“Ban.”

“…Huh?”

“Ban Claff, my name.”

“…You’re telling me your name only now.”

“Ha… I have a feeling you’ll keep bothering me.”

Looking at Riley’s annoyed expression, Ban felt frustrated. What should he do with this answerless situation?

He sighed deeply, covering his face with his hands.

“How did you end up like this again here?”

“I don’t know either. I just woke up and found myself here.”

“…What about the guys who were supposed to escort you?”

“Escort?”

“Your friends were in chaos. Seems like no one cared when you disappeared, though.”

“…Ah.”

Hila must have been surprised too. Well, someone suddenly disappearing is something to be shocked about. Riley felt both grateful and sorry for Hila, who had been running around for her.

She came here to have fun, looking forward to the festival more than anyone else, but she ended up ruining it.
“…Because of me, it must have turned into the worst welcoming party.”

“Are you still worried about your friends in this situation?”

“Hila had high expectations for the welcoming party. She’s naturally sociable and has a kind heart, so she would have been very surprised.”

“Don’t worry about them. The situation is not something to take lightly.”

“Right.”

“Were there any suspicious individuals?”

“Not really. At first, I thought it might be the work of an enemy targeting me. I wondered if someone was lurking here with ill intentions towards me. But it wasn’t the case. I was alone all along. Maybe it’s another prank by Horizon students, like last time? Trying to mess with me.”

“No matter how ignorant those guys are, they wouldn’t do something crazy like this. This is the territory of magical beasts. Unless they’re deliberately trying to kill you, why would they move you here? And if it was their doing… wouldn’t your shadows do something about it?”

“My shadows?”

“Yeah, you, the existence of unknown shadows. Anyway, those guys weren’t involved.”

“So, the person who targeted my life sent me here to be eaten by magical beasts?”

“Rather than targeting your life, maybe they took your husband as a hostage.”

Riley’s face turned pale at Ban’s words.

‘Right, it’s certain that Givernon was attacked here… After all, I’m the person who is supposed to marry Givernon…?’

“If your disappearance has reached the Blessige, your husband will come here soon. But it might take quite some time.”

“He shouldn’t come here. He’s injured, not fully recovered… I have to leave before he arrives.”

“Is there a way?”

“…”

“Why are you looking at me?”

“You’ve come this far; you must know how to get out.”

Riley hoped that Ban would provide a solution to the situation. However, Ban, after looking at Riley in that situation, pushed her forehead with his index finger.

“Even if you look at it like that, it’s useless.”

“Why?”

“This place isn’t ordinary. During the day, you might not notice, but at night, magical beasts and various magical plants disturb the flow of magic. Not only that, they constantly absorb magic. If you use magic, you’ll suffer much more severe magic consumption than usual. So, even if you try to use teleportation magic now, there’s a high chance the coordinates will be set to some random place. Besides, those coordinates might lead you to a strange place. You can do whatever you want when coming in, but it won’t be easy to leave. If you want to leave, you have to wait until dawn. At dawn, magical beasts and magical plants all fall into a state of dormancy.”

“Ah…”

“Also.”

“?”

“Logically, would the person who brought you here just leave you and go? Someone is probably watching us from somewhere around here. And suddenly appearing obstacles like me might be annoying to them.”
As his words came to an end, a frightening thud! echoed, and the branch began to shake. Soon, as the center of gravity shifted sideways, the world turned upside down, and with the sensation of feet floating, the body started to fall downward.

The massive pillar of the tree was being cut down and collapsing.