Chapter 38 (38) The Cave Of The Blade And The Army of Orden: 05

As they headed further north, the landscape began to change. The dense forest thinned out, giving way to rolling hills covered in grass that had turned gold from the cold. The trees along the path were different now, their bark pale and smooth, their leaves small and round. They reminded Subaru of birch trees back home, though not quite the same. The air smelled cleaner here, sharper, with a hint of smoke drifting from somewhere ahead.

Subaru went over the information she had gathered in the last city. The region around Vorig had a river that fed into a moat surrounding the main town, which was fortified with thick stone walls built to withstand attacks from the kinds of creatures that roamed these lands. The area was hilly and forested, mostly with trees like these, the birch-like ones that shed leaves in a carpet of gold during autumn. Lord Orden's estate sat within the town itself, a large manor that rose above the surrounding buildings, visible from a distance if you knew where to look. It was the home of one of the Three Great Knightly Families of the Northern Lands, which meant the people who lived there were not the kind you wanted to annoy.

Subaru kept her eyes on the road ahead, but her mind wandered back to the conversation she had with Übel before they left the last settlement. It had started innocently enough.

"So where were you born?" Übel had asked, her tone light, almost bored.

Subaru had prepared for questions like this. She had spent time thinking about what to say, what story to tell, what lies would hold up if someone asked too many questions. She had settled on something vague, something far enough away that nobody would know the difference.

"Near the Riegel Region," she had said.

It was a name she had heard in passing, a place mentioned by a traveler in one of the shops she had passed through. She did not know anything about it beyond the name, but that was the point. If Übel asked for details, she could claim she left when she was young, that she did not remember much. A convenient gap in knowledge.

Übel had nodded slowly, accepting the answer without pushing. Then she had asked something else.

"How are demons born anyway?"

Subaru had blinked. That was not a question she had prepared for.

"Are they born like mammals?" Übel continued, her voice genuinely curious. "With a male and female? Or do they just copy themselves? Make copies? Split in half?"

Subaru had no idea what to say. She did not know how demons were born in this world. She did not know anything about the body she was in, about the creature whose form she now wore. She had spent so much time trying not to think about it, trying to focus on survival, that she had never once considered the question.

Her mind went blank.

Then she smirked. It was not a confident smirk. It was the smirk of someone who had run out of good options and decided to pretend she had secrets instead of admitting she knew nothing.

"That is a secret," she said.

Übel studied her for a second. Her eyes did not narrow. Her expression did not change. She just looked, waiting, as if expecting Subaru to say something else. Subaru held her gaze. She did not blink. She did not look away. She just kept the smirk on her face, hoping it looked mysterious instead of desperate.

After a long moment, Übel shrugged. "Fine."

She had not asked again. Subaru was not sure if that meant she believed the lie or simply did not care enough to chase it. With Übel, it was hard to tell. She let things go easily, but that did not mean she forgot them. Subaru had learned that much. Übel collected information like someone picking up stones along a path. She did not always use them, but she kept them, waiting for a moment when they might be useful.

Subaru shook the thought away and focused on the road.

The hills rose and fell around them, the path winding between slopes covered in tall grass that swayed in the wind. The smoke smell grew stronger, mixed now with the sound of voices, many voices, carried across the valley. Subaru slowed her pace, her eyes scanning the horizon.

Then she reached the top of a hill and stopped.

The valley below stretched wide and green, a bowl of land ringed by hills on all sides. A river cut through the center, its water catching the afternoon light. On the far side, she could see the walls of a town, gray stone rising against the green hills, with a manor rising above the rooftops like a watchful giant. Lord Orden's estate. The seat of one of the Three Great Knightly Families. A place of power, of authority, of people who might ask questions she did not want to answer.

But that was not what made her stop.

The valley floor between the hills and the town was covered in tents. Hundreds of them. Maybe more. White canvas stretched across wooden frames, arranged in neat rows that spread across the grass like a second village. Between the tents, people moved in steady streams, carrying supplies, tending fires, gathering in clusters around larger tents that flew banners she did not recognize. Smoke rose from cooking fires, dozens of them, curling into the sky in thin gray ribbons. The sound of voices, orders being shouted, metal striking metal from somewhere she could not see, the low rumble of many people living in close quarters.

Subaru gulped.

"Looks like we arrived in the middle of something dramatic," Übel said from beside her.

Subaru did not answer. Her eyes moved across the camp, counting, estimating, trying to make sense of what she was seeing. This was not a small gathering. This was an army. Or something close to it. Soldiers in armor moved between the tents, their movements practiced, efficient. Horsemen rode along the edges of the camp, their eyes on the hills, watching for threats. The whole valley hummed with the energy of people preparing for something.

"What is this?" Subaru whispered.

Übel shrugged. "A war, maybe. Or a festival. Hard to tell from up here."

Subaru shot her a look. "Those are soldiers."

"Could be very organized festival goers."

Subaru did not laugh. She was too busy trying to figure out how to get around the camp without being seen, or through it without being noticed, or past it without being stopped. The road led straight into the tents. There was no way around. The hills on either side were too steep to climb easily, and the river cut across the valley floor, blocking any path that did not go through the camp itself.

She touched her turban, making sure it was secure. The cloth was tight, the horns hidden beneath it, but she could feel them pressing against the fabric, a constant reminder of what she was, what she looked like underneath. One wrong move. One person who knew what to look for. One soldier with sharp eyes and a sharper sword.

A soldier stepped out from between two tents as they approached the edge of the camp. He was young, maybe a few years older than Subaru's high school teacher, with a thin beard and armor that looked like it had seen better days. A spear rested against his shoulder, held loosely but ready. His eyes moved over them both, quick and practiced, checking for threats.

"Travelers, halt!" he called out.

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