“.. There more wolf demons?”

“Yes, my lord. No doubt about it.”

Yuri questioned back, to which Sakura, the captain of the <Sakuraka> replied.

―――Today is the 13th day of the winter moon.

As the calendar entered the winter month a little while ago, the demons have returned, and as usual, the children of the Yuri Empire have been going out to various places in the country and abroad to do their best to destroy them.

Of course, the children of the <Sakuraka> are no exception. It’s not surprising that Sakura, who is the captain of the group, is taking the lead in hunting down demons.

But this morning, she came to the office where Yuri was working as usual and reported the wolf incident to me.

It seemed to Yuri that wolf demons could be found anywhere―――.

But since Sakura went to the trouble of visiting Yuri and reporting it to her. She probably has her suspicions about the situation.

If that’s the case, it’s not a good idea to ignore it.

“I want to know more about it. What’s so unusual about this wolf demon?”

“According to <Appraise>, it seems to be a wolf demon named ‘Mud Wolf’. As the name implies, the wolf’s fur is the color of black mud that sinks to the bottom of stagnant water. The wolf’s body is large, about twice the size of a normal wolf’s..”

“Double? It’s very big. I wonder if a tall, mature man could mount it.”

“I think so.”

A typical wolf is about a meter or less in height. A wolf that is twice as tall as that would be about 1.5 meters tall.

It is not hard to imagine the threat of a wolf that is as tall as an adult male. And if it’s not a normal animal, but a demon, then even more so.

“Is this ‘Mud Wolf’ monster strong?”

“From our point of view, it’s nothing more than a small fish, but for the people of this world, it’s probably enough to give them a hard time. This is no exception for our allies in the Yuri Empire.”

“.... My. If so, it must be pretty strong.”

By using the “Labyrinth” in the cities of Ulysses and Eureka, the soldiers of the Yuri Empire’s allies―――especially the Holy Land of Nimun and the Principality of Selsia, except the Kingdom of Rapier, which has only recently joined the alliance―――have been trained considerably and their levels have grown.

If Sakura describes the soldiers of the allied countries as ‘hard time’, then there is no doubt that this ‘Mud Wolf’ is a very powerful monster.

“If you <Appraise> it, then you know the level of the Mud Wolf, right?”

“Yes, its level was 56. However, the impression I got when I fought it was that its actual strength exceeded its level. That’s right.. which is roughly equivalent to 65.”

“Our allies will have a hard time with that..”

Since Altorius and Cadain have shown a positive attitude toward procuring demon resources from the Labyrinth, the soldiers of both countries often challenge the Labyrinth as part of their training, and their levels have generally grown to around 50.

If the level 50 people had enough equipment, they would be able to defeat a level 56 demon. If it is a demon with a strength that is practically equivalent to a “level 65” demon―――then a hard fight is inevitable.

“Didn’t you see a demon called ‘Mud Wolf’ in the past during ‘Extermination’?”

“Yes. I have contacted all the units, but none of them have confirmed the existence of this demon in the past.”

“Hmm.. Then tell me the area where the mud wolf was confirmed this time.”

Yuri took out a map of the Mekia continent from her <Inventory> and spread it out on her desk.

This is a map that was created by the children of <Nadeshiko>, who have the automatic map recording auto-mapping skill called <Map Grasp>, by flying all over the continent. It is probably a more elaborate piece of work than any other map in the possession of any influential person living on this continent.

“The only two units that have confirmed the ‘Mud Wolf’ this time are the <Sakuraka> and the <Blue Rose>. Whose mainly in charge of ‘extermination’ within the Duchy of Selsia.”

“You mean the children of the Yuri Empire, the Holy Land of Nimun, and the children of the troops in charge of ‘extermination’ in the Kingdom of Rapier have not confirmed it?”

“Yes, that’s correct, that is where <Sakuraka> and <Blue Rose> have identified these demons.”

Sakura’s index finger traced the top of the map.

It pointed to a part of the southern part of the Duchy of Selsia.

“.... It’s right along the border of the Volmisian Empire.”

Yuri couldn’t help but let out a sigh.

Nearly 60% of the southern border of the Duchy of Selsia is bordered by the Volmisian Empire. It seems that ‘Mud Wolf’ has been confirmed in all areas along that border.

On the other hand, the remaining 40% of the southern borderline is bordered by other countries. In that part of the country, the ‘Mud Wolf’ has not been confirmed at all.

“Yes. I’m pretty sure it’s a demon from this country.”

“Hmm.. Do you think it’s possible that the Mud Wolf???is a demon deliberately sent by the Volmisian Empire?”

According to Lord Cadain and Pope Altorius, the Volmisian Empire is a very vicious nation that extorts and invades other nations daily.

If that’s the case, the ‘Mud Wolf’ incident maybe some sort of a scheme by the Volmisian Empire to inflict damage on the Principality of Selsia and then on its Sovereign, the Yuri Empire.

“Yes, maybe so.. It’s just that demons that were not supposed to exist before suddenly started to appear. As long as there is a specific anomaly, others may be involved in causing it.”

“Hmm.. It’s fine if they target the Yuri Empire directly, but if they use demons to target the Duchy of Selsia, it’s a little difficult to deal with.”

The cities and villages in the Yuri Empire are protected by [Barrier Ward], and the trade routes connecting these key locations are also protected by countless skeleton soldiers that have been deployed.

Although the level of the skeletal soldiers is inferior to that of the mud wolves, they are equipped with weapons and armor, and if they take advantage of their numbers, they will be able to fight well enough.

On the other hand, the allied countries also deployed [Barrier Ward] to protect their cities and villages as they do in-country, but they have not prepared any protection for trade routes.

It’s possible that the Mud Wolves threat would harm merchants and passengers traveling between the cities and villages.

Since the Duchy of Selsia is a ‘vassal state’, the Yuri Empire, the sovereign state, naturally has the responsibility to protect the country.

For the time being, we should do everything we can at this point.

“Sakura. Please request Partita, the captain of <Nadeshiko>, investigate the information about the Volmisian Empire and the Mud Wolves as soon as possible.

Also, please get in touch with Raquel of the <Kuroyuri> and have the skeletal soldiers that were newly procured during the recent defense of the Rapier Kingdom ready to move at any time. I think I’ll have to use my transfer magic to transport them to the Duchy of Selsia later.”

“Yes! I have indeed received your order!”

“I’m going to the Duchy of Selsia to consult with Lord Cadain. I’ll leave the rest to you. If you need anything, you can always contact me via guild chat.”

“Yes. Have a good day, my lord.”

“Yes, I’ll be there.”

In response to Sakura’s words with a smile, Yuri began to chant.

It didn’t take long for Yuri to use the magic that she had cast, and in an instant, she was alone in the city of Dellane, the capital of the Principality of Selsia.