The uneasiness I felt grew stronger as time passed.

monster.

A monster has entered the mountains.

A monster ruined this trip to the North.

If you encounter a monster, run away… … .

For two days heading to the center of the mountain range, these are the words everyone we met told us.

don’t go

die if you go

There were some who looked at us and ignored us, but most of them were very afraid of the existence of ‘Monster’.

The sight of fear imprinted in his brain made him feel uncomfortable.

Who the heck is the monster and why are they so afraid of it?

The more I heard about the monster, the more impatience it seemed.

Worried about what to do if that being touches Reid.

If people who came to the north are afraid of it, it is said that it is at least a sword expert level or higher.

What could be the reason such a talented person came to the North?

To make money, of course.

Otherwise, there is no reason to enter this place where there is little to eat and the environment is barren.

At least in my opinion it was.

‘There’s no reason to come unless you have a purpose for something else like me.’

That’s right, but why is it so embarrassing?

My heart felt tight as if food had been put inside.

Beatrice worriedly asked if my thoughts showed on my face.

“Sir Red Mill, are you all right?”

“uh?”

“Because your face is dark.”

After hearing that, I looked around and saw that the entire party, including her, were looking at me.

Their faces flushed red with the campfire in the middle.

“Nothing.”

“Tell me if you have any concerns. Even if I can’t solve it, I can listen to you.”

“I am ready to listen at any time.”

“Are you worried?”

“… .”

I smiled at the appearance of the party who helped out one word at a time.

And I opened my mouth to them.

“I was just thinking who the monster was.”

“A monster?”

“uh. The monster they said keeps getting caught… .”

At my words, Beatrice fell silent.

Beside him, Mahol said with his eyes shining.

“Whoever the monster is, I will solve it.”

Mahol’s words were quite reassuring.

I mean, anyone can handle it.

This is what I wanted from him.

But even in that reassurance, this uncomfortable feeling did not go away.

As I shut my mouth, the atmosphere instantly became heavy.

“I think the atmosphere has become too dark. Why don’t we talk about something other than this?”

Beatrice helped with Reina’s words, which she brought out after judging that the atmosphere was too dark.

“That’s a good idea. Miss Rayna. It’s not like what happened yet. It’s not too late to worry about it then.”

“that’s right.”

Elise nodded beside her as if her words were correct.

“Even though we’ve been together for quite some time, I think there are a lot of things we don’t know about each other. Now that this has happened, how about saying what you want to say? I like my past, how I’ve lived so far, and how hard I’ve been through.”

It was an unexpected proposal.

It’s out of the blue, but it’s also a good suggestion.

I don’t know why things are going on like this, but it’s true that I want to know more about her.

‘This is definitely a good opportunity.’

She firmly believed that I was the fictional Red Mill.

If he had known that I was Raymond, it would have been impossible for him to accompany me, let alone say such a thing.

In that sense, this was an opportunity.

Now that I believe to be Red Mill, a chance to find out about her.

Today’s events may provide a stepping stone for me to get closer to her.

“Then I’ll start with me.”

Reina spoke first.

She told me what happened at the academy.

How they were bullied by the Iljins and where they lived.

When the word about Raymond came out of her mouth, she reflexively turned to Beatrice.

Her gaze, which had been looking at Rayna pitifully, changed as soon as Raymond’s name came out.

A strange expression mixed with various emotions.

“To be honest, I didn’t believe it at first. Seeing my older brother return with a broken body, I blamed everyone.”

But when Raymond appeared, things changed.

Even though the action was radical, thanks to that, it gave me hope.

As she said that, she looked at me.

Those eyes were burdensome.

The reason I helped them was for my personal gain.

I needed Mahol, so I did it to have a crush on him.

Seeing it so well, there was nothing embarrassing about it.

“I hated everyone.”

And then Mahol opened his mouth.

He said he hated the world and would not have been able to bear it without his brother.

“Thanks to him, we were able to change.”

“… .”

After his words, Beatrice was silent for a while.

I was looking at them with confused eyes as if my thoughts were complicated.

“I am… .”

she opened her mouth slowly.

“It’s hard to believe what you say.”

“… .”

Even though their bodies flinched at her words, Mahol and Reina calmly listened.

“I think the person I know is right… It is very different from what I knew.”

Her eyes widened as she spoke.

“I had a friend. His name is Xerion Skyla.”

“Skyla!”

Reina let out a sigh at the appearance of the famous family.

Skylar’s family was a prestigious family that the academy recognized.

At that sigh, Beatrice smiled bitterly as she looked into the void and continued.

“Ten years. Yeah, it must have been about 10 years. Ten years ago, my friend Xerion attended a banquet held by the Millennium family. He was very sociable and had many close friends, and above all, he was known for taking good care of his younger siblings.”

“… .”

“But there was an accident. Orcs who shouldn’t have appeared appeared in their place because the hunting grounds were poorly managed.”

In an instant, sparks flew in her eyes.

She was talking about an incident that left her with a lifelong trauma.

“I could have run away if I had been alone. Because he was talented enough to be called a prodigy in magic. He was able to pull out one of his own.”

“… But look what happened.”

When I asked, she turned to me.

Her eyes were red with tears.

“Yes. All in all, his younger siblings were there. All in all.”

She gnashed her teeth, emphasizing ‘if only’.

It reminded me of the record of that time.

“Beatrice and Raymond were there.”

“uh… If it’s Raymond.”

“Yes. The man you mentioned is probably right.”

When she nodded, Mahol and Raina’s expressions became strange.

The events that happened at that time were strictly kept secret, so only those who know know and those who do not know do not know.

“He sacrificed himself to protect his younger siblings. And… The results were disastrous.”

When Zerion said that she had become a vegetable, she gritted her teeth.

“I don’t blame him for his actions. Knowing his character, he will repeat the same behavior whenever the situation presents itself.”

“… .”

“I know that saving people’s lives is a noble thing. But what if the one who survived the sacrifice became an idiot? What does that sacrifice mean?”

“… Was that why you were resentful?”

At my words, she looked at me and bowed her head.

“It was disappointing.”

To say that I was resentful, does that mean I am not resentful now?

“At first, I tried to understand. Yes, I thought that it was only hard for a while because of the shock. I thought it would have been because it was difficult with the thought that if I hadn’t said that I would go into the hunting ground.”

“No. After a year, I started to resent the fact that I was worse than before. Did he sacrifice himself to save a guy like that? Why couldn’t he just do that?”

“I was full of such resentment. Then, all of a sudden, I had a thought. His younger brother was also there. Raymond, the moment I realized that it wasn’t my fault alone, I felt ashamed of myself for blaming others.”

“It’s nobody’s fault. It’s just that things weren’t good at the time. I knew that it wasn’t Raymond who wanted to go hunting, and I couldn’t stop him, and it wasn’t his fault for sacrificing himself, but I still resented him… I needed someone to blame. I felt like I could survive that way.”

“And Raymond was there. Despite his sacrifice, he lived as a fool, so it was his fault.”

“How are you now?”

“Now is… I do not know. I recently met Raymond. By the way… A lot has changed. To the point where I doubt if this is the Raymond I know. Far from being incompetent, he had talent. It just took me a long time to know that. And the talent, the way it started to shine, was kind of shocking.”

“therefore.”

“I couldn’t blame him any more. How could I be resentful? He eventually changed himself and got out of it.”

“I guess you don’t?”

“Yes. I still remember what happened at that time. When I close my eyes, I think of him dedicating himself to protecting his brother.”

She was immersed.

He couldn’t even tell them apart, to the point where others would doubt that she was Beatrice.

“I was embarrassed at first, and then I became resentful of myself, who was still walking in place.”

“… .”

“I wanted to change. Because I can’t stay there forever. because it has to change therefore… .”

“So that’s why you came to the North.”

“… Yes. If I deal with monsters, I wonder if I can change myself if I live in the North.”

“Good job.”

“… ?”

“Good job. It took time, but in the end it was about to change. Trying to change isn’t easy. It’s difficult. Even so, whatever you try to do is a good thing.”

“ah… .”

Clear tears flowed from her eyes.

“uh. Why am I suddenly like this?”

She raised her hand and rubbed my eyes.

He looked embarrassed at himself, who suddenly started to shed tears.

She couldn’t hold back her tears for a while.

Everything that had been piled up for so long seemed to explode at once.

We watched her for a while.

After she calmed down somewhat, we went to bed.

The uneasiness about the monster was gone, but now the uneasiness arose from the other side.

Being able to indirectly hear Beatrice’s personal thoughts, I couldn’t say it was all good.

Rather, I only worried more about what to do when dealing with her.

Seeing her blaming herself came as a shock in many ways.

I thought it was simply blaming Raymond, but it wasn’t.

‘It’s hard to live a real life.’

Dealing with people is also very difficult.

After a sleepless night, morning came.

“Oh, f*ck.”

Another difficulty came upon me.