Chapter 25

"By the way, Lord."

The group rejoiced at Lord's report.

Meanwhile, I secretly called out to him.

"Since I'm here..."

"It's fine. I have a tight lip, so I never reveal anything."

Lord Weeblue's expression turned serious as he made this assertion.

Good, that's good.

It seems my whereabouts haven't spread throughout the market city.

I was worried because if the knights or Iksa found out, it could cause some problems.

"......"

But, how is Iksa doing now?

A prince who built a research institute in the city and is devoted to his hobby of collecting and studying magical artifacts.

However, from the incident that happened that day, I could tell that he probably isn't living such a carefree life.

The image of him laughing innocently in front of magical artifacts flashed through my mind.

...Hmm, I'm a bit concerned.

※ ※ ※ ※ ※

That night, as has become almost a nightly tradition, a feast was held in the village square.

Lord had once again provided a large amount of provisions.

"Wow! Look at this meat! I've never eaten such fatty meat in my life!"

"Hey, Entia, is it good!? You should really savor it!"

The Beowulfs were cutting and eating juicy beef, which was roasted over a bonfire and dripping with fat, like churrasco.

On the other side, Entia was happily gnawing on a piece of cooked meat.

"Mmm, mmm, so happy. If I could get such delicious food, I should have come down to the village earlier."

"You've completely forgotten your sense of responsibility as a descendant of the divine wolf, haven't you?"

I teased Entia.

"Hehe, Master Mako."

Just then, someone suddenly hugged me from behind.

It was Orkidea.

Her plump chest pressed against my back, and the sweet scent of the flower on her head tickled my nose.

"Hey, Orkidea!?"

"Master Mako, I feel so light and fluffy."

Eh... Orkidea, you're a bit drunk!?

Did you drink alcohol!?

"Hey, who!? Who gave Orkidea alcohol!?"

"Hey, Mako! It's serious!"

After getting the drunken Orkidea to sit down and calm down, a Beowulf named Uga ran up to me.

"Hey, bro, that guy is amazing!"

"Huh? About Garai? What happened?"

"No, just now, as a welcome, I was having a drinking contest with that guy—"

I headed to the site of the drinking contest.

There, I saw several Beowulfs lying on the ground with red faces, and Garai drinking calmly.

"No good! This guy won't fall over at all!"

"Alright, next is me..."

One after another, Beowulfs challenged Garai and fell over.

Garai's expression didn't change at all.

"Garai, you're really good with alcohol, huh?"

"...Well, I don't dislike it."

Watching the Beowulfs challenge and fall one after another, I said to Garai, who looked a bit apologetic and was scratching his head.

"Mako, don't you drink?"

Maul, who was sitting nearby, brought a glass to his lips and asked.

"Maul... You're not drinking alcohol, right?"

"No, it's juice from tree fruits."

Good.

I'll wait until I'm twenty!

Thus, the night in Abatokus Village passed by happily and noisily.

And tomorrow, another fun day would begin.

I wished these days would continue forever...

※ ※ ※ ※ ※

"…Huh?"

The next day.

While I was making a flower arrangement with Maul, a Beowulf who was working in the fields came to report that "a group of unfamiliar people had arrived at the village entrance."

I, along with the other Beowulfs, headed to the village entrance and saw the people in question.

"Mako..."

"......"

At my feet, Meala called my name with a wary tone.

They were knights.

However, they had a different aura from the armored, stern-looking knights I had seen in the market city.

First, their armor was all pitch black.

From head to toe, they were covered in dark armor.

Their formation, standing in a line, looked like a group of non-human entities, which was eerie.

On their armor, at the shoulders and chest, were solemn crests.

There were also people holding flags in the back, and the same crests were embroidered on the flags.

The crests depicted a fierce beast with wings.

Those crests... I've seen them somewhere before...

"Right."

The crests embroidered on the uniform Iksa wears.

The national emblem of this country.

"Hey, that flag..."

"Could it be the royal army?"

"Are you kidding? Why would such people come to this village..."

Panic spread among the Beowulfs.

At that moment, the formation of the black knights parted, creating a path in the center.

A carriage could be seen in the back.

A woman stepped out of the carriage and walked toward us.

She had long golden hair that reached her waist and a precious metal hair ornament on her head.

Her legs and arms were slender.

She was dressed in splendid clothing and adorned with various accessories—her beautiful face with a straight nose and sharp, narrow eyes clearly indicated her noble status.

"......"

The woman, having reached the front of the knight formation, looked around the village with half-closed eyes.

"Is this... a typical village for beastmen, dirty and lacking in cleanliness? Is that really true? The story you told me?"

"Yes."

One of the black knights standing right behind her bowed his head and whispered.

"Recently, crops and crafts that are being sold at high prices in the market city... We secretly investigated because the Lord of the Weeblue family wouldn't talk, and found out that this village is the production site."

"......"

She spoke in a condescending tone, clearly looking down on us.

Then, as if noticing our presence for the first time, she turned her gaze toward us and smiled.

"Are these the residents? There are humans too."

"Master Mako..."

I turned around.

There, Orkidea and Fressa were standing.

They were looking at the lined-up knights with fear in their eyes.

Fressa was trembling and burying her face in Orkidea's chest.

"What's wrong? Both of you..."

"These people..."

Orkidea said in a trembling voice.

"We haven't forgotten... the black-armored knights who invaded our country... the humans..."

"......"

I looked forward again.

The woman was still looking down on me.

"Excuse me, but do you have any business here in this village?"

"Ha ha ha, business? You mean business?"

Her laugh was unpleasant, but I didn't let my expression or my heart waver.

I switched to business mode.

"Yes, I have business here. Nice to meet you, I am the third in line to the throne of the Grouga Kingdom—Third Princess Antimisca Antelope Grouga. And these are my subordinates, the Royal Army."

The woman introduced herself.

Her face, filled with malice... no, rather, a face that seemed to harbor no malice at all, spoke terrible words.

"I thought I'd come and make good use of your village for us humans. Would you be willing to leave this land?"