Soahna accepted without difficulty the fact that we had to leave immediately, even as she worried about the baby hawks.
In other words, she was a knight who, like Mori, possessed compassion, yet rendered rational judgments.
[I’ve told them everything I can, so the rest is up to them.]
Soahna firmly pushed away the baby hawks that had followed her down to the surface, unable to endure even a single night. The baby hawks whined from early dawn, waking me, Xenon, and even Samuel before returning. Thanks to that, we were able to prepare to leave early.
I was in a somewhat frayed state, having failed to get enough sleep. Judging by the dark circles under Xenon’s eyes, he too looked quite exhausted.
But waking up early wasn’t entirely a bad thing.
“Did you catch the Dullahans?”
It was because Chetche, her eyes bloodshot, had gone so far as to show up at the crack of dawn.
Since I had woken early and already sent the Dullahans into subspace, I found myself secretly breathing a sigh of relief.
For now, I stroked the mane of Nadav, who was disguised as an ordinary horse, and turned away from Chetche. I checked to see if she might have a way to distinguish Dullahans, but it seemed she hadn’t caught on to Nadav’s true identity.
*Well, it would be absurd for an ordinary person to recognize a Dullahan transformed into an animal.*
Soahna had inevitably been caught because she transformed in an unusual manner, but Chetche wouldn’t be able to recognize other ordinary Dullahans.
Convinced that Chetche knew nothing, I decided to withdraw my attention from her and focus on preparing to leave.
“We didn’t come to catch Dullahans. We merely came to investigate the area.”
Xenon and I treated Chetche as if she were completely invisible. So naturally, dealing with Chetche fell to Samuel.
At Samuel’s words, Chetche bit her lip and forced strength into her voice.
“The temple said they never sent an investigator!”
Huh?
“You’re really from the temple?”
“I am indeed a paladin affiliated with the temple. Did I not already show you my identification badge?”
Despite Samuel’s words, full of displeasure, Chetche did not back down easily.
“Liar! I went to the temple and checked yesterday!”
No wonder she had gone back so obediently under Samuel’s guidance—turns out she hadn’t gone home but to the temple instead. I didn’t need to hear more to guess the rest. Obviously, the temple must have said they didn’t send any investigator.
I didn’t know the details, but generally, a temple investigator would first secure the cooperation of the local temple to operate smoothly. If an official investigator had been dispatched, the local temple here couldn’t have been unaware. Though I didn’t know if there were exceptions.
“I belong to the Great Temple. A small-city temple like this wouldn’t know all the affairs of Great Temple paladins.”
“Hmph, I won’t be fooled anymore! I may be a country hunter, but I know what I need to know! You’re actually monster hunters, aren’t you? You came to steal the Dullahan I found, right?”
The words *monster hunter* came out of Chetche’s mouth once again.
It seems to be a newly emerged profession these days….
“I know all about the Yusgel Merchant Guild backing you! You think you can gloss this over, but you don’t know how scary the Halli Merchant Union is…!”
I had been listening to their conversation with my back to Samuel and Chetche, and I froze.
“What relationship do monster hunters and the Yusgel Merchant Guild have?”
I cut off Chetche, who had been raising her voice with great momentum, and butted in.
Chetche flinched at my sudden interruption, her expression hardening. She seemed to recall the moment I had grabbed her by the collar and shoved her.
Just when she seemed about to shrink back, perhaps furious that she had been momentarily overpowered by me, her face turned even fiercer.
“What do you mean, what relationship! It’s about money! But other merchant guilds’ guards could fight monsters too if they set their minds to it! You might be thriving now, but how long do you think that will last? You think they’ll stand by and watch you running rampant in someone else’s sphere of influence?”
“Is the Yusgel Merchant Guild raising mercenaries to hunt monsters?”
“Y-you can pretend not to know…!”
“Just answer what you’re asked.”
When I took a step toward Chetche, she reflexively stepped back the same distance. I stared at her coldly and asked again.
“I’m asking if the Yusgel Merchant Guild is raising mercenaries.”
“E-everyone who should know knows that monster hunters belong to the Yusgel Merchant Guild.”
I stared at Chetche, who answered in a voice with much of her momentum drained, and furrowed my brow.
The head of the Yusgel Merchant Guild was Lilia’s collaborator. He was someone who had found gold veins alongside Lilia and grown the merchant guild into one of considerable scale.
He was one of the men I had cast as Lilia’s secret lover in the rumors I spread.
*The Yusgel Merchant Guild is raising hunters to catch monsters?*
Naturally, that was the result of Lilia’s intervention. And the reason for raising monster hunters was likely….
My heart grew cold.
* * *
Having confirmed that the baby hawks were circling the rocky mountain, Chetche seemed inclined to believe our claim that we hadn’t caught the Dullahan.
Later, hearing the full story from Soahna, it turned out Soahna had released the baby hawks that Chetche had caught.
Chetche seemed to think that Soahna was still hiding on the rocky mountain, attached to the baby hawks.
As soon as we left, she began setting the traps she had dismantled again. Leaving her abandoned to her futile dreams, we decided to leave Halli as quickly as possible.
Having returned to Halli to replenish our lacking supplies and prepare for a long-term expedition, Xenon and Samuel temporarily left to buy what they each needed.
I waited for the two in the carriage and briefly communicated with Heinley. It was to hear about the atmosphere in the capital from him.
*—The conflict between Kendal and Roam is becoming prominent.*
The information Heinley conveyed was quite welcome.
*—Count Roam publicly reprimanded Baron Kendal. Everyone suspects it’s because he tried to lure Roam’s heir, but to me, it didn’t feel like that was the reason.*
“Your guess is probably correct. It seems Sister Frijian has made her move.”
I had given Sister Frijian a few of the secret documents found in Roam’s study, pretending to do her a favor.
She had recognized those documents at a glance. She probably understood their contents even better than I did.
So she would know well how to use them.
*—The surveillance that followed you around like a criminal during your stay at the palace should soon be loosened as well.*
“Well, not bad timing.”
I didn’t know if Roam was searching for me after my disappearance, but if on top of fighting with Sister Frijian he began receiving suspicions of kidnapping the Resurrected One, he would have no energy left to spare for me.
And probably to overcome this situation… he would try to help with Maxell’s reinstatement even more actively.
*—Have you heard news of Maxell?*
“Is there news from him too?”
*—Urgent news arrived that he subjugated a monster habitat. Rumors spread faster among the imperial citizens than news reaching the palace—have you not heard?*
That was unexpected news. After a moment of stunned silence, I slowly opened my mouth.
“…Monster subjugation?”
*—Yes. It seems he negotiated smoothly with Count Ruejak. His Majesty finds it admirable that the Crown Prince went to the front lines himself to wash away the divine wrath.*
I too knew that Lilia was using Maxell to subjugate monsters and build merit. It was something I had been able to confirm from the prophecy Lilia had written.
But as far as I knew, her target had been the Trebi Mountain Range. Count Ruejak’s territory should be quite far from the Trebi Mountains.
“Surely he hasn’t reached the Trebi Mountain Range already?”
*—No, the subjugated area was around Count Ruejak’s territory.*
“I was under the impression there were no monsters around Count Ruejak’s territory.”
*—They were not nonexistent, but merely in hiding. Maxell returned with monster corpses as trophies, so rumors spread in an instant, or so I’ve heard.*
So he had sought out and killed monsters that had been deliberately hiding from humans, then displayed them.
My face naturally furrowed in displeasure.
The monster hunters of the Yusgel Merchant Guild, and Maxell’s warmongering conduct….
It seemed Lilia didn’t intend for Maxell’s monster subjugation to end as mere war games.
Perhaps they were truly serious about hunting all the monsters. Even if not specifically the Trebi Mountain Range, monsters living within the empire might all become targets.
“Then, Lord Heinley, you must hurry to persuade His Majesty.”
It was regrettable that my prediction—that Maxell would build up more troops and begin subjugation under the confidence of his own safety—had been off, but it couldn’t be helped.
However, that didn’t mean I should simply let it go.
Was there any reason to leave Maxell be as he went around slaughtering monsters? If he had moved faster than expected, I simply had to match his speed.
But this time, Heinley’s thoughts differed from mine.
*—I intend to wait a bit longer.*
Hearing his answer, my brow furrowed.
“Why?”
*—Maxell’s forces are weak. At that level, he won’t be able to root them out in one go.*
“But did you not say he has begun monster subjugation?”
*—Once he tastes minor victories, he’ll soon become intoxicated with the desire for greater glory. Nobles seeking to ride on his shallow fame will rashly join him.*
“Are you saying you will turn a blind eye to his future successes in monster subjugation for that purpose?”
*—I don’t wish to repeat foolish mistakes. I believe you know that the optimal moment is predetermined.*
Of course, I knew.
To transform the monster subjugation force into an army of traitors, they first had to be threatening.
Though he received military aid from the Count, the soldiers Maxell currently led probably weren’t at a level to worry about civil war.
To prove Maxell’s treasonous intent, he needed to be more threatening—by showing Roam actively intervening, for instance.
I knew. I knew it.
“But….”
*—Is it that you dislike him being praised for succeeding in monster subjugation?*
“That’s not it.”
The praise of imperial citizens was nothing but fickle noise.
When I denied it firmly, Heinley immediately changed his question.
*—If not that, are you worried about the monsters being subjugated?*