Chapter 68
It had been about two hours since we arrived at Intezer.
During that time, we unpacked our luggage, and the students were each assigned to their rooms.
After that, we gathered by class to listen to explanations from each homeroom teacher.
“Everyone listened carefully, right? Starting today, we’ll be staying here for two nights and three days. Tomorrow morning we’ll gather briefly for an activity, and after that, you’ll have the rest of the time as free time.”
“So that means today is all free time?”
“That’s right. Have fun around here until 10 p.m., then make sure to return to your lodgings on time. At 10 p.m., the teachers, the Student Council, and the Disciplinary Committee will check attendance, so you must return by then. If you don’t, you’ll get demerit points.”
The students all nodded at Luke’s explanation.
“Anyway, that’s all I had to say, so let’s dismiss here. You can have dinner at the restaurant on the first floor of the hotel. If you’re eating inside, come at the proper time. Everyone got it?”
“Yes!”
“Alright then, dismissed!”
As soon as Luke finished speaking, the first-year students of Class 1 broke off into small groups and dispersed.
I nodded slightly and glanced around.
‘No more incidents… should happen.’
All the events of the School Trip Episode took place in Skedum.
From my memory, nothing particular happened in Intezer.
Meaning, for the next two nights and three days, I could just relax here in peace.
‘Except for the short activity tomorrow morning, it’s all free time.’
But truthfully, even if I had free time, there wasn’t much for me to do here.
There weren’t any valuable items to obtain in Intezer, and there weren’t any sights that particularly interested me either.
That’s because I had already seen Intezer too many times through the game.
Of course, seeing it in-game and seeing it in real life would be quite different, but still.
‘Let’s just not do anything and rest in the room.’
Though I had gotten much better, my body still ached here and there from last night’s battle.
If I rested for a full day, I’d probably recover, so I was thinking of just lying down on the bed today without doing anything.
Just as I was about to head to the lodging—a luxury hotel where each student was given a single room—
“Gideon!”
“Ah, Lady Layla?”
“Are you busy right now?”
Layla came running up to me like a puppy, looking up at me.
For a moment, the image of a very cute golden retriever flashed through my mind, but I quickly shook it off.
If she ever found out I thought of the Princess as a puppy, I’d probably end up in a very unpleasant situation.
“I’m not busy at the moment.”
Well, at the moment was the key phrase.
Because I’d be busy again later this evening.
As Luke said earlier, we had to check at 10 p.m. to see if all students were back in their rooms.
If someone wasn’t, then I’d likely have to go look for them with Lisa.
“Did something happen, Your Highness?”
“No, nothing like that. I just wanted to look around Intezer together.”
“Together, you mean?”
“Yeah. You, me, and Sara. The three of us.”
I looked past Layla’s shoulder.
Not too far away stood Sara.
She looked at me with clear displeasure, but seemed to hold her tongue because of Layla.
‘Hmm, sightseeing in Intezer, huh.’
For a moment, I thought about declining Layla’s offer.
I really just wanted to go in and rest right now.
And knowing Layla’s personality, even if I declined, she wouldn’t take it too badly…
“Can’t we…?”
“……”
The moment I saw Layla’s eyes looking up at me, I went speechless.
That pitiful gaze—like a drenched puppy left in the rain—made it impossible to say no.
So I sighed inwardly and finally opened my mouth.
“If it’s fine with you, Lady Layla, I’ll go with you.”
“Of course it’s fine! Let’s go! Come on!”
Layla nodded brightly, clearly in a good mood.
Seeing that, I couldn’t help but chuckle softly.
“Alright then. But it’ll probably be hard to stay out together after dinner.”
“Hmm, so you’re busy after dinner?”
“Yes, well… something like that.”
The truth was, I just wanted to rest for a bit before 10 p.m., but there was no need to mention that.
“Anyway, shall we go? I’ll guide you.”
“Oh, so you even know your way around Intezer?”
“Yes. As I mentioned before, I’ve traveled quite a bit.”
Even if it was only through the game, I could still guide them around well enough.
Intezer.
Originally, it was the name of the Dragon Intezer that had attacked the Arium Empire centuries ago.
But the dragon was repelled and eventually fell dead in the western region of the empire.
Over time, the corpse of that dragon turned into a massive mountain, and the surrounding region came to be called Intezer.
‘And thus, Intezer became a splendid tourist destination.’
At first, it wasn’t a tourist spot.
The gigantic corpse of the dragon once served as a research subject for magicians, scholars, and other curious minds.
But once most of the research was done, Intezer’s massive remains began attracting visitors as a spectacle—a sight to behold.
The mountain formed from Intezer’s body.
Gradually, restaurants and lodging facilities were built around it, and people from all over the empire came to see the enormous dragon’s corpse.
‘Well, it is a great tourist attraction, honestly.’
I gazed up at the enormous mountain before me.
Unlike ordinary mountains, it was pitch black in color.
Here and there, pieces of the dragon’s bones protruded from the surface, giving off an atmosphere that words could hardly describe.
“Oooh, is that the wing?”
“Yes. This part is the wing, and those columns down there are Intezer’s ribs.”
“Wowwww.”
Layla looked around in awe, her eyes sparkling with curiosity.
To be precise, we were standing atop Intezer’s spine, looking at its wing bones and rib bones.
“Lady Layla, please be careful. If you fall from here…”
“It’s fine, Sara. I’m not careless enough to just fall off all of a sudden.”
“Understood. Still, I’d appreciate it if you stayed cautious.”
“Alright, alright.”
Though Layla responded halfheartedly, she still moved more carefully than before, following Sara’s warning.
“Hmm… mmm… huh? Gideon, over there—what’s that? They look like stone monsters?”
“They are stone monsters. Or rather, to be exact, they’re monsters that turned into stone.”
“The monsters turned into stone?”
Layla tilted her head in curiosity.
“Yes. After Intezer died, the beasts that followed him gathered around his corpse. They came together to mourn his death, but when Intezer’s blood seeped out and touched them, they all turned to stone.”
“Oh, that’s… wait, hold on. We—we’re safe here, right? We won’t suddenly turn into stone like those things…”
“There’s no need to worry about that.”
I explained with a small chuckle.
“All dangerous elements around Intezer were removed long ago by scholars and magicians of previous generations. That’s why this place can be operated as a tourist site now.”
“Ah, right. If it were dangerous, we wouldn’t even be allowed in. So that means there’s nothing dangerous nearby at all?”
“That’s not entirely true. Do you see that area below, the one fenced off with iron rails?”
“Uuuhm… ah, yes, I see it.”
Layla pointed toward the fence nestled between Intezer’s rib bones.
Inside the fenced area was a single massive boulder-like object.
“Then why did they put a fence around it? What’s that rock inside?”
“It’s Intezer’s heart.”
“…Heart?”
“Yes. All other parts of Intezer’s body have been analyzed, but that heart alone remains impossible to study.”
“Is it… dangerous?”
“Hmm.”
After organizing my thoughts for a moment, I continued.
“If you get close, it’ll cause nausea and intense dizziness. And if you go beyond a certain distance, your body begins to turn to stone—”
“Ah, I get it! Let’s not go there!”
“Very wise, Your Highness.”
I laughed softly at Layla’s overreaction.
“So that’s why the fence is there.”
“Yes. Of course, even with the fence up, there are still some people who sneak inside.”
“Really? What happened to them?”
“Do you see those human-sized stones near the heart?”
“…Ah.”
“There are always foolish people in this world.”
In fact, I had done that same foolish thing once in the game.
Out of simple curiosity, I approached the heart, and my character slowly turned to stone and died instantly.
Thankfully, I’d saved beforehand, so it wasn’t a big deal—but still, going near that heart drained your health rapidly until you were petrified.
I had no intention of experiencing that in reality, nor of seeing anyone else go through it.
“Kyrgram, you seem to know quite a bit about this place.”
“It’s thanks to traveling a lot since I was young, Lady Sara.”
“A white-haired boy who traveled the continent since childhood, and is also a skilled swordsman. Strange. If I were to inquire about you, there should be information somewhere… so why couldn’t Jason find a single thing about you?”
“That… I’m not sure myself.”
“The more time I spend with you, the more suspicious you seem.”
Sara eyed me with deep suspicion, and I met her gaze as calmly as possible.
Just as she was about to speak again, Layla interrupted.
“Hey, Sara. I told you to stop saying weird things to Gideon.”
“…Understood.”
At Layla’s words, Sara nodded and shut her mouth—though her eyes still burned with doubt.
Sensing the tense mood, Layla quickly changed the subject.
“Anyway, let’s head toward Intezer’s head now. I want to see it up close.”
“Understood. I’ll lead the way. Let’s head down from here first.”
“Okay, okay. Let’s go.”
Layla smiled brightly and began descending the path, with Sara following behind her.
Before following them, I glanced one last time toward Intezer’s heart.
‘It really does feel different seeing it in person.’
When I saw it in the game, it didn’t feel special—just like a big rock.
But now, seeing it before my own eyes, a strange, crushing pressure seemed to weigh on my body…
—Have you come here again?
“Huh?”
A voice suddenly echoed from somewhere.
It was extremely loud, yet Sara and Layla didn’t seem to hear it at all.
—Have you come here again to mock me?! Answer me!
“Urgh?”
The voice was so loud it felt like my eardrums might burst.
But as I said, somehow the voice seemed to be directed only at me.
And the direction it came from was unmistakable—
—Answer me! O wanderer of water!
It was from that petrified heart.