At night, after finishing her meal, Ara was relaxing in her room when she suddenly noticed the Paired Orb activating.
"Lady Elena? But it seems considerably earlier than usual..."
Though it was night, it was not yet that late an hour. Normally, a communication from Elena would come at a slightly later time.
Because of that, she felt a hint of doubt—yet even so, unable to hide her smile at the prospect of speaking with Elena sooner than usual, Ara went before the Paired Orb.
And so, projected onto the Paired Orb was, just as she had expected, the figure of Elena she had been waiting for.
"Lady Elena, has something happened? It seems much earlier than usual."
'Yes. I have a slight request for you... no, rather, there is something I wish to inform Lord Daskar of.'
"To Lord Daskar? Of course I have no objections, but... for you to send a communication at this hour, does this mean it is urgent—right away?"
'I apologize, but that is correct. It has become clear that something of great significance is involved in this matter. I want you to take the Paired Orb and go meet Lord Daskar. I considered asking you to relay a message, but given the importance of this matter, it would be better to speak with him directly.'
"Understood. I will head to Lord Daskar immediately. Would it be acceptable for me to contact you again once I arrive there?"
'Please do.'
And so, the brief communication was cut off.
Ara felt disappointed that her conversation with Elena had ended there, but if it was a request from Elena, she had no intention of refusing.
It was already night, and under normal circumstances, going to visit a person of high rank—let alone Daskar, who governed Gilm—at this hour would rightfully invite criticism as being ignorant of propriety.
However, fully understanding that, Ara prepared to go out. Though when she said preparing to go out, for an ordinary woman that would mean putting on makeup or dressing up, but in Ara's case, preparing to go out meant putting on weapons and armor.
Even so, while not quite to the extent of Elena and the others, Ara possessed looks perfectly befitting the title of a beauty, and she stood out more than women with half-hearted makeup.
No, rather, in Ara's case it might be more accurate to say she was arming herself in order to avoid being called out to or harassed by men.
In any case, Ara left the inn as she was and headed for the stable.
Inside the stable were the war horses that pulled Elena's carriage. Naturally, it was faster for a war horse to run than for her to travel by running herself. Of course, that word "naturally" had various exceptions, but at the very least, it was certain that traveling by war horse was faster than Ara running on her own.
"All right, I'm counting on you."
"Heeheeheeheen!"
At Ara's request, one of the war horses let out a happy neigh and began to run.
The fact that, compared to evening, far fewer people were walking the streets due to it being night was probably fortunate for Ara. Even so, given Gilm's current situation of undergoing expansion construction, a fair number of people were still walking the streets, but seeing a war horse running, they naturally cleared out of its path, as was only natural.
And so, when Ara arrived before the lord's manor—as was only natural, she was met with caution by the gatekeepers and had spears leveled at her.
At night, with no prior notice, a horse—and not just any horse, but a war horse considerably larger than a normal one, charging toward the lord's manor—their action was by no means a mistake.
"Who goes there!"
"I am Ara Scarley, a subordinate of Lady Elena Kerebel! I have come to report that there is an urgent communication for Lord Daskar from Lady Elena and Lord Rei!"
Because the name of a person named Rei was mentioned, the gatekeepers relaxed their tension slightly. Rei had come to this lord's manor many times in the past, and he was someone the gatekeepers felt familiar with.
Of course, just because Rei's name came up did not mean they could completely trust the other party. However, the gatekeepers had seen the figures of Elena and Ara who served her, and when the light produced by a Magic Item illuminated Ara's face, they finally lowered their spears.
"Forgive me, Lady Ara. I will inform those inside immediately, so please wait a moment."
"Yes, understood. But since it's an urgent communication from Lady Elena and Lord Rei, please make it as quick as you can."
To Ara, who spoke thus while dismounting from the war horse, one of the gatekeepers immediately entered the lord's manor.
It was night, but even so, the number of people inside the lord's manor was large. Those who had been waiting in front of the lord's manor for an audience with the lord were gone, but there were still many people working within the manor regardless of whether it was day or night.
Amidst such people, the butler who had received the report from the gatekeeper hurried forward. Though hurrying, he did not run recklessly. For a butler to do such a thing would be tantamount to bringing shame upon his master.
Hastening yet not running, the butler arrived before the office and knocked on the door. Immediately, a voice from within told him to enter, and when he opened the door, there was Daskar, having formed a mountain of documents atop his office desk.
"Has something happened? You seem rather agitated."
To Daskar, who asked while looking over the documents, the butler gave a small bow and opened his mouth.
"It appears that Lady Ara has arrived."
"...Lady Ara? At this hour?"
Daskar turned his gaze outside the window, and what he saw was a scene enveloped in the darkness of night. Though there was some light from the lamps within the lord's manor, it was still impossible to dispel all of the night's darkness. Also, the moon, which would normally illuminate the ground with its soft light, was hidden behind clouds today and did not show its face. And since the moon's light did not illuminate the ground, naturally, the faint starlight did not reach them at all.
While gazing at that night scene, Daskar redirected his attention to the butler.
"Yes. I am told there is an urgent communication from Lady Elena and Lord Rei."
At the words that came from the butler's mouth, the bitter expression Daskar momentarily showed was perhaps unavoidable. An urgent communication had come from Rei's party, who had gone to retaliate against the organization that had laid its hands on Gilm.
If it were news that the retaliation had ended safely, then Rei and his party should have returned to Gilm and reported it directly. If Set flew, they could return to Gilm at a speed that would be incomparable to traveling on the ground. But since that was not the case, it was easy to surmise that some unexpected situation had occurred.
"Understood. Let her through immediately. I had just reached a stopping point myself. I'll hear the story as a break. Bring drinks and some light food."
"Yes, I will prepare it immediately."
So saying, Daskar saw off the butler as he left the office, and once again directed his gaze outside the window and let out a sigh.
"Something troublesome has definitely happened, hasn't it."
Even as he muttered, Daskar had no intention of worrying about Rei. Because he knew full well just how much power Rei possessed and how much he had accomplished. What's more, the current Rei was leading a party called the Crimson Lotus Wings, and a personage known as the Princess General, Elena Kerebel, was also acting alongside him.
It was no joke, nor any exaggeration—they had assembled enough combat power to overwhelm an entire army, even if they were to face one.
(Elena is there too, isn't she.)
He recalled the figure of the Dark Elf who knew what could be called his own dark history.
Marina, with her rather inscrutable personality, could wield Spirit Magic with complete freedom; depending on the situation, that ability would allow her to perform wide-area attacks comparable to Rei's. Naturally, in terms of raw destructive power, it was certain to fall far short of Rei's.
Spirit Magic, which was used for all sorts of things besides attack, was a power truly befitting the name of omnipotent.
Given that there were people who possessed such mighty power in various senses, there was nothing to worry about—that was Daskar's honest feeling.
He stood from his chair and moved his body lightly. The sound of his bones popping proved just how long Daskar had been doing paperwork like this. In that sense too, taking a little break was not such a bad thing after all.
"Nngh... I'm exhausted. How long is this busyness going to last anyway? Well, the expansion construction is something I decided on myself, so there's no one I can complain to."
He stretched his back once more, and eventually closed his eyes and fell into thought for a while, but before long, the sound of knocking on the door reached Daskar's ears.
When he told them to enter, a maid brought in black tea and a plate laden with a large quantity of bite-sized sandwiches, set them on the table, and withdrew.
After seeing her off, Daskar immediately began eating the sandwiches and drinking the black tea, when once again the sound of a knock echoed through the room.
"Enter."
"Excuse me. I have brought Lady Ara."
The butler from earlier spoke, and Ara appeared.
"I apologize, Lord Daskar. At this hour..."
"No, it is fine. You went to the trouble of coming at this hour. There must have been a reason befitting it. What is the communication from Lady Elena?"
"Yes, please look here."
So saying, Ara produced the Paired Orb.
Daskar also knew of the Paired Orb's existence, so he showed no particular surprise. He moved the plate of sandwiches slightly aside and set the Paired Orb there.
And when Ara poured magic power into it, Elena's figure was soon projected onto the Paired Orb.
No, it was not only Elena who was projected; Rei, Marina, and Vihera's figures were also present.
The absence of Byune and Ielo was not particularly strange, given what was about to be discussed.
When Ara had spoken earlier, it had been only Elena, but considering that a fair amount of time had passed since then, Ara reasoned that they had likely moved while holding the Paired Orb and was convinced.
'Lord Daskar, I apologize for contacting you at this hour.'
The first to speak was Elena. To Elena's words, Daskar shook his head side to side.
"No, it is of no concern. Fortunately, I was just thinking of taking a break. So, what is the matter at hand?"
'Actually...'
After hesitating slightly, Elena explained what they had learned in Rossi, and above all, the matter Rei had hypothesized.
At first, Daskar had been nodding along to Elena's words, but as he listened to what Rei had predicted, his expression grew increasingly severe. With Daskar's naturally stern face, that appearance was one that might make a child burst into tears if they saw it.
The content explained from Elena's mouth was that shocking, and at the same time, that grave.
If it had been a prediction with no basis whatsoever, he might have been able to dismiss it. However, the trust Daskar held toward Rei—and the fact that, though she herself did not want to admit it, Marina had not raised any objection to Rei's prediction—were the reasons he could not dismiss it as mere speculation.
"Absurd... what a foolish thing to do..."
That Reblurina held dissatisfaction with being treated as a vassal state of the Mireana Kingdom was something Daskar could understand. No, in the first place, there would hardly be anyone who would be satisfied with their own country being in a position of subordination to another nation.
But to seek power through such inhumane means—and moreover, to forcibly abduct women from other countries and use them as breeding stock—there was no way he could tolerate that.
On top of that, Jaya had extended their reach as far as Gilm—as far as the Mireana Kingdom.
Of course, Daskar could not entirely fail to understand that sentiment. To produce a single Giant—no, to give birth to one, it was believed that the life of one woman was required. What's more, if they were beings worthy of being called Giants, it was not guaranteed that all of the pregnant mothers could safely give birth.
Given that the death of the mother was a prerequisite, they would not want to use their own citizens—and above all, if they were going to do it anyway, it would be fine to use women of the Mireana Kingdom, the target of Reblurina's bitterest resentment.
To inflict damage upon the Mireana Kingdom using Giants produced by their own citizens. Even if one thought of it that way, it would not be particularly strange.
'Of course, this is merely my own hypothesis, and at present we do not have any decisive proof.'
Rei, who was beside Elena, addressed Daskar thus.
However, even hearing that, Daskar was no longer in a position where he could feel reassured. There was no decisive proof, but looking at the circumstantial evidence alone, the situation was nearly certain.
"For the time being, do you understand just how pressed they are at present? Having prepared that many Giants, would Reblurina immediately launch a rebellion, or something of that sort?"
'No, unfortunately we cannot say that far.'
"...I see. Then, this is a bit troublesome. Understood. I will lay the groundwork regarding this matter. You lot are free to act as you please. Got it? You are free to act, I said."
Daskar, who spoke thus, was wearing a smile like that of a ferocious carnivorous beast.