As soon as I tried to get a quick nap after finishing my work, I was dragged out. Although Jade and Axel’s temporary pairing didn’t yield much, another pair made a good discovery.

My long eyelashes felt unusually heavy today. Jade rubbed her eyes.

“Did you get some rest?”

“No…”

Blake clicked his tongue and quietly advised.

“If the meeting ends early, go straight to bed.”

Jade gave an ambiguous nod.

Well, I have a feeling today’s meeting will be long. Considering how urgently they called us.

She decided to swallow her ominous prediction for now.

Jade stood upright near the table placed in the center of the conference room, but found it difficult to concentrate. Her cheeks felt flushed with heat even in the cold air, as if she had truly been overworking herself these past few days.

Is it because I’m so sleep-deprived? I can’t have another fever.

Worried, she cooled the nape of her neck with the back of her hand, but the heat quickly transferred. Being from the warm southern Broen territory, her body clearly wasn’t adapting well to this weather.

Noticing her fidgeting, Rigel whispered.

“What’s wrong?”

“Just… tired.”

His sky-blue eyes filled with concern. Of course, his tone was as unpleasant as ever.

“Of course. Did you think you had the stamina of a knight, Lady Jade? With your tiny pea-sized body, you should pace yourself. Riding horses from dawn, going on night raids. What torment that body must endure with such an unwise master?”

It was always confusing whether this was concern or sarcasm.

“I was so satisfied with how well things were going, I didn’t even notice I was tired… But aren’t you overworking too? Hugging monster corpses every night. Was it a pleasant time?”

“H-hugging, what…!”

As his fluffy cheeks turned red, Jade chuckled softly.

“It’s true. Everyone thought you’d fallen in love with those things. Your gaze was so passionate.”

“Absolutely not!”

“Then stop hiding away and come out to talk with people-”

“You two, do you have something official to discuss?”

It was a voice like cold snowballs falling.

Jade and Rigel, who had been whispering, snapped their heads up and immediately corrected their postures. Axel’s cool gray eyes were watching the two of them.

Jade spoke up in place of Rigel, who hated apologizing to the death.

“No. We’re sorry.”

The gaze that had lingered nearby for a while finally left.

“…Alright then.”

Axel lightly tapped the table with a rolled-up paper.

“Let’s hear the report.”

As soon as he finished speaking, a woman with a sword at her side and a nervous man with clasped hands stepped forward. Judging by their encouraging glances at each other despite the tension, they were clearly a proper pair.

“I’m Ensi. When you ride northeast, there are many trees burned and withered. The spacing is regular, as if someone planted them. We judged it to be an area where people used to live, and when we approached, there were a few collapsed houses hidden in the back.”

Ensi began her report calmly. Judging by her distinct accent, she seemed to be a mercenary.

“There were no traces of people. Just in case, we approached a place where the ceiling and walls were somewhat intact, and the sound of footsteps changed subtly. As if the floor was hollow.”

Her partner, the mage Peter, continued.

“When we cautiously went inside, there was a door on the floor with lots of bloodstains. There were also some kind of molted skins. When we came back and asked around the locals, they said that small village was made up entirely of relatives, and because they had suffered war damage in the past, they had connected underground passages to each house. To hide in case of emergency.”

The place marked on the map wasn’t too far. Axel pondered with downcast eyes. The shadow cast by his eyelashes settled calmly on his cheeks.

“Northeast, huh. That’s where we found a small group of monsters recently.”

“Yes.”

“And you didn’t see any monsters?”

“We didn’t see any monsters, but we heard sounds. There’s definitely something in the passageways.”

“Good. We’ll need to find the entrance properly first. Can we get help from those locals you mentioned earlier?”

“We can use wind magic… sir.”

Jade quickly corrected herself.

“For underground passages, that would be better. By letting the wind flow, we can check all connected paths more safely and surely.”

Peter nodded as well.

“It’s a good idea since it’s not completely open.”

Axel looked at Jade and asked.

“Who can do it?”

“Well, not me for starters.”

A gentle laughter spread among the mages at her confident answer. Aside from fire magic, Jade could do some wind magic to a certain extent, but this was more difficult than one might think.

“If there really are monsters in there, we need to use a very weak force so they don’t notice, while simultaneously controlling it to spread delicately and circle through every place. Belita, Roxy, and Jasper are the best candidates.”

Jasper, with droopy eyes and straw-like spiky hair, grumbled.

“Singling me out for work, that’s too much.”

“Can’t let you slack off.”

As Jade gave a wry smile, Belita shrugged.

“Well, it’s possible. If you just show us the location, we’ll draw it up as a map for you.”

“Don’t expect too much. Lady Belita’s drawing skills are the worst.”

Roxy giggled as she spoke. Belita glared, but the young mage with freckles scattered all over her face just stuck out her tongue.

“Very well. I’ll give you a list of knights. Leave immediately with the soldiers. Remember that you need to find all entrances and exits. Complete it by noon tomorrow.”

A cold voice took control of the conference room.

“Based on repeated reports, this is likely the last monster habitat remaining in the area. If we can clean it up properly, I think it won’t be long before we can return.”

We can go back! Everyone’s eyes sparkled.

It wasn’t a task that had started with a proper deadline in the first place. Leon Vaintz, the commander-in-chief, had only said to clean up the border area, but to do it thoroughly enough to win the favor of the Gisen Kingdom’s people.

No matter how rewarding it was, it wasn’t an easy job. Though things were gradually improving, Lund territory was in a very poor state, and their lodgings were lacking, allowing the cold to seep in constantly. It was little different from a tent.

Being in a different country, there was much to be mindful of. Though it was a country they had long interacted with and the basics were similar, the forms of etiquette and such differed slightly.

Everyone was mentally exhausted trying to be polite, lest the people of Lund territory develop negative thoughts about the El Sion Kingdom.

In the midst of this, the commander-in-chief had subtly offered a glimpse of hope.

“The sun hasn’t even set yet. We have at least three or four hours left. The days are getting longer.”

Jasper, who had to cross the border leaving his heavily pregnant wife at home, stepped forward. His droopy eyes from sleepiness were gone, replaced by bright, sparkling ones.

“Let’s go right now. We’ll just send wind from afar, so we don’t need many people.”

Belita agreed as well.

“We’re not saying we’ll do a sloppy job. But if we handle it when we’re motivated, won’t the efficiency be better? We’ll leave right away.”

Several knights also murmured in agreement. Axel, who had been listening to their conversation with his arms crossed, tilted his head.

“I shouldn’t have said anything. I understand where this excitement is coming from, but I don’t want anyone to get hurt. You all know what happens when a subjugation team acts too rashly.”

“As I said before, we have no intention of being careless.”

Belita smiled brightly and tightened her cloak strings.

“We’re just saying we’ll show you our passion. We only need a few knights who rested well this morning and a few soldiers.”

“Lady Jade, what do you think?”

He asked with the intention of having her dissuade the mages, but Jade replied with a puzzled look, as if wondering why he was asking her.

“Mages usually perform better when they suddenly feel like doing something. Why don’t we just let them go?”

In other words, what exactly was the problem?

Axel inwardly swallowed a sigh. Mages were truly unpredictable beings.

In the end, the command team compiled a list of knights and soldiers who had guarded the territory in the morning and organized a group. Led by Jasper, Belita, and Roxy, they immediately headed northeast.

As soon as the meeting ended, Jade crawled into bed and closed her eyes. Hoping that even a little rest might improve her condition.

But when she woke up again, her condition had worsened.

“Achoo!”

“Your spot seems particularly cold. The mage using the exact same spot downstairs also complains of a cold every day. Is the wind seeping in? We should move you somewhere else. I should ask for more blankets too.”

Blake felt Jade’s forehead as she sniffled. Then he delivered the bad news in a calm voice.

“If you don’t rest properly, you might fall seriously ill.”

“But I’m… a very healthy person…”

Somehow, she was beginning to doubt the unshakeable belief she had in her own health.

Why was she catching colds so often? It wasn’t time to mock Rigel for being weak.

Jade wriggled back under the blanket.

“Has Belita returned?”

“Yes. I didn’t hear the details, but they say she drew the map properly. Roxy may be young, but she’s very skilled with her hands.”

“Are they going tomorrow afternoon?”

“No, it seems they’re going at dawn today.”

She immediately kicked off the blanket with her feet.

“What? But it’s hard to deal with them at night!”

“That’s true, but even during the day, since it’s underground, the monsters are likely to be awake. They can’t go inside, you see. It seems they think it’s better to lure them out and deal with them. Apparently, it’s the only way to completely annihilate them.”

“That’s right…”

Flopping back onto the bed like a tragic heroine, Jade looked at Blake with gloomy eyes.

“I suppose I have to go?”

“Maybe. How about saying you’re not feeling well? I think if you say you need to rest, Lord Leon would readily agree.”

“I’ll pass on the special treatment.”

Blake grinned.

“Ah, so you agree with the idea that Lord Leon would give you special treatment?”

“No. I agree with the story that your mother swept up all the romance novels you collected and locked the box with a padlock.”