About half a month after Miroslav joinedăBlood Spraying Swordă, a messenger of Duke Dragunaut came to visit me from Horus, the royal capital.
The content of the message was about how heâs going to send Claudia over soon.
At first, I tilted my head after I heard that.
It hasnât even been a month since the battle against Jijinbou. I felt like the duke made the decision to send his beloved daughter over to me way too quickly.
The one who provided the answer to why heâs doing that was Miroslav, the daughter of the Sauzar company that has its headquarters in the royal capital.
She told me about the rumors her company collected there in detail.
According to the rumors, it seems that the chaos caused by the previous incident has only died down in the city, as there was still a storm blowing in the royal palace.
Even the wedding between crown prince Azar and the Ad-Astera Empireâs princess Sakuya has been delayed.
The first ones to oppose that marriage were the nobles in the anti-imperialism faction. Among them, there seem to be some who are planning to bring the marriage between Azar and Claudia that was once called off back on the table as well.
Duke Dragunaut is probably trying to let Claudia escape from this kind of political stagnation, Miroslav explained.
When it comes to an unmarried princess(Claudia) being allowed to move in with a man whoâs single(Sora), most would link it to future marriage. Itâs practically an engagement.
Itâs not normal for a dukeâs daughter to marry an ordinary adventurer, but many people know that the adventurer in question is the rumored dragon rider.
âŚFrom a third partyâs point of view, me getting married into Duke Dragunautâs family would be a natural course of events.
W-well, thatâs just from their point of view though; itâs not like we really got engaged. But if I can become a shield that protects Claudia, I suppose I can call it an honor.
Thereâs no man who doesnât want to be a knight who protects a princess.
If Iâm unlucky, the radicals in the anti-imperialism faction might even send an assassin at meâŚbut I can just devour them if that happens. Yeah, no problem there.
And so, I have been getting ready to welcome Claudia in, but there was one thing that was bothering me.
In the past few days, there have been frequent occurrences of monsters appearing around Ishka.
The adventurersâ guild seems to have been very busy responding to them, so some requests were brought to my clan as well.
Each time that happened, I brought Lunamaria, Miroslav, Ciel, and even Suzume with me to subjugate the monsters so that she could gain some experience, but the number of monster attacks has been going up instead of down. The appearance rate was clearly not normal.
Most of the monsters and demonic beasts appearing are the species that live in Titis forest, so I think something unusual happened there.
Since they are showing up on the roads that connect Ishka to the capital too, something like Claudiaâs horse carriage being attacked by them could happen at this rate.
After I thought about that, I decided to ride Clau Soras to go to the Titis forest.
Like the time with the basilisk before, I have to respect the possibility that a big shot has appeared, chasing the monsters out of their homes.
With this opportunity, I decided to stock up on some jiraiaooks fruits in case of emergency.
According to Suzume, the jiraiaooks tree bears fruit from spring to summer. It would probably be a good idea to get some while I can.
And so, while I was considering such things, Suzume spoke out in a timid voice.
ăUm, Sora. I have a favorâŚto ask youă
ăSure, Iâll do ită
ăâŚâŚ? I still havenât said anythingâŚyet?ă
ăNo matter what it is, I wonât say no to your requestă
When I replied with a serious look on my face, Suzume blinked 2, 3 times, and then she made a troubled smile.
I was speaking from my heart, but it seems that she took that as some kind of joke.
That makes me a little sad, but this is where I use a smile to smooth things over as the one who is older.
Despite the trouble Iâm having, Suzume opened her mouth again.
ăIf youâre going to go get some jiraiaooks fruits, I want you to bring me with youâŚă
ăHm? The Titis forest is dangerous, you knowââWell, I guess you donât need me to tell you that. Is there something on your mind?ă
ăâŚâŚOnceâŚI want to take a look at the village one time. Iâm curiousâŚabout what happened to my homeă
After I heard that, I knitted my brows slightly.
The Kamuna village that Suzume lived in was right by the sea of blight that the basilisk produced.
Since I used fire to burn down the sea of blight, Iâm almost certain that the homes in her village were also burnt down.
Suzume was present at the time as well, so she should be aware of thatââBut I can understand her feelings of wanting to check what had become of the place she was born and raised in with her own eyes.
Maybe she never told me those thoughts until today because she didnât want to cause me trouble.
I could see thatâs how she feels with a glance even if she doesnât say anything right nowââbut Iâm sure that even she couldnât keep still after hearing that something was wrong in the forest. If things go badly, she would never be able to go back to her home again after all.
ăââAlright. Iâm going to say this beforehand though, riding on Clau Soras is not a comfortable ride, you know? Are you going to be okay?ă
When I told Suzume the truth that would definitely put Clau Soras in a bad mood if he heard me, Suzume pursed her lips tightly. Then, she made a fist and nodded as she said âIâll do my best!â. Sheâs so cute.
ăAâŚAhem! Alright then! Make sure you hold on to me tight then!ă
ăOkay!ă
When I raised my voice in a panic after almost blurting something weird, Suzume tilted her head slightly and answered me in a loud voice.
âââ
After Suzume and I straddled Clau Soras together, we came to the King of Fliesâ nest that is on top of a cliff.
On our way here, I was distracted repeatedly from feeling the size of her two bulges on my back, but it was only until Titis forest came to sight.
Right now, as I stood on top of the cliff, there wasnât even a shred of frivolousness inside me.
ăâŚâŚOh wowă
Even when I look down from above the cliff like this, I canât see any major changes in the forestâs scenery. For example, there wasnât anything easy to spot like an expanding sea of blight.
Despite that, I can feel that something is clearly âwrongâ.
The reason is the sounds. There is a low reverberation like an underground rumbling coming from the entire forest. Monsters everywhere are howling as if they are responding to that sound.
The painful screams that are mixed in there occasionally are probably death cries of the monsters that lost in their fight against other monsters.
Monsters and demonic beasts seemed to be all running around the forest regardless of where their home or turf is. And when they run into each other, they immediately start fightingââThe situation wouldnât have become like this if that isnât the case.
A state of frenzy. Those words came to my mind.
The situation of the forest wasnât this bad even when the basilisk appeared.
Suzume was snuggling up to me as she stood beside me. It shows that even for Suzume, who has lived in this forest her entire life, the situation right now was unusual.
Damn, I messed up. I tsked at myself in my mind.
Honestly, I didnât think that things would be this strange inside Titis. I would manage somehow if I was alone, but Suzume is in danger.
Since she rarely asks me for anything, I ended up saying yes to her too easily, but I should have left her in Ishka.
When I thought of bringing her back to Ishka immediatelyââ
My left hand was enveloped by a soft sensation.
When I took a look, Suzume had grabbed onto my left hand with both of her hands. Her light crimson-colored eyes were filled with a pleading light that was silently telling me âPlease take me with youâ.
After a few seconds of silence, I let out a small sigh.