At my cold attitude, Minte clicked his tongue, while Bark and Tristan kept their distance and remained silent.
Ganick had completely frozen the young lizardman and moved away. Falides also used the excuse of keeping watch on the surroundings to gradually retreat.
Zigor stomped his feet, urging Mori.
[What are you doing, Mori! Confess already!]
Mori only looked up at me with eyes that seemed ready to cry, unable to easily open his mouth.
As I quietly gazed into those eyes, I grew more certain.
'This one is definitely different from the other knights.'
It wasn't simply because Mori was a provisional successor.
Mori... after meeting me, showed no joy.
Recalling how all the other knights had emotionally accepted their reunion with me, Mori's reaction was clearly strange.
And that left a chill in my heart.
"Nadav, what did this one do?"
[Actually, he hasn't said, so I was trying to find out.]
Nadav answered cautiously to my question.
Perhaps Nadav had intended to handle whatever misdeed Mori had committed after hiding in the snake den, then bring him to me.
"There was a monster attack in this area recently. Are you connected to it?"
When I changed my question, Mori lowered his head and stammered.
[Y-yes.]
"Did you do it?"
[Y-yes.]
Hearing Mori's immediate answer, I refuted coldly.
"Lie."
[What?]
Mori raised his head in surprise.
"If you had done it, Nadav would have recognized it."
Since Nadav was one of the victims of the monster attack.
At my words, Nadav let out a deep sigh. Mori looked back and forth between me and Nadav, his mouth opening and closing.
But he couldn't easily say anything. Finally, he opened his mouth in a barely audible voice.
[E-everyone lost their power.]
"What?"
[I-if it were the old days, I w-would have known.]
I narrowed my eyes and looked down at Mori.
It wasn't the first or second time Dullahans brought up past memories, but those were generally memories closer to an unfinished sketch.
A single scene, or memories where only the emotions of that time remained intensely. But Mori seemed to be comparing the past and present much more precisely.
Perhaps this one... might possess complete memories?
If so, why? How is that possible?
[B-Boss is human now. Because you lost your authority...]
[Mori!]
Zigor called out to Mori in surprise. But the words already spoken had reached my ears.
"I became human, so you thought you'd try becoming the goddess's proxy even by yourself?"
I crossed my arms and swept my gaze around. Even though all the animals had fled in fear of the Dullahan's aura, many snakes remained because they wanted to protect Mori.
According to my suddenly recovered memories, Mori was greatly loved by young and small living things. Young children, small animals, and the like.
It seemed that characteristic remained the same even after becoming a Dullahan.
The agent of death was a woman who loved all things, Mori was the knight who most resembled her, and now that I looked, it seemed he had noticed that he himself was chosen as her successor.
'If he happened to have some power, however clumsy...?'
"So you were listening to the grievances of all things in this forest? Asking you to attack humans?"
I tilted my head and let out a sneer.
"How arrogant."
[I-I...]
"If you have such power, I won't stop you. Save all things as you please. I didn't want to do it anyway, and I never expected there'd be someone perfectly suited for it."
The captain of the past praised and encouraged Mori's good deeds. At least in my memory, she never scolded Mori for acting first and reporting later.
But I am different from her, and I didn't agree with her judgment.
Especially in these times when the whole world has defined Dullahans as evil, I wanted to encourage it even less.
"Nadav. Do you intend to share Mori's sentiments?"
[...Boss, I am a knight who serves you.]
Nadav had a resigned look. After glancing at Nadav approaching me quietly, I turned my body coldly.
"Let's return."
Zigor, looking back and forth between me and Mori, reluctantly flapped his wings.
'How much time has passed?'
I was roughly estimating how long it would take to walk back when an urgent cry came from behind.
[Me too!]
Mori, who had been hiding under the fallen leaves, finally came out.
[I-I am also a knight who follows the Boss...!]
While I hesitated at that cry, Mori diligently approached my feet.
[I just wanted to escape, so I t-taught the way to reach rest.]
When our eyes met, Mori lowered his head in surprise.
Even so, he continued to stammer.
[Th-they asked for help. That one was crying sadly, so I... I tried to give rest to those who wanted rest, as the B-Boss taught me...]
"Who was it."
I cut off Mori's words in a dry tone.
Mori, with tears hanging from pitch-black eyes without pupils, looked up at me.
To the hesitating Mori, I asked again in a cold voice.
"So I'm asking who you used that method you taught on an innocent human."
[...She said she was a fairy.]
A fairy?
「You know the fairy tale where a fairy appears at the bedside of someone who can't sleep and gives them happy dreams?」
At that moment, a name flashed through my mind like lightning.
It seemed to be that corrupt fairy Zenon had mentioned, that very monster.
[B-but after using that power strangely, she disappeared! I needed to tell her not to use it like that. Sh-she must have done it because she didn't know.]
Ganick was deceived by humans, and Mori was deceived by a monster.
To think I'd come to see a Dullahan, who should be terrifying, anxiously fretting after being scammed by some monster.
[She said she lives in the water. B-but I couldn't find her in the river, so I thought maybe she moved to a stream in the forest...]
Finally, tears dropped from Mori's black eyes. Nadav turned his head as if he couldn't bear to watch.
I looked down at Mori indifferently and quietly swallowed a sigh. Then, bending my knee, I extended my palm toward Mori.
"Come here."
Mori, who had been shedding tears, hesitated, then carefully climbed onto my palm.
Along with rough grains of soil, the snake's cool and smooth texture wrapped around my palm.
"I'll get revenge for you, so stop crying."
[...Yes?]
"I said I'll get revenge. Were you just going to let it go?"
[B-but I can't even find...]
"You said you indirectly used the goddess's authority. Do you think you can avoid my eyes when the authority is intertwined?"
I turned my body while quietly suppressing my rising anger. For the first time in a while, frustration and irritation toward the old captain bubbled up.
Education in childhood is important, but to raise a child so innocently and try to make him a successor?
'Even though it's my past life, it really doesn't match me.'
With furrowed brows, I glanced at Mori.
"Humans can't resurrect after being beheaded. So having lost my authority, I'm hard to call human, and strictly speaking, I'm still an agent of death."
At my words, Mori's body trembled.
[I-I'm sorry. Boss...]
Mori curled up on my palm and buried his head inside.
At the greatly deflated appearance, I thought Nadav or Zigor might offer some comfort, but both just quietly watched.
Nadav, for his part, seemed relieved just by the fact that I was taking care of Mori. And Zigor, unlike his usual noisy nature, was quietly flying and following me.
[I'll release the insects immediately.]
I nodded to Tristan and looked up at the sky.
I came early on purpose, but the day was already growing dark.
"We should go back."
Falides, who looked at the sky, said cautiously. I nodded in agreement.
"We'll have to come again."
Anyway, the forest was too wide, and it would be difficult to blindly search for a monster whose appearance I didn't even know right now.
Since Mori had contact with the corrupt fairy, it would be better to hear information about that, determine the monster's whereabouts through Tristan, and then come.
And at that time, I'd make that hateful monster pay.
* * *
Samuel, the paladin who investigated the Lindea River, affirmed that this incident was caused by a monster.
The Emperor, having the paladin cherished by the High Priest personally affirm it, reluctantly released Zenon. However, his attitude was still suspicious.
That he was unwilling to let Zenon go, who expressed displeasure at unjust imprisonment and wanted to leave the imperial palace, was probably because he couldn't shake off his suspicions.
On the way out after calming the fuming Zenon, Heinrich finally pressed his tired brows once he entered a quiet corridor.
Lately, he had been extremely busy dealing with both the Emperor and Duke Roam while newly solidifying his support base.
In the midst of this, the Empress still hadn't woken up.
The fortunate news was that this incident was truly caused by a monster, and Anelli intended to face the monster directly to find a way to resolve the situation.
'Didn't they say the Magic Tower would also guarantee it was a problem caused by a monster?'
If they made a vow with magic, anyone would have to believe it. Though the Emperor might take even that as manipulation.
Heinrich stood in the corridor for a moment, gathering himself. Just then, his aide approached and reported in a low voice.
"Your Highness, His Majesty has summoned Count Hason again today."
At those words, Heinrich's eyes narrowed.
Count Hason was originally one of the Emperor's attending physicians, but recently he had been doubling as an advisor.
Having gained trust by solving the Emperor's long-standing incurable disease, he apparently gave answers that would please the Emperor regarding several troublesome issues.
And probably... this monster attack issue was also among them.
He muttered.
"Diligent indeed."
"He's apparently investigating separately whether the oracle was manipulated, under imperial command. It's believed he's suspecting the relationship between the Resurrected One and the Magic Tower, as you mentioned."
It had long been confirmed that Count Hason was Freci's puppet.
And that Freci was a man moving under Lilia's direction.
'Not satisfied with the Magic Tower, now planning to turn against the Temple too? The only things to gain by making enemies of those two would be that foolish successor and his greedy fiancée.'
Heinrich, who laughed cynically, resumed his halted steps.
He too had heard the news that Lilia had regained her foresight ability. Freci was undoubtedly trusting her power completely.
Of course, Heinrich too believed in Lilia's foresight ability.