Only I Know the War Hero’s Secret Chapter 19

“Ugh……”

It was late at night.

Natasha, who had just returned from her nightly training, was startled by the groaning coming from inside the room.

In the darkness, she could make out a figure curled up on the bed.

The woman was so small that she almost looked like a little animal curled into a ball.

‘Was her name Mona Veloz……?’

The woman who had been considerate of Natasha’s feelings throughout their journey in the cramped carriage.

Remembering how she had desperately clung to the window frame to keep herself steady, Natasha felt a pang of guilt.

‘Am I really that bad at controlling my expressions?’

In fact, Natasha had struggled to hide the discomfort that crept over her whenever Mona’s knee brushed against hers.

‘Damn Chaos…….’

It was all because her sense of touch had been damaged when she got caught up in that place.

Sometimes, she would touch something soft, only to feel a prickling sensation and jerk her hand away in surprise. Other times, she would grasp something hard, but it would feel soft and squishy, forcing her to look down just to make sure she was actually holding it.

As these unpleasant experiences continued to pile up, Natasha had gradually become reluctant to touch anything at all.

‘It’s not like I wanted her to notice, though…….’

“Lighten up, Natasha. You’re terrible at keeping a poker face.”

Remembering Louis’s words, Natasha rubbed the space between her brows and let out a deep sigh.

 

***

 

“……Gasp!”

The moment sunlight filtering through the curtains touched her eyelids, Mona gasped and shot upright.

Of all things, she’d had a nightmare, and cold sweat had gathered all over the back of her neck.

In the dream, Richard’s sharp blade had plunged into her neck without the slightest hesitation.

—Mona Veloz. I’ll remember that.

As if her usual nightmare hadn’t been enough, reality had even added that line she’d heard from him. Mona grabbed at her hair in frustration.

Why had she chased after that professor on that particular day and discovered the secret of such an important person……?

If only that hadn’t happened, she could have devoted herself to the investigation without a care in the world.

Sighing repeatedly over her miserable luck, Mona hurriedly picked up her thick glasses, put them on, and dragged her stiff body out of bed.

Natasha seemed to have already left, as the room was quiet.

However, on the shelf in the shared bathroom, she found a small medicine bottle accompanied by a note.

Had Natasha noticed how sore her muscles were as soon as she’d stepped out of the carriage?

‘That’s unexpected.’

A faint smile spread across Mona’s lips as she looked at the cute cat drawing and the round, bubbly handwriting.

Carefully folding the note and slipping it into her pocket, Mona drank the restorative potion Natasha had left and checked the time.

They’d been told to gather by seven.

If she sat down for breakfast, she’d barely have enough time.

Mona quickly straightened her clothes, finished her meal in a hurry, and headed to the main castle.

 

***

 

Inside the conference room.

Several members of the investigation team who had already arrived were engaged in a serious discussion about topics unfamiliar to Mona.

During the past week of preparation, some of the team members had grown close by exchanging the information each of them knew.

But Mona, who had spent nearly all her time going back and forth between the monastery and the library, scratched her head before taking a seat at the edge of the table.

‘What’s with the flags?’

Soon, her gaze fell on the enormous map spread across the rectangular table.

The areas where monsters had recently gone berserk were marked on it, and flags had been planted at both the starting point and the highest peak of the mountain range.

‘As expected, our final destination is the summit of the Kirki Mountains.’

Dragons were monsters that liked to look down upon everything from above, flaunting their dominance, so the destination itself made sense.

The problem was the route.

To enter the central region of the Kirki Mountains, it would be more advantageous distance-wise to establish a base camp farther north along the western border.

After all, approaching in a straight line was faster than taking a diagonal route.

October 13, 664, Imperial Calendar.

An unprecedented outbreak of spore-type monsters had occurred throughout the forests in the western region.

However, just as the imperial report she’d examined previously had stated, the upper region had been closed off due to the spore-type monsters. It seemed they’d chosen this area as the next best alternative for their base camp.

‘But the spores have spread over such a wide area……?’

Mona was making quick notes on the region affected by the spore-type monster outbreak when Richard, a sword at his waist, and Noel, carrying a magical staff, entered the conference room side by side.

The moment the two prominent figures appeared, the room fell silent as if someone had poured cold water over everyone.

Rather than immediately beginning the meeting, Richard exchanged a few words with Noel in his usual indifferent manner.

“I never thought I’d live to see the day Sir Richard and Sir Noel worked together.”

Someone whispered, their voice brimming with excitement.

“The Empire’s greatest hero and a promising magician considered a candidate for the next Tower Master…… What an incredible combination.”

“Both of them are unmarried, so they’re extremely popular in high society as well.”

One of the investigation team members added jokingly.

‘They really are people from a completely different world.’

Listening to the conversation around her, Mona gave a small nod.

Even though she’d always kept her distance from high society, she knew how difficult it was to see someone like Richard Cronell or a direct descendant of House Lotus up close.

‘And it’s not just the young lord of House Lotus.’

Aside from herself, the members of this investigation team were an exceptionally impressive bunch.

There were even two people pursuing double majors, not to mention an imperial alchemist and a spirit mage……

It was a group of people one wouldn’t easily come across.

‘Worrying that Richard might take an interest in me among all these people seems a little self-important.’

Feeling slightly relieved, Mona lifted her head, which had been bowed low.

Just then, Richard finished speaking with Noel and walked toward the center of the table.

“Let’s get straight to the point. Sir Noel.”

“Yes.”

At Richard’s instruction, Noel Lotus uttered a brief incantation.

“Move.”

A blue flag that had been lying on the table suddenly shot forward and stuck into the map like a dart.

“We plan to install a long-distance teleportation magic circle, approximately thirty-three feet (10 meters) in diameter, in the clearing at the designated base camp.”

The moment Noel revealed the plan, Mona’s eyes widened.

Activating a magic circle of that size would require an enormous amount of mana to be released all at once.

……Was that even possible?

While Mona was still questioning its feasibility, Noel continued his explanation calmly.

“After that, whenever we advance farther into the Demonic Realm, we’ll gradually establish outposts connected to the teleportation circle at the base camp.”

One after another, flags were planted at regular intervals along a diagonal route.

Connecting teleportation circles to travel long distances worked on the same principle as the Empire’s massive teleportation gates.

‘But those gates have mana amplification facilities.’

There was no way such expensive facilities would be available in a remote place like this.

Of course, if they could pull it off, it would be a flawless plan.

They would be able to travel between the outside world and the interior of the Demonic Realm using teleportation circles.

There were already several obvious advantages.

In an emergency, they could quickly reach an outpost and immediately flee back to the base camp.

They could also stockpile food, medicine, and research equipment at each outpost. On top of that, they could divide the field investigation personnel into smaller groups along the way, minimizing casualties.

‘……The question is whether it’s actually feasible.’

According to Mona’s common sense and intuition, this was not an easy plan to comprehend.

However, the person proposing it was a direct descendant of House Lotus, a prestigious magical family, and a candidate for the position of Tower Master.

His knowledge and understanding of magic theory must be far beyond hers.

Feeling that it would be presumptuous of her to question his assessment of its feasibility, Mona kept her mouth shut.

Amid the silence, Noel spoke with a slightly awkward expression.

“……However, it’s a large and complicated magic circle, so it hasn’t been completed yet. It’ll probably take another five days or so. I hope you’ll understand that we can’t depart immediately.”

At Noel’s words, Farmin spoke up enthusiastically.

“We’ll help construct the teleportation circle as well. Won’t we?”

“Of course.”

“Certainly.”

Thanks to Richard’s frequent visits to the Magic Tower over the past week, most of the team members had already heard about the teleportation circle plan.

As a result, some of them had even discussed among themselves how they would help with its construction.

“Constructing a teleportation circle requires a laborious process of carving a large stone slab using mana. Will that be all right with you?”

“Of course. We’re all part of the same investigation team. We should all pitch in and help with something like this, shouldn’t we?”

Farmin deliberately turned to look at Mona as he asked.

To carve a stone-slab magic circle quickly, one fundamentally needed the ability to control mana.

However, anyone talented enough to wield mana would hardly have chosen to enroll in the Department of Monster Studies, a department that wasn’t even marked on the academy map.

“Yes. I’ll help.”

At her calm response, Farmin snorted inwardly.

Just as expected.

The monster researcher, full of enthusiasm, had nodded along, eager to lend a hand.

‘I’ve got you now.’

She must have thought it was no big deal because she’d never made a stone-slab magic circle before. Well, let her make a fool of herself.