Abium and others moved forward while cutting the shrubs and vines, exited the underground passage, and soon noticed they were standing two kilometers away from the town.
That underground passage opened right next to a tall mountain range.
Abium quietly observed the surrounding dense woods and shifted his eyes towards the extensive mountain range. This mountain range originated from the Bare Keep town and extended to count Hernicus's territory. It even acted as a wall and stopped the cold northern winds.
Some mountains appeared only 200 to 400 meters tall, while a few rocky mountains reached the clouds and appeared monstrous.
"Among these mountains, which one is the Mountain of Perished?" Abium asked while observing for a while.
"I wouldn't be surprised if you even managed to say what color of underwear I'm wearing right now," Nicolaus said in a disbelief tone, pointed his finger at the tallest conical-shaped mountain, and added.
"It should be that one."
'The Maze!' Abium curled his lips upward and recalled some information about the Mountain of Perished.
'The local people named it the 'Mountain of Perished' only after the sudden appearance of a mysterious Maze.' Abium also knew why they named that mountain as Mountain of Perished. At first, everyone got interested in the mysterious Maze and tried to explore it.
Even a few mages and nobles started showing interest in that Maze and came here to explore it. But they soon found that people who entered the Maze began to disappear mysteriously.
Many adventurers and Mages went inside, but only a few returned, which alarmed everyone.
Nicolaus's childhood friend was also one of the victims, who went into this Maze but never returned.
'If I'm not wrong, her name should be something like Carol... Caroline? I think so. Around seven years ago, Nicolaus, Caroline, and a few other kids sneaked out of the Bare Keep town, went to the Mountain of Perished, and entered this Mysterious Mage to explore it. But they soon got separated inside and roamed inside for hours. By the time Nicolaus managed to return from the Mysterious Maze, he only saw a few of them at the entrance. Caroline and others never returned after that.'
Because of that reason, Nicolaus continuously studied this Maze and invited many explorers to explore it.
Unfortunately, no one dared to take such a reckless mission, even after he promised to give them many rewards.
But that changed when an Explorers' team came from the northern Mainland to the Royal capital to search for something.
Coincidentally, Nicolaus met them during a noble banquet, told the Explorer team leader about the Mysterious Maze, and even gave his years-long research details. To his surprise, the Explorer Team Leader accepted to take his request for free and came to the Mountain of Perished.
That mission turned the Explorers' life upside down. Were they 'Lucky'? Or did they indeed come to the Southern Mainland to search for that Maze? No one knew.
'Well, that didn't matter now.' After all, Abium had long decided to take those rewards for himself.
"Are you guys coming to the Royal Capital? We can also ask the Light Bishop to cast a healing spell on her."
Suddenly, the Crown prince interjected his thoughts and made a suggestion.
"They won't treat a Beast kin. Some may try to kill her once they saw her." Abium said while shaking her head and continued.
"There is a Nature Temple located outside the Royal capital, but I don't believe any High Priest is serving there. Don't worry. She'll wake up after a few hours."
Abium's reply made everyone relaxed.
Then, Abium suddenly thought of something and spoke.
"I'm planning to go to a mysterious place and stay there for the next few months, Your Highness. Are you willing to join in?" In truth, he was asking out of courtesy.
"Laying low? Why?" Huggin asked in confusion.
"I wouldn't call that laying low but exploring some dangerous area. If you join us, you might even get some high-quality rewards."
The Crown Prince started to ponder with some hesitation, but Young prince Raollet shook his head and declined his offer.
"If we didn't return to the Royal Capital, the whole Kingdom might think we died here. It might result in a large-scale war against Margrave Eliot and the Light Church. Moreover, we also have to inform the Light Church's schemes to Academic Mages." Raollet said with a grave tone.
Everyone began to nod at Raollet in approval.
Abium also knew that it was a big problem and delaying would lead to many consequences.
"Good decision. Follow this mountain range, and you will be able to reach Count Hernicus's territory in a few hours," Abium said while pointing his fingers at the east.
"Oh, thank you. We will be on our way then." Raollet said while glancing back at Huggin.
"Forgive me for not accompanying you, my friend. But I think we have to part away from here." The Crown prince took out a golden badge with a symbol of Redbird on it, tossed it towards Abium, and continued,
"Come and meet me at the upcoming Royal gathering. We will have a long chat then."
Upon hearing the Crown prince's words, Abium raised his eyebrows in surprise.
'Royal Gathering?'
He skillfully caught that golden badge and nodded his head.
"I'll try my best to arrive at the Royal City on time," Abium said.
"Come on, Raollet. Let's go." Huggin gave a light pat on Raollet's shoulder and started walking in the eastern direction.
On the other hand, Abium didn't bother too much about their safety.
He knew that once they crossed Baron Tibbott's territory, they would be able to use their teleportation scroll and leave.
But what made him startled inside was the Crown Prince's invitation to the Royal Gathering.
'King's death, huh.' A grim expression appeared on his face. He had no idea how King Sewallus died in the past. But everyone said that it had something to do with the Royal Gathering.
Yes, it wasn't the Grand Nobles Gathering but the Royal Gathering.
'It's a formal banquet to announce the next successor of Peral Kingdom.'
He cast those thoughts away from his mind, glanced at Nicolaus, and spoke.
"I knew you must be cursing inside, but accompany me for some time. After this task, you will no longer hate me."
Meanwhile, Nicolaus clicked his tongue in annoyance and sighed.
"I hope so." After talking with Prince Raollet, Nicolaus learned of his father's patriotism towards the Kingdom and felt ashamed. In truth, he also changed his view on Royal Family after hearing Margrave Eliot's speech for the past five years and always thought of the three Royal Princes as incompetent individuals.
But when he saw how the 12-years-old youngest prince sneaked into their fortress and even managed to hear the Nobles' secret conversation, he was utterly shocked.
Crown Prince also showed an outstanding level of knowledge in everything, which completely changed Nicolaus's perspective.
'They are indeed capable of ruling the Kingdom.' That was the thought that appeared in his mind.
Unaware of his inner turmoil, Abium carried Umi's mother and moved towards the Mountain of Perished.
Nicolaus also cast those thoughts away from his mind, carried Umi on his shoulder, and followed after him.
"Where are we going?" Suddenly, Nicolaus noticed that they were walking towards the mysterious Maze and got curious.
"Yes, we are on our way to investigate the Maze," Abium said as he took out the sword and cut the vines and tree branches that were blocking their path before stepping into the woods.
"Your purpose is that Maze from the very beginning, huh. How do you know that I won't take this child as a hostage and run away from here?" Nicolaus asked as he followed after Abium.
"Haha, if you did that, you will never find out what had happened to your childhood friend."
Abium's reply made Nicolaus freeze on the spot. This time, he got convinced that the person in front of him was not some random elf but a mysterious Mage.
Nicolaus didn't care much about politics or other things. His only purpose was to discover a hint about what had happened to his childhood friend.
So, Abium's words shut him up.
Meanwhile, Umi also stayed quiet on Nicolaus's shoulder and didn't say anything. She would sob when looking at her unconscious mom but didn't cry aloud like most kids.
After a few minutes of walking, Abium soon saw a gloomy cave and took a deep look.
It was covered with dirt and debris and appeared pitch-dark. Many vines were hanging on the cave's ceiling, which covered the bright light from outside and left this cave in perfect darkness.
It was the entrance to the Mysterious Maze and was located at the mountain's summit.