“Rolonia, you can come back. Let’s think about Tgurneu.” To distract himself from his irritation, Adlet called over the other girl.
“What happened?” asked Rolonia. “You two looked really serious.”
“It wasn’t that serious,” said Adlet. “Just a pointless waste of time.”
Fremy revealed no reaction. She looked away from Adlet and stared at the ground.
The three resumed their discussion, beginning with a question from Adlet. “Rolonia, does Tgurneu actually not have any hidden powers?”
“It does not. I can tell that quite clearly. Tgurneu is not hiding any abilities at all. If it did have any other powers, I should be able to tell by licking its blood.”
“So in other words, Tgurneu’s powers are…”
“Amazing physical strength, vitality, regenerative abilities, and a flexible and tough body. That’s all,” said Rolonia.
That meant Tgurneu did not have the power to counteract Saints’ blood. “So then it wasn’t Tgurneu’s power that nullified the Saint’s poison? Should we assume that someone else used some kind of power to protect it?” suggested Adlet.
“But Tgurneu was the only one there,” countered Rolonia.
“We can’t know that,” said Fremy. “There could have been someone else hiding underground. Another fiend…or a Saint.”
“A Saint?” Rolonia was shocked.
“That’s obviously something we should consider,” said Adlet. “Nashetania betrayed us, so it’s surely plausible that another Saint could be a traitor.”
“Maybe so, but…”
Fremy sighed. “Isn’t it Mora’s job to supervise the Saints? What was going on with her management?”
“L-Lady Mora couldn’t be responsible for—”
“I’m not attacking Mora. I’m just whining,” Fremy said coldly.
Rolonia’s shoulders drooped. “Maybe it’s my fault.”
“Why would it be?” asked Adlet.
“Because Lady Mora spent all her time training me. And she was putting a lot of effort into her own training, too…so while she was busy teaching me to fight, she left the management of the Saints to others. If I were just better…”
“You really want to make everything your own fault, don’t you?” Fremy complained. “It’s obnoxious. Cut it out.”
“I-I’m sorry.” Rolonia wilted even further.
After that, the discussion continued for quite a while. The three Braves shared opinions on what kind of power might render Saints’ blood ineffective. Adlet summoned all the knowledge that Atreau had given him, Fremy brought up the names and powers of fiends that she knew, and Rolonia drew from her scant knowledge of the Saints to consider their powers.
But they failed to reach a conclusion. They just rejected one possibility after another, unable to figure out why the Saint’s poison had failed.
Hans and Goldof’s battle with the fiends continued. They had shaved down the horde by about twenty under Mora’s remote observation.
“Goldöf went to yöu!”
“Stinkíng Hans, die, die! Eat yöu up!”
As the fiends tried to surround Hans, Mora listened to their loud conversation and telegraphed her instructions with the power of the mountains. “Hans, at this rate, they’ll have you surrounded. Head for the peak for now and then circle around to the western side.”
“Yeah, meow! Run, Goldof! Follow me!” The two of them sprinted off, cutting down monsters as they went.
Hans was so powerful, simply watching him fight was enchanting. He had to be the most outstanding member of the party, excepting Chamo. And even more startling than his abilities was the accuracy of his situational analysis. Even with Mora’s support, it should have been next to impossible to continue fighting without ending up surrounded. Plus, it was dark, and they weren’t able to use lights.
Goldof was strong, too. He was following Hans’s directions, in no danger as he fought. For this battle, at least, it seemed Mora had no need for concern.
“Goldof, if yer gettin’ tired, ya tell me, meow. Can ya still fight?”
The knight didn’t even shake his head. Still as sulky as ever.
“Hans, once the situation calms down, could you investigate the situation beyond the mountain? The reach of my powers is limited to this one alone,” said Mora.
“Meow.” Hans and Goldof headed to the summit, and from the top, they looked down at the foot of their stronghold. “Don’t see no lights, meow. Don’t look like a big herd is comin’, either.”
“I see. Understood. Continue your battle.” Mora was impatient. She still hadn’t caught sight of Tgurneu. At this rate, she would be unable to use her barrier to trap the fiend. What on earth are you doing? Mora silently cursed Tgurneu. Why weren’t the commander and the seventh making their move? And what had it meant when it said she only had two more days? Doubts kept popping up in her mind one after another, and the answers refused to show themselves.
“…”
Mora had one concern that had been on her mind ever since the party had been trapped inside the Phantasmal Barrier—did the seventh know about Mora and Tgurneu’s secret agreement? Tgurneu had said that it wouldn’t speak of their contract to anyone, but if someone had been eavesdropping on that conversation, that was another story. And though Mora’s promise had been conditional, she had nevertheless promised to kill one of her allies. If this was found out, the Braves would surely suspect her. Fremy might try to kill her on the spot. Even if Mora wasn’t immediately killed, the rest of the group would no longer believe anything she said. To make it worse, she had made grave mistakes during their battle within the Phantasmal Barrier and lost much of her allies’ trust. This was the perfect opportunity for the seventh. But there was no sign that her contract with Tgurneu would be exposed, and aside from Fremy, none of the group strongly suspected Mora.
What was the impostor after—and what was Tgurneu after?
“Mora, which way should we go? Are ya sleepin’?” From the summit, Hans asked Mora what to do.
Flustered, she stopped mulling over her situation and scanned the area with her powers, giving them instructions. “Descend the mountain and circle around to the south side. The fiends’ forces there are thin.”
“Meow, ma’am.”
That was when, in the back of
