By Zephyria 
Shayden, who had been answering readily, froze.
His shoulders slumped, he let out a sigh, and then pressed his palms against his cheeks and cheekbones, his regret palpable. Everyone watched Shayden’s demeanor. Shayden took another deep breath and looked around with a troubled expression.
“That’s… what I wanted to ask you all. Wasn’t it in the Magic Territory?”
Hadn’t he already been shattered to pieces and devoured by the Thousand-Faced Devil and Soho Cheon-nyeo?
No matter how vast the Magic Territory was, he and I were both searching for the same fragment. How could he be nowhere in sight? That black hole was the problem. Otherwise, we could have met even in the middle of the road, but it directly connected the starting point and destination, making it impossible to know where he was.
I should have just jumped in when I saw the hole. I felt a pang of regret, as if I had wasted two years.
Shayden’s gaze turned to Gano Paquin. Gano Paquin, receiving Shayden’s earnest gaze, hesitantly opened his mouth.
“…The Ninth is the god of people and suffering. His energy now covers the entire continent and the Magic Territory, except for the Shatun Desert. It’s not easy to even make a rough guess.”
This was something they had heard several times already.
Shayden, who had been silent for a moment, changed the subject.
“Still, the Second Prince isn’t entirely at a disadvantage. Through this pilgrimage, he has secured the firm support of the two kingdoms, Biban and Yulan. Based on his excellent diplomatic achievements, he is consistently pressuring Floyd to return the First Prince’s person to Sierren.”
“Ah, right… Biban hasn’t exported food in quite some time.”
“Yes. And so.”
Floyd was the kingdom with the largest territory and the highest technological level among the five kingdoms. It was particularly specialized in Alchemy, so medicinal herbs were densely planted in the most fertile parts of its vast land.
Barley was cheaper than wheat, and wheat was cheaper than medicinal herbs. Floyd’s farmers prioritized planting medicinal herbs over other crops, without exception. Because their masters wanted it that way.
However, Biban currently lacked the capacity to export food. Yulan had to pass through Sierren to trade with Floyd.
Since Ruben had formed close ties with the royal families of the two countries, if Sierren promised to sell herbs and potions to those two kingdoms in place of Floyd’s usefulness, Floyd would naturally be isolated.
“We are currently exerting pressure by providing a certain amount of food to Floyd, as we haven’t blocked all supplies for humanitarian reasons. Food grows in a year.”
“A year? But it’s already been two years…”
“Last year, we couldn’t prepare fields or seeds, but this year, they say they’ve overturned some of the herb fields to grow seeds. Perhaps after the spring of next year, when the harvest season arrives, it will be difficult to pressure them with food. We must secure both Wesley and Richard before then.”
Would it have been easier if I were looking for a specific group? If they had declared their territory again, I would have stormed in and dragged him out by the hair like pulling out a weed… Distressed, I covered my face with both hands and fell into deep thought.
I sensed the presence of several humans within my Qi sense, even unintentionally. And I was quite surprised.
“…Wait, Shayden. How many knights are here in total?”
“…Seventy.”
“What?”
I thought it was around four hundred knights we brought, with just a few more added, but only seventy? I looked up in great surprise. Not just me, but everyone looked astonished.
It was understandable, as this was a defensive line to block the zombies descending from the Duchy of Grimesbane. At least two hundred were needed to safely hold the line, and three hundred to slowly push the front lines forward and reclaim lost territories.
“And all seventy are knights from the House of Rose.”
“…Why?”
“The First Prince and the Second Prince are currently in a standoff for the imperial throne. All families in the Empire have recalled their knights to their territories. The number of knights capable of defending the borders naturally decreased. The Duchy of Kiadris also withdrew all its knights as the war with Floyd is imminent…”
“…”
“Yeldidus has openly made an enemy of Valentia. Before, they would only bare their teeth occasionally, but now, knights are densely deployed between Yeldidus’s and Valentia’s territories. They wouldn’t even deploy that many knights on the border.”
“…”
“Valentia couldn’t stand idly by, so they withdrew all necessary knights to the rear… The House of Rose, with its White Rose Knights, still has some capacity left. They’ve come out with only the minimum personnel required to prevent the zombies from crossing this way and are defending. Ten Sword Masters. The rest are all Sword Experts.”
“…I thought Lady Yeldidus disliked Wesley, even if Duke Yeldidus didn’t.”
“But Lady Yeldidus hasn’t inherited the ducal title yet. Yeldidus is… in a difficult situation right now.”
Shayden was about to say more but caught himself, swallowed his words, and apologized first.
“I’m sorry. I was distressed and spoke as if I were talking to a friend…”
“No, it’s alright. However, hasn’t the Second Prince consistently stated that he doesn’t want to see the blood of the Empire’s citizens shed?”
“Non-violence is only possible when both parties agree. It’s because the First Prince has consistently cried out that he is being threatened and his life is in danger due to the Second Prince’s military might…”
“…What is the current situation of the Duke Widrow Family?”
“Ah. The Widdrow Duchy has successfully defended against several Monster Rushes. The reduction in the number of mutants is all thanks to Duke Widrow. The knights of the ducal family, personally led by the current Duke Widrow, are said to be nearly invincible.”
“…I see.”
Silence fell for a moment.
As Shayden was about to speak again, Hugh Benson raised his hand to stop him. The silence thus extended a little longer. What was he thinking so deeply about? As I worried, looking at Hugh Benson’s stern face, Hugh Benson spoke as if squeezing it out.
“In my opinion, this is purely a hypothesis, but… I think Widdrow might be in danger.”
“Yes?”
“Sir Rose, do you know where Michael came from?”
“…It’s a top secret, but yes. I do.”
Did Ruben tell Shayden about me? Or was it Marianne?
I readily agreed, thinking that either of them would have deemed it necessary. If someone other than them had told Shayden, what could I say? He might have anticipated my descent from the mountains towards the Duchy of Grimesbane.
Hugh Benson spoke in a calm tone, enunciating each syllable.
“From the knights we rescued this time, I heard stories about the creation process of monster variants. It seems that monsters, enchanted by a special magic, gather and imitate ‘Breathing and regulating energy’ to accumulate a special energy in their bodies. An energy that functions differently from the Mana Law of this land.”
“…”
“According to the knights’ testimonies, there should be more variants that have turned black through sorcery than zombies. However, most of what we encountered from the Yuil Mountains down to here were Steel Corpses or Blood Corpse Fiends.”
“That’s…”
“While there is one by the Second Prince’s side, we also have someone who can hear the Sun God’s Divine Revelation. The gaze from above testifies that the number of monsters hasn’t increased significantly. The only place where such a quantity of trained monsters can be hidden from the Sun’s eye is, undoubtedly…”
“…Dunmel Canyon?”
“Yes.”
Shayden didn’t ponder for long.
“We currently have two Ranunculuses in the knight order. Should I send one to Widdrow and the other to the capital?”
“No. Keep one as a reserve and send only one to the capital to first confirm the Second Prince’s intentions. I doubt if the Widdrow Duchy is still operating normally.”
“…Yes. I will proceed accordingly. Please wait a moment while I have the knights bring one Ranunculus into this room and then guide you to the barracks.”
“Yes.”
Shayden, who politely stood up and bowed again, winked at me.
“And Mika, you… come with me for a moment.”
“Alright.”
There must be another reason for him to call me separately, leaving Benjamin behind. I obediently followed.
❖ ❖ ❖
Shayden entered the barracks where the knights were resting, ordered the Ranunculus to be delivered and for me to be guided, and then led me into an empty barracks.
It was a decent lodging with a bed, chair, nightstand, and a tapestry appropriately placed. Although it was significantly smaller than the barracks where everyone had entered just before, it didn’t feel cramped with two people inside.
As soon as the eyes of onlookers disappeared, Shayden grabbed his hair with both hands and remained speechless for a long time.
I scanned his Qi with my gaze and asked, “Top-tier Sword Expert?”
“…Uh. I guess I couldn’t go to receive the Blessing of Mana.”
He ran his spiky hair back and then twisted it to the side, looking at me with sharp eyes. He decided not to ascend the mountain, yet why was he glaring at me?
“Don’t you see I made an effort?”
“I know you haven’t put down your sword. You did well.”
“Right… that’s that. You’re not going to be a captain anymore, are you? The Second Prince said so.”
So this was what he dragged me here to talk about.
It was endearingly cute and amusing. I plopped down on the bed that was clearly meant for me.
“Yes. The child was being competitive. I didn’t want to hurt her feelings, so I decided that way.”
“…Ha… have you completely made up your mind?”
“Hmm?”
“Are you going to marry Prince Rubel?”
“Probably…? Why?”
He stopped running his fingers through his hair and pulled his front bangs towards his sideburns. Watching him do that, he looked like a fox cub burying its head in a den.
Even though I wanted to tease him, the conversation had shifted, so I naturally straightened my posture.