The location of the missing Resurrected One had been discovered. It was the Montell Territory.
Specifically, she was said to have suddenly appeared to catch a Dullahan that had manifested there.
Lilia, who had filed a false report claiming a Dullahan had appeared when none had, just to learn of Anelli's whereabouts, wanted to send assassins after her immediately.
However, circumstances were far from favorable. First, Maxel's condition was poor after the failed subjugation.
"A Dullahan appeared right before our eyes! If I capture it, I can finally overturn all my past mistakes!"
"Your Highness the Crown Prince, I implore you to judge rationally."
Count Ruejak's attitude had subtly changed after the eldest son's accident. He still bowed his head to the Crown Prince, but the warm welcome from before was gone.
Rather, these days he seemed to view them as little more than military dependents. Maxel, distracted by the sudden news of the Dullahan, appeared not to have noticed, but Lilia knew for certain.
Moreover, for some reason, news from the Imperial Palace had ceased.
'Has something happened to Count Hason?'
Count Hason, whom Precy had left by the Emperor's side, had been solidifying his position. Lilia had barely managed to join hands with Count Hason by invoking her connection to Precy.
As it happened, Count Hason had been consumed with rage after learning that Anelli was the one who killed Precy.
Having a common enemy was truly a good thing.
Yet now, there had been no contact from Count Hason for several days. The same was true of Roam.
It seemed Count Ruejak had noticed something, but he would not readily tell Maxel or Lilia anything.
"Count, how can you have no intention of looking after your own territory's people despite their suffering!"
"The Resurrected One has arrived in the territory. Confronting rampant evil is the duty God has bestowed upon that one."
"While the Count makes such stifling remarks, innocent territory residents are being slaughtered by the Dullahan!"
"If we speak of slaughter, has it not already happened once before?"
"What?"
"Have you forgotten in what state you returned after setting out to subjugate the Lizardmen?"
At Count Ruejak's words, Maxel's face flushed red.
These days, he frequently became emotional like that. Lilia found it extremely frustrating.
She had not known during the times when everything proceeded with leisure and success. That he was such an emotional and short-thinking person.
'……Perhaps it's because he hasn't properly experienced adversity?'
Lilia had known that Maxel would become Crown Prince regardless. That was why she had helped him.
She had not wanted to waste time taking difficult detours when she already knew the outcome. Because if Maxel suffered, Lilia who stood beside him would have to suffer together.
That was why. She had crafted easy victories for Maxel.
But seeing things come to this state, doubts arose. Perhaps the easy victories seized without proper struggle had actually hindered Maxel's growth.
"Count Ruejak, refrain from reckless statements!"
"Your Highness the Crown Prince, it is time for me to go check on my son's condition."
Count Ruejak drew a line with some coldness.
Maxel seemed to want to rage at Count Ruejak, but he still needed the Border Count's power to organize a subjugation force, so he did not show it.
If he regretted the lack of troops, he could not afford to fall out with Count Ruejak. Lilia knew this, and Maxel could not be unaware either, so he ultimately withdrew while grinding his teeth.
On the way back to the guest quarters, Maxel walking with long strides asked in an irritated voice.
"Lilia, what of your foresight?"
"What I told you before is all there is."
"Not failure—I mean something hopeful! You said before that I would lead a subjugation force to victory!"
"……The victory of the subjugation force that I foresaw before was not achieved in Montell Territory. We must go to the Trebi Mountain Range."
"Are you telling me to enter a mountain range teeming with monsters, without troops, with my bare body?"
Maxel, his face fiercely contorted, glared at Lilia.
Lilia was just as irritated. Having foreseen failure for the first time in her life, she too was in a sensitive state. Naturally, would she not be?
"The one who wants foresight more than anyone is me."
Lilia retorted in a stiff voice, then took a deep breath.
"Then, Your Highness, what do you think about moving unofficial personnel?"
"Unofficial?"
"I told you there is a merchant group I raised for Your Highness."
She hadn't intended to use the merchant group this way. But there was no choice, was there?
Lilia recalled the message from the merchant group leader who had said, 'Perhaps because of the name Monster Hunter, the Temple is viewing us with subtle eyes.'
The justification that the Crown Prince, currently in Montell Territory, was so concerned for the Empire's citizens' safety that he hired mercenaries with his own funds sounded plausible enough.
"There are mercenaries managed by the merchant group. Externally, they are just small-scale operators."
They would have moved for Maxel to some extent anyway.
The sharp Temple seemed to have moved quickly, fearing their rice bowl of monster hunting would be taken away, but what could they do when a royal was worried about their people?
"They are called Monster Hunters in the world. Thanks to saving people in danger, their name has gradually become known."
"Monster Hunters?"
"Of course, they won't have the power to face a Dullahan. But if they devote themselves to protecting the Empire's citizens by hiring mercenaries, wouldn't those impressed by Your Highness's compassion voluntarily take up swords and gather?"
Maxel wore a sour expression, yet he could not easily dismiss her words.
Lilia, observing Maxel's complexion, carefully reached out and stroked his arm.
"Your Highness. You've faced a Dullahan once, so you must know. They are wicked and cruel creatures. Do you think it's possible to face them alone? Little sister is deceiving everyone right now."
In the past, Maxel would have immediately scoffed, asking what nonsense this was about God's Resurrected One.
But having directly experienced a Dullahan and returned, he no longer spoke that way.
From the beginning, Maxel had intermittently revealed doubts to Lilia after returning from the subjugation in a tattered state. He said he couldn't understand how exactly Anelli had managed the Dullahan.
Furthermore, Anelli had even kept a Dullahan in the backyard of the secondary palace assigned to her.
He had let it pass as just how things were back then, but after seeing Dullahans rampaging, he realized how abnormal Anelli's life in the Imperial Palace had been.
"Little sister came to Montell Territory to catch a Dullahan, you said? If little sister subdues that Dullahan this time too, we can no longer stop her."
It was like speaking to herself. This was a matter that required no foresight at all.
"If little sister resolves the Dullahan in Montell Territory, everyone in the world will worship the Resurrected One as a sacred being."
It was something she could know would happen, that kind of event.
That was why they had to stop it.
* * *
I had said I would stop Dasha publicly, but I hadn't intended for this.
"Resurrected One!"
Hearing the emotional cry, I swallowed back a rising sigh. I had roughly closed the curtains on the window and turned to look at Soana, who sat with folded wings in front of me.
"Dasha must have heard the news of the Resurrected One too, right? Would she guess it's me?"
[Unless they meet face-to-face, I doubt it. That child is…… somewhat simple and short-thinking.]
"……So you're saying there's no effect at all from me revealing my face and walking around like this?"
At my hollow murmur, Zenon, who was sitting beside me, slipped in a word.
"Not entirely. Thanks to that, didn't you stop the righteous paladins who were about to rush in saying they'd kill the Dullahan immediately? It's fortunate you went around openly and warned them not to meddle and ruin things, otherwise those fellows would have been swaggering everywhere long ago."
Zenon shrugged his shoulders and glanced at Samuel sitting in front of him.
"You said you handled the Temple well, but you're no help at all."
"The Temple cannot control activities based on individual paladins' personal convictions."
Right, that was exactly the problem. Activities based on personal convictions.
Fundamentally, paladins overflowing with faith and good hearts had taken up swords, despite the Temple's official directives, wanting to help the Resurrected One stop the Dullahan.
That I ended up revealing my face like this was entirely because of those insufferable paladins!
"Paladins, every single one of them……."
As I muttered without thinking, pressing my forehead, Samuel said with a slightly aggrieved air.
"You must not judge the whole by some of them. Not everyone acts so rigidly."
"You of all people shouldn't be saying that."
"I do not insist on principles."
"Isn't that a dangerous statement in its own way?"
At my rebuttal, Samuel hesitated. He pressed his lips firmly shut as if at a loss for words. I glanced at him and sighed again.
Jigor, who had been sitting on my knee, cautiously chirped while watching my expression.
[Shall we go look around again from here?]
"Will you?"
I lifted the curtain and opened the carriage window. Jigor, in the form of a black warbler, flapped his wings and flew out of the carriage.
Since Jigor was the best at sensing the aura of comrades among the Dullahans, he had ended up taking this role.
There weren't many ways to find Dullahans that appeared randomly without any pattern, destroying everything before disappearing, so ultimately Jigor was going around sensing the aura in the vicinity one by one.
'If it's not my imagination, it seems like the Dullahans have been hiding more cleverly since I revealed myself.'
I hoped it was a delusion, but something about it seemed true, and my head throbbed.
At first I visited destroyed places, but chasing only from behind, it seemed I would have to follow their tails forever.
Moreover, looking at it, there was no case of returning to destroyed locations. Rather, if anything, they moved further away.
"We'll have to wait a moment."
Before I even gave the command, Palides slowly stopped the carriage. He must have seen Jigor fly up into the sky.
As soon as the carriage stopped, someone carefully knocked on the carriage door.
"R-Resurrected One."
Opening the window only halfway, I could see several people standing in simple but neat attire.
They were probably the village chief of this place. Or perhaps the administrator managing the city.
They must have been chasing after the carriage while it moved, and when it stopped, they came running breathlessly. I don't know how many times I've experienced this.
"You are the Resurrected One!"
Upon seeing my silver hair and blue-purple eyes, the other person teared up and clasped both hands together.
I somehow knew what words would come next.
"Please allow us to at least serve you a meal!"
Right, exactly this.
I don't understand why everyone is so anxious to put something in my mouth.