A “quiet place” meant that we gathered in the war room of the Stalwart Castle.
On my side were Ild, Clara, Feivel, and Elisabel. On the duke’s side were the prime minister, Agveil, and other important officials.
The official topic for discussion was the trade route. The real topic was a strategy meeting about the duke of Filsand’s invasion of Velde.
As expected, the trade talks were simple and ended quickly. It was thanks to Ild and Feivel hashing things out with the duke’s economic advisors in advance. We had already achieved one of my goals in coming here.
“Now, let’s discuss a military alliance between the duchy of Filsand and Castle Getaeus!” the prime minister said.
It’s the anti-daemon alliance, I thought, but I kept my poker face. Elisabel stood up to speak instead.
“Excuse me. I would like to address the duchy of Filsand.”
“Huh?”
Her manner of speech was that of someone visiting from outside of the duchy. The duke and his people did not look happy about it.
Just then…
“Hey!”
Clara’s high voice echoed in the room, disturbing the atmosphere. Her blue eyes were looking out the window. We all looked in that direction, too.
“An Arcane Postcard? It’s from Reyha.”
There was a fairy outside the window holding the postcard I’d sent to Reyha, with a reply on it. I forgot myself for a moment and read it over. “This is bad…”
“What’s going on?”
“What happened?”
The duke and Clara asked their questions almost in unison. I tossed the postcard to Clara and answered immediately. “Your Grace, a daemon nest has appeared in the Schultz settlement. A daemon army thousands strong has already emerged, and they’re headed north.”
“What the hell?!”
Daemons were the natural enemy of all humans. This was common sense even in Filsand. The color drained out of the duke’s face.
“I’m going to check on the situation and rescue the Schultz clan. I would like to ask you to accept refugees if necessary.”
“Those barbarians?!”
“Please.”
In the postcard, Reyha had said that it might be necessary to bring Schultz clan refugees as far as Filsand. I made my appeal with greater force than anything else I had ever said to the duke.
✦ ✦ ✦
While the duke had a bitter look on his face, he agreed to accept temporary refugees. I asked Clara to take care of the rest and immediately flew south. Just as its name suggested, the phantom horse was a super express mode of transportation.
If I were to walk, it would normally take around three days just to get to the Schultz fortress. According to Reyha’s postcard, the daemon nest had appeared beyond the clan’s fortress, somewhere deep in the Holy Precincts, which were now overflowing with a daemon army. Reyha, Lade, Diane, and all the Schultz clan survivors had abandoned the fort and escaped to the north. If that was the case, then I should be able to find the refugees before reaching the fortress.
After I’d flown on the phantom horse for a few hours, the sun began to set. Just then, I noticed people running for their lives on the plateau’s parched land. As far as I could tell through my Telescope Lens, it was definitely the Schultz clan. Everyone seemed exhausted. Well, that only makes sense. There’s a horde of daemons chasing after them.
“I really appreciate you coming with me. Now, take the reins.”
“E-eep!”
I wasn’t alone. Agveil, second son of the duke of Filsand, was riding on the phantom horse with me. When I’d started to head off alone, the duke had called out to stop me, and had asked me to take Agveil along. He’d said, “I know he doesn’t have any experience.” I didn’t know what his true intentions were, but right now, I grateful that I had Agveil to control the horse while I chanted spells.
“Open, Gate of Magic…”