21—Wetland Scramble

With the princess leading the way, they left the Mother Tree and entered the palace garden. From the glittering tapestries and ornate brickwork to the animal-themed topiaries and dancing fountains, the vast enclosure exuded class befitting royalty. Looking around, Marice felt nostalgic just by being there. She had only been there a few times when she was a kid, but the place certainly left a huge impression on her.

And well, she still couldn't get over how cute the pig topiaries were.

Upon reaching one of the gazebos dotting the garden, Magnolia twirled and stopped with a stomp. "I dunno how big your workshop is, but it shouldn't get in the way if you set it up along the hedge."

"Yeah, this is good enough. Thanks."

Marice took out the homunculus bottle containing Katherine's truck and released it beside the gazebo. An excited gasp left the deerkin princess as she ran up closer to it. "Whoa! It does the color-changing thing when you move! And it even has cranes!"

"Wanna take a look inside?" Katherine asked, opening the driver seat door.

"Hold on, I wanna see Big Sis Marice's trailer workshop too!"

Holding up a homunculus bottle between her thumb and index finger, Marice watched a miniature freight container within it slowly drift as if it was suspended in water. "It's not as interesting as that truck, I assure you."

"Or so she says," Katherine said with a smug look on her face.

She squinted as she flicked the bottle upwards before catching it midair. "Still not helping, Kath."

Removing the bottle cap, Marice used her spatial magic once more and released the freight container in front of them. Katherine didn't look amused.

"That's just half of our armory."

"And?"

"Show them the whole thing! And I mean the entire complex!"

"What? They don't have to see everything."

"But they'd love to."

As she gestured to the others, they nodded in response and looked at them with anticipation. Marice could only grumble as she fished out the other bottles from her waist packs. "Ugh, children. All of you."

Following the label on each bottle, she started assembling the modular freight containers one by one. The left block formed their living quarters, the middle served as their alchemy workshop and maintenance room, and the right section contained storage units for their weapons and other valuables. But the highlight of their modular base was the transparent two-story greenhouse filled with exotic fungi and plants, which added a homely touch to the place.

"Wow," Shiori said, looking at the tall mushroom at the center, "that's a pretty mushroom."

Magnolia huffed. "I know, right? The jellyshroom in our palace is way bigger than that though."

"But what are those tiny things floating in the air?"

"Ants? How are they doing that?"

Ignoring the others, Marice punched the passcode on the double door's control panel and entered the armory. She went straight to her worktable, attached a VesFrame module on her neck, and accessed her glove's holographic terminal. And with a press of a button, a transparent cloak of ether materialized on her body, removing all her clothes in an instant. And in the next second, a white and purple bodysuit with matching boots, cap, and tactical vest replaced them, the outfit hugging her skin. As she replaced the module's battery with a fresh one, she found the others pouring into the room, wearing the same fascinated looks they had earlier.

"Whoa!" Magnolia said, pumping her fists in the air. "Did you just do a magical girl transformation just now?! So cool!"

"Hah, in your face, Marice!" Katherine wore a triumphant grin. "I told you there are people out there who'll understand!"

Marice returned the smile as she began browsing a nearby shelf full of jars and vials. "Hmph, you and your grandfather's theatrics..."

"I can't wait for them to finish your staff."

"You really are a master of impulse purchases, aren't you?"

"Shush, Marice! You'll eat those words once you see it in action!"

Vivianne walked ahead of Katherine, marveling at the container's interior. "I finally got to see what's in this section. Though I didn't know why I was expecting something more impressive than this clinic-esque arrangement."

"Really?" the deerkin princess replied. "I think this place is cool! Like a secret base, even!"

Celestino, who just shrunk himself two feet shorter with transformation magic, faced Marice and crossed his arms. "When you mentioned an armory, I was hoping to see an entire arsenal of gizmos."

"Well, sorry to disappoint then."

"No, no. I just figured Kath would have more of her fancy toys lying around here."

Katherine sat on the sofa next to Marice, taking out the gestation pod from her shield's storage. "Core Phalanx already carries everything I need, so all I have here are that weapon rack and my spare VesFrame modules. My spare drones and maintenance equipment are in the next room."

"Oh? How economical."

She set the pod on the worktable, eyeing the hatch leading to the second floor. "I'm supposed to get my Wildcat modules soon, but they shouldn't take that much real estate here. Well, even if they did, we can just add more containers."

"Still, all of this is impressive, considering the space you have to work with." He took one of the ether railguns from the rack, peering through its scope. "You could use one of these on your person, Marice."

"Nope. She's banned from using firearms."

"Why though?"

"It's for everyone's sake."

The smile plastered on Katherine's face made him pause for a bit. "Ah, yeah. I get you."

"I feel like I'm missing some context here," Shiori said, prompting Laetitia to nod.

"Still, I doubt these finely-crafted concoctions are the only items you have for show, Marice."

"Of course. I keep my bigger projects in separate containers."

"I'm especially curious about this so-called 'Collective' project of yours."

Marice paused her potion stocking, facing him with a soul-piercing glare. "I trust that my secret is safe with you, Uncle?"

"O-Of course." He rubbed the back of his head. "Sheesh, you're a bonafide Alcantara alright."

"What's that sword doing in there?" Magnolia asked as she pointed at a containment pod in the corner.

Marice and Katherine exchanged looks. "Ah, we got that one from a lich," the former replied.

"Ooh! Is it like a cursed sword? There are seals all over it!"

"Nah, it's just a sword made out of blightsteel."

"Are you crazy?!" Vivianne uttered. "You picked that up without purifying it?"

"I wanted to study it."

"No, I meant—" She facepalmed. "You just don't run out of surprises, do you?"

Pamela walked up to Magnolia, observing the suspended sword closer. "I'm more impressed you fought someone wielding such a blade and lived another day. Most won't even know what blightsteel is until it's already too late."

"Yeah," Katherine replied as she started kicking her legs, "you wouldn't believe how painful it was to get hit by that thing! It's like someone is slowly charring your flesh with a blowtorch!"

The lizardkin recoiled. "A-And you were able to survive?! The corruption inflicted by blightsteel is supposedly irreversible!"

Wearing a grin, she glanced at Marice who moved on to the next shelf. "I have a guardian angel."

"Guardian angel? What do you even mean by that?"

"In certain religions," Celestino replied, "a mortal is assigned a guardian angel that serves as their spiritual link to their deity. I guess they're comparable to benevolent diwata that grant their favored individual divine protection and other blessings."

Katherine nodded. "I sure thought I was a goner, but she saved me. You can even ask Marice. She saw her."

"You did?" Pamela asked, turning to Marice.

Marice paused as she was about to reach out for an ether grenade, balling her hand. "Golden hair, imposing wings, regal armor—she's definitely a looker."

"So it's true after all?"

"Yup!" Katherine hopped on her feet. "How else would you explain why I'm still here?"

A short silence settled upon them before Celestino let out a laugh. "Seems like your maker has bigger plans in store for you, Katherine."

"Marice's divination already told me as much! It's really reassuring to know that all my efforts won't go to waste!"

"Wait, wait!" Magnolia started bouncing. "I wanna hear that story from the beginning! Tell us! Tell us!"

"Hmm..."

At that exact moment, Katherine's eyes darted towards Marice, staring through the gap on the shelf. Marice found herself stumped, racking her brain why she would now ask for her permission to share that story. Whatever the reason could be, the growing silence only made the situation more awkward than it needed to be, so she simply shrugged and gave her a nod. Katherine beamed in response and began recounting that turn of events to the deerkin princess.

While Marice focused on her preparations for their search later, she just couldn't tune out Katherine's enthusiastic narration in the background. It didn't help that the others were just as invested in the story, dragging it even longer than necessary. But just as she finished fastening the second auxiliary power pack on her left thigh, Vivianne appeared beside her with a small smile on her face, peering through the shelf gap. "She's having fun at least."

"I can't make heads or tails whether she's just being oblivious about it or not."

She paused, cocking her head to the side. "I get your concern, but Kath has always had an ironclad resolve. It's probably the reason I find her presence reassuring somehow."

"You're missing the point. Kath doesn't talk much about herself." Marice grimaced. "We've been together for so long, but there's this gap between us that we can't seem to cross."

She let out a deep sigh. "Goodness, the two of you are truly hopeless."

"What now?"

"Have you actually tried talking to her about it?"

She glanced to the side. "Well... no..."

"And that's exactly what I meant."

"I can't just ask that question to her face."

"Barring those eyes of yours, how else are you supposed to know? Or aren't you just afraid of hearing the truth from her?" As Marice was unable to respond, Vivianne rubbed her forehead and faced her. "If you truly want to ease your concerns over that matter, just ask. You two are already adults for crying out loud."

"Is it really that simple?"

"Of course. Unless you truly think that low of her..."

"Tch, you don't even know how much I owe that dork!"

As she said that, she didn't realize that everyone had already stopped talking, their attention squarely on the two of them. "Um," Katherine uttered, "are you talking about me?"

"It's a pretty safe bet, don'tcha think?" Shiori said.

Marice grew flustered as she met Katherine's gaze once again, but she reasserted herself and put on a more stoic expression. "It's rude to eavesdrop, you know?"

Katherine pursed her lips, her cheeks glowing red. "Talking about someone within their earshot is ruder, you know?"

Silence befell them for a moment, giving her time to collect herself. Once she did, she walked around the shelves and put her hands on her hips. "Well, if you're done, show them the other rooms. I'll be done in a bit."

"Yay!" Magnolia hopped towards the door leading to their workshop. "Is this where you keep your streaming setup, Big Sis Kathy? I wanna see!"

"Ah, yeah! Sure!"

Activating the door panel, Katherine led the others to the next room. And as soon as the door closed itself, Vivianne walked up to Marice, wearing a cat-like grin. "Gosh, this is almost too painful to watch."

"Sure. Keep rubbing it in, you jerk."

She stifled a laugh. "You two are just precious."

Before Marice could give a snarky reply, the door before them opened slightly. Katherine poked her head out of the gap, covering her mouth with her smartphone. As she tapped on its screen, Marice heard a familiar voice from her earpiece:

Kath sent you something urgent! Check it now, you workaholic you!

With a raised eyebrow, she fished out her smartphone and opened the encrypted mail:

Well, what a coincidence! I feel the same way!

I owe you the whole world. Never ever forget that.

Yet again she was dumbfounded, staring at the screen with wide eyes. With blood rushing to her cheeks, it took all of her courage to lift her gaze to meet Katherine's.

"Aren't you being a bit too dramatic?"

In an instant, Katherine furrowed her eyebrows and puffed her cheeks before disappearing. Vivianne then snatched Marice's wrist, pulling the phone close to her face. She let out a horrified gasp. "That was your response? Really, Marice?"

"I was just teasing her."

"You should've flirted back!"

She blinked. "It's that thing that couples do, right? Teach me."

Vivianne had an utter look of disbelief on her face. "All I can say is, you two really deserve each other."

As Vivianne left the room, Marice finally let her guard down and let out a deep sigh, feeling hot under the collar.

I didn't know being in love can be so stressful...

Finishing up her prep, Marice joined the rest of her friends in the central block. The second she stepped into the room, she was immediately greeted with the tantalizing scents of cinnamon and fried dough from the kitchen area. Katherine was there, straining freshly cooked quarkballchen from the pot. As she placed them on a bowl, she turned around with a coy smile, presenting it to her.

Marice gulped. That sensual look in her eyes pretty much confirmed that Katherine wanted to continue her offensive. Was she trying to get back at her from earlier? She didn't know what she ate last night that made her so feisty, but her newfound courage was surprisingly admirable, especially when she was being that cheeky. For now though, she did her best to play it cool, humoring her little game. She couldn't possibly let her know that her teasing was actually working. At least not in front of their nosy friends.

Half an hour of idle chatter later, Mireia and Monica rejoined the group with Pamela's daughter in tow, sharing the news that they were now authorized to participate in the ongoing investigation at the Spritedrop Sanctuary. Not exactly a surprise with the queen on their side, but she had been expecting at least some form of concession or resistance from the other more stuck-up council members.

Then again, she might have spoken too soon. As they arrived at the military camp on the sanctuary's border, a regal deerkin knight approached them along with her subordinates, stopping them short from entering the collapsible structure serving as their command center. They all wore matching VesFrames, prominently bearing their emblazoned emblem of white and pink flowers on their sleek angular pauldrons.

"Greetings, Ma'am. Please head to the tactics room." She glanced at Marice and the others. "The atog matriarch will brief you of the recent developments within the barrier."

"Then you'll have to let them through as well. I brought them here to provide insight to the situation and assist us in cleansing the sanctuary."

She smiled. "Their help is no longer necessary. The situation is now under control. I personally sent my younger sister and her unit to bring the perpetrators' heads back here."

"You sent Carallia in there?"

"They are among the best warriors in our order after all. They won't let you down."

Monica furrowed her eyebrows, tail twitching behind her. "Your father told you to stop us, didn't he?"

"Only because you refuse to see the bigger picture, Your Highness. Asking outsiders to solve our problems only robs us the chance to hone the skills of our own talents. We can't afford to be seen as pushovers when there are misfits like these demons looking to terrorize our nation."

"Honor and prestige aren't going to save any lives, Alstonia. The sooner we get to the root of the problem, the better, especially when we still have to find a way to eradicate the infectious spores in there."

"With Princess Mireia being the obvious exception, tell me what your guests will bring to the table. Talented as they may be, we have alchemists and warriors who are more knowledgeable and experienced. And from what I've heard from our guests from Fort Ryuusei, even their renowned demon hunter fell prey to the enemy."

Putting an arm around the deerkin knight, the queen wagged her forefinger with a cocky grin. "Tsk, tsk. If we're simply basing competence based on time, then why did you take the position of the Supreme Captain of the Border Guards? You got a whole line of people behind you who are way more experienced, you know?"

Alstonia blinked as her fluffy tail stood on its end. "Ah...! That is...!"

The knights behind her grew flustered, offering their words of encouragement to their captain:

"Captain, that may be true, but you've grown to be a magnificent swordmaster! You'll be able to surpass us in no time!"

"There's more to being a captain than just battle experience. You've led us well so far, and we trust you'll continue to do so for many years to come."

"Don't fix what ain't broke, yeah? So chin up, lass!"

Flustered, she turned around, waving her hands and thanking them. As she regained her composure, she started repeatedly pointing at the queen. "A-Anyway, how could you? Don't you have enough faith in your own subjects? We're ready to lay our lives for the kingdom, and yet...!"

The back and forth continued between them, earning a grumble from the deerkin princess. "This happens every time they meet," Magnolia said, facing Dahlia. "It's so annoying."

"Well... they're the bestest of friends... and they don't get to see each other as often as they want to..."

"Big Sis Sonia means well, but she's so old-fashioned, always going by the book." She placed her hands on her hips. "She doesn't even like how Mommy and I use online streaming for our royal duties."

Marice leaned closer to the two children. "Can't we do anything to expedite this nonsense?"

The princess faced her and shrugged. "She's scary when she gets angry for real. Let Mommy butter her up first."

"But we don't have all day. We have a deadline, remember?"

She perked up, her ears twitching in excitement. "Ah, right!" she turned to her friend. "Mommy is gonna arrange a surprise collab stream tomorrow night with Cropaya and Cucucat!"

Dahlia's pupils went wide, shining with great adoration as she looked up to Marice and Katherine. "Really?!" she squeaked.

"Yup!" Katherine replied, slipping into character, "It's gonna be Cucutastic stream!"

The lizardkin child started bouncing. "We gotta do something, Maggie!"

"But what do we do? You know how much of a sore loser Big Sis Sonia is. She'll definitely close down all her occupied trade routes from us again in Fruit Galleons."

She stared at the tent for a moment. "Didn't your mommy mention that Lady Charlotte is here too? Maybe she's in that tent."

"Oh yeah! Good thinking! I'll get us past her lackeys!"

The two ran past the file of soldiers, much to the annoyance of the deerkin knight. "You two, I swear!"

"What's your problem? I just wanna pee, and I know there's a lavatory in there!"

As the children entered the command center, Alstonia squinted at Marice. "Don't even think I didn't notice you dragging our princess into your schemes. What exactly are you planning?"

But before Marice could even entertain her question, an OverFrame materialized behind Alstonia and her knights, swinging its massive ether sword in an arc. The first couple of knights didn't get the chance to react, their bodies dropping in half unceremoniously on the ground. One senior boar knight attempted to block the blade with his shield midswing, but the sheer force of the towering mech overpowered him regardless, cutting through his body like butter. The remaining knights scattered away from the killzone and immediately launched their counterattack, allowing Marice and the others to move further back and seek refuge from the crossfire. However, the ensuing battle distracted them from a magic circle appearing behind the command center. To the Alcantara sisters and Katherine's sophisticated sensors though, the manifesting space distortion didn't go unnoticed.

With an outstretched hand, Mireia faced Pamela. "Hurry!"

As their hands touch, they disappeared two seconds later. At the same time, another OverFrame materialized on the magic circle and unleashed a point-blank artillery burst at the command center. The explosive shells made short work of the structure, which crumbled down like a stack of cards. But within the heap of dust and rubble, a green-tinted Geofort had already been deployed, protecting the people inside. The mech's pilot realized this just as quickly and unleashed every ranged armament they had onto the barrier.

An overgrowth of spiny vines suddenly erupted underneath the mech, restraining it in place. As the vines yanked the weapons away from their target, Pamela and another knight launched themselves forward, slicing off the shoulder-mounted CIWS turret and ether howitzer with surgical precision. Meanwhile, Mireia finished her spell and teleported all the non-combatants to the camp outskirts where Marice's party had been watching. Akagi and Sagami were also with them, looking relieved upon seeing Marice and company.

Monica rushed to her daughter and hugged her tightly. "Thank you, everyone! What's even going on right now?"

A boarkin officer shook his head. "The worst case scenario has happened. Carallia and her unit were infected with those spores."

"I thought they were sufficiently protected? Weren't they wearing space-grade bodysuits?"

Their discussion was cut short as another space distortion manifested behind them. As the sword-wielding OverFrame materialized, Katherine had already Core Phalanx at the ready, blocking the searing blade with it. The resulting clash produced a brilliant spark of ether as the shield's thrusters roared to life, pushing back the mech. With Vivianne's Geofort already protecting everybody else, the mech focused its full attention on Katherine who just finished donning her Crusader frame. It fired a huge blast on the ground with its shoulder ether cannon, hopping backwards to gain some distance. Eyes glowing bright crimson, Katherine had already anticipated the maneuver and launched herself after it in a burst of speed, slicing its CIWS turret in half just as it began spewing rounds. And when she flew back in an arc, she fired several shots using her underskirt railgun, piercing through its ether dampening field and destroying all its shoulder weapons. And almost immediately, the mech skidded to a stop and deactivated its ether blade.

Realizing what was about to happen, Katherine landed in front of it and readied a wide stance with her katzbalger. The mech's cockpit door opened with a mechanical hiss and the pilot lunged outside, the synapse control cables snapping off from their VesFrame ports. Despite the helmet shadowing her face, the matching armor with Alstonia made it apparent to everyone that it was Carallia.

As the other knights began to surround them, the deerkin knight brandished her sword, its engraved runes glowing crimson sparks of demonic ether. Marice grimaced.

Mind-infecting spores were one thing, but demonic ether infusion as well? This specific case looked to be too familiar to be true, so she activated Stellar Glare to confirm her suspicions.

"Marice," came Katherine's voice from her earpiece, "I just ran an ERI scan on her and—"

Katherine was cut short as the deerkin knight made her first move, swinging her sword in a wide arc. Marice grumbled, focusing on the pair of ether-filled cysts on Carallia's neck. "Yeah, there's no doubt about it."

Katherine parried the next three swings before pivoting her body to dodge the fourth. She countered with a left hook, but Carallia blocked it with her vambrace. "Don't tell me that the cult has reached all the way here in the Philippines! We scoured the entirety of Europe to take out all of their acolytes too!"

"Well, that's what we thought." Marice shook her head. "Come back here. We need to talk about this with the others."

"R-Right!"

Their deadly dance of blades and fists continued for a few more seconds until Katherine made a thrusting strike, aiming for Carilla's chest. In turn, Carallia leaned to her right and pinned her forearm between her upper arm and torso. As the deerkin knight went for the kill, Katherine detached her entire arm, dodging the sword thrust by a hair and performed a swift throw on her from behind, slamming the deerkin to the ground. Her arm reattached to her body like a magnet before she locked Carallia in a chokehold, dispensing a cloud of sedative from her wrists. The two of them struggled for control for a minute before the deerkin finally succumbed to the sedative, her limbs falling limp. Katherine released her grip and set Carallia aside, prompting Alstonia and her knights to check on her. And as for the rest of them, they could only gawk at Katherine with awe and respect as she walked back to Marice and the others.

Akagi whistled as Katherine retracted her mask. "Damn, you're good."

Magnolia, Mireia, and Dahlia surrounded her as they practically bounced in excitement. "That was so cool!" the deerkin princess said. "It's like I'm watching a live action episode of Skyward Hearts!"

"I know, right?" Mireia said. "It's my first time personally seeing a blutrotritter in action, and you guys really don't play around!"

"Um, thank you," Katherine replied, cheeks turning pink. "But she was really tough. I barely got any swings in."

The lizardkin shook her head. "But you won anyway! And wow, I didn't expect Cucucat to be an eskrima expert too!"

She cracked a nervous grin, rubbing the back of her head. "M-Me, an expert? I couldn't be that good!"

Marice squinted at her. "Just take the compliment."

"Um, okay. I hate mirror matches though."

"Well fought, Kath," Monica said as she approached the pair, "I have a hunch that there's more to this sequence of events than meets the eye. Please, I'd like to hear everything you know."

Cleaning up the mess of the battle, the knights set up another command center for them to use. Carallia's incubation pod sat at the center of the briefing room while the rest of them were gathered around it, waiting for the deerkin queen to arrive. And when she finally showed up, Alstonia and a human lady with an ornate headdress followed suit. The latter's eyes immediately landed on Marice, giving her a grin.

"So the scorned princess of the Alcantaras has finally made her return."

"Cut the crap," Marice replied with a smile, "I've been looking forward to this for a long time."

Alstonia glared at her. "Watch your tongue. You're speaking to Lady Charlotte, the atog matriarch."

"My, Alsty. Crankier than usual, aren't you?" Charlotte replied, taking out a holographic tablet from her satchel. "Take a deeeep breath, lassie. Lashing out blindly won't do you any good."

She did exactly that but the frown remained plastered on her face. "But I'm not! Your authority in this kingdom is only second to the queen! You should be treated with the respect you deserve!"

With a flourish of her manicured fingers, she activated the tablet, reflecting the screen's soft light on her face. "Nonono, the princess and I have been in touch for quite some time now. Remember that fruit brew you like so much? She was the one who sent the recipe for it."

"That's besides the point! And how could I not be on edge? The dimensional flux from their teleportation spell brought the blasted spores into the camp!" She gestured at the incubation pod. "And just look at my precious sister! Please, Lady Charlotte, you surely must have reached a breakthrough by now!"

She sighed as the deerkin knight started shaking her shoulders. "And as I just said, you need to calm down, Alsty. I've already taken a looksie and the samples matched everything that you sent my way."

"But I thought that this alchemical fungus causes its victims to become lethargic? They shouldn't be able to fight the way they did if that were the case. What's going on?"

"It's still the same fungus, Alsty dearie. This one just happens to have a particular gimmick up its sleeve. Isn't that right, Marice?"

Annoyed from the sudden attention, Marice summoned her grimoire and opened to a page cataloging the exact fungus they were discussing. "They call this one Sweet Spores–a parasitic strain of an alchemical fungus often used as a recreational drug in Eastern Europe. In addition to impairing its host's cognitive functions, it reacts to demonic ether, accelerating the formation of cysts on the host's body. These cysts serve as a natural conduit for mind-altering magic. In short, the fungi themselves don't do much besides acting as the strings for the puppeteer."

"Mind control?!" Alstonia uttered. "How dare they?!"

Charlotte rested her chin on Marice's head and peered at the grimoire. "Aww, your handwriting is actually cute."

"Shut it," Marice replied as both Monica and Mireia took a peek as well.

Using her free hand, she flipped several pages until a particular section caught her attention. "Oh wow, you even reverse-engineered it and made your own version. Stellar documentation right here."

"Lady Charlotte, if I may interrupt," Alstonia began, patience evidently slipping away from her face, "how long would it take you to formulate a cure for it?"

She went two pages back. "Let's see here. I think we can start the production the day after tomorrow."

She blinked. "Th-That fast?"

She squeezed both of Marice's cheeks between her hand and tablet. "Marice already has a working formula. Full immunization requires four shots total, but the first one should already grant resistance to the spores."

"Is it safe though?"

"Definitely!" Katherine replied. "We'd been using the vaccine for a while and everyone that took it didn't have any serious side effects. The phantom smells were kinda trippy though."

Not expecting her enthusiastic response, Alstonia averted her gaze. "N-No, what I mean is, it may have worked on humans, but it could have different results to non-human species like us."

Releasing Marice from her grasp, Charlotte stared at her with half-lidded eyes and pursed her lips. "My, Alsty. Only an amateur alchemist would create such a meager concoction."

"I-Is that so? Please double-check it, just in case."

"Of course, you take your job way too seriously. Ease up a bit."

Alstonia took another deep breath before facing Marice. "I suppose you don't have any of those vaccines left, do you?"

"We still have some left," Marice replied, looking at Katherine who then activated her retina screens. "Not enough to vaccinate everyone in this camp though."

"The queen, the princess, the atog matriarch, and the next rescue party we'll send in there should be given priority. Do you have the exact number of dosages we have to work with?"

Eyes glowing blue, Katherine started tapping the corner of her lips. "Hmm. Inventory says we still have sixteen vials."

"That should be plenty enough," Charlotte said, eyes not leaving her tablet. "Now then, who do we send in there next?"

"Ma'am," Alstonia said, facing the deerkin queen, "please let me–"

"Nope, denied."

"Wh-What?! I haven't even–"

Monica leaned forward, wagging an index finger. "I know you've been itching to avenge your sister and comrades, but you have your own responsibilities as Border Captain. Let the others take care of it."

"By others, you mean them?"

As the deerkin captain launched an exasperated look at Marice and her party, Monica just shrugged. "Well, they've just proven that they have first-hand experience of what we're dealing with here."

Alstonia started trembling, balling her fists. "I can't believe this. Why do you even trust them that much?"

"And I must ask why do you keep treating our guests as if they are complete strangers. The Alcantaras have always been the deerkin's closest allies."

"I... we have to be the one to finish this. The defense ministry has been growing impatient with the lack of progress on our investigation, and they told me they would send a different task force if we couldn't purify the sanctuary's Mother Tree within two days. We can't back down now or else..."

Monica huffed. "Or what? They'd put you and your order on the chopping block? You know I won't let that happen."

"You playing favorites is only going to make things worse for us. Everyone knows I didn't earn this position on merit alone." She shuddered, casting her eyes downwards. "I know I'm not as skilled as my sister, but I have to try. So please give me this one chance to redeem myself!"

As the deerkin knight kneeled in front of the queen, Charlotte just sighed. "You really are your father's daughter, aren't you?"

Humming, Monica closed her eyes as she thought to herself. "Since we're on the subject of trust, why won't you ask Marice instead?"

"Why would that even matter?" Alstonia asked, looking up to meet her gaze.

She tilted her head, her sidetail dangling on her cheeks. "Well, it's because you've been doubting her all this time. Have you considered why they would go out of their way to help us out?"

Alstonia paused again before standing up and looking at Mireia. "Did you ask your half-sister to aid you in your investigation?"

"Yep!" Mireia said. "She's just as invested as I am in finding out the truth."

"I've read in the report that she's been studying necromancy as well. Are you absolutely certain that she isn't here to further her own ends?"

"Ah, so that's what you're worried about?" Vivianne said, grinning as she looked at Marice. "No, she's just here to settle an old score."

"What do you mean?"

Katherine nodded. "Marice lost someone precious too during that forest fire. If it weren't for him, she wouldn't be here right now."

The pink-haired witch thumbed her chin. "Though it is pure happenstance that the person we are trying to find is currently in the clutches of those demons. What luck, huh?"

The deerkin knight chewed on their responses before continuing. "And the two of you are willing to risk your lives for her cause?"

She grinned. "I would not die for her per se, but I require her talents for my new empire. This diversion is just a means to an end."

Katherine put on a more determined expression as Alstonia faced her next. "I promised her that we'll see through this together. Whatever it takes."

That last bit had a certain edge in her voice, surprising Marice. She didn't know whether or not Katherine was losing her patience as much as she was with all the bureaucracy going on, but her change in tone definitely didn't go unnoticed.

"Alstonia," Pamela began, leaning next to the doorway, "you should realize by now that these ladies mean business. Or would they have to prove their worth in a blood duel to convince you?"

Her ears rapidly twitched as she looked away from her. "It pains me to admit this, I don't think I'll be a worthy match to these three."

"Even against Big Sister...?" Mireia uttered, her eyes widening. "Whoa."

Katherine puffed out her chest. "Well, I've been teaching her some jujitsu and judo!"

"Uh, no," Marice spat back, squinting at her, "she'd tear me apart."

Alstonia exhaled deeply. "When we got ambushed earlier, you didn't even flinch when my sister mowed down our knights. Your face immediately contorted into something of an unspeakable rage as if you already knew what was about to happen. And yet, you didn't make a move, even only to showcase your powers to everyone. That alone already speaks volumes to a level of experience you simply won't acquire from measured duels and scripted simulations." It took some effort on her part to finally look at Marice in the eye. "What if our queen didn't permit you to participate in this investigation? What would you do?"

"Then Kath and I would have to make do on our own." She then shrugged. "Though I don't really see any reason why she'd refuse."

"Right?" Monica said, wrapping an arm around Marice's shoulder. "All she asked was the opportunity to hunt down those demons in exchange for attending my birthday stream as Cropaya! Bargain of the century if you ask me! Though I didn't really expect she would do this so soon!"

"Cropaya...?" Alstonia looked at Marice for a few seconds, eyes widening. "She's that purple-haired Cropaya girl?"

"Well, yes, she's the voice behind–hold the phone, you know her?"

Magnolia grinned. "How? I thought you didn't watch our streams?"

The deerkin knight froze. "Uh, n-no. I-It's just I see a lot of images involving her online. And you know, Scribble's corkboard algorithm just keeps giving me all that virtual idol nonsense."

"You do know how social media algorithms work, right?"

She cleared her throat. "A-Anyway, I think our guests made their point. I shall relent... this one time. Just know that I will be supervising their every move within that barrier."

"Yay!" Monica hugged her. "I knew you'd see things my way!"

"So you've been playing damage control this whole time, huh? That foresight of yours scares me sometimes."

"It's the least I can do for my bestie!"

"Okay, now that's out of the way," Charlotte tapped her tablet, activating the wall monitor behind them, "let's get this briefing in motion. We don't have much time before night comes, right Marice?"

As a map of the quarantined area appeared on the monitor, Marice couldn't help but return the smile, realizing that the atog matriarch had sensed her simmering impatience. But just before they could begin their discussion, Laetitia grabbed her shoulders, glaring into her eyes. It took Marice a moment to realize her intentions, giving the familiar a sheepish smile as she placed a hand over hers in assurance.

Right. That makes three of us then.