As Lilia looked around the room she would be staying in, guided by a maid, news arrived that Frijian had come.
"Big sister!"
Frijian had arrived at Immon and immediately set out with several aides to inspect the city's security.
Though she claimed it was for the crown prince's safety, people whispered that she was actually worried about Lilia.
Lilia agreed with their opinion. 'Frijian Roam' cherished 'Lilia' immensely, seeing her as completely different from her own biological brother who had nearly pushed the Roam ducal family into a pit of evil.
To the extent that she would be at the forefront of making 'Lilia' into 'Lilia Roam.'
"So this is the room you'll be staying in? Not bad for something prepared in a hurry."
"That's right. And sister, there's somewhere I really want to go..."
"Ah, I heard about that. You're planning to visit Ridle?"
"Yes. It's a place filled with my childhood memories, so since I'm here, I really want to visit."
At Lilia's gentle words, Frijian nodded.
"Very well, if that's what you want, then you should. As it happens, I have business there as well."
"Really?"
"Yes."
Lilia smiled with her eyes. She was pleased to see her sister making up excuses out of worry for her.
"What a miraculous coincidence!"
"Indeed."
Frijian showed a faint smile. It was such a gentle and tender smile.
"What a miraculous coincidence."
'Everything is returning to how it was.'
Lilia thought so and smiled with satisfaction.
She was now planning to turn Ridle into ruins, but that didn't matter. Now she just needed the sea monster, which had been completely silent, to run wild.
* * *
The one who appeared holding a torch was a resident of Ridle. She was a young girl not yet of age, who said she had come to check on the monster inside the barrier.
「Standing there with long hair hanging down in front of the barrier, she really looked like a ghost...」
「As you can see, I'm human.」
Her pale face actually looked more ghost-like, but I focused on calming her down for now.
Thus, with the girl's help, I managed to get out of the cave and reunite with Xenon and Samuel.
Xenon checked whether he could remove the barrier, but he gave the answer that he couldn't do it immediately here.
"The medium maintaining the barrier is somewhere else. We need to destroy that."
He also added that the barrier was of a type that nullified magic, so my magic tool had become non-functional. It wasn't permanently damaged, but it would take some time to recover its proper functions.
This meant I couldn't bring out Nadav, nor could I change my appearance until then.
Ultimately, I was in a situation where I had no choice but to hide myself until the appearance-changing magic tool worked normally again.
For now, pulling my hood down low, I took the girl to a secluded thicket and questioned her.
"Those aren't bad kids. Even if released, they won't attack the villagers."
"I'll vouch for that."
Fortunately, Samuel's occupation as a 'paladin' had high social trust, making him suitable to stand as a guarantor.
The girl, who introduced herself as 'Mari,' hesitated for quite a while. Then she cautiously explained.
"I, I know too. That the guardian deity inside is kind."
"Guardian deity?"
"Yes. The guardian deity drove away the sea monster, and also drives away other monsters that attack the village."
I had heard that Ganik was recovering his strength after a major battle, so this was probably related to that. The 'guardian deity' story that Zigor had heard about was true as well.
Calling a Dullahan a guardian deity was absurd, yet I somehow felt it was fortunate. It meant they at least didn't see it as a target to be defeated.
"Good, I'm glad you know. Now tell me where the barrier medium is."
"I don't really know what a medium is, but the adults made the barrier..."
"Then take us to the village head for now."
"B, but the village head won't release them."
"What do you mean?"
"The adults want the guardian deity to keep staying in our village."
"...What?"
"Because the guardian deity will keep driving away monsters for us!"
At the absurdity, my mouth fell open on its own. Why should my Dullahan fight monsters for them?
"Report such things to the guard unit."
"Or you could report to the temple. Paladins have excellent ability to detect monsters."
At Samuel's words, Mari lowered her head gloomily.
"A paladin came once... but just left."
"Just left?"
At the incomprehensible words, I tilted my head in confusion, and Samuel, who had been thinking deeply, offered his opinion.
"They must have determined there were no monsters."
"There are monsters! Monsters keep attacking the village!"
"If monster attacks are frequent, you can report to the guard unit and request patrols, can't you?"
"But... when the guard unit or paladins are here, it's quiet..."
"Certainly, paladins can't stay permanently because of monsters that could attack at any time."
At Samuel's words, Mari looked at us with a crying face.
"Without the guardian deity, we'll all die."
I wanted to shout what that had to do with me, but with four of my Dullahans trapped in the barrier, I couldn't just get angry recklessly.
If they perceived me as hostile and hid the barrier medium, it would be a big problem.
"Alright, I understand, so first..."
Looking at Mari with a sour expression, I reluctantly looked toward the village.
"Let's talk to your village head first."
* * *
Samuel, with the highest social trust, took the lead in dealing with the village head. However, considering his stiff personality, it was decided that Xenon would appropriately interject to facilitate the conversation.
With my appearance-changing magic undone, I had no intention of showing myself. I tried not to reveal my presence at all, but worried that being discovered would make me seem more suspicious, I just pulled my hood low and stood quietly in the back like a porter.
Fortunately, the villagers were too distracted by Samuel's status as a paladin to pay attention to me.
Mari, who had spoken with me, also didn't recognize that I was a resurrected one, so thankfully my identity was well hidden.
Of course, hiding my identity well didn't mean things were going smoothly.
"We, we're sorry. This is a matter of our livelihood."
The village head and the residents of Ridle were stubborn.
"Why else would we be like this?"
At their stubborn refusal, Xenon sighed and interjected.
"But there's no guarantee that the Dullahan will keep fighting for this village forever. The previous incidents could also have been coincidences."
"Anyway, without the guardian deity, we're all as good as dead!"
At his unreasonable attitude, Samuel also seemed to feel frustrated. Frowning, he gazed at the village head with cold eyes.
"If monsters are that scary, wouldn't it be better to move to another region entirely? Why do you insist on staying in this area?"
"...W, we are all fishermen. We can't live away from Ridle."
"The fish catch in the sea off Ridle is incomparable to other places. If we leave here, we'll all starve to death."
Other residents also chimed in. There was no room for compromise.
"Whenever monsters appeared, the guardian deity protected us. So we absolutely cannot hand it over."
The village head, who had been shaking his head stubbornly, reluctantly made a proposal.
"Instead, you may take the other monsters trapped there. It's getting late today, so we'll open the barrier tomorrow morning."
As if to decline any further conversation, the village head quickly provided us with lodging. It seemed one of the residents had vacated their house.
They said they were sorry and even prepared a meal for us. It was a generous table, likely prepared with considerable care from their perspective.
Several women who volunteered to serve the meal hovered near our table.
"I'm sorry, but we'd like to eat in peace."
"What? But..."
"Please."
At Samuel's polite request, the women whispered among themselves before reluctantly turning away. Only after they all left did we finally have time alone together.
While Xenon covered each window with curtains, I rummaged through my bag and took out a magic tool.
It was a tool that blocked sound to prevent voices from leaking out when wanting to converse secretly. Only then could I open my mouth, which had been shut for a long time.
"Just what kind of situation is this?"
"Why are they watching us?"
"Furthermore, there's an aphrodisiac in my food."
Samuel looked down at the soup in front of him with disgust in his eyes. Xenon looked at him with wide eyes.
"You knew medicine was put in, but how did you know what kind?"
"The surest way to compromise a paladin is to taint their vow of chastity. I've encountered it often."
"Ha, these people are completely determined."
Obviously, something would be in my food and Xenon's food as well. Whether it's a sleeping pill or poison, I don't know.
Gazing down at the steaming food, I let out a deep sigh.
I just want to retrieve my Dullahans, but these villagers seem to have no intention of cooperating.
"Will they stand guard all night?"
I muttered, glancing at the window curtains, and Samuel nodded.
"They probably will. But it's not difficult to give them the slip and get out."
"The Dullahans trapped inside are the problem."
Xenon, who had spoken as if tossing the words out, looked back at me.
"I didn't find anything special at the village head's house earlier. But if we search, it'll turn up. Since we can detect magic power, we can definitely find it. Let's destroy it and slip out at night."
"But if what the villagers say is true, monsters will attack this place again."
"Do you want to help people who tried to feed you an aphrodisiac?"
"It's not about helping them, it's about understanding the situation. They're hiding something."
"Whatever they're hiding, we just need to get Lady Anneli's subordinates out and leave."
With my arms crossed, I pondered for a moment, then stood up.
"For now, I need to talk to my subordinates again."
I needed to hear from Ganik about this situation. If Ganik had been fighting monsters for these villagers, there must be a reason.