At the Northern Fort

"Uuu~"

I was suddenly awakened in the middle of the night by my own quiet growling.

In my dreams I had gotten angry from Kugalg riding on my back, but even in real life, Kugalg was lying on top of my back snoring.

"Uuu~……"

This time I groaned like a human and crawled out from underneath Kugalg's body.

The One-Eyed Knight was lying down next to me on the ground, and behind him was the brightly burning bonfire.

Commander-san, Kix, Tina-san, as well as Ilus and Leader also seemed to be sleeping.

Mother's fairy was spread out like a piece of mochi on a tree branch that was a distance away from the bonfire and Kugalg. Is it sleeping?

On the other hand, it appeared to be Branch Captain-san's time to be on the lookout. He was sitting next to the bonfire, throwing in small branches so that it wouldn't go out. Noticing my wakening, he gestured for me to come over.

Thinking that he must be lonely on his own, I approached and he placed me on top of his crossed legs.

It's quite hot next to the flame of the bonfire.

He started to stroke my head to put me back to sleep, but I wasn't sleepy at all, so I rolled over and began play-biting his hand.

Father's fairy, the aqua-coloured snake, was coiled up next to Branch Captain-san. It didn't show any signs of moving, but its eyes were still open, so it didn't appear to be sleeping either.

It had been ordered by Father to protect the knights, so it might be remaining wary of the surroundings accordingly, but it could also just be spacing out as well.

When you thought about how it was Father's fairy, the latter seemed more likely.

After nibbling on Branch Captain-san's hand until I was satisfied, I started to whisper quietly so that I wouldn't wake everyone else up.

"Hyllis hasn't returned yet?"

"So it seems."

Perhaps she hasn't found the black-cloaked men yet.

She was fighting against Mother this whole time, so she shouldn't push herself too hard.

"Or maybe she's already taken Captain Sarrell-san down."

Hyllis did seem impulsive enough to do that. Impulsive enough to suddenly strike down the one behind the scenes.

Branch Captain-san quietly reprimanded me as I carelessly said such things frankly.

"Mil, we still haven't determined whether or not Captain Sarrell was truly in the wrong."

That is true. Even though we didn't have any concrete evidence, I had already pinned Captain Sarrell-san as a bad guy in my heart.

But from Branch Captain-san's tone of voice seemed to be defending Captain Sarrell-san somehow.

There was zero sense of tension if I had this conversation with my belly face-up, so I corrected my posture atop Branch Captain-san's lap.

"Bwanch Captain-san, you're thinking that it'd be good if Captain Sarrell-san wasn't the culprit, aren't you?"

"……maybe."

Branch Captain-san's hand continued to fidget with my tail even as he made a serious expression and fell into thought.

"I don't get along particularly well with Captain Sarrell, and it's not like I have any special trust in him. But our positions are very similar in the Knight's Order. The way we are looked at by our surroundings is also similar."

Branch Captain-san was probably talking about how both he and Captain Sarrell-san were from ducal houses, and were thus kept at a distance by others in the Knight's Order, or given unwanted favouritism, causing them to be the target of jealousy.

While commoners have the trouble of commoners, nobles also probably have the trouble of nobles.

"That is why I can tell how hard Captain Sarrell has worked in the Knight's Order. Neither he nor I are blessed with physiques like Grail's, nor do we have the same charisma as the Commander to bring people together. We don't have any special talents either."

He spoke the truth indifferently, his voice not exposing any humility.

"And, Captain Sarrell has had some bad experiences with his family too. I've heard rumours about how his body was frail when he was younger, causing him to be compared with his healthier older brother and was treated coldly as a result. However, it is because he has experienced such matters with his family and in the Knight's Order that his ambition is so strong. I think that he wants to climb higher and higher, so that no one can look down on him, and so that the people around him will finally recognise him."

In contrast to Branch Captain-san, who grew stronger by his own strength and possessed confidence in himself that allowed him to ignore the opinions of those around him, Captain Sarrell-san possessed a fevour to increase his position and authority by any means possible.

"I can only pray that he hasn't drowned in his ambition and lost sight of what is right and wrong."

Branch Captain-san let out a sigh and played with the fluff on my face.

"I'm back! I have returned!"

"Fugu-……!?"

Hyllis returned when morning hit. Right now she wasn't transparent, but had returned to her former colourful self.

While waking me up by landing directly on my stomach, she made a refreshed face while asking, "You're still sleeping?".

"Your claws are……digging into me……."

"Ah, my bad."

Though Hyllis was as light as air, her claws really hurt.

After moving to the bunny rucksack that was laid next to me, Hyllis said, "Come on, wake up already!" while flapping her wings to try and blow away my sleepiness. What a comfortable wind.

"Good morning, Mil."

Next to me, Branch Captain-san had already finished dressing. I wonder when they changed shifts for the nighttime lookout.

I had fallen asleep at some point, so I wasn't able to confirm when that occurred.

"Did you sleep well?"

"Of course."

Branch Captain-san responded with a face that didn't show all that much traveller's fatigue. There was also the snake next to him who was still in the exact same position as last night. It definitely hadn't moved an inch since then.

"Good morning Mil-chan."

"You aren't tired, Mil?"

"What a great morning it is today."

Tina-san, the One-Eyed Knight, and Commander-san had also already woken up, and each of them ran by in order to pat my head.

How wonderful.

The back of the One-Eyed Knight's uniform and mantle were still cut at the part where he was slashed, but when he shifted the position of his mantle when putting it on, he figured out a way to make it so that his bare skin would not be visible.

I was once again feeling relieved that he was safe, so I had the One-Eyed Knight pet me even more than anyone else.

Today, this hand is as warm as always, and makes me just as happy.

Now then, the only ones who haven't woken up yet are Kugalg and Kix.

Hyllis was waking Kugalg up, so I rushed in to attack Kix, who was sleeping while wrapped in a dirty cloth.

When I made a run up and jumped onto the Kix's chest – who was sleeping face-up – he coughed violently as he awoke.

Huh? Have I gotten a bit fatter?

"Now then, I shall report the findings of my scouting!"

Hyllis puffed out her chest atop the bunny rucksack.

"Here you go, Mil-chan, have some soup. It's hot so wait for it to cool a bit before you eat it."

"Hot!"

"Right when I just told you!? Come on, how about eating some legans first while waiting for it to cool down?"

"But I'm already sick of legans. Are there still some left?"

"You're the one who bought a mountain of them. Take responsibility and eat."

"Ah, Kix! Let's swap that cheese with my legans!"

"I'm also sick of legans already!"

"Hey! Are you guys listening!?"

As everyone surrounded the bonfire and was eating breakfast, Hyllis raised her high-pitched voice.

She gave Kix and I a glare as we tried to push the legans onto each other, and then moved from the bunny rucksack to the top of Kix's head and said-

"I am going to announce the results of my scouting!"

"Ow ow ow, don't dig your claws into the top of my head."

Kix grimaced and put Hyllis onto his shoulder.

"Milfee, I'll give you my cheese."

"Thanks, Kugalg."

"You like cheese?"

"Yup, I do. But I like jerky and eggs and fruit even more. But even though I say I like fruit, right now I'm not too into legans any—"

"Kugalg, Milfiria! It's fine to eat, so be quiet!"

Hyllis' crest feathers rose in anger.

Seeing that there was no point in talking to us, she turned towards Branch Captain-san, the One-Eyed Knight, and Commander-san and began talking.

"About those suspicious men, they are in a small town that's up ahead. They're resting in an inn there."

"If it's up ahead then……."

Branch Captain-san took out a map to confirm.

"Then they know that we're heading to the Capital and went on ahead to cut us off."

Kix ripped off a piece of bread and tossed it into his mouth while saying that in a provoking manner.

"Probably, okay! But it seems like they left that town this morning. They're still planning on kidnapping Milfiria and Kugalg, but their wounds from fighting you guys before still haven't healed, so they've decided to move as little as possible. Is there a town called Chedas near the Capital?"

The one who answered Hyllis' question was the One-Eyed Knight.

"There is. It's the town next to the Capital."

"There's an uninhabited forest in between the town of Chedas and the Capital, so they're planning on attacking you there. They said that this time they have to kidnap the spirits, and that failure would not be forgiven."

"I'm sure they're being threatened by Captain Sarrell."

Kix chewed on the last shred of bread while muttering.

"What we have to be careful about is that they're trying to increase their numbers. They seem to think that they aren't any match for you guys with just the five of them, so they reached out to some vulgar men who were staying at the same inn as them."

"So they're trying to hire them?"

Hearing the One-Eyed Knight's words, Hyllis nodded and continued.

"Their numbers have doubled. But it's like that, you know, they're a bunch of good-for-nothings, and looking at the people they hired……um, what do you call them again…ah, right, they're like a bunch of 'gangsters', while the original five guys have a more refined appearance. They're probably knights like you guys guessed."

After hearing Hyllis' impressions, Commander-san made a bitter expression.

"Next time we'll definitely catch them. If we do that, then their identities and goal will be made clear."

Perhaps because the chances of the culprits being knights were high, Commander-san's voice was harsh. Since all the members of the Knight's Order were basically Commander-san's subordinates, he might be finding it unbearable.

The other four also nodded at Commander-san's words, but with the number of enemies increasing, wouldn't it be difficult to capture them?

Though Hyllis did say that the enemy was exhausted, the chances of everyone getting injured were even higher than before. It's possible that someone might get heavily injured again.

When I recalled the appearance of the One-Eyed Knight after collapsing from his injuries, my tail bristled and hid between my legs. I don't want that to happen ever again.

I know that everyone is strong, and as long as the opponent is human, I don't think that the One-Eyed Knight would ever lose, but I couldn't help but be worried.

"I-It's too tight……! Someone, move!"

"I should go together with Milfee. Can't you just fly, Hyllis?!"

"I'm tired too! I worked hard to scout after all!"

"……"

Us after finishing our morning preparations and leaving the forest. We were going to mount the horses after returning to the highway, but for some reason everyone was gathering on top of Leader's back.

I was worried about the One-Eyed Knight, so I wanted to ride together with him on Leader, but when I did that Kugalg followed after me. Then Hyllis, who likes it when things are lively, also boarded, and then for some reason Father's snake also followed along.

"I'm gonna fall! Move a bit more that way."

"Are you okay, Milfee!?"

"Hey Kugalg! Do something about that long tail of yours! It's been hitting my face for a while now!"

"……………"

The three of us went round and round in a kerfuffle in such a small space, while the one remaining snake was already calm in such a situation and didn't make the slightest tremor.

"S-Should I take one? I'm fine with anyone other than Snake-san."

"Then I'll also take someone."

Tina-san and Kix called out to the One-Eyed Knight, but-

"I'll also take someone."

The one who cut in and forcefully extended his hand into the situation was Branch Captain-san.

Grabbing me as I was about to fall by the scruff of my neck and rucksack, he made a satisfied expression as he placed me between his legs.

"I'm also going over there!"

"Ah, then me too!"

"If you do that, then the situation won't change at all."

The One-Eyed Knight seized Kugalg as he tried to jump towards Ilus and then pushed him towards Kix.

"Could you go onto another horse too, Hyllis?"

"Ehh, I wonder~"

Flying into the air, she spun around hesitantly before stopping on top of Commander-san's shoulder. I wonder if his sturdy physique gave her a sense of stability as a perch?

Kugalg seemed to dislike riding together with Kix, and ultimately ended up settling for Tina-san, who was next to him.

The snake remained on top of Leader together with the One-Eyed Knight.

"I'm all alone."

"If you run at the front, then I'll give you the snow fairy."

After being told that by Branch Captain-san, Kix went to the front of the group.

Mother's fairy liked to be at the "very front", so it took its place on the nose of Kix's horse.

"I can't touch it!"

"Kix, we're heading off. Hurry up and go."

Branch Captain-san mercilessly spoke as Kix extended his hand and tried to touch the fairy.

Our strange group consisting of five humans, three spirits, and two fairies once again headed for the Capital and dashed off.