Veladia was composed of double walls. An outer wall connected by a drawbridge, and an inner wall protecting the main towers.
And in the space between them existed several facilities and residential districts.
Unlike the walls, which maintained their complete form, a significant number of the buildings in the residential districts were damaged.
"Unexpected."
At least from the outside, it had looked intact, so I naturally assumed the interior would be the same.
Xenon, who had been looking around, habitually checked Anelli's complexion. Ever since she used her divine power on Ganik, her face had remained pale.
"You really should rest a bit."
"I'm fine."
"You don't look fine at all."
Despite Xenon's firm words, Anelli wore an unconcerned expression.
She might be desperately telling herself she's fine. She was certainly the type to do so.
Or perhaps she truly believed she was fine.
"The descent from the mountain was rough, and the journey here was longer than expected. It would be fine to sit and rest for a moment."
Instead of pointing out her potentially unstable emotions, Xenon reminded her of the arduous path they had taken to reach this place.
"To be honest, my legs are a bit sore too."
When he added this feigned complaint under his breath, Anelli paused.
After showing a brief, thoughtful expression, Anelli finally nodded.
Fortunately, among the damaged buildings, there were a few intact ones, so they chose a sound building to rest in for a while.
Whether it was a good thing to grant her a slight reprieve from her remaining farewells was uncertain.
However, Xenon did not wish for her to stubbornly try to process all of this at once.
Because these were not farewells to be bundled together and fiercely resolved.
Moreover, everyone deserves ample time to accept a farewell.
* * *
When they visited Febrin Monastery, the Dullahans had been busy, joyfully recalling forgotten memories.
But now, having arrived at Veladia Castle, the Dullahans were not as purely joyful as before.
Through Dasha and Ganik, who had gone ahead, they had learned what they would receive here.
[Someone must have guarded this place.]
[Yes, just as Ganik guarded the castle gate.]
Bark, in the form of a black bear, and Tristan the bumblebee, perched on his head, murmured to each other as they surveyed the residential district.
While Anelli rested briefly, they had come out to scout the vicinity in advance.
As usual, whenever they camped, the Dullahans who were available at the time would pair up to patrol the surroundings, so this time too, they intended to scout this place where anything might lurk.
The difference from usual was that this time, almost all the Dullahans had poured out.
Even Mori had been kidnapped, silk pouch and all.
There were likely several reasons, but a major intention was to have their own conversation about this situation. It was less that someone took the lead and more an atmosphere that had naturally formed.
[Mori, how did you know Ganik guarded the castle gate?]
Zigore, who had been sitting with folded wings next to Tristan, suddenly turned his head.
[Uh, huh?]
Mori, who had been poking only his head out of the pouch and looking around incessantly, jumped in surprise and looked back at Zigore.
It was Pallides who spoke instead of Zigore, who was hesitating and delaying his answer.
"Since long ago, Mori had a better memory than you, Zigore, right?"
[What? Pallides! Come out and fight me right now!]
As Zigore puffed up his feathers and issued what he considered a threatening challenge to battle, Pallides snorted.
"I don't fight insignificant pipits."
[Eek!]
Zigore flapped his wings as if he would transform immediately.
But even as black smoke billowed out, Zigore did not transform into a Dullahan.
It wasn't just Zigore. Among the Knights of the Round Table present here, not a single one was in their Dullahan form.
It wasn't that they couldn't transform.
They were afraid that upon returning to their true forms, they might unwittingly regain their heads and meet their rest.
The rest they had waited for so long, yet now that it was right before them, they were afraid.
[Your head probably isn't here.]
[I know. I would have stayed by the Captain's side until the very end!]
While boldly retorting to Minte, who had hinted at it, Zigore ultimately did not transform.
No one mocked Zigore as a coward for that. They just pretended not to notice and averted their gaze.
Soana, who had been gazing at the Dullahans with gentle eyes, descended onto Nadav's saddle and looked at Mori.
[Mori, do you remember by any chance? Who was guarding this place?]
At Soana's sudden question, Mori's eyes widened. Mori reflexively glanced at someone and then quickly hid his head back in the pouch.
The movement was so swift that the other Dullahans, busy making noise, didn't notice Mori's unnatural silence.
Only Soana realized who Mori's gaze had briefly touched.
Soana did not voice what she had noticed. Instead, she quietly observed the Dullahans.
[Honestly, I didn't know our rest would begin like this.]
Tristan, who had been contributing to the noise by engaging in meaningless bickering with Zigore, suddenly spoke up.
[I thought I would be given a little more time...]
"Actually, me too. We had just all gathered, and now we have to part immediately."
Pallides nodded in agreement with Tristan's words. Her voice, sinking gloomily, revealed her mood.
With her words, silence fell among the Dullahans. Soana, who had been quietly watching the heavy atmosphere spread rapidly, calmly broke the silence.
[It's the rest we've been waiting for all along.]
It was her usual affectionate voice, yet with a firm tone.
[Everyone, you've endured until now for that, haven't you?]
"I... I'm not sure."
Pallides answered hesitantly.
"I haven't even been boating with the Captain once."
After failing at boating a couple of times and being disheartened, Anelli had once comforted Pallides.
Back then, she said she would later introduce, through Xenon, a mage from the Magic Tower proficient in weight-reduction magic.
Then, she said, even in heavy armor, it wouldn't hinder boating.
Perhaps that was just a consolation to get through that moment. Pallides was easily swept up by emotions, and Anelli always worried about that.
But Pallides was happy even with just the words. And she remembered it always, often boasting to the other Dullahans.
[We went boating a lot in the old days, though.]
Despite Soana's words, Pallides's slumped shoulders showed no strength.
"That was the Captain of the old days."
[It's not like you've never done it, so the regret...]
"No. It's completely different."
Pallides shook her head.
"I haven't done it with the Captain now. The Captain doesn't know at all how good I am at fishing. Doesn't know how well I can row either."
[Come to think of it, I haven't shown my brave side either! All he's seen is me beating up mere Lizardmen! I'm a knight who instills terrible fear in the enemy from the vanguard!]
Zigore abruptly cut in, fluttering. He flapped his wings so roughly in his urgency that several feathers flew off and fell to the ground.
Bark, brushing off Zigore's feathers stuck in his fur, shrugged his shoulders and said.
[If it's combat, I'm the expert! If he saw my sparring, he'd entrust me with guard duty right away!]
[Bark, learn some tact. You fool.]
Bark, who had been puffing out his chest triumphantly, sulked at Minte's pointed remark and hung his head.
Then this time, Tristan shouted in a cheerful voice.
[It would still take quite some time for the current Captain to appreciate my charm!]
[You, stop attracting bugs. Surely you haven't summoned bugs all the way here?]
[Oh, Minte. Bugs? The precise term is insects. How sad would they be to hear that?]
The mood, which had been gloomy for a moment, became noisy again.
Soana watched the Dullahans with a peculiar gaze, and Nadav, who had been silent, called to her in a low voice.
[Soana.]
The Dullahans, chattering noisily as they crossed the residential district, were growing farther away.
It was because Nadav, carrying Soana on his back, who had been walking slowly, came to a complete stop.
[We are not the goddess's puppets now. The thread of our birth was severed long ago.]
Soana answered, her gaze fixed on the receding backs of the Dullahans.
[That we fell asleep in this state...]
[Was to meet the Captain.]
Soana closed her beak. As if to deny her own words, Soana remained silent, and Nadav lightly shook his head.
With a *whoosh* of his mane, his indifferent voice continued.
[Despite the fact that he is not the Captain of old, he brought us, who had lost our heads, all the way here. So you should trust him too.]
[I... trust your devotion.]
[Our devotion is possible because the Captain exists.]
[Nadav. We are facing our rest anyway, so there's no need to start an unnecessary argument.]
As Soana said, no matter what the Dullahans discussed or what views they clashed over, the result they would meet was the same. The rest they would receive after a long, long wait.
The reward for devotion they should have received long, long ago.
At Soana's words, Nadav lightly tapped the ground with his front hoof. He wasn't trying to deny her words.
[Yes, we are facing our rest. And whatever form the knights accept it in, that is their will. Even if it is not the form you imagined.]
The Dullahans making clumsy excuses and finding reasons to somehow remain by the Captain's side—no one ordered or forced them to do that.
It was impossible to tell if Soana understood the meaning within Nadav's words. She merely maintained a quiet silence.
[What? Soana! Nadav! What are you doing there?]
The Dullahans who had gone ahead belatedly noticed the lagging Soana and Nadav and called out to them loudly.
Soana, sitting on Nadav's saddle, slowly spread her folded wings. With just a couple of wingbeats, Soana's body floated up.
She flapped her large wings and flew up into the overcast sky.
Nadav, who had glanced at the soaring Soana, resumed his steps which had paused for a moment.
[Yikes, is it starting to rain?]
Tristan's noisy cry was heard, saying his wings shouldn't get wet. Indeed, dark-colored raindrops began to multiply one by two on the ground.
It was time to return to their Captain.