Michael looked around the room at all the pus and wall blood. He had a strange feeling.
He had always had a good sense of touch, but more than that, he could sense the gloomy moods of the members of the other divisions. To Michael, their eyes looked dead, like livestock being led to the slaughter.
'What happened?'
Just then, someone came into view who could be asked the reason. Michael brought the horse closer to her.
“Sir Wint.”
“Sir Agneto? Are you also on a mission like Sir Halsten?”
Derek's direct subordinate, Snorlet, asked as if she had noticed the situation. Michael nodded and got straight to the point.
“What happened to the wallbloods and the phantoms? They don't look too happy.”
"Expression?"
Snorlet raised an eyebrow.
The perverted royal family wanted the homunculus to be beautiful dolls, so on the outside, they all looked neat and expressionless, trained.
Michael admitted that there was a mistake in his words.
“Let’s correct that, it’s the atmosphere.”
“Hmm, you don’t know that either? I felt it at the last inauguration, but this is really out of the ordinary.”
“From what I heard, it seems like something happened.”
Only then did Snorlet give an answer.
“The place we’re going to now is the Gray Wall Outpost, called the Tomb of the Intermediate Homunculus.”
"Yes."
“When moving to the ark of heaven, His Highness the 6th Prince relayed the words of His Highness the 3rd Princess. If any stragglers failed to properly carry out orders, the Imperial Palace said they would leave us behind at the outpost when we returned. So everyone is nervous."
Michael remained heavily silent.
Although it is a rule to use both carrots and sticks when dealing with subordinates, the method of grabbing hold of the opponent's most fatal weakness and shaking it was extremely vile.
Even with Brigitte's personality, it was not just a simple matter of being a jerk, there was a high possibility that she would make an example of at least one person.
“So everyone looks like they’re going to die.”
“My master said that the military discipline was well maintained. It seems that Her Highness the Third Princess wants a strictly controlled order of knights.”
At that time, Michael and Snorlet heard a noise in Brigitte's carriage.
They felt that it was not good to be caught whispering between two people from different political camps.
Snorlet said with a sigh.
“It’s hard to talk comfortably now. I hope there will be no confrontation between the 3rd Princess and the Seventh Princess.”
“Don’t worry about it.”
Michael chuckled, thanked Snorlet, and turned his horse around.
The sky shining through the gap in the barrier was colored with pomegranate color. The delegation decided to pitch their tent and camp at a wide fork in the road.
Instead of people, barracks formed a military camp and lined the road with dead bodies. As darkness fell, magic lanterns illuminated the surroundings.
After dinner and cleaning up, everyone was given some time to rest.
If they had been a mercenary band, they would have been given alcohol, but since they were a knight band that had to maintain dignity and follow discipline, they were given tea leaves.
There was some basic military training in the curriculum at the camp, but no tea brewing.
The knights poured a generous amount of tea leaves into a huge pot of boiling water and steeped them for a long time.
The homunculus drank the poisonous water voraciously.
“Everyone, throw away what you’re drinking now.”
Fortunately, I appeared and saved them. Ibbrewed a new pot of tea.
It is not only necessary to calculate the exact amount of tea leaves to match the water, but also to calculate the amount of tea leaves left over from the day.
I made a tea blend on the spot by adding a few ingredients.
The Knights of Punishment watched me curiously, wondering if I was practicing alchemy.
'This is also the same reaction as Michael.'
The homunculus who tasted the finished tea looked surprised. Just now, it was a scent and taste that was hard to imagine being made with the same ingredients used to make poison.
They quickly emptied their cups and glanced at the pot. I saw a boy homunculus examining the tea leaves and pointed it out.
“Sir, what’s your name?”
“My name is Isaac Rondo, Your Highness.”
“Sir Rondo. I will teach you how to make tea, so you will be in charge of tea during your assignment.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
The homunculus just drank tea without saying a word to each other. It wasn't just because I was holding out during break time like an oblivious boss.
Those who have been brainwashed to lose their sense of unity were originally distant.
Even though they were still doing group activities, it was clear that there was no sense of belonging or group consciousness.
I looked back at Michael and asked.
“Is anyone sick or injured?”
“Not yet, Your Highness.”
Michael was always alert to the sound of the waves, as he had many ears to listen.
“Because they don’t show it, we might find out after they collapse. Let’s start with just one foot. Tell everyone to take off their shoes.”
It was as I had expected. The homunculus were on a long march today.
Even though they had a bunch of blisters on their feet, they pretended to be fine and didn't do anything about it.
“I need to make some medicine.”
“Are you talking about alchemy?”
“Yeah. I knew this would happen, so I brought some herbs.”
The real alchemy began. I ground the magical herbs I had brought.
I added it to the crock pot and whisked it with a wooden spatula. Then, to double the effect, I poured in some of Rahman's Stamina Potion, which Peony had sneaked in.
Finally, a green, thick, sticky medicine-like jam was completed.
The Knights of Punishment pretended to be indifferent while I practiced alchemy.
They were watching me with interest. I felt like a guardian to their childlike curiosity.
I felt a sense of responsibility.
I pointed to the homunculus whose eyes had just met.
“Hey, what’s your name?”
“This is Sabina Cheryl.”
“Sir Cheryl, you will be in charge of the medicine from now on. Distribute it to those with blisters, and store the rest in clean containers.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
I naturally made contact with each person, getting to know their faces and names.
At that moment, Brigitte's servant approached.
“Your Highness, Seventh Princess, it is time for the meeting. Please gather together.”
“Yes.”
I asked Peony to help Sabina, and I and Michael headed to Brigitte's barracks.
Inside the spacious barracks, four royals, including me, and the guide representative, Baron Erka, gathered together.
Baron Erka sits on a table lit by a magic lantern.
I spread out the map. It was a map that could only be used to estimate distances, as the terrain of the maze was not shown in detail.
“If we continue like this, we will probably arrive on schedule since no one is left behind.”
“It seems like we’ve moved quite a bit. Isn’t it possible that we’ll arrive tomorrow instead of the day after tomorrow?”
I was resting my chin on my hand like a vulgar person.
Brigitte, who had been listening intently, responded. Baron Erka politely refuted her table-top argument.
“Tomorrow, around noon, we will enter the depths of Labyrinth. From then on, we will most likely be attacked by demons who have crossed the barrier through the tunnels. We've taken that time to prepare.”
Brigitte pretended to agree with an uncomfortable expression, perhaps thinking that she had lost face.
Then I opened my mouth softly.
“Sir Erka.”
“Yes, Your Highness?”
Baron Erka responded with a trembling shoulder, perhaps still reeling from yesterday's events. I ignored him and asked something I was curious about.
“You call it a demon, not a demonic beast, is there a reason for that?”
"Yes."
“How is it different?”
“The species is the same, but the body is dyed black and horns are sprouting.”
“It’s a mutation that seems to have turned you into a demon. Is it the influence of the sealed Ambroxa?”
“Yes, I think so. The land beyond the barrier is here and there. A strange aura rises, and this contaminates the hand. It is assumed that this is what makes it a monster. Beyond the barrier, this energy is called Takki.”
The dragon has evil properties. Only divine power can purify it.
There was nothing to be done, but the divine power had been lost since the Gods abandoned the world hundreds of years ago. It was useless to be foolish.
I brought up another question.
“There must be intermediate homunculus and outcasts living beyond the wall. Are they not affected by the evil spirits?”
“Yes. No mutations have been reported yet. However..."
"However?"
“It seems that there are some people who go crazy sometimes.”
"What?!"
The final question came from the three royals, excluding me.
It was a story of madness because it had never been reported to the imperial family before.
The faces of the royal family turned grim at the unexpected threat. Baron Erka hurriedly picked up his horse.
“That’s not a very serious problem. It’s just a very small number of cases."
"Do you think you have the authority to judge whether something is serious or not?”
“Gasp! I’m sorry, Your Highness the Third Princess!”
As Brigitte strained her eyes, Baron Erka fell flat on his face. Yesterday, then, today too, he, who was suffering, chose his words while sweating profusely.
“Devil Dragon, he is interfering with their mind. You know that he has the ability. Since Ambroxa is currently sealed, it seems that his power is being expressed indirectly through dreams.”
"Dream?"
“Yes. Beyond the barrier, you will have nightmares at night. This is called being dragged into the dream of the devil.”
Brigitte and Rosenite's reactions to his explanation were sharply divided.
“You’re going crazy just because of a dream?”
Mental immunity was proportional to the level of magical practice.
Bridgitte, who has a genius for magic, is indifferent and has no talent at all.
It was natural that Rosenite would be terrified and want to return to the palace.
Baron Erka answered as if he felt sorry.
“We only go back and forth to the outpost, we never stay there, so we don’t know much about it..."
“But why didn’t you report this fact to the royal family?”
Baron Erka tried to slowly raise his head, but after my questioning, he put his head back on the floor.
“That is... Beyond the barrier, there are not only homunculus but also exiles."
Aren't there many heinous criminals who received punishment? They were not in their right mind to begin with.
“I thought I was sent to the outpost without... I, I’m sorry, Your Highness.”
“Gasp! I’m sorry, Your Highness the Third Princess!”
As Brigitte strained her eyes, Baron Erka fell flat on his face. Yesterday, then, today too, he, who was suffering, chose his words while sweating profusely.
“Devil Dragon, he is interfering with their mind. You know that he has the ability. Since Ambroxa is currently sealed, it seems that his power is being expressed indirectly through dreams.”
"Dream?"
“Yes. Beyond the barrier, you will have nightmares at night. This is called being dragged into the dream of the devil.”
Brigitte and Rosenite's reactions to his explanation were sharply divided.
“You’re going crazy just because of a dream?”
“Oh my God, what kind of nightmare is this? Being torn apart and eaten alive by a monster?”
Bridgitte, who has a genius for magic, is indifferent and has no talent at all.
It was natural that Rosenite would be terrified and want to return to the palace.
Baron Erka answered as if he felt sorry.
“We only go back and forth to the outpost, we never stay there, so we don’t know much about it..."
“But why didn’t you report this fact to the royal family?”
Baron Erka tried to slowly raise his head, but after my questioning, he put his head back on the floor.
“That is... Beyond the barrier, there are not only homunculus but also exiles."
Aren't there many heinous criminals who received punishment? They were not in their right mind to begin with.
“I thought I was sent to the outpost without... I, I’m sorry, Your Highness.”
After all, it was not the imperial family that would take action just because a report came in.
I sighed deeply, thinking that blaming him was pointless.
“Well, stop it. I don’t think it’s anything to worry about.”
The judgment of Brigitte, now the highest-ranking member of the imperial family, was influential in the meeting. The issue of the nightmares was dismissed as insignificant and put to rest.
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