Doggone Academy

The blue stag started to move slowly. Was it expecting me to follow?

I pondered for a moment. I couldn’t dismiss the possibility that I was out of my mind. But then, we were already in the grasp of the Circulatory System. Following it seemed to come with little risk.

In the midst of this, Vivi suddenly slapped me across the face.

Slap!

“You have to snap out of it. I can’t afford to lose you, too. I won’t allow it.”

I appreciated her thinking of me as her own, but this woman’s hand was alarmingly strong.

Vivi violently grabbed my collar and slapped me again.

Slap!

“If I have to, I’ll bite you back to your senses. You must not break. Never, ever!”

She seemed gravely worried that I might turn traitor like the guard. I understood her anxiety.

I took hold of Vivi’s wrist to calm her.

“It’s alright. I won’t suddenly bolt off or swing my sword at thin air.”

“What is happening… what did you see?”

“There’s a place we need to visit.”

“…You’re following an illusion?”

“Our position has been revealed, and no matter how much we try to hide, we cannot escape the crow’s gaze. We must face it head-on.”

“You do sound reasonable. I’ll trust you.”

We had nothing to pack, so we promptly rose and left the place.

I slowly followed the blue stag, visible only to me.

Along the way, Vivi fashioned a long rope out of the stem of an aquatic plant.

She then called me to a halt.

“Wait here.”

Vivi tied one end of the rope around my left wrist and the other around hers.

“What is this?”

“It’s to ensure you don’t run off in madness. And if we fall into a swamp, this will make it noticeable.”

“…Being tied together could complicate things in a dire situation.”

“Then we’ll cut it. There’s plenty to make another.”

“…”

It seemed she had her own safety measures in mind, though it wouldn’t be of much help. I thought that simply holding hands would suffice, but knowing Vivi, she likely wouldn’t prefer that, so I let it pass.

As we continued, Vivi tugged on the rope to signal me.

“There’s magic ahead.”

“You can sense magic?”

“I don’t know where you’re leading us, but I feel a strange magic constantly flickering before us.”

“Is there a magician ahead?”

“If there were, we would have known by now. It’s a peculiar magic. It’s in front of us, but it seems to lack a physical form.”

Was she referring to the blue stag emitting magic? If so, it meant I wasn’t seeing a hallucination.

Vivi stared back at me, her face tinged with spite, as if protesting that I too could feel magic.

She may not be able to use magic, but perhaps she senses magical energies.

Suddenly, a crow landed on a branch. I felt something was off, and looking around, I saw more watchers had joined us.

Vivi, noticing my grim face, followed my gaze and stared blankly at the flock of crows.

“Those…”

“They appear to be messengers for the master.”

“Master?”

“The entity regarded as the deity of this land.”

“They seem ready to feast on corpses at any given chance.”

“They’re waiting for us to weaken.”

I had told her not to be alarmed by the sight of the old woman’s head for a reason. Showing fear and panic in such a place would only provoke more mischief. It would be like a cat toying with its already caught prey.

It was interesting that the crows refrained from getting too close to the blue stag.

What was it? Where was the stag leading us?

“Let’s move on.”

“…Alright.”

Perhaps thirty minutes had passed, and the number of crows had swelled to such an extent that the vicinity seemed to darken. The stag maintained its radiance, guiding us still.

Vivi clenched the rope binding our wrists, her tension palpable.

Thud, thud, thud.

Suddenly, unfamiliar footsteps sounded.

Both Vivi and I halted at once, exchanging glances. We had both heard it, so it couldn’t have been a hallucination.

There were multiple sources of the sound, reminiscent of a herd of boars moving together, their heavy steps echoing all around.

“Could it be… the guard has found us?”

The swamp grass was tall, and occasional patches of mist obscured even short distances.

Hearing the footsteps again, I drew my wooden sword and cut the rope.

“These are not human footsteps.”

“…!”

The sounds were now close, and there appeared to be many. Vivi’s eyes began to shake.

“Step back.”

A face, bloated with bulging veins, emerged from the mist.

It was a ghoul.

More of them appeared one after another. Encountering ghouls in a place like Barvisia wasn’t surprising.

But the issue was the ghouls clad in the armor of the duchy. Vivi covered her mouth with both hands upon seeing them.

“They’re no longer knights. You must not act rashly.”

She was speechless, petrified to the point that her eyes seemed ready to pop out.

The blue stag was nowhere to be seen. Had it led us into a trap? I wasn’t sure. The priority was to fight and protect the Lady.

I stepped forward, brandishing my wooden sword as about twenty ghouls focused on me. They drooled at the sight of me, having lost their taste for human flesh in their previous lives.

They circled me, sizing up my condition. The reconnaissance didn’t take long. One, like a tiger, leaped at me, baring its rotten teeth.

I had grown weary of dealing with ghouls. I pierced one’s snout with my sword like a toothpick and planted it into the ground like a flag.

The rest of the horde, unafraid despite their example, did not flinch.

The other ghouls howled like dogs and lunged at me simultaneously.

I reached into my back pocket and activated a bomb Cecil had given me.

Without a moment’s delay, it caused a frost explosion right out of the pocket.

Boom!

And just like that, the ghouls that had charged were frozen solid in their dynamic poses.

Thanks to the artifact of the Circulatory System fashioned by Cecil, I remained unaffected. It was paying back in full for the magic it had been absorbing from me.

Swinging my wooden sword in a wide arc, the heads of the ghouls within range shattered like pottery.

Seven ghouls remained. These could be dealt with without any special techniques.

Kwaaak! Kwaaaak!

Now I approached the ghouls directly to finish them.

After the cleanup, I turned to look at Vivi.

She looked as if the world had ended, possibly thinking her guard had turned into ghouls. But the armor was far too old for that theory.

I searched the dead ghouls, removing dog tags. Perhaps it was fortunate; these were not the ones we had traveled with.

Approaching the panic-stricken Lady, I said,

“Geld, Philip Sho, Patinia. Do you recognize them? These… judging by the tags, they’re all from ten, twenty years ago. They’re not your guard.”

Vivi seemed unable to shake off the shock easily. She slowly calmed her ragged breathing but couldn’t contain her tears.

“Does this mean my knights could also turn like them?”

The remnants of once sane people were enough to turn my stomach.

“They will.”

Vivi clutched at my tunic, collapsing. Then she said with a sobbing voice,

“What am I to do… What am I to do?”

“To survive. If you give in and fall apart here, there will be no one left to save them.”

“…….”

“It’s hard for you to walk now, so I’ll carry you.”

Vivi neither agreed nor disagreed.

When I presented my back, she simply leaned into it.

She occasionally shivered but remained silent.

As I stood and resumed walking, the blue stag reappeared, calmly watching us.

What was its intention? The stag began to move slowly again, matching our pace.

***

After about an hour, Vivi seemed to have calmed down somewhat, her breathing more steady.

While being carried, she occasionally reached out to pluck vine tendrils and busily began weaving a new rope.

Then, as if something occurred to her, she spoke to me.

“Do you still have the dog tags?”

“Yes.”

“Can I see them?”

“They’re in my pocket.”

She unceremoniously reached into my chest pocket and pulled out the silver dog tags to examine them.

“…I remember now. These were the dispatch troops reported missing eight years ago.”

“How do you know that?”

“There used to be a high-ranking mage who visited the duchy occasionally. He was very kind and always brought foreign cookies, and my young self would run to greet him before anyone else. He came to see my father, but he never forgot to take care of me. He was a warm person.”

“There was no mage among them.”

“I’m aware. From what I remember, that mage was from Eternia. Once, the duchy sent a guard to greet him upon his arrival.”

“….”

“And then there was an incident where the mage disappeared along with his escort while on the way to the duchy. I was too young to understand the details then. The duchy was turned upside down, and since I never saw him again, it seems they didn’t find him. Looking at these dog tags, I vaguely recall. These were the skilled knights dispatched for that mage.”

“We weren’t the first, then.”

“Yes, if we return alive, I’ll mobilize the army to restore order in Barvisia, and their bodies will be reburied in the duchy.”

“…I’m glad you’ve found your spirit again.”

“Yes, seeing you fight made me realize there’s no need to be afraid. It’s all… thanks to you.”

“It’s an honor.”

Vivi hesitated for a moment, then continued the conversation.

“The way I’ve treated you harshly all this time…”

“…?”

“No, never mind.”

The good atmosphere was short-lived.

Once again, footsteps in the distance approached us.

I set Vivi down and prepared for combat.

The encounter with the ghouls was over quickly.

I showed Vivi the dog tags I collected from the dispatched ghouls.

Her expression was a bit odd.

“These… they are not worn by the duchy’s knights.”

“…Then whose are they?”

“The holy knights of the capital.”

Upon hearing that, an ominous feeling washed over me. Holy knights utilizing divine power turned into ghouls. It was a picture hard to comprehend.

I couldn’t easily dismiss the connection with black magic.

It became clear. These ghouls weren’t encountered by chance. Something ruling this land had sent them to toy with us.

The situation was becoming intriguing.

And once the situation was settled, the blue stag reappeared, its radiant blue light growing dimmer.

Vivi spoke with lifeless eyes,

“Seeing the holy knights like this… it seems the entity we’re about to face possesses power beyond imagination. Even if we now give up and flee… I won’t blame you.”

“I’d rather die than flee.”

“….”

Vivi, with a look of resolve, pulled on my arm, then tied the lengthy rope around my wrist. The other end was already tied to hers.

“If we are to meet our end on this land… it wouldn’t be so bad with a strong man like you by my side.”

***

The blue stag came to a halt at a certain point.

“What is this place…?”

Where the stag stopped, a black smog billowed like a curtain.

It seemed like a barrier, preventing the smoke from escaping.

This area was bifurcated as if split in half.

Vivi touched the front with her hand and said,

“A barrier, a high-level barrier. Why is there such a powerful barrier in Barvisia?”

I gently pulled Vivi back.

“Just wait here for a moment.”

The stag began to move again. It approached a spot in the barrier, brought its muzzle close, and exhaled sharply.

Part of the barrier started to open.

It created a passageway large enough for one person, and then the stag stepped aside, as if inviting us in.

Its blue radiance was almost completely gone now.

“It opened a door as if it’s been waiting for us. Is this a sign inviting us in?”

Vivi’s voice was tense with apprehension.

“Are you ready?”

Vivi slowly nodded her head.

“I entrusted everything to you a long time ago.”

I clasped Vivi’s wrist and stepped into the barrier with her.

Midway, I turned back once more.

The stag stood at the entrance, quietly observing us.

Then, the black smog reached out like a hand and began to coil around the stag’s neck. However, it did not resist and only continued to watch our last moments. Soon, the passageway closed, and we could no longer see it.

What had it wanted to show me? We silently advanced deeper inside.