Organization of Troops
Tigaro was brought back to the royal castle by Lemalgoas and was waiting in the round table room.
What appeared in his field of vision were exactly the same faces as before.
Among them was Aifie, who had made eye contact with Tigaro for a moment earlier, as if confirming each other's presence.
Kalizos, the first prince of Shirsodi Kingdom, who was sitting at the back of the room, opened his mouth while checking the faces of the people gathered at the round table.
"Well, there's a reason why everyone gathered here. ――Colares."
Urged by Kalizos, Colares spoke in a slightly more strained voice than usual while reading the documents in hand.
"As per the notification this morning, our group members discovered a certain person from the sky outside the royal capital."
What Colares held up was a piece of paper.
On the paper was written a wanted note, with the words [Dead or Alive] and a man's description written on it.
"This is a man named Kuma, who belongs to the International Wanted Organization―― Five Dragon Gods Sect."
Four hundred years ago, the fire monster bird Fonir turned the land of the former Kingdom of Shirsodi into scorched earth and caused extensive damage even to the royal capital.
An organization called the Five Dragon Gods Sect worships these monsters as one of the gods and commits criminal acts all over the continent.
As soon as they heard that name, the expressions of the people sitting at the round table became tense.
Kuma, a member of the Five Dragon Gods Sect, entered a cave at the base of a tree in a forest a little far from the royal capital.
The Holy Wind Knights, who had been secretly tracking him from the sky, had apparently returned to the capital at once, though they were careful not to be noticed by him.
"Judging by the flow of the wind, it seems like there is a space deep underground inside the cave. Also, it seems like there are quite a few non-human creatures inside that cave."
The person who lazily reports this is Tebel Shunpa Fonedao, the captain of the third division of the Holy Wind Knights.
Apparently, it was his unit that found the man named Kuma.
When the people sitting at the round table heard the word non-human beings, what came to mind was the monster that had been causing trouble in the royal capital the other day.
"Ah, and it seems that the Holy Water Knights have newly obtained information about a girl named Eul Stimung."
Tigaro's eyebrows twitched at Tebel's words.
Aifie, who was standing behind the Asur family, also couldn't help but look at Tigaro with a slightly surprised expression.
Tigaro had his usual smile plastered on his face, but inside he couldn't hide his turmoil.
After Eul changed from a monster to a human, the traces should have completely disappeared.
Several days have passed since then, and there is less evidence left at the scene.
There's no way they could have arrived at the fact that Tigaro had kidnapped Eul from there.
Tigaro said this to himself as he prepared to flee from this place just in case, as he waited for the report to continue.
The person who continued Tebel's words was Aifie's older brother Rogienor.
"With the cooperation of Machen-dono, the foreign student who came from the Empire with Eul Stimung-dono, there have been reports that the remnants of Eul's mana remain in that forest."
At Rogienor's words, surprise and confusion arise within Tigaro.
Eul is currently in the basement of the Noros family's detached house, and Tigaro confirmed that she is still there this morning.
There is no way that there are any remnants of Eul's mana anywhere else.
However, Tigaro had actually witnessed Machen searching for Eul in the royal capital the other day while being escorted by the Holy Water Knights.
It was an incredible story.
"Is that person called Machen capable of searching for enemies in such a wide range?"
"He said something like that there is such magic in the earth attribute."
While the people sitting at the round table were having such an exchange, Lapeia, who was sitting in the Asur family's section, secretly looked at Tigaro with suspicion.
――You're not lying to me, are you?
Her gaze told him so.
Tigaro secretly returned his gaze while breaking into a cold sweat, trying to somehow convey his confusion to Lapeia.
Lapeia, who reigns at the top among the users of healing magic, which is rare even in the magic kingdom of Shirsodi, has a lot of people indebted to her, both in the Kingdom and abroad by healing their injuries.
It's easy to imagine that just by her voice, people all over the continent who are indebted to Lapeia will move, and there's no way Tigaro would make Lapeia an enemy.
Lapeia must have known that as well, as she quickly averted her gaze from Tigaro.
For the time being, Tigaro was a little relieved that Lapeia's doubts had been resolved, and the discussion seemed to have calmed down a bit, with Kalizos presiding over the meeting.
"From each report, it can be assumed that it is the Five Dragon Gods Sect that has kidnapped Eul Stimung and has been releasing monsters into the royal capital since the other day. We will carry out the operation. We will depart tomorrow morning. After taking a break to recover our mana, we will carry out the operation in the evening. Kupnor, are you ready to organize your squad?"
"Yes, we're ready."
At Kupnor's words, several pieces of paper are handed out to the people sitting at the round table.
On the paper were written the names of the personnel who would take part in the operation Kalizos had mentioned.
Most of the unit was made up of members of the Holy Water Knights and the Holy Wind Knights, and a few seemed to have been recruited from the Asur and Fonedao families who were excellent in magic.
Tigaro was secretly reading the paper from behind Lemalgoas when his eyes stopped at one point.
Among the personnel participating in the operation, he found the letters of Aifietouka Asur, Tigaro's dear childhood friend.
Tigaro had previously ordered Aifie to voluntarily stay out of this case.
Because she has a strong sense of justice, he thought that even in the case of a mysterious incident where people turn into monsters, she would do everything for the peace of the royal capital, regardless of the danger to herself.
The fact that she's going to participate in the operation means that she did not volunteer to participate, but must have been asked for cooperation from the knights of the kingdom.
When the Holy Wind Knights and the Holy Water Knights ask for help with a simple question about the monster that appeared in the capital, Aifie, who has a strong sense of justice, may refuse, and the people around her would find her behavior suspicious.
In order to prevent such a contradiction from occurring, he had purposely not placed too many restrictions on Aifie's actions.
However, as a result, she ended up cooperating with this case more than he expected, and it seems that Aifie was even borrowed for the operation.
Perhaps he should have told her to decline the request for cooperation, but behind the smile plastered on his face, Tigaro regretted his naivety a little.
As Tigaro thought about this, Lemalgoas, who was staring at the paper, furrowed his eyebrows.
"Hey, there aren't any Noros people in there. What does this mean?"
"...Hmph. Noros, please relax in the royal capital. I will resolve this matter with the power of Fonedao."
Lemalgoas became enraged at the words of Gugoros who snorted.
"What nonsense! The Noros family was the quickest in dealing with the monsters that appeared in the capital twice! Especially my son―― Psyphro Noros, with the number of ant monsters subjugated the other day. It was said that he had surpassed the total number of subjugations of the Holy Water Knights and the Holy Wind Knights. There is no way you wouldn't include my son in the operation!"
Lemalgoas, who wanted to take credit as a member of the Noros family, spat and made a strong appeal to the people sitting at the round table.
However, even after receiving the complaint, the people involved in organizing the operation did not change their expressions.
"The Holy Water Knights are also against organizing members of the Noros family. There is a strong possibility that the leadership of the unit will be disrupted due to Noros's prestige."
The person who said that was Terisua Sisu Asur, the captain of the first division of the Holy Water Knights.
She sat in the middle of the Holy Water Knights in place of the Holy Water Knights' commander, who was absent from the meeting, and her words were equivalent to the collective will of the Holy Water Knights.
It was obvious to everyone that what she really meant by those words was that she hated the involvement of the notorious Noros family.
"Tch... you still don't understand how capable Noros is...!! You trash...!"
The members of the Round Table stubbornly refuse to change their opinions, even though they are glared at by Lemalgoas.
The members of both knight orders seemed to not want the Noros family to intervene, and looked at Terisua with expressions of agreement.
On the other hand, Tigaro, who was standing behind Lemalgoas, had a bitter look on his face at those words.
Reports that Eul's mana has been confirmed contradict the fact that Eul is still being held captive by Tigaro.
There is no doubt that the girl that Tigaro has captured is from the empire called Eul, and since Tigaro captured her after she transformed into a monster, he has never let her out.
In order to confirm the truth of the report, and also because he was worried about Aifie being borrowed for the operation of such an incoherent incident, Tigaro wanted to join them somehow.
However, even though he thought about ways to make this happen, he was unable to come up with a way for them to let him participate in the operation since he was in a disadvantageous position as a Noros family member.
That was when Tigaro was quietly groaning without anyone noticing.
"Ah, what about you over there?"
A dull voice reached Tigaro's ears from the center of the Holy Wind Knights.
When he looked over there, he saw Colares Fonedao, the leader of the Holy Wind Knights, turning his gaze towards Tigaro.
Tigaro was stopped from thinking and was a little surprised by the suddenness, but he realized that he was being asked about and took a graceful salute.
"My name is Tigarokent Noros. Commander of the Holy Wind Knights, Colares Fonedao. I am pleased to make your acquaintance"
"Ah, that's right, Tigarokent...Yeah, you should join the operation after all."
Those words caused an uproar in the room.
The executives of each knight order and each house all turned to Colares with surprised expressions.
"What are you talking about, Colares!!"
"Are you serious!?"
"Captain!! What do you mean!!?"
Colares smiled at the many questions asked by people sitting at the round table.
"Haha, it's a whimsical whisper from the wind spirit. Well, if the Noros family joins in, it will disrupt the leadership of the troops..."
Colares' gaze wandered a bit, but he stopped at the blue-haired girl standing behind the Asur family and smiled.
"Aifie-chan, you'll be his guardian."
"Ah, m-me…!?"
Like Tigaro, Aifie also seemed to have been surprised by the unexpected words from Colares.
She glanced at Tigaro's face for a moment, then asked Colares with a puzzled look on her face.
"That's right. Lemalgoas would be satisfied if your son is part of the operation, right?"
Lemalgoas, who was not satisfied with the formation of the troops until recently and had strongly protested, sat down deeply in his chair at Colares' words.
"……All right."
Lemalgoas still seems a little unconvinced, but he seems to have decided to compromise because his opinion is more accepted than before, and things are better.
However, even if Lemalgoas was convinced, the Fonedao family, the Asur family, and the kingdom's knights were not convinced.
The voices of protest against Colares grow louder as a member of the Noros family, who is famous for treating women badly, is placed alongside Aifie, who is loved by both the Fonedao and Asur families.
"No."
In particular, Aifie's older brother, Rogienor, fiercely opposed.
Kupnor, the head of the Asur family and the father of Rogienor and Aifie, was also looking at Colares with a strange look on his face, perhaps because Colares' words and actions were unexpected.
"It's fine if we're just including him to the operation, but to have him stand by my sister's side is such a careless and thoughtless option."
"Fumu, I guess that's fine."
Those who were chanting their opposition all fell silent.
Kalizos, the first prince of Shirsodi Kingdom, who was the only one who agreed to Colares, spoke to the people sitting at the round table.
"Brace yourselves, everyone. I am well aware that those of you, including the three great nobles of the kingdom, do not like each other. However, the other party is the Five Dragon Gods Sect―― in other words, the Kingdom is facing a crisis that has not existed for 400 years. Now is the time for us to join hands and work together for the sake of our kingdom."
This is not the time for each of them to argue over the organization of the troops, but for the three major noble families of the kingdom and the two knights of the kingdom to each think about doing their best to solve the problem at hand.
No one could oppose the words of the prince, who would be in charge of the future of the country, who had made such intentions clear.
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