As we boarded the warship, Noin told us about the procedure for setting sail. Noin stands on the bridge of the ship as Presha and Raquel remove the chains that held the ship together.

　The morning was still far away, but the moon was beginning to tilt. The ground rumbling from the movement of the Zirconia cavalry, which had been heard from the east, was already approaching just outside the fort.

'The sooner we find out that Vale has become our prisoner, the sooner the enemy will be able to respond. If possible, we'd like to keep them as confused as possible. ......
"When the enemy enters the fort, we will use the 'trap' we have planted. We can involve the troops coming in from the outside, which will completely shut down the functioning of this fort.

　His Highness didn't nod right away when I advised him to do so. He bit his lip and oozed a kind of regret.

''It is not your role to fight. And yet we have relied on you so much. We know you don't want us to use spirits to hurt people, even though we know you don't want us to.

　Clearly, they use magic to attack enemy soldiers. Some of the soldiers will lose their lives if they pull out their mandrakes and get their spirits sucked out.

It's our selfish idealism to say this ....... But, Glass...... we don't want you to kill people the way we do.
Yes, it's ....... Dr. Glass, unlike ...... me, will have to live again someday in a peaceful and cheerful place ...... and forget all about the battle.
'Really, it's idealistic, isn't it? But ...... knowing your kindness, I can't help but wish that you wouldn't change.

　Well, then, I'll just...

　--I'd like to go back in time before the war, before everyone kills the enemy with their hands.

　I can't help but wish for that. Relations with our neighbors were already bad before we were born, and we couldn't keep our country in shape without a fight.

　I became a military doctor because I wanted to help people. I'm not really any different from those girls who became knights to protect people.

...... master is not going to change. I won't let him change. I'm sure even Ray would think so.

　As if in response to Alraune's words, the mandrake root in my bosom starts to shine - and the embodied Ray looked up at me intently and said.

'...... suck the enemy's spirit and if you don't want to die from being sucked any more, I'll tell you to drop your weapons and run. I don't know what happens after that ...... but that's not something the Summoner-sama has to worry about. The enemy has killed dozens of the Summoner's friends. If it's true, there's no way I'm not going to die too.

　Rey's values are probably representative of the spirits' perspective on the human world. As former inhabitants of the spirit world, they may contract with humans to lend them power, but they rarely interfere from that side.

　Even so, Ray still takes my sentiments into account. He might kill people, and he doesn't think I want that.

"Every single one of the enemy soldiers in this fort could be put to death. But Ray won't ...... because he knows that doing so would change nothing.
...... My Lord Summoner.

　Ray, who's only about half as tall as I am, makes my eyes water slightly. I bend down and stroke her head.

　The characteristic large leaves grow out of her hair like a hairpiece. The leaves and the mandrake itself may also hold the power to heal people. We should not expect the ray to serve only as a tool for battle.

''We can just ask the soldiers here to be a 'limp'. If General Alejandro sends his troops to give new orders to Noyn, we'll get them involved and stop the movement.
In the meantime, we'll hit Alejandro's main force. As quickly as possible. .......

　The knights nodded at His Highness Astina's words. Our policy has been decided - we will escape while this fort is in chaos.

...... Noin, can Vale be used to mislead Alejandro?
That's because ...... I've been asked to make sure that Vale's loyalty to Alejandro is solid. Vale is a man by nature loyal to his desires. However, if you are angry that Alejandro tried to use me to buy his loyalty, and that he slipped out of the fort to remonstrate with Alejandro on his own, you might be able to find an opening.

　Noin doesn't seem to realize it herself, but she is mindlessly embracing her body.

　What had she been offered to do to Vale? Why did she choose to defy the order, even at the risk of her life - the thought of it gives her an undoing feeling.

(Not only did he want Noin to fight his home country, he also wanted to use her for other things. Alejandro...... I don't know what he looks like, but ......)

'We won't be able to get Alejandro to take Alejandro down at Vale's hands, but if we negotiate Vale as a prisoner of war, he will only be cut off. If we assume that he turned himself in because he couldn't fix the chaos in the fort, he could certainly come face to face with Alejandro.

　His Highness looked over at Raquel and the others and listened to their opinions as well.

'If we can make contact with Alejandro with Alraune's hypnosis on Vale, we may be able to extract some information from him. We might even be able to sway him directly.
I agree with my sister Raquel, but ...... if Vale is going to get paid at the door, then I'll have to do it.
'You can't cut him down and get anything out of him, so I'm sure you'll try to get something out of him. ...... I think it's time to get out of here. Dr. Glass: ......

　I nod back to Deite. I'm already ready - I'm going to fight for real, along with everyone else.

'Ray...... No, it's the demon ginseng mandrake. If the enemy comes into the fort and draws you close to the barracks, don't hold back. Command the altered body to 'shout on high.'
"Yes, my summoner.

　Ray, who didn't always show his expression, smiled slightly.

　It seemed to be an expression of pure joy at being asked for his power.

' -- 'O half of my soul that I share. Far away from the Garden of Pangaea, cry out for the distant land, high and mighty.'

　Ray's body wears a reddish-purple glow - it is the color of magic power that is toxic to people. Her alter ego is also probably wearing the same light.

　The troops sent by Alejandro enter the fort. Realizing this, Leslie deploys a wall of air that blocks out the sound so that it envelops the entire ship.

　And Noyne, too. She orders Apsaras to interfere with the flow of water and move the warship around, while she uses the large amount of water to create a fog.

' -- 'O Apsaras, celestial maiden born from the sea of white clouds, O Apsaras, dance with the illusory mist. Dance with the mist of illusion.'

　As soon as the boat leaves the shore and slides out into the river, it is enveloped by the fog that rises from the water. There is no interference and counteracting with Leslie's magic, and the illusion created by the fog envelops me from above the wall of air that blocks out the screams of the mandrake as it is pulled out and released.

　I borrowed the vision of Ray's alter ego and checked the current situation to see what was happening inside the fort. There was no longer a need to even hide with the illusion, only a few soldiers who had escaped a direct hit from Mandrake's shouts were in confusion in front of the fallen soldiers.

　--What was that horrible cry just now ...... that the ones who heard it have all fallen down ......!

　--Lord Vail, what happened to your commander?　What the hell is this ...... what the hell is going on in one body!

　--Find the Mage!　It's him! It's him! It's him!

　--No, he's a water mage. You won't find "water" here: ......!

　Noin could probably be used as a medium for drinking water and so on, but the enemy soldiers didn't seem to know about it. It was fortunate that the Zirconia Army's knowledge of spirit magic was small.

'...... Apparently, it doesn't look like the enemy is going to come after us. Good work, Ray.
'I thought the Summoner-sama didn't want to use ...... me because I have a poison that can kill people. But I was wrong ...... I'm glad I could help the Summoner Lord.

　Just because it's a poisonous plant doesn't mean it's not useful in medicine - to me, it's the power of the plant as it is, including the poison and its ability to protect itself, that makes it so appealing.

The ...... water flow is only going in the opposite direction the boat is going. It's as if it's carrying me ...... This is the power of the water spirits ......
But you are no match for Lord Glass. No, Lord Glass would say that every spirit has its advantages and cannot be compared: ......

　Mr. Raquel sees through my thoughts beautifully. Plants, air, water - they can all do different things, and they can even join forces like they are doing now.

　Noin seemed relieved that it worked, too. But she couldn't relax, because she was still blaming herself - and.

'Noin, when this ship goes out into the canal, let us land a little west of the Isle Rose, please.
'Yes, sir. Your Highness ...... In the meantime, I have something to tell you.

　We must tell Her Highness Astina that the enemy is the Second Queen Cassandra.

　When we do, we will determine who we are to fight and we will have to make a choice.

　The war against Alejandro, and beyond. The Second Queen Cassandra and the court mage Jorg - how we will face them.