Chapter 33
At the queen's command, Tsanadefor's retainers sprang into action all at once.
Ignoring them, the twins, Sazaby, Nizuhock, Langet, and Kiries once again bent over the map.
"So, where should we head?" Langet's question went unanswered as the twins whispered together, studying the map.
Langet, at a loss, looked at Sazaby. Sazaby could almost hear him say, "Do something."
But Sazaby had no choice but to slowly shake his head. For better or worse, it wasn't Roa who truly understood how troublesome the twins were. It was Boldras and Sazaby—the two of them.
For now, leave them alone. That was the best course.
Only after everyone had left the discussion did the twins finally speak.
"The settlements along the mountains, east of where snow wolves have recently been sighted."
"Among those, are there any where the hunting yield has increased?"
Langet immediately puffed out his chest and answered their question.
"I know. Our country requires every town and village to report its harvest figures."
Hearing that, Sazaby thought, That makes sense. This was a country vulnerable to food shortages in the first place. They must be gathering this information to redistribute food from settlements with an oversupply to those that lack it.
"Then we need to know right away."
"And one more thing."
"What?"
Langet had initially picked a fight with them, but before he knew it, he no longer seemed reluctant to listen to the twins. That frightened Sazaby.
When he thought about it, everyone who gathered around Roa was like this. For better or worse, they were all "different."
Lately, Sazaby had even begun hearing the term "Roa's Eight Spears." Apparently, it was a list of people considered Roa's closest aides.
Lapiria Zodiac, Wickhart Hogbeck, Frain Delta, Ryuzel, Dick, the twins, and me.
Yes, me too. Nelfia's name was not on it, though. Sazaby felt a little frustrated by the difference in skill between himself and Nelfia as intelligence agents.
There was apparently also talk of including Rufa and calling them the Nine Spears, but to those involved, it was fairly irrelevant. Setting myself aside, the other seven—or eight, if Rufa is included—could all be called monsters, more or less.
Lapiria and Wickhart, of course, went without saying.
And Frain and Ryuzel were no ordinary commanders, either.
During Reiz-sama's era, they had been relatively inconspicuous members of the 10th Knight Order, partly because they were young. But that was an entirely mistaken impression. Sazaby believed both possessed enough ability to become knight commanders someday.
After all, Reiz Stein had selected them as unit commanders while they were still young. They could hardly be ordinary.
While Sazaby's thoughts wandered, the conversation between the twins and Langet continued.
"Once we know which towns and villages had high harvest yields..."
"Tell us which nearby areas are likely to have caves."
"...Are poachers hiding there?"
"Who knows? But the snow wolves aren't the only ones who fled."
"The guardian deity fled. So did the other animals. But the snow wolves went back."
"Their kin may be held captive."
"And the poachers are waiting for the snow wolves to return."
"...Why do you think that? If it were me, I'd get the pelts and head down the mountain right away." The twins laughed at Langet's words.
"The snow wolves had to flee once."
"Then the poachers are staying for the long term, carrying something the snow wolves hate."
"And their scheme worked. So they'll grow greedy."
"That's why they're waiting for the snow wolves to return. Territory is important to wolves."
"But there was still snow in the mountains."
"They need somewhere inconspicuous to stay warm."
"...Understood. I'll have it investigated at once."
The twins bombarded him with questions, and Langet groaned.
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"But they still haven't come back. You don't think they already got away, do you?"
The poachers who had set up in a cave in the snow wolves' habitat complained listlessly, fed up with the dull passage of time.
"Don't say that. They'll come back as time passes. Snow wolves are loyal to their pack. They can't abandon their own."
The man who appeared to be their leader answered, then kicked the cage containing the three snow wolves, cage and all.
"Yelp!"
At the snow wolf's cry, the man grinned.
"If you're going to cry, cry louder. Loud enough for your friends to hear."
Seeing this, another poacher voiced his unease.
"Hey, are you sure the snow wolves can't come near as long as we keep burning this incense?"
The cave was filled with a distinctive scent, one that beasts found unpleasant. The man he had asked looked down at him as he answered.
"Yeah. No doubt those things can't come near. If they force themselves closer, they won't even be able to open their eyes. That's why we could hunt them down while they were helpless."
"...I-I see. Yeah, that makes sense..."
"We're the strong ones, and they're the weak ones—creatures to be hunted at will."
"I see."
"Then that makes you weak too."
An unfamiliar voice echoed through the cave.
To them, it was the sound announcing the end of their lives.
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"And that's what happened."
This was Roa's room in Rudectrad. A small wooden box sat in front of Roa, with Sazaby on the opposite side of it as he explained what had happened.
"Huh. Sounds like things got pretty interesting. But if it deepened your friendship with Sapia-sama, then that's good."
Roa said this in a relaxed tone, prompting Sazaby to grimace and protest, "I felt like I was going to die over here!" Roa merely continued smiling with amusement as he looked at the wooden box before him.
"So this is a gift from Sapia-sama to the twins?"
Sazaby and the twins had returned to Rudek without seeing how the snow wolf incident ended. They had needed time to investigate the people behind it.
Even so, the twins had fully demonstrated their usual freewheeling nature on the way back, wandering here and there before returning to Rudectrad. As a result, the report of their return and Queen Sapia's message reached Roa almost simultaneously.
The wooden box contained nuts and several pieces of dried rabbit meat, as well as a letter from the queen. The letter Roa read aloud said:
—Regarding the matter the other day, thank you for your cooperation. Afterward, we captured the mastermind and the merchant who had conspired with him. The mastermind was one of my retainers. It seems they plotted to recoup money lost in the poor harvest. I considered feeding them all to the snow wolves, but it would be bad for the wolves to acquire a taste for human flesh, so we disposed of them ourselves. By the way, one day after the disturbance had died down, several snow wolves were spotted near the gates of Barming. When soldiers hurried there, they found nuts and a wild rabbit left behind. We believe these were the snow wolves' thanks. Therefore, rather than have us receive them, I thought Yuizest and Mayzest should, so we dried them and sent them—
"That's what it says. Where are the twins?"
"Who knows? A little while ago, they said they were going to tease Rivote."
"Could you go fetch them? For Rivote's sake, too."
"Understood."
Another day of ordinary life, unchanged from all the rest, began.