Declared Dead, Exiled, and Betrayed— Now I Walk Away, but I'll Save One Who Cared - Chapter 43

“We’re getting close.”

“Yes.”

Right now, Shifa and I were sitting together on the coachman’s seat.

Normally, the wind from this speed would be whipping through our hair, making it impossible to hold a casual conversation.

After all, the horses were running at full speed—with occasional magic-infused restorations to keep them going.

I would have loved to sit here and just watch Shifa’s beautiful hair sway in the wind.

But we didn’t have that luxury.

The Viscount—Shifa’s father—was still in danger.

For all we knew, Eranda might have already harmed him.

I regretted not leaving a protective charm with him.

I was using a magical barrier to shield the carriage and its occupants from the wind pressure.

Before that, Claire had been intentionally left exposed to the elements—

She passed out with her eyes rolled back, so we finally let her inside.

Honestly, I had no idea what she did to make Michelle that angry.

**”I spent so much time focusing on dungeon raids that I never really learned much about the Demon Forest, even though it’s right next to the city.

Shifa, do you know anything about it?”**

“Yes.

A long time ago, it was said that a guardian deity resided here.

The forest used to be lush and abundant.

But…”

According to Shifa, at some point, monsters began settling in.

The forest became infested with tainted magic, and its once vibrant nature darkened.

Gigantic serpents and wolves started appearing.

There were even rumors that a demon had emerged.

No one knew what became of the guardian deity.

Or whether the demon story was even true.

Regardless, the forest became a dangerous place, much like a dungeon—

But unlike a dungeon, it had no valuable loot.

That’s why no one ventured inside anymore.

And in time, it reverted to an untamed wilderness.

That was also why, even though Eranda had entered the forest, no one had been able to search too deeply for her.

Unlike dungeons, the Demon Forest offered no rewards, so adventurers generally avoided quests here.

In the end, Eranda was saved purely by chance—

By adventurers who had entered the forest for unrelated reasons.

“We’ve arrived. Let’s go.”

“Yes.”

“Yeah.”

“Finally… I can get out…”

Three of us were focused and ready—

One of us… was completely drained.

Maybe we really should have left Claire behind.

I actually tried, but she insisted on coming.

She said she couldn’t survive alone if we abandoned her.

So here she was.

We entered the forest.

**”The magic density is strong here.

We’ve been through dungeons before, so I doubt it will affect us much—

But let’s stay on guard.”**

“I can’t believe my sister walked through a place like this without any resistance…”

“Yeah…”

As we walked, I thought about Eranda—

The woman who deceived us, banished us, and took everything.

She was Shifa’s sister.

She had once been my fiancée.

If things had gone differently…

If she had looked inward—

If she had just apologized or asked for help…

We could have had a different future.

That thought frustrated me.

The deeper we ventured, the denser the magic became.

We occasionally found clearings—

Small open spaces where the sky was still hidden by thick branches,

But at least we could rest for a bit.

We took breaks out of necessity.

The magic pressure was affecting Shifa—

And, for some reason, Claire as well.

I almost wanted to call her out—

Wasn’t she supposed to be a mage?

Why was she struggling more than Shifa?

But even Michelle admitted the magic was starting to get oppressive,

So I cast protection spells on everyone before we continued.

After about half a day’s walk,

We finally reached a massive tree trunk.

It was colossal—

So large that its branches and leaves covered the entire sky.

Strangely, in this one area, no other trees grew.

It was as if they all kept their distance from this ancient giant.

**”If this is connected to the guardian deity,

we might get a reaction from it.”**

Michelle placed her hand on the tree and channeled holy magic into it.

The magic energy simply dispersed—

Nothing happened.

Did we get it wrong?

Still, this situation felt too strange.

A tree of this size appearing out of nowhere…

In a place where visibility was so limited…

There had to be something more here.

I stepped forward and channeled my own magic into the trunk—

But still, nothing happened.

Until—

“Lax, look! Something’s appearing!”

“What is this…?”

“Why is it here?”

A blue glowing emblem surfaced on the bark.

It was the crest of Riofendarl.

Why was it here—

In a place like this?

There was also text engraved beneath it.

**”Descendants of Riofendarl,

If you seek an audience, Offer a magic stone.

Only then shall the one who slumbers respond to your call.”**

Shifa read the inscription aloud.

A magic stone, huh…

**”The monsters around here rarely drop magic stones.

What do we do…? Should I sneak into a dungeon?”**

**”Yeah.

I’ll handle things here, so you go.

I’ll cast a protective barrier around us.”**

With that, I used magic-based movement to slip into the dungeon unseen.

It seemed like Melia, who had remained in town, had spotted me—

But she wasn’t causing any problems.

She was still working normally, which meant I was able to telepathically request entry approval without attracting any unwanted attention.

Once inside, I rushed straight down to the lower levels.

Clearing my way to the boss room was almost too easy.

I even intimidated the dungeon’s administrator into spawning the boss immediately.

Was it a bit excessive?

Maybe.

But this was an emergency.

“<Ahiiii~~!!! So cruel!!!>”

…

Something screamed, but I ignored it.

Not my problem.

With that, I collected the magic stone from the defeated boss and prepared to exit the dungeon.

That’s when—

“Hey! You there—!”