The Guardian Knight of Affection-Starved Young Ladies

31 – Hiatt (03)

032.

There are quite a few rumors attached to the Hiatt family.

Due to the inherently closed environment, the family that has taken charge of the North for generations, and other such reasons, many baseless words tend to circulate.

Many people are curious about what lies beyond the walls, but it’s not easy to make up their minds.

The cold, the border area touching the front lines, and the only sight to see being Winter Island, there is no reason to risk going there.

Baseless stories are created in this way.

Rumors pass from person to person, gradually gaining unnecessary details.

Now, when one thinks of the North, the name Hiatt is the first to come to mind, and many rumors are attached to it.

And the most accepted of these rumors is the story related to the North.

No one knows which came first.

Some say it was named after the mountain.

Others say the mountain was named after the family.

But whichever it was, the meaning was the same.

Whatever it was, the Hiatt family and Hiatt Mountain had some kind of relationship.

People speak of the North in this way.

*

“Isn’t it funny? No one from the North has ever said such a thing, yet it is accepted as the truth.”

A mountain located far from the Hiatt family’s mansion, closer to the front lines.

Nothing particularly special about it, covered in snow and quite large, but otherwise an ordinary mountain.

Celacia was climbing Hiatt Mountain, searching for monsters.

As decided in the meeting, those who followed Celacia began the monster cleanup.

Some knights dealt with the monsters remaining on the front lines, while the rest were stationed around Hiatt Mountain.

Naturally, Celacia was at the forefront.

Standing ahead of everyone, climbing the mountain herself.

Climbing up to face the monsters she encountered.

By now, each group would be cleaning up their assigned areas.

“The funny thing is, they don’t even check if it’s true. But I think it’s true too.”

“Why?”

“Because we don’t know either?”

Although they were entirely focused on the monsters, it wasn’t easy to maintain concentration.

It wasn’t long before Selassie, unable to bear the loneliness, started talking about the Hyatt family.

“Well, there might be someone who knows. But coming all the way to the north just to confirm a rumor that doesn’t really matter to our lives is a bit much, isn’t it?”

“That’s right.”

“So everyone just accepts it as a fact and lives on. No one says anything, and everyone thinks so.”

Even if it’s distorted, if more people believe it, does it become the truth?

Kallen nodded slightly.

“Anyway, why did the monsters suddenly increase around Mount Hyatt? Even if it was really a trap by Machvel, the data was real.”

Since getting up, Selassie hadn’t shown her face to Kallen even once.

The reason was unknown.

Was she angry because her wounds were reopened without her consent?

Was she afraid of the possibility of being betrayed by Machvel?

Was it because of the late-night commotion the day before?

Her voice was the same as usual, but she never turned her head towards Kallen.

The excuse of alleviating loneliness was born that way.

But Kallen had to say those words.

What was the purpose of coming as an escort?

In return for granting Selassie’s request, the Hyatt family would join forces with Lakatus to help the Dranus family return.

Although it was all Selassie’s trap, since things had come to this, Kallen had no choice but to help Selassie succeed in the civil war.

In such a situation, falling for an obvious trap was dangerous.

Because Selassie must not lose the civil war.

So, she had to awaken her sense of caution.

At first, Kallen thought Selassie hadn’t noticed, so she spoke up.

The reason she hesitated to mention the possibility of Machvel’s betrayal was because she was worried it would reopen her wounds.

But Selassie knew.

She knew that Machvel’s actions were suspicious, and that this could be a trap.

She knew, but she denied it.

Kallen thought that it was more dangerous than not knowing at all.

Ambiguous hope breeds greater despair.

If Selassie had forcibly held onto the last line of hope extended to Makbel with his wounded hands, the possibility of falling into danger would soar dramatically.

That’s why he spoke those harsh words.

Kallen is not a knight who swore unwavering loyalty.

Nor did he have decades of memories piled up with Selassie.

That’s why he uttered such embarrassing words.

Although he desired something else, he said, “I will trust you.”

“So you trust me too.”

The embarrassing harsh words Kallen uttered carried that meaning.

But all of this was purely from Kallen’s perspective.

For Selassie, it was like suddenly digging into a wound, hearing embarrassing harsh words from a boy he had only met recently, who was younger than himself.

That’s why he didn’t even want to see his face.

Kallen looked at Selassie, who was walking ahead, and was convinced.

– “You’re sometimes too serious, Kal!”

Sinat’s words, which suddenly came to mind…

He decided to bury them for a while.

*

It was a little while after the monster cleanup began that he started to suspect something unusual.

“…Where are they coming from?”

The sudden increase in the number of monsters was, of course, expected.

Wasn’t that the reason they came here?

But no matter how much, it was strange.

Even considering that Mount Hiatt was larger than other mountains.

Even considering that the number of monsters had increased around this place.

It was too strange that such a number of monsters were found within the mountain.

– “Kuek!”

– “Kuruk!”

It seemed like they had just passed the middle of the mountain, but with this number…

How many more monsters are there above that?

Why has such a fact not been reported until now?

It was enough to cause an emergency in the north.

It couldn’t simply be expressed as a sudden increase in numbers.

“Didn’t they investigate inside the mountain?”

“If they didn’t intend to catch them all like now, that would make sense too.”

It made sense.

If Selassie had visited to clean up the monsters of Mount Hiatt, the investigators would have literally scanned the mountain for ‘investigation’ purposes.

Finding the number of monsters strange was a matter of perception.

It was understandable if they didn’t catch each one individually.

Kallen slowly turned his head over his shoulder and looked back.

“Miss. You’re too far behind.”

“Ah.”

Selassie, who was about to turn her head at Kallen’s words, stopped with a start.

She spoke as if she was just about to turn.

“…Shall we go down?”

“That would be best.”

Leading the way was too much.

The sounds of monster hunting that had been heard intermittently had stopped.

Kallen and Selassie were too far from the others.

If an emergency situation arose, it could become troublesome.

Deciding to retreat, Selassie quickly took a position below Kallen.

“Let’s go.”

Before Kallen could feel the bitterness, the two set off.

For different reasons, their hearts felt heavy.

For that reason.

They didn’t notice the fog that had begun to surround them.

Thud-

Another monster, its head pierced by a line flickering like a flame, collapsed.

How many of them now.

After killing countless monsters, it was yet another monster slain.

“It seems we are trapped.”

Kallen said calmly.

There was no response.

Selassie looked around at the fog that had filled the surroundings with a hardened gaze.

It wasn’t difficult to conclude that they were trapped.

While descending for a long time, no matter how high they had climbed, they should have reached the ground by then.

When they came to their senses, they were surrounded by thick fog.

From that point on, no matter how much they descended, the mountain scenery continued.

In the end, marking the surrounding trees and encountering them again solved nothing.

Meanwhile, more and more monsters began to pour in.

From the sides, now from above.

Except for the foggy area below, the monsters pouring in from all directions were too much for Selassie to handle alone.

Isolation was a confirmed fact.

Monster hunting was no longer a matter of merit but a goal of survival.

Eventually, Kallen joined Selassie in the monster hunt.

First-class magic, Ignition.

However, unlike ordinary Ignition, a long line of flames manifested.

“Kallen, that…”

“Still, it wasn’t for nothing that I escorted Lady Rakatus.”

As a magician, Selassie was not unfamiliar with Ignition.

But the Ignition Kallen used was different.

Even though his father, Azkal, was considered the most fascinating user of magic in the world by applying magic to Northern traditional swordsmanship.

Kallen’s Ignition had something else.

Like threading a needle.

The heads of the approaching monsters were threaded one by one.

It didn’t just look like they were burning; the monsters with pierced heads made a burning sound and collapsed.

Following Kallen’s hand here and there.

The line of flames spread out like a boundary, pushing the monsters away.

“Miss. Could you use some magic on the fog?”

“In the fog?”

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“Yes. We need to see if we can break through.”

“…Alright.”

That figure looked incredibly reliable.

The real reason for bringing Kallen was not for protection.

Same age. He had never thought he was behind a younger boy in magic.

If a dangerous situation arose, he would protect him, but he never thought he would actually be in a situation where he needed protection.

But since the situation had come to this, Selassie nodded quietly.

Bang-!

The icicle spear created by Selassie made a loud noise as it headed towards the fog.

Kallen, who was glancing at it while pushing away the monsters, let out a shallow sigh.

Because the fog was intact.

“Can’t we break through it?”

The fog seemed to block the lower part.

Monsters pouring in from all directions.

But the monsters were still manageable.

If the bottom doesn’t work, then the top.

Since the appearance of magic, no one has seen the summit of Mount Hiatt, where monsters began to appear.

There was such anxiety, but the fog was still only below.

If it stayed like this and the fog blocked the top as well, it would be a big problem.

To break through, the top was the right choice.

Moreover, the worst thing was that Selassie’s breathing was rough.

He didn’t know if it was because he was physically exhausted or if he was starting to get altitude sickness due to the high altitude.

If it was the latter, it was right to leave him here and go up alone.

At the same time, it was impossible to defeat such monsters alone if he had altitude sickness.

Kallen hesitated a bit, then made a decision.

Indeed, the top was the right choice to break through.

Then, looking down, he quickly approached Selassie, who was breathing heavily,

“Excuse me.”

“What, what are you doing?”

“There’s no point in holding out here. The fog is unsettling, and at least if we reach the top of the mountain, there won’t be any monsters coming from above.”

“Ah, no, what are you doing…”

He lifted Selasia up.

In the words of the people, it was a position commonly referred to as a princess carry.

“You’re struggling.”

“I’ll get better if I rest a bit! So put me down…!”

It didn’t matter whether it was exhaustion or altitude sickness.

He had dealt with the monsters alone on the way up here,

and they had crossed the middle of Mount Hiatt, which was high enough to cause altitude sickness.

Both made sense.

The important thing was to get out of where they were now.

Kallen, a bit annoyed by Selasia’s struggling and pleading to be put down, covered her mouth with one hand.

“-!!”

“You’re noisy.”

The ruby had grown excessively large.

Taking advantage of the moment when Selasia, too flustered, became quiet, Kallen glanced upward.

“Hold on tight. We’re going to run.”

“…”

Then, supporting her back with his arms again, he started running.

The line of flames that had been circling in a defensive pattern now poured forward, clearing a path.

“I’m your sister…”

Feeling Selasia’s arms tightening around his neck as she murmured from within his embrace,

they ran towards the summit of Mount Hiatt, which no one knew.