"Hm? Something's not right."
It seemed to be well past midnight.
Fíliya's eyes snapped open, and she immediately rolled out of bed.
She walked to the tent's entrance and swept aside the flap with her hand.
Pale moonlight flooded in, carrying a touch of cold with it.
The scene outside appeared unchanged, but Fíliya trusted her senses. She had definitely detected a stir of mana.
Yes, someone had certainly used magic. It was the fluctuation of mana produced at the very moment of casting—a moment that not even the most skilled mage could conceal.
But… where?
Perhaps because she had been asleep, or maybe because the source was far away, Fíliya couldn't pinpoint the exact location of the fluctuation.
But there was no way she could simply turn around and go back to sleep now.
So she walked over to the bed and gently shook Ehre's shoulder.
"Mmm… mmm?"
Ehre only let out a weary murmur, her brow furrowing slightly, but she showed no signs of waking.
So, Fíliya directly activated her mana.
Ehre's body floated up from the bed, and then her clothes began to fly towards her.
She was using the 'Magic to Transport Goods' and the 'Magic to Dress Automatically'.
"Mmm… huh?!!"
Finally, after such a commotion, Ehre was jolted awake.
"Fíliya?! What's going on?"
Seeing that Ehre was awake, Fíliya set her down and looked at her.
"There's a situation. I felt it—a very distinct mana fluctuation. And… it was definitely not from a simple spell."
"Huh? You… you did…?"
Hearing Fíliya's explanation, Ehre couldn't help but feel a little ashamed, because she hadn't felt a thing.
Of course, if she could, she would have liked to defend herself.
Come on, I was sleeping! No normal person could detect such a tiny fluctuation from someone casting magic while they're asleep…
"Of course there was. In any case, let's go find Wirbel and regroup. We'll discuss it then."
Since Fíliya said so, Ehre nodded. After their interaction before bed, her trust in Fíliya had grown considerably.
It sounded unbelievable, but if Fíliya said so, it must be true.
She thought to herself.
…And so, the two of them stepped out of the tent, and by sheer coincidence, Wirbel happened to be walking right towards them.
"? No way, you two noticed it as well?"
Wirbel wore an expression of disbelief as he observed the two of them.
His gaze first fell on Ehre, with whom he had worked for some time. Though she was awake, her face still carried the weary look of someone just roused from sleep.
Alright, rule Ehre out.
So, it was this woman who noticed it… You've got to be kidding me.
Wirbel clicked his tongue subconsciously.
He knew full well that the only reason he'd detected that moment was because he hadn't slept at all, remaining in a state of high alert.
Days ago, he had already suspected that the Demon Race's unusual behavior had to mean something. That's why, even after increasing the number of sentries at night and having his third and fourth-class mages take turns using Flight Magic to maintain aerial reconnaissance… he still couldn't sleep soundly.
And tonight, his waiting and effort had finally paid off.
The Demon Race couldn't hold back any longer.
But… he couldn't be sure what the Demon Race was planning.
After all, neither the ground sentries nor the aerial scouts had reported any sightings of demons. This gave him an unsettling feeling, so he had hurried over to wake his two peers.
What he hadn't expected was that Fíliya and Ehre were already awake before he arrived.
"Um, Fíliya noticed it and woke me up."
Ehre said, scratching the back of her head in embarrassment.
"Hmph. Since you're awake, follow me."
Wirbel didn't say anything more.
"It's time for a real… strategy meeting."
…
Inside the strategy meeting room.
"Fíliya, I'll briefly explain the current situation."
Wirbel spoke first, continuing without waiting for any response from Fíliya.
"The Demon Race here is a bit different from the ones I've encountered before… You should know this, but demons don't understand 'strategy.' Their wars with humanity have always been won through direct, frontal assaults. But the demons here… they seem to be using strategy."
Wirbel's words made Fíliya raise an eyebrow. This topic piqued her interest.
As a Demon Race enthusiast, any new discovery about them was enough to excite her.
"Oh? What are they doing?"
Fíliya asked, intrigued.
"The Demon Race seems to be… laying siege. They've abandoned the idea of a frontal assault on the camp and are instead slowly encircling it. I don't need to explain their objective, do I?"
Wirbel said, clenching his fist.
"Huh? What objective? I need… I need an explanation."
Ehre stared blankly at Wirbel; he had never said any of this to her.
"It's simple, Ehre. The Demon Race wants to cut off this camp's food supply."
Fíliya said with a light laugh, finding Ehre's confused expression rather cute.
"Oh? Is that so…"
In a situation like this, Ehre's comments might have seemed a bit vapid, but her interjections helped keep the atmosphere from becoming too tense.
"Hmph… that's right. In fact, before you arrived, Fíliya, several supply convoys were intercepted and slaughtered. That's why in my message to the association, I specifically requested at least one elite squad to escort provisions…"
Wirbel said, his expression turning grim.
It was then that Fíliya finally understood.
"Oh~ no wonder you were so angry when you first saw me. It's because I'm neither a 'squad' nor was I 'carrying supplies'."
"Yeah, that's about it. By the way, when you accepted the request, did you hear anything at all about supplies?"
Wirbel stared at Fíliya with suspicion.
"Nope. It just said to come here as support and, while I'm at it, kill all the demons."
Fíliya's expression was unusually relaxed. As she spoke, she gave a bored shrug.
"Tch… They really… have a lot of confidence in you, don't they."
Wirbel clicked his tongue again, running a hand through his hair in frustration.
"Since there are no supplies coming… we only have one option left. We have to launch an all-out attack. If we keep dragging this out… Fíliya, you don't happen to know a spell that can create food out of thin air, do you?"
Wirbel joked.
"Of course not. 'Turning black bread into white bread' and creating bread from nothing are two completely different concepts."
Fíliya replied casually, propping her right elbow on Ehre's shoulder and resting her cheek on her wrist. The sudden gesture made Ehre sit up ramrod straight.
Hm? Wirbel noticed this, wondering how the two had suddenly become so familiar with each other, but it was clearly not the time to worry about such things. He continued with the matter at hand.
____
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