I reflexively turned to look at the Dullahans after confirming the change in Samuel's expression.
If it was something that would make Samuel react, I thought it could only be related to a battle with the Dullahans.
Whether it was unfortunate or fortunate, the Dullahans appeared calm on the surface. They were chattering away with trivial bickering, showing no particular signs of anyone having regained their head.
But hadn't Pallides also acted ignorant after regaining his head?
"Is there any knight here who remembers anything about this place?"
At my question, everyone looked at each other with bewildered eyes. Even Mori.
"Mori."
[Uh……. S-sorry, Captain. To my knowledge, no knight fought a traitor here…….]
Had I been too sensitive in interpreting Samuel's reaction?
Tilting my head in thought, I observed Samuel's expression. Samuel's gaze was fixed on the burned food storage.
He wasn't the type of man to stare blankly like that without reason.
"It seems they used this land as a communal vegetable garden. There were half-burned farming tools left inside the storage."
Xenon, who had been looking around a bit more, drew his own conclusion.
Given the size of the castle, this level of farming for self-sufficiency would have been necessary.
Being those who lived in hiding, they might have preferred farming in a safe, albeit cramped, place rather than wandering outside the castle walls.
Anyway, if it had no connection to the Dullahans, there was no need to linger.
I turned away without hesitation. Or rather, I tried to.
“……When did that appear?"
"Indeed."
I stared intently at the thing poking its head out from inside the burned storage. It was also staring at us with wary eyes.
A small dwarf-like monster with brown skin resembling a mole's appearance, but standing on two legs unlike a mole.
That thing, glaring at me with flashing white eyes, was a Hobgoblin.
[Kharuk, intruders.]
A hoarse, grating voice, as if clearing phlegm, flowed out.
"It doesn't seem to like us very much."
"Yeah, you understood that perfectly."
To my knowledge, I'd heard Hobgoblins mainly settle in ruins abandoned by humans.
Veladia Castle, being empty, was essentially no different from ruins, so it wouldn't be strange if Hobgoblins had made their home here.
"But, Lady Anelli. Do you know something?"
Without taking his eyes off the Hobgoblin, Xenon cautiously parted his lips.
"Hobgoblins originally live in groups."
The Hobgoblin, which had been glaring fiercely with its head poked out, stealthily emerged. It was not alone.
Not only from the storage, but heads also popped out from the surrounding ground, and figures revealed themselves from under the debris.
"They're omnivorous, you know? They eat people too."
Xenon, speaking rapidly with a pale face, stealthily grabbed the hem of my sleeve.
"Can't we resolve this through conversation?"
"What's there to be so afraid of for someone who will become the master of the Magic Tower?"
"They're incredibly petty inside. Once you make an enemy of them, the whole group chases you until death. It's best not to provoke such things."
[Intruders, intruders!]
[Krrruk.]
As the Hobgoblins swarmed out, the Dullahans sharply raised their momentum.
The knights, who had been in animal forms all along, returned to their threatening Dullahan true forms.
[How dare you fail to recognize the master of the castle!]
The enraged Bark roared with a thunderous voice. Rather than being frightened by that shout, the Hobgoblins cunningly rolled their eyes, gradually keeping their distance as they observed us.
Some even stretched their lips sideways, showing what seemed like sneering expressions.
[There are more than I thought.]
Minte, standing next to Bark, muttered in an irritated voice. As Minte said, there were more Hobgoblins hiding than expected.
[Perhaps there are still more hiding.]
Soana, who had calmly flown up to survey the surroundings, spoke.
The castle was vast, and the area we had explored was only a part. It was impossible to know how many of these Hobgoblins were hiding……
"We could just ignore them and enter the inner castle."
As if sensing my dilemma, Xenon subtly suggested.
"We can set up a barrier with magic to prevent their approach. It seems the path connecting to the inner castle is only in one place."
As Xenon said, the path leading up to the inner castle was a single uphill road that passed by the well.
With Xenon's magic, blocking that single path to make it a dead end wouldn't be difficult.
"If you don't bother us, we won't bother you either."
I first attempted to converse with the Hobgoblins. The Hobgoblin tilted its head, listening to my voice.
"If you withdraw from there, we will also leave this place soon."
[Kyarruk!]
An unpleasant cry flowed out. The gleaming eyes still rolled cunningly, and sticky saliva dripped from between its parted lips.
[Food.]
[Intruders, food!]
[Our territory!]
"What are they saying?"
Xenon, who had been watching the Hobgoblins making constant phlegmy sounds with a sour expression, whispered in a low voice.
Suppressing the nausea rising from just the sound, I answered.
"They refuse."
Although they couldn't form clear sentences, judging by those cunningly gleaming eyes, they didn't seem to have low intelligence at all. They also seemed fearless.
To speak of food so nonchalantly even with Dullahans present, they truly had to be considered bold.
Feeling annoyed, I clicked my tongue softly, but Samuel, who had been silently watching the Hobgoblins, spoke decisively.
"They must be killed."
"What?"
"Those things deserve death."
"Hobgoblins?"
Did the Temple designate Hobgoblins as harmful monsters?
Certainly, monsters that catch and eat people could likely be designated as harmful.
However, the basis for Samuel speaking like that now didn't seem to be the Temple's rules.
Rather…… wasn't it related to that strange reaction he had when looking at the food storage earlier?
"Do you know what those are?"
Samuel, who had already drawn his sword, answered while invoking divine power.
"They are followers of Birth."
“……Huh?"
Surprised by the unexpected answer, I widened my eyes, and he glanced at me. A faint guilt and self-loathing lingered in his indifferent eyes.
"I opened the castle gates for them once."
Samuel, who had looked at me briefly, turned his gaze back to the Hobgoblins.
"And they destroyed this place. They set fire to that storage and poisoned the well."
Recalling that time, Samuel's face briefly contorted.
"The followers of Birth were Hobgoblins?"
"Of course, they weren't like that from the beginning, but I believe they survived like that within the twisted providence. How could only the flawless ones wait, seeking rest through the final authority?"
The moment I heard those words, the ghosts I met at the monastery came to mind. Those ghosts were traces of Birth but said they desired rest.
"Due to the failure of the authority, the two gods lost the power to control the world. They are followers of Birth, abandoned by their god and waiting long for rest. Just like……."
After a brief pause, Samuel concluded in an even quieter voice.
"Like the Round Table knights in the form of Dullahans."
I frowned. Strangely, I felt as if Samuel was somewhat… envious of the Dullahans.
Envy, what a ridiculous emotion. Samuel had neither reason nor qualification to harbor such a feeling.
Shaking off the unnecessary thought that had momentarily arisen, I asked again.
"If they desire rest, why are they attacking?"
The reason I came to Veladia Castle like this was all to perform the final authority. So if they desired rest, they should cooperate.
Instead of bowing gratefully and laying out a path of flowers before me, they look at me with such impure eyes?
"Because the long time must have driven them mad. Now they are just monsters driven by instinct."
But all my Dullahans were perfectly fine?
……Except for Dasha.
As if guessing the thought I hadn't voiced, Samuel added calmly.
"The reason the Dullahans lost their heads was so they could sleep without going mad over the long time. Didn't you see last night how those who regained their heads couldn't endure for long?"
My mood plummeted as Pallides, whom I had been trying not to think about, was mentioned.
I pressed my lips tightly and turned my gaze forward. Hobgoblins. Followers of Birth, he says.
So, annoying as it is, should we kill them all? But when will we find and kill them all? Should we just sweep them away with a wide-area magic spell?
If we did that, the buildings that were still somewhat intact would likely be ruined. I don't want that…… but it's still better to sweep them away at once than to make a fuss searching for them one by one.
"I'm not sure if this will help your decision."
As I was fiddling with the magical artifact bracelet and pondering, Samuel spoke again.
"There is a knight who, because he was busy blocking them, couldn't fight me properly when we finally met and was defeated."
I instinctively understood that the knight Samuel was talking about was the next Dullahan to regain his head.
Perhaps a knight who would soon part ways with me somewhere not far from here.
I was about to ask who it was.
[A~h~go~od~you're~here~!]
A resonant voice echoed through the sky.
Startled by that all-too-familiar voice, I looked up with dazed eyes.
Against the sky, which looked particularly high and clear due to yesterday's rain, something large was flying.
"Huh……!"
Xenon, who had followed my gaze, made an absurd expression.
Even Samuel, who had been seriously recounting past events with a grave face, looked at the sky with an incredulous expression at this moment.
[You~too~k~so~long!]
[Brother, brother! Let's go together!]
[We need to move quickly~! Shouldn't we arrive first and claim a good nest~?]
As I stared blankly at the sky with my mouth agape, Zigore exclaimed with delight.
[They're the birds that helped me, Captain!]
……Uh, yeah.
I can see that.
But why are you appearing here?