We decided to sit together in the carriage to hear the information Xenon and Samuel had gathered.
This was because we needed to decide whether to secure lodging in this city based on what they reported.
According to the two, the witness who had seen the Dullahan was a hunter.
"......A hunter."
He was someone who hunted beyond the Lindéa River and forest, venturing even further. And the place where he had seen the Dullahan was located right beneath the mountain beyond that very forest.
Xenon spoke.
"There is a small rocky mountain there."
"I know. Mount Ior."
I recalled that the imperial palace had once pushed forward a project to install sculptures carved from whole boulders on the mountainside. This was because the rocks had unique colors and beautiful patterns.
Which founding anniversary was it aimed for again?
Anyway, it was cancelled due to the working environment being too dangerous and the budget costing more than expected.
Pointlessly, hearing that news also brought back the memory of giving Marcel a sculpture as a consolation gift.
'Ah, that was an expensive one.'
Since it was precious, he must have kept it somewhere safe. I should have broken it a bit when I was staying at the imperial palace.
While I was immersed in belated regret, Xenon nodded and continued his explanation.
"Yes, he saw it at Mount Ior."
One day, while setting traps, releasing hunting dogs, and loading his bow as usual.
He was trying to capture a beast caught in his net when it suddenly transformed into a Dullahan with black smoke.
Naturally, he fled in terror and reported to the guards that a monster had appeared.
However, when the soldiers arrived fully armed at the location he described, there was naturally nothing there.
"At first, everyone said it was nonsense. Understandably so, since no one would take seriously a claim that an animal transformed into a Dullahan."
"So he was treated like a madman at first."
When I murmured indifferently, Samuel nodded and took over.
"Yes. But then the incident occurred where Her Majesty the Empress was attacked by monsters."
The hunter, convinced it was definitely the doing of the Dullahan he had seen, reportedly reported it to the temple and guards numerous times.
So it seemed the rumors spread mixed together early on. However, since the very notion of a monster transforming from an animal was too absurd, it gradually died down.
I asked.
"So what was this beast he claimed to have seen?"
"He said it was a hawk."
"A hawk?"
[Finally, a proper bird has appeared.]
Minté, who had been sitting quietly, remarked casually.
At that, Jigor, who had been crouched like a round ball of fur in the corner of the chair, suddenly flapped his wings.
[Proper bird! What kind of nonsense is that, Minté!]
[What nonsense. Anyone can see a hawk is far more impressive than a waxbill, can't they?]
Tristan, who had been in the corner of the carriage ceiling, shouted with a loud sneer. Mori also poked his head out squirming from the silk pouch.
[W-woow, really cool......!]
[Come to think of it, Mori is a snake? Better hide well so you don't get eaten!]
[D-don't say scary things. Tristan!]
Mori, who had only poked his head out, retorted in a feeble voice. Tristan flew around noisily inside the carriage and replied.
[That depends on who it is. If it's Soana, that's fine, but if it's Dasha, she'll definitely torment you terribly!]
[Ugh......]
So the remaining Dullahans' names are Soana and Dasha.
Judging by the reaction, it seemed the Dullahan named Dasha had a rather fierce personality.
Seeing Mori shivering and retreating into the pouch, Xenon wore a subtle expression.
"Must you really carry a snake in your pocket like that?"
"No venom."
Mori was a snake but had a very harmless appearance. To put it a bit roughly, he even looked insignificant.
It was so bad that we couldn't tell if he was really a snake or an earthworm that looked like a snake, so we even looked through an animal dictionary back when we were at the Roam estate.
"It's a snake whose staple food is ants."
[Cruel Mori! Do you live eating ants?]
Of course, Mori wouldn't eat ants. Originally being a Dullahan, he had no need to eat.
In that sense, Tristan's criticism was just to tease him.
Mori stuck his head out again to counter Tristan. Even Jigor took Mori's side, making the carriage quite noisy.
The Dullahans' chattering sounds wouldn't be audible to Xenon, though.
Xenon, who had been looking back and forth at the waxbill, bumblebee, and snake behaving boisterously, muttered with a sour expression.
"It does look like there's no venom. But wouldn't it be more convenient to put him in the bracelet?"
"This one gets lonely."
I could force him in if I wanted to, but there was no reason to make the child cry just to do so.
"All kinds......"
Xenon seemed to want to say "all kinds of things." However, after meeting eyes with Mori, he quietly closed his mouth.
At his obvious reaction of being conscious of Mori the Dullahan, Samuel clicked his tongue briefly. Then he said in a voice mixed with a sigh.
"Let's continue with the witness's story. She has already reported related contents numerous times. And when the relevant authorities stopped responding, she finally set out to search directly."
Samuel said with a stiff face.
"......She set out to catch the Dullahan herself?"
Even after seeing with her own eyes an animal transform into a monster? What kind of confidence is that?
As I fell silent with an absurd expression, Xenon rubbed his forehead and groaned as he explained.
"That part. I found it strange too so I observed her a bit, and that person is...... a bit strange."
"Strange?"
"She says she discovered the evil God commanded to oppose, so she was appointed as God's apostle. Moreover...... never mind, let's stop."
Xenon, who was about to say something more, soon shook his head and stopped speaking. Even Samuel made a fed-up expression.
Watching the two, a certain realization instinctively came to me.
A ominous realization that collecting this Dullahan would not be easy.
* * *
The Resurrected One was officially missing.
And Roam was receiving great criticism for failing to properly protect the Resurrected One.
In this situation, if I were to reveal my identity as the Resurrected One to even a select few......
'I don't think the secret will be kept.'
Especially if it's that hunter who calls herself God's apostle, she might accidentally let it slip to anyone out of pride.
So we decided to exclude that hunter and quietly search the rocky mountain.
I thought it would be over quickly since Jigor would recognize the place immediately.
That was when I didn't know there were so many traps on the way there.
[Ack!]
Nadav raised his front legs. Perhaps conscious that he was carrying me, he didn't thrash about wildly, but it was enough to startle the rider.
If I hadn't been skilled at riding, I would have lost my balance long ago.
"Are you alright, Lady Anelli?"
Xenon approached in surprise.
"It's a trap. My ankle almost flew off. Please step back a bit more."
Samuel, who examined Nadav's feet, warned in a low voice.
Even without his warning, I had already discovered the steel trap baring its sharp teeth.
It was much larger and more sinister than typical animal traps, looking like it could bite off any monster's leg in an instant.
"It seems continuing forward will be dangerous. If we keep going, someone will get hurt."
"For once, I agree with this mage."
I don't know how many of these traps there have been already.
It wasn't just traps either. Nets, pitfalls, all sorts of obstacles were spread out, so we couldn't even pick up speed, let alone take a single step forward without being cautious.
"It seems general public access to this area has been restricted since monsters emerged from the Lindéa River. Otherwise, they couldn't have installed traps everywhere like it's their own front yard."
If only they were magical traps, Xenon could dispel them all, but unfortunately, what lay before us were items meticulously crafted by the hunter.
Things that couldn't be detected with divine power or magical power.
Literally, things only an expert would know.
"It can't be helped."
Ultimately, the attempt to quietly approach the rocky mountain ended in glorious failure. It was a regrettable time where we only confirmed how sincerely the hunter wanted to catch the Dullahan before turning back.
* * *
Since we failed to break through the traps on our own, we decided to hire a professional hunter as a second option.
We thought that if it were a professional, they could at least clear the path enough for us to pass through, if not dismantle everything.
"I apologize. These traps are the first in my life......"
The man who had confidently proclaimed himself the best hunter in Hali finally shed blood and declared surrender.
"Just looking at it, this is 'Cece's handiwork. Only Cece can dismantle Cece's traps."
I don't know if it's Cece or Chacha, but anyway, it meant he couldn't do it.
We let him go with gloomy faces.
The second attempt also failed.
* * *
"There will be another path."
If the marked road on the map is full of traps and pitfalls, then we can just go around another way, right?
We decided to try creating a path not marked on the map. After all, the goal was to reach the destination, not to walk along the road.
So we advanced with ambition once again.
And we realized why no road had been made in that direction.
"It's a swamp."
"This way is no good either."
Swamp, thorn bushes, cliffs......
There was a reason roads became roads. They became roads because roads could be made.
"I'm just going to collect my subordinate, and it has to be this arduous?"
Indignant anger surged within me. However, no miracle occurred where impassable terrain transformed into passable terrain just because I was angry.
I humbly accepted that the third attempt had failed.
* * *
"Tristan, you can't transform into your true form. You might get caught in troublesome traps unnecessarily."
Transforming into his true form on a path where arrows fly and large holes are dug open would definitely not be a good choice.
At my admonition, Tristan answered boldly.
[I'll return as quickly as possible.]
In the end, I decided to send Tristan the bumblebee, who seemed least likely to be affected by traps among the Dullahans.
The thought was that once Tristan made contact with the new Dullahan and delivered news of me, we could somehow meet.
Since the new Dullahan was said to be able to transform into a hawk, if they knew I was here, they would be able to fly over swamps or cliffs to come to me.
Tristan departed vigorously with everyone's support.