Chapter 42: Furball!

Upper Fire Month, 30th Day, 600 AGG

'More people than I expected,' Leinas filed out of the temple dedicated to the God of Water. "You've been waiting outside the whole time?"

"Busy," Silas raised his eyes from the record book he was holding. "It'll be a bit rude to be working in the middle of a service, wouldn't it?"

"Putting work above your spiritual needs," Leinas sardonically noted. "How unbecoming of the Goddess's direct servant."

Left unsaid was how the temple courtyard they were loitering in front of was not one dedicated to the Lady of Wings.

"The tasks assigned to me are surely more important!" The upkeep of census records? "Attending services is good and all, but you'd agree that carrying out her will precedes that, no?"

Leinas shrugged. She didn't care either way; all she had in mind was whiling away the time until the Lady of Wings returned.

"In that case, shouldn't you leave me be and focus on your work?" The ex-Imperial Knight strolled down the street towards the outer districts of Oriculo, priest in tow. "Can't be easy attending to your flock while following me around."

"Hrm, don't remind me," Silas groaned. "My priestly duties are suffering from a horrendous backlog…"

Leinas wryly smiled. That his new responsibilities as her escort increased his workload went without saying.

"Oh," Silas suddenly raised his head. "Since you don't have anything better to do, how's coming along with me to the Beastmen Quarter sound?"

"Some escort you are, dragging your charge to watch you work," the idea didn't seem too unpleasant. She admitted she was a tad curious regarding how Queen Oriculus dealt with the beastmen; hearing that a number of them were still allowed to live in the Draconic Kingdom had been surprising. "Is it safe?"

Interesting was one thing. Life-threatening was another entirely.

"You're probably safer there than out here," Silas chuckled. "Subhumans living there are scared shitless. Not that I blame them though, guess I would be too in their… hooves?"

"Ha, fine," she released a small sigh. "Please forgive me if I end up abandoning you when we get attacked."

"Great, great!" The priest took a turn, ignoring her warning. "Just need to head home and grab a few things first. Watch your step—roads here haven't been renovated yet."

Leinas glanced down. Cobblestone. And he thought this was bad? Sure, it wasn't anything comparable to the central districts of Arwinter, but a small side path hardly required that kind of treatment. She didn't quite recall the roads of the major Theocracy cities, but was the difference that massive?

In the end, she kept those contemplations to herself. When it came to development, the Slane Theocracy was the exception, not the rule.

"Alleys are empty," Leinas observed without much surprise. Angels hovering at every street corner probably made criminal activity difficult to conduct. "You live rather far from the castle."

"Eh, not a big deal," Silas stepped over an uneven part of the backstreet. "Having angels to fly me over makes for a short commute."

Leinas grunted noncommittally. Being kept at a distance from the center of the city… assuming Silas was telling the truth about the nature of his employment, did it imply there was a certain amount of distrust between the queen and the Lady of Wings?

'No, that explanation doesn't work. The highest concentration of angels were nearby and likely inside the castle,' ultimately, she felt it unwise to make any assumptions on the matter. 'All I have to remember is to show respect and—he's stopping. Looks like we're here.'

Silas knocked on the door of the modestly sized abode. "Oi, Lydia!"

Muffled shouts came from within the house, causing the pair waiting outside to immediately stiffen in concern.

"Sweetie?" Silas's fists clenched in worry, appearing more than ready to break down the door at any second. "Are you okay?!"

Leinas pulled out her spear, ready to spring into action. Flagging down an angel would probably be the smarter course of action, but that meant leaving the priest to fend for himself while she ran off.

The notion didn't sit well with her. They weren't yet at the level where she considered them a friend, but…

"Back up. I'm about to bust this-!" Silas took a step back as the door swung wide open, narrowly missing his face.

"Ugh, your kid is such a brat!" A cloaked and armored woman with shoulder-length brown hair was revealed to be on the other side with a Principality Observation soundlessly floating in the corner. Leinas lowered her weapon; attacking a Royal Guard wasn't on her list of things to do. "Darn little—!"

"Dad!" A young blonde girl, around the age of seven or so, ran under the guard's arm and tackled Silas's legs. "I thought you were staying out the whole day!"

"Lydia!" Silas picked up the blonde child and anxiously checked her over before turning his attention to the Royal Guard. "In Alaf's name, why did nobody tell me they were sending you?"

"Wow, rude," the woman indignantly huffed. "Not my fault the info didn't make it over."

"Haven't answered my damn question yet, Mira," Silas protectively clutched his daughter in his arms and glared at the guard. "Why didn't anybody tell me?"

"I don't know!" She threw her hands up. "Martin was supposed to, but he's been kind of buried in work. He probably sent a memo to someone that got lost or some shit!"

"Fuck," the tension drained out of the priest's body. "Got one hell of a scare. Glad it was just you."

"That's a bad word," Lydia's eyes widened as she slapped a hand over her mouth. "You said so."

"Don't give Dad any lip right now, young lady," the girl giggled while her father flicked her forehead. "Has Mira been on her best behavior?"

"Yeah!" Lydia enthusiastically nodded. "We've been, we've been playing soldier! Mira was the demi, and I was the paladin!"

A thin, unhappy smile found itself onto Leinas's face. It was a warming scene.

One denied to her.

"You were getting something?" Her voice came out gruffer than she would have liked. "Work-related material?"

"Ah, yes. Give me a moment," he gently put the squealing girl down on the floor and rubbed her head. "Speaking of demis, Dad's got to go check up on them. You be good, alright Lydia? Don't bully Mira too much."

"I won't!" Lydia brought her hand up in an adorable parody of a salute. "Mira is nice!"

"Jerks," Mira sniffed. "Both of you are jerks."

"Mira, you're silly," the girl patted the head of the sulking guard with a seriousness unbefitting of a child. "That's why I'll protect you."

"You've better let her do a good job of 'protecting' you, Mira," Silas half-jokingly warned. "Alright. Going to look for that record book, you keep Mira and Leinas here out of trouble, okay sweetie?"

" 'Kay!" Lydia stepped to the side, allowing her father to shuffle past them and into one of the inner rooms. The child then raised her outstretched hand towards Leinas. "Hi Leinas! I'm Lydia!"

"I've heard," the ex-Imperial Knight knelt down and shook the girl's hand. "Your father called out for you when we arrived."

"Oh," the girl scrunched her face in disappointment. "But I wanted to intro—introduce myself…"

'You just did,' Leinas attempted to smile. She felt like she succeeded, seeing as Lydia didn't pull back. The ex-Imperial Knight wondered if they would still stay so close if she revealed the rest of her face. "You did a great job of presenting yourself."

"Really?!" She bit back a wince at the girl's sudden shout. "Wanna play with me and Mira—Hey!"

"You go and play with Mister Angel," Mira grabbed Lydia by the armpits and carried the squirming girl over to the Principality Observation. "I need to talk with Leinas here for a minute."

"Fearless one, isn't she?" Leinas muttered. Did she act like that as a child? It was hard to recall; those memories belonged to another life, another person.

"Silas spoils her," Mira watched the angel fly around the room with the excited girl sitting atop its shoulders. "Guess he feels bad for having to leave her at home all day."

'I didn't ask,' Leinas didn't bother responding. What was there to say?

"Usually Lady Yuriko just has one of her angels look after the kid," Mira continued, unbothered by Leinas's reticence. "But since I got hit with double-shifts, Martin sent me down here too. You know, a bit of extra security and all."

"Is that so?" Leinas curtly responded, hoping her tone was giving sufficient reason to leave her be. Honestly, what was taking Silas so long—

She froze in place, feeling the tip of a knife press against her spine.

'Shit. Got careless. A fine mess you've tripped into, Leinas.'

"Knife loaded up with『Acid Splash』," Leinas refused to flinch. "Took a while to get my hands on a piece that could store spells, but I think it was worth the price and wait."

'Bag's out of reach. Can I outspeed and disarm her? Too risky. Royal Guards wouldn't be that weak unless she's some kind of arcane spellcaster. Play along for now then.'

"One of the Four Imperial Knights," the spell-knife dug deeper into her skin, all while Mira carried on like they were only discussing the weather. "Bet you're pretty tough, but are you 'survive-having-your-spine-melted' tough? Got to say, it's a little suspicious suddenly finding you here in the good ol' Draconic Kingdom. Martin might be a little too busy to find out why, but I'm not."

"What do you want? I'm afraid my tenure as an Imperial Knight ended about a week ago," Lydia was screeching in excitement, hanging off the angel's arm while it slowly floated in a circle. The child hadn't noticed yet. If she caught their attention… "Lydia!"

"Hi!" The Principality Observation lowered itself to the ground before Lydia let go. "You wanna play too?"

"I had a different game in mind," having Lydia watching should make Mira think twice about releasing the stored spell. Hesitation that Leinas could take advantage of. Buffing magic was a no go—she didn't possess the ability to use『Silent』metamagic—but Martial Arts wouldn't draw any attention until the moment of action. "Ever played charades?"

"Noooo?" She ignored the dirty look Mira shot her. They were the one jabbing a knife in her back. "What's charades?"

"So you think up a word, right?" Lydia attentively nodded, blonde hair rippling up and down. "Good. Now, you act out that word, but without saying anything. Then the other person has to try and guess the word you're acting out. Does that make sense?"

"Mhm!" Lydia paused, seemingly unsure of herself. "Um, can you go first? 'Cause I've never played this game…"

'Perfect.'

"Of course," her smile this time was much less forced. "Watch closely, alright?"

'『Flow Acceleration』.'

Time slowed down.

It was a powerful Art, but not one that came without a price. Leinas grit her teeth as body and mind alike immediately began feeling the strain of the boost. Without a second to waste, she twisted around and pinned Mira to the floor by the wrists, knocking the spell-knife out of their hand.

She had considered the throat at first, but a potential『Silent』spell would be harder to deal with than one that was vocalized; on the other hand, keeping both hands immobilized prevented them from aiming. Even if they weren't a spellcaster, Leinas was still confident in her ability to suppress them in their current position.

The Principality Observation didn't move from where it was levitating. Perhaps it believed the grappling to be part of the game, though the ex-Imperial Knight couldn't say for sure.

"Fuck," Mira murmured with a small amount of awe that Leinas raised an eyebrow at. Was it really the time to be impressed by her martial prowess? "Heavy Explosion's no joke, huh?"

"Next time, try asking normally before shoving a spell-knife—"

"I know, I know!" Lydia leapt to her feet, jumping up and down with her hand raised in the air. "The Goddess!"

"What?" Leinas and Mira both turned their heads towards her in disbelief.

"Because, because! Dad says she always makes kissy faces at the queen!" Lydia looked immensely proud of herself. "Like you guys are! Do I win?"

Leinas jerked away as if she had touched a hot stove, releasing the Royal Guard. "Y-Yes, you won a point. Good job, Lydia."

"Is this how she feels all the time?" Mira nonsensically mumbled while rubbing her wrists. "Maybe I should go easier on the teasing."

'What the hell is she talking about?' Leinas shoved the spell-knife back into Mira's hand and the recent interaction out of mind. "You were too overconfident. Funny for someone of a kingdom that had to be bailed out by literal divine intervention."

"Yeah, well—whatever," Mira picked herself up from the ground and dusted off her attire, cheeks dusted a light red. "You're not off the hook!"

"Did I miss something?" Silas came out of the bedroom with a few books in hand.

"Dad, they were—mmghmrghmmn," Mira quickly covered the girl's mouth. "Mind your own business, Lavigle."

Silas looked at them for a stifling second before shaking his head. "Ready to go, Miss Rockbruise?"

"Yes," the sooner they left, the better. Were all the Royal Guards like Mira? Leinas didn't remember them being—this. Maybe the setting's lack of professionalism was to be blamed. "And thank you for inviting me into your home. I had a… pleasant time."

"Can they stay for longer, Dad?" Lydia tugged at her father's robes, shooting him with a wide-eyed plea. "Pleeease?"

"Sorry sweetie, but we'll be out and about," he bent slightly over and tousled her hair. "We'll see if Leinas wants to come over later, okay?"

"Fine…"

"Love you," Silas kissed the top of her head. "Have fun with Mira while we're out."

" 'Kay…" Lydia tip-toed and hugged his neck. "Love you too, Dad."

'...' Leinas averted her eyes. Watching the priest dote over his daughter dug up echoes that were better buried than called up to the waking consciousness. For her, the time for familial affection had long passed.

"Oh. My. Gaaaawds," Mira dragged her hands down her face. "Just go already."

"Right, right," the door closed on the sight of the Royal Guard being scolded by Lydia for 'being rude.' "See you! Whew, sorry for the delay. It's a whole mess and a half trying to find anything in my room."

"Ask the angel to clean it then."

"Ask the angel… A tad sacrilegious, but hm. Not a bad idea," Silas rubbed his chin. "I'll note that down for later."

The priest took out a clearly magical quill from his pouch and began writing in one of the smaller books he was holding.

"The Theocracy let you keep all of that?" Leinas glanced over. "I can't see them willingly agreeing to making such an allowance."

"Eh, this one's a personal possession," he tapped the filigreed vane of the quill. "As for my clothes, well, the Cardinals were kind enough to grant me the permission to bring anything that was unenchanted."

"Fair," Leinas kept quiet after that, watching Silas hail a pair of armored, flame-winged angels. Again, she climbed into the uncomfortable arms of the yet-to-be-seen Goddess's servant. Again she suffered another harrowing flight where the wind slammed into her face and whipped through her hair.

At least it was a short trip. It could've stood to be shorter though.

'Damn the time saved on travel,' only her innate robustness kept her steady on her feet upon being deposited nearby a grain silo. 'I'd rather walk than have to rely on that for transit.'

"Here we are," she briefly envied how put together Silas appeared. Then again, they probably had more time to get used to angel-travel. "Err, I'll be checking up on the beastmen. You can go and… walk around, I guess. Sorry."

"Figures," Leinas muttered under her breath, mildly happy with the turn of events. She agreed to come outside the bounds of the city proper to wander after all, not sit and watch him attend to a rabble of demihumans. "I'll do that then."

And so she left the priest to his task of ministering to the sworn foes of his old faith and the beneficiaries of his new. At least he had something to do, to occupy his mind.

She didn't have any of that. No duty, no responsibility, nothing but waiting. Terrible, awful, unbearable waiting.

'Standing guard over the Emperor is preferable to this,' although assassination attempts had ceased in the past few years, standing guard was still better than doing nothing. 'Can I go back and apologize? Ask to be reinstated?'

Leinas laughed at her own foolishness. First of all, she had no way of knowing what the Lady of Wings would ask for on the off chance they were able to cure her affliction. They might even ask eternal servitude out of her in return, for all she knew.

Secondly, Emperor El-Nix would never keep her in arms' reach after she left to the Draconic Kingdom so abruptly. Someone who demonstrated that sort of willingness to abandon their liege wasn't trustworthy enough to have as a guard, no matter what she told him from the moment she was hired.

And thirdly, even if the Lady of Wings didn't demand anything as compensation, Queen Oriculus certainly would. Leinas imagined the Dragon Queen would want to extract every last bit of information, every quill-stroke of state secrets, from someone as high profile as one of the Four Imperial Knights. That would be the nail in the coffin. She was intimately aware of just how much Emperor El-Nix disliked the Dragon Queen. Selling out the Baharuth Empire to Queen Oriculus of all people… no, El-Nix would not like that at all.

It was a price she was willing to pay. If the cost of ridding her of the horrific curse that haunted her life was the Empire's enmity, then so be it.

The sun was already beginning to set, Leinas idly noticed. She hadn't moved an inch from the wall of the silo she was leaning on.

An utter waste of a day. She could've been training, following more leads for potential cures, she could…

What was the point?

"Hey, I'm back," Silas waved at her as he approached. "Got a few beastmen talking about you, wondering why you're out here glowering at the fields. Worried they were doing something wrong, and their administrator sent you to supervise."

"Hilarious," Leinas half-heartedly scoffed. "Supervising a pack of beastmen farmers. Why not just have the angels do it? Or does the 'Goddess' see them to be above petty field labor?"

"Angels don't have to eat or sleep," Silas took out a few pieces of jerky, putting one into his mouth and offered the other. "Beastmen still do, as inhuman as they are. Might as well keep them busy if they're going to stick around for the long term."

"Hmph," Leinas accepted the jerky and began chewing. "If you're done with work, shouldn't you go back home? I'm not sure your child is completely safe around that Royal Guard."

"Mira's fine," Silas dismissed the jab. "The two of them get along pretty well."

"That woman makes for a poor role model. You should be more concerned about that, not whether Lydia likes her or not," what kind of crazy threatened someone in front of a kid when they could've had an angel do it instead?

"Better than nobody," the priest mumbled. "Especially since her mother ran off into that thrice-blasted elven forest."

"Does she even know you're here?" A slight sense of incredulity welled up inside Leinas. His wife was occupied fighting in a war, and he decided to take their daughter and relocate hundreds of kilometers away? "You know—in the Draconic Kingdom and not the Theocracy?"

"We aren't together anymore, if that's what you're wondering," Silas snorted. "She had Lydia, and the first thing she decided to do was sign up for the war in Evasha. Complete insanity."

"Never thought I'd find a Theocracy priest who's discontent about someone fighting the elves," the reasoning made sense, but the fatigue that laced the undertone of his voice didn't. "You're not happy about the war."

"Look, I'm no elf lover, but… what are we even fighting for? People don't talk about it these days, but the Theocracy used to be allied with the Elf Country. And all of a sudden, we're at war because they committed a 'great wrong.' What the hell's this 'great wrong?' What's so important that we have to toss tens of thousands of good men and women into that meat grinder?"

Silas exhaled.

"I could get behind it if there was a good reason," he absentmindedly plucked blades of grass, twirling them around his fingers. "But the Executive Council never gives any details, and everyone just, they just eat it up. Makes a guy wonder what direction the Theocracy's running towards. Starting to feel like there's safer places to raise a kid, you know?"

"Might be related to their special operation teams," Leinas hazarded a guess. Information on the Theocracy's boogeymen came at a premium, and even those were about as substantial as tavern gossip. "Or maybe even a relic. Perhaps the Elf Country stole something valuable that the Theocracy doesn't want leaking into public perception."

"Who knows," Silas stood up with a grunt, hands braced against his knees. "Either way, Executive Council's been dragging the war out. They're obviously not scared of the Elf King, so why not bring out whatever this trump card is instead of stomaching all these losses?"

He beckoned the Archangel Flames closer. "I don't get it."

The priest sighed, a weary exhalation that spoke of years mired in uncertainty and unease.

"I just don't get it."

"Draudillon, look!" The woman in question stared at the ferocious ball of fur frantically trying to chew through her beloved's skull. "It's so cute! Like, it keeps trying to groom me with its widdle-widdle teeth."

"That… thing is trying to kill you," Draudillon attempted to reason with Yuriko. "Varush and Ithit, they had to fight it," the beastmen pair nodded, keeping a wary eye on the creature. "It's not some kind of pet you can tame."

"But it's not hurting me!" Yuriko protested as she patted the furball gnawing on the top of her head. "See?"

"Is this the invulnerability you mentioned?" Varush muttered to Ithit, not taking his eyes away from the angel and the creature. "Your description feels like an understatement now."

"Just please put it down," Draudillon ignored the mumbling beastman. In hindsight, she was incredibly lucky the creature had decided to jump on Yuriko first. There was the chilling feeling that anybody else, save for perhaps Varush, would have died nigh-instantly. "We don't even know how to take care of it. What does it eat? How do we train it? What if it can't live anywhere but here?"

"O-Oh…" Yuriko sadly pulled the monstrous thing off her head, ignoring how it began chomping her fingers while she put it back on the ground. "I didn't think of any of that. Guess I'm not cut out to be a pet owner, huh?"

The irony of their current 'situation' and the angel's lament wasn't lost on Draudillon. She might've laughed had it come from anyone else, but Yuriko's crushed expression was painful in a way that ate at her better judgment.

"I'm certain you'd make a fine guardian," the dragon queen tried to lift Yuriko's spirits. The angel barely gave any indication they heard her, their hands still firmly holding the furball in place. "Look, if you want to… adopt it, we can look for it on our way back."

'Gods, what am I saying? This isn't the time to be picking army destroying abominations off the wayside.'

"Really?" Yuriko perked up so quickly that Draudillon found herself wondering if they had even been dejected in the first place. "Um, but what if it gets eaten by a monster? Or, or something!"

"Ahem, Rajan,'" Varush coughed into his bulky fist. "The monster," Yuriko blankly stared at him. "I, I meant the creature. The creature will be unharmed. I am certain the number of beings that could harm it and live in this region number less than ten."

"Okay. Okay," Yuriko let go of the monster. "See you later, Chomper—"

'Chomper' didn't stick around to listen to the angel's farewell. Upon its release, that ball-shaped monster shot up a ridge, onto a ledge, and vanished over the other side of a lesser summit.

"Maybe he's scared because there were so many people," Yuriko nodded to herself with all the profoundness of a well-learned sage. "I gotta remember that."

'He? When did she…? Forget it,' knowing the angel, there existed a fair chance that her observation was based on a hunch. In fact, the whole statement reeked of Yuriko misunderstanding the nature of the creature. "Of course. I'm glad you're taking it so seriously."

"Mhm!" Yuriko stood to her feet and jogged over to the rest of the group who were standing at a distance—and rightfully so. "It'll be my first time owning a pet, so I don't wanna mess up!"

Draudillon tiredly smiled. Well, as long as they were happy, and properly took responsibility, and kept it fed through regular means, and… it did no good for her to think too hard on it. Worse came to worse, she'd make them see the problems with caring for a vicious magical beast, somehow.

"So, how much longer?" Yuriko lightly clasped their hand around hers. "We're like, almost there aren't we?"

"Two days," Rasthdaan gave the two women an odd look. Draudillon frowned; what warranted that sort of consideration? "Counting today."

"That's long…" Yuriko kept quiet after that, the sun crawling across the sky as they progressed. This time, Draudillon allowed the angel to assist her across the more difficult spots of terrain. It was still a little embarrassing, but infinitely preferable to being flat-out carried by them.

As nice as the angel's back had been, she wasn't comfortable showing that side of herself to the beastmen. They needed to know their place, and acting like some kind of lovestruck fool wasn't conducive to that end.

After an indeterminate stretch of tense silence, Rasthdaan—presumably bored while taking a break from scouting—leaned closer to Ithit and whispered into the Orthrous's ear.

"Fucking hell, they're acting normal after seeing that thing?" Draudillon presumed he didn't intend for her and Yuriko to hear him. "Thing could've chewed up Varush if he wasn't being careful. And did you see them last night? They were all over each other in the middle of this shitty hellhole. Scary, I'm telling you."

'Wait, no, shouldn't he have been asleep?' Draudillon's face burned in mortification. 'Did he see… everything? Oh gods.'

"I did not ask," Ithit promptly shut the conversation down, peeking behind him at the angel and mildly flustered dragon queen. Yes, mildly. "I also suggest that you drop this topic."

"Draudillon? You okay?" Her beloved worriedly patted her forehead. Apparently they hadn't heard a word of what the impudent aarakocra spewed if they were still this composed. "You're all red again. Wanna hop on—?"

"Not the heat," Draudillon brushed a strand of hair out of her face as memories of last night resurfaced in full-force. "I was thinking about something."

"Oh, okay," Yuriko paused for a beat. "Wanna talk about it?"

"No," Draudillon regretted answering so briskly and corrected herself. "That is, nothing critical to what we're doing. It's just about last night."

"L-Last night?" Yuriko squeaked. "Wh-What about last night?"

"Like I said, nothing," she shifted her gaze away, unable to keep a straight face at the sight of the angel's pink, lush lips and their wide, golden eyes—argh. A mere kiss, and she was reduced to this? Some bumbling girl whose head was filled with nothing but rose-tinged clouds? "It was… pleasant. I enjoyed it."

"Erm, I um," Yuriko tripped over her words. "I liked it too! A, a lot!"

Draudillon pointedly ignored the glances of the blatantly uncomfortable aarakocra. So what if they embraced each other? So what if he thought it was strange? It wasn't any of his concern.

"That's good," the dragon queen lamely said, cursing the sudden departure of her verbal eloquence while she struggled to find another topic to bring up. "Ah, by the way, do you remember the horde you routed in Mohajar? Shouldn't the Infernum have flown over this place already? Seeing as you had it escort the horde home."

"I don't think so," Yuriko tilted her head in contemplation. "It returned pretty fast? I think? I dunno, can't recall that well."

"Teleportation waygates," Ithit quietly butted into their conversation. "Marching an army through Shatterstone would be the height of folly."

'You would know about folly, wouldn't you? Allowing an Infernum to grab and drag you all the way from the eastern borders to the capital,' Draudillon kept the snark in her head. The Direwolf beastman seemed to be on the verge of sharing important information. "How were your countrymen even able to set up the infrastructure for that so far away from your major cities?"

"Waygates can be shifted in emergencies," Ithit answered, directing a distrustful side-eye at Rasthdaan. As expected, her implied knowledge of their general layout evoked misgivings in the Orthrous—did he not know about Clan Vadh? Or maybe the Bafolks just that renowned for their ignorance in the affairs of their nation. "Poor mana and reagent efficiency without the proper support structures, but it's preferable to the alternative."

She had always known the Beastman Country was advanced, more so than any of the human nations in the region, but this was in an entirely different league. Group teleportation? On the scale of an army? Her court had suspected it, but the idea had been too over-the-top to entertain.

"Do you happen to know anything more about these waygates?" Draudillon pressed her line of questioning. Even if the beastmen Vizier lied, she was confident in her ability to tell apart fact from fiction. It was difficult to comprehend beastmen body language and facial forms at first, but practice made perfect, and she had no shortage of practice with all the beastmen that were now under her jurisdiction.

Although, she suspected job levels were also playing an underlying part somehow. Draudillon made a mental note to probe it at depth later.

"They're within the purview of the Vayul Archives," a small rock-lizard scurried past them. "I'm afraid my knowledge on waygate specifications is limited. The archmages prefer keeping their secrets close at hand."

"That goes for you too?" Varush nodded apprehensively. What for? Did they think her to be so unreasonable that she'd punish them for not knowing the mysteries of some spellcaster cabal? "I see."

'No loss. We can take our time studying everything these Archives have to offer soon enough.'

"You're rather open with giving out this information to the enemy," Draudillon airily remarked. "Not worried your peers will label you a traitor to your kind?"

"The smoother this plan goes, the better it will be for our people," Varush calmly stated, simultaneously resigned and resolved. "If knowing about the Archives helps with that goal, then I have no qualms going down in history as a traitor."

A smidgen of respect for the Minotaur High Vizier emerged within her chest. Sacrificing oneself in order to ensure the safety of those below wasn't an act she could ever treat with contempt. Unfortunately, it didn't come anywhere close to balancing out the travesties he allowed.

"Speaking of the Archives," Ithit prodded Varush, a note of urgency underlining his words. "When we arrive at Mahajarat, we need to acquire some materials. The surveillance wards at the Raswaran Dham, those will have to be dealt with somehow."

"Very well," the Minotaur agreed. "I've no desire to make this whole affair even worse for us."

"Surveillance wards?" Yuriko stole the question right out of Draudillon's head. "And why would that make things worse?"

"Council meetings are monitored to prevent foul play and well, general recordkeeping," Varush explained, turning his head towards the curious angel. "As for helping… what will you do if the Archives transmit a warning and cause all of your targets to scatter?"

"We'll chase them down?" Yuriko drew her lips into a thin line. "That's what you want?"

"No, no," Varush hurried to reject the notion. "That would only result in more damage. I believe neither of us want that, if you'd forgive the presumption."

"Hm."

"A quick stop is acceptable," Draudillon spoke up in Yuriko's place. "Key word being quick."

"We wouldn't dare waste time for a meaningless reason, Queen Oriculus," Varush led the group in scaling a steep incline. "But I cannot promise that it'll be quick."

"Couldn't we just get the Archives first?" Yuriko picked Draudillon up by the back and legs, easily traversing the sheer slope. "Then they won't be a problem at all, right?"

"Um, that's a fine idea, but our communications system does require the Archive to be functioning—"

"What about taking over?" The angel set her down with a carefulness that made her heart skip a beat. "Then you guys can still get all the people in one place, and we don't have to worry about their surveillance wards or whatever."

"It's… possible. Seeing as it's you, Rajan," Varush conceded. "For anyone else, it would be suicide—myself included."

"There's nothing stopping them from sending a silent『Message』though is there?" Draudillon cut into the discussion. "Not to mention sabotaging their components, the risk of someone sneaking out, and countless other things that might go wrong."

To that, Varush only offered a helpless shrug.

"I'll make sure they won't," Yuriko pumped her fist. "Maybe if I intimidate them hard enough "

In their two months together, Draudillon noticed that the angel could be frightening when they weren't trying. On the flip side, imagining them purposefully putting on a menacing act… was difficult.

"Maybe I can sneak into a bathroom and change out of this," Yuriko tugged at the tattered shirt. "Summon some angels while I'm at it and go, 'Bam!'"

Draudillon raised a disbelieving eyebrow.

"I can be scary!" Yuriko weakly objected, the corners of her lips beginning to droop.

"..."

"What? I can!"

"I didn't say anything."