I Think My Fiancé Has Regressed

Chapter 21: Finding Clues (2)

Behind the Academy building, there is a small mountain about 200 meters high.

This mountain is not necessary for the story to progress, but it exists for one reason. It’s there to intentionally cancel out events that take place within the academy.

Usually, the protagonist has to meet with targets and build up their likability after school, so they don’t have time to do anything else because they have to deal with other events after school.

However, if you really dislike a particular character and your after-school schedule is only with them, you can use the option “Climb Mount Tamila” instead of forcing the event.

It’s a small event that gives your character a small boost to a few stats, and in some cases, a chance to get a hidden item that can help you progress through the game.

Of course, this is an option that most players rarely use.

Even if you spend time with someone who isn’t your target character, you’ll still get gifts from them, which are often much more useful than the items you get from climbing Mount Tamila.

If you skip an event with a character you’re targeting, you’ll have to use the items you get to regain their favor.

On top of that, the stat boosts from climbing Mount Tamila aren’t that great. After all, there aren’t any dangerous enough monsters here to endanger your life.

…That is, until the Academy’s second demonic assault.

“Kiek!”

-Boom.

One of the goblins that had charged at Kael was hit by the explosion magic and fell down.

“Grrrr…grrrr.”

On the other side, a goblin, strangled by the wire wrapped around Elise’s hand, foamed at the mouth and drooped limp.

Undaunted by the fallen creature, Elise struck again, this time with the silver dagger she’d drawn from her bosom, cutting off the creature’s life with unmistakable precision.

“It appears that goblin was the last of the fiends, Lady Ariana.”

As Elise had reported, the goblin nest here had been safely disposed of.

Thank goodness we were able to destroy it before it evolved into a full-fledged nest.

“So this is why the professors told us not to enter Mount Tamila.”

“It’s probably an escaped demon from the great demon raid not too long ago that has taken up residence here.

We may have succeeded in driving them out of the Academy, but we didn’t completely eradicate them.”

The way things were supposed to go, they should have killed every last one of the invading demons, but someone’s lack of diligence had led to a half-hearted defense.

“Let’s get back on the road before it’s too late. We’re almost there.”

“You do realize that’s the third time you’ve said that, right?”

“…This time we’re really close, because we had to check out the other two places first….”

“Hah….”

Kael let out a sigh, as if he was getting tired.

It had already been over two hours since we had entered the mountain and scoured the mountainside.

Aside from slaying demons, Kael’s role was to use earth and wind magic to create paths, so it was only to be expected that he would be the first of the three to tire.

“…If you’re tired, do you want to go back first and rest?”

I was a little worried that Kael might collapse from overexertion, so I cautiously offered.

“If I go first, what about you and Elise?”

“I’m just going to check out one last place, and if they’re not there, I’ll head back.”

“I’m just deferring to Ariana’s opinion.”

“…….”

Kael flicked his gaze between me and Elise for a moment, then wordlessly used his wind magic on the blocked walkway again, as if he had no choice.

“Apparently it’s the last one, so whether or not you find what you’re looking for, we’re done there for the day, and we’re descending unconditionally.”

“Yeah, okay.”

“So, which way are we going this time?”

I pointed in a direction and Kael led the way again, and it wasn’t long before we reached our final destination for the day: the Cave with No Name.

As soon as we saw the cave, which was awkwardly tucked into the cliff, Kael had his own impressions.

“That’s a pretty suspicious looking cave.”

“It is.”

Though it was designed to feel that way on purpose.

I’ve been sleeping on it and adding hidden elements, and it would be unfair if no one noticed.

So I purposely painted it a different color than the surrounding rocks to make it feel out of place.

If you see something like that in the game, it’s hard for the average player to not go in and check it.

“You’re not going to ask me to go in, are you?”

“Let’s go in, Kael.”

“…Really? I have a feeling there’s something dangerous lurking inside.”

“It’s okay, I’ve been saving my magic for just such an occasion.”

“…Well, I’m sure your magic will be able to clean up the mess.”

I tuned out Kael’s mutterings about the cave being too narrow and us getting caught in it, and slowly made my way into the cave, illuminating it with my magic tools.

After a minute or so of walking along the cave walls, the first fork in the road came into view.

“A fork.”

“Yeah.”

“They say you can’t get lost in places like this if you just follow one wall, so which way do you go?”

“Right.”

Kael placed his hand on the right wall and started walking, and it wasn’t long before he came to the next fork in the road.

“Why don’t we just keep going right, this is going to take longer than I thought.”

“Nonsense, Kael. That’s a dead end.”

“…What?”

I called out to Kael, who was about to take the right path against the wall, and quickly signaled for him to follow me to the left.

“It’s to the left.”

“No, I thought we were supposed to follow one wall and not get lost.”

“Left is right, follow me.”

“If we get lost…”

With Kael grumbling and sticking to the left, the three of them took the left fork.

The options in the cave continued to present themselves, but I didn’t hesitate.

“Another fork?”

“Left.”

“Can we just keep moving forward without thinking about it?”

“This is the right way.”

“…If you say so.”

“Three paths this time? That’s a lot of choices.”

“Middle.”

“You’re thinking about coming back later, aren’t you?”

“I’ll never get lost in a place like this.”

“Kael, this way.”

“Huh?”

“There’s a path in the wall to the right here. It’s backwards and out of sight.”

“…How the hell do you find these things?”

“There is such a thing.”

The hint to the right fork in the road would have to be earned, but I already knew the answer, so it wasn’t necessary.

And so the combination of two nobles and a maid continued to advance unimpeded through the cave.

Until, not long after the passage, we came to a dead end.

“Ah, well, it’s a dead end after all, and there are no other paths around.”

“…….”

“Let’s turn around before we forget the way we came. If we stay any longer, we won’t make it to dinner.”

“Up.”

“Huh? Up?”

I pointed a finger upward at the complaining Kael, and my younger brother’s gaze immediately traveled to the top of the cave.

“…Huh?”

Where Kael’s eyes landed, a path sloped at about a twenty-degree angle, still leading through a hole in the ceiling.

“This is the last one.”

“I sometimes get a vague sense of dread that I can’t quite put my finger on, that you’re seeing something completely different than I am.”

“It’s natural for a person to feel that way about things they don’t understand. Give me a minute while I make the stairs.”

Using creation magic, I created a flat, wide expanse of ground, then tilted it at a 45-degree angle to match the hole in the ceiling.

I then divided it into tiers to form a staircase and was about to take the first step.

The sound of several legs hitting the ground from the direction we’d been traveling caused all three of us to look behind us at the same time.

“…Is that a horse?”

It sounded similar, but a little different.

The unidentified sound grew faster and louder, echoing through the silent cave, as if it were trying to reach us.

“Sis, stay back, if it’s a demon, I’ll deal with it.”

“Ariana, please get behind me!”

Kael and Elise blocked in front of me at the same time, but instead of running away, I was gathering dark magic power in my hands.

Because judging by the speed and loudness of the footsteps, it was clear that it was definitely not a human, and certainly not a friendly monster.

“Chhhhhhhh!”

Giant Black Widow.

The monster, shaped like a giant spider, unleashed its ghastly form and screamed upon us.

Kael and Elise were frozen, speechless and expressionless, as if they hadn’t expected a creature of this magnitude to appear.

“Kael! Elise, get back now!”

Kael and Elise’s gazes crossed from me to the demon in an instant, and they both immediately moved away from the Giant Black Widow.

As soon as I saw that they were far enough away, I fired the dark time bomb I had been preparing in my hand at the demon.

“KEEEEEE……!!!”

The explosive force of the unstable dark magic didn’t even allow the demon to finish its scream, instead, its head was blown off.

With a thud, one of its legs folded in on itself, and the rest of its body flipped over to resemble a dead spider.

The two looked back and forth between me and the creature’s corpse, each with a short comment.

“I hadn’t seen you in a while, but your magic power is truly without mercy….”

“With that, you’ve already used high-level magic twice today, so you’ll have to refrain from doing so in the future.”

“I understand, Elise.”

Hearing Elise’s sincere concern, I took the last steps toward the top of the cave.

I prayed that my assumptions before setting out for this place were, hopefully, wrong.