Ch.161Chapter 161

“So where did those bastards agree to meet today?”

“…At that tall pillar visible from here. The pillar…”

The Huntsman’s follower stammered as he struggled to relay the information.

Judging by the fear in his voice, it seemed the shock therapy had worked properly.

I’m realizing again that Aghartha’s presence control ability has countless useful applications.

By adjusting the intensity of her presence to contaminate the target’s mind without making them faint, they eventually break down and voluntarily spill information like this.

I smiled at Aghartha, who was standing beside me with an innocent expression as if she didn’t know what was happening.

“Thank you. Thanks to you, I was able to obtain valuable information.”

“…Thank you?”

“Yes! Of course.”

For some reason, Aghartha made an ambiguous comment and suddenly turned toward me.

I wondered what she was doing, but she was trying to pounce on me again.

I reflexively blocked her cheek with my hand.

“W-what are you doing?!”

“When you’re grateful, aren’t you supposed to let me do what I want?”

“No, no! Wait a minute! Given where we are, please calm down first…!”

Aghartha pouted with puffed cheeks and grumbled, but at least she didn’t try to force anything more.

I suppose she doesn’t want to do anything I dislike.

“…Thank you, Aghartha.”

“I’ll see you when this is over.”

“…Oh boy.”

Seeing her point her finger at me with obvious annoyance made me feel awkward.

Well, I suppose I can do whatever she wants after this is all over.

When I smiled at Aghartha, her face turned slightly red before she disappeared somewhere.

Now that her job was done, she seemed to have returned to where she came from.

“Hmm.”

I quietly observed The Huntsman’s follower.

I could just let him go now, but I felt irritated remembering how he had been talking behind my back.

It’s good that he provided information, but that’s a separate issue.

Perhaps reading my gaze, the follower violently shook his eyes and crawled toward me.

“P-please! I beg you, I really don’t know anything else!”

“Yeah, I believe you. But that’s not the problem.”

I gave The Huntsman’s follower my warmest smile.

Perhaps it wasn’t the right kind of smile for this situation.

The follower’s face was gradually turning pale.

“I’m upset about you inciting others to talk behind my back.”

“…!”

I whistled.

From somewhere, a panting sound approached as something quickly ran toward me.

To me it sounded like cute little footsteps, but perhaps the follower heard something different.

Tears were already streaming from his eyes.

“Bell.”

“Human!”

Bell ran over and sat in front of me.

Well, I have my principles too. I wouldn’t do anything too terrible.

“I’m going to be busy talking with the knights from now on.”

“Huh?”

He must have guessed what I was about to say.

The follower shook his head frantically and began backing away.

“So, play with that man for a while. Understand?”

“I understand, woof!”

“Nooooo!”

The moment my words fell, the follower let out a desperate scream, but Bell had already quickly approached him.

Thump.

Bell flattened the follower and began licking his face enthusiastically.

Hmm.

If Bell were a real dog, I think he’d be closer to a Golden Retriever than a wolf-like dog.

His friendliness in playing well with just about anyone is truly remarkable.

With that, I turned around and went on my way.

From behind me came screams even more intense than when he had encountered Aghartha.

#

“Commander! I’ve gathered information…”

Upon returning directly to our temporary quarters, I hurried to find the commander to share what I’d learned, but somehow the atmosphere inside seemed unusual.

More precisely, everyone seemed to be eyeing me cautiously.

Why?

“Tanthyn…”

At that moment, the vice commander called my name.

His voice sounded somewhat subdued, suggesting he wasn’t in a good mood.

“Yes, Vice Commander.”

“…What did you do to that follower?”

“I just used Outer Gods to cause mental contamination, that’s all.”

“…Is that really all?”

“Hm? Yes, it is.”

At those words, for some reason, all the knights seemed to let out sighs of relief.

What kind of reaction is this?

Did they think I used Outer Gods to torture him like some kind of thug?!

What kind of image do they have of me, anyway?

As I was feeling slightly hurt, the commander sighed and approached me.

“So, what information did you obtain?”

“The follower and Candle will be meeting near that pillar shortly.”

After hearing my words, the commander rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

He seemed to be thinking that casualties would be inevitable given our overwhelmingly smaller numbers.

The commander likely didn’t want to cause unnecessary sacrifices.

“Vice Commander, how can we return without any deaths while still achieving a complete victory?”

“Wouldn’t it be best if you and I fight at the frontlines, Commander?”

“That’s good, but we might not be able to protect the knights. There’s a possibility that overwhelming numbers will gather like in our previous war with Candle. Plus, with The Huntsman’s followers mixed in, the difficulty will be higher than before.”

“Hmm.”

Indeed.

The bandits moving under The Huntsman follower’s command were quite different from the combat ability of bandits I normally knew.

In this case, we were able to win relatively easily because there were few bandits and The Huntsman follower was defenseless, but if their numbers increased, it would be a different story.

I had Bell out for a long time to find the way, and even summoned Aghartha for the interrogation, so the party flute’s duration must be nearly exhausted by now.

That means I’ll now have limitations on summoning gods.

At most, I could only bring some of their powers, but…

In that case…

“Ah.”

Just then, a thought flashed through my frontal lobe.

Usually, battles involving overwhelming numbers are handled primarily by the commander and vice commander.

I was closer to being responsible for handling what they missed at critical moments.

That means I could step back slightly from combat to look after the other knights without causing major problems, right?

Thinking about it that way, I recalled a god who could instantly restore a nearly dead body and even enhance physical abilities.

“Commander.”

“Hmm?”

“I just thought of a way to avoid deaths.”

At my words, the commander’s eyes sparkled with a serious expression.

#

“It was a good conversation, Huntsman follower.”

“I think so too. It’s the first time I’ve met someone whose thoughts align so perfectly with mine.”

The representative of The Huntsman’s followers and the Candle representative shook hands.

At this moment, an alliance was formed.

It was thanks to their interests aligning quite appropriately.

“Of course. After all, you also find it unacceptable that humans are getting friendly with Outer Gods.”

“…That’s right. It’s something we can never accept.”

The Candle representative was momentarily taken aback as the follower’s expression seemed to be tinged with madness for an instant, but he decided to let it go since they wouldn’t be meeting again after this was over.

Turning away from the follower, the Candle representative raised his weapon high while looking at the area where the follower’s group and Candle’s group were mingling.

“The alliance has been formed! From now on, we will completely crush the knights of Rondan. And we’ll prevent them from defeating the Giant of the Snow Mountains! Understood?!”

“Uooooooh!”

A deafening roar exploded like a blast.

Despite the painful noise, the Candle representative felt adrenaline surging through his body, perhaps considering the vibration pleasant.

Now all they had to do was go after Rondan.

The knights wouldn’t be able to respond properly to a sudden attack.

The Candle representative was feeling joy at how smoothly things were progressing and was about to advance when—

BOOM!

“Aaaaargh!”

A piercing boom came from somewhere, and when the Candle representative identified the source of the sound, he involuntarily gritted his teeth.

He was so angry that his teeth nearly broke from clenching his jaw too hard.

It was because people who shouldn’t be appearing now were visible.

“…Raedan Tanthyn! How are you here?!”

At the source of the boom, Tanthyn could be seen holding a sword that he had struck into the ground, knocking out some troops.

Though he had been showing overwhelming growth recently, the crater at the tip of his sword suggested he couldn’t have become this strong through normal growth.

“…You dare strut around so brazenly after betraying humanity and joining hands with Outer Gods!”

The Candle representative sneered maliciously, but the knights following behind didn’t even blink, approaching with an aura suggesting they would soon crush them.

He thought about fleeing, but didn’t believe all these troops could escape from those figures.

A collision seemed inevitable.

The energy emanating between Candle and the knights seemed to make the already cold imperial land even colder.