It was a story far too heavy to hear so suddenly.

I blankly opened my mouth.

“What does that mean……”

“When Keimeloium had just seized the throne, not everyone remained silent. There was a rebel army gathered around Sir Asheyn, who is Sir Aspeiran’s father.”

Romie released my wrist with an exaggerated gesture. I couldn’t read any emotion in her deep violet eyes.

“Sir Asheyn was the next Matapju of the 1st Matap at the time, and naturally, most of the rebel army consisted of mages. My parents were among them.”

“Romie.”

“The rebellion seemed likely to succeed, but at the crucial moment, two-thirds of the rebel army betrayed. In the end, both Sir Asheyn and my parents lost their lives.”

“……”

“After that, Roakin became no different from a fiery hell. Most of the skilled people who could stand up to the deposed king had died, and the deposed king began to control the monster legion as well. No one could stop him.”

Her eyes, which had seemed empty, did not lack emotion. Forcibly suppressed indignation was hidden behind a deep void.

I bit my lip and lowered my head.

“Do you suspect me, Romie? That I’m related to the deposed king……”

“No.”

Surprisingly, Romie readily denied it. She spun around and strode forward.

It didn’t seem like she had a destination in mind. Romie stood still, facing the wall.

“I confronted the deposed king on the front lines while assisting the lord. Even after seven years, I still clearly remember the deposed king’s unique magical power. The others in the castle probably won’t suspect Lady Shuria either.”

“Then……”

“What we suspect and are wary of is something else.”

A glimpse of Romie’s side profile revealed a hint of animosity she couldn’t hide.

“Being able to control monsters is a very powerful ability. Can you really avoid becoming a second Keimeloium?”

Romie brought up a possibility I had never considered before.

My mind felt numb as if my brain was overloaded. I stammered and asked back.

“What, what are you suddenly talking about? Me becoming a second Keimeloium?”

“Won’t you be tempted to possess everything in Veltraum with the powerful ability in your hands? In the end, won’t you drive Roakin into danger?”

“Romie!”

“Being able to control monsters is an immense power. Keimeloium drove the rebel army into crisis many times with just a group of monsters.”

Romie turned her head and gazed straight at me.

“When you can have everything under your feet with just a flick of your finger. Can you resist that temptation, Lady Shuria?”

“Why…… Why are you doubting me like that? I would never do such a thing!”

As I raised my voice, Sammemmer also began to growl together. Romie looked at the scene with a cynical face.

“I’m sorry, but I can’t trust you with such a simple answer.”

“Romie……”

“I know Lady Shuria is a good person. But we have no choice but to be constantly vigilant and suspicious.”

Because we know the hell the deposed king unleashed that day, because we know how terrifying monsters are.

“Clearly revealing the nature of Lady Shuria’s ability is just a formality. What we want is not evidence that you are unrelated to the deposed king, but assurance that you will not harm Roakin.”

“……”

I couldn’t say anything. As Romie said, it wasn’t a question that could be answered lightly.

Romie stared at me with sinking eyes.

“If we don’t develop faith in Lady Shuria, I will do whatever it takes to expel you from Roakin.”

Because even the slightest possibility that threatens the peace they barely achieved after a long ordeal cannot be tolerated.

In the heavy atmosphere, Romie and I immediately began the investigation.

The investigation took place in a large laboratory in the basement of Matap.

Glass ball-like recording orbs of various colors were floating in every corner of the room, and through a thin glass wall, Romie and a few other mages were on standby.

They were all wearing something like black sunglasses, which they said was a tool to accurately observe the waves of magical power.

Romie spoke.

“Try giving an order to the moonlight wolf like you did to the mole. We will repeat it until the same phenomenon occurs as before.”

“Yes.”

I looked at Sammemmer in front of me. Sammemmer had his eyes wide open.

Honestly, the memory of sitting on the molehill was vague and ambiguous as if shrouded in fog. I’m not even sure how I controlled the monster.

‘I was too flustered at the time……’

Hmm, should I try shouting loudly first?

“Sit!”

Sammemmer immediately sat down.

But it wasn’t a success. I didn’t control him, our kids just listen well to me.

I tried giving a few more instructions.

“Lie down! Roll over! Stand up! Spin around! Bark!”

“Woof!”

Sammemmer executed all the instructions perfectly. But still, he wasn’t being controlled by my ability.

Romie must have been frustrated because she raised her voice.

“Lady Shuria, why does it seem like you can’t focus? This is going to be a problem.”

“I’ll focus!”

Although I said that, honestly, this doesn’t seem like a problem that can be solved by focusing.

‘I need to find a different method.’

What was the exact situation when I controlled the mole? Certainly, the orders didn’t go through at once then either.

Let’s try to recall it well again. First, in the beginning, I just kept yelling at it to get into the box.

Then I felt one of the moles burrowing into my arms, and startled, I let out a scream……

‘Ah.’

I think…… I found a clue.

I hurriedly approached the glass wall and knocked on it. Romie opened the door on one side of the glass wall.

“What’s wrong? Are you getting a headache by any chance? Do you feel your energy draining?”

“No, that’s not it. I don’t think I can draw out my control ability just by yelling at the Sam-, no, the moonlight wolf.”

“But Lady Shuria, if you don’t demonstrate your ability, we can’t move on to the next step.”

“So I’ve been thinking, does the research institute have any other monsters?”

Romie narrowed her eyes and crossed her arms.

“Well, we’ll have to inquire with the research institute to find out. But why do you need other monsters?”

“I think what drew out my ability was desperation. At that time when I controlled the monster, I was feeling a threat to my life.”

“In other words, you want to put yourself in danger like you did then.”

I nodded my head with an awkward smile. It’s embarrassing to make a request that’s equivalent to asking them to put me in front of the grim reaper.

Romie scratched her forehead as if troubled.

“Hmm, it does make sense…… But if the order doesn’t go through, Lady Shuria will be seriously injured.”

“It’s okay.”

I patted my chest.

“If my ability isn’t clearly revealed, people will continue to live in anxiety.”

Romie quietly looked down at me. Soon, she shouted to the other mages.

“Contact the Veltraum Research Institute right now!”

“Wow~ Lady Shuria, it’s been a while~.”

The person who arrived after receiving the contact was Sek. As usual, he was holding a small flowerpot in his arms.

It was a plant that looked like a Venus flytrap, with a round glass dome covering it.

I hurried over to Sek.

“It sure has. Come to think of it, we met just a few hours ago. How are things at the research institute?”

“It’s complicated~.”

Sek gently stroked the plant in his arms, or more precisely, the glass dome.

“The director attended the grand council to defend Lady Shuria, and now he’s investigating cases of people gaining new abilities in Veltraum with Titira.”

“The director did!”

Defended me!

I guess I’ve been accepted as one of the research institute members after all, with a mix of love and hate.

As I blinked my eyes, feeling the rush of emotion, Sek leaned in close to my ear.

“And~ when I returned to the research institute, I saw that the silver plate tree had bloomed.”

“……What?”

The silver plate tree bloomed? All of a sudden?

When I widened my eyes and stared, Sek shrugged his shoulders.

“Umm, I guess the mole was clinging to the roots of the silver plate tree. That’s probably why it didn’t bloom. It must have had all its nutrients stolen by the mole~.”

“I see……”

“But how did the mole end up running outside? Lady Shuria, what did you do to the tree?”

“I didn’t do anything! I was just quietly writing an observation log……. gasp.”

C-come to think of it, I did say something to the tree.

I definitely told it to get rid of anything that hinders its blooming……

‘Could it be that the mole crawled out after hearing those words?’

Then does that mean the monster attack incident happened because of me in the end?

‘N-no way. It can’t be……’

Fortunately, Sek didn’t notice my bewilderment as he was busy talking with Romie. I quietly tried to calm my confusion.

Before long, Sek, who had finished the conversation, called out to me. He showed me the flowerpot he was holding.

“There are no other animal-type monsters besides moonlight wolves at the research institute. Instead, there are plant-type monsters. This is one of them.”

“Ah. I think I saw it in the reception room when I was offered the position of monster breeder by the lord.”

“That’s right~. It’s the plant that was in the reception room at that time. It’s the most dangerous carnivorous plant among them. Its name is Saw Pocket.”

Weird name.

Hmm, but isn’t it too small to put me in danger? It’s the size of a child’s forearm.

As if reading my thoughts, Sek winked with one eye.

“Now we’re going to force-feed this guy a ton of magical power to make it grow~. Then its mouth will become bigger than Lady Shuria.”

Sek tapped on the glass dome covering the plant.

“Next, we’ll extract the magical power we injected. Then, in order to quickly replenish the lacking magical power, it will try to eat Lady Shuria. Normally, it would never touch Lady Shuria, so we’re doing a bit of groundwork~.”

“Are you sure about this, Lady Shuria? In order to draw out your desperation, we can’t help you until the very last moment.”

These words from Romie probably meant that even if I was in danger of being eaten, they wouldn’t save me.

I gulped once, then slowly nodded my head.

“I’ll do it. I can do it.”

“……Alright, then let’s try it.”

The preparations to put me in danger proceeded quickly.

Before long, I found myself face-to-face with a giant Venus flytrap in a large laboratory.

The sight of a giant carnivorous plant two or three times my size dancing in front of me naturally evoked fear.

From beyond the glass wall, Romie asked.

“Are you ready, Lady Shuria?”

“……I’m ready!”

“Then we’ll extract the magical power~.”

A long cord descended from the ceiling. A sharp needle was attached to its end.

Soon, the needle pierced and entered the thick stem of the Saw Pocket.

Squeak.

Making a strange sound, the Saw Pocket trembled. It wriggled in pain, then soon discovered me.

“……!”

And it began to crawl straight towards me, shaking its huge head greatly.