As soon as Mattoo departed, Nina hurried Mizuho and Marion to the car she had prepared in front of the entrance.

'Depart at once, Alokoune!　I need you to go after your father.

　Nina got into the passenger seat while Mizuho and Marion sat in the back seat.

''Yes sir. Miss.........

　Aroucaune responds with a divine look on his face.
　For Aroucaune, this was also a violation of his master's order.
　However, last night, Aroucaune had promised to do this Nina a favor.



　After dinner last night, before Mizuho and Marion arrived, Aroucaune was called to Nina's room.
　He was then begged by Nina to take him to that hill where Mattoo would be going tomorrow.
　Aroucaune at first politely refused and also admonished him. But with a look of earnestness he was asked by Nina, and then, even if he were to stop Nina here, he felt the spirit that he might pursue her alone.
　At that moment, Aroucaune just stared back at Nina's face.
　Then, she quietly meditated her eyes and sighed and opened her eyes again to give him a ready look.

''Alright I'll turn the car around right after Mathew-sama leaves.

'Thank you!　Aroucaune!　I, I really want to know. I knew that whenever your father came back here, he would always visit that hill with the big tree by himself.... I had been wondering what my father was doing there ever since I noticed it. In fact, I went there once, when my father wasn't there, by myself.... I didn't have anything to do then......... But, but, you know, I still can't help but feel that there's something in there!

　There might be no logic in what Nina was saying. But for Nina, who had always respected and watched her father Mathew, it was a place of concern. And yet, for some reason, Nina couldn't see it as something that had nothing to do with her at all.



What?

Lady Nina's mother, Lady Thornain.

....

"At any rate, Miss Nina, I am at liberty to accept this Alokaune. I will take Miss Nina with me if I have to take this position.

'Yes, please. But there's no way I'm getting rid of Alokoune. If you do, I'll leave and embarrass your father, too.





　Nina, who was sitting in the passenger seat as Alokoune's car departed, bent down and rummaged around to get something out of it, and then pulled out a machine with a small speaker.
　Marion, who was looking at it suspiciously from behind, meets eyes with Mizuho, who was also observing Nina from behind.

''Nina-san, what's that?''

"Hmmm, this is the sophisticated listening device I put in your father's clothes this morning. It can receive quite a distance.

""What?"

　Mizuho and Marion raise their voices involuntarily. As expected, Aroucaune is also surprised and has an indescribably troubled look on her face.

''I thought that if I went there, they might mislead me and hide whatever was going on.

　It's not hard to understand Nina's point, but Mizuho and the others think that's too much, but they can't even interfere with the seriousness of her own face, and it just makes her face twitch.

''Miss Nina........''

'It's okay, of course, but I did it all on my own. 'Oh, I don't have earphones!　.........it can't be helped, Arokoune is tight-lipped and Mizuho-san and the others are outsiders who will return to Japan when the work is done, so I'm going to turn it on now......

'What?　Are you sure?　If I had told you something important...

　And Mizuho, too, is that a good idea?　I mean, I'm going to call out to Nina, but

'It's fine, and if you don't, I won't be able to hear it either, and I'll have Yuuto in the car, so it's all the same to me anyway.

　Both Mizuho and Marion discovered a side of Nina's personality that was surprisingly bold and appropriate.
　When Nina switched on the wiretap, it immediately received a signal and a small noise could be heard.

'Um, is that too quiet?'

　With that, Nina adjusted the volume and heard what sounded like a conversation in Mathew's car. Nina was good!　So he placed the eavesdropping speaker on a platform in the middle of the car that Alokoune was driving.

"Hmmm ... I'm going to go see someone now. No, would it be more accurate to say that I'm going to pick him up?"

Oh, it's your father's voice!

"Hmph, that face looks like you're holding onto something, Yuto-kun. You too ... or is it the agency?　That's quite a network of information to be reckoned with, isn't it? Well, do these people with abilities have a way of doing things we didn't expect?"

"What!　No, that's not why......... A certain person is........Prime Minister Guarin?"

　Everyone in the car with Nina, who had been listening in silence, was taken by surprise by this statement by Yuto. And to Mattoo's response to it.

"Oh, yes. The man who has been my best friend and my half of my life. Well, I'm surprised to find out, even though I've been over here less than a week. You haven't had anyone notice you in all these years...."

　Nina is half-heartedly disappointed by this completely unknown and startling revelation. In Nina's eyes, Guaran is one of her father Mattoo's greatest political enemies. It's hard to comprehend what he meant by that statement, which even led Mathew to believe that it was his own half.
　In the car with Nina and the others in the scene.
　And it was the same for Mizuho and Marion. The same is true of Guaran, but how did Mizuho and Marion know that Yuto knew about this?　It's hard to imagine what kind of information he had in his grasp.
　In the midst of all this, Aroucaune looked forward, his expression unchanged, and gripped the steering wheel.
　From the speakers, the conversation of Mathew and the others was going on.

"---- Just so you'll believe this, but it was all for Millimer. The vow between me and Guaran started where we were going, too."

"General Mathew, the information I just gave you was obtained from my own sources. Therefore, this is not known by the agency, nor by Mizuho and the others."

　Mizuho and Marion look seriously at that Yuto's statement.
　What is the original source of information........what the hell?
　Not that there was a problem with it. What is being spoken in Mathew's car right now is also not closely related to Mathew's protection from enemy capabilities, if not at all.
　This is a highly political back story. That said........why?　Mizuho and the others think that's a good idea.

"Well, is that a good thing?　Well, it will all be revealed this evening. However, I will go ahead and tell the two of you who have found out this much. Going to pick up my friend today was a deviation from the original plan. The original plan was for us to join you, but it was really much later."

　Nina had now lost her expression and was listening to the speaker. Aroucaune gazed at that Nina cautiously.

''Nina-sama........''

'I'll be fine, Alokoune. It's a bit of a surprise but it's only natural that your father has a lot of history. Come to think of it, things have changed so rapidly within Millmar in just a few years. It's just that it's no coincidence that your father has always been at the center of it all. I couldn't imagine that Prime Minister Guarin was complicit in this, indeed.

"So, General Mattow, where do you think you're going?"

"Oh, it's not that far away. It's an unnamed hill between here in Minra and Guaran's hometown of Zygon. It's where I used to play with Guaran...............and Thornain, Niina's mother, from my childhood. The three of us used to call it Niina's Hill, the three of us."

　Nina, the name Nina, came up, and Nina's eyes widened, she hadn't heard anything like this from her father Mathew.

"Nina's Hill......... Well then, Nina's name is........"

"Yeah, I took it from there. The word nina is an old word in this region that means [tied, tied]."

Nina speaks up strongly.

(That place ... the hill from which I got my name ... was it? (What kind of thoughts did your fathers leave behind in that place...?



　In the car with Mattoo in it, Yuto looked out the window. The car proceeded along a mountainside road.
　From where Masato sat, he could see the beautiful countryside of Miremar, the mountains behind it, and small forests dotted here and there, and he could see the sunshine pouring from the blue sky and the gentle breeze running through the countryside.

　This could be called the original landscape of Millamar, Yuto thought quietly.
　Ahead of the car, you can see a mountainous forest spreading out across the plains, and you can see that this road continues into the forest. It's not that deep of a forest, and beyond the heads of the trees was the top of a large hill, and at the top of the hill was a large tree with its roots down.
　When Yuto saw it, he had a hunch that it was the Hill of Nina that Mathew had mentioned.

'Hm?'

　Suddenly, Yuto has a nervous look on his face.
　Then, Yuto opens the car window and turns his face to the front where the car is headed.
　What's wrong with Mattoo beside him?　He looked at Yuto. As soon as Yuto turned his face back to look at him, he immediately shouted loudly at Teintang.

''Teintan-san!　Stop the car!

What?

What's going on?　Yujin-kun.

There's what appears to be gunfire ahead. And these are multiple...

　Both Teintan and Mattoo change their complexion. The three of them get out of the car and stare in the direction of what Yuto says.

''I don't hear anything... but where's Teintan?''

I'm going to...

　But now that Yuto was out of the car, he was even more convinced. Then, further up the hill, further up the hill, Yuto stared into the space at a distance too far for human eyesight to see.
　A shudder ran across Yuto's face as he turned pale and appealed to Mattoo.

''That thing!　General Mattoo, there's an enemy demon!　That's a lot of stuff, what's going on over there no, more than that!　General Mattoo, let's turn back at once!

　But Mattoo looks like he's huffing and puffing when Yuto says that to him.

''Teintan!''

Yes!

Let's get to the hill!

I understand!

　When he heard Mattoo's words, Yuto peeled his eyes away.
　Teintan obeyed Mattoo's orders and quickly returned to the driver's seat, and Mattoo also got into the car as he jumped in. Yuto also reflexively got into the car due to their actions.
　Teintan sped up the car and drove the car towards the hill ahead at a high speed.

''General!　What the hell are you doing?　It's too dangerous!

''If what you're saying is correct, Yuto, that's Guaran on the other side of that hill. Our troops are not deployed to a place like that.

Oh...!

Why would Guarin want to become an enemy demon but I'll tell you what, I can't just let him die in here!

'Shh, but!　General Mattoo!　That's an unusual number!　If that demon is attacking in waves, then I can only protect General Mattow as best I can!　I can't cover that much ground!　At least....if only Mizuho and Marion-san were here....

''I'm sorry, Yuto-kun. From your point of view as an escort, I am indeed a colossal idiot. But this isn't just about us. Meeting Guaran is also about the future of this Millimer!

　Mattoo let out a heavy, forceful voice with his face turned forward.

''You, Yuto, if the worst comes to the worst, leave us and run. No, you can get out of the car here. This is our fault for not following your advice. No matter how much of an escort's job it is, they wouldn't have followed us here. Don't worry, of course, we'll pay the agency in full, too. This isn't your fault, you know...

What nonsense!　Even without Prime Minister Guarin, if General Mattoo is still alive...

　Yuto was at a loss for words as he was about to say something.
　Because.....................because Mattoo was smiling.
　It quietly directed a smile at Yuto, a smile that didn't seem like a person who was about to go to his death.
　It's an expression of being prepared for everything, accepting it all, and still going to pick up what he can't throw away.
　Yuto is speechless........ He had seen people with this face in the demon world as well.
　

''I understand, General Matou. I won't stop now. However, I will also do my best to protect General Mattou.

　



　Teintan also let out a smile as he drove.
　Then the radio in Mathew's car suddenly rings.
　Teintan takes the radio to see what's going on.

"General Mattow!　This is Shitenji and Shrean. We're on our way there too!　And, Yuto!　Don't be silly, in a situation like this, radio me immediately!　Do you understand?"

　Yuto was surprised to hear Mizuho's voice coming from the radio. He couldn't help but wonder why the timing was so good for Yuto, who didn't know he was being tapped, but right now, he was so grateful, there was no support.

''Alright!　Mizuho!　I'll manage to hold out until Mizuho and the others arrive!

"This one won't take much longer, either!　Wait for me!"

　With that, the radio went off.

　Yuto and Mattoo looked at each other and nodded to each other as if to confirm that they had increased their hope of getting through this difficult situation.