A morning greeted with sleep that barely counted as sleep.
"I was wondering why the Lizardmen attacked, but it seems it was because of Ganik."
As soon as I stepped out of the tent, Palides spoke with shining eyes. Behind Palides, who was in human form, stood the baby Lizardman and Ganik the sea turtle.
"We analyzed it ourselves yesterday. Ganik is the culprit!"
I calmed down Palides, who was speaking excitedly as if he had uncovered some enormous information, and glanced around the area.
I could see some knights moving comfortably, transformed into Dullahans, and others in animal forms.
"Last night, a few salamanders tried to sneak in, so I quickly beat them to death!"
[I was the one who killed them.]
Bark, in his Dullahan form, suddenly interjected. When Bark, who appeared more than twice Palides' size, leaned forward, a shadow fell over my head.
Bark seemed eager to talk about his exploits. However, he missed his chance to boast as Minte immediately cut in.
[You weren't disturbed by the noise, were you? It got a bit rowdy because Bark left his sword behind and swung his fists around crudely.]
"I didn't notice at all."
They probably attacked just before sunrise. That was around the time I finally fell asleep from exhaustion.
"Anyway, we interrogated those Lizardmen! So we found out. This is all because of Ganik."
[Palides, if you report it like that, the Captain won't understand.]
Soana, who couldn't stand it anymore, stepped forward.
[Ganik has been caring for the baby Lizardman for so long that the Dullahan scent has soaked deeply into the child.]
I could see Ganik, who had looked busy playing with the baby Lizardman, glancing this way. He seemed to have noticed the topic of conversation.
[The Lizardmen didn't recognize that baby as one of their own.]
Ah, so they took it as a territorial invasion.
I frowned as I looked at the baby Lizardman.
The baby Lizardman, full of energy from the morning, was happily playing by throwing Ganik into the air and catching him.
What if he drops him and cracks his shell?
[Even if we separate Ganik from the baby, we don't know when the Dullahan scent will fade.]
"So releasing it means it won't be able to survive alone."
Even while flying through the air, Ganik kept glancing this way anxiously. Was he worried I might suggest abandoning the baby Lizardman?
As I touched my lower lip and fell into thought, Soana spoke up.
[Is there really a need to keep bringing it along?]
Soana gazed at the baby Lizardman with indifferent eyes.
[Ganik can't keep playing the guardian forever. We will obtain rest, after all. And then that monster will be alone anyway.]
Hearing this from the side, Palides was aghast and raised his voice.
"Soana!"
[Palides. This isn't something to hush up. Once Dasha joins us, we'll have the chance to complete our authority. That means obtaining rest.]
Those words weren't meant for Palides. It was more accurate to see them as words meant for me. After all, I'm the one who can give the Dullahans their rest.
She probably wanted to say that the one who would end up alone wasn't the baby Lizardman, but me.
Unfortunately, Soana didn't seem to know that I too was destined to be a recipient of that rest.
"But our rest is...."
[The Captain is considering everything. Don't you trust the Captain?]
"Of course I trust him!"
[Good. The Captain said he will complete the final authority, and whatever result that brings, he will happily liberate us.]
Palides didn't answer. Bark, who was nearby, glanced at me as if gauging my reaction, then feigned ignorance and slowly distanced himself. Even Minte couldn't easily interject.
From their reactions, I could tell.
That what the Dullahans thought of as rest was death.
[What's this? Why is the atmosphere like this?]
A black nightingale suddenly popped out, breaking the strange silence. It was Jigor, who had apparently been scouting the surroundings.
Soana spoke to Jigor in a gentle voice as it flew diligently among the Dullahans.
[We were talking about our rest.]
[Rest?]
[The rest we'll obtain when the Captain performs the final authority. Jigor, aren't you also looking forward to the day we're freed from our long lives?]
[Well...]
Jigor, who had landed on Bark's shoulder, tilted his head.
[We'll find out when we get there.]
Jigor's voice sounded innocent.
[We don't know what kind of rest we'll obtain when the final authority is performed.]
Soana hesitated as she gazed at Jigor. Jigor, seemingly unaware of Soana's gaze, turned his head nonchalantly to look at the ground.
[Right?]
[Uh, uh.]
The one who answered Jigor's question was Mori, so small I almost missed him.
He had probably been scouting the surroundings with Jigor. Jigor, who had been crawling toward me, raised his head high once he got close and spoke.
[C-Captain. I will go inside your pocket. I think it would be better for me to stay by your side rather than with the other knights...!]
Neither Jigor nor Mori seemed to be thinking deeply about what conversation the other knights had shared.
[Captain?]
Perhaps my standing there idly looked strange, as Jigor called me with a puzzled voice. Only then did I take out a pocket.
Mori skillfully crawled into the opened pocket. With only his head poking out through the slightly parted opening, Mori looked up at me with shining eyes.
[I will g-guard you.]
"Mori! Guarding the Captain is my job!"
Palides shouted with an aggrieved voice. Then Mori countered with an uncharacteristically stubborn tone.
[P-Palides, you catch the Lizardmen.]
[If Lizardmen show up anyway, Palides will immediately grab his sword and run off! That's what happened last night too!]
When even Jigor took Mori's side, Palides started whining to Minte about having his role stolen.
Bark tried to stop Palides from bothering Minte, but Palides paid him no mind.
Amidst the clamorous mix of Dullahan and animal sounds, Xenon emerged from his tent late, rubbing his half-open eyes.
"Goodness, why is it so rowdy from the morning?"
Xenon shook his head and clicked his tongue at the loudly chattering Dullahans.
"The illusion magic laid around the campsite will lose its effect soon, so let's have breakfast quickly."
I glanced at Xenon, who turned to prepare the meal, and turned away myself. Soana, quietly watching the Dullahans, was a bit concerning, but that was all.
The final authority, rest—those were things we could face only after resolving the situation before us.
* * *
The subjugation party led by Maxwell had set up camp quite far from the Lizardman habitat, their original destination.
Though they had been delayed by some unexpected problems, Maxwell had no intention of dragging things out.
"Dullahans are cursed creations. Could their appearance before us be mere coincidence?"
Maxwell spoke in an excited voice. Despite the injury to the eldest son of the Rueazak family, he showed no sign of intimidation.
Rather, he was somewhat elated. Because this time, a monster worthy of the name "subjugation" had appeared.
"If we can just hunt and kill the Dullahans, the Temple won't be able to say anything!"
Maxwell's eyes shone as he looked at his fiancée, who had come to the camp without any prior notice.
"Lilia, you've also come to foresee my victory, haven't you?"
Before Lilia arrived, Maxwell's immediate concern had been the eldest son of the Rueazak family, who had received emergency treatment.
He couldn't bring the injured man along to fight monsters again, so he needed to find a way to send him back separately.
Of course, the Rueazak family's private soldiers made up a significant portion of the subjugation party... but if he detached them to escort the Rueazak heir, it would be difficult to launch a subjugation with the remaining forces.
But conveniently, Lilia had come to find Maxwell herself. Even bringing guards.
Maxwell thought he could send the injured back with Lilia, while marveling at Lilia's foresight for rushing here knowing of this situation.
"It's fortunate you brought so many guards. One more injured person shouldn't be a problem."
Maxwell smiled with satisfaction as he looked at the guards Lilia had brought. Lilia spoke to him in a serious voice.
"Your Highness, I didn't come for that reason."
"Hm? You didn't come after seeing a vision?"
"...I did see a vision."
After hesitating briefly, Lilia glanced around the area. Even though they were inside Maxwell's personal tent within the camp, she looked around once more, then lowered her voice and spoke quickly.
"You need to stop the Dullahan subjugation."
Maxwell, who had been wearing a pleasant smile, frowned.
"Lilia, what does that mean?"
"Please listen to me, Your Highness. Withdraw for now."
Maxwell, who briefly doubted his own hearing, realized he hadn't misheard and his expression hardened completely.
"The subjugation will fail."
Conviction permeated Lilia's voice.
However, Maxwell couldn't believe it. Before Lilia arrived, a scout had brought news that both the Dullahans and Lizardmen seemed to have suffered heavy losses from their clash.
Even without the scout's report, it was a result he had expected internally. Although the subjugation party had been attacked by unknown assailants near the wetlands, only the Rueazak Count's eldest son and a few soldiers had been injured.
The subjugation force was still intact, and this time they intended to approach the wetlands carefully.
He had also given orders to track the unidentified attackers separately. However, the fact that their trail led toward the wetlands before cutting off suggested they had likely been caught in a territorial dispute between monsters.
"The subjugation will fail?"
That was why Maxwell couldn't believe Lilia's words.