WE HIKED TO A MOUNTAIN CITADEL
After dinner, Shalsha remained in the dining room, sinking her teeth deep into a book.
Not literally—she was just really into it. Once, when Halkara was super sloshed, she actually bit into a book, but that’s not what I meant here.
“What are you reading, Shalsha?” I asked, placing a cup of tea I had made for her on the table.
“This.” She showed me the page she had open.
It was a picture of a small stone castle sitting on top of a mountain.
“Oh, are you interested in castles, Shalsha? Should I take you to Vanzeld Castle?”
Beelzebub would be happy to hear that—it would be perfect. She’d probably even be willing to take paid time off in order to provide a thorough guided tour. Maybe she’d let slip some defense secrets, too.
“This is a different kind of castle than Vanzeld, Mom.”
“It is? What do you mean? It looks the same to me…”
“All right. I’ll explain it in a way that anyone can understand.”
Shalsha turned the page.
On it was a picture of a big castle, like Vanzeld, and another one that sat at the peak of a mountain.
“Vanzeld Castle sits on a plain like this.”
“Mm-hmm, I get that.”
“Technically, this would be called a plains citadel. A powerful fortress built in a ruler’s territory for the purpose of governance.”
“Right, I see, I see.”
“Conversely, the one on the mountain here would technically be called a mountain citadel.”
These names were pretty straightforward for technical terms.
“Mountain citadels are castles built for battle, most often constructed at the height of a conflict between warring lords. They are much smaller than plains citadels and do not get many visitors now, so most are in ruin. But that’s precisely why they hold an alluring sense of the past.”
“Wow… So you prefer castles on mountains, then?”
Even though Shalsha never showed much emotion, I could still sense her enthusiasm.
“Yes. Shalsha wants to go to a mountain citadel. Especially this one, Tachidern Castle.”
The next page she flipped to had a picture of what looked like ancient ruins on a mountaintop—and a long stone wall. Thin clouds hung over the scene.
“Wow, that’s pretty neat!”
“Many castle enthusiasts like this place. You can tell how amazing it is just from the picture… But it’s not easy to get to.” Her face clouded over. “Tachidern Castle is surrounded by harsh terrain. Anyone other than the most skilled adventurers would find themselves exhausted partway through and give up. Shalsha can’t go alone.”
“In that case, we can fly over on Laika or Flatorte, and I’ll drop you off from above the castle.”
There was basically no place my family couldn’t get to. The only possible exception I could think of was outer space.
“But then there’s no point.” Shalsha shook her head.
She continued:
“Scaling the sheer mountain by ourselves is what gives the journey meaning. Getting to the castle the easy way lessens its impact. There’s no sense of adventure!”
Shalsha sure was passionate about this!
“Most mountain citadels were built for war. Therefore, the harsh, difficult journey to the central keep is a key feature. Flying on Laika or Flatorte and getting there in one attempt would be putting the cart before the horse.”
“A logical argument. That’s just like you, Shalsha! You mean to say the journey is important.”
I could understand how she felt.
It would be easy if, for example, we could get to our destination in a second. But then there would be no excitement in the buildup. Since my Teleportation spell didn’t work over very long distances, I’d never experienced that sort of disappointment, however.
I looked at the page about Tachidern Castle.
GETTING THERE
From Prichea, a town along the Princess’s Highway in Soldicra Province, take the carriage line to Fussa Temple and get off at the last stop.
Transfer to the carriage headed for Mount Nagodine and get off at Tachidern. The castle can be reached after a three-hour walk.
Beware of wild animals and monsters along the way.
I could tell just by reading that it was way out in the sticks…
It would be quite the journey for Shalsha to attempt alone. Soldicra Province was far away to begin with. Even if I did have Laika and Flatorte take her up to the castle, it would still be dangerous to let her be there alone.
That said, as long as a dragon or I accompanied her, there was no reason she couldn’t go.
Now that I thought about it, maybe this was our chance to take a good family hike.
—Then I noticed the small print, casually added to the bottom of the page, listing the names of the adventurers involved in maintaining the site.
“I think we can do this, Shalsha. I’m going to go get some things ready. Just sit tight, okay?”
I patted Shalsha on the shoulder.
From there, I hopped on Laika and traveled to Wynona’s house.
Luckily, she was home this time. To be honest, she’d given me most of her schedule for the next few months already. She wouldn’t say it out loud, but she clearly wanted me to visit.
I informed Wynona that Shalsha wanted to go to Tachidern Castle.
“She does?! Then I shall guide her in every manner that I can! I will guide her so she will remember the journey for the rest of her life!”
“We’re not really looking for that level of enthusiasm…”
Still, this meant Wynona was willing to be our guide.
“You helped maintain the castle, didn’t you, Wynona?”
I’d seen Wynona’s name written in tiny print in the book.
That information was irrelevant to the description of the castle itself, so Shalsha had probably overlooked it.
“Yes. Ruins will eventually crumble away if left to rot. It would be dangerous for someone to accidentally wander in, not to mention it could end up serving as a hideout for bandits and monsters. Therefore, it’s important to maintain the site—a perfect opportunity to put adventurers to good use.”
In a broad sense, it was a kind of dungeon, so they obviously couldn’t leave it be.
“And it’s nice for us, too, since there’s the chance of discovering something valuable. Though any archeological records are donated, of course.”
Right. It wasn’t unusual for treasure to be hidden in castles.
Laika, who had come along, was listening intently to Wynona.
She then proceeded to ask some very technical questions about Tachidern Castle.
“In times of war, how many soldiers would have been stationed in castles like these? I apologize for the amateurish question.”
“Ah… I will look up the answer for the next time we meet.”
“I believe that a castle like this would fall in the blink of an eye if a dragon was to breathe fire on it. How did they defend against cases like that?”
“Ah… I will look up that answer as well for the next time we meet…”
She was helping maintain the place, but she wasn’t a researcher, so she wouldn’t have those kinds of answers.
“A-anyway, I shall take care of everything for your journey to Tachidern Castle! I will do all I can to help my sister! And I will look up everything I do not know!”
Great, now we had a guide!
A few days later, I spoke to the whole family over dinner. I had Sandra come inside, too.
“I’d like for all of us to go on a hiking trip to Tachidern Castle as a family—and soon. Wynona will guide us. She knows the castle well.”
That’s right—I had decided I may as well make this a family hiking trip.
Hiking trips were a great family activity, so I thought it would be a good idea.
I wasn’t really interested in mountain citadels, but I would enjoy hiking! Everyone would!
Shalsha’s eyes were sparkling.
Falfa cried “Yay! Hiking!” with childlike glee.
I knew I had succeeded the second I saw their smiles.
Laika had been interested to begin with, so she was on board, too.
But the enthusiasm didn’t extend to everyone.
“Oh… I’ll pass…” Halkara weakly held up one hand. Why…?
“What? You don’t like hiking? Of course, we’d have to go through territory with wild animals, but I don’t think you’ll be in any danger if we all go as a family. It’s good to get some exercise every once in a while.”
“We’ll have to walk through forests and mountains to get there, right?”
“Well, the castle is on top of a mountain.”
“That means I could get stranded there all alone!”
“Isn’t that attitude a little weird for an elf?!”
What use was an elf who was afraid of the woods? They’re supposed to be the ones guiding us through the forest…
“Oh, I always get separated from the group and lost in unfamiliar forests. I’ll step off the path for one second to collect an interesting-looking mushroom, then the next thing I know, everyone is gone, and I can’t find the trail…which I am very confident will happen!”
She could really do without that kind of confidence.
“But that does sound like a possibility… I can’t believe you’re making getting stranded sound so likely.”
Considering how sure she seemed about being in danger, I couldn’t force the matter.
And then there was Sandra, who looked obviously disgusted at the idea.
“You sure you won’t like it, Sandra? I could carry you on my back if walking is too much for you.”
“The plants out there are all awful people. A bad personality always shows through in the roots.”
“I see…”
I wondered what kind of roots indicated a bad personality.
“Not only that, there are only rocks at the peak, right? I’m not the kind of plant who grows between the gaps in stone, so I’m not sure if I’m interested. It’s moss that likes to cling to stone, right?”
“I really can’t empathize, but if you don’t want to go, you can stay home…”
It was a lot more difficult to take the whole family hiking than I had thought.
“Everyone else wants to go, right?”
“I’m gonna tear that mountain to shreds and let off some steam!”
“No tearing the mountains to shreds, Flatorte.”
It would be extremely bad if she destroyed the ruins.
“But it’s a castle, right? They build it there for defense, right? That’s practically an invitation to attack! Come and take us on, if you’re strong enou—”
“That won’t happen.”
And finally, there was yet another one of us whose goals were a little different.
“The ruins might contain the spirits of some dead soldiers! I’m excited, Big Sis!”
“You’re treating this like some kind of ghost tour!”
Well, I guess to Rosalie, it wasn’t so much a ghost tour as it was a…potential social event.
“It’s superhard to find people who were killed with swords or arrows unless they’re from a time of war. It’d be really fresh and interesting to hear their stories.”
“I hope I never hear any stories like that.”
I couldn’t really handle stories that got scary or gory.
And hearing it from a ghost meant the story would be real, not made-up…
Well, it didn’t matter that we all had different goals.
And just like that, our plan to hike to Tachidern Castle was settled.
We met up with Wynona on the road, before arriving at the town of Tachidern in Soldicra Province.
There were sheer mountains located right behind the town.
“All right, my name is Wynona, and today I will be your guide. Getting lost in the mountains is quite dangerous, so please listen carefully as I tell you—”
“They’re selling grapes over there! And they’re cheap ’cause they’re directly from the farmer!”
“You, there! Blue dragon! Listen to me speak!”
I know it was a little late for this realization, but getting the entire family to concentrate on one thing was like herding cats.
“First, I will tell you about the history of Tachidern Castle. I have collated information from a careful reading of many local topographical descriptions and history books, so listen closely.”
Wynona didn’t slack when it came to these things. She was a little prickly, but she was a hard worker.
“The castle was established in the Era of the Fifteen Lords. It was a magnificent structure, so grand in fact, that it is believed to have been built for the purpose of defense by a nearby leader, rather than the local minor lord. This castle served as the stage for the main skirmish during the battle of Deep Pool, and three hundred soldiers are said to have lost their lives on the site defending it.”
“All that remains of the soldiers’ dreams…,” Laika murmured. I guess this world had its own Matsuo Basho writing haiku…
Meanwhile, Shalsha was taking notes. I was happy that she had a knowledgeable guide.
“Local superstition says that spirits of soldiers who died with regrets do occasionally appear, even now.”
“Oh! It’s unusual to find ghosts who’ve been attached to a place for so long. I gotta hear their stories.”
Rosalie had her own reasons to get excited.
“And while I don’t foresee this group having any trouble, I should let you know just in case.”
Wynona gestured to a nearby sign.
“The mountains here are home to bears and venomous snakes. Please be careful.”
“Bear meat can get real gamey, but I, the great Flatorte, think that’s what makes ’em so tasty!”
“She’s not talking about cooking them!”
I felt a little bad knowing that Wynona was earnestly doing her best to guide us.
“Well, I did warn you… Now, let’s begin our trek. This trail is said to be the path attacking forces would use to assault the castle.”
We were finally beginning our hike.
It was going to be a long stretch, but I was sure we would enjoy the walk u—
The two dragons hurried off at incredible speed.
“A mountain this size shouldn’t take more than ten minutes to climb!”
“You have a lot of wasted movement, Flatorte. You do not have to lift your legs so high in order to move forward. You will tire yourself before long.”
“Don’t give me that sass, Laika. I, the great Flatorte, am going to reach my goal before I get tired, so it doesn’t matter!”
They were already really high up!
“Both of you! Stop! Stop!” I yelled.
“Do you think Laika got a head start, Mistress?”
“I would do no such thing. But if Lady Azusa is to be our referee, then I will follow her instructions.”
No, they had this all wrong.
“I didn’t get to race against Laika during the relay, so I thought we could settle our score now.”
“We are on equal footing as neither of us knows the castle. I believe this would be the perfect opportunity to settle the score once and for all.”
They really were drawing out the Post Town Relay Race. Their excitement over who could get to the top first reminded me of elementary school boys.
“You know this is a hike, right? It’s not a competition! We’re walking slowly. Together. Okay?!”
And I couldn’t say it out loud, but if they really did reach the castle in under ten minutes, then there would be no point for Wynona to be here.
I wanted her to lead us on our walk.
“Indeed! Some things can only be gained by firmly planting each foot on the ground, one after the other!”
Laika immediately understood, but Wynona was already exasperated.
“This is why I don’t like dragons… They remind me how weak and powerless I am…”
Dragons sure were extra.
Once again, we started our hike.
I paid close attention to my two girls as their parent. Well, even if I weren’t their mom, I wouldn’t really need to worry about everyone else.
Shalsha silently made her way up the path.
“Shalsha, you’ll get tired later if you rush now~ You should walk a little slower!” Falfa called out to her. Her big sister was worried about her.
“The soldiers who assaulted Tachidern Castle must have hurried up the mountain like this. They certainly did not treat it like a hike. Shalsha wants to put herself in the ancient soldiers’ shoes.”
“Falfa understands, but it’s dangerous if you don’t pace yourself correctly~ You can trip on roots and rocks here~”
“Shalsha will heed your advi— Aaah!”
Right at that moment, Shalsha tripped and tumbled forward.
Her foot had caught on a small ledge. See? What did Falfa just say?!
Falfa’s arm darted out to catch her. “See? You need to be careful!”
“…All right. Shalsha will be more careful.”
Look at that: Falfa was acting like a real big sister.
I guess I didn’t need to keep as close an eye on them if they were going to look out for each other.
But I never wanted to forget the image of them hiking together, so I was going to watch them closely anyway.
Ahead were the two dragons. They were walking just slow enough that they weren’t pulling away.
“This road sucks. We could just fly straight there.” Flatorte seemed genuinely puzzled.
“If you’re not flying, this path is quite rough. It would have been even more difficult with arrows or rocks pelting you from above,” Wynona explained as she walked behind the two dragons.
“That’s right, Miss Wynona; how did they protect themselves against dragons breathing fire from the sky?”
That was what Laika wanted to know the most, apparently. The castle’s defenses must have felt particularly low from a red dragon’s perspective.
“I looked that up. Dragons were not often an active part of battle around these parts. There are no dragon lands in this province, either. Additionally, mages who specialized in Lightning spells were often dispatched to these mountaintop castles to defend against dragons.”
“I see. Lightning is very frightening to a dragon. It deals incredible damage to us. Thank you for explaining, Miss Wynona.”
“It’s just a risk to weak dragons. I, the great Flatorte, have been struck by lightning many times, and I’m just fine!”
I was pretty sure making up for a lack of strategy with brute strength was against the rules.
Their voices traveled up and up; I could hear them from ahead on the zigzagging path.
This was that hiking ambiance.
“Big Sis, wouldn’t it be tough to live at the top of this mountain?”
Rosalie was floating beside me.
“Yeah, it would be. I think Wynona knows more about that; you should ask her.”
I thought I saw a proud look cross Wynona’s face. Well, she was our guide, after all.
“I shall answer your query. Castles on top of mountains like these are not meant to be lived in. This is where people would fortify themselves in case of an enemy attack; they usually lived at the base of the mountain.”
“Uh-huh. So they went back and forth? Life must’ve been tough for soldiers back then. But I guess it’s just a normal road, aside from the fact that the mountain’s so steep. Don’t think there are any bears or snakes here, either.”
The wild animals had probably been spooked by the dragons and run away.
They’d probably realize instinctually that these were not creatures they could fight against.
Then I heard a strange song coming out of Flatorte’s mouth.
“A blue dragon’s a strong dragon~ They can freeze everything and anything~ They’re so great~ ”
Singing a song to alert bears of your presence and keep them away was mountaineer wisdom!
Maybe she didn’t realize she was doing it.
“I did some preliminary preparations to make sure bears and snakes do not suddenly approach us. I am on the job as an adventurer today, after all.”
Oh, Wynona was showing us some consideration, too.
“But they are wild animals, so they may be hiding anywhere. Do be cautious.”
“That’s so cool, Wynona!”
“Your actions show you have a strong sense of your professional responsibilities. Impressive.”
The girls complimented Wynona.
“Oh, no, I still have much room for improvement… I will aim for even greater heights so I am not an embarrassment to you, Sisters… Please enjoy yourselves today.”
She treated them so differently than she did me…
As we gradually made our way up, Wynona started telling us more about the castle.
“At first glance, this flat bit of land may seem perfectly normal, but this area was actually leveled out artificially. Soldiers were stationed on this very spot.”
Shalsha immediately started taking notes.
“From here, it would have been easy to shower the enemy with arrows as they were coming up the mountain. Such places were created to wipe out the enemy during their approach.”
“Rational. No wonder this mountain citadel is famous; it seems they’ve made full use of the builders’ expertise.”
“Right? And as you may have noticed, the road bends as it approaches the flat part. That bend was purposely created to keep the enemy from swarming in all at once. The resulting thinning of their forces would allow lancers and the like to stage an attack.”
This was informative for me, too.
I’d never made any real attempt to learn about this world’s history.
“But despite all this, the castles’ forces were still destroyed. Though the battle may be in the past, it remains a tragedy.”
Laika looked upset. She had a strong sense of empathy.
“It’s fine, Miss Laika. Turning your thoughts to the tragedies of the past is one of the great pleasures of visiting castles.”
Shalsha nodded deeply. It looked like they were in agreement.
“Humans are always worrying about stupid stuff, aren’t they?” And just as I had expected, Flatorte looked bored as she listened.
“Flatorte, you should put more effort into studying history. I am certain it will enrich your life,” Laika said, almost admonishing the other dragon.
“But think about it; this castle wasn’t even the ruler’s main base. The attackers could’ve just ignored it and gone straight to the leader’s stronghold. That’s what I would’ve done anyway.”
That was actually a pretty good point.
“That is not the way it works. Please allow your guide to explain. If you were to ignore this castle and attempt to press on, its forces could stream down the mountain and attack you from behind. As a result, your only choice is to climb up to the castle and claim victory here first.”
“I see what you mean, but if the soldiers are all at the top of the mountain, the enemy might decide to burn down the village below and retreat before the soldiers could do anything. I think they should be more toward the middle.”
“You can’t burn down a village that quickly. They would definitely make it in time. That’s just how it is!” Wynona was a little bewildered by Flatorte’s ridiculous statements…
“Okay, okay, we’re moving on! We are starting to see remnants of the castle’s defenses, which means we are not far from the castle’s keep at the top. Let’s climb!” I called.
We began our trek again.
Shalsha lightly patted her thighs.
She was giving herself the energy to make it through the final stretch.
That’s right; study hard.
Just as Wynona said, it wasn’t long before we reached the area with the remains of the building at the peak.
“Wow, the stone walls just keep going. It really feels like an ancient ruin here!”
This was a real sightseeing spot. Even I was getting excited, and I had no interest in mountain citadels.
There were even other tourists here who had come up accompanied by adventurers.
“Indeed, Stepmother. Tachidern Castle is a fantastic structure, famous all over the world. It’s simply perfect! Not only are the remains attractive, but it also boasts impeccable defensive structures and the tragic tale of how all its forces were destroyed,” Wynona announced proudly, as if she were talking about herself.
Shalsha rushed around the ruins, sketching a map.
There was already a map in the book, but I guess she wanted to make one for herself, as well.
“What a great view!” Falfa exclaimed. She was standing in an area of the peak that had an especially good view, observing the village below.
This really was how hiking trips were supposed to be. I was very pleased.
But the purpose of this trip had been to visit the castle, so Wynona was now explaining to Shalsha and Laika about the castle’s construction and defense.
“For example, even if an opposing army were to attack, they would be shot by archers stationed at the watchtowers there and over there, so they would have no hope of getting close. It was very well constructed.”
But it didn’t seem like Laika was sold on the idea just yet.
“Well?” Wynona began. “I bet you’re wondering how one is supposed to take on a castle like this, hmm?”
“I guess… If it were me…” Laika, looking troubled, said:
“If it were me, I would breathe fire on them from above and burn them all.”
Laika was looking at a sign that showed an artist’s interpretation of what the castle would have looked like.
“No, no, no! I told you: They would have been safe from dragons because of the lightning mages stationed here!” Wynona refuted, as though Laika had suggested something utterly against the rules.
Yeah, I felt like she’d mentioned the mages before.
“Indeed, the mages might be able to hit dragons from a distance if they were flying slowly, but if I were to take on my dragon form halfway up the mountain and fly the rest of the way, I could burn down the entire castle before their lightning could strike me. I believe that would be the fastest way to end the fight…” Laika seemed hesitant—sorry, even—which meant she knew Wynona would hate this. “But you asked me how I would fell the castle… So that’s my answer, since you didn’t include the stipulation that I cannot come as a dragon…”
“Yeah, exactly—I’d give the same answer,” Flatorte said, providing backup.
“If I froze everything with my cold breath, I’d win for sure. Staying cooped up at the peak would be suicide. That would just help me freeze them even more efficiently.”
“Like I saaaid,” Wynona began. “If you did that, you’d just be hit by lightn—”
“I could take one or two lightning strikes without stopping my cold breath!” Flatorte declared. “And any mage who can take out a dragon in one lightning strike should be on the front lines fighting enemies. What a waste of their talent!”
That was more of a logical argument than I was expecting!
Wynona looked considerably annoyed.
“Sigh… I don’t care anymore… You dragons do not understand the appeal of mountain citadels.”
That sounded a lot like something Shalsha would say. I guess Wynona was a fan of castles, too.
“Maybe that is what would have happened if there was a dragon, but the old story goes that all three hundred soldiers in Tachidern Castle perished in an enemy attack. The elders in the village tell the tale the same way. I took the initiative and asked them myself!”
“Actually, about that. It sounds like that’s not exactly correct.”
It was Rosalie this time!
“For a place where everyone supposedly died in battle, it’s surprising that I can’t find a single ghost. I’d expect at least a few attempted deserters with extra-strong grudges.”
It sounded like the concept of disgraced warriors haunting the battlefield existed in this world, too!
“And there was a spirit over there who’s been wandering the area for a really long time, so I asked ’em. Apparently all the soldiers here knew they couldn’t contend with the enemy, and they all fled.”
That really turned the story on its head!
“According to the spirit, this castle was way too high up, so it was usually ignored even in the fiercest battles, and the enemy just marched right past.”
The blood drained from Wynona’s face, and she went white. At least she likes the color white? Or maybe that doesn’t help in this case…
“S-still… Having a castle full of soldiers behind their backs served as a deterrent for the enemy… It wasn’t a waste at all; it wasn’t…”
It appeared that Wynona needed the castle to have a purpose, or she wouldn’t be satisfied.
“There weren’t a lot of soldiers stationed up here, and they weren’t much of a threat. The commander wasn’t close to anyone important—just a local guy with some influence—so the enemy didn’t really feel like sending their troops out of their way only to face unnecessary losses.”
That was it—the whole story, utterly refuted!
Wynona fell to her knees in disappointment.
“What…? Then it did not even serve as the stage for a major battle? Then why the tale?!”
“The spirit said that the locals were embarrassed, so they turned it into a story where everyone died in an intense battle.”
Rosalie kept mentioning this spirit, but I couldn’t see it, so I didn’t know where it was.
“Also, the flat land down the mountain where soldiers were stationed is actually just naturally flat.”
“That ghost knows too much!”
Maybe we should have had the ghost explain everything to us from the start.
Well, I felt bad for Wynona, but what the ghost was saying was probably closer to the truth.
That aside, I was more concerned about Shalsha’s reaction to all this.
This wasn’t anyone’s fault, but I hoped she wasn’t hurt by it…
She’d just learned that the truth behind the sorrowful tales surrounding the castle was actually kind of lackluster.
Shalsha was staring blankly at the castle ruins.
She appeared a little melancholic from where I was standing, but that was probably because I could only see her back.
“Shalsha…?” I called to her.
“Shalsha is not sad, Mom. Don’t worry,” she began matter-of-factly. “Humans tend to fantasize about the capabilities of a castle based on its structure. But in reality, wars are subject to countless factors that only come into play the moment the fighting breaks out: military strength, the soldiers’ skill and morale, the enemy’s strength… Even the most state-of-the-art castle could be abandoned without ever being put to real use. That spirit taught Shalsha something she had almost forgotten.”
I had complicated feelings about an invisible ghost teaching her all this stuff…
“Yet…that changes nothing about the fact that Tachidern Castle is a magnificent mountain citadel.”
A faint smile crossed Shalsha’s face. Ah, my girl is growing up so fast. I was feeling very parental right then.
“Exactly. It’s a wonderful castle, and it was worth coming all this way.” I placed a hand on Shalsha’s shoulder.
“The spirit over there also mentioned that there aren’t a lot of mountain citadels this carefully crafted,” Rosalie added.
I really wished this ghost would show itself.
Just then, I heard the voices of the other tourists.
“It’s a bear!” “And a really big snake!”
Well, we were in a mountain citadel, after all. We were at risk of running into wild animals.
“Are you all right? I can handle any bear!”
Just as I was about to head over, Wynona briskly stepped in front of me.
“It’s all right, Step.”
“I know you’re in a rush, but that’s a terrible abbreviation.”
Talk about a title with absolutely no sense of respect.
But she was telling us it was all right, which meant she was taking responsibility as a guide and dealing with the problem.
She was a great adventurer, so I doubted a bear would overwhelm her.
“I had them stationed in key places so that the wild animals would not harm my sisters.”
“Who?”
Then a bear and a snake appeared from the direction of the screams.
Both were white.
“Grand Duke Polar Bear!”
They were Wynona’s pets—well, one was the polar bear that took care of all her other pets while she was away, and the other was a cute white snake with red eyes.
“I had them defend us against any potentially dangerous creatures.”
“Don’t use bears and snakes in a place that’s already full of dangerous bears and snakes!”
I felt really bad for causing the other tourists to panic. I would have to apologize to them as Wynona’s stepmother.
From the opposite direction, I heard, “There’s a tiger!”
But I wasn’t surprised anymore.
“And I bet that’s your pet white tiger, right, Wynona?”
“Indeed. No wild tigers are native to this area.”
Wait a second.
Maybe…word had spread about dangerous wild animals in the area because of Wynona’s pets roaming free…?
She had come here to mind the castle in the past, too…
“But it’s possible an adventurer might hurt the tiger, so maybe we should take a look.”
“Yes. I doubt any adventurer would be so powerful, but we should make sure.”
Wynona and I made our way toward where the shouting had come from.
There, we found an older man who looked like an adventurer down on his knees before the white tiger.
What happened? Did he fall over in shock?
I guess anyone would be surprised to see a tiger where it wasn’t supposed to be. We’re talking way bigger than a cat, here. We needed to explain ourselves—and fast.
“Could you be my old friend, Samtran?”
“Whoa, this is just like a scene from a fairy tale!” I said.
I had heard stories like this in my past life, about humans turning into tigers and surprising their old friends.
But do humans turn into tigers in every world?
Wait, humans didn’t actually turn into tigers on earth… That just happened in fiction…
“Meow? Mwam?”
This tiger sure sounded a lot like a cat.
“Excuse me, adventurer. Did you have a human friend named Samtran?”
I decided to go ahead and ask, since I couldn’t sense any hostility from either the tiger or the adventurer.
“Long ago, when I served as a noble’s guard, I became friends with his pet tiger. But when the tiger gave birth to her litter, the noble declared he wished for them to be independent and live in nature, so he returned them to the forest.”
“Oh, so the tiger is your friend…”
That sounded way more plausible than a human turning into a tiger, but it was still a little strange.
“Come to think of it, Passionate Alabaster is quite comfortable around humans. Perhaps it was once in someone else’s care.”
Was this a real reunion?!
“Wait… Is Passionate Alabaster the name of your tiger? That’s hardly the kind of name you give a pet, is it?”
“I think it’s perfectly good. It’s in praise of the color white.”
I guess that was her standard for good names.
“We shall remain here on the mountaintop for a while, so you may speak with my tiger if you wish,” Wynona said, and the adventurer thanked her profusely.
“Wynona, you’re a lot softer now than you used to be.”
I got the feeling she was showing a lot more kindness to others these days.
“How rude. Just because I am a slime spirit does not mean I am soft and flabby.”
“That’s not what I meant.”
Wynona sighed. This was an expression she would never show to her sisters. “To be honest, I am upset over my failure regarding the castle. To think no battles were even fought here.”
“You didn’t fail. We all managed to hike up the mountain and see the castle, just like Shalsha wanted.”
We’d accomplished our goal.
Wynona looked away. “Thank you, Stepmother.”
I decided to trust her expression of gratitude for the moment.
Now, we still had one major hiking-related event to tick off the list.
I could see Falfa waving her hand in the distance.
“Mommy! Wynona! We’re having lunch!”
Yes—it was lunchtime!
“We’ll be right there!”
I grabbed Wynona’s hand and took off.
To put it simply, lunch eaten at a mountain citadel is the best.
“This really is a nice view. I never saw anything like this while I was alive.”
Rosalie flew forward a bit and looked down to the base of the mountain.
“Yeah, you can see the whole village from here.”
It was so good to eat with a view. It added a flavor to the food that we wouldn’t have been able to get without hiking up all this way.
“I see; the castle would have had a clear view of any army proceeding along the highway at the base of the mountain. It did indeed serve as a defensive point.”
“The wind feels so good!”
It sounded like the two dragons were having a good time, too. Their lunches had way more volume than anyone else’s, especially where the meat was concerned.
And most importantly, Shalsha was having fun. “Shalsha feels as though she has become the lord of her own domain, eating in a castle ruin and looking down below.”
“You still have some vegetables left~” Falfa peered into Shalsha’s lunch box.
“A feudal lord has more important things to worry about than vegetables.”
“That’s not a good reason. You need to eat them~”
“A feudal lord in the era of war may not live to see the morrow. Now is not the time to be eating vegetables.”
“Vassals won’t obey a lord who doesn’t eat her veggies~”
Falfa finally won Shalsha over, and she began sullenly munching on her veggies.
“Shalsha feels as though the vegetables she eats here taste a bit better, even though they are the same as always.”
Despite her words, her expression seemed dissatisfied, like she hadn’t changed her mind at all. I couldn’t help but smile.
“It’s probably your imagination, but as long as they taste good.” I patted her on the head.
“I am delighted to see my sisters happy,” said Wynona.
She seemed relieved as she ate the food we had brought. I had kept her in mind and made sure to pack some white things to eat, like white bread.
“Thank you, Wynona! Hiking felt great!”
“This mountain citadel experience was totally worthwhile.”
Falfa and Shalsha said their thanks.
“Oh, no, I am simply glad that you enjoyed our small expedition,” Wynona said humbly. An outsider would probably be confused to see the taller, “elder” sister being so polite.
Yeah, it was thanks to Wynona that this had all been possible.
After we finished eating, Falfa and Shalsha went and played hide-and-seek with Grand Duke Polar Bear.
I guess we should thank him, too…
“There you aaare! You’re easy to find, Grand Duke Polar Bear, because your fur is so white!”
Yeah, he had pretty high visibility…
While Falfa ran around in excitement, Shalsha thought very seriously about where she should hide. She was starting to edge down the mountain.
It wasn’t like they’d laid out the rules in detail or anything, but it probably wasn’t a good idea to make the range of seeking too wide. Even worse if she got lost.
But then Shalsha suddenly came running back to me.
“Mom, Wynona, now is not the time for hide-and-seek. Come this way.”
It seemed urgent, so we headed straight over, but I wasn’t sure what had happened.
“What is this? It’s just trees growing on a flat spot of land, right?”
I didn’t see any treasure chests or cave entrances anywhere.
But Wynona, who Shalsha had also called over, looked shocked.
“Incredible… It’s hidden by the trees, but this looks like the remains of one of the castle structures, one that was not on the map! Now we know that Tachidern Castle was much bigger than past research suggests!”
“What? Does that mean Shalsha made a new discovery?”
“Yes! She can face mountain citadel researchers with pride!”
I guess sometimes hide-and-seek can lead to new discoveries.
The hiking trip had taught me there was no such thing as wasted effort.
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