Frijian, having barely regained consciousness, fell asleep again.
'......Loam is finished?'
The Duchess of Loam marched down the corridor, teeth clenched tight.
After being accused of heresy by the Temple, Loam was crumbling rapidly. The Duke of Loam and his vassals were being investigated one after another, and the Duchess was effectively under house arrest.
Naturally, no house stepped forward to help Loam in its desperate situation. There were various reasons, but the biggest was the rumor that they had clashed with the resurrected one.
That the resurrected one was the Duke of Loam's second daughter was something no one took into account.
'Bringing a child of Loam back to Loam being called kidnapping!'
The Duchess of Loam suppressed her rising anger as she headed toward the office.
With the lord absent from his seat for days, she had to step forward to handle urgent matters. Though urgent matters amounted to nothing more than begging for help wherever possible.
"Madam, Madam!"
Just as she was about to enter the office, the butler urgently called out to the Duchess.
"The Crown Prince and Lady Lilia are coming to the capital!"
"How?"
"Th-they were caught by the search party......"
"Ha, they couldn't even escape properly and made things worse?"
The Duchess of Loam let out a hollow laugh. She waved the butler away irritably and stepped into the office.
The documents piled on the desk didn't register at all, so she paced anxiously, biting her lip.
Though she wasn't deeply involved in politics, she could read the general atmosphere well enough.
And from what she could see, the First Prince intended to completely bring down the Crown Prince with this opportunity.
In that process, Lilia would inevitably be entangled. So she needed to sever ties with Lilia, but......
"That cunning one won't die on her own."
The Duchess of Loam, arms crossed anxiously, hesitated.
It reminded her of why she had brought Lilia into Loam in the first place.
"Perhaps......"
Lilia had the power of foresight. Naturally, she would have seen this current situation as well.
Then wasn't her being caught by the search party and coming to the capital now because she had some plan?
A glimmer of hope crossed the Duchess of Loam's eyes. But she soon shook her head.
"No, no."
Relying on Lilia's damned foresight had led to this mess, so she couldn't depend on it again.
......But was there any other way?
Unless one could know the future and act accordingly, how could one navigate such a hopeless situation?
"Hah......"
If Frijian had met Anelli and returned, she might have had something helpful to say, but for some reason, Frijian, having opened her eyes, showed no motivation whatsoever.
She had never thought of her as such a weak child.
It seemed that the near-death situation had made her faint-hearted.
"She'll come to her senses after a little time."
The cards given were few. The only one who might be of use was Frijian. And Lilia, who was said to be coming to the capital......
"Contacting Lilia and checking her condition should be......"
Whether that child was still useful, whether her foresight was worth hearing one last time.
Wouldn't it be good to confirm that much?
The Duchess of Loam cautiously approached the window and lifted the curtain. Her gaze, looking down at the surveillance soldiers surrounding the mansion, sank darkly.
* * *
Samuel's wound was deeper than expected.
In normal circumstances, he would have rested for a day or two for treatment, but Samuel insisted on moving, claiming that since the bleeding had stopped, he was fine.
He added that now that they had entered the castle, delaying a day or two would be meaningless.
The bleeding had been stopped, and as he said, this entire journey would soon end, so there was no need to drag things out.
I agreed with him, and after daybreak, we came back outside.
"Something...... The scenery is a bit different from yesterday."
Zenon said, looking around with a dazed expression.
Indeed, he was right. It was definitely still ruins, but how should I put it. Should I say it became cleaner?
"After the battle in the past, buildings collapsed and it was very cluttered. If it had been like yesterday, it wouldn't have been easy to advance, but fortunately, it seems the things that once took root in this land are returning."
Samuel, who seemed uncomfortable with one arm as he shrugged his shoulder unnaturally, explained casually.
If his words were true, then the wild animals I saw last night were the creatures that had once taken root in this land.
Then did those animals clear away the debris of broken buildings to open the path?
[Ah, it's not just us who are waiting for rest.]
Morri, seeing my skeptical expression, added haltingly.
[Many, many living beings waited for the final authority in the past as well.]
"Many living beings?"
Come to think of it, Morri was a knight who pitied all weak things in the world.
As I quietly looked down at Morri, he lowered his gaze and spoke.
[Yes, yes. All living beings who can hear the Captain's voice.]
I blinked, about to ask something, then closed my mouth.
I would find out anyway if we kept going, so there was no need to ask beforehand.
"......"
Instead, I quietly looked beyond the path, recalling last night.
The conversation we had briefly after returning to the building and examining Samuel's injury.
「You said you want to know the approximate locations.」
「Yes.」
「Is it to give them faster rest?」
When I asked for the locations where Dullahans were killed, Samuel asked back.
That question felt like he was asking if I was looking for the optimal route.
So I felt a bit...... put off.
「I just want to know in advance.」
At my answer, Samuel fell silent for a moment. He lowered his gaze, lost in thought.
Then he answered slowly.
「I don't remember exactly the spots where the knights died. Back then, cutting down those blocking my way and reaching you was most important. The clearest memory remaining for me is......」
[Captain, please get on my back.]
The continuing memory was cut off with a snap by Nadav's voice. Belatedly noticing the surrounding gazes, I let out a low sigh seeing the Dullahans' worried looks.
It seemed that my collapse yesterday had worried them.
"No, it's not that bad."
[But due to last night's rain, the ground hasn't fully dried. It will be difficult to walk.]
"I climbed up the mountain slope, so this much is fine. It's okay."
I lightly stroked Nadav's mane in gratitude.
Feeling the texture of the fur tangling in my hand, I turned my gaze forward.
The open前方 stretched inward. Beyond that, the inner wall was visible, and above it, the main tower rose imposingly high.
Was that main tower where I needed to reach? By the time I reach that place, how many knights would remain by my side?
「It is you who stood alone at the end of this path.」
Perhaps I, too, would stand alone.
* * *
"With this scale, it would have been almost like a village."
Zenon, looking around, murmured as if talking to himself. I agreed with Zenon's opinion.
With this scale, it would be no exaggeration to say an entire village had existed inside.
[Yesterday it was hard to find even a single insect, but in just one night, so many friends have gathered!]
[Ugh, Tristan. Are you really attracting bugs?]
[Not bugs, I said insects!]
Tristan laughed heartily at Minte, who was grimacing.
It seemed that not only animals had returned to this place last night.
Tristan was overjoyed, saying that finally friends who would look around this castle for us had appeared, and Minte was earnestly pleading with him not to attract disgusting bugs.
"It's amazing that insects increased overnight."
[Haha, it's because life has started sprouting from the earth again. Soon Belladia Castle will be abundant with even more life!]
A black, plump bumblebee fluttered and landed somewhere.
It was on a blade of grass peeking out from between building debris.
[You were hiding under here, hello there!]
It seemed he found an insect, but no voice was heard. It was because Tristan had raised his voice too excitedly.
[Argh, don't swing at me! I'm your friend!]
"Tristan, what's there?"
[Ah, a mantis......]
"......Don't harass innocent insects for no reason, come here."
If I went up to a mantis and called it a friend, I'd probably just get pinched by its front legs.
At my words mixed with a sigh, Tristan let out a regretful lament.
[I was going to give a gracious opportunity to help our Captain! Such a foolish friend!]
[Did you catch stupidity from Bark too?]
Minte scolded Tristan in a pathetic voice. Then Tristan answered with a straight face.
[......That's too harsh, Minte!]
Whether Tristan was genuinely hurt, he stuck closely to Nadav, who was walking farthest from Minte.
After a moment of hesitation, I heard Minte apologize to Tristan, saying 'that was too much.'
And Bark, who had been listening to all this conversation right beside them, muttered in an aggrieved voice.
[What's wrong with me?]
Listening to that chatter, a small sigh of relief escaped me unconsciously.
There was no special reason. It was just that, for now, the fact that it was still this noisy gave me a sense of stability.
As we were almost past the residential area, a well appeared. Despite the rain last night, the bottom of the well was completely dry.
"Huh? Is that a field?"
I was casually looking down the well, wondering if someone's head might be there, when Zenon called out to me loudly.
Where he pointed was a fairly wide open space.
Not an empty lot created by something collapsing like the places we had passed, but land that had been empty from the start.
Behind it, what looked like a storage building with black charred marks sat there.
Zenon stopped me from approaching and strode forward to check.
"This was probably...... a food storage."
Zenon, who had been digging through the debris, stood up with something in his hand.
In his blackened hand were small seeds. Seeds presumed to be grain.
"Ah."
Samuel, seeing the seeds, stiffened his expression with a strange look.