Konehl-Ghervil felt a shiver crawl down her spine.
It was no exaggeration to call it mental pollution.
No wonder those who saw it lost their minds.
It was pure luck they hadn’t been scared to death or devoured on the spot.
This was also why the old man refused to publicly acknowledge their sighting of the lizard dragon; such news would undoubtedly spark widespread panic.
Having spent over an hour waiting in place, no one appeared.
During their casual conversation, when asked about the time and location of the sighting, the old man feigned ignorance, claiming to know nothing.
Though not entirely convinced, they remained cautious, stating they wouldn’t act rashly or spread the information.
Receiving the desired response, the old man, impatient to wait longer, transported them out of the area by camel cart.
Finding an excuse to decline Sali’s invitation to her home, they parted ways, and Konehl-Ghervil led Esli to explore other parts of the town.
With the day still young, they had ample time to search for clues.
“Have you ever heard the name ‘Thule-Erg-Gornols’?”
Konehl-Ghervil inquired softly as they walked through a less crowded area.
“No,” Esli shook her head. “It doesn’t sound like a human name.”
“It’s the meaning behind those symbols in the Alamany’s house.”
“You can understand them!”
Esli’s mouth fell open in astonishment, and she circled in front of Konehl-Ghervil, blocking her path.
“Those symbols, steeped in evil…”
“Not only can I understand them, but I also know it might be the name of a mythical creature.”
Konehl-Ghervil rarely witnessed such discouragement in Esli, but now it was unmistakable.
Upon hearing “mythical creature,” the knight’s expression turned blank, her shoulders slumped, and the light in her eyes faded.
“Are you alright?”
Konehl-Ghervil waved a hand before the knight’s eyes.
“I’m so sorry, Konehl-Ghervil.”
With her head bowed, Esli turned her back and walked forward, step by hesitant step.
“I fear I won’t be able to complete my mission, to protect you…”
With no one else around, Konehl-Ghervil didn’t bother to correct her, instead catching up to walk beside her.
“Why do you say that?”
“You must know the horror of mythical creatures. No… there’s simply no chance of defeating those abominations of the evil gods.”
“You’ve encountered one before?”
“Yes…”
She clutched her coat tighter around herself.
“Many lives were lost just to seal it away.”
“That was pure coincidence. If the same scenario and conditions were to occur again, no one could guarantee success, for we never understood the precise mechanics of the sealing, whether it triggered certain conditions or if it was a voluntary act…”
Her voice grew increasingly faint.
So low that Konehl-Ghervil could barely hear her.
The problem seemed far graver than initially imagined.
“Has the Order of Knights encountered other mythical creatures even earlier?”
The kingdom’s history was not short; spanning centuries, it was possible that not just mythical creatures, but even evil gods themselves had descended, if such entities truly existed.
There ought to be a method for dealing with them.
After a moment of intense thought, biting at her nails, Esli suddenly grasped Konehl-Ghervil’s shoulders with both hands.
“I remember now!”
Her spirits revived.
“The Order’s archives record that about seventy years ago, right in the capital, an abomination of an evil god was utterly annihilated!”
“How was that accomplished…?”
Konehl-Ghervil grimaced, her shoulders aching from Esli’s grip.
Releasing her right hand, Esli’s eyes gleamed as she pointed a finger at Konehl-Ghervil.
“Me?”
The young woman was utterly bewildered.
“Your Abbess!”
“While you are inferior to your Abbess in every aspect, appearing weak and truly lacking strength, you are still a member of the Abbey. As such, you can’t be entirely useless, which explains why the royal family would send you.”
Her words, as always, were so ‘pleasant’ to hear.
Forcing a smile that didn’t reach her eyes, Konehl-Ghervil pushed Esli’s hands from her shoulders and walked ahead.
“My strength, along with my memories, has been lost to the river of history.”
“What do you mean?” The other person hurried to catch up.
“Instead of relying on me, you’d be better off thinking about what to write in your last will.”
“You needn’t worry about that. I write one every month. As a knight, I possess that much foresight.”
“…”
She was truly serious…
To make writing a will a habit—how could anyone be so resigned?
Konehl-Ghervil felt a pang of guilt, and after a moment’s thought, offered words of comfort.
“Don’t be too pessimistic. There are others diligently investigating outside; perhaps by the time we leave, the truth of the matter will be known.”
“Mm, I believe you.”
Human chatter grew louder, and before they realized it, they had arrived at the small square beside the date palm grove, the very spot where last night’s farce had unfolded.
On trees towering over ten meters high, dense clusters of greenish-yellow fruits hung, drooping heavily; the harvesting season was still another month or two away.
The grove wasn’t comprised solely of one type of tree; shorter bushes and tall grasses lined both sides of the path, providing ample cover for concealment.
Standing beneath a date palm at the edge, Konehl-Ghervil stretched onto her tiptoes, peering into the depths of the grove.
“What are you looking for? I’ll help you see.”
The voice drifted down from directly above her.
Esli’s tree-climbing escapade inevitably drew curious glances, along with a cascade of dust and small fruits.
One fruit struck Konehl-Ghervil squarely on the forehead.
‘Ouch, that smarts.’
****
*Rustle—*
*Rustle—*
Before Konehl-Ghervil could rub her aching forehead and utter a reprimand, a commotion erupted from within the grove, as if an animal was scrambling to escape.
“What’s in there?”
She looked up, calling out loudly.
Receiving no reply, Esli had already leaped into the grove, vanishing from sight.
A few minutes later, Esli emerged, her hands cupped secretively.
“Guess what I found?”
“I won’t.”
Konehl-Ghervil crossed her arms, turning her head away.
“Gerbils.”
Esli opened her palms.
Two tiny, yellowish-white creatures lay motionless in her hands.
“Don’t you dislike rodents?”
Konehl-Ghervil observed the two plump, sleeping gerbils.
‘They are rather cute, I must admit.’
Yet, she had no intention of touching them.
‘She already had a supersized one at home.’
“Something larger escaped, but I couldn’t find it. On my way back, I stumbled upon these, and thinking you might like to keep them, I brought them over.”
“Release them. Haven’t you noticed how many people are staring?”
The town residents were very protective of the oasis’s ecological balance.
They wouldn’t tolerate outsiders acting recklessly.
“I’ll go look for the one that got away,” Esli said, walking towards a thicket of bushes.
“No need. Let them go, and we’ll leave.”
As it stood, others would merely assume Esli intended to capture more.
Inciting public anger would not bode well for their stay in town.
‘A more crucial reason was that the big rat in her head had already discerned that these small gerbils were domesticated.’
It was noon.
Having finished lunch outside, Konehl-Ghervil decided to return to the inn for some rest.
She had initially come to Florence City with half a mind to enjoy herself, yet she had been constantly busy.
‘Unexpectedly, her leisurely time was only found in dreams.’
Esli, meanwhile, was utterly absorbed in her fun; despite her worries about mythical creatures that very morning, by noon, she had cast all her troubles aside, never concealing her gluttony or curiosity when encountering unfamiliar foods or sights.
Konehl-Ghervil’s purse had grown considerably lighter because of it.
‘Should I call her optimistically cheerful or simply thoughtless?’
‘Perhaps it was precisely this mindset that allowed her to survive under the influence of the curse of ill fortune.’
Back at the inn, Konehl-Ghervil retrieved the papers depicting the lizard dragon’s head, piecing and securing them onto a piece of parchment with glue before locking it away in the wardrobe to air dry naturally.
She found her notebook and slowly began to sketch the symbols representing ‘Thule-Erg-Gornols’ from memory.
“That should be enough.”
An hour had passed since she finished sketching.
Untying her headscarf, she changed into a different outfit—a modest, finely woven wool dress.
It was the handiwork of foreign merchants; the dresses they brought were surprisingly good quality.
‘The robes didn’t fit well, and she wasn’t quite accustomed to wearing them.’
Opening the door, she left her room to find the corridor deserted.
Instead of going next door, she paused before the opposite door.
The doorknob and the floor beneath showed small accumulations of dust.
In the desert, dust settled quickly, even after just a few days without cleaning.
This implied the room hadn’t been occupied recently.
Yet, Konehl-Ghervil thought otherwise.
“Do you still not intend to come out and meet me?”
She gently rapped on the door.
“The owner of those gerbils, Sausy-Alamany.”
“Or perhaps I should call you—Martina-Sali.”