[Troop List – Spearman Raul: (Hides himself until sunset)]
Raul's status window hadn't changed since then. It seemed he intended to stay hidden and wait for the right moment.
'And the fact that Godric has been quiet ever since…'
That's worrying.
"Isaac?"
Had I furrowed my brows without realizing it? Leonardo quickly moved to my side. A look of worry on his face. Ever since that night when I went out alone and ended up in a free fall without a parachute, he seemed uneasy whenever I moved on my own. Of all times, something like that had to happen when we were apart.
I reached out and gently smoothed his furrowed brow before running my fingers through the rough stubble of his hair. That stiff texture made it easy to touch and oddly satisfying to feel…
Leonardo's hair was slightly wavy, but Leovald's true form had straight hair. I wondered if the texture felt any different.
As I remained silent for a long time, he simply let me ruffle his hair, quietly leaning into my touch. A few steps away, Vittorio hesitated before finally inching closer and nudging his head into my free hand. My hands were now completely occupied by soft, fluffy textures. Surprisingly, it was quite soothing.
I stayed like that for a while, lost in thought, before suddenly snapping back to reality and whispering,
'Ah. Raul seems to have found something. But there's no concrete information yet.'
「Did he make contact with Paulo?」
'I confirmed that he made it safely to the dragon's head, but I'm not sure if they met yet.'
「I see. He's resourceful, so there's no need to worry too much. We'll find out if we wait.」
He was right. It would be best to check Raul's movements around sunset. I briefly considered travelling between scenes like I had when the
As I withdrew my hand from Leonardo's hair, soothing my unease, Duke Marchez, his eyes shadowed with exhaustion, approached at a brisk pace. In one hand, he carried the Dragonbone Sword.
Leonardo flinched instinctively at the sight of the Dragonbone Sword, so I stepped in front of him. But given the unidentified, sticky fluid dripping from the blade, anyone would have hesitated to approach, not just him. It looked like a weapon that had just stabbed some kind of slimy alien.
"We did it!"
Duke Marchez declared with exhilaration.
"…What?"
"As you suspected, it functioned as an organ specialized in breaking down specific components. I wondered if the same principle could apply to the Dragonbone Sword, so I let it rest overnight and observed the results."
He spoke as if he had marinated a piece of meat in seasoning. Seeing the knights' faces turn green, I silently decided to remove all meat from today's lunch menu. Skipping a meal wouldn't hurt…
"If you look closely, you'll see a unique ripple pattern on the surface. This pattern is often found in the bones of certain beasts, but it wasn't there before. It seems the bones were originally processed into a sword shape and then coated with something to finish them."
[Bonus Objective Cleared: Remove Abrasive (1/1)]
It looked like one of the key research tasks had just been completed. I carefully pushed Leonardo back to safety and examined the sword's surface closely.
"Then, is this truly a dragonbone?"
"Yes."
The blade still had a dark hue, but it no longer gleamed like obsidian. The duke carefully retrieved the sword.
"With this, we can finally conduct proper toxicity experiments. But for that, we'll need a 'living' test subject—"
I highly doubted he realized how mad scientist-like he sounded. The knights were visibly alarmed, shuffling backward.
"You mean we need to capture a beast alive?"
"Exactly!"
This was the loudest I had ever heard the duke speak. The fake duke came rushing over belatedly, quickly dispersing the terrified knights.
Then, in a low, weary voice only meant for us, he murmured,
"Your Grace… wouldn't capturing one be too difficult? I can fight with my sword while you observe from a distance. A surprise attack would be ideal for capturing it, but in our current situation—"
Duke Marchez scuffed his foot against the ground, looking genuinely disappointed.
'Hmm. I was already considering accelerating the plan since Godric's been acting suspicious.'
Exchanging a brief glance with Leonardo, I let a smile curl on my lips.
"I think we can make it happen."
A map still floated in the corner of my vision.
***
That evening.
Duke Marchez watched as his breath curled into white mist, dissipating into the cold air. Knights unfamiliar with the cold carried heated stones inside their clothes for warmth.
But the man before him seemed entirely unbothered by the chill. Draped in a single-layered cloak, he perched on a jagged rock formation jutting out like a tail from the cliffside, lazily swinging his feet. Below him, the forest stretched out like a miniature playset.
'I thought he was from the South… but maybe not?'
Given his close ties with the second son of the Ertinez family, Marchez had assumed he was of southern descent. But his somewhat exotic features suggested he might not be from the kingdom at all.
Marchez stole a brief glance at him before quickly looking away.
His grandfather had often scolded him for staring at people too intently, as if studying them. Though he never heeded that warning while his grandfather was alive, the words of the dead carried a weight heavier than gold. Without realizing it, he had started following them.
The forest was silent and still. Apart from the occasional sound of snow-laden branches shaking off their burden, nothing else stirred.
The next moment, a flurry of wings filled the air as birds took flight. Birds that endured the winter rarely flew unless disturbed—meaning something had frightened them.
As Marchez instinctively tensed, the man perched on the cliff only smiled faintly and let out a long, smooth whistle. It started high and ended with a clean, fading note. That was the signal. A low rumble trembled through the ground, accompanied by a drifting cloud of snow in the distance.
Beasts. Twisted, mutated creatures swarmed forward in a frenzied pack. Yet the man remained relaxed, curled up in his perch, whistling a casual tune as if watching a tiny world unfold beneath his feet.
The moment the creatures drew close, snorting and agitated, the hunting party hidden beneath the snow suddenly rose to their feet.
"Raise shields!"
The second son of the Ertinez family issued the command with unwavering composure. Shields lifted in unison, forming a wall, while spears thrust forward through the gaps like jagged thorns.
The rampaging beasts, previously charging without hesitation, recoiled in confusion at the sudden obstruction. At that instant, the man's whistle shifted—higher, faster. The shield wall moved in perfect coordination, pressing forward to trap the creatures.
Faced with this unexpected counterattack, the beasts trembled and staggered back, panic overtaking them.
Marchez watched in quiet admiration.
Dried streaks of beast blood formed a crude image on the shields, resembling a dragon's head from a distance. It was a design Marchez had painted that morning, based on an idea the man had proposed.
'Since dragons instinctively terrify these creatures, why not use blood and the dragonbone sword to deceive them?'
Just as he predicted, beings born from draconic poison harboured a deep-rooted fear of evil dragons. The toxic aura emanating from the purified dragonbone sword only added to their confusion. The beasts, hesitating and retreating, soon turned in panic and fled toward a dead end.
That was when the man smiled.
A sharp crack echoed from below, loud enough to reach the cliffside.
Screeee!
The terrified beasts, too frantic to notice the subtle changes in familiar terrain, stampeded straight into a carefully concealed pitfall—hidden beneath branches and layers of snow. The ground gave way beneath them, and as the trap collapsed, a fine mist of snow billowed into the air.
From deep within the pit, the creatures thrashed and clawed desperately, trying to climb out. But the sheer depth and slippery walls made escape impossible.
Under normal circumstances, knights would have spent days digging a pit this large—working through sleepless nights with shovels. But the man had simply identified the perfect terrain and led the beasts straight into it. As if he held the entire mountain range in the palm of his hand.
The knights peered into the pit and shouted, "Total of eight captured!" as they waved their flags in triumph.
It was an astonishing success.
Yet, the man simply stretched his arms with an easygoing air, as if this outcome had been a given. Then, with a friendly smile, he turned to Marchez and said,
"It's getting chilly up here. Shall we head down, Your Grace?"
Marchez was no fool. He studied the man and asked,
"You…"
"Yes?"
"Are you that man?"
The masked figure in black. The shadowy force uniting those with a grudge against the king. A man whose knowledge seemed boundless and whose true motives remained a mystery.
"Since when—"
Had he been the masked man from the beginning, or had the person changed at some point? Marchez couldn't tell. But one thing was certain—this man no longer resembled the timid, love-struck commoner he once appeared to be.
At that, the man blinked, feigning mild surprise. Then, as if unable to hold back, his lips quirked into a sly, lopsided smile.
"I wasn't planning to interfere… but the situation's changed a little."
A pale wisp of breath once again escaped from Marchez' lips. Between the occasional gusts of winter wind, the man standing precariously before him seemed even more unfathomable than before.
As if…
'Like I'm looking at the king.'
The resemblance lay in something intangible yet undeniable. A strange, unsettling aura. Marchez clenched his hands into fists, tension coiling in his gut.
Though this man had played the role of an intermediary, forging an alliance between House Ertinez and those who opposed the king, he was far from trustworthy.
"…The situation has changed? What do you mean by that?"
The man briefly cast his gaze into the distance before speaking, his voice laced with unmistakable displeasure.
"We were short on time to begin with. But now, we need to push even harder."
A voice heavy with distaste.
***
[Troop List – Spearman Raul: (Investigating the truth behind the Black Dragon's resurrection plan…)]