Chapter 16

Moldis looked at her in confusion.

Silia hurriedly composed her expression and shook her head.

“My apologies.”

Tilting his head slightly, Moldis continued.

“You must find someone who has a mark on their shoulder. The shape of the mark itself doesn’t matter, but it cannot be ordinary.”

“What kind of mark should it be?”

“It must have a distinct form. A droplet, a flame, a tree. It may look like a scar, but the person must never have been injured. It must be a mark they were born with.”

A distinct form…

Whatever it was, it was certainly different from her own cursed mark—a misshapen wound radiating dark energy from her shoulder.

After all, a holy mark was a sacred trace left by Sola.

Silia smiled bitterly to herself and replied,

“Yes.”

“When you find such a mark, verify whether the person possesses holy power. Though honestly, it will probably be easier to begin by looking for people with holy power first.”

As Moldis continued speaking, he seemed to run out of breath. Leaning back briefly, he took a sip of tea.

“A birthmark-like scar from birth. Holy power. Then determine whether they can hold the box containing the feather. If they pass that test as well, use the feather.”

If they were not burned by the phoenix feather, the mark would be confirmed as a holy mark.

But if not…

Silia’s expression darkened.

“If they are not the Saint, their entire body will burn to ash.”

“If they are not the Saint, they won’t even be able to hold the box. Only someone at your level—a commander-class holy knight—can touch it.”

Moldis rubbed his face roughly.

He still looked exhausted, but compared to when she had first met him, he seemed noticeably more relaxed.

Fortunately, the scented candle appeared to be doing its job.

“I look forward to good news.”

Moldis said those words while wearing an expression that clearly expected no such thing.

Anyone could tell from his face that he was merely asking her to try.

And honestly, that was the reality.

People with holy power were extremely rare, and the Empire of Grinia was absurdly vast.

There were holy knight orders stationed throughout Grinia besides the Silver Lions under Silia’s command, but even considering that, the territory was enormous.

Phoenix feathers could apparently be collected freely from the phoenix’s nest, but only commander-level individuals could carry the box.

Which meant only commanders could carry out this mission.

And on top of that, it was a secret mission.

Finding someone who matched all the conditions would be stranger than not finding anyone at all.

Yet Moldis still asked.

Like a drowning man clutching at his last rope.

“We’re already searching. The Guardians who came here to improve the situation are working themselves like dogs.”

After saying that, Moldis rose from his seat.

Silia understood neither the circumstances nor the Pope’s secret mission.

But as a holy knight, she had no choice except to obey orders.

She picked up the box he had left behind.

---

* * *

Despite receiving the mission, she was unable to leave the garrison for several days.

More precisely, she could not leave the front lines.

Her routine repeated endlessly:

Fight monsters until she collapsed from exhaustion.

Return home.

Fight again.

Even so, she never neglected to bring prey home for Ran or spend time playing with him in the forest.

No matter how busy she was, they still visited the woods together three or four times a week.

But even that became difficult once the werewolf problem appeared.

As if I wasn’t busy enough already. Werewolves now?

“When did the werewolves first appear?”

Massaging her splitting headache, Silia asked the question.

Eric unfolded a map with a serious expression.

“Around January 11th.”

“Their territory?”

“They’ve already expanded to the border regions near several estates. I don’t think avoiding an extermination campaign is possible anymore.”

“There’s no advantage in delaying.”

“Shall I prepare the deployment order?”

“Yes.”

Eric nodded and was about to leave when Silia called out.

“How is your younger sibling now?”

“…Pardon?”

“Wasn’t your sibling sick? Or did you say they’d recovered?”

Eric looked genuinely stunned.

He had never expected Silia to remember something like that.

Feeling his stare, Silia looked up from the map.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

Her face remained as expressionless as ever.

Smooth pale skin.

Lips pressed into a straight line.

A cold face resembling an emotionless porcelain doll.

And yet she had clearly just expressed concern.

Not for Eric.

For his family.

“I kept wondering, but Commander… you’re completely different on the inside than you look on the outside, aren’t you?”

Silia’s gaze became strange.

“Was that an insult?”

“You misunderstand, Commander.”

Eric grinned slyly while backing toward the door.

“It means I think I’m going to respect you even more.”

And then he promptly escaped.

What a strange man.

Silia merely shrugged.

---

* * *

Early the next morning, the Silver Lion Holy Knights deployed through a warp gate prepared by the Empire of Grinia.

Werewolves were monsters that reproduced rapidly.

If their territory continued expanding, nearby domains would soon descend into chaos.

The local lord must have pressured the Empire heavily, because the warp gate had been constructed in a single day.

Werewolves were classified as high-risk monsters, but they had a weakness:

Fire.

Working together with the Imperial mages, the extermination campaign proceeded surprisingly smoothly.

At least, it had.

What is that?

Silia was deep within the forest.

She had sensed the presence of two werewolves.

Thinking they were stragglers separated from the pack, she pursued them.

Instead, she found a strange scene.

A very young werewolf, one that could not have been born long ago, was guarding the corpse of what appeared to be its mother.

The mother’s body was badly decayed.

She had clearly been dead for quite some time.

“Whine… whiiine…”

That part was not unusual.

The strange thing was that another adult werewolf was trying to kill the pup.

Why would a werewolf kill one of its own kind?

Before she realized it, Silia was already moving.

With a single strike, she severed the adult werewolf’s head.

Then she looked down at the trembling pup, which still refused to run away.

It’s protecting its mother. Even though she’s been dead for a long time…

While Silia stared silently, the knights arrived.

“Commander.”

The knights formed a circle around the young werewolf.

“Wait. Don’t kill it. Hold your positions.”

Silia raised a hand to stop them.

What should I do?

Werewolves were humanoid monsters.

And humanoid monsters possessed reason and intelligence.

Unless they attacked first, indiscriminate slaughter was discouraged.

The pup before her was completely different from the aggressive werewolves they had exterminated that morning.

“Whine… whiiine…”

The young wolf nudged its mother’s corpse with its nose.

Then its tail drooped and it sat down heavily.

It knew its mother was dead.

It simply could not leave.

Another werewolf had tried to kill it.

Dangerous humans had arrived.

And still it remained trembling beside its mother.

Was Ran like this too?

Silia squeezed her eyes shut.

“That’s strange. Aren’t werewolves known for their overwhelming sense of superiority?”

Eric tilted his head.

“I’ve always heard they slaughter humans as casually as pigs.”

“…Yes.”

“But this one isn’t aggressive.”

That wasn’t all.

Creatures that harmed humans accumulated sinister energy.

Yet the aura surrounding this young werewolf was not deeply corrupted.

“What should we do?”

“It has never harmed a human.”

Silia’s voice was heavy.

“Let it go.”

Just as she turned to leave, something suddenly latched onto her leg like a leech.

Looking down, she froze.

Messy chestnut-colored hair.

Eyes like acorns.

Sun-darkened bronze skin.

A scrawny little werewolf boy had transformed into human form and was hanging from her leg.

He looked like a child who had been neglected for a very long time.

“Noona.”

“……”

“……”

The forest fell silent.

The silence was so complete it felt as though everyone could hear the knights’ eyes darting around.

The boy ignored them all and cried out in a fading voice.

“Take Vio too.”

“……”

“Take Vio too. Me too…”

The grip on Silia’s leg was astonishingly strong.

Like someone desperately clutching the last lifeline they had been given.

No one understood the desire to survive better than Silia.

She immediately recognized the desperation in the child.

The warmth of his small body against her leg kept reminding her of someone.

In the past, she would have shaken him off.

But she couldn’t.

Silia simply couldn’t.

“Noona. Please? Take me too…”

When he realized his words were not working, the wolf boy widened his eyes.

They were eyes straining desperately not to cry.

The child shouted bravely.

“Raise me! I’ll allow it! I’m an amazing wolf! Someday I’ll become stronger than you!”

“……”

“If you raise Vio, I’ll gladly protect you! It’s a deal! Humans like deals, right? That’s not a bad bargain!”

Standing beside her, Eric smacked his forehead with a troubled expression.

“The bad werewolves said my mom was a disgrace to werewolves and killed her!”

“……”

“My mom said there are strong, kind humans too! She said not to kill people indiscriminately! Vio is a good werewolf! Please believe me!”

He did not need to shout until his voice broke.

It was obvious.

He was a good child.

Depending on how they were raised, some beings became blessings of heaven while others became demons of hell.

That wasn’t true only for the yokai of the Eastern Continent.

It was true for the monsters of the Western Continent as well.

As long as a creature possessed reason, every living being eventually stood at a crossroads.

Would they walk the path of corruption?

Or choose another road?

Vio possessed reason.

He was a humanoid monster.

“Noona, you’re the leader of the strong humans, right? You defeated all those bad werewolves!”

“……”

“So raise me! I choose you as the human who will raise me!”

The desperate voice of a child fighting with everything he had to survive stabbed mercilessly into the most painful part of Silia’s heart.