult with Rinoa about this matter right away.
Rinoa nodded and replied.
“That’s likely the case. If his whereabouts have become completely unknown, it makes sense to say he went to the Lost Lands. But if it’s Iswakan…. Isn’t that bordering the Forest of Lament?”
“Forest of Lament…?”
“Don’t you know? You studied about dungeons, didn’t you?”
“Only within the scope of the exam. So what is this Forest of Lament?”
“The Southern Continent is split into east and west by a sea in its center. You know that much, right?”
“Yes, I heard that the Ellan Kingdom created a defense line based on that.”
“That’s right. For the past few decades, they haven’t crossed that defense line. However, there is a bridgehead. That’s the route created from Iswakan. Now, you can only cross to the other side from Iswakan.”
And the bridgehead established on the other side of Iswakan is surrounded by an area called the Forest of Lament.
In that forest, countless people have gone missing for unknown reasons. The recorded number alone is 100,000.
It got the nickname ‘Forest of Lament’ because of the people wailing and missing those who disappeared.
“Forest of Lament….”
If Gunther had gone there, it was no small matter.
After all, the number of people who had returned after going missing in the Forest of Lament could be counted on one hand.
Rinoa speaks as if to encourage me.
“It’s too early to say he’s gone missing. He might just be staying there. Besides, they say that while the Forest of Lament has unexplained disappearances, it doesn’t have particularly dangerous monsters appearing.”
“…Rinoa. What would you say if I told you I’m planning to make this dungeon conquest there?”
“Don’t do anything crazy. It’s too dangerous.”
“I think it’s time to take that risk.”
I had already made up my mind.
It’s clear that Gunther went there because he got some kind of clue.
Moreover, if we leave it like this, there’s a high chance Gunther will die.
I thought it was right to gather all our forces and confront it now.
As such, I decided to summon Gaspar from the north as well.
Once I made up my mind to tackle the Forest of Lament, there was no time to hesitate.
I first persuaded Lucretia.
***
“The Forest of Lament?”
“Isn’t it attractive? The den that made the Ellan Kingdom lose their will to pioneer the Lost Lands. You’ll be conquering it with your own hands.”
“…”
Lucretia’s expression changed, as if her interest was piqued.
“Certainly… If we’re going to do it, it makes more sense to pioneer the Lost Lands rather than a mediocre dungeon. But the question is whether it’s possible. That place is an otherworldly realm that has already claimed nearly 100,000 missing people. Isn’t it suicidal to try to conquer it on our first attempt?”
“I heard from Rinoa that basically, dangerous monsters don’t appear there.”
“That’s true. And that’s why it’s even more impossible to know what’s causing people to disappear there.”
“I’m not suggesting we defeat this unidentified monster right away. We’ll explore carefully. We don’t have much time anyway.”
The vacation period we can get from the academy for dungeon conquest is at most two weeks. We need to handle it within that time.
“If it’s just exploration, it wouldn’t be bad. I was curious about the Forest of Lament too… Alright. Let’s set the schedule.”
“Phew! Then I’ll leave it to you.”
Lucretia left with excited steps. One way or another, it seems she wanted to do dungeon conquest too.
Now that things have turned out this way, I decided to send a summons letter to Gaspar as well.
If possible, I wanted to call Dorofei too, but Dorofei wasn’t an immediately helpful force, and it was uncertain whether the Alliance Academy would let him come, so I decided to just send him the news.
And a few days later.
A reply to the first letter I sent arrived.
It was a reply to the letter reporting that Erina had been found.
Dorofei’s letter expressed joy, saying he would visit soon, but Gaspar’s letter contained different content.
─ Erina or whoever, she’s not related to me. But if you’re happy, then I’m happy too.
The letter that started like that had concerning content written in it.
─ I told you last time. That I found someone who looks like Aggert. After looking into the information, it seems it was indeed him. But a problem has occurred.
It says Aggert boarded a merchant ship and entered the inland of the Northern Continent.
─ It seems he agreed to escort a merchant group heading to Ramdamen in exchange for the fare from that time. And during that, it seems they were attacked by bandits.
I was at a loss for words.
─ I’m planning to lead my subordinates to attack that bandit group. I hope I can bring good news.
That’s how the letter ended.
Aggert, attacked by bandits.
If it was just Aggert, there would be no worry, but given the high probability that Aggert and my mother were together, I was more than a little concerned.
And four days later.
Gaspar’s reply to my summons letter arrives.
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