In the end, nothing could be done about Sofia’s technique that day, and Hedda agreed to investigate it, starting with an analysis.

We took lodging in Town, and decided to hold a Strategy Meeting in my and Kuuza’s room. As usual, I sat on the edge of the bed, looked at Sofia and Sylvie, who were sitting in chairs, and asked.

“First, Eina and the others’ movements haven’t changed much so far. At this rate, I think we have some time to spare.”

“But surely we can’t secure enough time for Sofia’s technique to be completed.”

Sylvie said. I immediately nodded, and then said,

“For that, we can only rely on Hedda… So, Kuuza.”

I looked at him, leaning against the wall of the room with his arms crossed.

“You were curious, weren’t you? About the battle between this Nation’s Extermination Squad and the Demon Race.”

…”Yeah. Just to confirm, Ruon, was there no mention of such a story?”

“None at all. Now that I think about it, not much happens within the Nateria Kingdom. They did rush to the Southern Invasion as a reinforcement army, but there was no talk of them having made any contributions.”

“There are two possibilities.”

Sylvie interjected.

“One is that they holed up and didn’t allocate their forces externally, purely to protect the Nateria Kingdom itself.”

“Yeah. That would be the logical assumption, but…”

“The other is that some major problem arose. They were able to send a reinforcement army to the Southern Invasion, but due to that major problem, they couldn’t make any contributions.”

“I feel like you might be overthinking it.”

Sofia said. Yeah, I think so too, but…

“I’ve sent out a Familiar to observe the area around the Town, just in case.”

“Did you find anything?”

“First of all, I don’t have any information about the Demon Race subjugation, so I don’t know what the Extermination Squad is currently doing. If I don’t know the movements of the person I should be observing, the Familiar is useless.”

“Oh, right. That’s true.”

Kuuza scratched his head, looking troubled.

“You’re still curious, aren’t you?”

When I asked, Kuuza nodded slightly.

“One reason is that I have a bad feeling. The Demon Race must be well aware of the Nateria Kingdom’s military power. The Demon Race operating secretly within it… I think they must be quite strong.”

“I agree too.”

Sylvie also agreed. Sofia also nodded in agreement with her words.

…”However, it’s difficult for me to advise on how to proceed with this.”

I mumbled that and explained to Kuuza and the others.

“First, it depends on the objective. For example, if it’s just to save Kuuza’s acquaintances, I don’t think it would be that difficult. However, if it’s to save all the Court Mages in preparation for the Southern Invasion, it would be difficult since we don’t even know the details of the subjugation.”

“You’re not thinking of showing your power here, are you?”

Sylvie asked to confirm, and I replied, “No.”

“If we want to have zero casualties from the start of the subjugation, then of course I’d have to respond with all my might… but doing that would drastically increase the risk to the Demon King… If I had to choose, I’d naturally choose the Demon King.”

“Then what about getting ahead of them and defeating the Demon Race?”

“I think it’s an effective method. However, for that, we need to find their whereabouts… Hedda is probably the only one who can get information, but she probably doesn’t know where they are, just that there’s a subjugation, right?”

“Tomorrow, I’ll try to confirm with my acquaintance in the Castle through Nordeil.”

Kuuza started speaking.

“If we offer our cooperation, they’ll probably tell us at least a summary of the subjugation details.”

“Well, that’s probably the best option. We’ll decide whether to participate in the subjugation after we get the information.”

“What about me?”

Sofia asked. I looked back at her and said,

“For now, prioritize your training. You might become the trump card that can defeat the Demon King. I want you to take your time with it.”

“Understood. Lord Ruon, please be careful.”

“Then I guess I’ll accompany Sofia.”

Sylvie glanced at me and said that.

“Even for gathering information, there’s nothing we can do in this town where we don’t know anything. Besides, a Knight and a Court Mage seem like a bad match.”

“Then Kuuza and I will gather information.”

The plan for tomorrow was decided, and the discussion ended.

The next day, Kuuza and I spoke with Nordeil at the Academia. He himself didn’t seem to know the detailed circumstances. So,

“Nordeil, I also want to cooperate with the subjugation in some way.”

“I see… Kuuza, you still have an attachment to this town, don’t you?”

“Of course.”

Nordeil laughed at Kuuza’s answer.

“Alright, alright. But even if you participate, Kuuza, you’re an outsider. I don’t know if they’ll listen to you.”

“That’s fine. I just want to talk for now.”

“Then… let’s see, Arete is scheduled to come to the Academia today, so why don’t you talk to her there? She’d probably know the situation.”

“Understood. I’ll rely on you for that.”

The conversation concluded, and we waited. In the meantime, I confirmed one thing.

“Kuuza, who is this Arete person?”

“She was the top student in practical skills like mock battles during our school days. Her combination of self-made weapons and magic was powerful, and no one could rival her back then.”

Oh, that’s interesting. Just as I thought about asking for more details, Nordeil appeared.

“She arrived earlier than expected. She said she wanted to meet after a brief chat, what do you want to do?”

“Then, let’s go.”

Kuuza said and started walking. I followed, and we arrived at the courtyard of the Academia.

There was a blonde woman in a white robe. The robe wasn’t loose, but rather fitted her body, so I imagined it was equipment provided to Court Mages.

Moreover, she held an iron staff in her hand. Noticing us, she turned her gaze towards us, her dark eyes fixed on us as she opened her mouth.

“It’s been a long time, Kuuza.”

With her hair reaching her waist, she looked somewhat ethereal, and to children, she might have appeared like an angel. However, the expression she currently wore was somewhat grim, and a hint of perplexity could be seen.

“Ah, long time no see, Arete… By the way, why do you look so stern?”

“I came to complain. With your skill, you could have contributed greatly to the nation.”

“I never intended to work in the Castle in the first place.”

Arete furrowed her brows… her expression mixed with exasperation.

“Nordeil told me about the situation.”

“Yeah, I figured it would be difficult for an outsider to just join in, but I thought I’d at least try to get some information.”

“What? Are you planning to investigate the whereabouts of the Demon Race and go subjugate them yourself?”

“I don’t intend to go that far… but I thought I could help in some way.”

“…I always think this, but Kuuza, you’re always a problem because you suddenly try to do something.”

Arete sighed. Was he a handful when she was at the Academy?

Somehow, Arete gives off a serious impression, so she might not have gotten along very well with Kuuza.

“Moreover, when things get tough in tests, he always comes to me for help…”

She’s starting to nag. The words she utters seem to carry some kind of everyday resentment.

Nordeil is also dealing with Arete in a “calm down” manner, and Kuuza is just giving a wry smile. I can imagine that this kind of interaction happened in the past too.

“…Kuuza’s offer itself is, well, appreciated. But I can’t just hand over information without thinking, and I can’t easily add him to the Extermination Squad just because he’s willing to cooperate.”

—And then, Arete’s eyes sharpened.

“First, let’s see… I’ll have to see your abilities.”