I Was Reborn in Another World, but Hold On – No Parents? Was I Abandoned? - Chapter 29

Chapter 29: The Forest of White Mist

“My father… he betrayed us? Killed Baron Longzman and fled?? There’s no way…”

I was suddenly called by the Colonel and informed of this.

What’s going on? What’s happening?

“I understand it’s hard to comprehend. Even I don’t believe that Lord Reynard would do such a thing. But, the order came from above. And, Arus, you’ve also received a summons to the palace.”

“To the palace?”

“Yeah, once you’ve handed over to your deputy, get ready and head to the headquarters for now.”

Parting ways with the Colonel, I continued walking while my mind raced.

My father, who was always kind-hearted and earnest to a fault, betraying his comrades, killing someone, and fleeing? It’s unthinkable.

Surely, there must be some reason behind it.

But what could that reason be?

Even after wracking my brains, I couldn’t come up with an answer.

“Captain, is something wrong?”

I must have looked troubled, as Kaito asked with concern.

The others also wore expressions of anxiety.

For now, I gathered my usual team and shared what I had heard from the Colonel and my own thoughts.

“That’s odd… If the Captain says so, then Lord Reynard must indeed be a serious man. Moreover, we’ve heard that Lord Reynard values loyalty to the country. ”

Kaito voiced his thoughts, furrowing his brows in contemplation.

“Ignoring the information of betrayal leading to murder and escape, based on the impression provided by the captain’s words, it seems like there might have been some circumstances that led to the killing and subsequent inability to report it, resulting in fleeing,” Leonardo’s opinion echoed my thoughts.

But if that were the case, it wouldn’t make sense.

“If we assume that Longzman Border Earl committed treason and your father killed him to stop it, but then why wouldn’t he report it?”

I pondered aloud.

“Unable to report it? Could it be because the ones to report it to were also involved in the betrayal…? Is it possible that even the higher-ups were in on it?”

El speculated, responding to my inquiry.

“But would something like that really happen?”

Everyone seemed to mull over the possibility.

“So, Captain, what are your intentions regarding the summons to the palace?”

Kaito brought up the topic of the summoning order to the palace.

“I don’t see a reason not to go.”

I replied.

“Wouldn’t it be suspicious to be summoned to the palace during wartime at a time like this? Even for questioning, it hasn’t been that long since everything happened, right? Besides, I don’t think a captain on the battlefield would know the whereabouts.”

Leonardo pointed out.

His opinion was something I had already considered.

While I trust my father completely as he’s family, this summons in the current situation seems to hide something.

However, not going might also raise suspicions.

What should I do?

I have no choice but to go, right?

‘If you go, you’ll die…’

“What?”

“What’s wrong? Are you okay?”

Kaito looked at me with curiosity.

“If you go, you’ll die.”

“What does that mean?”

“I can’t explain the details now, but I need you to believe me! Don’t go to the headquarters or the palace, instead, head to the White Mist Forest! Right now…”

“Who are you?”

“…”

“Hey, Captain!! What’s wrong?”

Gaizen peered at my face with concern.

“I heard a voice in my head. It said if I go to the palace, I might die, so I shouldn’t go.”

I explained.

“Could it be… a divine message?”

Kaito’s eyes widened as he looked at me.

“A divine message?”

“Yes! It’s an oracle from a god, usually only heard by holy women or heroes. Besides, it’s impossible for magic to speak directly into one’s mind. It must be from a divine or special entity…”

“I think… we should run. This feels suspicious.”

Leonardo murmured.

“Captain! I agree! Your old man couldn’t be a bad guy!”

Gaizen suddenly stood up.

“Indeed. If it’s an oracle, then we have no choice but to believe it. Let’s run.”

Kaito also rose to his feet.

“Yeah, I agree. Something’s definitely off.”

El also stood up from his seat.

“I’ll follow the Captain’s decision.”

Joseph said without changing his expression.

“Alright! Then let’s get ready.”

Leonardo and Joseph stood up.

“Huh? Why are you guys getting ready?”

“Why? It’s obvious, isn’t it? We’re all going with the Captain.”

Kaito said, and everyone nodded in agreement, leaving me stunned.

“What are you talking about? Even if it’s some kind of conspiracy, right now, my old man is considered to have killed someone and fled the country. If I run, I’ll be an accomplice, and if you guys come with me, you might not be able to return to this country either!”

“We don’t have the option not to go. We’ve entrusted our lives to the Captain. Whether we run or fight, we’ve decided to do it together.”

Gaizen said, sounding unexpectedly cool.

“However, let’s leave the lower-ranked soldiers behind… Unlike us, many of them have families, and most of them are inexperienced, so we can’t trust them completely.”

Leonardo’s opinion made sense.

“Alright! If that’s settled, let’s get ready and get out of here.”

Gaizen’s final words spurred us into action.

Within minutes, everyone finished preparing, and we quickly obtained enough horses from a nearby location where they were waiting. We dashed through the forest, making sure not to alert other soldiers.

“So, where are we heading next, Captain?”

Kaito asked as he rode alongside me.

“The voice said to go to the White Mist Forest.”

“The White Mist Forest… It’s just a short ride from here.”

The White Mist Forest, as the name suggested, was a forest shrouded in white mist, reducing visibility.

We had been told to go to the White Mist Forest, but we had no idea where exactly we should go within it.

However, amidst the possibility of pursuers, the fog-shrouded forest brought some sense of relief.

“Ugh, I’m starving…”

“Gaizen… that’s the least of our concerns right now.”

“Come on, Leonardo, but seriously, I’m still hungry even if you say that.”

Gaizen’s usual demeanor and the relaxed conversation brought some calm to my nerves.

“Hey, do you see that?”

After entering the forest for about half an hour, El, who was leading the way, stopped his horse and pointed ahead through the mist.

“What’s that? A church?”

As Gaizen said, what we saw indeed looked like a church.

It seemed to have been abandoned for a long time, with dense ivy covering the walls and stained glass windows shattered, but we easily recognized it as a church.

“I’ve never heard of a church being in a place like this…”

“Hey, someone’s there!”

As Kaito muttered, everyone turned their gaze to where he was looking.

Indeed, there were people.

Though not clearly visible through the mist, I also sensed the presence of three figures.

Gaizen and Leonardo quickly dismounted from their horses, weapons at the ready, and the rest of us followed suit.

“Hey… who are you?”

Leonardo called out to the figure in the mist.

“Tsk.”

A small click of the tongue was heard, and suddenly, someone leaped out from the mist at incredible speed.

The person wielded a sword, clearly in an attacking stance.

Leonardo prepared to intercept, but the opponent was quicker for a moment.

“Watch out, Leonardo!”

Just as I was about to shout, our eyes met.

“Dad!? Arus!?”

My father quickly retracted his sword and rolled sideways to avoid Leonardo.

“Arus, how did you know we were here?”

“Huh? Oh… it’s like I was guided by some kind of divine voice to the forest… and there you were?”

“A divine voice? Is that even possible?”

My father chuckled, but then he affectionately patted my head.

“So, Dad, what’s the situation?”

“Let’s talk about that later… Let’s go see your mother.”

“Mom and the others are here too?”

There were indeed three figures there.

Father led us to where my mother, Mel, and the others were waiting in the mist.

“Arus! You’re safe after all! That’s my son!”

My mother embraced me tightly, her enthusiasm almost hurting me.

“Big bro!”

Mel also jumped onto me, hugging my stomach.

She’s grown a bit taller.

“I’ll introduce everyone! This is my father, this is my mother, and this is my little sister, Mel. And these guys here… they’re members of my squad who came along after I explained the situation. From right to left, we have Kaito, Gaizen, Leonardo, El, and Joseph.”

“I see… I seem to have caused trouble for you all… I apologize.”

“Please raise your head, Lord Reynard. We entrusted our lives to the captain… It was our choice to come along.”

Kaito desperately tried to stop my father from bowing his head.

“You have good comrades, Arus.”

My mother looked at me with warmth in her eyes.

And so, we finally began discussing the main topic.

“…So, I fled the scene with the help of his subordinate’s teleportation magic tool and reunited with Mother and the others, heading towards Arus.”

“But what is ‘that’? Did your father find out something detrimental to the country? Any idea what it might be?”

“I know what ‘that’ refers to. But I have no clue about any involvement, as Longzman mentioned.”

“So, what exactly is ‘that’?”

“It’s highly classified, but it seems irrelevant now. I’ll tell you what I know.”

My father’s revelation was staggering, to say the least.

Given that he heard it directly from the king, it was undoubtedly true.

It could potentially trigger an immense upheaval.

“So, did the demons attack because of that?”

Kaito asked Father nervously.

“Oh, right! During the declaration of war, it seems the demon side conveyed a message to end the conflict if ‘that’ is returned, a piece of information only known to the higher-ups.”

“But that’s strange, isn’t it? Because you didn’t know about it before the previous war, and of course, you weren’t involved, right? So, it’s weird that you’re involved now, isn’t it?”

My mother’s observation was correct.

There was something inconsistent about it.

“That’s the thing. I’ve thought about it carefully too, but if… if I am involved… then it means…”

The surroundings suddenly fell silent.

I widened my eyes at the scene before me.

My father, my mother, Mel, and my subordinates had disappeared.

And I found myself standing in the center of a very clean and well-lit church, with light streaming through stained glass from above.

The streaming light turned into particles, gradually forming a figure.

As the flickering light subsided, there sat an old man before me.