What are we going to do about it?

　The holy knights' faces contort in despair as the manticore swarm appears to surround them.

Oh my goodness, there are so many of them!

　But in the midst of all this, the dryad was the only one with the same cool attitude as usual.

You!　What a personal matter!　If you don't, you're going to die too!

　The holy knight hurls angry words at the dryad.
　Although the cause of this is their boss, it's understandable since the situation is so desperate because she went into the depths of the forest without a plan.

Fool!　What a way to hold a woman accountable!

　Edil scolds his subordinate, but he is not at all persuasive, since he is confused by the scent of a woman and has come to this point in his life.

Mr. Dryad, we'll open the door for you. Please let me get you out of here.

　Realizing that all of them were going to be wiped out, Edil tried to escape the dryad by cutting at the manticores, but the manticores avoided Edil's attacks.
　The manticores, however, are all about evading Edil's attacks, and when he misses, the other manticores slam their poisoned tails into him.

"d*mn!

　Edil evades in the nick of time.
　But the Manticores began to relentlessly target Edil alone.

Are they after the captain?

　A doubt arises in the minds of the subordinates when the Manticore starts to target Edil so openly.

"Could it be that the captain has found out that he is the boss of the pack, so he's going after them first?

　It was determined that if Edil was dead, the chain of command would be disrupted and they would become a crowdsourced group. 　
　But it also meant that they wouldn't be targeted until Edil was dead.

I'm out!

　Unable to keep up with his jaded boss any longer, one of the holy knights began to flee.

Oh, me too!

　The betrayal of a single man could bring the battle lines crashing down in an instant.
　But it was too naive a prospect.
　The manticores, sensing the enemy's escape, immediately ignored Edil and began attacking the holy knights who had their backs turned.
　Yes, the manticores did not ignore the holy knights except for Edil.
　They waited for them to lose the will to fight and show their backs.
　The battlefield was transforming from a battlefield to a hunting ground.
　Scarred and wounded, the holy knights cannot easily regain the will to fight.

"d*mn it!　Why do we have to be demons!　We're the Holy Knights, gathered to fight demons!

　The holy knight cries out against a demon that is not supposed to respond to him.
　It's a good thing that you can't help but scream, why is he, the chosen one in the church's congregation, doing this?
　It is a sad scream because the desperate situation of being forced to fight against lowborn demons and being helpless has worn their spirits down significantly.

"My goodness, you're all so slovenly!

　And yet, in the midst of this desperate situation, there is still a voice that is the same.

I guess it's time for me to step up.

　It's a dryad.
　She turns to the manticore in front of her with the green whip in her hand.

'Don't!　Run away, Mr. Dryad!

　Edil cared for the dryad to no end.
　Already his armor had been pierced by the manticore's poisonous needle, and his body was being ravaged by a powerful poison.
　I want to go help him, but the poison prevents my body from moving as much as it should.
　Maybe that's why the Manticores had attacked the other holy knights, because they had already seen that Edil was poisoned.

"Mr. Dryad!

　A heartbreaking cry calls the dryad.

"Yes, yes, I'll get rid of you now, please wait a while longer.

　Why can't I see how critical the situation is now, and why can't I see that there is nothing I can do if I'm the only one fighting?
　Why doesn't she listen to me?
　Unanswered questions flood into Edil's chest.

　The manticore attacks the dryad.
　The dryad attacks the manticore with the green whip in his hand.
　But the Manticore dodges the dryad's attack by flying sideways.
　As soon as it lands on the ground, the manticore tumbles without firing back at the dryad.

　What in the world was happening to Edil, who was watching the dryad fight with his paralyzed body, had no idea why.

Yes.

　The dryad's whip strikes the fallen manticore in the face.
　The Manticore lets out a scream and curls up in a squirming motion.

The beast's weakness is between the eyes, the nose, or the eyes. If you aim directly at the beast, it will evade you, but if you block your opponent's movements in anticipation of avoiding it, it is easy to aim for the critical point in its face. And once you hit the vital point, your opponent will be at a significant disadvantage because he won't be able to use some of his organs to recognize you.

　But that's easier said than done.
　Normally you can't stop your opponent that easily.
　The dryad will crack the whip again and strike the next manticore.
　The Manticore will evade, of course.
　But again, the Manticore falls to a halt.

If it's too difficult to fight alone, then more than one of you can fight the manticore and the rest of you can be on the defensive. That way the enemy will be attacked from many sides and will be sure to fall. In this way.

　The dryad attacks with the whip, and this time the manticore manages to evade without falling over.
　But the next moment there's a loud scream.
　But the next thing you know, you're going to scream loudly, for the whip is coming from behind the Manticore.
　But the one who fired the whip is nowhere to be seen.
　Edil looked at the tip of the whip and saw that its handle was connected to the dryad.



"What!　How did you do that?

　The dryad's whip was going around behind me to avoid the Manticore's notice.
　But he didn't know how he could manipulate the whip on such a mysterious trajectory.
Edil's mind was filled with question marks.

Moreover, a simultaneous attack from the perimeter like this would make it impossible for the enemy to even evade!

　Now the whip strikes the manticore from all sides.
　It's an attack that is no longer possible for a normal human.
　Edil watches the dryad closely, wondering how he's able to control all four whips.
　Then he noticed something strange.
　The whip extended from the dryad, but somehow it had slipped up her skirt instead of into her hand.
　The whip that the dryad is holding also has a hilt that extends up into her skirt.

What is that thing?

So numbers are just how you use them. No matter how many there are, if used incorrectly, they're just a bunch of people. But even the fewest of them, when handled well, can outnumber the enemy.

　The skirt of a dryad swells up.

Like me.

　And then it popped.
　The dryads' skirts overflowed, and whips poured out of their skirts and attacked the manticores.
　One whip strikes the manticore in the face, another slams into the base of the manticore's tail.
　The manticores are at the mercy of the whip attacks from all directions.
　The manticores pounce on the dryad, but the dryad leaps into the air.
　She didn't fly.
　The dryad's whip extends like a club, pushing her body skyward.

"Against a demon that can't use magic or breath, you could take a high position and fight it from on high.

　Then the attack on the manticore was launched unilaterally from out of the reach of the attack.

"Yes, you could also throw herb concoctions at your opponent. Some demons do not like certain herbal infusions.

　Then she took a bag out of her skirt and sprayed it from the sky with a dryad.

It's harmless to humans, but it has an extraordinary effect on the manticore.

　Then the manticores, having breathed in the powder, roll to the ground, screaming from the depths of the earth.
　But rather than suffering, the manticores stuck out their tongues and shuffled their feet, rumbling and gurgling.

What the hell is this?　What the hell did you use, Mr. Dryad?

　To the XO's question, the dryad showed one of the plants.

"It's cotton grass,

...... yes?

　The dryad showed that the manticoa was native to the forest.

The manticore is a demon with the body of a lion. It's a cat. That's why it's a cat.

"......, haha ......

　The first thing that comes to mind is the fact that our opponents, who were on the verge of being wiped out, can be neutralized by only using matrimony.

"Now, we don't know when the effect of the matrimony will wear off if we continue to stay here. As soon as we heal those who have been poisoned, let's leave.

"Oh, yes.

　Remembering the presence of those who had been poisoned, the XO immediately ordered those with remaining magic power to use antidote magic and retreat.
　As far as command is concerned, Edil, who had fallen ill from the manticore poisoning, is unable to command as far as he is concerned, so he becomes the temporary commander and the command of the troops is temporarily transferred to him.

Then take the wounded and stand down!　Retreat without fighting if possible!　

"'Yes!

　The knights responded while lending their services to the wounded.
　Having been saved from the danger of death, they mobilized all their remaining energy to retreat.

　The knights responded to the wounded.

　The holy knights who withdrew for their lives from the Great Demon Forest finally returned to the city of Dexsi with their heavy bodies.
　They asked the residents who were walking nearby to call for a recovery wizard to treat the seriously injured.
　When everyone was finally able to move, they went to Lasse's office.

"Master Lasse, we're back.

　The dryad greets Lasse with a casual tone of voice as if nothing had happened.

"Welcome back. I'm glad you're all safe. Aren't you glad we brought the dryad along?　Because the forest is her sole focus.

　Despite exhaustion, Lasse congratulates himself that no one has been eliminated.

"Oh, yeah. Thanks for that.

　The assistant director responds awkwardly.

"And by the way, Mister Lasse.

"What is it?

　The XO put into words a question that he hadn't dared to mention until he returned here.

"Are you a demon, Mr. Dryad?

　I'm sure you'll be able to find out what's going on in the world," he said.

I'm not going to be able to get to the bottom of it," he said.

　The poison was successfully removed, but Edil, who was losing strength for the most part, scolded the XO in a weak manner.

No, you're right, XO.

　To Edil, Lasse affirmed the XO's words.

"A dryad is a demon. They are plant-shaped demons, dryads.

　Upon being introduced by Lasse, the dryad picked up her skirt and bowed.
　Then a plant leg appeared from the shadow of the skirt and entered the eyes of the holy knights.



I'm a dryad, as you requested. I'm a plant demon. I'm good at manipulating different plants and using ivy as a whip, like this one.

　With that, the dryad stretched out her skirt with a dozen ivy whips.
　I'm sure you'll be able to find out more about this as well.

I'm sure you'll be able to find out what the ...... dryad is, too?

　Edil, who hadn't been expecting that fact for a second, rolled his eyes and murmured, "Yes.

Yes, I am a demon. I'm a demon.

The "cue

　Unable to accept the reality, Edil let go of his consciousness.

"Ah, ...... will pay you, so we'll take our leave now. I apologize for the inconvenience my superiors have caused.

No, no, no, no, no, it's all right with me if you want to get paid.

"I can't thank you enough for your generosity. Then we are done here. I'll be out of town before my boss wakes up.

"I'm finally going back to King's Landing!

"Yay!

　A shout of joy from the men.
　Apparently, they were too afraid of Edil's reprimand to leave.

Good night.

　The knights were riding away.
　As far as their tired bodies were concerned, they left the town of Dexter, lest their superiors make a fool of them any longer.

　One man's love interest was left behind.