Once we decided on that, Serulis stood up.

  “Please take me with you.”


  “No.”


  Goran said immediately.

  “I can fight too. I may be new as an Adventurer, but I’ve trained for a long time.”


  “You may have trained a lot, but you are still not strong enough for this occasion.”


  “But…”


  “Eric and Ruck are kind, and so they will not tell you. And so it is up to me as your father.”


  Goran looked Serulis in the eyes.

  “The truth is that you would get in our way. We are going to go and kill a Vampire High Lord. We won’t be able to protect you at the same time.”


  “…I…under…stand…”


  With her own father saying this much, Serulis had no choice but to back off.

  She looked down in frustration and clenched her fists.

  I turned to Serulis and said,

  “Serulis. You will just have to gain experience a little at a time. Let’s go as a party next time.”


  “Thank you.”


  Eric also added kindly,

  “I know that you are training hard. Would you please help guard my daughters?”


  “Yes.”


  “My wife has only just gotten better from her illness…and so I’m a little worried.”


  Refi was the former healer of our old party.

  She was one of the best healers in the kingdom and also strong in battle. Her use of the staff was a sight to behold.

  “Yes. I will protect them with all of my power.”


  Goran patted Serulis on the head.

  “Serulis. We’re counting on you.”


  “Alright, daddy.”


  And then I took Gerberga from Luchila.

  Luchila would stay in the palace as well.

  He was a brilliant illusionist.

  But it would be hard to make much use of that ability in a fight against a Vampire High Lord.

  “Cluck.”


  “Lord Gerberga. Please stay with me for a short while.”


  “Cluck!”


  Luchila petted Gerberga gently.

  “It seems that Lord Gerberga is happy to be able to move with the Hero Ruck.”


  I turned to Serulis.

  “Serulis, please look after Luchila as well.”


  “Leave it to me.”


  Serulis seemed to have found her footing again. Her eyes looked motivated.

  After that, we made preparations and took a short rest.

  Gerberga slept with me in my bed. He looked very comfortable.

  Gerberga was soft and warm.

  And then we got up three hours later.

  I altered a chest protector to hold Gerberga inside.

  “Lord Gerberga, it may be cramped in there, but please bear it for a short while.”


  “Cluck-cluck!”


  And then we left the palace.

  There was no time to lose. The High Lord would hear news of the 6th Officer’s death immediately.

  I wanted to attack them before they had a chance to make any plans.

  As we traveled on horseback, Eric asked Goran,

  “Did you contact the chiefs of the beastkin tribes?”


  “Aye. I did yesterday. Though, it ended up being more of a one-sided notification. Shia. I’m sorry about that.”


  They had only told the beastkin that they would be attacking this morning.

  This was because they did not have time to gather together and plan.

  These beastkin wolves were separated into different tribes. It was hard enough to make contact with all of them.

  “No, they have attacked the royal palace. The Mendilibar royal family are concerned in this affair. We would not consider this as robbing us of our prey.”


  Mendilibar was the name of the royal family and Eric’s family name.

  “So they will not be angry?”


  “I am sure some of them will complain, but they should understand why the royal family must rush to the attack as well.”


  “I hope that is the case…”


  Eric was worried. As the king, there were many things to consider in his position.

  “Eric. Once this is done, you can resolve this in a kingly way.”


  “Hm? What are you suggesting?”


  “Like offering commendations and positions.”


  Just like I had been made Grand Duke and given some unnecessarily long titles.

  Of course, he would not be able to easily pass out the title of Grand Duke, but knighthoods should not be a problem.

  “I see. I will have to think about that.”


  Eric said with a serious expression.

  The Vampire High Lord’s base was a day’s travel to the north of the capital.

  That was about 4 hours by horse.

  We changed horses a few times as we rode, and arrived shortly after sunrise.

  It was a mountainous area covered in rocks and a few trees.

  “So it is somewhere in this area?”


  “This place seems a little large to search? It will take too long to search every corner.”


  “What should we do? We cannot allow them to escape.”


  As we stood there talking, a single beastkin wolf came running towards us.

  It was a large man who appeared to be in his fifties.

  He glanced at Shia before turning to Eric with a bow.

  “We have been waiting for you, Your Majesty.”


  “Who are you?”


  The man was the chief of one of the tribes. He then began his report to Eric.

  The beastkin tribes had all worked together in order to search for the location of the enemy base.

  “Have you suffered any casualties?”


  “Our casualties are not light. However, we had no choice but to search for it before it was too late.”


  “That is commendable.”


  Eric said, and the chief gave a deep bow before continuing.

  “Many of our friends have died. But not as many as the vampires. However, the truth is that we are not strong enough to break them.”


  “We will kill this High Lord for you. Can we leave the other Lords to you?”


  “Of course. On the honor of our tribes.”


  “Thank you.”


  “It is a great honor for us to be able to fight alongside Your Majesty.”


  Eric asked him about the beastkin numbers and quickly put together a strategy.

  Timing was the most important.

  At the same time as we attacked the High Lord’s base, the beastkin would attack the Lords’ bases.

  There were several bases in the area where the Lord’s were shut in. And we could not let any of them escape.

  Eric and the chief finished their war council.

  “Well then, do as we discussed.”


  “Certainly. Leave it to us.”


  And then the chief turned to Shia.

  “This is an opportunity for His Majesty to witness the bravery of our tribes. I hope that you fight gallantly in the name of your tribe and your father.”


  “I will not disappoint them.”


  He looked satisfied at Shia’s answer as he nodded. Then he ran back in order to relay the plan to the others.