The village chief, Nagaraja, asked me to persuade Quetzal.
Sarakka smiled happily at my reply. “Thank you, you’ve been a real help. We couldn’t handle this on our own. Please go with Philiana.”
Sarakka stood up and opened the door. Waiting for us outside was…
“Philiana! Are you alright?!”
“Philly!!”
Piyo pushed me aside and rushed out, hugging Philiana. She looked a little worn out but seemed fine. Perhaps to protect her mouth from the sand, she was also covering it with a cloth.
“Philiana had been working here as your personal knight.”
“I see. Thank you for helping our companion.”
He nodded, saying, “That’s good, that’s good.”
“Piyo-chan, everyone, you’re all safe too! Ah, I was so worried I might never see you again.”
Nina also seemed content with Philiana’s appearance.
“That leaves just one more, Cecilia. Are Veronica and Karubene still at the hotel?”
“Y-yes. Let’s pray they are safe. Well, the preparations are complete. Let’s set off on our journey to fulfill the request right away.”
Eh? We’re leaving already? I wanted to rest for at least a day. Everyone else was also tilting their heads, wondering if we were leaving now. Philiana attached the wagon to herself and quickly headed off.
“Wait up! We’re tired. Give us a little rest… are you even listening?”
Nina chased after her, but was ignored. Philiana had never acted like this before. There must be a reason for this. I told Nina to calm down a little. She puffed out her cheeks reluctantly.
For a while after leaving the Naga tribe’s village, Philiana still didn’t speak. Elana spoke up instead. “Speaking of which, these Nagas live on flat land. There are no trees, so it’s easy to see, but isn’t it unsettling?”
“Ah, now that you mention it, that’s true. I thought something felt off. It is indeed hard to fight, isn’t it? We have long bodies, you see. On flat land, we’d be exposed.”
Come to think of it, Nina’s fighting style so far has involved skillfully using her long tail. She’s more advantageous in places with obstacles to utilize rather than open spaces.
“The Nagas here hide by lowering their bodies.”
Philiana, who was walking at the front, answered this question. “They hide in tall grass and ambush their prey. Then they strike from below. They pursue weakened prey and wait for them to die.”
“Oh, you know a lot, don’t you? Then teach me about the other things you’re hiding. About that Quetzal-whatever.”
Unlike in the dense forest where it’s difficult to pursue if they escape, they utilize the visibility of flat land. More importantly, we need to know about what Philiana is hiding.
“What do you mean by ‘punish them’? It can’t just be going there and fighting.”
“…That’s right. I can’t hide anything from you all. Very well, our true objective is to persuade them.”
Persuade…? Yet resorting to force? Could they be unruly like Manticores? Nina scratched her head, saying “polipoli.”
“There is a Dark Harpy village nearby. You know that the Dark Harpies and the Naga tribe don’t get along. They are obstructing trade.”
Ah, I see. After bandits and centipedes, now Dark Harpies. How troublesome.
“Because of that, we can’t pass through the dense forest and have to take a detour. As a result, the Naga residents are suffering. In addition, there are bandits lurking in the valley, Garudas, Giant Centipedes, and Manticores.”
“Ah, we defeated the centipedes. And the bandits aren’t causing trouble anymore. I don’t know about the Garuda and Manticore.”
It seems that according to her story, they want Quetzal’s help to secure safe trade routes. However, they have long refused. Sarakka, the Nagaraja, unable to withstand the pressure from the residents, seems to have sent Philiana as a last resort, resorting to force.
“I’ve visited them many times myself. Yet they still won’t agree. It cannot be helped.”
“Wait a minute. Do we really need to go? This is their problem, isn’t it? We don’t need to get involved and fight.”
Sharin and Lauren nodded in agreement. I felt the same way. I understand they’re in trouble, but it’s not something we need to get deeply involved in to solve.
“That is not the case. Nagaraja is holding Cecilia… as a hostage.”
