Kishiar's gift of five direct subordinates and the privilege to select collaborators was still intact, unused even once. Until now, the only person Yuder had considered for this role was Enon, but it seemed appropriate now to add Gakane to the list.

'The condition was someone from the Cavalry, not at the level of a Deputy Commander, so there should be no issues.'

More importantly, Gakane's shadow clone ability suited very well with the plan Yuder had vaguely conceived of nurturing subordinates mainly for information gathering. His distinctive appearance was somewhat of an issue, but that seemed manageable.

"Yuder, what are you thinking about so seriously?"

"Nothing, really."

Yuder shook off his thoughts at Kanna's call and turned his head. Just then, Kishiar, who was sitting beside him, lifted his eyes from the note he was writing for Nathan Zuckerman, who was following behind. Their eyes met.

Even with his face half concealed by the cap attached to his cloak, the man's striking beauty couldn't be fully hidden. He gave Yuder a slight, mischievous smile.

'Ah.'

The soft smile, like light peeking gently out from between the clouds for him alone, caused Yuder's heart to sink for a moment without him even realizing why.

However, before he could figure out what that feeling was, Kishiar's smile vanished as quickly as a mirage.

"Prepare to set off again."

"Yes."

No one suspected the exchange of glances between the Commander and his assistant. They mounted their horses. Kishiar tied the note for Nathan to a nearby tree branch, left a symbol only the Knights of Peletta could recognize, and turned around.

"Gakane. Was there anything unusual in the reconnaissance?"

"No."

As Gakane promptly responded, Kishiar nodded.

"That's a relief. It doesn't seem like there has been any unusual surge of monsters in the imperial border yet... From now on, we must rush without rest until we reach the Great Sarain Forest."

They had crossed countless shortcuts to reach the border region, where the Great Sarain Forest was located, within three days. The Misty Wind Horse had displayed its full potential, charging relentlessly even through the swampland where an ordinary horse would have been stuck and died, and through the barren mountains where direction was hard to gauge.

Having come this far, everyone's faces were pale from exhaustion, but they knew the real challenge was yet to begin, so no one complained. They followed Kishiar toward the western border, where the entrance to the Great Sarain Forest began.

"This place is definitely... completely different from before."

The last town before the Great Sarain Forest was bustling with merchants from other countries who had passed through and mercenaries who ventured into any dangerous places. The variety of people was so great that even the Cavalry members riding Misty Wind Horses did not attract attention.

As they headed toward the meeting point arranged with the Knights of Peletta, Priest Lusan looked around anxiously and whispered,

"There are too many armed people. I can smell blood from everywhere..."

"Out of the way! We have to pass!"

Just then, a group of people who appeared from behind Lusan yelled harshly. If Yuder hadn't instinctively pulled Lusan away, he would certainly have been knocked down by them. Without looking back, whether Lusan staggered or not, they hurriedly rode their carriage carrying a person down the alley and disappeared.

"What? Just like that, they left without an apology. Are you alright, Priest?"

"Ah, yes. I suppose it's my fault for letting my guard down. I'm alright. Ha ha... Thank you, Yuder."

"It was nothing."

While Emun was gaping at Lusan, stunned, Yuder recalled the attire of the departed group. At a glance, it was a common, rough robe, but some of them wore pearl brooches on their chests.

'A pearl brooch on a robe that mages usually wear in such a dangerous place.'

There was only one thing that could mean: they were either mages from the Pearl Tower, or they were somehow affiliated with it.

He was curious why they would dash off carrying an injured person, but since they had already disappeared, there was no way to find out. Yuder resumed moving on with his group. Not long after, they once again ran into robed individuals arguing loudly in front of a small house.

"Why can't you do it? I can pay!"

"I told you several times that the priest collapsed from exhaustion. We don't have any holy water or anything!"

"Weren't there other priests? That one, he..."

"He left yesterday because the situation here was too dire. You need to go to a regular doctor, or perhaps a village nearby."

"This can't be happening..."

Despair settled over the faces of the dismayed group. Watching their despair, Kishiar paused and turned to look at Priest Lusan.

"They seem to be in quite a rush. Priest Lusan, shall we go over?"

"Yes, yes. Of course."

Despite them almost knocking him over earlier, Lusan agreed without hesitation. Seeing this, Kishiar, who seemed to have expected as much, instructed Gakane to accompany him.

"Gakane, go with him."

"Understood."

They approached the individuals who were discussing something in front of the closed house, with the injured person lying between them.

"Um, excuse me..."

"Don't bother us. Just move along. This isn't a show!"

Lusan flinched at the angry response, so Gakane stepped forward in his stead.

"This man is a priest of the Sun God. He came over because he was worried about your injured friend. You're all overreacting."

At that, everyone turned to look at them.

"And you expect us to believe that now? Even the priest we had ran away. What a lie..."

The rude speaker, upon locking eyes with Gakane whose youthful appearance exuded an undeniable aura of trustworthiness, stopped midsentence.

"..."

For a moment, their anger was replaced with shock. Then they saw the young priest beside Gakane, the aged holy emblem around his neck, and they all let out a cry in unison.

"No way, are you really a priest?"

"Yes, that's correct."

"By God! I will believe again! Please, check on him!"

"Ah, alright. First, could you tell me how he got injured..."

The robed figures hurriedly escorted Lusan to the injured man, each explaining in a rush.

"We are mages affiliated with the Western Mage Union under the Pearl Tower...!"

"The research facility in the Great Sarain Forest...! Suddenly, monsters...!"

"The array we had set up is acting strangely and collapsing...!"

The voices overlapped making it hard to discern exactly what was being said, but Yuder could hazard a guess. He looked at Kishiar who was watching the situation with interest and muttered.

"It seems like monsters are appearing in this vicinity."

"Yes, it appears so."

Because of the mages crying out that there wasn't even time to move, Lusan immediately knelt down where he stood and used his divine power to heal the wounded person who was laid down. The wounded man had severely crushed limbs, and his forehead, swathed in a bandage, was soaked in blood. As Lusan poured out white light without restraint until the mans pallor improved and his breath steadied, the mages collectively expressed their admiration.

"Wow. This is the first time I've seen a priest using such powerful divine power right in front of me..."

"Could he be a senior-level priest?"

"No, why would such a person come here?"

"Um... perhaps hes been sent as support from Tainu...?"

"Ah...."

As the mages' opinions diverged, Lusan finished the treatment and rose from his spot.

"I've put out the immediate fire. The broken limbs have all been healed, so if you rest him at a general ward, he should be able to regain his strength."

"Thank you so much, priest. I don't know how I can repay this favor... I apologize for my earlier rudeness."

"No problem. But has the situation in Great Sarain Forest become that dangerous?"

At Lusan's question, the mages blinked and looked at each other before responding.

"Of course it's dangerous. Didn't you know that when you came? Aren't you a priest from Tainu?"

"Ah, I knew about it... but I didn't come from there."

At Lusan's awkward reply, the mages' eyes widened in surprise.

"Then why on earth did you come to this dangerous place? If you came with the intention of passing through the forest, we would advise against it. We tell you this for your own good, no matter how strong you are, if you go there now, you really might die."

"That's right. If we didn't have a purpose, we wouldn't want to go back in there either. The situation this year is too different from the previous ones, and it's difficult to deal with the creatures that keep appearing, which we've never seen before. We've seen veteran mercenaries go into Great Sarain Forest and come out dead several times already."

"It's just a rumor among the merchants, but there's even talk that a curse has been laid on Great Sarain Forest. That says it all!"

"Ah... I see."

Lusan, who had been listening to the steady stream of talk, looked in the direction of Kishiar and Yuder with a troubled expression. The mages, as if only just realizing there were other people present, looked surprised and became cautious.

"Who are you?"

"We're with the priest."

After checking that Kishiar and Ejain had their caps well pulled down, Yuder stepped forward.

"We were planning to head straight to our destination once the treatment was finished... but could you tell us more about the situation in Great Sarain Forest if it's not too much trouble?"

"You're with him? Where are you from?"

"We're a group of knights and mercenaries dispatched with a mission to enter Great Sarain Forest."

"Knights and mercenaries?"

The mages, their faces a mix of suspicion and curiosity, scanned the faces of everyone present. Their gaze ultimately rested on Gakane.

"So, you must be the knight then. The leader?"

"...Haha, yes."

Gakane awkwardly acknowledged, having caught Yuder's cue.

"Alright then. Follow us. You saved our colleague's life, so the least we can do is offer some assistance. We'll invite you to where we're staying for a moment."