A black puppy lay curled up on Renee’s lap.
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It was making purring sounds with its eyes half-closed.
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Its tail swayed gently back and forth.
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If it weren’t for the white arm around its neck and the third eye on its forehead, anyone would think it was just an ordinary dog.
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Vera chuckled at the sight.
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“So you’re saying you hid in one of the Federation’s carriages?”
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[Yes. There was a commotion, so I just followed.]
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“That size…”
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[I’m conserving energy. Hyria quickly gets hungry when she moves around too much, so she usually shrinks like this.]
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Hyria.
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The first child of Gorgan, and at the same time, the last remaining Karel.
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That was the name of the beast before them.
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‘Is its intelligence also at a beast’s level?’
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Looking back, apart from Gorgan, the beast had always moved instinctively.
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When Gorgan lost his rationality, it merely rampaged, and its behavior just before they parted resembled that of a well-trained wolf.
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“Yawn—”
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When Hyria yawned, Renee’s cheeks turned red.
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“Oh my, you must be sleepy.”
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[Yeah, she must be tired from wandering around and looking for you all.]
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“Uh-uh…”
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Renee didn’t know what to do and her fingertips fidgeted.
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Gorgan stretched out his arm around Hyria’s neck and gently stroked her chin.
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Then, Hyria began to nod off and soon fell asleep.
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[Could you stay like this for a moment? Hyria is sensitive, and she rarely sleeps peacefully like this.]
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“Of course.”
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As Renee answered with a bright smile, Vera’s eyebrows twitched slightly.
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“…Can we get down to business?”
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He felt shameful after saying those words.
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He felt resentful upon seeing Renee find something other than himself lovable. As Vera spoke, Gorgan stopped his stroking hand.
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[Ah, right.]
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He then pointed his hand towards the lake.
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[Did you see that?]
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Vera’s expression hardened.
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Renee, who had been petting Hyria’s head all this time, also stopped her movements.
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It was clear that what he was referring to as ’that’ was the castle beneath the lake.
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“It was a clear trace of blasphemy. Do you know anything about it?”
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[Hmm, so it was like that after all…]
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Gorgan’s voice trailed off.
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The deep disgust and anger in his voice cause Renee to shiver.
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In this situation, they needed some kind of clue, even a tiny one.
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However, the answer that came back did not satisfy the two of them.
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[...I thought it was possible if it’s her. I don’t know much about the details, either. Ardain didn’t teach us much about blasphemy as it’s something we shouldn’t delve into.]
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“Is that so…”
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Vera’s expression darkened.
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A short sigh escaped his lips.
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Soon after, Vera shook off his regretful feelings and asked him another question.
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“I’d like to ask you something. You came here to confront Alaysia, right?”
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[Yeah, I have a debt to repay.]
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“Can I interpret that to mean that other Ancient Species might come here as well?”
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Gorgan’s movements ceased.
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Following that, Hyria’s ears perked up.
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Belatedly realizing this, Gorgan began to stroke Hyria’s chin again. As Hyria relaxed, he gave his answer.
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[…Yes. Except for Aedrin, who is unable to move, probably all of them will come.]
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Vera’s eyebrows furrowed.
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‘This is troublesome.’
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This place was a barracks where armies from all over the continent were gathered.
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Therefore, preparing for uncontrollable external factors was difficult.
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No matter how friendly they were, the Ancient Species were Ancient Species.
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The polite Maleus or the pretentious Locrion might be acceptable, but the moment Terdan arrived, who was a disaster just by moving, or Nartania, who did as she pleased, the entire system would collapse.
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‘Orgus is…’
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There was no need to worry about him.
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He didn’t seem to move unless it was absolutely necessary.
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“How do you think they would come?”
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[I’m not sure about the others, but Nartania…]
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Gorgan’s hand hesitated.
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[…She doesn’t care about you all. In other words, she’ll achieve her purpose no matter what happens to you.]
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“Is there a way?”
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[Personally, I recommend retreating the army. No matter how many humans are gathered here, they won’t be able to even match the power of Nartania alone.]
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A concern surfaced within Vera.
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It was a brief calculation of pros and cons.
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In the end, Vera’s conclusion was negative.
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“That won’t work. Leaving everything else aside, I don’t know what effect the traces of blasphemy under that lake could have on armies that are out of sight.”
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Blasphemy did not simply mean that they should run away.
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It was, in itself, a concentration of impurities that became a Providence and corrupted its surroundings.
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As such, it was better to keep the army that was already here within sight, just in case.
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“We don’t even know if people affected by the blasphemy would rummage throughout the continent while we are stuck here.”
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[That is also a problem.]
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Gorgan’s voice was strained.
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At that moment, Renee, who had been listening to their conversation, spoke up.
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”…I have a good idea, though.”
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[Huh?]
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“Nartania. She can’t move during the day.”
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Vera’s gaze turned to Renee.
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Gorgan also began to listen intently to what Renee was saying.
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“We have more than a hundred spellcasters here, right? We can artificially create a daylight environment.”
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[...True, but if you do that, it would only anger Nartania. Knowing her personality, she’ll seek revenge somehow if we exclude her from this battle.]
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“Can’t we just not exclude her?”
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[...How?]
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“We can create nighttime only around the castle. Keep the outside of the lake bright and the inside dark. That way, Nartania might understand.”
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Vera’s eyes shone.
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“Indeed...”
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It was a reasonably plausible plan.
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Renee smiled somewhat awkwardly as he nodded his head in admiration.
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Vera briefly looked at her and Gorgan before turning away.
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“Let’s discuss that issue later.”
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[Where are you going?]
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“I’m going to the spellcasters. Enough time has passed and they should have found out something about the castle by now.”
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[I’ll go, too.]
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“...What?”
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[I said I’m coming with you.]
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Gorgan gently tugged on Hyria’s ear, and Hyria promptly raised her head.
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“Kyu!”
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”[Sorry for waking you up. Let’s go.]