Even while erupting in fury at the audacity of treating the great Tower Master like a monster encyclopedia, Secian diligently answered Xenon's questions.
Xenon, accustomed to his teacher's roaring, casually let it wash over him as he probed for the information he wanted. This kind of exchange seemed quite familiar to them.
And I, sitting across from them, found it utterly fascinating. It was something I'd sensed even back at the imperial palace: Secian seemed to genuinely care for Xenon very deeply.
Of course, Xenon also followed Secian's lead exceptionally well.
"Hmm, I understand for now. Thank you, Master."
—Is that it, now that your business is done? You ungrateful, insolent wretch!
"Why the sudden fuss? We were always the type to only contact each other when there was business to discuss."
—You scoundrel, how dare you! This is exactly why they say raising a boy is useless!
"When did you ever raise me, Master? The Magic Tower raised me eighty percent, and the elders raised me the other twenty percent."
Seeing them converse so freely and intimately made me think the atmosphere at the Magic Tower must be quite harmonious.
Not that I was particularly envious.
Letting the squabble between Xenon, who was ruthlessly trying to end the communication, and Secian, who was busy berating him, flow in one ear and out the other, I reviewed the conversation the two had just had.
They said Lizardmen live in groups and have a particular habit of treasuring their young.
Since group members raise the young through communal parenting, I thought if I took a young Lizardman with me, they would probably accept it well.
'I should tell Ganik to say his goodbyes in advance.'
The young Lizardman had been dragging Ganik around like its personal doll, so their bond must have grown quite strong.
I should summon Ganik during a break on the move and give him a heads-up. Ganik probably didn't intend to raise the young Lizardman until it reached adulthood either.
As I was organizing my thoughts internally, Samuel, who had been quietly silent, suddenly spoke up.
"Have you perhaps heard any news through the Prince?"
"News?"
"Rumors concerning the Crown Prince are circulating in the streets."
Samuel must have heard rumors about Maxel while out replenishing our camping supplies earlier.
I opened my mouth with a nonchalant tone.
"Ah, the monster subjugation?"
At my answer, Samuel nodded and pointed to the map.
"The wetlands are close to the Montel territory."
The Montel territory belonged to the Ruejak Margrave.
Tilting my head as I visually confirmed the spot Samuel pointed to, I said,
"Well, from the Montel territory, the route to target it doesn't look particularly smooth."
Looking at the map, the straight-line distance seemed a bit shorter, but the connecting terrain appeared rugged, making it difficult to approach with troops.
It wasn't a small force either; leading a subjugation unit through there would be anything but flat.
In response to my rebuttal, Samuel said in a calm voice,
"I once pursued a criminal through the Montel territory and its vicinity. In the process, I subjugated the monsters in the area once, so if he intends to earn merit through monster subjugation, he'll target the wetlands even if he has to force his way."
Ah, so the fact there are no monsters near the Montel territory wasn't the Margrave's doing?
A dry exclamation escaped my lips at this newly learned fact.
"...You've lived quite diligently."
Subjugating monsters while in the middle of pursuing a criminal.
Perhaps my voice sounded quite awkward, as Samuel cleared his throat and subtly lowered his gaze. A hint of embarrassment showed on his briefly visible face.
"When monsters appear, reports usually come in to the Temple."
"Right, divine power is good for dealing with monsters."
That's why everyone considers monsters evil creatures. Because they're especially weak to divine power.
The moment I muttered softly, Xenon, who had just managed to cut off the communication with Secian, quickly interjected.
"Magic is also strong against monsters."
"Is that so?"
"Yes."
Magic and divine power were forces that branched off from the authority of life. Wondering if it even mattered to trace such origins now...
I suddenly grew curious if there was some connection to monsters being weak to divine power or magic.
Death cherished all life in the world, and that included monsters and beasts. So, wasn't there some relation?
After pondering for a moment, I shook off the tangled thoughts. That wasn't what I needed to focus on right now.
"Impossible with the private soldiers I have now."
Lizardmen were strong monsters. Wasn't the sea creature that nearly turned Riddle into a wasteland a Lizardman?
If just one could wreak havoc on a village, then a group of Lizardmen would naturally be far more dangerous.
"If he builds up his forces enough to target a Lizardman habitat, Lord Heinri will make an issue of it. He won't even reach the Trevi Mountains and will be put in restraints first."
"Or he might force the subjugation."
Samuel bluntly suggested another possibility.
"He might carry out the subjugation swiftly, establish his military achievements, and try to suppress the suspicions circulating about him in the capital."
"Hmm, in that case, we should head to these wetlands even more."
When I said this nonchalantly, Samuel raised his eyebrows. He seemed to have thought I would avoid encountering Maxel or the subjugation unit he led.
"I thought you didn't wish to be entangled any further."
"Of course, I don't want to be entangled."
The Crown Prince's political life was now a matter of time before it ended. And the person who would handle the remaining work was Heinri, who was running around frantically to restore his own standing in the capital.
Since all the necessary groundwork was done, all I had to do was watch from afar as Maxel, Roam, and Lilia sank together while eating snacks.
"But there's no reason to just stand by and watch the subjugation, is there?"
"You mean... you won't stand by regarding the monster subjugation?"
A hint of subtle doubt was mixed into Samuel's question.
Being a holy knight who had served the Temple's teachings his whole life and lived exterminating monsters, my words about interfering with a monster subjugation probably sounded very uncomfortable to him.
I gave a slight smile to such a Samuel.
"God loves all life without discrimination."
Samuel, who understood which 'God' I was referring to, flinched. Xenon, who had been quietly observing, cleared his throat and hinted subtly.
"The Lizardman habitat has soft ground and many swampy areas, so combat won't be easy. If they try to head toward the center of the habitat, they'll all likely fall into the swamps and struggle. It would be quite a sight to capture that on a crystal sphere and spread it around."
An excellent idea. Delighted, I looked at Xenon, and he shrugged his shoulders, trying hard to keep a straight face.
However, he couldn't hide his triumphant gleam in his eyes.
"I can capture it from a splendid angle with my magic."
Finding Xenon's proud appearance both amusing and cute, I simply nodded as if to say 'go ahead.'
With my permission, Xenon lifted his chin and looked at Samuel with meaningful eyes. Samuel turned his cool face away from him and shifted his gaze out the window.
I didn't know what kind of power struggle they were having, but it was clearly a moment where one could tell Xenon had won.
* * *
Only after we were quite far from Halley did I summon Soana.
Soana, in the form of a hawk, was larger than I had imagined. Putting Soana next to me made the carriage feel quite packed.
Instead, Minte, who had been sitting beside me, moved next to Pallides. I was worried about sending her out lest she fall while sitting in the driver's seat, but Pallides boasted he would drive safely, so I had no choice.
He seemed rather bored from driving the carriage alone.
"Soana, does anything come to mind about Dasha? Or any place she might be, even a guess?"
[Dasha was the most reckless among the knights. I recall the Captain also found Dasha the most difficult to handle.]
Soana answered with a voice tinged with laughter. After a moment of silence as if recalling the past, Soana slowly continued.
[I think Dasha probably hasn't awakened yet.]
"...Hasn't awakened?"
Didn't all the knights open their eyes when I was resurrected?
When I looked at Soana with puzzled eyes, she explained in a calm voice.
[If she had awakened, the world wouldn't be this quiet.]
Somehow, that statement sounded quite ominous depending on how one interpreted it.
Combining Minte's words, who had described her as foolish unlike Bark, and Soana's words now, the knight named Dasha seemed uncontrollable.
[She would have caused trouble long ago. She had a fiery temper by nature.]
Just how fiery was this temper?
I looked at Soana, who was sitting demurely with folded wings, with uneasy eyes, when Mori, who had been curled up inside the silk pouch, timidly poked her head out.
[So, Soana is right...]
Mori lifted her dark eyes to look up at me.
[If, if Dasha had awakened, she would have definitely tried to seek revenge. The Captain couldn't possibly not know Dasha's location.]
"...Revenge?"
When I muttered unconsciously, Xenon and Samuel, who had been sitting quietly to not disturb my conversation with Soana, looked at me.
The two seemed flustered, not understanding the meaning of 'revenge' that had suddenly sprung from my lips.
I was just as flustered. Revenge?
"...Would Dasha also... remember like you?"
Would she awaken with the intent to take revenge on Samuel, who killed her?
Remembering the rampaging Dullahan that charged at us, I felt somewhat daunted. Looking down at Mori with a pale face, Mori hastily spoke.
[That won't be the case! It's, it's just that Dasha...]
[Dasha was a knight who resented God.]
Soana explained on Mori's behalf with a sighing voice.
[To be precise, she was a knight who resented God's impartial love. She was always bursting with anger at all the lifeforms on earth who received that love yet knew no gratitude.]
To think there was a knight who rebelled against the Captain's past advocacy of philanthropy!
My brief joy at the fact that a knight who shared my views had finally appeared was short-lived, due to Mori's gloomy words.
[Dasha did not resist the traitor's attack.]