The wooden quarters were devoid of any kind of firelight, perhaps as a precaution against fire.

　From the moonlight that shone through the windows at the end of the building and the information given by the wood itself that made up the building, I was able to determine where the commander's bedroom was located.

　Even in a building that was assembled with precision and without gaps, they could find a place where air could pass through if they looked for it - if they could get the commander to breathe in a hypnotic air ball, they could take him prisoner without resistance. However, I realized that I couldn't do that, as soon as I heard the voice I had just heard.

(Inside these quarters, there is a mage ...... inside the commander's bedroom, where detection by hearing the tree's voice is not possible.

(...... You mean we're going to fight here?　(If you're inside, you can plant it from the outside or ......)

(No air can be pumped into the room. See ...... There is a thin film of water in the middle of the hallway.)

(eh ......!)

　Presha's eyes widen. With such a thin, transparent film of water, it could be touched unnoticed in the dark. It must have been set up for that.

(But I'm curious about that voice you mentioned earlier. If that was the commander's, then it raises the possibility that the mages betrayed him.)

　On the Zirconian side, a mage who graduated from the Silvana Academy of Magic has infiltrated the enemy army and is assisting them.

　I suspected that this was the result of a conspiracy by someone who doesn't think well of His Highness - the Second Queen.

　What if Noon hadn't completely followed the Second Queen's scheme.

　What if he hadn't forgotten his duty as a court mage to protect the kingdom? Would that be too convenient an idea?

(At any rate, we have to do something about this membrane: ...... It's not good to touch it.

(Yes. We should take good measures to remove it.

　Thus, facing the trap set by the water spirit magic, I realized for the first time.

　I was able to counter the fog I had just encountered, come to think of it.

　Plants breathe. And with the exception of some, plant tissue is mostly composed of water - the fog can be extinguished by accelerating the absorption of water from the air.

　Whether or not a water spirit user can interfere with the water taken in by the plants. It's a gamble, but let the plants absorb this water film and we'll find out.

(I'll summon Alraune and have her suck the water through her roots.)

(What? It's ......, okay?　(Isn't Lune in danger?)

(It seems worth trying ...... to see if the water brought by the water spirits could be neutralized if Lune, a plant spirit, could take in the water brought by the water spirits.)

　With His Highness' permission, I asked the girls to hide behind the door of the archives. Then I placed one of the Arraune bulbs that I had brought with me on the floor, a little away from the water membrane.

("O glossy flower blooming in the garden of demon flowers, ...... show yourself in this world once and show your power.")

　--Alraune's roots don't need to suck the spirit from the ground, but can bloom with only my magic power as nourishment.

　However, this time the flowering process was different. As soon as I finished chanting, thin vines and green leaves grew out of the bulb all at once, as if they regarded the water membrane as a nutrient, and sucked up all the moisture.

　The water membrane was set up by the mage, after all, and it was sucked by Alraune's vines and showed signs of resistance at first - but by the time the water reached Alraune's roots, it was sucked out of the spirit and incapacitated.

　Through an unusual process, the flower of Arraune opens up. Then it materialized in the form of a girl with a flower on her head.

(Puhaha, it was delicious water. It was full of magic power, so the vine just grew.)

(Good job, Lune. I think the water was set up by an enemy mage, but you did a great job sucking it up.)

(If it's the main body of the water spirit, it doesn't work that well even if you suck it. It seems to be a trick that if you touch it, it becomes a spear of water and flies away, but if it leaves the body, it's just water for me. (I'm not good at that because I can't suck it all at once if it's swept away by a lot of water.

You did well this time, Rune, but I'll give you credit later. There are enemies in that room, you mustn't run out of there for your own safety.

(Yes, that's right, I'm staying quiet until the Summoner directs me to do so.

　Raquel chastises her and Rune covers her mouth with her own hand. Raquel-san smiles faintly and lightly picks up Lune with one hand. It seems that she is going to protect you.

　How powerful is a water spear - I've seen the magic of a combat mage from a distance, but it wasn't a half-hearted one. Even a trap of this scale would be something that would be fatal if received.

　The plant spirits seemed to be a good match for the water spirits. With this, the compatibility might make up a little bit of the huge difference between the presence or absence of actual battle training.

　The commander's room was either caused by the water spirits or the magic prevented interference from the outside world, so even if you touched the walls, you couldn't grasp what was going on inside. Presha-san took the initiative to cut in here as well.

(I extend my vines inside as fast as I can as soon as I open the door. That way I can check for any traps.)

Yes, please. If not, I'm just on the fringe of being a warrior myself, so I'll avoid a few.

　Immediately after opening the door, Alraune's tendrils grow into the space inside with tremendous speed - as soon as she realizes that the water membrane is not set up, Presha-san follows and slips inside with a low profile.

''You ...... body, what ......?''

　Mr. Presha asks the person inside. You can tell from his voice that he doesn't understand the situation in front of him.

　We follow and enter the room - and when we do, we see a man who looks like a commander sitting on a bed in the bedroom and a woman in a zirconia military uniform with a dagger at her neck.

'...... Noin Flores ......'

　A woman with light blue hair, fascinated by the water spirit. However, her mood is like a change from the one I've seen her in the school.

　The commander is already wounded. After receiving that return blood, Noin wiped the blood on her cheek with her free right hand and let her lips, which had a gloss in the weak light of Kantera, touch it.

' ...... I can't believe you came through my 'Water Mirror Spear'. Even though you've been called a bastard mage, it looks like you weren't rotten to the inside.

　He has a relaxed tone that resembles the rushing of water, but his words have a clear venom and an unguarded sharpness lurking in them.

　Why would she do such a thing as attack the commander of this fort? If she had created that fog, it was not to detect intruders, but to allow herself to take advantage of the fog to get in here.

'I didn't mean for it to be a test, but I'll consider it a good enough qualification to come here. Hey guys, what do you say we make a deal with me?　I think our interests are aligned in a certain way. If Her Royal Highness is also here, then the decision can be made right here.

　His Highness Astina did not answer. In this interval, Presha-san or her outstanding sword skills might be able to 'reach' her - but His Highness did not grip the sword.

'...... I won't make a deal, but depending on what you are here for, there is room for dialogue.'
''Hmph. ...... It's no wonder that the people of ...... have so much faith in him, if he's so innocent. Truly, it doesn't even cause me to feel jealous.

　Her smile and her words only seemed to contain something in this situation.

　But I didn't think I could trust her at all. In fact, Noin was trying to play the commander of Zirconia, our enemy, into his hands.