The headquarters of the First Holy Knights could be described in one word: barren. According to Ian, since it was close to the royal capital, very few holy knights were stationed there. Apparently, there were only three at the moment. Amidst the bleakness, only the newly built greenhouse stood out.

The three of them first headed to the base to give their greetings.

There, they were greeted by three knights.

“Thank you for making the trip, Prince Ian of the royal family and your daughters. I am Landon, the one in charge of this base.”

The knight in the center, who looked rather nervous and wore glasses, gave his introduction.

Ian and the others returned the greeting.

Then they were introduced to a tall man standing next to Commander Landon.

“This is Vice-Commander Alf. And next to him, as you may know, is Justin, who was assigned here this year.”

He had blonde hair like Ian and a very familiar face.

“Lil, Ria, he’s my older brother’s son. That makes him your cousin.”

Lil was surprised. She hadn’t imagined Ian had such a grown-up nephew. She found herself staring at him. But he quickly looked away.

With a sullen expression, Justin said:

“Nice to meet you…”

Had she offended him? Lil felt uneasy. Ria, having taken off her bracelet, asked:

“Did we do something to upset you?”

“I’m not mad or anything.”

Ria took Lil’s hand and said:

“See? He’s not mad. Don’t worry.”

Lil felt relieved. Ria shot a glare at Justin, though Lil couldn’t see it. Justin felt a chill from that look.

Ian tried to suppress a chuckle at the whole exchange. Justin had always been shy. He tended to come off as grumpy when meeting people for the first time. Ian remembered being on the receiving end of that attitude too. Now Justin had upset Lil and earned a glare from Ria—he just hoped it wouldn’t get worse. Ria could be… intense when it came to Lil.

Just as Ian was about to steer the conversation back on track, rabbits suddenly swarmed around Lil’s feet.

“Help us.”
“Please, help us.”

Lil crouched down and asked them:

“Is it a strong monster?”
“We can’t win against it.”

“So there’s a strong monster and you can’t beat it,” Lil interpreted.

Commander Landon and the others were dumbfounded.

So this is the “interpreter,” Landon thought, and his devout heart felt the urge to pray.

“Ask them what kind of monster it is and where it is,” Justin said to Lil.

Before Lil could even ask, the rabbits replied:

“It’s a bear—a mutated one. It’s scary.”
“It took over the Tiger’s Cave. It’s using it as its den.”

“So it’s a mutated bear that took over the Tiger’s Cave and made it its home.”

Vice-Commander Alf rushed to get a map from the base.

“Tigers have been spotted in this part of the forest.”

“Then the cave must be around here… or possibly here.”

Lil listened to their conversation and turned to the rabbits.

“Is there anyone who can read a map?”

“We’ll go get someone.”

A few rabbits darted off.

Ria checked the rabbits for any injuries. For some reason, even though she looked just like Lil, the divine beasts didn’t seem wary of her.

After a little while, a rabbit returned with an injured tiger. Poor thing—its left eye had been damaged, and the wound hadn’t healed yet.

“Dad!”

When Lil called out, Ian approached the tiger.

“Dad’s going to heal your wound, so stay still, okay?”

Ian held his hand over the injured area, and the wound healed in an instant. Lil was deeply moved. The tiger, surprised, bowed its head to Ian.

“Thank you, human healer.”

Feeling the tiger’s gratitude, Ian responded:

“No need to thank me. More importantly, please tell us where the den is. Also, if anyone else is injured, bring them here.”

Hearing that, the rabbits ran off into the forest.

The tiger approached Commander Landon and the others and used its paw to point out the location of the den.

“Here. But be careful—it uses shadow magic. It appears out of shadows and attacks suddenly.”

Lil translated. The commanders nodded firmly.

“That’s all we need. The military has countermeasures for shadow magic. Let’s request a deployment immediately.”

It was a sudden and swift resolution. Justin was stunned. So this is how quickly things could be resolved when you could communicate with divine beasts? As someone who had been worried about them, Justin felt a pang of frustration.

No wonder the royal family would adopt the “interpreter.”

After that, Ian treated the divine beasts that had been brought in, and Lil asked for more detailed information about the bear monster. Rabbits and other forest-dwelling divine beasts were constantly around Lil’s feet, watching her closely.

As things were wrapping up, the tiger spoke to Lil:

“Interpreter, we are grateful. Your presence at this time must be divine guidance. The period of activity is likely approaching. Incidents like this will probably increase.”

“Period of activity?”

The moment she said it, Justin reacted.

“Did it say ‘period of activity’? Did the tiger say that?”

Startled by his intensity, Lil nodded.

Ria glared at Justin again.

“S-Sorry. But if that’s true, it’s a serious matter.”

“Um… what is the period of activity?” Lil asked.

Justin scratched his head and explained:

“It’s when monsters become more active. It’s said to happen about once every hundred years. During that time, monsters go berserk. Last time, even the royal capital’s walls were breached.”

Lil and Ria gasped. For the capital—which had the strongest defenses—to be invaded… that was no small thing.

“They say a dragon showed up and helped us that time, but there’s no guarantee someone will save us again. The military has to prepare.”

Lil became worried for the divine beasts. In times like these, they would likely be the first to get hurt. The period of activity now seemed terrifying to her.

In the carriage ride back, Lil was still thinking about the period of activity. Ria held her hand in reassurance.

The tiger had said her presence was divine guidance. Lil wondered if there was something she could do.

The next day, they received word that the bear monster had been safely defeated. Lil finally breathed a sigh of relief.