C33
Chapter 33: Yoo Seong Castle (5)
Jimmy (Male, 21 years old), who was in charge of cooking, was spacing out while stirring a pot full of stew with a ladle.
What’s for dinner tonight?
Ah, it’s stew.
I was making it.
I wonder if it’ll taste good.
I miss Captain Kate.
While smiling benevolently imagining Kate’s face as his consciousness drifted, Jimmy suddenly widened his eyes.
It was because two people appeared where a flash of light had occurred right before his eyes.
“Whew, I’m a bit dizzy. Are you okay? Rene?”
“Huh? Ah, yes. I’m fine- Robin?”
Rene, who was staggering for a moment as if dizzy, was startled to see her empty left hand and looked around, but Robin was nowhere to be found.
“I guess it was too much after all.”
While Yoo Seong himself and Rene had their names listed in the status window, Robin did not.
“It can’t be helped. Still, it’s fortunate if she just couldn’t come.”
As long as she hadn’t become lost in space-time, there shouldn’t be any major problems.
Rene, who let out a sigh of relief as if it couldn’t be helped though disappointing, looked around again and soon discovered Jimmy, who was standing with a blank face – more precisely, standing with wide eyes while holding a ladle.
“Wow! Jimmy! You look exactly like in the status window!”
Of course, in the status window he was only three heads tall, but anyway, he was doing the same job as a cook holding a ladle.
“Indeed, we arrived at the right place.”
Yoo Seong also said while looking around.
The L-shaped castle walls and surrounding scenery were similar to what they saw in the status window.
‘It’s higher than I thought.’
The castle walls of Yoo Seong Castle were very high.
They were well over 30 meters, almost approaching 40 meters, and the thickness of the walls also seemed extraordinary.
‘Where is this? Is this really inside a subspace?’
Just as Yoo Seong looked up at the blue sky where white clouds were floating, he was about to look down at the ground.
“Su, Successor? And Magician?”
When Jimmy approached and spoke after finally coming to his senses, Rene smiled brightly and answered first.
“Yes, Jimmy. It’s me and the Successor. Have you been well?”
“Huh? Oh, I’ve been well. Heheh.”
Jimmy scratched the back of his head while smiling and gave a signal with his eyes to the awkward soldiers around, which seemed to mean to bring Kate or Vanadain.
“Um, what brings you here?”
When Jimmy carefully asked again, Rene tilted her head.
There was something inexplicably nervous about Jimmy’s behavior, expression, and voice.
But unlike Rene, Yoo Seong could understand.
‘Is it similar to a division commander suddenly appearing in the unit?’
Since Yoo Seong Castle would be like a garrison from Jimmy’s perspective, it really was a similar situation.
“It’s okay, Jimmy. We’re not here for inspection or review.”
“Yes? Ah, yes.”
Jimmy laughed again, but he still seemed very awkward.
Instead of making unrealistic statements like saying it’s okay or to really be at ease, Yoo Seong just stood there and looked around again.
Although he had seen the garrison dozens of times through the status window, seeing it in person was still a new experience.
‘So that’s the blacksmith.’
The blacksmith located between the waterway and castle wall was larger than expected, perhaps thanks to being leveled up.
A muscular man with a large build and a woman who looked delicate at first glance but had a determined face could be seen coming out of the blacksmith in surprise.
Although he hadn’t seen them in person yet, he could tell right away that they were Fergus and Melissa.
After looking around at facilities like the dining hall, bathhouse, toilets, and barracks, Yoo Seong finally looked at a place that couldn’t be seen through the status window.
The unexplored area of Yoo Seong Castle that was blocked.
A dark purple barrier was blocking the west and south of Yoo Seong Castle like a barrier.
What could be beyond there?
Who put up that barrier?
Why does that barrier exist?
Several questions came to mind at once, but none of them could be answered right away.
But right at that moment.
“Successor, how did you come here?”
When Yoo Seong turned his head at the very pleasant but perplexed voice, he couldn’t help but smile.
As expected, it was Kate, but a quite different Kate was standing there.
In shabbier clothes that seemed even more carelessly worn than when she was part of the Serf Unit, with wet hair and slightly flushed white skin.
Since she had only shown either a benevolent expression like a saint or a dignified expression while fully armed, seeing her standing there with a bewildered face was very unfamiliar yet also strangely charming.
“Sister Kate.”
“Ah, yes. Magician. So you came too?”
Kate’s face began to regain its composure again as if rather stabilized by the sight of Rene rushing over with a “wa.”
“Sorry if you were resting.”
“Not at all. But what brings you here? No, so you were able to come here?”
Although she had regained her composure, she was more flustered than usual, perhaps because the situation was so perplexing.
“I came to explore the castle. I’d like to discuss the details after everyone gathers, but where are Vanadain and Diana?”
“Those two……
Kate trailed off and turned to Jimmy, and Jimmy turned to an unnamed sergeant – Rene seemed to know who it was – and that sergeant turned to an unnamed corporal.
And just as it reached a private through that corporal, there were people approaching from a distance.
It was Vanadain and Diana.
“Don’t you think it’s suspicious how those two are always together?”
When Rene spoke in an almost whisper with a face full of mischief, Yoo Seong smiled bitterly.
While Rene was cute for giggling about others’ love lives, thinking about Vanadain and Diana dating gave him a truly strange feeling.
‘Somehow the matching doesn’t seem right.’
The combination of Diana, who was quiet and blunt, and Vanadain, who similarly didn’t seem very articulate and was aristocratic.
After imagining the two having secret meetings, Yoo Seong couldn’t help but furrow his brow because he couldn’t imagine it.
“So we could come here too?”
“Glory to Camelot.”
While Vanadain, who had approached by now, asked with a surprised face, Diana, who had reached Yoo Seong, first raised her right fist over her left chest to show respect.
Then Kate made an “ah” expression before belatedly raising her fist, and Jimmy and the other soldiers looked at each other before hurriedly raising their fists.
Finally, after seeing even Rene awkwardly raise her fist over her chest, Yoo Seong swallowed a bitter smile and raised his fist to his chest while saying.
“Glory to Camelot. Everyone be at ease.”
“What’s going on?”
When Vanadain asked again, Yoo Seong turned toward the dining hall instead of asking if he was really dating Diana.
“Let’s move first. It would be better to talk sitting down rather than standing here.”
At Yoo Seong’s words, Vanadain nodded, and Kate, who had approached by now, took the lead saying she would guide them.
And so in the dining tent, although no specific seats were assigned, naturally Yoo Seong and Rene sat side by side, with Kate, Vanadain, and Diana sitting across from them in that order.
‘The dining hall’s condition isn’t very good.’
Perhaps because it’s ultimately a military facility, there even seems to be a strange smell.
However, there were more pressing matters to discuss now than facility issues or counseling soldiers’ difficulties.
Yoo Seong looked at the three knights and said,
“I came today to explore the castle.”
“Explore? Ah.”
At Yoo Seong’s words, Kate reflexively looked east, and Vanadain nodded.
“You mean the barriers. Is there a way to remove them?”
“I don’t know the exact method, but it should be possible for now.”
After all, if it were impossible, an invitation wouldn’t have been issued.
“Before that, do you know anything about those barriers? Or this castle?”
At Yoo Seong’s question, Kate furrowed her brow and said,
“As I mentioned before, we originally weren’t conscious when we weren’t summoned. It felt like sleeping while having a good dream. But after fighting the Kobold Prince, we started living in the castle like this.”
It was the same time that Yoo Seong Castle was activated.
“We don’t know much about this castle either. However…it feels very familiar. Though we don’t remember, we seem to have clearly stayed at this castle in the past.”
They were Camelot’s military forces whose memories of the past were mostly sealed.
After hearing Vanadain’s words, Yoo Seong turned to Diana lastly, and Diana seemed to think for a moment before answering with her usual stiff face.
“I feel the same.”
Though they don’t remember, it somehow feels familiar.
What could it mean?
Was this castle part of Camelot?
Perhaps the castle itself is Camelot.
It was an interesting hypothesis, but there were no more clues available at the moment.
“Then let’s head toward the barrier for now.”
As Yoo Seong stood up saying that, the rest of the party also rose from their seats.
A few minutes later, upon reaching the barrier, Yoo Seong carefully raised his hand to touch it.
It felt smooth and solid, like touching a large piece of glass.
“It’s incredibly powerful magic. It’s so strong…I can’t even imagine how to do anything with this wall.”
Rene said with a bewildered face.
It was a voice mixed with a bit of fear.
What could this be about?
Who could have created such a barrier here?
After pondering for a moment, Yoo Seong took out the invitation and held it against the barrier.
Then a bright light emerged from the invitation, and sentences made of light formed before Yoo Seong’s eyes.
—
Various dangers and malice lurk beyond the barrier.
However, if you succeed in pioneering, you can obtain not only new territories but also forgotten and buried memories and treasures.
Only the king, magicians, and the king’s knights can participate in the pioneering.
Would you like to begin pioneering Zone 1?
[Yes / No]
—
Instead of immediately selecting yes, Yoo Seong turned to look at Rene and the knights.
“What does the text say?”
When Rene asked first, the others also looked at Yoo Seong with curious faces.
But instead of answering right away, Yoo Seong made eye contact with the knights.
Yoo Seong’s own knights who led Camelot’s forces.
All of them only remembered their names but couldn’t remember their past.
‘Forgotten and buried memories.’
It was a reward more concerning than new territories or treasures.
“Successor?”
Startled by Kate’s worried voice, Yoo Seong broke free from his thoughts and interpreted the text that had appeared for everyone.
“Pioneering beyond the barrier…”
“The memories.”
Kate and Vanadain also seemed more concerned about the memories than other rewards.
“Go back and prepare for now. We can’t set out for pioneering in our current state.”
At Yoo Seong’s words, the knights looked at their unarmed state, quickly showed their agreement, and headed to the barracks.
Thanks to that, when only the two remained, Rene asked Yoo Seong in a careful tone.
“Successor, could this castle be Camelot?”
It was a possibility that Yoo Seong himself had considered.
But for now, nothing could be certain.
Looking at the barrier with Rene, Yoo Seong turned around to look toward the castle wall.
The tall and massive castle wall that seemed to approach 40 meters.
When close by, one couldn’t see beyond it, but now at a sufficient distance, they could see what lay beyond.
The purple barrier that blocked the interior of the castle was spread out along the outskirts of the castle.