“…………”

As I leave the area along with the 4th Division squad, I was anxious the whole time.
Can Azalea really subdue that Ouroboros?
If Azalea’s team falls, then I’ll be treated as a laughingstock who led an entire private army to their deaths.

Strength is justice――following that belief, I’ve invested many valuable things into creating the “Hungry Hunters”.
I wasted a vast amount of money to recruit strong soldiers, not just from Ardezia, but from the neighbouring countries as well.
I was proud that the army I was slowly raising ended up rivaling the king’s royal knights.
The “Hungry Hunters” is very important to me, equal to that of my life. It’s my most valued property.
I bragged about it many times during the social gatherings of nobles.

And, that same “Hungry Hunters” is now being played around by a mere dragon, and is marching away defeated without even fully exterminating the barbarians.
We failed to complete a single one of our objectives.
Calling us a laughingstock would be the understatement of the century.
If word about this spreads to the public while the royal selection is still underway, my name would forever be shamed by the masses.
All of that now lies on Azalea’s hand.

If he comes out victorious, then that’s good.
That’s very good. But, this is the same dragon that single-handedly dwindled my “Hungry Hunters” army in one night, can Azalea really handle it with only a few soldiers?
I was afraid of that dragon so I just blatantly listened to Azalea’s words, but…… was this truly the right choice?
Azalea said it would be like walking on a tightrope.
My entire future now lies on that slim tightrope. The absurdity.
That sort of anxious thought keeps coming into mind as we go.

While I was thinking that worrisome thought, Grodell approaches close to me with his horse.

“What is it, Grodell?”

“…… Tallmann-sama~a, you’re thinking that Azalea isn’t enough to handle the job. Am I right?”

“Well…… yes, I do…… but, whatever the case, with our current forces, there’s nothing we can……”

“Have you forgotten already? Allow me to remind your lordship that I have successfully extracted the information regarding the Carbuncle from those Lithuvar brats just before we left”

“…… Oh, then do tell”

I was in such a state of anxiety that I responded to Grodell in that tone.
I forgot that Azalea interrupted him when he was about to spill the beans about the Carbuncle.
But honestly, I’m starting to believe that the success rate won’t be that high.
Even if I still have the entirety of the 4th Division to back me, Azalea took the squad commander, Norwell, along with most of the other strong fighters with him.
If we happen to engage in combat with the barbarians now, we’d be at a disadvantage by their numbers and home terrain.

“You see, you see, apparently, the last time their so-called “glowing beast” appeared, it turns out they were angry that a wildfire happened in the forest. Soo~o, if you set the forest on fire, it will surely come and show itself. And, if we succeed in capturing the Carbuncle, then the achievement itself will surely be enough to make up for all our losses”

“If I set the forest on fire, it will come to us, you say? Why is that?”

“Who cares……? There are very few sightings pertaining to the Carbuncle. It may just be an unidentified behavior for all we know. What will you do? Tallmann-sama?”

“Hmm………… it won’t hurt to try. If nothing happens, then we just leave the forest burning and leave, no losses gained” When I gave Grodell that answer, he makes a grim smile.

“As expected of the great Tallmann. Heh heh, it’s just too boring for this to end with us running away. This is how it should be”

I order the others to stop moving, gather every fire user available, and command them all to start burning the trees.
I talk with Grodell and a few others about the plan to secure an escape route with the water users.

“Then, we would have to assign a separate unit in that area. What do you think, Azale-……”

I pause after saying that, reminding myself that Azalea isn’t with me at the moment, and let out an empty sigh.
I always ask for his opinion during these final checks because he usually looks at the bigger picture, and it’s vexing now that he’s not around.
He would always take my thoughts into consideration while flattering me, and together, we would be able to fix the small details that others missed, as well as making an insurance in case the unexpected would happen……
Without Azalea, I won’t be able to know if this would be the right choice or not.

“Grodell, what do you think?”

“Eh? Aah, it’s uhh… it looks fine to me”

“…………”

It can’t be helped if the right person for this task isn’t here.
I sigh once again.

When I faced up, a small light shines, and there lies a dwarflike creature looking down at us from one of the tree branches.
It isn’t wearing any clothes, and its whole body looks like it was kneaded with earthen clay.

“They look unsettling…… what are they”

“Ralan, I think? I saw them along the way here”

“What’s a Ralan?”

“Eh? They’re… not particularly harmful. Although, this forest seems to have a ridiculous number of them”

If Azalea were here, he’d tell me the details of what they are in an instant……
No point in sulking about it.
If they’re not harmful, then that’s fine, but I find their constant staring uncomfortable.

“Someone, shoot that thing. It disgusts me”

“Right away”

But then, when someone swung his sword at it, it disappeared and reappeared again further away.
Even when someone tried shooting at it with magic, it would disappear and reappear at a different place again.
And for some reason, the number of Ralan seems to be increasing.
There were ten of them just a while ago, but now there are over fifty of them looking down at us upon tree branches.

“What are you all doing?! Hurry and get rid of them already!”

“Our deepest apologies, Lord Tallmann! We’ll do it immediately!”

“For crying out loud……”

A few minutes later, one of the Ralan finally gets hit.
It falls off the tree while spurting out green liquid.
The other Ralans disappear one after another.
When I thought it was finally over, more Ralans appear again.
Now, there are about 200 of them staring at us on the branches with hostility.

“Kill it! Fire your arrows! With that many of them, you’re bound to hit some even with your eyes closed!”

As always, we keep missing them, but eventually, we’re hitting a few of them as well.
However, when we killed about ten Ralans, their numbers increased to almost 500.

“W-What the…?! Just what are they?!”

“It should be okay. They’re supposed to be harmless……”

“It’s clear as day that they’re very hostile to us!”

“…… L-Let’s move elsewhere. I’m kind of getting creeped out by them now”

We then move to a different part of the forest, but…… the Ralans still continue to increase in numbers, surrounding us with their presence.
I didn’t expect there’d be this many living in this forest.
It’s getting troublesome to count.
Wherever we go, the Ralans would always continue to monitor us at the nearest tree branch.
Even after shooting 100 of them, their numbers don’t seem to be decreasing.

“A-Alright, I hit three. But you know, no matter how much we kill, it’s pointless……”

The archer who hit them complained.
Then, a hundred or so Ralans surround that archer in a circle.

“Eh……? Eh……?”

Those Ralans then jump at the archer one by one.
When the archer screamed, the other soldiers around him begin to panic.
During the confusion, everyone aims their wands and bows at the archer.

“D-Don’t shoot! Don’t-…!”

They all shoot their magic and arrows at the archer.
Several were hit by the shots, but the majority of them already disappeared or fled.
The man who was jumped by the Ralans is lying dead with arrows stuck on his body, and he appears skinny and severely malnourished.

More Ralans surround another soldier.
As he tries to run in a panic, he trips on the spot when the Ralans jumped on him from all directions.
Once again, everyone shoots at the soldier who was jumped on by the Ralans again, and although many were hit, the soldier still ended up as a skinny corpse.

I wonder if they will come at me next.

“W-W-What does this mean, Grodell?! I thought you said they were harmless!”

“I-I also don’t know……”

“B-Burn the forest! Get started already! If the forest burns, they should stop approaching!”

“R-Right!” “Understood!”

Even though we haven’t finalized the teams yet, every fire-user starts preparing their fire magic.
The rest follow after the water-users, who’re creating an escape route.
I should go with them as well.

As we escape, more and more Ralans appear around us.
Just when I thought it was getting too abnormal, the surrounding trees suddenly wither and lose color.
The leaves eventually turn into their autumn shading.
Not only that, but a dead tree with no leaves comes falling down in front of us.
The horses become frightened and halt in place.

“Don’t stop now! Jump over…… it?”

That’s when I saw… a large number of Ralan gathering at the horses’ feet.

“U ooo orgh!”

I hastily get off the horse, distance myself, and ready my sword.
The Ralans that were standing by on tree branches jump down, one after another.
The plants and flowers on the ground near the area where the Ralans are standing begin to wither and die, and the glowing gem on their heads shines brighter.
It was a horrific sight to behold that made me doubt how anyone would think these tiny forest dwarfs to be harmless.