Time was limited. In particular, this Throne Selection War had a strict time limit of four years. Since I was in this, I had zero intention of losing. I was absolutely going to make Rose the queen and finally embark on my long-sought journey around the world. With that in mind, since Rose's stay was the core of our current plan and required a relatively large amount of time, we sent her ahead to the Akinashi Domain on Phoenix's back.
After spending about ten days laying the groundwork for several parts of our plan in the royal capital, the town of Balse, and a few other cities, we headed into the Forest of Deep Magic in Eastend.
And for the past seven days, we had stayed in a circular clearing we made in a section of the Forest of Deep Magic relatively far from the Wind Cats' hideout, pitching camp and waiting for things to develop.
In this regard, the camp was pure paradise for Faf and Mew, keeping their spirits soaring the entire time. Anna seemed worried about Rose, but she looked after Faf and Mew without a single complaint.
"Master! Master! What's this?!"
Her eyes sparkling, Faf pointed her right hand toward me.
"That's a cicada."
"Then what about this?"
"N-No, stop!!"
Catching sight of the creature clutched in her left hand, Anna shrieked, slapped the critter away, and pulled Faf into a protective embrace. I grabbed a nearby skewer and hurled it at the creature, killing it instantly.
"Anna? What is the matter?"
Held in Anna's arms, Faf looked up at her with a puzzled expression.
"Faf, that was a scorpion. It's a dangerous creature. It's extremely venomous, so don't go picking them up."
I gave the order in a stern voice. Naturally, such venom wouldn't have any effect on Faf, but I couldn't have Mew imitating her.
Hmm, as expected, Faf seemed severely lacking in common sense. This was a problem. I had to come up with some kind of countermeasure.
"Yes... it is as you say. I am sorry."
Still held tight by Anna, Faf slumped her shoulders dejectedly. I patted her head as usual.
"Well, it's almost time for dinner. Lend me a hand."
When I pointed toward the food, the gloom vanished from Faf's face, instantly brightening.
"Yes, of course!"
She pumped her right fist energetically into the air.
"Okaay."
Imitating Faf, Mew raised her right hand too.
Aware of the smile softening my cheeks at the sight of the two of them, I ladled everyone's soup into bowls.
Faf and Mew were now snuggled up together in my handmade tent, fast asleep. They truly looked like close sisters. Faf genuinely seemed to be enjoying every day lately, which brought me relief as well.
As I took a breather after washing the dishes in the nearby river—
"Thank you."
Anna muttered those baffling words of gratitude while looking away.
"For what? I have no idea what you mean."
"No, well... it's about the princess. You see, the princess has been so full of life lately."
Anna rattled on, stammering terribly.
"Really? Lately, Rose has only looked worn out to me."
"That's not true!"
She shot up from her wooden chair and shouted in denial.
"Calm down. You'll wake Faf and Mew."
"S-Sorry."
She sat back down, fidgeting with her fingers, and stared at me. Her expression pulled tight, as though splashed with cold water.
"As you know, status is everything in this kingdom. The same goes for us knights who serve. Lady Rose used to talk to us about her ideals, but deep down, she had resigned herself to giving up. For better or worse, everything began to move only after Lady Rose met you."
"Is that so?"
Well, Rose's way of thinking was alien to the Holy Amelia Kingdom. It had gotten to the point where Fracton almost had her eliminated, and she was surrounded, quite literally, by nothing but enemies. On top of that, her rivals were that prince and princess, both of whom seemed tricky to handle.
"I believe in you. I know that if it's you, you can even make Lady Rose win this royal selection—"
I raised my right hand to cut Anna off and turned my gaze to the campfire. The flames flared upward, shaping themselves into the silhouette of a person.
The flame demon knelt before me, tucked his chin, and held his hands horizontally before him to conceal the upper half of his face.
"O Supreme Master, with utmost awe and reverence, I make my report."
He spoke in a deeply respectful tone.
This guy was Ifrit—the evil spirit who had claimed to be the Spirit King. After that incident, he had been thoroughly drilled by Girimehkala in the world inside the Subjugation Compendium, turning pleasantly obedient.
This mission in the forest was under Girimehkala's management. Every member of the Girimehkala Faction had likely been mobilized.
"Good work. So, did they make a move?"
"Sir, yes! At the lake southwest of here, a force of humans has stationed themselves, and a manhunt has begun."
"Their numbers?"
"Approximately one thousand, sir."
One thousand, huh. More than expected, but well within our calculations. We could finally transition to the next stage. Before that, though, gathering intelligence was an absolute must.
"Girimehkala, send some of those hunters over here. I will interrogate them."
"By your will."
A deep, masculine voice replied immediately to my command. Per Girimehkala's earnest plea, I had entrusted our protection entirely to him.
In truth, our surrounding area lay inside Girimehkala's curse boundary. Without his consent, no one could enter or leave this domain, nor could they ever catch a glimpse inside. The fact that my detection-type magic, Divine Eye, hadn't been functioning properly for a while now was because of this curse boundary.
"Now then, time to prepare for the festival. Everyone, take your defensive positions."
At my words, the evil spirit of fire, Ifrit, bowed his head deeply before being sucked back into the campfire.
"Kai..."
Looking at Anna as she watched me with an uneasy expression, I gave her a firm assurance.
"There's no need to worry. The plan is proceeding terrifyingly well."
Having said that, I began tossing dry wood into the campfire.