The Reinfeldt family wasn't the only great families with private armies in the western territory, but several other great families were linked together, and for a long time, instead of collecting taxes from the peasants, they served to protect them.

　Snyder's father, the former head of the family, is subordinate to the Royal House of Laiseneire on the surface, but even after the completion of the fortress, he has not come up to greet them voluntarily and has avoided dialogue with His Royal Highness Astina, providing only the bare minimum amount of food for the war effort.

'Until now, the Reinfeldt family has been autonomous, from the town of Portoro in the east, to the rural areas around here, and even to the woodlands to the west. But when the gray earth began to spread and the demons began to appear, my father did not send a single soldier. He thought that he was in danger of being seized by the Knights at once when he was exhausted from dealing with the demons. However, that was not the case. On the contrary, ......

　That was another reason why Snyder couldn't see His Highness Astina in person.

　He was aware of the oddities in the forest but couldn't interfere - but he ordered the peasants to stay in the area. Snyder must have understood the contradiction.

'It's not your fault that the demons were out there. It was our ...... that neglected the forest that was under the control of the royal family.
'If that was the case, we were charged with protecting the peasants and could do nothing about it. Even when only a few of the Knights headed into that forest with only a few men, we were only watching from a distance and waiting for the storm to pass. And we were silent, even as Zirconia was attacking us ...... That doesn't qualify us to be lords.

　Snyder knows what happened when we visited the Waste Garden the first time. And that the Isle Rose Fortress is under heavy attack.

　His Highness wanted to place troops inside the front line as well, and he said that the center was ignoring the request. If the Reinfeldt family would be under the command of the Knights, they would not have to wait for reinforcements that were never dispatched, and they would have less hindsight.

　Most importantly, having the army of a great family that is not on friendly terms with them in their territory would be dangerous in the long run, so it should be very big just to eliminate that worry.

''I understand what you guys are thinking. I would like you guys to be on guard against Zirconia in normal times. Because if the enemy is not attacking your fortresses, but rather trying to slip into your territory, it may be too late for us to respond on our own.
'Very well, Your Highness. But we are already determined to fight Zirconia and defend our territory. If it is possible, we will be ready to attack .......
'If you go to the front and lose your life, you will lose control of House Reinfeldt. Leave the fight against the enemy to the Knights and make sure that you are on the defensive in conjunction with us. Just being able to share information and work together on enemy raids would be a great contribution to me.
Haha ...... thank you for your generous concern. I will do my best to contribute in any way I can, starting from this moment today.

　This does not mean that the Knights of the Isle Rose will incorporate the soldiers led by Snyder into the Order of the Isle Rose. They would continue to move independently, but if there was a Zirconia attack, they would work with the Knights.

　In addition to Isle Rose's troops, which were at 2930 or so, 500 troops could move as a separate force. They were attacked from two directions last time, but if Snyder's troops joined forces with the lesser side, they would be able to advance the battle more advantageously.

　Apart from that, there's one more thing that concerns me as a doctor. Snyder's father is ill - but it would be rude to ask him about his condition when you've only just met him.

　But you can't be shy about asking him nothing. It's not that I'm trying to ingratiate myself, but just by listening, I may be able to order some effective treatment here.

'Excuse me, Mr. Presha, but may I ask Your Highness for a favor?
You mean the brother and sister's father who are sick?　I know Dr. Glass is worried about you, but I don't think he's going to tell you what's going on ...... easily.
I'd like to ask you to just ask ....... I think my brother Glass would be in trouble if I left it unattended.
No, no, ......, that sounds like a threat to me.
Yeah, okay. Well, I'll go talk to His Highness for a minute. I'm sorry if it's a bad idea.

　Mr. Presha leaves the carriage, and after bowing to His Highness Astina, he speaks to her. Then the girl who had been kneeling all the way behind Snyder stands up and is talking with His Highness about something - and.

　Snyder's approval, and the girl comes over here, accompanied by Presha-san. Me and Leslie got out of the carriage and responded.

　She carried a fine sword in a silver scabbard, and it was evident that she was not only the child of a wealthy family who had followed her brother, but that she was also skilled in the art of swordsmanship.

'This is the first time I have met you, gentlemen. I am Kufika of the Reinfeldt family.
'It's nice to meet you, I'm Glass Weed. I'm sorry, we've only just met and I was wondering if I could talk to you about your father's condition, ...... if I could.

　The girl who called herself Kufika's expression is cloudy - she was greeting him stoutly, but I guess that's how bad her father's condition is, after all.

The first thing you need to do is to make sure that you have the right kind of information. ...... My father has been in a fever-like state for a week now, ...... and before you know it, his legs were swollen, and he had a doctor from the clinic in Portoro come and treat him. It only relieved the pain, and I still have .......
My leg is swollen and the fever won't go away. ...... This is bad. Were you able to get out of the house before your father developed symptoms?
'Are you suggesting that ...... my father is the cause of this?　It's like whipping my father, who is suffering so much in his sickbed, the doctor .......
'Calm down, it's just another thing we need to do to help you get better. I know you're worried about your father, but, you know, hitting Dr. Glass won't help.

　Presha-san tells me off, pushing down Kufika, who was about to take a bite out of me. Kufika bursts into tears and begins to cry - her father's condition has suddenly deteriorated so badly that even from her point of view he is in danger.

　Things are time-sensitive - but do I have time to stop by the Reinfeldt house before I return to the fortress?

'I'm sorry ...... for being so distraught. We can't very well heal you now ...... and then we'll have to shelve ourselves for doing to your father what we did to him .......
No, there is still a chance it's not too late. We'll have to take the appropriate steps to administer the serum, though.
How do you know that just from listening to ......?
'Mr. Kufiqa, your father may have been bitten by a poisonous insect. There are other creatures that are venomous, but if it had been a viper, he would not have lasted a week. Can you tell us where your father went before he developed the disease?

　There is a risk in treating someone who doesn't think well of the Order - I know, but is it really a wise decision to leave a patient who could be saved by it?

'If ...... Haltner recovers, he might rebel against the Order again. But you don't make decisions based on that kind of thing. Dr. Glass is a man.
'No, I'm not a panacea either ...... Unfortunately, it's been a long time, so it may not be a complete cure. There could be some aftereffects ...... but I want to respect the family's wishes as well. I would like to know how you and Mr. Snyder feel about whether you should be treated or not.

　Looking at the tears, there was no doubt in Kufika's mind.

　Snyder comes over to us. He puts his hand on his crying sister's shoulder to quiet her, and looks at me - the impression of a brilliant heiress. His eyes, which seem cold but have an inner heat to them, are somewhat like Sven's.

'...... Please, if there is a way to save my father, I would like to beg you to tell me. If my father still says he won't obey the Order, that doesn't make sense. But for us, our parents are still our parents. We want them to live, if they can.
I understand. Things are time-sensitive, but there are some wounded in the fortress and I must return to it immediately. So I'll give you instructions right here.
I don't need to look directly at ...... to know that the procedure can be done without looking at ...... that's such a god thing to do.

　You can do it. You don't have to be a god to ask the symptoms, and you can leave the rest to the local doctors - unless you need surgery, but if it's a poison, depending on the type, it can be treated with medication.

　The divine tree is the ruler of the plants - now that I've made a contract with her, if I ask where Mr. Hartner is believed to have been poisoned, the plants will tell me what kind of poisonous creatures are there.

'Talk to me. Where is the place to which your father was sent?
...... my father went to ...... before he collapsed.

　I ask Kamiki where the place I was told by Kufika is - and the answer comes back to me. It's a marshy area in the southeast direction from here.

　The poisonous creatures that live in the swamp are a snake with a venom strong enough to kill livestock in a few hours - and a tick that causes fever-like symptoms and can take up to two weeks to kill an infected person.

　Once we know the type of poison, we can see if we can make an antidote. I can figure out the antidote to every plant's antidote, and if necessary I can mix it up and make a new antidote - before I made the contract with the divine tree, I only had information on the plants I had seen, but not anymore.

　All the plants will help me. The antidote that Mr. Hartner needs can be extracted from the plants that can be collected along the road from the fortress to this farmland - once I can make the medicine, all I need to do is teach him about heat cooling and other treatments.