The next morning.
“Yaaawn…”
Stretching out of his sleeping bag, Rudell stepped outside the tent, a long yawn escaping him.
The wind was much colder than in the Count’s Domain, and the sharp chill that brushed against his body made Rudell shiver slightly.
And then…
“Up early, huh?”
“Seems like you’re not one to talk.”
Responding to the already awake Leje, Rudell approached the crackling campfire and hung a small kettle on the hook.
Water created by magic began to boil in the kettle, and after adding the tea leaves he had brought, Rudell filled a mug with steaming tea and handed it to Leje.
“Cold, right? Drink this.”
“Thanks, you really are the best.”
With a faint smile, Leje accepted the cup and slurped the tea, letting out a short sigh that indicated she felt better.
“By the way, you’re quite the oddball. What on earth are you thinking, trying to investigate these monsters?”
“Well… like always, I’d say it’s just a feeling.”
Answering Leje’s question, Rudell took a sip from his steaming mug.
The behavior of Thunder Fang seemed bizarre to anyone looking on.
If the monstrous beasts were rampaging due to something the Church had done, investigating Thunder Fang might provide some clues to resolve this situation.
“By the way, anything special happen during the night?”
“Yeah, I asked the guards, and they said nothing unusual happened overnight.”
Nodding in response to Rudell’s question, Leje glanced at the guards.
Looking slightly anxious, the guards had tense expressions, and when they made eye contact with Rudell, they quickly lowered their heads and focused back on their duties.
Even if they had been sleeping, it was only natural to be uneasy with the monstrous beast lurking right next to them.
Determined to wrap things up quickly, Rudell emptied the remaining tea in his cup.
And then, at that moment.
-Grrrrooorrrrr…
“…”
“…”
A loud noise echoed from Leje’s stomach, and she hurriedly averted her gaze, pretending not to notice.
Watching her, Rudell couldn’t help but let out a chuckle as he silently got up and approached the campfire.
Then he began preparing breakfast, chopping the ingredients he had set aside earlier.
With an awkward expression, Leje approached Rudell, lending a hand…
Thus, the sound of clanking resonated between the two for a while.
*
After finishing a simple breakfast…
“We’ll handle the cleanup,”
“Thanks a bunch.”
Eleor, Kurt, and Silphier headed behind the tent with the empty dishes…
Rudell handed Leje a warm mug filled with steaming tea, accompanied by a faint smile.
Still seeming a bit shy, Leje averted her gaze and took a sip from the mug.
“Don’t worry about it. It’s just a natural phenomenon.”
“Just don’t mention it to anyone else.”
“Well, I’ll be watching you.”
At Rudell’s remark, Leje let out a low groan, and Rudell chuckled as he looked at her.
In response to his reaction, Leje silently took another sip from her mug and playfully punched Rudell on the shoulder.
Of course, since it wasn’t meant seriously, it didn’t hurt Rudell at all.
“Alright then… now that we’re full, should we get started?”
As he watched Leje, Rudell stood up, stretched, and walked toward Thunder Fang.
Just in case, Thunder Fang’s limbs were firmly secured with chains thicker than a grown man’s forearm.
Of course, even without that, Thunder Fang was under Silphier’s special anesthetic and couldn’t move an inch.
“What are you planning to do?”
“First, I need to find out if this guy has any magical something.”
There had to be a reason for the sudden increase in monstrous beasts and their unexpected ferocity.
As he answered Leje’s question, Rudell cautiously approached Thunder Fang.
Leje also stuck close to him, ready for any unexpected situations.
With a big breath, Rudell stopped right in front of Thunder Fang.
Gazing at the monster, which was still dazed from the anesthesia, Rudell carefully reached out his hand toward Thunder Fang.
As Rudell’s hand touched Thunder Fang’s body and he still saw no significant movements, he cautiously drew up his magic power.
And then, in that moment…
“Ugh…!?”
“Rudell!?”
A foreboding purple light seeped out from Thunder Fang’s surface, and with a sharp pain coursing through him, Rudell let out a low groan and staggered back, sitting down on the spot.
“What… what happened!?”
“The Sorcerer is injured! Call a doctor!”
Raje shouted toward Rudell with a panicked voice in response to Rudell’s reaction.
The guards nearby also moved towards Rudell…
“Is it an ambush!?”
“C-Count Weinstein!?”
“Are you okay?”
Kurt, Silphier, and Eleor also rushed towards Rudell, abandoning whatever they were doing.
Rudell slowly got up from the ground, lifting one hand as if to say he was fine.
“Rudell! Are you okay!?”
“I’m fine… just a little surprised.”
Responding to her worried expression, Rudell stood up and caught his breath.
Then, with a serious look, he gazed at the fallen Thunder Fang.
The intense pain felt when his magic connected with Thunder Fang.
It was the magic Thunder Fang held flowing through Rudell’s body, causing the sensation.
And Rudell realized he had felt such a sensation before.
“It seems my guess was correct.”
“What do you mean, suddenly?”
“It looks like this incident was also the work of the Church folks.”
“Again? They really never get tired, do they?”
At those words, Raje placed her hand on her forehead as if suffering from a headache.
“What, what exactly happened…?”
“I’m not sure, but I can feel something similar to the Church’s divine power coming from this guy.”
The only possibility to consider now was that the monstrous beasts had been infused with the Church’s divine power.
Unable to handle that power, the beasts were rampaging uncontrollably.
“So, what do we do now?”
“Well, divine power isn’t my area of expertise.”
Shaking his head in response to Raje’s question, Rudell replied.
Of course, that didn’t mean he had no options.
After all, there was an expert in their party who could handle divine power better than anyone else.
“Eleor.”
“Yes, leave it to me.”
As the saint of the Gaia Church, no one in Rudell’s group could match Eleor when it came to managing divine power.
Raol couldn’t handle it.
Nodding to Rudell’s words, Eleor cautiously approached Thunder Fang and reached out her hand.
As she slowly caught her breath, she summoned her Divine Power, and a dazzling light enveloped her and Thunder Fang.
Soon, the brilliant light began to dissolve into the air like a scattered sprinkle…
“It looks like Lord Rudellheit was right. This monstrous beast is tainted by impure Divine Power.”
“W-what do we do now?”
Taking a step back, she spoke just as Silphier voiced her concerns.
“Can you leave it to me?”
“If Eleor-sama wishes.”
“Thank you, Lord Rudellheit.”
Offering a faint smile, she carefully kneeled before Thunder Fang.
With her eyes closed, she brought her hands together and began to pray.
A faint glow of Divine Power started to swirl around her, and the light of Divine Power began to rise around Thunder Fang as well.
“I think it will take some time, so please don’t interrupt anyone.”
“I’ll make sure of it.”
In essence, Thunder Fang was now out of Rudell’s hands.
All Rudell had to do was ensure that no one disturbed Eleor.
But then, it happened.
– Dong! Dong! Dong! Dong! Dong!
“What’s happening?”
Suddenly, the sound of drums echoed in the air, causing Rudell and his companions to tilt their heads in confusion.
At the same time, the warriors on guard began shouting in the Nord tribe’s language, rushing inside the fortress with urgent voices.
“What is going on?”
Rudell, watching the scene, asked a nearby Nord warrior…
“It’s a monstrous beast attack! Shaman, you need to get inside the fortress now!”
“A monstrous beast attack?”
At this timing?
With that thought, Rudell turned his head and saw the billowing snow fog in the distance, beyond the snowy plains.
And underneath it, dozens of monstrous beasts were charging towards them.
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