AN: Here's responses to some reviewers (or possibly the same reviewer, I'm not sure). In future, please get an account so I can reply directly.

Half anf Half: In a sense, yes. But in the setting I'm using here, most monsters are balanced in terms of love and lust.

Druella Skin: Druella is meant to have the same appearance as in canon.


Primera closed her eyes and listened to the whispers of the forest.

In a nest beneath the earth, thousands upon thousands of ants scurried around in their endless labours.

In the scattered leaf litter, a snake slithered around in search of an unwary rat or gecko to eat.

On the trunk of a tree, one squirrel chased another in a courtship ritual.

In the canopies of the trees, dozens of songbirds chirped and screeched.

High above, an eagle flew through the air, its keen eyes scanning for a songbird careless enough to leave the cover of the trees.

But… not a single monster nearby…

Her search done, Primera began running back. The forest floor was cluttered with tree roots and natural pitfalls, often concealed by ivy and moss, yet she never tripped even once. It took less than half a minute to reunite with her group.

Primera approached a group of thirty humans. They were all fighters of Lescatie and most were complete strangers to her. However, all of them were at least strong enough to defeat the average monster one-on-one.

"Found anything?" asked Mersé, leader of this group and the only one Primera had any prior experience with.

Primera shook her head, causing her twintails to swish about.

"Hmph… they seem to be getting a lot more cautious now," Mersé said. "It's different from earlier, when they were getting spotted all over the place…"

Did Druella start reining them in? Primera wondered. Or were they deliberately allowed to run free in previous days, as a way of intimidating us? But who would that intimidation be targeted at? Druella herself is a bigger threat than a few regular monsters, and me, Elt and a few others already know that. Letting the rest of Lescatie know monsters are coming… just gives us time to prepare…

Primera didn't say any of her thoughts out loud. This was partly because she had a major secret to keep and partly because she was never the sort of person to open up to others.

"Should we keep moving, Hero Mersé?" asked one of the soldiers, whose name Primera didn't know.

Mersé brought a hand to her chin for a moment. "No, the sun's almost down now," she said. "If we do run into any monsters, we'd be more vulnerable to them. Let's stop for tonight."

Primera had, in the past, frequently roamed the wilderness of Lescatie at night. But she could hardly expect others to do the same, especially at a time like this. So she relaxed slightly and helped the others set up camp.

-ooo-

When night arrived, there were over a dozen tents set up around a trio of campfires. Above said campfires, a variety of wild animals were being cooked on spits, filling the air with the mouthwatering scents of fat and meat.

The soldiers were chatting about their lives, mostly in the form of good-natured grumbling about their debts or annoying family members. Some placed bets on which of them would be the first to kill a monster. Mersé was among them, laughing with them, occasionally getting into a scuffle with them.

Primera, on the other hand, sat outside of the group. She was currently on watch but even when that duty ended, she had no plans to join them.

...It's not like they'd want me around, anyway… None of them has asked me to join them...

Until dinner was ready, the half-elf contented herself with maintaining her bow. She carefully cleaned the string and inspected it for fraying threads. She ran her fingers over the wood to feel for any cracks. Additionally, she checked her arrows one by one to make sure the fletching was in good shape.

"—finally propose to her?"

"Yeah, and I'm glad I did! The two of us were dancing around each other for years, but now it feels like… feels like I'm the king of the world."

"Ah, stop bragging!"

Primera's ears twitched. She imagined a certain red-haired human holding her hands and speaking certain words. Then she imagined the two of them standing in a church, her wearing a frilly white dress.

When her imagination reached the point of them sharing a bed together, she shook her head furiously.

W-W-What the hell was that!? I… I definitely don't want anything like that!

It's those stupid idiots' fault for planting ideas in my head!

It's Druella's fault for showing me stupid stuff like… like that!

-ooo-

An hour later, dinner was finished and the soldiers started retiring to the tents.

Mersé jumped up to a tree branch, where Primera was now sitting.

"Hey," Mersé said, gruff as ever. "Still no signs of 'em?"

"Either there's no monsters nearby," Primera replied, "or they're very good at hiding."

Mersé hummed. "They might be hiding away since they're not strong enough to attack a group like this, but I doubt that. Another possibility is that they're trying to bait more of us out…"

For the next few moments, the only sounds were those of the forest at night. The two heroes looked down at their camp; if they were indeed falling into a trap, many or all of these people wouldn't stand a chance.

"...After my watch is done, it's your turn next, and then someone else's?" Primera said. "Whoever you post on watch duty, make sure they're good at their jobs."

"I don't need you to tell me to do that," Mersé said. She paused for a moment, then added, "On a different topic… how's Elt doing at home?"

"Whenever I see him, he's so tired it's a wonder he's still standing," Primera replied, not even trying to keep the accusation out of her tone.

"You think I'm forcing him into training hard?" Mersé shot back. "He's throwing himself into the hardest training on offer, all so he can protect people like you."

Primera flinched but didn't back down. "You know it's pointless. Someone like him wouldn't make a difference no matter how he hard he trains. You should be—"

Mersé lashed out with one fist, almost grazing Primera's face and cracking the tree trunk behind. This time, however, the half-elf didn't flinch at all.

"...I get that you're saying this out of worry for him," Mersé said, her eyes livid. "That's the only reason I'm not taking this further. But don't you dare look down on Elt's choice. All of my soldiers have their own reasons to fight. I'm not going to take that away from them."

"Do you think his choices matter more than his life!?" Primera said.

"Keep your voice down, you'll disturb the troops," Mersé said, gesturing downwards at the tents. "And to answer your question: I won't let him die, no matter what. Understand?"

Primera and Mersé stared at each other with an intensity normally reserved for mortal enemies.

"...There's no point in us fighting each other, not with monsters as the real enemy," Primera said eventually. "As long as Elt is doing this of his own will, I won't stop him."

"And I'll make sure he comes back alive," Mersé said. "You also need to work hard for that—but I guess that goes without saying."

"I'll keep working with the others, no need to worry," Primera replied. "Though it might not help unless more of Lescatie is willing to work together…"

The two heroes grimaced. For the second time today, their feelings were one and the same.

"Based on what… Elt told me, I've been trying to get the help of some other heroes," Mersé said in a quieter voice than before. "Most of them don't care. They're focused on moving up in Lescatie, and associating with me won't help them do that. None of them think they're in real danger, since Lescatie's never really lost in battle for more than a hundred years."

And it went without saying that Primera would have even less chance of forming alliances with others. Perhaps Sasha would have more luck… but judging from how she was never able to get any assistance for the people of the slums, that wasn't much to bet on.

"We'll just have to… do what we can," Primera said. "Then I leave the watch to you."

Primera slipped off the tree branch and landed on the ground as lightly as a leaf. She made her way to her personal tent. It was normal for heroes to get one tent each—Mersé had one as well—but in her case it was a necessity.

Picking up a pillow, Primera pressed it to her face and screamed incoherently.

There might be bigger things to worry about… but who the hell does that stupid human think she is!? She's only known Elt for a few months, when I've known him for years!

...Sure, it's true Elt is doing this because he wants to. But… grr!

Primera threw herself onto the floor of the tent. She could easily feel the rough ground through the thin canvas, but minor discomfort was the last thing on her mind.

If it were up to me… I'd keep him home even if it made him angry. I know Sasha feels the same way… she was already annoyed by me staying out in the forest on normal days.

And now that I think about it… is there any need for him to train, for him to fight? He'd be useless in any serious fight, and would it be so bad if the monsters took over?

No normal human or elf would consider such a thing. Even Sasha, who had a history of helping monsters, was still reluctant to just yield Lescatie to them.

But Primera was someone rejected by both humans and elves. Moreover, she already had experience in cooperating with people she mutually disliked, since that was her current relationship with Lescatie's authorities. Switching sides to monsters was thus an option for her, provided that it was actually beneficial.

There's still a chance Druella was lying about what monsters are like… But again, why would she show a lie to me and Elt, instead of people actually important to Lescatie? People like that Noscrim girl…

Primera remembered how happy Elt had been when he came back from meeting Wilmarina Noscrim. Even though that stuck-up heiress had done nothing for him in the past eight years. Even though there were people who'd been by his side when it actually mattered, who'd appreciate having more of his attention…

Thoughts of wedding bells came to mind again, so Primera pinched her cheeks hard.

Damn you, Druella! Is this what you were after!? To distract me with… with absolute nonsense!

The people of Al Mar might object strongly to weddings being treated as "nonsense", but it was the simple, harsh truth.

There was no way a half-elf and a human could get married, after all.

-ooo-

The next morning, the group of scouts of Lescatie began moving again.

Like yesterday, Primera went ahead to make sure the route was clear for the rest. This was naturally the riskiest role, though not by much—the others would catch up in an instant if she ran into trouble, with Mersé right at the front of them.

If Elt, Sasha or the kids knew about this, they'd be angry, Primera thought. But it's better this way. I'm not good at fighting alongside others, and they'd just hold me back anyway.

Primera dashed through the forest, leaping over tree roots and boulders, weaving between saplings and shrubs. Out of the group she was with, Mersé might be able to match or exceed her pace on level ground. But there was no one, not in all of Lescatie, who could outrun her in the forest.

Instead of moving in a straight line, Primera repeatedly changed direction so she was moving in an irregular zigzag. This allowed her to scout a larger area. But even in this larger area, she wasn't finding any monsters, not even signs of monsters such as their footprints.

It almost makes this whole mission feel pointless…

But there was no denying that Primera had encountered Druella a few days ago. And there was no way that a lilim would just hang around Lescatie without planning something.

Bored by the lack of anything unusual, Primera began listening to the forest again.

There were bees, butterflies and hoverflies flitting from flower to flower, feasting on the nectar and spreading pollen around.

There was a woodpecker on a tree, searching for juicy wood-boring grubs to dig out and eat.

There was a gecko on a nearby shrub, nervously watching the huge two-legged creature towering above it.

...And there were five werewolves in a tree clearing up ahead, along with an equal number of humans.

Primera came to an abrupt stop. This was what they'd be searching for. Five werewolves might not seem important, but interrogating them might reveal information about more monsters.

I just need to get back to the others with this news, and…

Yet Primera's legs wouldn't move. She knew her duty as a hero of Lescatie, yet…

If I tell the others… these monsters would definitely die in the end… but that's what I'm supposed to do, as a hero…

Primera remained still for a few more seconds. Then she disappeared from view, with her body taking on the exact colours of the surrounding vegetation.

I… I'll just check things out first, before telling the others…

Primera walked forward. Even though the ground was covered in dead leaves, her footsteps produced a sound indistinguishable from foliage swaying in the breeze.

Werewolves have good noses as well… I just have to hope that this magic hides my scent well enough…

While it was necessary to survive, using the characteristic magic of elves always made Primera feel awkward. Most humans, with the exception of those close to her, viewed it with a mix of envy, awe and suspicion. As for what other elves would think, if they ever witnessed her using elven magic…

They'd see me as a clumsy half-trained idiot, blundering around in the forest without a clue… well, it doesn't matter. They never leave their secret forests, so they'd never get the chance to see me anyway.

Returning to the present, Primera leaped up and grasped the trunk of a tree—avoiding the branches since they'd bend greatly, an obvious sign of her presence—then leaped to another tree. By moving in this manner, she reached the tree clearing where her targets were.

And then she heard the laughter.

"No way! That couldn't have happened!"

"Really, when we were going to the bar one night…"

"C-Could you please put more clothes on?"

"I coouuuld… but are you sure you really want that?"

The werewolves weren't killing and eating the humans—as some in the Order would expect—or raping them—as others would expect. Instead, they were sitting together and laughing together. The atmosphere wasn't too different from last night's camp. There was even a werewolf leaning against a tree instead of mingling with the rest, much like how Primera had avoided her allies last night.

As for the humans here, their clothing suggested they were from one of the rural villages of Lescatie. They should have been afraid of monsters, creatures beyond their ability to resist, yet any fear they once had was now gone. Judging by how one villager was looking at the werewolves, lust had now replaced that fear in one case.

"I was wondering, though, is it safe to be out here?" one of the werewolves asked.

Up in the trees, Primera tensed. She was still cloaked in magic, but it was always possible for a moment of carelessness to give her away.

"It's fine, no one else from the village comes out here," one of the humans replied, waving a hand dismissively. "And the people from the capital never come anywhere close to here."

A few minutes passed and no one else raised any concerns, so Primera relaxed.

Really… out of all the things I was expecting to see, this isn't one of them…

By piecing together scattered fragments of information, Primera managed to work out the story behind all this. The werewolves were one of several monster units sent to deliberately make contact with humans out in the wilderness, hoping for peaceful contact.

"We got really lucky that you actually listened to us, you know?" a werewolf said. "I heard the other groups were running into trouble…"

"Ahaha… yeah, that makes sense," a human said. "We're all raised to see you monsters as… well, pure evil, so most people would run away."

"If you hadn't helped us out when we'd gotten lost, we would've run too," another human said.

Hmm… that would explain some of the sightings, Primera thought. Monsters tried approaching humans who ran away from them. And the lack of sightings today or yesterday would be because they're giving up on something that hasn't worked…

except here.

Primera felt the weight of her bow slung across her back. Her normal duty would be to kill monsters and any traitorous humans siding with monsters. She could handle a group this size easily, not even needing the help of her allies…

However, even with supposed enemies and traitors in front of her, she did not draw her bow.

"I need to get back soon, though," a human said. "My little brothers are waiting for me to come back."

"You've got three brothers, right?" a werewolf asked. "You're so lucky… None of us werewolves have more than two siblings, some none at all..."

"Heh, try putting up with their antics for a day and see if you change your mind…"

Primera thought about the younger orphans at Sasha's church. They could definitely be annoying, always running around and screaming, always trying to foist their chores on her with their puppy-dog eyes, always snickering about the hidden feelings that she definitely didn't have… yet even then, she still wanted to protect them. No matter how things turned out, she wanted a happy ending for them.

It's hard to imagine Druella, or anyone else, arranging a trick here and expecting me to find it… and if she could arrange this, there's no way we could do anything to stop her. And what about those monster kids Sasha is raising?

No, there's only one possibility. Monsters… aren't the ultimate enemy. They're just people like anyone else.

There was no more point in Primera remaining here. She could return and lead her group in a different direction, keeping them away from this clearing.

Primera turned her body, causing the tree trunk she was on to creak ever so slightly. She silently cursed.

Four of the werewolves didn't react. Neither did any of the humans. But the fifth werewolf, a red-furred one who stood apart from the rest, looked up at Primera's position.

Is it... too much to hope that she thinks it's just the wind?

Then the fifth werewolf shouted "Enemy!" and began running in Primera's direction.

Primera didn't have time to draw her bow and shoot immediately. Instead, she grabbed an arrow from her quiver, charged it with magic and threw it into the clearing. The arrow exploded in a flash of bright light.

"Ahh!"

"Gah!"

Werewolf and human alike screamed in shock. Primera used this chance to jump away and draw her bow—

—just in time for a clawed hand to rush towards her face.

Primera kicked out on reflex, knocking the red werewolf just far enough back that the claws grazed her cheek instead of shredding her entire face.

Guh… how long has it been since I got injured!?

Primera kicked off trees repeatedly, changing direction each time, in the hopes of building up enough distance to shoot an arrow.

"It's you… I FOUND YOU!"

However, the red werewolf pursued her with ferocious tenacity, never giving enough room to shoot an arrow. Then there was the look in her eyes… it was like nothing Primera had seen before from any monster.

She wants to kill me… no matter what!

The red werewolf tore through multiple branches and leaped towards Primera, jaws ready to tear out the half-elf's throat.

"You're the one who killed them!"

Primera frowned in confusion as she took evasive action. She certainly hadn't killed the werewolves or humans who were in the clearing, so why…

"Wait… don't tell me you're—" Primera gasped.

"But I managed to get away—"

The red werewolf kicked off tree after tree, moving so fast that Primera's vision couldn't keep up.

"—and you'll pay for what you did!"

Out of desperation, Primera cast a spell without using an arrow. She sent forth an explosion of wind from one hand, and while this wasn't enough to seriously hurt the red werewolf, it did divert her path slightly.

Sharp claws sliced through Primera's left arm, scattering more blood to the ground.

I… can't… lose… here!

Primera drew back her bow and loosed an arrow that trailed particles of frost. The werewolf was too close to dodge, so the arrow threw her back and pinned her to a nearby tree. Rather than piercing flesh, the arrow burst into ice that covered its target.

"Hah… hah…"

Landing on a nearby tree, Primera loosed two more ice arrows. The red werewolf was struggling hard enough to crack the first layer of ice, but adding two more layers left her completely restrained.

"You… what the hell are you doing!?" the red werewolf growled. "Are you planning to torture me!?"

"No!" Primera shouted in response. "I… I just…"

"Flaea!"

Two more werewolves approached on all fours—the other two had presumably stayed back to protect the humans or help them escape.

"Damn you! I can't believe a hero actually found us!"

"You'll pay for hurting Flaea!"

The two werewolves glared at Primera hatefully. They didn't attack at once, probably wary since their ally had already been defeated and was potentially a hostage.

As a hero of Lescatie, Primera would be expected to either kill them herself and then kill the rest, or to retreat and get the help of her allies.

But she did neither of those things. She instead put her bow back on her back and lowered her head.

"...I'm sorry."

All three of the werewolves stared at her in shock.

"What the hell are you even saying?" asked Flaea, the first werewolf. "You're the one who killed all of my old friends!"

"That's why I can't do this again!" Primera shouted.

In the distance, Primera heard the sound of her allies approaching. There wasn't much time left. With a flick of her hand, she dispelled the ice holding Flaea in place, allowing the werewolf to fall to the ground.

"...Why…?" Flaea asked, still dumbfounded. At least she'd managed to land on her feet.

"Run, you idiot!" Primera ordered. "There are more heroes coming!"

The werewolves' ears twitched—they'd clearly heard the same thing Primera had—and then they ran off in a panic. Only Flaea paused to look back, but even that lasted for an instant.

Primera pressed a hand to her left arm, which had the more severe injury, and began casting a healing spell. She was still doing so when her allies arrived.

"Hero Primera!"

"Hero Primera! You're hurt!?"

"Who did this to you!?"

Even if it's just their duty… Primera thought, it feels… nice… to hear that…

Primera used one finger to point towards the east. It was practically the opposite direction to where the werewolves and humans had been last.

"Five werewolves…" Primera said truthfully. "One of them was… unusually strong… They ran that way…"

"Then we can't let them escape," Mersé declared, her massive halberd held in one hand. She pointed at several of the soldiers. "You five, since you're the fastest, come with me. The rest of you, wait here to keep an eye on Hero Primera and check the surroundings for any more signs of monsters. Understood?"

"Yes, Hero Mersé!"

Mersé ran off accompanied by five soldiers. Primera was surrounded by the remaining and very concerned soldiers, a situation that proved to be much harder to deal with than monster-inflicted injuries.

"Are you alright!"

"Dammit, none of us can use healing magic!"

"Hero Primera! I-If it might help, I know about some medicinal herbs..."

Damn you, Mersé! Primera thought. You could have at least brought me with you!

-ooo-

A half hour later, Mersé's group returned. The ordinary soldiers looked dejected at their failure, while their leader… their leader glanced at Primera with a disturbing intensity in her eyes, then looked away.

"What should we do now, Hero Mersé?" asked one soldier. "Should we try going along our previous route and seeing if we find anything else?"

"...No," Mersé replied. "I think it's time for us to end our mission and head back."

"But it's only been two days! Not even that!"

"Hero Mersé, surely we can go on for a little longer…?"

"Because we've already gone out a decent distance from the capital," Mersé explained. "And if we do run into a strong group of monsters, we'd be fucked with no chance of reinforcements."

None of the soldiers disputed this point. A single look at the injured Primera would be enough to convince any of them that retreat was the better option.

But Primera herself continued to feel wary of the hero in charge.

-ooo-

That worry proved justified a couple of hours later, when the group stopped to rest during the trip back to Lescatie. Mersé approached Primera again.

"Alright, I want some answers," Mersé said in a quiet voice. "Someone like you would never have so much trouble with five werewolves. And you'd never mistake the direction they ran in. What gives?"

Primera stared Mersé in the eye for a few moments.

Should I try to kill her and escape? I doubt I could fool her with any lie… but killing her won't be easy, and Elt already trusted her with one secret…

"Fine, I'll tell you," Primera said. "I ran into a pack of five werewolves, who were being friendly with some humans. Most of them, at least… one werewolf spotted me and managed to do this," she gestured at the still-healing lines on her face, "before I defeated her."

"...Guess I was wrong about the first part," Mersé said, eyes wide. "For a single werewolf to hurt you like that, she must've been really experienced."

"She wasn't in the mood for words, but I think she trained herself hard for a while," Primera said. "All… because of me."

Mersé raised an eyebrow, but she allowed Primera to continue without interruption.

"About a year ago… I was sent out to a border region and came across another werewolf pack," Primera explained. "Of course, they were 'threats to Lescatie' and I shot them all to death… or I tried to. One managed to throw me off her track and escape… but I'll never forget the terrified look on her face…"

Primera buried her face in her hands. She normally refused to show weakness to anyone, even to the likes of Elt or Sasha. But seeing Flaea, that werewolf, again had cracked her defenses.

"I'm an idiot… a weakling… I'm no hero…"

Mersé simply sighed. "I'd say you're just feeling normal."

Confused, Primera looked up from her hands.

"What I mean is, I've met some others who got cold feet after killing monsters," Mersé elaborated. "Usually it was their first kills, but sometimes it took a while to sink in. It's… not easy to kill people who aren't trying to kill you."

Primera said nothing. For her, it had been easy to kill monsters until now, simply by not thinking of them as people. That, however, wasn't something she'd admit to a near-stranger.

"But there's still one mystery… why'd you hesitate now, of all times?" Mersé asked. "Earlier, you were faced with a monster who was trying to kill you. Going out of your way to let her live is..."

"...I don't know," Primera confessed. "When I saw her coming for me, and remembered what I'd done… I couldn't kill her. And I definitely couldn't kill the others…"

Mersé crossed her arms and looked at Primera with a thoughtful expression. It wouldn't be surprising if she was debating whether or not to kill the half-elf right here. Certainly, Primera had committed blasphemy of the worst possible kind… just like the human woman who'd raised her for the past few years.

I guess I have more in common with her than I thought…

But Mersé didn't reach for her halberd or otherwise take aggressive action. She simply let out a breath.

"Well, what's done is done. Let's get back to the comfort of the city as soon as possible."

Primera had to slap a hand over her mouth to avoid crying out in shock. When she removed it, she said, "Why…? That makes no sense!"

"What, did you actually want to be punished?" Mersé asked. "The way I see it, even if all five of those werewolves were as strong as the one who cut you up, they'd still be nothing compared to the real threat."

Primera wanted to retort that werewolves could still be a threat to ordinary humans, so this excuse was meaningless… then remembered how both of them were helping to keep a lilim's involvement secret. That was an even more heinous crime than letting a few regular monsters escape. And, of course, there were Sasha's various crimes in the past few months, though obviously Primera wouldn't mention those right now.

"So all we can do now is prepare for the real threat, as much as we can," Mersé said. "Until then, how about you try getting along with everyone else?"

"I think I'll pass on that," Primera replied. "And why are they more… friendly to me now?"

"That's easy to answer: they saw that you actually bleed!"

Primera was confused again. "That… doesn't sound like it would change anything…"

"Seriously, there are rumours among humans that elves have tree sap in their veins, or are literally made of magic," Mersé said. "I never believed that, but… the point is, elves—and half-elves—are seen as something completely different by humans. But bleeding while fighting for Lescatie showed the guys here that you're not that different from them. Anyway, just think about it."

Mersé walked back to the rest of the group. In a few moments, she was mingling casually with them again, telling them stories of pub brawls she'd been involved in.

Primera didn't join them as instructed. She instead started maintaining her bow again.

Without doing a routine like this, she wouldn't be able to stay sane, not after everything that had happened today.

Is she actually planning to report me once we get back to the capital? But… it doesn't feel that way...

-ooo-

They returned to the capital of Lescatie in mid-afternoon. The soldiers scattered almost immediately, keen to be home and away from the wilderness.

Primera had the exact opposite reaction. The half-elf found the constructed landscape to be overly quiet; while there were some hardy birds, rats and vermin dwelling in the cracks, it was nothing compared to the sheer abundance and diversity of even a small patch of forest. But she could bear it for now.

And today, she wasn't attracting a hundred stares as the sole half-elf—and sole person with any elvish ancestry—in Lescatie. The citizens had something else on their minds now.

"Did you hear? Even Count Goldedge is among the ones who got arrested!"

"Yeah, my cousin works in the Goldedge mansion. He always said the whole family's rotten…"

"But will this change anything for us?"

"Better not say anything bad about the new people on top, just in case…"

"Still, I've only ever heard good things about the young Noscrim lady..."

Mersé shook her head in disbelief. "I thought Lescatie might change while we were away, but I wasn't expecting… this."

"What should we do now?" Primera asked carefully. Even if she had a suspicion of how all of this happened, she definitely couldn't discuss it in public.

"Well, to be honest, you're not good at dealing with people," Mersé said. "So I'll take care of figuring out what's happened in Lescatie. You might as well go home early."

"But—"

"If you want to feel useful, then do something like patrolling the walls to make sure no monsters get in. It's up to you."

Then Mersé walked off without another word. Eventually, even her tall figure was swallowed up by the crowd.

The two of us won't ever be friends… but we can at least work together. When we have to.

Primera turned and began making her back to Sasha's church. By hopping from rooftop to rooftop, she arrived at the slums in less than a minute.

I still don't know what to say to them…

She clutched her bow and arrows. While she could make the latter on her own, the former was a keepsake from her elven mother. Instead of being cut or carved from a larger piece of wood, it had been drawn out from a living tree with the ideal properties needed for a bow.

I'm lucky it didn't get broken in the fight… I can fix minor damage, but I don't have any way to replace it…

To this day, Primera still didn't know why her parents had chosen each other. It had to have been easier to just marry within their own races, instead of living a life on the run… and eventually dying early deaths.

This is the only thing I have left of them… I've been using it to stay alive until now, to be of worth to Lescatie… but I'm not sure if I can keep going…

Primera had to tell the truth to the others in the church. They deserved that much, at least.

I don't think they'll reject me… Sasha's been doing things like this for a while, after all… but I still can't help it, I'm scared of what they'll say…

Primera arrived at the church. To her surprise, she didn't see many fresh footprints out the front. Normally, many slum-dwellers would attend Sasha's morning services to be healed.

It looks like… that didn't happen this morning?

Primera knocked on the door. A moment later, a human girl opened it.

"Ah! Big Sis Primera!" Lisia cried.

"Yeah, it's me. I—"

"You need to see what happened!"

Suddenly, Lisia tugged on Primera's hand. Even though she was a little girl pulling an adult hero, Primera was too surprised to resist.

"Wait, what's going on!?"

"Big Sis Sasha's… turned into a monster," Lisia replied. "But! She's still the same deep down! You won't hurt her, right!?"

"I… I won't…" Primera said. "But how did that happen!?"

"It's… a long story, Primera."

Sasha and Elt came into view. Lisia was telling the truth: Sasha now had pink feathery wings and a pink spaded tail, making her… making her…

Is she some kind of succubus now? But that's not important!

Primera grabbed Sasha' wings, causing the older woman to flinch.

"Are you okay, Sasha!? Who did this to you!? Dammit, don't tell me Druella was—!"

"No, no, she had nothing to do with this!" Sasha replied. "And," she shuddered, "please let go of me… I'm surprisingly sensitive there…"

Primera immediately let go of Sasha's pleasantly soft wings.

-ooo-

An hour later, the three adults of the church were sitting together in Sasha's room. Primera now understood Sasha's situation and had also explained her own.

"I can't believe that happened while I was away," Primera said, clenching her fists tightly. "It's because of me that you're…"

"No, it's my fault," Elt said. "You were out on a mission, Primera. But I was still in Lescatie, and I still couldn't…"

"It's not your fault, both of you!" Sasha snapped. She took a deep breath and added, "None of us could have expected this to happen. None of us could have stopped the Fallen God… But, at the very least, you made the right choice today, Primera."

Primera lowered her head and shuffled her feet in embarrassment. "Th-Thanks. I'm still not sure why Mersé let me go, though…"

"I think the captain's been thinking about what I told her," Elt said. "You know, about all those friendly monsters Druella showed us. So she must've had doubts even during this mission, and that's why she didn't punish you, Primera."

That… was the most plausible explanation. And it certainly made it easier to understand why Elt was one of the people Druella had targeted. Not only was he connected to several important figures in Lescatie, those connections were remarkably strong.

"But still… what'll happen to you now,, Sasha?" Primera asked. "You can't go out in public yet, you still haven't figured out how to disguise yourself as a human… something I never imagined I'd say. If they call on you to fight—"

"I'll try contacting Mary—Wilmarina again, see if she can help with that," Elt said.

Sasha flinched. The gesture was slight but Primera still noticed it.

How can you say that in front of her, you absolute idiot!? If there's anyone who you should be trusting like that, it should be me—Sasha, it should be Sasha!

"A-Anyway, there's one thing I can do," Primera said. "I'm never leaving this place alone again!"

The world around them was changing rapidly. But no matter what, Primera would keep this tiny piece of it safe. For that reason, she would continue to wield her bow.

-ooo-

Within the royal castle of Lescatie, King Castor was walking down a corridor with his two guards in tow.

Huff… even if I'm not as old as I look, I haven't worked this hard in ages…

The families and associates of the imprisoned nobles were currently striving to overturn his decisions. They were throwing out fake evidence, real evidence and even baseless accusations in an attempt to hide the truth. At this rate, it would be difficult to give them all the sentences they deserved.

But I must stand firm. Lescatie only degenerated so much because I allowed it. It's time for me to make amends.

"It's one more meeting for today, so after this, the two of you will be able to rest," Castor said to his guards.

"Hey, a royal guard's work is never done, Your Majesty!" said Eddard, one of the guards.

"If this turns out like other meetings, then we've got nothing to worry about!" said Phillip, the other guard.

"We can only hope so…"

Indeed, Castor was no longer the naive fool of his youth. Whenever he met with members of the accused noble families, he calmly sat and listened to them rant, giving non-committal responses as necessary. Most eventually realised they were achieving nothing and left. A few lost control and shouted at him, thinking he was still the same weak puppet deep down… but he never yielded. And in the process, they sometimes let slip additional information.

I've sent out spies to try to find that hidden warehouse of Earl Zendras… They might not succeed before the evidence is disposed of, but it's worth trying…

Castor arrived at a staircase and began descending. He'd need to descend three flights of stairs to reach his destination, adding up to over fifty steps in total.

Come to think of it, walking these stairs is tiring on my old bones… I hear there are alternatives in other countries, contraptions for moving effortlessly up and down a building. I should see about building something like that in the castle. Otherwise, if my body deteriorates… all too likely with the stress of my position… I'd have to be carried up and down stairs, like an invalid…

Then Castor remembered his youngest daughter Francisca. He unconsciously quickened his pace, increasing the gap between himself and his guards.

Francisca… she'd been weak since birth, but she could at least walk independently during her childhood years. Nowadays, she was unable to leave her bed.

...I've only visited her once recently. Not enough to make up for years of neglect. But… she did look happier when I talked about Hero Wilmarina's actions…

There was a period of a few years in Francisca's childhood when she'd been unusually happy. Castor hadn't thought to ask about it at the time, nor had his wife or his three elder daughters. Even Francisca's personal maids never kept a close watch on her… giving plenty of opportunity for secret meetings.

I'd like to ask Hero Wilmarina about that to confirm my suspicions… but I'll need to be careful. If anyone else learned of this, my daughter would be targeted by those hoping to influence Wilmarina…

While thinking such thoughts, Castor brought his foot down on a stone step… but could not grip it at all. The next thing he knew, he seemed to be floating through the air.

What…?

"Your Majesty!" "Your Majesty!"

Castor felt resounding pain on the back of his neck and on both elbows, causing him to cry out in agony. But before he could fall any further down the stairs, two pairs of strong hands grabbed him and hauled him up.

"Your Majesty! Dammit, I can't believe we just let you—"

"We'll get help right away! Just hold on!"

"Ah… ah..."

If Castor had been a warrior king like many of his ancestors, he could have shrugged off this accident. But, to his shame, he never had that kind of fortitude.

After sustaining wounds of this severity, he couldn't lift a finger, couldn't speak, couldn't do anything but slip into the land of dreams...