Monster Forest
A group of horsemen came to a stop in the forest, and in front of the leader sat a graceful and elegant lady.
This person was Bernal's father, who was guarding the western border, Moss Nielson.
The lady on the same horse as him was Bernal's biological mother, Eva Nielson, the margrave's current wife.
"Still no sign of Bernal yet?"
Facing Moss's question, the subordinates immediately lowered their heads and admitted their mistakes.
"I'm sorry."
The knights were ashamed of their incompetence, and a few of the older ones would rather offer their apologies with death.
How many times has this happened already?
They had once again failed in their duty and caused the margrave to lose his child.
"Forget it, I'm used to it."
Moss glanced at his subordinates and did not probe further.
As a child of the Nielson family, he had to be prepared to die at any moment.
There was nothing they could have done if something really happened.
Moss seemed very calm after losing his child again. As he said, he was already used to this loss.
"How long are you going to cry for? It'll be fine once we have another child."
"Boohoo, it's not that simple. That's my flesh and blood. How can I abandon my child as easily as you put it?"
Eva winced as she grieved. She was not Moss. This was still her first child, her flesh and blood.
Now that her child's fate was unknown, as a mother, how could she not be worried?
Seeing Eva like this, Moss thought for a moment and gave an order to his subordinates.
"Expand the search area and continue searching. If you still find nothing by dusk, retreat."
This was the best Moss could do.
After dusk, this forest would be in a different state. By then, the danger level would be on a completely different level than during the day.
With the current manpower, it was still rather difficult to get out of the forest alive after dusk.
"Yes, my lord!"
Out of the guilt of failing their duty, no one questioned Moss's decision.
Some people even opened their mouths to say something, but they were stopped with a glare from Moss.
"My lord…"
"You don't have to say anymore. I've already lost a child. I don't want to lose any more of my excellent subordinates."
Moss directly interrupted the person's words. He could not allow more casualties.
Excellent subordinates?
They should be happy to hear the margrave say that.
However, no one present could be joyful.
If they heard such praise under normal circumstances, they would definitely be happy and proud.
However, they only felt that it was exceptionally jarring and harsh now.
How ironic.
In order to live up to Moss' praise, the knights had made up their minds.
If they did not find Young Master Bernal, they would never leave even if the sun was setting.
If the young master was alive, they would have to bring him back. If the young master was dead, they would have to bring his corpse back.
At the very least, they could let his young master return home after his death, rather than being left wandering outside and entering the stomach of another monster after his death.
As for Bernal, he did not know anything about what was happening in the outside world.
Looking at Rogeria in front of him, Bernal, who had calmed down, began to try to contact and understand her.
"So you were summoned here through this ritual, but isn't there no one else here except for me?"
The black tentacles behind Rogeria extended forward and wrapped around Bernal's waist.
Without caring about Bernal's reaction, Rogeria grabbed him in her arms.
"What are you doing!?"
The tentacle was not too forceful, so Bernal did not feel suffocated.
But the wet, slippery touch made Bernal uncomfortable, and his hair stood on end.
"Ha!"
Noticing Bernal's interesting reaction, Rogeria laughed.
At this moment, Bernal was like a furious kitten that was extremely adorable.
Rogeria controlled her tentacles to hold Bernal in front of her, observing him up close, as if she was deeply interested in Bernal himself.
"Hey, what are you looking at? Answer my question now!"
Bernal twisted his body, but no matter how he struggled, he could not break free from the tentacles.
"Heh heh, are you talking about the others? Of course, they were all used as sacrifices and offered to me with this ritual."
A tentacle wrapped around Bernal's arm, and Rogeria controlled his hand to touch her abdomen.
"They are all in here now as my food, becoming part of me."
"Then I…"
Bernal stopped struggling and looked at Rogeria in surprise, as many of his questions were answered.
And I wondered why they brought me here. In the end, they were all dead by the time I woke up."
But why am I still alive?
Wasn't I the sacrifice?
At the thought of this, Bernal looked at Rogeria with a curious gaze.
"Why am I still alive?"
Regarding this question, Rogeria gave Bernal a surprising answer.
"I don't know. That's why it's interesting. As the sacrificial offering of the ritual, it appears that you survived. However, not a single person who carried out the ritual was left alive. This is the first time I'm seeing such a situation."
"Isn't God omniscient?"
"Yes and no."
Rogeria gave an ambiguous answer that puzzled Bernal even more.
To that, Rogeria explained,
"There are various kinds of gods. Everyone can be considered omniscient and omnipotent in their respective fields, but this is slightly different from the kind you stated."
"I guess I understand."
Bernal looked pensive. He nodded, trying to digest the information Rogeria had given him.
"So why don't you sign a contract with me?"
Without waiting for Bernal to respond, Rogeria explained further.
"Although I have successfully passed the ritual's boundary, the sacrifices from this ritual alone are unable to sustain my existence."
As she spoke, she controlled one of her tentacles to show it to Bernal.
Bernal focused his gaze. The tentacle was different from the other tentacles. Black particles were constantly emitting from it as if they were going to dissipate.
"In order to save resources, I have no choice but to move around in this manner. Even so, I can't stay in this world for too long."
"I guess I understand."
Bernal rested his chin on his hand and nodded to show that he understood.
"What's your answer then?"
Rogeria looked at Bernal with some anticipation. If one observed closely, one would be able to notice the rapidly swaying tentacles behind her.
It was obvious that Rogeria was not calm at all.
Bernal did not think for long before responding.
"Sure, I agree."
The moment she obtained his agreement, a large number of tentacles rushed toward Bernal from behind and instantly enveloped him.
"Very good, let's get along from now on, Bernal ~"