“So, where did they say they were meeting today?”

“…At that tall pillar you can see over there. The pillar…”

The Hunter Follower stammered, barely managing to spit out his answer.

From the sheer terror in his voice, it was clear that the shock therapy had worked like a charm.

Moments like these reminded me just how versatile Aftha’s ability to manipulate presence was.

By adjusting its intensity and inducing just enough mental contamination without causing unconsciousness, it broke the target down until they willingly spilled everything.

I smiled, glancing at Aftha, who wore a prim and proper expression as if she didn’t know what had happened.

“Thank you. Thanks to you, we’ve gotten some valuable information.”

“…Thank you?”

“Yes, of course.”

For some reason, Aftha said something ambiguous before suddenly turning her body toward me.

At first, I wasn’t sure what she was up to, but then she tried to pounce on me again.

I reflexively stopped her with a hand on her cheek.

“W-What are you doing?!”

“If you’re grateful, aren’t you supposed to let me do what I want?”

“No, no! Hold on! This isn’t the place for that, so calm down…!”

Aftha puffed out her cheeks and grumbled in dissatisfaction, but she didn’t try to push any further.

I guess that meant she didn’t want to do something I disliked.

“…Thank you, Aftha.”

“See you when it’s over.”

“…Oh.”

She pointed at me with a pouty face before disappearing somewhere.

It seemed she had returned to her original spot, her task completed.

“Hm.”

I looked down at the Hunter Follower.

Technically, I could let him go now, but the memory of him badmouthing me earlier still lingered, making me feel spiteful.

Noticing my expression, the Hunter Follower’s eyes widened, and he desperately crawled toward me.

“P-Please! I swear, that’s all I know!”

“Yeah, I believe you. But that’s not the problem here.”

I gave him my warmest smile.

Maybe it was the absurdity of smiling in this situation, but his face quickly drained of color.

“I can’t let it slide that you were rallying people to badmouth me.”

“…!”

I whistled.

Somewhere nearby, the sound of panting echoed as something quickly approached.

To me, it was a soft, bouncy sound, but I suppose it sounded different to him.

Tears were already streaming from his eyes.

“Belle.”

“Human!”

Belle rushed over and sat obediently in front of me.

Don’t get me wrong.

I still had a sense of decency—I wasn’t going to do anything that cruel.

“I’m about to get busy talking with the Knight Order.”

“Woof?”

The Hunter Follower started violently shaking his head and backing away.

“So, just play with that guy for a bit, okay?”

“Understood! Woof!”

“Noooooo!”

The moment I spoke, the Hunter Follower let out a desperate scream, but Belle was already on him in a flash.

Thud.

Belle tackled him and pinned him to the ground, then started licking his face furiously.

Hmm.

If Belle were an actual dog, I’d say she’s more of a Golden Retriever than a wolf-like breed.

Her ability to play with anyone so cheerfully was truly impressive.

With that, I turned around and walked away, leaving them behind.

The Hunter Follower’s screams—louder and more desperate than when I dealt with Aftha—echoed in the background.

****

“Commander! I’ve brought back information….”

I returned straight to our temporary quarters, eager to report the information I’d learned to the Knight Commander. However, something felt off inside.

To be precise, everyone was glancing at me—furtively, like they were sizing me up.

Wait, what?

“Tantan….”

The Vice Commander called my name.

Her voice sounded oddly subdued, which put me on edge.

“Yes, Vice Commander?”

“…What exactly did you do to that Hunter Follower?”

“I just used external gods to induce a bit of mental contamination.”

“…Is that all you did?”

“Hmm? Yes, that’s all.”

At that moment, I distinctly heard all the knights exhale in relief.

What kind of reaction is this?

Did they really think I tortured the guy to death with some brutal method?

What on earth do they think of me?!

Feeling slightly hurt, I watched as the Knight Commander sighed and stepped closer to me.

“So, what information did you get?”

“They said the Hunter Followers and the Candles are meeting near that pillar in a little while.”

The Knight Commander stroked his chin thoughtfully, clearly pondering over my report.

He was probably already calculating how unavoidable casualties might be.

After all, we were vastly outnumbered.

The Knight Commander hated unnecessary sacrifices.

“Vice Commander, how can we pull this off perfectly without losing anyone?”

“We’d have to adopt a strategy where you and I fight on the frontlines.”

“That’s good, but then we can’t protect the knights properly. There’s a chance we’ll be overwhelmed by sheer numbers again, like in the last war against the Candles. And this time, there are Hunter Followers mixed in, so it’ll be even harder.”

“Hm.”

He had a point.

Bandits commanded by Hunter Followers were nothing like the ragtag bandits I was used to dealing with.

This time, the bandit numbers had been small, and the Hunter Follower was caught off guard, which made the fight easier.

But if their numbers increased, it would be a completely different story.

On top of that, I had already kept Belle out for too long while scouting, and I had summoned Aftha for interrogation. The time limit on the flute was running out.

That meant my ability to summon deities was now restricted.

The most I could do would be to borrow part of their authority. But even then….

“Ah.”

Suddenly, an idea shot through my frontal lobe like lightning.

Usually, overwhelming battles relying on brute force were primarily handled by the Knight Commander and the Vice Commander.

I typically stepped in to clean up critical areas they missed.

In other words, it wouldn’t be a problem if I stepped out of combat for a while to focus on protecting the knights.

As I thought about it, one particular deity came to mind—one who could instantly restore bodies on the verge of death and even enhance physical abilities.

“Commander.”

“Hmm?”

“I think I just came up with a method that’ll kill it.”

At my words, the Knight Commander’s serious expression sharpened, his eyes lighting up with interest.

****

"That was a good conversation, Hunter Follower."

"I think so as well. I've never met someone whose thoughts align with mine so perfectly."

The Hunter Follower representative and the Candle representative clasped hands firmly.

At this very moment, an alliance was formed.

Their interests had aligned flawlessly.

"Of course. After all, you seem just as disgusted by the idea of humans cozying up to external gods."

"…That’s right. It’s something we can never accept."

For a moment, a flash of madness seemed to wash over the Hunter Follower’s expression.

The Candle representative felt a bit uneasy, but since this was a group he’d never have to deal with again after the job was done, he brushed it off.

Leaving the Hunter Follower behind, the Candle leader turned toward the mingled groups of followers and bandits. He raised his weapon high.

"The alliance is sealed! From now on, we will crush the Knight Order of Lontan and ensure they cannot defeat the Giant of the Snowy Mountain! Do you understand?!"

“Uoooohhhh!”

A deafening roar erupted, pounding against their ears like an explosion.

Though it must have hurt, the Candle leader instead found it exhilarating. He felt the adrenaline coursing through his body.

Now, all that remained was to march on Lontan.

The Knight Order wouldn’t have time to respond to a sudden ambush.

The Candle leader was relishing the smooth progress of his plan when—

Boom!

"Arghhh!"

A thunderous crash rang out, splitting the air.

The Candle leader instinctively ground his teeth together, his jaw clenching so tightly it was a miracle his teeth didn’t shatter.

Because standing where the sound had come from were people who should not be here.

“…Raydan Tantan! Why the hell are you here?!”

At the source of the explosion stood Tantan, sword in hand, the ground beneath him shattered from the sheer force of his strike.

Some of the troops nearby had already collapsed, knocked out cold.

The Candle leader knew that Raydan had been showing monstrous growth lately, but even so, the crater his sword had just carved into the earth seemed beyond anything a mere "growth spurt" could explain.

“…A traitor to humanity, walking around so proudly after aligning with external gods!”

The Candle leader sneered, taunting Raydan, but the knights following behind him didn’t even flinch.

They exuded a crushing aura, an atmosphere that screamed imminent destruction.

Running away crossed his mind, but there was no chance of escaping when faced with that. Not with so many soldiers to account for.

A clash was inevitable.

The tension rising between the Candle troops and the Knight Order seemed to make the already frigid imperial land even colder.