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“Siabel, what’s with the Countess? Even after you went to the Great Forest, things haven’t changed. The last war must have been quite significant. The biggest issues are repairing the castle walls and cleaning up the outer district. Thanks to that, the stench of burnt corpses has become unbearable.”

Siabel sighed lightly, causing Shione to tilt her head in confusion.

As she absentmindedly grabbed a cookie from the plate Siabel had brought, Siabel couldn’t help but let her lips curl upwards.

“Sis, what’s with the stench?”

“We can’t leave the demon corpses piled up in front of our castle walls. It’s just after the war, and if a plague spreads here, we’ll be in serious trouble, so we have no choice but to burn them all.”

While pondering the battles that had taken place on those walls, Siabel suddenly turned to me, as if she had become aware of my silence.

“Ray, you were up on the walls too, so you must remember those disgusting monsters.”

“Of course. They filled the horizon completely.”

Even now, recalling that scene gives me the chills. What I saw in the Great Forest was enough to elicit colorful language, but the overwhelming sight I witnessed from the tall walls was spectacular in many ways. It’s no wonder this world turned into a dungeon; there’s no convenient nuclear button in a medieval fantasy setting. If such a quantity keeps pouring in, it’s only natural to think it’ll all collapse no matter how fiercely we resist.

“Thanks to that, the Count is focused on restoring the territory. With the royal family and neighboring houses sending support funds, the burden has eased a bit. Progress is being made, so Mother can finally relax.”

“I’m sure Mother had quite a hard time organizing everything that was newly arrived…”

“Right? I ended up cursing a bit. I barely had time to swing my sword, I was so stiff all over.”

As the atmosphere softened and the sisters began to share laughter, it was apparent that enjoying such a mood was still a bit premature. Siabel would gather her emotions.

“The territory will continue to be managed well by Mother, even without us. I’m sorry to ruin the mood, but we really need to focus on the tasks ahead. The situation here is more urgent than I thought.”

As Shione nodded in agreement, Siabel smiled faintly in approval.

“I heard from Lady Eunice Kalia that she requested you two to secure her political standing a bit.”

“That’s right. She did ask Ray and me for that. I promised to give her an answer once we return to the Marquis family.”

“That’s true… but unfortunately, I don’t think we can refuse.”

The thought of not being able to refuse made my head throb, and I had to suppress a sigh.

“Lady Ileyana Kalia personally named you two, and the matters that came up for negotiation are quite substantial. If Eunice inherits the head of the family position, it’ll be a card we can use for a long time.”

“What’s it about, sis?”

“The Marquis is known for high-quality minerals and the weapons and equipment derived from them. That’s one of the biggest sources of revenue for the territory. By getting partial authority over that, we promised ourselves considerable benefits—”

Siabel tilted two of the pieces on the map slightly backward.

“We’re not putting you into a dangerous task; just enough to help save Lady Eunice’s pride. This seems like a pretty good deal.”

From the Count’s perspective, it’s not a bad trade at all. However, the problem is that Shione and I just finished a war and returned to the kingdom’s territory. Siabel clearly understood that we hadn’t had sufficient rest. It felt like she was waiting for Shione’s thoughtful answer, who was lost deep in thought.

“…This is partly for the Count’s sake. If you think that, I’ll gladly help. Besides, judging the nobles who have been corrupted by demons is something we should naturally do as nobles of the kingdom.”

“Thanks for saying that, Shione. Oh, and I heard a little about what happened in the Great Forest. Lady Eunice said she got you involved in a more dangerous situation than expected. She even mentioned the battles that took place then—”

Siabel’s blue eyes sparkled sharply.

“Shione, since I’m in complete control of the Marquis’s army right now, shall we teach a lesson to those elves who made things hard for our little sister before we begin?”

Shione shook her head vigorously, realizing there was no need for that and genuinely worried about Siabel actually leading an army to strike.

Thanks to that, the previously taut tension began to ease, allowing us to have a relatively calm conversation.

“As for what passed to Allen Kalia, it includes the entirety of the Marquis’s third legion and a portion of the first legion. The ones that have scattered in the western region are being held back as much as possible by the Marquis’s third son, Abel Kalia.”

Siabel moved the pieces on the map.

The blue and red pieces on the board represented our allies in blue and the leftovers of Allen Kalia’s forces in red.

Among the intricately bound pieces, one thing particularly stood out. Unlike Allen, who was being directly contained on the front lines, the number of pieces representing Abel Kalia was visibly insufficient.

“As you can see, the number of troops Abel Young Master is commanding in the field is lacking. We’ll provide support like this to our reliable Rangers from our family. Two groups of primary knights will—”

As Siabel gradually moved the pieces, fewer and fewer support troops were stationed in the west than expected. Not only that—

“And among those knight groups, I will be including Shione and Ray.”

Our pieces also made their move.

“Not only you two but Lady Eunice will be accompanying the knights too. The knights will just clean up the remnants from the rear and return, so don’t worry too much. Just showing off a little will be enough; you won’t need to put yourself in danger.”

“However, sis. It seems the support for Rangers isn’t too substantial.”

“It’s fine. The second legion under Lady Eunice that stayed at the border will come over to the west quite a bit too.”

As Siabel spoke, she pushed one of the red pieces representing the scattered forces in the western region off the board with a flick.

“Our Count’s Rangers, who survived fighting demons, are much stronger than the forces of the Marquis staggering against mere cultists. Besides, with the Marquis’s intact armies, we want to minimize direct damage to our Count’s house.”

With Siabel’s assurance, Shione slowly nodded, as if she respected her sister’s opinion.

“Moreover, the enemy’s level isn’t that high, so we can now discuss Lady Eunice’s last request.”

“…Lady Eunice’s last request?”

At Shione’s question, Siabel grinned widely.

“To use the kingdom’s finest knightly image and that of a reliable male knight.”

“Ah.”

“…….”

…Ah, not again, it’s infuriating to be called something like that. The kingdom’s finest knight should obviously refer to me rather than Shione, but for some reason, she’s handing that title to her, and why does she refer to me as a reliable knight?

I couldn’t help but chuckle at the absurd choice of words, feeling a bit deflated as Siabel found it amusing, chuckling as well.

“And Lady Eunice wants these two to remain actively engaged as heroes. It would be wise to clear out the leftover forces while returning triumphant to showcase the first victory of our territory.”

“They won’t need to get involved themselves; they’ll just ask the knights to handle the extermination. However, it’s equally important to have eyes and mouths around to spread the rumors.”

“I’ve got a request for you two, especially for you, Ray.”

Siabel’s request, directed at Shione, was quite simple.

Since Shione was an archer, she wouldn’t need to be in the front lines like other knights, so instead of a flashy display, Siabel wanted her to show a charismatic posture by effectively suppressing enemies with just one arrow from behind.

And for me, most importantly—

“A proactive knight always becomes an object of admiration, and you can be said to have a unique reputation under titles like Allen and Ray, who claim to be knights back in the territory. Moreover, through the battles at the Count’s house and the Great Forest, you’ve become a one-of-a-kind presence.”

“……”

“When heading to the west, drop that passive stance and command as your own while participating in the battle.”

“Do you mean—”

“You seem to pay too much heed to your status because of that, Ray. A knight who goes out there to vanquish evil is bound to attract attention more than a hidden knight scheming behind the scenes. After all, you’re someone who alternates between shooting arrows and swinging swords. It’d be interesting to see you sometimes boldly instruct our knights on the front lines—”

Siabel crossed her arms, a playful grin on her face.

However, that playfulness only masked her acknowledgment, which Shione and I couldn’t possibly overlook.

“Ray, don’t forget. Although you’re my slave according to the slave document that Shione possesses, it’s undeniable that you’ve made remarkable contributions at the Count’s house and the Great Forest. That piece of paper won’t change the fact that you deserve a title and treatment exceeding that of a mere nobleman.”

With that, Siabel turned her gaze to Shione.

“You’re a worthy individual to receive such treatment, and, Shione, won’t you naturally burn that slave document for him someday?”

Looking at Shione along with Siabel, I could only chuckle awkwardly.

“Shione, why are you avoiding eye contact again? Just answer already.”

*

After spending a little more time finishing our discussion with Siabel, we were assigned separate rooms.

While Siabel quickly left, as if there were many things to do, Shione and I still had a bit of leisure time and topics to discuss, so we decided to chat in her room.

Seizing this opportunity, I started the conversation with a question for Shione.

“Princess Shione, will you burn my slave document once we return to the Count’s house?”

“……”

“I’m talking about the slave document.”

“……”

“You will burn it, right?”

With my continuous questions, Shione absentmindedly played with her silvery-white hair and stared into the distance before finally speaking reluctantly.

“…Why would I burn it? It’s mine. Why should I?”

As expected, Shione was just as she always was, a mystery I could only shrug off.

 

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