Inside the fort was a facility for capturing and housing those who had violated discipline and deserters. The disciplinary cell - unlike the mobile tabernacle, it was a hut made of wood and stone.

　Accompanied by Deete-san, I entered the punishment cell with Noin. Inside is His Highness Astina, the Knight-in-Chief of Raquel.

　Alejandro was chained to a pillar driven deep into the ground. He had been hit by an arrow around his collarbone and seemed to have lost a lot of blood, but he was bandaged after being treated to stop the bleeding.

　His skin was pale and a little blood had drained from his lips, but if the wound didn't fester, it wouldn't be life-threatening. It is up to His Highness to decide whether to let Alejandro live as a prisoner of war or to take him out as an enemy general - but His Highness doesn't seem to have the option of executing the enemy general who interrogated him.

　Noin is a little upset at the sight of Alejandro, but he gently grabs the hem of my clothes. Since I'm standing in front of the person who made me submit myself, I can't help but feel that emotion - I don't mind stretching my clothes at least a little bit if it calms me down.

I'm going to ask you to play an important role in the glass ...... standing up, though. Is Alejandro, in your eyes, in a position to stand up to interrogation?
'It's difficult to do for long periods of time, but if you just ask the questions you need to, I don't think it's a problem.
'I understand. If we can help in any way we can too, please help: ......

　Mr. Deethe will offer, but the interrogation will go more smoothly with the help of Lune. That Lune must have been held by Noin, but he has been gone for some time.

''N...... le, Lune. I was wondering where you went to .......

　Lune was hugging His Highness, as it happens. There is a considerable height difference between them, so they are hanging on to each other's waist.

''It smells ...... like a princess, it smells so nostalgic. You look like your mother .......
'I'm sorry ......, I'm not your mother. Euceresis must be related to you.

　The divine tree - the existence that governs all plants. If its roots (roots) are in the spirit world, then it can't be said that Alraune is also like a child of the divine tree.

But the sister over here also has a good smell. The sister over here has a good smell too.
"Yeah, I don't know if that's true ...... I just finished a battle, so I don't think it's a good smell ......
Could it be that part of you is attracted to the magic of ......?
''It's the same with magic power, but I like people who are friendly with Summoner-sama. Raquel-sister and Deethe-sister are just as much about Summoner-sama as they are about ...... Hmph.

　I was about to say something out of the blue, so I couldn't help but catch Lune and cover my mouth. Since she's a spirit, she'll be fine even if she can't breathe, but I just lightly place my hand on her so that she doesn't suffer.

'Lune, if you say something like that all of a sudden, everyone will be surprised. We have to make sure we don't get scolded.''
...... Hmm.
'Yes, no, I'm not scolding you, but ...... what were you going to say?'
'Oh, you're silly, Lune is ...... glad the doctor stopped you.

　Lune seems displeased, but now that she's quiet, I let her go. Lune looks up at me and 'eeks', but I guess she looked cute to Raquel and Deite, and they both laughed.

'It's soothing to see ...... Lune. We must remember that this is hostile territory, though.
'Glass, I'm not going to pick on you too much, even if you're your own spirit.
'I'm not bullying you ...... oh, here ......

　Lune decides that Raquel-san is on her side and hides behind her - but His Highness gently peeks in and picks up Lune and brings her to me.

''Huh~ I've been caught. Summoner-sama, it can't be helped, so I'm going to listen to what you say.
Haha ...... I'm just about to say thank you.

　Looking at Lune, who doesn't move at all even in front of the slightly unmoving Alejandro, I think that she, as a spirit, is not a child as she appears.

　And Lune is able to communicate with His Highness just by touching him - that His Highness, the priestess of the divine tree, has gained the power to be in tune with the plant spirits.

　Accompanied by His Highness, Lune comes up to Alejandro and holds out her hand towards the ground. A magic circle was created on the ground and a spectral flower, the main body of Lune, sprouted and blossomed before you could even see it.

'This little one has this kind of power ...... Anytime you see it, magic is a mystery.

　Deete-san is admiringly paying attention to Alejandro's movements, not letting her guard down. The same goes for Raquel-san - even though she can't move now, she's the one who hunted down Presha-san, so she can't let her guard down.

　Eventually, the pollen of the demon flower floats around Alejandro and is taken into his body with his breath - his eyes open slightly.

'...... I'll check again. You are General Alejandro, right?
...... Yes, .......
Now, I'm going to ask you to answer a few questions. Please answer them without hesitation.
...... Oh, .......

　After Alejandro replies, His Highness steps forward. I stand off to the side and watch the interrogation, carefully observing Alejandro's condition.

'...... Were you attempting to take the Isle Rose Fortress through the humans of Raiseneire?

　There is not long enough time to hypnotize and ask questions at a time. It's just a few minutes until the ego is transformed - there's no time to take a detour, every question must touch the core of the matter.

The woman ...... there ...... water mage, Noyne Flores, ...... a water mage, has asked for guidance on the part of the Kingdom of Raiseneire to use her power. I did. ......
Well, who is the person who gave you the lead: ......?
There are only a few people in your country who can give orders to the court mages of Rayseneier ...... who can do such a thing.

　Alejandro could only speculate, and he didn't know the answer - it was just that 'someone in Raiseneire' had been made to use Neun's power.

　It was no doubt orchestrated by Her Royal Highness Cassandra, the Second Queen of Rezeneire, and the court mage Jorg Frost, who was in touch with her. If Alejandro didn't know that, then the connection between Zirconia and Queen Cassandra was not as close as he had imagined.

　If Queen Cassandra was connected to the other generals, or even to the vicinity of Emperor Zirconia, it would be difficult to reach a truce with Zirconia through discussion alone. We know that there were other secret agents besides Alejandro, but I'd like to think that they are not involved in the heart of Zirconia - I'd like to think that they are not involved in the heart of Zirconia.

'There were those who were secretly funneling weapons to Zirconia from our territory. Were you aware of that?
...... It was guided by a man named Vale, who was in command of a fort ...... built as a base for warships to the west. ...... I asked Vale for supplies and ordered him to use a warship to coordinate with our forces ...... but that man was .......

　Why did he try to use Nein to use his hands to cage Bail? It was only because Vale had used his position to play games with Alejandro.

　If Bail didn't move, he couldn't take the strategy of attacking the Isle Rose Fortress by landing from two remote points. Apart from the fact that Noyn had been sent to Zirconia, there was a move to divert weapons from the Rayseneier to Zirconia, which was unintentionally creating a split in the Zirconian army.

...... It's no wonder they can't gain any credibility if they use operations like that.
After all, you were right to target the shipyard in the west ...... because Alejandro was out of options because he took Vail as a prisoner and rescued Neun.

　It's true - I've heard it said that a single court mage can change the course of a battle, and I think Noin embodies that as well. Alejandro may have been an excellent commander without a mage in the past, but I can imagine that he became dependent on Noin when he learned of his power.

' ...... Thanks to Master Glass. If I hadn't met Master Glass back then, I might have gone back to this man.
I've seen many men try to use women on the battlefield, but ...... is still unacceptable.

　Raquel-san directs her anger at Alejandro, but His Highness controls it.

　I've seen, Mr. Presha's past - and among them, he has shown me glaringly that some of the men in the military think atrocious things.

　Not all of them. Sometimes they wear out their minds and become trapped in a delusional obsession with power as they spend time on the battlefield, and sometimes they don't.

　I have to do what I have to do so that after this war, everyone can smile and go back to their lives. I even think it's my calling now to be here as a military doctor.

...... Summoner-sama, this man has quite a strong resistance to hypnosis ......, if I ask you just one more question, it looks like I'd better break the hypnosis.
'Yeah, okay. Your Highness: ......
'Nope. Is there anything you'd like to say to Noin ...... Alejandro?
"Geez, Your Highness, your highness ...... gives such an important opportunity to someone like me ...... and so on.
'I think you have the right to do so. Even if you are going to work for our Order from now on, it's going to be hard for you if you don't untie yourself a little bit.

　Just being freed from the underworld spirit isn't the end of it. Even with the sight of the fallen Alejandro, he is still not truly free.

"...... I am ...... no longer bound to you. Your orders are unreachable.
"...... different ...... noin ...... you are my ......

　Lune is right, Alejandro is resisting hypnosis - his obsession with Noin is that strong.

　I don't know if it's right to try to help her here. Maybe she's the one who has to overcome this on her own.

　Still, I put a hand on his shoulder, hoping to help Noin move forward as much as possible.

'...... Glass-sama ......'

　Noin lays his hand on my hand. The magic power of 'water' and 'plants' are compatible with each other - if they are so compatible, I can calm Noyn's mental turmoil without using magic.

'...... I didn't hear your answer. If you're still hearing in that state, just inscribe my words ...... you've lost. To the Knights of the Isle Rose, led by His Highness Astina.
--!

　Alejandro's eyes widen - just as he is about to become enraged, Lune wraps Alejandro in a pollen that has a sleeping effect.

''Geez, ...... is ...... ah ......''

　As the concentration of hypnotic pollen increases, Alejandro quickly loses consciousness. Looking at a gulping Alejandro, Noin puts his hand to his chest - it must have taken a lot of courage.

'...... Your Highness, I'm sorry. I'm sorry that I've done something in the presence of Your Highness ...... that would make me feel resentful.
'No.' Alejandro used a measure that cost the lives of his men ...... and yet there was not the slightest regret. That would not reward those who died following his orders.
'People who don't realize they're losing are especially hard to give up. You'd better make sure you have a reminder.
'Your Highness, as for Alejandro and Vale, as important prisoners, they will be a bargaining chip with Zirconia. However, if we bring them back to the Isle Rose Fortress, we believe that Vysek will again interfere with them. ...... I think we should proceed with one more piece of the puzzle at this point, but what do you think?

　His Highness's eyes, which were asked by Raquel, changed for a moment to gaze somewhere other than here - a future vision by the power of the divine tree.

'...... Racquel, I entrust this fort to you. Bridget, along with Chloe, you will stay here for a few days.
'Ha! ...... accepted. What will your highness do?
'I will return once, leading my forces to the Isle Rose. Our attack on Zirconia is likely to be foreseen in the center of ...... our keystone, the Isle Rose Fortress, must be avoided if we are to be seized.
'...... That man ...... sounds like what Vysek would think. Your Highness, may I be allowed to accompany Presha and myself?
Yes, sir. Glass, I'll leave it up to you to decide where to place the two mages.
'Your Highness, you may leave the defense of this fort to me. I have some knowledge of the surrounding terrain during my stay.

　Noyn will offer herself to me - if she remains, which she did when we attacked this fort, she can be expected to contribute in the defense.

　I'm going to follow His Highness back to the Isle Rose Fortress, along with Leslie. Even if the gloom in the Zirconia area disappears, there is still a possibility that our original allies, the Raseneian army, will be framed for treason.

　This is the crucial point - in order for His Highness to become the ruler and create an independent territory, he must eliminate the worries of hindsight. I rode His Highness's horse and Leslie rode on Mr. Presha's horse and rode across the still rain and dewy plains towards the south where the fortress was located.