The day after the audience.
I left preparations for departure to Zanoba and came back to the inn.
I meet up with Roxy.
Roxy was waiting in our room, armed to the teeth. [1]
She seemed to be stiff and rushed up to me as soon as I entered.
"Was it alright? I was worried because there was no contact but..."
"Yeah, nothing happened."
Because she had not had breakfast yet, we ate on the first floor of the inn while I told her about the contents of the audience:
The possibility that Pax is an apostle of Hitogami is low.
That it is difficult to discern the intent of Hitogami.
That the king of Kingdom of Dragon King is suspicious.
I told her everything along with my worries.
"....Hmm"
While making a difficult face, her soup spoon clicking against her bowl, Roxy listened to my story.
"Honestly, my head isn't working very well right now due to lack of sleep..."
"Right."
You can see bags beneath her eyes, and her overall movements are dull.
It would be wrong to think of it as an all nighter, after all we had kept moving the entire day before.
Even an adventurer will become tired if they remain at attention for so long.
"There was no fight. Prince Pax was rational. The name Hitogami did not come up. Thus, I wasn't able to determine anything."
Roxy could not think of anything either, but maybe my explanation was lacking.
"If there was not going to be a fight I should have went as well."
"Why you?"
"I may have been able to figure something out if I could have heard it with my own ears."
Ah, there might have been something like that.
During the audience I was thinking only of Hitogami's possible traps and the Death God.
Over the course of events there may have been something outside of my expectations which I missed.
Another head with different expectations may have been necessary.
That head may have been Roxy's.
Well, there is nothing I can do about what's already past.
"... Somewhere there will be a trap created by Hitogami."
"Hmmm, could it be that the trap is only in Orsted's imagination, and there is nothing?"
"We should assume the worst and move accordingly. It may be that, right now, there is an invisible noose drawing around our family."
The fact that Lara, who has become the savior, cried like that has made me nervous.
For now there is no sign of Hitogami, but we might just be missing it.
It could be anything.
"Well, it was a careless remark."
Roxy lowered her head apologetically. [2]
"If Pax summoned us here to spring a trap, then he won't announce anything, I think he's hiding something."
"For example...?"
"For example, this morning Ginger-san brought me some information."
"Oh?"
Although I haven't seen Ginger, she must be moving behind the scenes.
"Her report says that 500 soldiers are at Fort Karon."
"500?"
If only a number is told, I won't understand if that's too little or a lot.
By her way of speaking it sounds like that isn't much.
"The enemy force seems to number nearly 5000."
That's horrible.
If there is a difference of 10 times, there doesn't seem to be a chance of victory.
"Did you hear about that?"
"... No."
I didn't hear about that at all, I was only told to go.
"Ginger also told me this:
Prince Pax is keeping the forces protecting Fort Karon to a minimum,
The rumor is that in the background mercenaries are gathering for an ambush.
Did you hear anything about the strategy?"
"... No."