“April becomes aggressive when she transforms into a rabbit, but retains human intellect… It seems the same for other beastmen.”

I quietly recalled Tiberina Constable Boja. Even when they were in animal form, they maintained human consciousness.

I’ve only seen a loss of human consciousness in Gracian… Wait a moment.

“Come to think of it, the wolves in the Solzbach Castle’s underground were also affected by the magic.”

…Could those wolves also be beastmen? Really?

‘All’ wolf beastmen losing their consciousness seems unlikely… Tiberina’s other wolf beastmen are perfectly fine.

‘Gracian becoming more beast-like due to losing consciousness during the imprinting period, that’s what I thought, but…’

Upon closer thought, it seems there might be another reason.

If there’s an issue with Gracian, it’s not because he’s a ‘wolf beastman’ but because of the ‘Solzbach family lineage.’

Unless, the other wolf beastmen are perfectly fine, and it doesn’t make sense for Gracian to easily lose consciousness.

“Hmm…”

I glared at Gracian as if looking for a clue, but naturally, I couldn’t find any. I don’t possess the magical eye that pierces through the truth.

“Hey, can’t you guys do something about it?”

When I aimed the question at the butterflies, an immediate response came.

{There might be a way.}

{We know quite a lot of things.}

{However, rather than secretly digging up secrets with our power, wouldn’t it be better to hear directly from Gracian?}

…What? These guys are speaking so eloquently; it feels like cognitive dissonance in my brain.

{What did you say? Are you underestimating us too much? We’re much older than you, and we know a lot—.}

“Okay, okay.”

Interrupting their complaining, the status window attacked next.

{Gloria is too indifferent.}

{Treat us more preciously!}

{Praise and pet us more! Like you do to April! (Angry emoticon)}

“…You guys don’t even have a way to be pet.”

These non-physical entities are making a fuss with forced reasoning. I shook my head helplessly.

{ㅠ_ㅠ Wounded.}

{It’s all because… we have a butterfly shape.}

{Should’ve gone with a fluffy rabbit shape!!}

{Then Gloria would’ve been extra kind to us.}

{Nod, nod;}

With a somewhat disgruntled expression, I waved my hand to dismiss the status window. I heard a resentful echo from the butterflies, but I ignored it and asked Arwin about something I had been curious about.

“But, Arwin, what are you doing here? Is that… a watering can in your hand?”

Upon hearing that, Arwin looked down at what he held in his hand and replied.

“This is a plant-type magical beast extermination tool that I invented.”

“Oh… really?”

No matter how I look at it, it just seems like a peculiar watering can. It was strange that such a tool could be used in battle.
“The shape may be like this, but it’s a very useful item. The water released through this weapon can penetrate deep into the ground, and when encountering magical beasts, it freezes them instantly. Then, all you have to do is break the frozen magical beast by causing a slight tremor in the ground. Simple, isn’t it?”

It’s indeed a fascinating item… I blinked my eyes while pretending to sleep and subtly expressed my doubts.

“But then, wouldn’t crops be damaged? The soil could be contaminated with the remnants of magical beasts…”

“You’ve got it right. That’s why I had no intention of using this weapon. Originally, the plan was to lure out plant-type magical beasts hiding deep underground and have the Duke deal with them. However…”

Pausing for a moment, Arwin’s gaze became mysterious as he stared at me. What’s going on? Why is he looking at me like that?

“Thanks to the Duchess’s visit, there’s no need to risk a battle. Even if the land gets contaminated, the Duchess will use the World Tree’s butterflies to solve it.”

With a look that seemed to say exactly that, Arwin chuckled. Oh, so that’s why he gave me a strange look earlier. I raised my eyebrows and nodded.

“Of course, I also plan to contribute to repelling magical beasts.”

And this time, I’ll make sure the rumors spread widely. The fact that Gloria Ainsworth Solzbach has contracted with the World Tree’s butterflies, I want the whole world to know.

“Well, if I don’t reveal it first, King Ainsworth will expose it. I have to be one step ahead.”

If I spread the rumor first, the story will be that “Duchess Solzbach contracted with the World Tree’s butterflies.” But if King Ainsworth spreads it, it will be “The princess of the Ainsworth Kingdom contracted with the World Tree’s butterflies.”

These two are clearly different. If the latter rumor spreads, it will be entangled with King Ainsworth’s political intentions.

And it’s crucial for people to think, ‘Is Duchess Solzbach becoming friendly to beastmen?’…

“That’s what I intend.”

Originally, I wanted to keep the fact that I contracted with the World Tree’s butterflies as secret as possible. But rather than being manipulated by villains like King Ainsworth, it’s better to publicize it myself.