Neia eyed Remedios and continued, “I think it is more likely that he is trying to deceive us.”
“In that case, why has he not come back? He can cast teleportation spells, can’t he?”
“Perhaps he was immobilized by his wounds, perhaps he is out of mana. There could be any number of reasons for it.”
Remedios did not ask any further.
“That’s true. That’s why I’d like to hear from all of you. What do you think we should do?”
“There’s no point in asking what we should do!” Neia shouted, forcing the words out like she was trying to strain them out through her teeth. “…I think we should dispatch a rescue party and relay this news to the Sorcerous Kingdom at the same time. If possible, I would like to be the messenger.”
“I see. That’s what you think, Squire Baraja. How about the others?”
As Caspond looked over the gathered people, one of the nobles spoke up.
“I have a question. While the Sorcerer King was supposed to have gone down in the east, considering we will be mounting a rescue operation in demihuman-controlled territory, would it not be better to wait until we have some concrete intelligence before…”
“It’ll be too late by then,” Neia immediately shot back. “The more we delay, the more His Majesty will be exposed to danger. I suggest we make our rescue as soon as possible.”
The majority agreed with Neia’s opinion. What she said made perfect sense.
“In that case, we ought to send out a search party at the same time as the envoys to the Sorcerous Kingdom.”
“…I have something I would like to confirm with you, since you have the role of His Majesty’s squire. Do you think the Sorcerer King told the people of his country that he was coming to the Holy Kingdom?”
Neia began to think.
“I apologize, but I am not sure. However, I feel it would not be strange for him to have told the people of the Sorcerous Kingdom, because there were times when he returned to his country with teleportation spells.”
“In that case, I feel we should not send an envoy to the Sorcerous Kingdom.”
“Why!?”
Neia glared at the noble who had done nothing but naysay. The noble retreated two steps and his face went pale under that glare. The people around that noble also backed away from him.
“No, ah, please calm down and listen. That, uh, that is because it will bring trouble. Wait! Please calm down and listen to me. When you think about it normally, the possibility exists that the Sorcerous Kingdom’s undead armies would take revenge on us, am I wrong? And revenge would be one thing; they might annex the Holy Kingdom as well. And… ah, why is that? Who’s to say the Sorcerer King was not aiming for that all along?”
“Excuse me!” Neia was so angry that she actually felt dizzy. “In that case, permit me to ask a question of my own! If His Majesty returned to his country by teleportation, what will he think of the Holy Kingdom, who knew what happened but said nothing?”
Everyone she could see nodded in agreement. Amidst all this, Remedios spoke.
“Well, it can’t be helped then, can it? Our country doesn’t have the luxury of doing that now. All we have to do is apologize after everything is over, right?”
“Even if you―”
Neia was so worked up that she was about to shout, and then she heard the sound of clapping from beside her. She looked over, and saw that it was Caspond. Since the Prince wanted to speak, all Neia could do was remain silent.
“Squire Baraja. Allow me to pick the people who will go to the Sorcerous Kingdom. How about that? After all, if we send over a mere squire as a messenger, won’t the other country think we’re making fun of them?”
“That, that is as you say…”
His explanation made perfect sense. Under normal circumstances, they would surely pick a country’s ambassador over a squire who had borrowed a magic bow from the Sorcerer King. However, would he really send out an envoy? She found that part hard to believe. Even so, it would be very bad to show that she did not trust the Prince’s words.
“I am glad that you understand.”
“In that case, please allow me to lead several people to the east.”
“Indeed. I would very much like to send you as well, but we still do not know where the Sorcerer King fell. He might be ten kilometers away or a hundred. If things go badly, he might have fallen into the Abelion Hills, which Jaldabaoth controls. Even if I allowed you to go to such a desolate place, would you have any means of finding the Sorcerer King?”
Neia could not answer him.
Finding where the demihumans lived in unfamiliar terrain was an impossible task. She could easily imagine the scouting team meeting with difficulties and being wiped out.
“Surviving in the hills, slipping past demihuman observation and gathering information,” Caspond counted off on his fingers. “If you go there without preparing, you will simply be killing yourself indirectly, and what good is a rescue party that ends in failure?”
“Then, then do you have another way!?”
“Of course.”
“Eh?”
How could there be? As she thought about that question, it was easily answered. Neia’s eyes went wide in surprise, and then Caspond adjusted himself before telling Neia the answer.
“All you need is to find someone who knows the hills.”
Neia blinked, and Caspond smiled to her.
“Listen. All we need to do is to take a demihuman captive and have him lead the way. Would it not be safer to order a demihuman to act as your guide?”
“Ah.”
Indeed, that was the case. Humans would be taking an absurd risk entering that land. However, it would be a different matter if they had guides.
However, there were also problems with it which could not be ignored.
If they simply threatened a demihuman prisoner into showing them the way, then if the prisoner was willing to sacrifice himself to kill them all, the search party would be going to their deaths. The Orcs she had met earlier seemed like the type who did not care about whether they lived or died.
They would need trustworthy demihumans, but where would they find those?
What could she do to make a demihuman act as a reliable guide?
Neia racked her brains, but when she thought of demihumans, she could only think of them trying to kill her, and she could not imagine them accepting an offer to turn their coats.
No, the Orcs and the Grand King Buser felt like humans ― I see, take their relatives hostage… no, if we could take a king like Buser prisoner, his tribe would probably obey us.
Or on the other hand, the angered tribe might put up stiff resistance. Besides, how would they capture a mighty demihuman king like Buser―
As Neia wandered aimlessly in a mental labyrinth, chasing an answer she could not find, the room’s door swung open and a paladin barged in.
He panted heavily and looked around the interior of the room, but he approached Caspond instead of Remedios.
Perhaps he did not want others to hear what news he had. He brought the Prince to a corner of the room and whispered in his ear, but Neia’s keen hearing picked up snippets of their exchange. Among them, the last piece of information piqued her interest.
He had said “maid demons.”
“Gentlemen, something urgent has come up, Unfortunately, the meeting will end here. I hope you will begin working on ways to take back Kalinsha. Also, Captain Custodio, come with me.”
Intermission
Recently, Jircniv had been in great shape.
Terrific, even.
In any case, life was good.
After visiting the nightmare that was Nazarick, the stomach cramps that had been plaguing him all this time were gone. The drawer which had once held potions now contained neat stacks of documents. He was free of all his troubles, he no longer collected hair from his pillow, and he was no longer shocked by how much of it there was.