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Undead Great Invasion.

Karem wasn’t particularly worried.

They say a vast army of Undead is invading from the so-called border of civilization and barbarism, but thinking of the grandeur of Afterglow Fortress dissolved any of his fears. Even by modern standards, an aerial strike without missiles just looked doomed.

Of course, the area toward Present had long been besieged.

The siege had already begun.

Through this, Karem could anticipate how the Undead beyond the mountain range would attack the fortress and how the fortress would counter the assault.

Castle walls, arrows and chunks of ice being shot from behind them, and all sorts of magic.

Adventurers, soldiers, and knights fighting against the decreasing numbers of Undead.

Direct hits aside, caught in the shock, at least a dozen Undead disappeared in an instant, yet the enemy pressed on, literally overflowing like a tidal wave over the snowy terrain.

And one can’t block water with their hands.

An overwhelming first line of fire.

A second line made of people.

Despite breaking through, the Undead that got closer to Present fell to hastily prepared arrows meant for dealing with Undead.

Even if they were called Great Undead Arrows, they were nothing special.

Just arrows plated with silver, which is supposedly effective against Undead, or arrows dipped in Holy Water.

Either they shot blunt-tipped arrows or just fired fire arrows.

And the fallen, mute Undead corpses were periodically removed by workers to prevent them from creating a mound to climb over the walls.

When Karem first heard about this, he couldn’t stifle a chuckle.

Wasn’t it something out of a movie from a past life? Isn’t this exaggeration?

However, seeing the literal tidal wave of Undead surging toward Present clearly visible outside the window made him chuckle for a different reason. At this rate, it might just be possible.

Unlike the busy and chaotic town, the fortress was still calm.

Of course, “calm” is relative.

The fortress was also bustling, preparing for battle.

Combatants were training for various situations or standing guard. Wizards prepared all sorts of magic. Servants, maids, and workers were busy making and transporting supplies. Herbalists and healers were tending to bandages and herbs. And priests, barely able to relieve their fatigue, clumsily cast enhancements and created saltwater, all of them were visibly busy.

Of course, there were those who were relaxed amid such chaos.

Catherine, along with Gordon, Mary, and Karem.

They were, after all, guests.

“…Huuuuh.”

Karem closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

The group had lightly finished their lunch and gathered in Catherine’s room for a light snack time.

Today’s snacks were quite simple compared to usual.

Various shapes of butter and shortbread cookies, raspberries, marmalade, blueberry jam, and bread. Along with that, a few beverages were all they had.

“…Do you really like that so much?”

“Quiet. I’m savoring the aroma.”

“Well, the smell is nice, but why on earth do you like that hot, bitter black liquid that has been concentrated by boiling it forever without anything in it?”

Mary looked at Karem, specifically at the mug in his hand, with a completely bewildered expression.

The white mug held a dark liquid topped with light and dark brown foam. It was water that had steeped dried Alraune for a long time.

“The aroma is just too good.”

“Forget the aroma—it’s the taste that’s the problem. The taste.”

“Even if you say that, the only one who dislikes it is you.”

Just as Karem said.

There were several beverages to go with the cookies.

Simply water, milk, cream, and wine among six options.

Among them was a sort of coffee, the dried Alraune steeped water, and everyone except Mary was enjoying it, calling it ‘Alraune’s Tear’, named by Catherine.

“If the bitterness is too much, just dump in plenty of sugar. Doing what Karem said makes the bitterness disappear and intensifies the aroma.”

“Sir Stark. Then you could just drink honeyed milk instead.”

“Personally, I find this to be a better companion to cookies than that.”

“What.”

Mary looked at Gordon as if she couldn’t believe he said such a thing.

Of course, at the same time, she was serving Catherine.

After swallowing the contents of her mouth, Catherine savored a shortbread cookie that Mary offered and quickly followed it with a sip of coffee, letting the cookie dissolve and relish the aroma.

“Ah, I think I’m going to get addicted to this aroma.”

“That’s a real problem. I absolutely can’t understand it.”

“You should try it once. You might change your mind. At first, I had no thoughts, but it’s tastier than I expected.”

“More than warm, honeyed milk, you say?”

“More than milk? Yeah. More than milk.”

“H!!!”

Mary firmly shook her head in rejection.

Of course, it wasn’t that she harbored animosity towards ‘Alraune’s Tear’.

She acknowledged that the tiramisu made from Alraune’s Tear and its powdered form was undeniably one of the masterpieces among the many dishes Karem had presented.

Yet, given how delicious it could be made.

Why on earth would one drink something that tastes bitter and astringent on its own?

The aroma? Well, it was pleasant.

A fascinating and luxurious aroma layered with roasted beans, heated nuts, and a hint of tartness.

But what good does it do? It’s still bitter and astringent.

The aroma that completely filled the room made Mary frown.

With every breath, she recalled the unforgettable astringent and bitter duet she had tasted when she first tried Alraune’s Tear.

“So, it all comes down to the bitterness and astringency, right?”

“If used as a dessert ingredient, it can have a refreshing aspect too. I won’t deny that aroma.”

“Then it’s simple.”

…What’s that supposed to mean? What trick are you trying to pull now?

Catherine and the involved Mary felt a little uneasy.

Gordon watched Karem’s hand with curiosity.

And, surprisingly, there was nothing special about it.

Karem poured Alraune’s Tear into a new cup and added five spoons of sugar.

After stirring it until it dissolved, he carefully poured cream from the cream kettle along the wall of the cup.

“…Oh?”

Mary, a bit impressed this time, observed as the cream flowed into the formerly black liquid, transforming it into a light brown hue that gradually blended into the liquid, turning the dark liquid, once evoking a sense of dread, into a soft-looking brown liquid enveloped in thick brown foam.

“I can’t steam it given the circumstances.”

“What did you say?”

“Oh, never mind. It’s done.”

“Isn’t it just adding cream carefully?”

“But it’ll taste different when you try it.”

Mary looked down at the cup with doubt.

Even if he said that it was merely adding, she was a House Fairy.

She wasn’t unable to imagine the flavor.

Alraune’s Tear and a lot of sugar, cream.

This combination wouldn’t make the astringency go away—it would just be cream added, after all.

With a firm belief bordering on faith in dairy products, Mary resolutely declared this to herself in an overly serious manner and carefully lifted the cup.

Slurp—

“……!!!!!!!”

Her faith, nearing solemnity, was momentarily set aside.

That was thanks to none other than the person herself who had made that proclamation.

The soft, warm, and sweet liquid that successively touched her lips, tongue, and mouth hardly allowed her to taste the original astringency and bitterness of Alraune’s Tear.

A trace remained, but it was even a pleasant remnant.

Thanks to that, the taste and aroma appeared even more prominent than before.

It seemed to have obliterated the malice that had once sought to curse everything, reducing the base ingredient too—the leaves, roots, and stems, left with nothing.

The sheer shift in perspective was breathtaking.

With a stoic expression akin to Iron Mask, Mary contained her amazement internally, naturally taking another sip before putting down her cup and picking up a shortbread cookie.

If she dipped this in there, it would surely taste delicious—

Crunch!

“Hey. Get a grip.”

“Huh. What just happened—”

“I expected you to act like this since the moment I added cream. But, has it really changed that much just from adding cream?”

“Contractor. I will state clearly.”

Mary nodded with a deadpan facial expression.

“Absolutely, it’s different.”

“Then let’s see it. Let me taste it.”

The process itself was not complicated.

There was no need to follow Karem’s procedure to the letter.

In her existing mug, she added Alraune’s Tear and sugar and then added cream.

Catherine tasted the drink Mary had prepared, which she humorously dubbed ‘Alraune’s Tear Latte’, and seemed to prefer it over the original, sipping it continuously.

“But is it okay for us to be like this?”

“Hm? What do you mean by that?”

“Oh, it just feels too relaxed.”

Feeling a bit distracted, Karem lightly dipped a butter cookie into Alraune’s Tear.

“Is it truly right for us to be like this?”

Honestly, he felt a bit guilty. Was it okay to enjoy a snack while everyone else rushed around?

However, Richard, the person in charge, had said to stay like this.

Yet, why did he feel uneasy?

“I wondered what you were thinking so deeply about before drinking Alraune’s Tear. It was unnecessary.”

“Unnecessary? That sounds a bit harsh.”

“It is unnecessary. We are, after all, here as guests.”

Catherine shook her finger as she bit into the butter cookie Mary provided.

“And the owner of the fortress has requested us to remain still until they demand otherwise. Acting on our own without permission is a serious rudeness.”

“Still, letting guests with the power of a Grand Wizard and Swordmaster just sit idly seems a bit odd, doesn’t it?”

“Well, there’s probably some pride involved too.”

“Excuse me?”

That nonchalant tone included an utterly unexpected statement.

No, now that he thought about it, it wasn’t surprising at all.

After all, he was dealing with a high noble who lived and died by pride.

“Yup. Just as you guessed. The honor of having defended the frontlines of civilization for countless years. The duty of a noble. Even if retreat was part of the plan from the start, the fact remains that we withdrew.”

“You must also have calculations indicating that the defense is more tenable than expected?”

“Correct. The mercenary likely picked up on that nuance.”

Once Catherine’s glass was empty, she ordered Mary to make another cup of the Alraune’s Tear Latte she had just had.

“Well, once the battle begins, they’ll call for you right away. To use the prepared strike at the best moment, one inevitably needs to keep an eye on the battlefield.”

“Thinking about it, winter is coming soon. Aren’t you planning to sweep away the entire Undead army alone?”

“…Well, if I had about a week, maybe not, but for now, it’s impossible. Impossible.”

A serious answer returned amid a joking flattery.

Karem turned to Catherine with a disbelieving expression.

“No, wait a minute. Now that I think about it, we’ve heard countless similar claims before.”

He recalled the grand proclamations he heard in the office a few days ago.

On top of that, during their journey, he observed Gordon’s strength.

He had effortlessly beheaded dozens while still equipped with weapons and armor, without a drop of blood on himself, as if he were utterly relaxed.

“Aaaaaaaaaaaah!!!”

An ear-piercing scream echoed through the air.

Karem, who had been resting with his drink, jolted. Meeting his companions’ eyes, he stepped outside with Mary, curious about what was happening.

From further down the corridor, he could hear a commotion.

“Shall we go check what happened?”

“It’s okay. I have a general idea of what’s going on.”

With her eyes closed and head tilted, Mary appeared to focus on the sound.

“…Unlike the former Rowan priest, it seems they’ve caught a third spy using leftover beans and Holy Water. And it’s an Undead.”

“A third one? Is there a fourth one too?”

“I’ve heard that everyone currently in the fortress has been checked. This should be the last one.”

To think they’d even use soybean paste to root out spies—what on earth was happening? Nevertheless, Karem felt a complexity he couldn’t describe regarding this monumental achievement that served as the starting point for the hunt.

“Oh, thank goodness. Are you perhaps Karem’s contractor and the House Fairy of the advisor?”

A servant running from down the corridor came to a stop in front of Karem and Mary, peeking shyly around the door.

“Yes. We are the ones you seek. What seems to be the problem—”

“Please. Duke Meng has requested assistance from both your lord and Sir Stark. If possible, please come to the command post immediately—”

Karem and Mary exchanged glances.

Then, they closed the door and entered the room before the servant could finish speaking.

When the door opened again, Catherine and Gordon were leading the way.

 

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