After spending half a day with Amilia taking down the massive enemies one after another, the threat around the first fortress had been almost completely eliminated.
A short nap later, Amilia and I attended the war council.
「So, that’s the situation. The rest is up to all of you〜」
「Thank you so much, Saintess-sama, Holy Knight-sama.」
「Thanks to you, we’ve kept casualties to an absolute minimum. The conquest will be much easier now.」
「From the Demon King to this time’s great beast extermination… our gratitude is beyond words…」
The king bowed deeply once again, how many times now?
「No need, no need. We’re trying to return to our time as quickly as possible, after all.」
「Indeed… You do have a place to return to in the future…」
「And honestly… I have a feeling that if we stay here too long, the future might end up in complete chaos.」
「Is that truly the case?」
「Then we must send you back without delay!」
The nobles grew slightly restless.
Beside them, Amilia looked up at me.
「Yuuki… what do you mean by that?」
「Hm? Just a hunch.」
The truth was, if whatever lay beneath that castle was connected to the Evil God, I had to report it to Marian.
More than that, it felt suspiciously linked to the demon beasts that had rampaged at the checkpoint before…
「I see. Then we’d better hurry and finish this.」
「I’ll explain in detail later. It’s just a guess for now.」
「Got it.」
Once our quiet exchange ended, the nobles looked troubled.
「What’s wrong?」
「It’s just… we feel guilty that there’s nothing we can do Holy Knight-sama and Saintess-sama in your time.」
「I owe you my life, yet I can offer no repayment…」
「It’s fine! We’ll handle our own era. After all, we’ve got Yuuki!」
Amilia smiled brightly.
Well… when she puts it like that, what can you do?
「Yeah. Leave it to us. I’ll save this era ‘and’ the future.」
「Then we shall pass the tale down through the generations.」
「Indeed. We will ensure the world remembers the Holy Knight-sama and Saintess-sama who gave everything for this age.」
「May we one day become your strength in the future.」
One after another, the nobles voiced their agreement.
Wait, stop. No portraits. No war chronicles. Please don’t.
「Everyone, the meal is ready.」
A maid stepped into the tent and called out to us.
Actually, the army’s food situation had been a bit rough… but the old man had arranged extra provisions, increasing the available ingredients.
That created a shortage of cooks, so reinforcements were sent from the castle.
「Well then, everyone, let us eat.」
◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆
After finishing dinner, Amilia and I returned to the tent to share what we’d been discussing earlier.
「So… about what you said before, Yuuki, is it really true?」
Amilia asked, sitting on the edge of the bed.
「Yeah. Being summoned to this era probably has something to do with it, but yesterday, before we fought, I did some scouting.」
「And?」
「The being called the Evil God… the Evil Deity… when I scouted it, it suddenly got a lot stronger all at once.」
「Really?」
「Yeah. Remember when we helped the Gray Wolf?」
Amilia nodded vigorously.
「You mean Rail? He grew huge and went wild at the checkpoint, right?」
So that kid’s name is Rail… well, anyway.
「Exactly. He suddenly grew massive and rampaged. We never figured out where that power came from.」
「We knew the slave trader was a royal merchant, but we couldn’t trace the source of the power.」
「Exactly… and I think it came from beneath the castle.」
Amilia tilted her head.
「I used to sneak into the castle basement when I was little, but there were only storage rooms and cells down there.」
Such a tomboy… though, if there were secret passages, anyone would want to explore them.
「Hmm… this is just a question, but, was your father politically driven out?」
Amilia frowned, thinking hard.
「Uuuuuuuuuum… I don’t know!」
「Yeah… well, Shia seems to know a lot about that stuff. When we get back, maybe we’ll sneak into the castle basement.」
「Muu…」
As I mulled things over, Amilia’s cheeks puffed out.
「Just Shia? That’s not fair. Take me too!」
「Eh… well, Shia and I are both good at hiding our presence with magic, so…」
「Then I’ll learn too!!」
Amilia beamed with determination.
If she studies properly, she’ll probably manage it. Sure, why not.
「Alright. When we get back, have Shia teach you. Meanwhile, I’ll handle the moving around. There are some things I want to look up in the Demon King Castle’s library too.」
「Got it! I’m… not great at studying, so I’ll leave it to you!」
She said it with such a sunny smile.
If you want to be queen, you really should study… though I’m hardly one to talk.
「I need to gather more info on the king himself too…」
Lenas keeps sending Amilia comforting letters every so often.
Maybe I can slip some information exchanges in with those.
「Being sent to this era… it wasn’t such a bad thing after all.」
「You’re right. We’ve learned so much because of it.」
「Well… we took a nap earlier, but how about we get some real sleep now?」
「Okay. Good night, then.」
「Yeah. Good night.」
I dimmed the lantern, and the tent fell into gentle darkness.
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