Dark Knight Kroki

　The dwarven city of Verund is located inside Mount Elyos, directly below the Elyos Heavenly Palace.
　I've come to this capital many times to visit Totoona's archives in Elyos' Heavenly Palace.
　Since I am an enemy of Elyos, I can't enter it from the front as I am an enemy of Elyos.
　You must always go through the Verund before entering.
　This time I don't go to Elyos' Heavenly Palace because I don't have any business in Totona's archives.
　I am now in a conference room near the top of the vernd.
　This is a meeting place where dwarves and their wives gather to discuss various matters.
　A magical image is projected onto the conference room.
　The image is of a part of the forest.

'Hmm?　What the hell was that?　It looks like it's dying. Kuroki.
Yeah, that's right, Kuna.

　The forest in the image is dead, just as Kuna, who is beside me, says.
　And the carcasses of the forest creatures are lying around it.
　There is no sign of burning. Probably poison.

'That's right, Dark Knight. And look deep into the dead forest.

　The god Heybos calls out to him and points to a point in the image.
　There you can see the head of a giant snake.
　I describe it as the head of a snake because it is not a perfect snake. The snake has four legs.
　Purple smoke comes from the mouth of that snake.
　Probably, that snake is spitting venom and killing the trees in the forest.

''What's that?''
That's Mushuushu. It's a monster beast that spits venom. And he who rides on it is ......

　The god Heybos was right, there was someone on top of Mushfush.
　That person looked familiar.

'That is Dahak, Prince of the Serpent ....... And Zafarada, the princess of fresh blood.

　A man with brown skin and a long spear, undoubtedly Dahak, son of Diadna, Queen of the Serpent.
　And the woman in the red dress must be Zafarada, daughter of Zarxis, the god of death.
　Could it be that she had come to attack Elyos?
　Eventually, as he watches the images, angels dressed in armor appear in front of Dahak.
　They are the holy knights led by Alfos.
　When Alfos and the others appear, Dahak and Mushfush easily retreat.
　When Dahak and his friends retreat, Alfoss and his friends do not pursue any further.
　If you look closely, you will see that Dahak is not alone.
　There are also multiple deformed people near Mushvush. Several werewolves (wolfmen) can also be seen among them.
　If they have friends, then Alfos and the others can't be overwhelmed.
　To begin with, Dahak alone should be a pretty strong enemy.

''He appeared out of nowhere a few days ago. He showed up out of the blue a few days ago, hoping to counter Ferion's weakening grip. "I've been thinking about the time when Ferion's seal will be weakened.

　The god Heybos touches his beard and snarls.
　Ferion is sealed at the foot of Mount Elios.
　But Mount Elios is huge. The base of the mountain is also large.
　However, it seems that Dahak and the others have invaded the forest from the closest point from that seal.

''Are they still trying to get at the seal?''

　When he said that, the Haybos god shook his head.

"I don't know. But if they intend to break Ferion's seal, they will fall apart. ......

　Ferion the Wesen Ferion is a violent god with vicious powers.
　Many of Diadna the Serpent Queen's fellow gods would oppose breaking his seal, explains the god Haybos.
　That's probably why Diadna hasn't moved.
　Deirdona and the others are, to say the least, a crowdsourced group.
　They can easily fall out of line.
　The only decent companion would be Zarxys.
　However, according to the information, Zarxys was drained of too much magic power when he fought against himself, and he hasn't recovered yet.
　To begin with, it was an incomplete revival, and it seems that he had pushed himself too hard.
　In fact, Zarxis hasn't moved either, and the big guys who are invading the forest are said to be Dahak and Zafarada.
　Of course, there's a possibility that reinforcements could appear in the future.

'It's not so bad. The serpentine prince may be strong, but as long as Alfos and his friends are around, it won't be a problem, will it?

　Kuna says as he watches the footage.
　Maybe Kuna is indeed right.
　Dahark is strong, but if we fight in the vicinity of Elyos, Alfos has the advantage. Besides, if push comes to shove, the God King Odis will also make a move.
　I may not have to move myself.
　In fact, Raina doesn't seem to be moving. She hasn't even called for help from Rage and the others.

'I'm sorry, Dark Knight. I tried to contact Modes to make sure, but it may have been in vain. Thank you for coming all the way out here.

　God Heybos bows his head.
　God Heybos contacted Modes, just in case.
　However, when he comes, neither Diadona nor Zarxis has come.
　God Heybos apologizes for having them come all the way over.

''It's fine, it's just in case. Besides, since it's a good time, I think I'll take a tour of the foothills of Elyos.'

　I don't mind. The god Hayvos makes all kinds of tools for free.
　We should be grateful to him.
　At the foot of Mount Elyos there is a separate dwarven settlement from Verundo.
　The dwarves of that settlement are there to control the seal of Ferion.
　If Alfos and the others break through, it will be the final line of defense.
　However, it is unlikely that they will come that far.
　So it would be a good idea to use that as a base to tour the forest with Kuna.
　As long as we don't wear the Dark Knight's armor and are guided by the dwarves, we should be fine.
　Thus, myself and Kuna left Vernd.



◆Chiyuki, the black-haired wise man

　With the exception of Reiji and Sahoko, we gather in the palace common room.
　Sweets and tea are prepared in front of us, and we relax for the first time in a long time.
　The sweets were deep-fried sweets made of sesame and honey.
　Since it has a strong sweet taste, we eat it with a refreshing tea.

You went home so easily, didn't you, Chiyuki-san?

　Reno says to me with a nod of his head.
　The elves came, and today, the next day, they left easily.
　Oleiad and Napier wanted to stay, but their leader, Lucien, the princess of the upper (high) elves, decided to leave easily.
　I wondered why she left so easily, too.
　What was she doing here?

That's weird. According to Deer and the others, Elf-san should have come to see Rage-senpai. ......

　Nao seems to wonder too.
　Nao can talk to the beast.
　They couldn't keep quiet about the deer that they brought with them, either.
　The deer told me a lot of things with Nao's ability. According to this information, Lucien came out of the forest because he was interested in Rage.
　I am grateful to the deer who taught me.
　It reminded me of the four Kelluneian deer that the elves had brought with them.
　They are not as big as moose, but they are big and strong.
　The elves keep such keluneias as their riders.
　With the strength of the deer's legs, they can move quickly through the forest.
　Their horns are golden and hard, and they are said to be very hard.
　The elves use these horns to make swords, arrowheads and various other tools.
　The armor of the bow elf called Oreola (Oreiad) was probably made from Keruneia's antlers.
　They seem to have gotten here in a few days in a chariot driven by that Keluneian deer.
　It's quite a distance from the elven country at the foot of Mount Elyos to here. Normally, they wouldn't arrive in a few days.
　Thinking about that made me want one of Kelluneian's deer.
　Still, it seemed like it was hard to come. The deer said the deer said that the people were especially troublesome, as were the demons.
　After all, deer carts in Kelluneier are rare, and many people would come to them if they entered the country of people, and it was apparently hard to get rid of those people.
　When entering this country, it seems that they pushed people away with magic as they went along the road.
　But when it was time to leave, it seemed to be easier. Lucien seems to be quite a magic user, and he made the transition and returned to the vicinity of the forest.
　He's probably running through his home forest by now.

''At all, what is he doing here?　How can you leave as soon as you see me here?
What is it really?

　Kyouka and Shirone also nodded their heads.
　By the way, Kyouka has hardly spoken to the elves.
　Well, considering the nature of the elven princesses, she knows that she can't talk to them, so she's glad that she doesn't.
　It was fortunate that Kyouka happened to be out with Kaya.
　The elf princess definitely looks down on humans, especially women.
　I got the feeling from her that she looked down on us ladies, aside from the beautiful Rage, who was a beautiful woman.
　I don't care if you want to fight with her, the only way to deal with someone with such a personality is to go out poorly.
　That's why I couldn't let Kyouka, who couldn't go out poorly, take advantage of me.
　But thanks to that, it was hard for Shirone.
　Sahoko was there too, but I had to direct the supper, so I couldn't deal with her.
　'I'm sorry for your loss.

'But I'm glad you came home early. It seemed to be a lot of work to come up with a menu for the meal.

　Kaya said and they all nodded.
　The elves don't like meat, so the meals we can serve are inevitably limited.
　We can't use fish sauce, which we like, and most of the seasoning is salt and fruit oil.
　Also, since the ingredients are vegetables, the menu is limited, so we were lucky to have them leave early.

'What's going on, are we all here?

　As we were talking about this, Rage and Sahoko entered the room.
　Rage had gone out with Sahoko because he had an errand to run.
　Apparently, the errand was over.
　And that's when they were about to take their seats.

'Sahoko-sama!　Sahoko-sama is back, isn't she!

　Suddenly, there is a knock on the door.
　I tell them to come in and someone comes in.
　The person who comes in is a maid who serves the palace.
　I think it was Neria.
　And she must have been the valet for Rage and Sahoko's daughter Sanako.
　She's very upset for some reason. What's going on?

What's going on?　Calm down, what do you want from me?

　Sahoko calms the maid down.

'Oh my God!　Lady Sana!　Lady Sana won't stop crying!

　Neria says in a panic.
　Sanako is often called Saana in this world's style.
　That's why we call her Sana too.

''Eh?　What about Saana?　What do you mean you won't stop crying?　What's wrong with you, Kouki?

　Sahoko questions Neria.
　Sahoko says that Kouki-kun is a boy who has been deposited in the temple of Raina on the palace grounds.
　I don't know how he was deposited there.
　I've never met him, but he seems to be a pretty beautiful boy.
　I'm not sure if Rage is particularly interested in Kouki, or if he thinks of him as nothing more than a babysitter, and he's never met him.
　For some reason, Saana has taken a liking to this Kouki.
　When he is around, Saana is in a good mood and stops crying.
　That's why Sahoko leaves Saana in charge of Kouki when she has something to do.

'He will be by Saana-sama's side. But he does not stop crying. And the way he cries is different than usual.

　Neria doesn't seem to know what to do.
　It's like this has never happened before.
　We look at each other.
　It would be better to go and check on her. So we all decide to go to the Temple of Raina.
　The Temple of Raina is a small building on the palace grounds.
　We don't want to let the religious forces in as much as possible, but as expected, we can't eliminate them all.
　In the first place, they don't even intend to be hostile.
　The Raina cult doesn't particularly care about it either, or they only sent one priest.
　The priest has hired several servants, one of whom seems to be Kouki.
　When you enter the temple, you are greeted by a woman. It's the priest, Haurena.
　She seems to be in some kind of hurry.

''Oh, Saintess!　We've been waiting for you!　Please!　Please!　Get Mr. Kowki!　Please help Mr. Kouki!

　When we see Sahoko coming, Haurena hangs on to Sahoko.
　We look at each other again there.
　Wasn't it Saana who was in trouble?
　As you enter the temple, Haurena shows you around.
　We enter one room and see a boy and a baby laying side by side on a bunk, with the maids around them at a loss.
　The baby is Saana, and he's crying like crazy.

What's the matter?　Sarna?　Why are you crying?

　Rage approaches and picks up Saana.
　Then Saana stops crying a bit.
　Apparently, it's normal to just cry.

'Hmm?'

　Rage makes a dubious noise.
　His eyes are on the boy next to Thana.
　We move closer too.
　The boy next to him is sleeping soundly. He's a reasonably good-looking boy.
　This must be Kouki.
　Kouki is still sleeping in spite of Saana's crying so much. He must be very tired.
　I take a good look at the boy's face.

'Huh?　This girl: ......

　And I find out the hard way.

'Chiyuki-sama. Kouki-san doesn't wake up ....... Normally, when Saana-sama starts crying, she wakes up ....... Normally, this shouldn't be happening .......

　Haurena makes a troubled sound.
　It seems that for Haurena, Kouki isn't just a servant boy.
　Kouki is in a panic because he's in trouble.
　However, the maids at the side are our servants, so sometimes the only one who is worried is Saana.
　Nelia, who came with us, is also worried about Saana alone.
　However, it's not Saana that's in trouble. It's Kouki from next door.

'Apparently, it's not Saana-chan that's in trouble, it's the girl next door.

　Reno said and they all nodded.

'No wonder Saana is crying.

　Sahoko muttered as she received Saana from Rage.

'This can't be happening. ......

　Nao was right, there was no way Kouki was going to wake up.

'Who could have done this to me?'
'Miss. They're the only ones who would do this.

　Kyouka and Kaya say, and Haurena looks at them curiously.

'What do you mean by that?　What's happening to Mr. Kouki?

　Apparently, Haurena didn't see it.

'Watch. Priest Haurena.

　I hold my hand over Kouki's forehead.
　Then Kouki's body turns into a piece of board.

'What?　What do you mean?　This!　Mr. Koki is out of the board!

　Haurena and the maids let out a surprised cry.

'No, no. The itinerary was turned into Kouki-kun. There was never a Mr. Kouki here in the first place.'

　I'll explain.
　Kouki was not there.
　That's why Saana didn't stop crying.

'Chiyuki. Is this ......, no way?
'Yes, yes Silone, this is ......'

　He nodded to Cyrone at the words, took a breath, and continued.

'It's a changeling.