Only I Know the War Hero’s Secret Chapter 18

Violet eyes, like violets themselves, turned toward Mona.

As silence settled between them, Mona hesitated for a moment before opening her mouth, feeling that she ought to at least introduce herself.

“I’m Mona Veloz, and I’ve been assigned to participate in this investigation.”

“I’m Natasha Romayer. I’ve been assigned to escort the investigation team.”

Her voice was just as cool as her frosty appearance, and Mona instinctively shrank back, fidgeting with her hands.

“……!”

Clatter—!

But just as they finished introducing themselves, the carriage suddenly lurched forward, making the interior bounce up and down.

Mona gripped the window frame tightly and looked outside.

‘It’s shaking terribly.’

The road leading toward the western border was narrow and poorly maintained.

With the hilly terrain making things worse, the faster the carriage went, the more violently it shook.

Despite the rough ride, Natasha’s body remained perfectly upright, as expected of a well-trained knight. Mona, on the other hand, whose life had revolved around studying, swayed helplessly like a paper doll.

The problem was that the carriage was so cramped that every time it jolted, her knees kept bumping against Natasha’s.

“……”

Noticing Natasha’s straight eyebrows draw together ever so slightly, Mona pressed herself as tightly as possible against the edge of the carriage and tensed her body.

Perhaps noticing how hard she was trying, Natasha spoke.

“Please sit comfortably.”

“……”

“It’s fine.”

Although Natasha said it was fine, she turned toward the window as if to conceal her stiff expression. Mona instinctively understood.

‘……She doesn’t like being touched.’

I should be careful.

But no sooner had she made that resolution than the carriage jolted upward again, making Mona grit her teeth.

‘I need to start training my core muscles.’

Making a fleeting resolution that would probably last only three days, Mona tensed her lower abdomen as much as possible to endure the shaking.

 

***

 

After traveling for quite some time, the carriage, which had boasted the worst ride imaginable, finally came to a stop in front of their destination just as darkness began to fall.

‘……I can finally breathe.’

Barely managing to move her stiffened body, Mona climbed out of the carriage and slowly looked around.

“Will we be staying here for the time being?”

“Yes. I heard they’re planning to establish a base camp somewhere in this area.”

“……Well, this is probably the closest territory to the Demonic Realm.”

The heavy voices of the investigation team members could be heard nearby.

Their destination was a small territory located closest to the border of the Land of Chaos.

A modest stone castle and wooden buildings packed tightly together gave a rough impression of just how small the territory was.

“Wow, those knights are so cool!”

“Shh……!”

Since the area was close to the Demonic Realm and rarely received visitors from outside, the arrival of the procession of horses and carriages drew curious residents out of their homes, despite the late hour. They gathered to whisper among themselves.

“Oh my, you’ve arrived!”

Before long, a middle-aged man with graying hair came rushing out and greeted Richard as he dismounted.

“I am Grock Troven, the lord in charge of this territory. You esteemed guests must have endured a difficult journey to come all this way.”

The lord spoke with an overly obsequious manner, his face flushed with excitement.

“I’ve prepared accommodations for you inside the castle. Please follow me.”

It seemed the Imperial Family had instructed the lord in advance to make the castle available to them.

However, even the castle wasn’t particularly spacious.

Not only the investigation team and their escorts who would be entering the Demonic Realm, but also the servants carrying their luggage and the Imperial Family’s support personnel had accompanied them. It was uncertain whether everyone would fit inside.

“I apologize, but our accommodations are limited, so we’ll have to divide you into separate groups.”

As expected, the investigation team was split between the main castle and an annex.

The place Mona was assigned to was a two-story annex building.

The interior was more comfortable than she had expected.

Magic stones, which looked as though they had only just been installed, emitted a bright light, while servants could be seen cleaning the floors and lighting the fireplaces throughout the building.

‘So this is why all the professors are so desperate to secure an Imperial Family project.’

To receive this kind of treatment even in such a remote territory……

“Please rest and recover from your journey today. Tomorrow, I ask that you gather in the main castle’s conference room by seven in the morning.”

After briefly watching Hugo as he delivered his superior’s orders with an unwaveringly stern attitude, Mona accepted a key from a servant and immediately headed upstairs to her room.

She was too nervous to have an appetite, so she skipped dinner.

When she opened the firmly shut door and stepped inside, she saw two beds arranged in a space divided by a partition.

Although it was a double room with a shared bathroom, the sleeping areas were separated, so it didn’t seem particularly inconvenient.

Who would have thought she’d get to stay somewhere more comfortable than her cramped academy dormitory room?

Shaking her head in amazement as she looked around, Mona began unpacking her bag.

“Huh……?”

Mona’s hand froze as she took out her clothes.

Crushed peanut shells were scattered all over them, sticking to the fabric.

It was utterly baffling.

The peanuts she’d put in a bag to snack on whenever she got hungry had been reduced to nothing but shells.

Surely one of the Imperial Family’s porters wouldn’t have stolen something as cheap as peanuts.

Flustered, Mona frantically rummaged through the mess of shells inside her bag. Suddenly, she felt something soft and squishy beneath her hand and flinched.

‘S-surely not.’

The sensation was all too familiar, but she desperately wanted to believe it wasn’t what she thought.

However, she soon found herself staring into a pair of round, black eyes as the creature squirmed its way up the back of her hand.

A slime.

Judging by its vivid mint-green color, wasn’t this that fussy little fellow?

Why was something that should have been in the laboratory inside her cramped bag?

While she stood there, completely at a loss, the sound of a door unlocking suddenly came from behind her.

‘Eek!’

Mona quickly covered the slime with her clothes.

Then she turned toward the person entering the room, looking rather awkward.

Her roommate was Natasha, whose expression was as cold as ever.

“H-hello.”

“Yes.”

After briefly responding to Mona’s greeting, Natasha entered the room across from hers and removed the sword hanging at her waist.

Fortunately, it seemed she was going out to have dinner. As soon as she had disarmed herself, she left the room again.

Squish!

((+ㅅ+))

The moment Mona lifted the clothes, the slime bounced its body in the air as though greeting her.

Unchewed pieces of peanuts were still floating inside its transparent body.

“Why on earth did you follow me……!”

When Mona inadvertently snapped at the slime, it suddenly lost its springiness and drooped.

‘Can this thing actually understand what I’m saying?’

The slime’s pathetic yet adorable appearance took the wind out of her sails. Scratching her head, Mona fell into deep thought.

What was she supposed to do with this little fellow?

If she simply left it outside, the children in this neighborhood would probably hunt it down in no time.

‘Should I release it somewhere inside the Land of Chaos?’

……Yes, that’s it!

She could keep it in her bag until she found a safe place where a slime could live, then set it free.

Looking at the slime as it blinked its round eyes innocently, Mona spoke with a rather serious expression.

“You could have stayed comfortably in the laboratory, where they feed you well. Why did you follow me? This is a scary place. There was even a gigantic dragon named Baelmos here.”

Has it understood the word dragon?

The slime, which had been spread out flat on either side, suddenly contracted into a round shape, and its black eyes grew even wider.

‘So I can use the word dragon to threaten it from now on?’

Had she just acquired a cheat code for handling this peculiar little slime?

After observing the slime, now as round as a bouncy ball, Mona emptied the pouch that had been holding her writing utensils and compass.

“This place is dangerous, so you absolutely mustn’t come out for the time being.”

Without putting up any resistance, the slime obediently rolled into the leather pouch.

“Can you stay inside the bag?”

The leather pouch shook rapidly back and forth.

Well, although slimes were the lowest-grade monsters, their regenerative abilities were exceptional, so enduring life inside the pouch shouldn’t be too difficult for it.

“Thank you. I’ll put some peanuts in there for you, so stay quietly inside my bag. If someone finds you, the dragon will go ‘roar!’ and carry you away.”

After sternly warning it as though scaring a small child, Mona safely hid the slime inside her bag.

Then she felt a wave of exhaustion wash over her.

“Haa……”

A slime that had escaped from the laboratory had somehow ended up following her into her bag.

What on earth was happening on the very first day of the investigation……?

Hoping that nothing troublesome would happen tomorrow, Mona let her exhausted body collapse onto the bed.