Chapter 582 – Towards Departure

After parting ways with Michelle and the others, we returned to the baron’s household.

Seeing Kennel and Donato happily welcoming Ashley, Elliot, and Camilla’s return home, I’d love for all of us to stay another night, but… many people including King Melvin and Queen Eldorene have busy schedules, so we can’t take several days off. Plus, we have various preparations for our trip to Beriondora.

That said, travel via the stone monuments is easy, so it’s possible to first send King Melvin and the others to Termwills, then return to the baron’s household to spend time. If schedules permit, that might not be a bad idea.

When I explained these circumstances, Kennel broke into a smile and nodded.

“—Is that so. Then how about having dinner here?”

“Understood. Then we’ll return later.”

When there are honored guests, grand preparations are needed for welcoming banquets and such, but if it’s just family, a regular dinner should suffice.

“Then, Lord Donato, please relax here until then.”

“Much obliged.”

“Then, we’ll return to Termwills for now.”

“Yes, Ashley-sama.”

Since we’d be returning for dinner later, the farewells were relatively simple, but Ashley and Elliot seemed genuinely concerned about Kennel’s health, among other things.

“No, no, I truly have less work than before,” Kennel said with a wry smile. They seemed more worried about Kennel’s tendency to overwork due to his personality.

“If you’re both worried, shall I do a quick check with circulating ki?”

When I suggested this, Elliot smiled and nodded.

“That would be helpful.”

“Internal matters are hard to discern by oneself.”

“What about Lord Memphis and Lord Sigmund?”

At Princess Adriana’s words, Princess Stephania also nodded and recommended circulating ki to King Melvin and Old Sigmund.

“Hmm. It’s a good opportunity.”

…And so it was decided that we’d perform circulating ki on several people as a health check before leaving.

Thus, I went through each person with a simple consultation while examining their internal condition through circulating ki… It somewhat feels like I’m playing doctor.

To conclude, there were no major abnormalities from an internal perspective either. That said, regular health checks are important, so creating such opportunities might be good.

Even without abnormalities or ailments, everyone has organs that are relatively weak or under strain. By improving magical flow and activating those areas, surface-level, perceptible physical condition should improve too.

“My old wounds ache when the weather turns bad…”

Donato’s eyes widened at the results after his magical flow was regulated and reinforced through circulating ki.

“Indeed. My body does feel lighter. Theodore, you could probably make it in the field of healing techniques too.”

“I wonder. Even if you call it medical arts, it’s only imitating a small part, so I think I’m still far from specializing. Well, once the current situation is resolved, researching such things might be good.”

I smiled wryly at Old Sigmund’s cheerful words.

Research… For example, using fermentation-accelerating magic to extract antibiotics from mold.

It probably wouldn’t be that easy, and I’m not particularly skilled with water-based healing magic either. Currently, it’s limited to diagnosis from magical reactions and accompanying regulation and reinforcement, so I’d need to study more to specialize.

“Well then, Kennel. We’ll see you later.”

“Yes, Ashley-sama. I’ll be waiting.”

After finishing the circulating ki, we decided to enjoy some tea leisurely before returning to Termwills.

Bid farewell by Kennel, we teleported from the stone monument to Termwills. Opening my eyes, we had returned to the labyrinth entrance in Termwills.

Since we’d contacted them via the communication device, the knight order was already waiting at the labyrinth entrance. They’d probably come to pick up King Melvin.

“We’ve been awaiting your return.”

“Indeed. Theodore, Elliot. I need to speak with you about that investigation matter. Apologies for asking right after your return, but could you come along?”

“Yes.”

“Understood.”

That investigation matter. Meaning the dispatch of the Demon-Slaying Knight Order to Beriondora and the investigation talks. There are various meetings and confirmations to handle.

“I should probably come too.”

“Likewise, I’ll accompany you.”

Claudia and Forset spoke. Claudia would be involved with teleportation magic for emergencies, and Beriondora has deep connections to the Moon Folk.

As for Forset, he knows Valros, their leader. Both their opinions would be valuable references.

“Then, we’ll return home for now.”

“Understood. I’ll leave Caduceus and Balor with you.”

I nodded at Grace’s words. Caduceus in cat form went beside Grace, while Balor left my shoulder. I need to escort Camilla home too.

“Then, I’ll come to the royal castle later.”

“Okay. I want to hear everyone’s opinions too.”

I nodded at Rosemary’s words. With more people, the chances of noticing things I might miss increase. More perspectives are better.

Similarly, Queen Eldorene would head to the royal castle, participate in the meeting, then return to Grantios.

Exiting the labyrinth entrance to the outer square, we boarded the prepared carriages and headed to our respective destinations. Corulis and the others also guarded the convoy, following the carriage.

Upon safely arriving at the royal castle, we were immediately shown to the VIP room in the guesthouse.

“Hmm. First, let’s change clothes. Please wait a moment.”

“We’ll change too.”

“See you later.”

They were probably removing their disguise rings, with Memphis reverting to King Melvin. Princess Stephania and the others, being incognito, wore inconspicuous clothing, but now that they’ve returned to the royal castle, they apparently need appropriate attire. Saying they’d change, they left the room.

While drinking tea and waiting, King Melvin and the others returned quickly as promised. Prince Josiah was with them too.

“Now then. Let’s begin our discussion.”

“Yes.”

Starting with basic confirmation items, I suppose. Departure date and time, whether equipment is ready, training results… and so on.

“Regarding magic tools and equipment items, completion is as scheduled. Armor has been distributed to all members of the Demon-Slaying Knight Order.”

Princess Elham spoke. She and Viola had been working hard daily on this.

“Then it seems we can proceed as planned.”

“First, we’ll stop by Her Highness Stephania’s territory, then cross the sea to Marquis Zilbolt’s territory… correct?”

It will likely involve coordination with Silvatoria too. Naturally, the three princesses representing each king will also accompany us.

“Investigating the demons’ stronghold, huh. A dangerous task indeed.”

Queen Eldorene closed her eyes at the content and spoke.

“Yes. Ideally, we’d identify the enemy’s general combat strength without being detected. But… judging from their movements so far… since their objective is near, they might avoid large-scale battles. This part probably depends on both sides’ moves and combat strength.”

If the enemy shows signs of pursuing excessively, we could employ tactics like feigning retreat to divide and crush them. The Sirius is designed to facilitate such combat.

“Be careful not to pursue too deeply. We’re not considering placing the burden solely on Theodore and the Demon-Slaying Knight Order.”

“Understood.”

I nodded at King Melvin’s words. Rosemary’s opinion was that intercepting with prepared forces is more advantageous than attacking enemy bases directly. King Melvin and Prince Josiah seem to share that view.

“Moreover, we’ve received letters from King Eberhart and King Farid stating they’ll send reinforcements before the seal release date.”

“Of course, Grantios will too.”

I smiled at Prince Josiah and Queen Eldorene’s words. Queen Eldorene nodded and continued.

“I heard Termwills residents are undergoing evacuation drills. If we use the Cursed Song effectively, we should be able to suppress residents’ anxiety and panic.”

“That’s an excellent idea.”

Thinking and acting calmly, preventing panic. If they can move according to evacuation drills, injuries and such should be avoidable.

In that case, we might need magic tool loudspeakers for broadcasting the Cursed Song. We could probably manage by slightly modifying alarm devices or the Sirius’s voice pipes.

“We’ve identified households with residents who can’t evacuate independently, and procedures for quickly accommodating them are confirmed. We’ve also issued requests to adventurers to purchase large quantities of preservable food. So even without relying on labyrinth supplies as mentioned before, you can rest assured there’s little concern about food even during a siege.”

“I see.”

The water supply is also independently secured within the castle.

While having such discussions, Grace and the others who had escorted Camilla also arrived at the guesthouse.

“Sorry to keep you waiting.”

Grace and the others entered the room and bowed.

“Indeed. Now that everyone’s gathered, let’s review potential situations and possibilities once more.”

Saying this, King Melvin spread several maps on the table.