A silence that was not brief settled inside the tent.
Maho did not press them.
He simply stood there, waiting for an answer.
Rather than waiting, he looked like someone who knew it could only end this way.
It was Yun who spoke first.
“Officially, it’s impossible.”
Maho did not so much as blink.
“I know that much.”
“You can’t have your name put on the delegation roster,”
“and we can’t let the Republic know you exist.”
“Even less so Carmen.”
Yun’s voice was low, but clear.
Maho answered shortly.
“That’s why I said I won’t be seen.”
Miryeong immediately snapped back.
“And who’s supposed to believe that?”
“You don’t have to.”
“What?”
Miryeong’s eyebrow twitched,
but Rangnan raised a hand ever so slightly to stop her.
Yun continued.
“The same goes for Raen. Officially, she’s staying behind.”
“The very fact that she’s following us must not become known.”
Raen’s tail gave a small twitch.
Wolryeon asked quietly.
“How far from the procession are you planning to stay?”
Maho turned his head to look at her.
“We won’t be close. As long as we’re within reach when necessary, that’s enough.”
Jincheong asked in a low voice.
“And you’ll be the one deciding when that ‘necessary’ moment is?”
“No.”
Maho answered briefly.
“Raen will sense it first.”
The gazes inside the tent shifted toward Raen.
Maho went on calmly.
“As you know, right now Raen can detect farther. She can sense him before Roan does.”
Raen blinked, looking a little surprised.
Maho paid it no mind and continued.
“The problem is what comes after.”
“The moment Raen enters Roan’s detection range,”
“he’ll follow her.”
The air inside the tent quietly sank.
Miryeong muttered under her breath.
“…Then in the end, the problem is Raen.”
“Right.”
Maho accepted it at once.
“Roan doesn’t care about someone like Bido.”
“The only ones catching his eye right now are those who possess fragments of the moon.”
Even after hearing that, Bido could not easily feel relieved.
If anything, the fact that danger was approaching Raen as well, for a different reason, only made him more uneasy.
Rangnan asked,
“Even so, why are you trying to stay near Bido?”
Maho’s gaze shifted to Bido.
“If Roan comes, the situation changes.”
After a brief silence, Maho said,
“When that happens, we’ll need Bido.”
Yun narrowed her eyes.
“You mean he’s the key to stopping Roan.”
“Yes.”
This time, Maho did not hesitate.
“I’m no longer confident I can protect Raen by myself.”
“So if Roan truly makes a move, my strength alone may not be enough.”
His words were calm, but heavy.
It was the first time Maho had admitted his own limits like that.
Raen called softly,
“Maho…”
But Maho did not look at Raen.
“That’s why I’m following. I need to keep Raen within my sight, and Bido can’t be too far away either.”
Miryeong still looked displeased.
Maho spoke as if he found it troublesome.
“Raen and I will travel from a distance. Out of sight.”
Yun tilted her head slightly.
“And you’ll intervene only when it’s truly necessary?”
Maho looked at Yun for a moment, then answered shortly.
“Yes. Raen senses it first, I confirm it, and then we move.”
Rangnan said in a low voice,
“Don’t just barge in on your own.”
“I won’t move unless it’s Roan.”
Maho glanced toward Bido.
“If there’s anyone suspicious, I’ll take care of it myself.”
Miryeong immediately shot back,
“That’s what makes me most nervous.”
Maho moved his shoulders ever so slightly.
“What can you do? You’re right to be nervous.”
Yun was silent for a moment before slowly opening her mouth.
“Fine. Then let’s settle the conditions.”
Maho listened without a word.
“First. Your name appears nowhere. Not with the delegation, not with the Republic, and not with Carmen.”
“Fine.”
“Second. Raen is also officially staying behind. No one can find out that she’s moving with us.”
Raen quietly nodded.
“Third. Your criteria for intervention must be clear. Either Raen detects Roan,”
“or you confirm it yourself. Before that, don’t get involved on your own.”
Maho exhaled shortly.
“You’re demanding.”
“Of course.”
Yun spoke calmly.
“Fourth. We move under the assumption that you are not there. We will not make plans relying on your presence.”
This time, Rangnan continued.
“Don’t misunderstand. We’re turning a blind eye, not accepting you.”
Maho looked at Rangnan and said shortly,
“I know.”
Raen’s tail swayed ever so slightly.
Miryeong let out a sigh, and Wolryeon and Jincheong said nothing more.
Rangnan drove the final nail in.
“Don’t make each other visible. Not us, and not you.”
This time, Maho smiled very faintly.
“You people really are a bother.”
Yun replied,
“You’re the bigger bother.”
The air inside the tent loosened a little.
But it had not completely eased.
Those who would officially depart,
and those who would follow while officially not existing.
Now, in effect, everyone was looking toward the same road.
“Good.”
After saying that shortly, Maho immediately asked,
“When do we leave?”
Rangnan answered,
“At the earliest, the morning after tomorrow.”
Maho lowered his eyes for a moment as if calculating, then said,
“Then I’ll come back tomorrow night.”
Raen’s ears twitched.
“Tomorrow night?”
Maho looked at Raen.
“I’ll come to get you. Prepare on your own until then.”
Raen looked as though she wanted to ask something more at any moment, but in the end she closed her mouth.
Maho’s words always put the conclusion before the explanation, and this time was no different.
Miryeong said with a dissatisfied expression,
“He really does whatever he wants.”
“That’s none of your concern.”
Maho replied as if annoyed, then turned away.
Rangnan spoke one last time in a low voice.
“Don’t stand out any more inside the walls.”
Without even looking back, Maho merely raised one hand.
“That’s why I’m leaving.”
He walked out of the tent.
A moment later, the light sound of someone kicking off the ground came from outside.
Without realizing it, Bido lifted his head.
Tap.
Far away, over the shadows near the walls, Maho’s silhouette briefly flashed past.
It did not linger for long.
Raen stood looking in that direction for some time.
Only the tip of her tail was swaying slightly.
The air left inside the tent had settled in yet another way from before.
A dangerous variable had been accepted,
and now it was truly time to prepare.
It was Yun who spoke first.
“Then let us organize things.”
Her voice had returned once more to the texture of calm practicality.
“There will be five escorts. Miryeong, Ed, Wolryeon, Jincheong. And Bido.”
Leaning against the wall with her arms crossed, Miryeong asked,
“Muryeong is staying here, right?”
“Yes.”
This time, Rangnan answered.
“We can’t leave Arku unattended. Muryeong stays here.”
Wolryeon quietly nodded.
Jincheong also let out a short breath and accepted it without any particular objection.
Yun spread out the documents and continued.
“It would be best to decide the roles now as well.”
Rangnan turned his gaze to each of them in turn and pointed them out one by one.
“Miryeong, you’re the vanguard. Both detection and immediate response.”
“Got it.”
Miryeong answered shortly.
“Ed, you’ll be the link between the main delegation and our side.”
“Signals, messages, retrieval—all of it will depend on your judgment.”
Ed straightened his shoulders for an instant, then immediately nodded.
“Yes. I’ll prepare.”
“Wolryeon, the rear and flanks. If a moment comes when support is needed from a distance, you’ll see it first.”
Wolryeon said calmly,
“As long as I have the distance, that is enough.”
“Jincheong, advance scouting and terrain support.”
At Rangnan’s words, Jincheong raised his eyes.
“Ambush points, possibilities for detours, the condition of the road. If we come to a place where the delegation should stop, you inform us first.”
Jincheong nodded.
Yun’s gaze reached Bido.
After a brief pause, she said,
“Bido will stay close to the main body.”
“You step forward only when necessary. Normally, focus on minimizing your exposure.”
Bido gave a small nod.
“…Yes.”
Miryeong glanced toward Bido and added,
“You heard that, right? No jumping out in front.”
Bido looked at her with a slightly surprised expression,
but soon answered softly.
“Yes. I’ll be careful.”
Only then did Rangnan continue.
“And the purpose of this mission is not to fight. Arrival comes first.”
At those words, the air inside the tent grew firm once more.
“The delegation must reach the Duchy of Carmen.”
“We cannot lose the documents, the witnesses, or the people. Avoid needless fights,”
“and end the necessary ones quickly.”
Wolryeon murmured in a low voice,
“So in the end, rather than holding out, we cut through and pass on.”
“Yes.”
Rangnan nodded.
“Don’t plan on being tied down on the road for long.”
With that, Yun organized the documents once more.
After pressing only the necessary sections with her fingertips as if marking them, she said quietly,
“I will prepare the list to submit to the council.”
“We must also complete the Republic’s final preparations as quickly as possible.”
She looked at Rangnan.
“The time remaining is today’s day and night, and all of tomorrow.”
“Everything that can be finished before the morning after tomorrow must be finished.”
Rangnan answered shortly.
“Understood.”
A moment later, Yun gathered the documents and left the tent.
Outside, the protected zone’s day was already moving again.
Those left inside the tent did not continue speaking at length.
Nearly everything that needed to be said had been said.
What remained was preparation, and the time each of them had to bear.
Ed spoke first.
“I’ll start by checking the Republic’s guard assignments and routes.”
Wolryeon looked outside the tent once in silence,
then moved quietly, as though going to inspect her heavy crossbow.
Jincheong, too, merely bowed his head briefly before stepping outside first.
His eyes were already drawing the shape of the road in his mind.
Raen was still looking toward the entrance of the tent.
Toward the place where Maho had vanished moments ago.
Bido looked at Raen once,
then lowered his gaze to his own hands again.
The morning after tomorrow.
There was not much time left now.
What had been decided was over,
and that end would soon become departure.