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I was sitting on the roof of the mountain lodge, leisurely listening to Eleora and Bercken’s conversation.
The werewolf they must have seen through the window was actually Jerich.
This is the werewolf ninja art: the Art of Substitution.
For someone like me, who comes from a country of ninjas, this is child’s play. Well, actually, it’s Jerich who’s putting in the effort.
The problem is that things have gotten noisy around here, and I’ve inadvertently found myself unable to escape. This is a bit of a predicament.
Once things calm down a bit more, I’ll just use some magic to make my escape.

Still, Rolmund is looking like it’s going to be a problem.
If I defeat Eleora here, I might be able to temporarily halt the invasion.
The problem is what comes after that. If we’re seen to have killed a princess, it will become impossible to resolve the matter through diplomacy. For now, I want to keep as many options open as possible.
Also, she had mysterious titles like “Ranked Sixth” and “Outer Princess.” And then there was that remark about “there being plenty of replacements.”
Presumably, a commander of Princess Eleora’s caliber could be replaced immediately. It’s a frightening country.

I stood under the cold sky, watching the situation and thinking about all this. After a while, when I could no longer sense anyone around, I quietly slipped away from the mountain lodge.
I gathered a lot of valuable information, but it was a bit cold. I’m glad I had my fur coat…

“Boss, over here.”

I met up with Jerich at the rendezvous point I’d arranged beforehand.
Mao and Kait were with him too. It seemed they’d managed to slip away successfully.

“There’ve been some weird guys lurking around for a while now. Let’s get out of here quick.”
“Yeah, let’s do that. We’ve got plenty to report to the Council anyway.”

Then Mao let out a sigh.

“It’s probably something that’ll cut off our rock salt supply, isn’t it?”

You figured it out, didn’t you?
I’ll set up a new salt field in Belrüsa as promised, so you better be grateful.

We walked all night and managed to escape to the agricultural city of Vilheim in the south. However, we remained on guard here as well and didn’t enter the city; instead, we asked to join Mao’s caravan, which had been traveling ahead of us on the highway.
Thankfully, brand-new covered wagons and blankets had been prepared for us.

“Mao, did you arrange this for us?”
“Unlike werewolves, humans can’t just run all night to get back to the Southern Federation. We’ve got dried meat and bread, too.”

The four of us tumbled into the rattling covered wagon and were finally able to grab a light meal and catch some sleep.

But then.

“Hey, Mao, can you squeeze in a little closer?”
“Whose wagon do you think this is, Jerich? Move over toward Kait.”
“Wait, then I won’t have anywhere to sleep! And seriously, why is it so cramped in here?!”
“It’s obvious—we loaded it up with every last bit of rock salt we had.”
“You greedy b̲a̲s̲t̲a̲r̲d̲!”

These guys are so noisy.
I’m going to bed first, then…

Fortunately, no forces resembling the Rolmund Army gave chase, so we were able to return safely to Lüenheit via Zaria.
A council meeting was convened immediately, and the governors of the Southern Federation were summoned.

“Rolmund, huh. I’ve only ever read about it in old books.”

Old Man Petore, the eldest of the human governors, wore a troubled expression.
Forne, that damn drag queen from Viera, nodded as well.

“The intel coming in from the north isn’t much to go on either… I did my best to investigate through my contacts, though.”

After everyone brought together their documents and rumors and cross-referenced the information, they managed to piece together a bit about Rolmund.
At least three hundred years ago, it seems to have been a republican state governed by a senate. Since slavery existed there, it doesn’t contradict the theory that the people of the North are descendants of escaped slaves.
The problem is that what happened from then until now remains unclear.

Senior Marlene is deep in thought. Apparently, when she was human, she was from the northern lands.

“When I was a kid, I heard people commenting that no one’s been coming over the mountains anymore. It seems there used to be a few before that.”
“And how many centuries ago was… Ow ow ooww!?”

Filnier asked a careless question, and met with a brutal head trauma from her vampire senior, but everyone pretends not to notice. She brought it on herself.
Senior Marlene mutters.

“Even among us vampires, there are few who are over a hundred years old. Oh, I’m an exception, though.”

Since you’re the “parent” of all the vampires, you’re definitely the oldest.

With almost no information to go on, gathering new intel is the top priority for now.

“My spies are stationed in Klauchen, Drawright, and the three cities previously occupied by the Demon Lord’s army. From now on, I’ll increase their numbers and have them gather more intelligence.”

Old Man Petore, who’s using his vast wealth to gather intelligence, made that statement.
Garsche nodded as well.

“I’m sending some of my own men as well, so just wait a bit. We should find out something soon.”

Also, there’s something we mustn’t forget.

“The woman claiming to be Princess Eleora said she has no intention of interfering with the Southern Federation, but of course, we can’t trust her.”

Saying that, I asked everyone to reinforce the city’s defenses.

“I want to reinforce the defenses of the four cities bordering the North. I’ll also ask the other four cities for support.”
“Understood. Schaldir will gather supplies and troops.”

Aram, who had grown noticeably thinner lately, readily agreed, so the other governors nodded in agreement as well.

The rookie governor, Shatina, suddenly tilted her head.

“But Teacher, isn’t the northern region entering the snowy season now? I’m not very familiar with it, but won’t the army be unable to move if the snow piles up too high?”

That’s a good question.

“Around Klauchen, the snow piles up as high as an adult’s height in winter. So while it’s difficult to move the army, Rolmund utilizes magical tools in their forces. We can’t let our guard down.”

Since we don’t know what kind of surprise weapons might come out of nowhere, we can’t let our guard down just because of a little snow.

“Besides, once they head south, the snow doesn’t pile up much around here. Rolmund troops are much more used to the snow than ours, it’s a terrain they have an advantage of.”
“That’s certainly true. We should be wary of the fact that they’re likely accustomed to fighting in the snow.”

Aylia nodded cautiously and addressed the group.

“We can’t interfere with Rolmund’s forces just yet, but it’s safe to assume there’s a high probability of war eventually. I ask that every city prepare for a siege now.”

At those words, Garsh nodded firmly.

“Leave it to me. Also, we need to be ready to send reinforcements. I’ll be sending additional troops to Lüenheit, so use them as you see fit.”

So there’s going to be more of those mowhawks…