“It’s a squirrel?”
Linel said, looking at the object that had fallen to the ground.
The thing that had fallen from the tree after being hit by his arrow was not a monster, but just a bird.
I heard that squirrels imitate the sounds of various animals and can even imitate human voices.
“So was it a squirrel that made the sound of a galaco a little while ago?”
Linel asked Bellos, who was standing there with a serious expression.
Bellos looked around the tree for about a minute, listening intently, and then sighed softly, as if he had decided that there was nothing unusual.
“That seems to be... something.”
“I was unnecessarily nervous.”
Prince Tesla said with a deep sigh, and Grand Duke Martins retorted with a gloomy expression.
“If a squirrel imitated the sound of a galaco, then wouldn’t there be a galaco somewhere in this forest?”
Grand Duke Martins’s opinion made sense.
The atmosphere among the guests began to become chaotic again.
“It’s been more than three years since the Galaco disappeared from the continent, so why is the jay imitating the sound of the Galaco?”
Linel muttered as he pulled the arrow out of the dead jay’s chest.
Prince Norton, who had crouched down to examine the dead jay, agreed with him.
“I’ve seen many monsters when I was in the Mercenary Knights, but I’ve never seen a Galaco.”
“Are you sure?”
I also crouched down to look at the jay and approached Prince Norton to ask.
“Yes, Your Majesty. I heard from the mercenaries I’ve been with that a few years ago, pirates took the eggs of the Galaco that were on the verge of extinction on the continent and successfully hatched them.”
Oh, so the pirates are said to have revived the Galaco population.
“Pirates? Are you talking about the savages of Tanya Island?”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“Come to think of it, I’ve heard that too! They release hungry Galacos on merchants coming from the western continent and ships coming from the east to fill their bellies.”
Even though it was a pretty horrible story, Emperor Katria spoke with an excited voice.
She seemed slightly amused at the expressions of the Lapion Empire’s concubines, who were terrified by her story.
“That’s right. When the Galacos eat the sailors, they become slow-moving, and at that time, the pirates easily kill the Galacos and hijack the ships.”
The faces of the guests became tense as Bellos continued to explain in detail.
“The pirates of Tanya Island were easily pirating using the Galacos.”
Linel rubbed her chin and glanced at Bellos, muttering.
“T-Tell me, aren’t we going to be hunted by the Galacos too?”
Princess Resilia voiced the thoughts that everyone else was worried about.
“If the Galacos are spread out here in the Elanji Forest, then that’s highly likely.”
The atmosphere became even colder at Bellos’s cool judgment.
Linel gathered the attention of the distracted guests and said,
“I sent an informant to the Principality of Aklatto a while ago. Raphael.”
When he spoke to Raphael, Raphael nodded slightly and recited a report to the guests.
“There was news that King Hetor of Tanya Island was preparing for war with the Principality of Aklatto. However, instead of war, he seems to have chosen peace through marriage with Princess Roxana. Duke Haymitch is still in charge of internal governance, but King Hetor is now the de facto ruler of the Principality.”
“The Lord of Magic Tower, is Raphael’s explanation correct?”
Linel asked Lord of Magic Tower, who had come from Aklatto Island, to confirm.
“The marriage between King Hetor and the Princess happened after I came to the continent, so I need to confirm that part, but I expected Duke Haymitch to join hands with King Hetor.”
Lord of Magic Tower replied in a cautious voice.
“But what does the peace between the two island nations have to do with the appearance of a monster on the continent? Are you saying that those islanders who don’t even know the subject deliberately released that Galaco here to take over our continent?”
Prince Tesla shouted with an excited face.
I thought the Prince had said the right answer.
“It is not impossible.”
After a moment of silence, the Lord of Magic Tower continued speaking.
“Tanya Island is sinking, and Aklatto Island is a volcanic island, as you all know. In fact... There have been large and small earthquakes and lava eruptions recently.”
“Then they might turn their attention to the continent.”
Grand Duke Martins muttered quietly, adding that it was no coincidence that the magpie imitated the sound of Galako.
Everyone was worried about the safety of the continent, but I had one more thing to worry about.
If Aklatto Island is currently in an unstable state due to lava eruptions, what will happen to my cure, the herb ‘Kelvarn’?
The island wouldn’t disappear in a year or two, but I couldn’t help but feel anxious.
We should have rescued it before that...
“First, I’ll have someone look into the internal situation of Aklatto Island.”
Linel began to sort out the situation.
After reassuring the guests, he gave some instructions to Raphael and Commander Macrom, and the two went together to where the knights were gathered.
It seemed like they were going to select a quick knight who would deliver this news to the foreign minister, who remained in the imperial palace.
“What if Hetor really released Galaco intentionally?”
Princess Resilia asked, biting her nails with a frightened face and grabbing Prince Norton’s arm.
“We’ll have to fight.”
Before Prince Norton could respond to Princess Resilia, Rosie, who was standing next to him, spoke bravely.
Princess Resilia glanced at Rosie and ignored her, but Prince Norton was also ignoring Princess Resilia, who was holding his arm.
“We should be on guard for now, but I don’t think we need to be agitated in advance. I’ll look into the situation, but it would be better to move straight to the next villa today.”
Everyone nodded at Linel’s suggestion and quickly got up from their seats, but the atmosphere was still heavy.
Roxana returned from the tower to the Duke’s castle.
“Welcome, my lady. Dinner will be a little late tonight.”
The butler politely spoke to Roxana as she was climbing the stairs.
“Why?”
“The Duke and the King have been discussing something in the conference room for over three hours.”
“Is that so?”
If it’s an important meeting, then maybe...
Roxana turned her steps toward the conference room.
Knock knock.
“It’s almost time for dinner.”
She knocked carefully on the conference room door and said as she entered.
The two were talking over a map spread out on the table.
Roxana looked down at the map on the table.
It was the map that Hetor had been looking at before falling asleep in her room yesterday.
“Yes, we were just about done talking.”
Duke Haymitch said kindly, looking at his daughter. However, Roxana knew well that it was a pretense that came from having Hetor by her side.
“If they are attacked defenselessly, the Continentalers will be flustered.”
Hetor glanced at Roxana for a moment, then looked down at the map again, his expression confident.
“I never thought of this method, but I am impressed by the King’s wisdom.”
Duke Haymitch clasped his hands together and said with excitement.
“By any chance... have you already sent troops to the Continent?”
Roxana asked Hetor affectionately.
“Hahaha, troops are troops. Galaco would be better than a mediocre knight.”
Hetor explained to her that two days ago, he had added a few pirates to the Aklatto Caravan heading to the Northern Continent and placed Galaco eggs that were about to hatch along the route that the VIPs of the Continental Hunt would take.
“But wouldn’t that put us in danger as well?”
Roxana asked with a worried face.
“It’s not safe, but it’s the only option. This is the easiest way to isolate them. And once the Galacos are fully fed, they’re much easier to catch.”
Hetor replied, rolling up the map.
“How long does it take for the Galacos eggs to hatch?”
“Pretty fast. About two days? They’ll hatch starting today and turn into adults tomorrow.”
“You’re planning to go out after Galaco has them all torn apart?”
Roxana smiled involuntarily at Hetor’s quick actions.
“Yes. The little guys will die, and only the real ones will remain. We’ll just have to deal with them.”
Hetor stared at her face and said.
Roxana was smiling. It was a smile similar to the one the women of Tanya Island used to look up to him.
Hetor, feeling better, put his hand on Roxana’s shoulder and said,
“We’ve decided to have a ceremony before the expedition and leave, so prepare without a hitch.”
Roxana’s eyes wavered at the one-sided announcement, but she immediately controlled her expression and answered.
“Yes, I will.”
Roxana’s heart also became anxious because she was going out earlier than expected.
Everyone was on edge and cautious before arriving at the villa, but the forest was peaceful all afternoon.
After everyone safely arrived at the villa, it seemed like they had forgotten about the afternoon.
However, even after I finished dinner and entered my room, the ominous feeling I had that afternoon didn’t go away.
“Don’t worry too much. The squid might have flown in from Tanya Island.”
Linel tried to reassure me, hugging me from behind as I stood looking out the window.
“Yes, I hope that’s true.”
We looked out the dark window and let out a sigh simultaneously.
It was a sigh that came out after telling each other that there was nothing to worry about.
Laughter also burst out like a sigh.
I kissed his arm that was wrapped around my shoulder and asked,
“You said you’ve seen a Galaco?”
“Yeah, I saw it a few times before it disappeared from the continent.”
“How is it?”
“It’s a monster no matter who looks at it."
Linel said, looking at the object that had fallen to the ground.
The thing that had fallen from the tree after being hit by his arrow was not a monster, but just a bird.
I heard that squirrels imitate the sounds of various animals and can even imitate human voices.
“So was it a squirrel that made the sound of a galaco a little while ago?”
Linel asked Bellos, who was standing there with a serious expression.
Bellos looked around the tree for about a minute, listening intently, and then sighed softly, as if he had decided that there was nothing unusual.
“That seems to be... something.”
“I was unnecessarily nervous.”
Prince Tesla said with a deep sigh, and Grand Duke Martins retorted with a gloomy expression.
“If a squirrel imitated the sound of a galaco, then wouldn’t there be a galaco somewhere in this forest?”
Grand Duke Martins’s opinion made sense.
The atmosphere among the guests began to become chaotic again.
“It’s been more than three years since the Galaco disappeared from the continent, so why is the jay imitating the sound of the Galaco?”
Linel muttered as he pulled the arrow out of the dead jay’s chest.
Prince Norton, who had crouched down to examine the dead jay, agreed with him.
“I’ve seen many monsters when I was in the Mercenary Knights, but I’ve never seen a Galaco.”
“Are you sure?”
I also crouched down to look at the jay and approached Prince Norton to ask.
“Yes, Your Majesty. I heard from the mercenaries I’ve been with that a few years ago, pirates took the eggs of the Galaco that were on the verge of extinction on the continent and successfully hatched them.”
Oh, so the pirates are said to have revived the Galaco population.
“Pirates? Are you talking about the savages of Tanya Island?”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“Come to think of it, I’ve heard that too! They release hungry Galacos on merchants coming from the western continent and ships coming from the east to fill their bellies.”
Even though it was a pretty horrible story, Emperor Katria spoke with an excited voice.
She seemed slightly amused at the expressions of the Lapion Empire’s concubines, who were terrified by her story.
“That’s right. When the Galacos eat the sailors, they become slow-moving, and at that time, the pirates easily kill the Galacos and hijack the ships.”
The faces of the guests became tense as Bellos continued to explain in detail.
“The pirates of Tanya Island were easily pirating using the Galacos.”
Linel rubbed her chin and glanced at Bellos, muttering.
“T-Tell me, aren’t we going to be hunted by the Galacos too?”
Princess Resilia voiced the thoughts that everyone else was worried about.
“If the Galacos are spread out here in the Elanji Forest, then that’s highly likely.”
The atmosphere became even colder at Bellos’s cool judgment.
Linel gathered the attention of the distracted guests and said,
“I sent an informant to the Principality of Aklatto a while ago. Raphael.”
When he spoke to Raphael, Raphael nodded slightly and recited a report to the guests.
“There was news that King Hetor of Tanya Island was preparing for war with the Principality of Aklatto. However, instead of war, he seems to have chosen peace through marriage with Princess Roxana. Duke Haymitch is still in charge of internal governance, but King Hetor is now the de facto ruler of the Principality.”
“The Lord of Magic Tower, is Raphael’s explanation correct?”
Linel asked Lord of Magic Tower, who had come from Aklatto Island, to confirm.
“The marriage between King Hetor and the Princess happened after I came to the continent, so I need to confirm that part, but I expected Duke Haymitch to join hands with King Hetor.”
Lord of Magic Tower replied in a cautious voice.
“But what does the peace between the two island nations have to do with the appearance of a monster on the continent? Are you saying that those islanders who don’t even know the subject deliberately released that Galaco here to take over our continent?”
Prince Tesla shouted with an excited face.
I thought the Prince had said the right answer.
“It is not impossible.”
After a moment of silence, the Lord of Magic Tower continued speaking.
“Tanya Island is sinking, and Aklatto Island is a volcanic island, as you all know. In fact... There have been large and small earthquakes and lava eruptions recently.”
“Then they might turn their attention to the continent.”
Grand Duke Martins muttered quietly, adding that it was no coincidence that the magpie imitated the sound of Galako.
Everyone was worried about the safety of the continent, but I had one more thing to worry about.
If Aklatto Island is currently in an unstable state due to lava eruptions, what will happen to my cure, the herb ‘Kelvarn’?
The island wouldn’t disappear in a year or two, but I couldn’t help but feel anxious.
We should have rescued it before that...
“First, I’ll have someone look into the internal situation of Aklatto Island.”
Linel began to sort out the situation.
After reassuring the guests, he gave some instructions to Raphael and Commander Macrom, and the two went together to where the knights were gathered.
It seemed like they were going to select a quick knight who would deliver this news to the foreign minister, who remained in the imperial palace.
“What if Hetor really released Galaco intentionally?”
Princess Resilia asked, biting her nails with a frightened face and grabbing Prince Norton’s arm.
“We’ll have to fight.”
Before Prince Norton could respond to Princess Resilia, Rosie, who was standing next to him, spoke bravely.
Princess Resilia glanced at Rosie and ignored her, but Prince Norton was also ignoring Princess Resilia, who was holding his arm.
“We should be on guard for now, but I don’t think we need to be agitated in advance. I’ll look into the situation, but it would be better to move straight to the next villa today.”
Everyone nodded at Linel’s suggestion and quickly got up from their seats, but the atmosphere was still heavy.
***
Roxana returned from the tower to the Duke’s castle.
“Welcome, my lady. Dinner will be a little late tonight.”
The butler politely spoke to Roxana as she was climbing the stairs.
“Why?”
“The Duke and the King have been discussing something in the conference room for over three hours.”
“Is that so?”
If it’s an important meeting, then maybe...
Roxana turned her steps toward the conference room.
Knock knock.
“It’s almost time for dinner.”
She knocked carefully on the conference room door and said as she entered.
The two were talking over a map spread out on the table.
Roxana looked down at the map on the table.
It was the map that Hetor had been looking at before falling asleep in her room yesterday.
“Yes, we were just about done talking.”
Duke Haymitch said kindly, looking at his daughter. However, Roxana knew well that it was a pretense that came from having Hetor by her side.
“If they are attacked defenselessly, the Continentalers will be flustered.”
Hetor glanced at Roxana for a moment, then looked down at the map again, his expression confident.
“I never thought of this method, but I am impressed by the King’s wisdom.”
Duke Haymitch clasped his hands together and said with excitement.
“By any chance... have you already sent troops to the Continent?”
Roxana asked Hetor affectionately.
“Hahaha, troops are troops. Galaco would be better than a mediocre knight.”
Hetor explained to her that two days ago, he had added a few pirates to the Aklatto Caravan heading to the Northern Continent and placed Galaco eggs that were about to hatch along the route that the VIPs of the Continental Hunt would take.
“But wouldn’t that put us in danger as well?”
Roxana asked with a worried face.
“It’s not safe, but it’s the only option. This is the easiest way to isolate them. And once the Galacos are fully fed, they’re much easier to catch.”
Hetor replied, rolling up the map.
“How long does it take for the Galacos eggs to hatch?”
“Pretty fast. About two days? They’ll hatch starting today and turn into adults tomorrow.”
“You’re planning to go out after Galaco has them all torn apart?”
Roxana smiled involuntarily at Hetor’s quick actions.
“Yes. The little guys will die, and only the real ones will remain. We’ll just have to deal with them.”
Hetor stared at her face and said.
Roxana was smiling. It was a smile similar to the one the women of Tanya Island used to look up to him.
Hetor, feeling better, put his hand on Roxana’s shoulder and said,
“We’ve decided to have a ceremony before the expedition and leave, so prepare without a hitch.”
Roxana’s eyes wavered at the one-sided announcement, but she immediately controlled her expression and answered.
“Yes, I will.”
Roxana’s heart also became anxious because she was going out earlier than expected.
***
Everyone was on edge and cautious before arriving at the villa, but the forest was peaceful all afternoon.
After everyone safely arrived at the villa, it seemed like they had forgotten about the afternoon.
However, even after I finished dinner and entered my room, the ominous feeling I had that afternoon didn’t go away.
“Don’t worry too much. The squid might have flown in from Tanya Island.”
Linel tried to reassure me, hugging me from behind as I stood looking out the window.
“Yes, I hope that’s true.”
We looked out the dark window and let out a sigh simultaneously.
It was a sigh that came out after telling each other that there was nothing to worry about.
Laughter also burst out like a sigh.
I kissed his arm that was wrapped around my shoulder and asked,
“You said you’ve seen a Galaco?”
“Yeah, I saw it a few times before it disappeared from the continent.”
“How is it?”
“It’s a monster no matter who looks at it."
“How is it to fight against?”
“As the Magic Tower Master said, a hungry Galaco is hard to fight against. A full Galaco is slow to move, making it easier to kill, but it’s not an easy opponent.”
I turned around and looked at his face. It was hard to find any trace of his usual playfulness.
“I’ve only seen Galaco in pictures.”
“What, that tone of voice that says you’re looking forward to it?”
“Did it sound like that?”
“Heh, if you do see it, it won’t disappoint you, right? But don’t worry, it won’t be a big deal. But be more careful starting tomorrow.”
“I will. Be careful, Linel. Don’t get hurt while hunting, and I really hate sharing a bed with a patient.”
I patted his solid chest with my hand and urged him.
Linel’s mouth was up, but his eyes, looking down at me, were clearly disappointed.
“I would take care of you with utmost sincerity if you got hurt, but you don’t? I’m disappointed, ma’am.”
“You just don’t get hurt.”
“I thought you said you would protect me?”
“I mean, when I’m not around. But will my husband protect me too?”
“Of course. But there are times when I can’t protect you.”
“...When?”
When I tilted my head to the side and asked, Linel smiled and hugged me, then collapsed on the bed.
“It’s still early evening!”
“Really? I’m glad I have a lot of time today.”
I laughed at his slyness.
The meaning of that laughter was surrender.
I didn’t avoid his hands that were groping up the hem of my dress.
I couldn’t just sit back and let it happen, so I tried to provoke him.
His hand hesitated at my bold touch.
“Oh, my God... Zelda, stop!”
Linel threw his head back, struggling against his rising desire, and I enjoyed the sight.
The crow that had gone to deliver the letter to Bellos in the afternoon flew into Roxana’s room with a reply.
“You sent it sooner than I thought.”
Roxana smiled happily as she read the reply Bellos sent.
Then that’s right. I knew you would cooperate with me.
She took out the letter she had written in advance from her desk drawer and approached the crow again.
“I’m sorry, but I have to visit your master one more time.”
At first, the crow moved around to avoid Roxana’s paw, but eventually, she grabbed its neck and obediently lifted its paw.
Roxana snickered as she tied the letter to the crow’s paw.
She could imagine what Bellos’ expression would be like when he read the contents of this letter.
He will bring a dress worn by a servant to the room where she will spend the night.
If she just writes this much, Bellos will know what she intends to do.
Roxana sent a crow out the window and called Nancy.
“I will go to the witch’s house now. Hurry up.”
After dinner, Hetor had said that he would have a meeting with his subordinates and would be late tonight, so it would be tight, but she had some free time.
“Huh? Again? What are you going to do today, my lady?”
Roxana answered Nancy’s question meaningfully, looking into the mirror.
“I think today is the last day I will see her. I want to see her properly once.”
“Who?”
“Empress Zelda.”
“As the Magic Tower Master said, a hungry Galaco is hard to fight against. A full Galaco is slow to move, making it easier to kill, but it’s not an easy opponent.”
I turned around and looked at his face. It was hard to find any trace of his usual playfulness.
“I’ve only seen Galaco in pictures.”
“What, that tone of voice that says you’re looking forward to it?”
“Did it sound like that?”
“Heh, if you do see it, it won’t disappoint you, right? But don’t worry, it won’t be a big deal. But be more careful starting tomorrow.”
“I will. Be careful, Linel. Don’t get hurt while hunting, and I really hate sharing a bed with a patient.”
I patted his solid chest with my hand and urged him.
Linel’s mouth was up, but his eyes, looking down at me, were clearly disappointed.
“I would take care of you with utmost sincerity if you got hurt, but you don’t? I’m disappointed, ma’am.”
“You just don’t get hurt.”
“I thought you said you would protect me?”
“I mean, when I’m not around. But will my husband protect me too?”
“Of course. But there are times when I can’t protect you.”
“...When?”
When I tilted my head to the side and asked, Linel smiled and hugged me, then collapsed on the bed.
“It’s still early evening!”
“Really? I’m glad I have a lot of time today.”
I laughed at his slyness.
The meaning of that laughter was surrender.
I didn’t avoid his hands that were groping up the hem of my dress.
I couldn’t just sit back and let it happen, so I tried to provoke him.
His hand hesitated at my bold touch.
“Oh, my God... Zelda, stop!”
Linel threw his head back, struggling against his rising desire, and I enjoyed the sight.
***
The crow that had gone to deliver the letter to Bellos in the afternoon flew into Roxana’s room with a reply.
“You sent it sooner than I thought.”
Roxana smiled happily as she read the reply Bellos sent.
Then that’s right. I knew you would cooperate with me.
She took out the letter she had written in advance from her desk drawer and approached the crow again.
“I’m sorry, but I have to visit your master one more time.”
At first, the crow moved around to avoid Roxana’s paw, but eventually, she grabbed its neck and obediently lifted its paw.
Roxana snickered as she tied the letter to the crow’s paw.
She could imagine what Bellos’ expression would be like when he read the contents of this letter.
He will bring a dress worn by a servant to the room where she will spend the night.
If she just writes this much, Bellos will know what she intends to do.
Roxana sent a crow out the window and called Nancy.
“I will go to the witch’s house now. Hurry up.”
After dinner, Hetor had said that he would have a meeting with his subordinates and would be late tonight, so it would be tight, but she had some free time.
“Huh? Again? What are you going to do today, my lady?”
Roxana answered Nancy’s question meaningfully, looking into the mirror.
“I think today is the last day I will see her. I want to see her properly once.”
“Who?”
“Empress Zelda.”
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