Please help me! I'm inside this wooden box!
Hang on!
We'll get you out!
Ayhan, these are heavy.
I can't move them alone.
Ready, and...
A-Are you all right?
Thank you so much!
I've been in here for so long! It really was terrible!
I owe the two of you my life!
Hello! My name is Ayhan!
And my name's Senai.
Who are you?
Um...
My name is Aymer Jerrybower, and I'm a big-eared hopping mousekin.
It might not be obvious in my case, but I'm a grown woman.
Those glasses look good on you!
Thanks! I made them myself.
I also made this book for studying purposes!
Wow!
How did you get shut in there, Aymer?
Were you being punished?
I wouldn't put it that way.
It's more like some of my people were trying to do a bad thing to Dias,
and I got dragged into it all.
Are you Dias's friend?
Oh, no. I've never even spoken to him.
I haven't been out of here since I arrived.
Listen, we need to ask you for advice.
It's about a secret that Dias and the others can't find out.
Advice about a secret?
And that's everything.
Did you get all that?
U-Um...
Let me sort this out.
First, you're both from a people called the forestkin?
Yep!
We're forestkin!
And forestkin live in the forest, protect it, and become part of it.
Is that correct?
That's right.
When a forestkin is about to die,
they put their strength and knowledge into a seed.
When a forestkin is on the verge of death,
they entrust that seed to someone close to them.
This person protects and nurtures the seed, thus creating a forest.
When the tree is grown, it's like a gravestone.
Touching it connects you with the feelings of the departed.
It's also like a book, from which you can gain knowledge.
They're really family trees, in more ways than one.
The forestkin protect these trees, giving them their magical power
so they can make plants grow faster
and create barriers to ward off disease and miasma.
You got it.
Well done, well done!
You're so smart, Aymer.
Thank you.
We're not grown-ups yet,
so all we can do is get plants to sprout and make little barriers.
But we're not allowed to tell humans about it.
That was our last promise...
...to our mother and father.
They said not to let anyone see us use our powers.
That humans would misuse them if they found out.
They probably would. Your powers are incredible.
But in that case,
why are you living with Dias and these other humans?
We have to keep our promise, so we thought about running away at first.
But you know...
His hands are so kind.
His voice is, too.
He reminds us of our mother and father.
He's so kind...
But a little sweaty and stinky, too.
It's a bit much.
And then there's everyone else!
They've all been so nice.
That's why we decided to live with them.
Dias is working really hard every day to cultivate a field.
But the earth's power gets sucked away here.
It needs a barrier to keep that from happening.
Even if he found out about our powers, I don't think Dias would misuse them.
But we promised...
So you want to put up this barrier somehow without getting found out,
which is why you need advice?
Why not do it late at night after everyone is asleep?
We can't. We sleep at night, too.
Then I'll wake you up.
I have good night vision, so I can lead you there in the dark.
I'm so glad we talked to her!
Yeah!
Yay! Yay!
Don't get too excited, or you'll get found out.
Let's do our best!
I hope this works.
Yeah, let's!
I feel alive again.
This must be the careless tear the twins told me about.
Dias the Dragon Slayer...
Easy does it, so no one notices me!
That was a close call.
Now I smell what the twins were talking about.
Hello! It's me, Aymer!
Please wake up!
It's farming time!
If you don't get up soon, morning will come!
What's wrong?
It's dark.
And scary.
What do you do when you have to relieve yourself at night?
Dias or Alna goes with us.
This is a problem.
I guess me being here doesn't reassure you.
Father...
Mother...
Let's go.
Yeah!
The seeds you were entrusted with are giving you the push you need.
We need a minute.
Okay.
Deg pala aley shize istan radisen...
Dooshize istan schooria...
Ifuistaladi mozeare...
Hagoe elsay migoe elsay negoe...
It's... so beautiful!
We made the barrier.
We did.
I'm sleepy.
So tired...
Back to bed.
My job here is done, then.
U-Um...
Could you let go of me?
They're going to find me if you don't.
What?! Are you asleep?!
Let me go!
Please let me go!
THE FRONTIER LORD AND THE TWINS' PRAYER
Hey, did you hear?
Eldan the new lord is going to the royal capital.
I heard, yeah.
They say he's going to present the king with an earth dragon magic stone
he got from the Dragon Slayer.
That'll help his reputation.
He'll probably be officially recognized as the domain lord.
If that happens, things here in Kasdeks will get safer and safer.
I heard a rumor.
Said the Dragon Slayer has a demihuman wife,
and the two of them are so in love, they don't shy away from showing it.
That rumor's true.
My brother is one of Mr. Kamalotz's guards.
Doesn't the Dragon Slayer hail from the east?
Easterners are famous for hating demihumans, so why's he different?
Love at first sight with the first demihuman he ever met.
And now she's his wife.
I even hear she's horned.
She is? You can't mean...
She's a rhino?!
A human fell for a rhinokin? That's wild.
Word is that he's looking for more subjects and he's accepting all peoples.
Just no bad guys or criminals.
The Dragon Slayer's even offering housing and food.
I saw several small-ilk dogkin standing there staring at the sign.
Speaking of small-ilks,
apparently someone manipulated those big-eared hopping mousekin
to pull their little stunt.
Manipulated?
Yeah. They're testifying that somebody claiming to be monkeykin
put them up to it.
Sounds like a story they cooked up to evade responsibility.
That's how it seemed,
but others have come forward saying they were hit up by a monkeykin
dressed all in dark clothing.
Shit! Shit! Shit!
I could only fool the mice, and they failed!
Hey, mister.
Huh?
Want to have some fun?
Get lost!
What's your problem?!
Son of a bitch!
Thanks to him, I'm...
Just you wait, Dias.
I swear I'm gonna kill you!
Kasdeks has a new lord?
That's going to make things harder for Second Prince Meiser.
Yeah.
The previous Lord Kasdeks controlled trade in the west,
and Prince Meiser was getting rich off of it.
Losing that will be a hard blow.
And Eldan, the younger son who became lord,
is trying to distance himself from Prince Meiser.
Does this mean the crown will fall to First Prince Richard?
No, the three princesses have yet to give up.
But I don't think the youngest, Princess Diane, has any chance.
It's Princess Diane!
Say what?
Princess Diane has left the royal capital
with a large group of soldiers in tow!
It's probably just her usual. Don't make such a fuss.
B-But... we're talking around two hundred troops!
She also had dozens of wagons laden with provisions.
Has war broken out somewhere?
Don't sweat it. It's someone else's problem.
What is it, Alna?
Wh-What...
Um, good morning.
Wh-Wh-What's a mouse doing here?!
No!
It smells!
What are you doing, bringing a mouse to bed?
You're not coming back inside until you've had an herbal bath!
What for?
Because mice can carry deadly diseases!
I'm sorry.
And you had better wash your own hide.
Yes, ma'am!
You three, sit here and think about what you've done!
Yes, ma'am.
It's doing a number on them,
but getting a good scolding is a valuable experience.
I suspected this one was an attacker we missed,
but Alna said she registered a strong blue.
Young Dias, something's happened!
Hurry up and come with me!
What the...
See? Big news, isn't it?
Yeah.
It's strange, though.
We used two different types of soil,
and in spite of all that, it's growing in this perfect circle.
Dias, you did it!
I never thought the crops would actually take root.
This is amazing!
You could even call it a miracle!
I knew you were a great man.
Your strong, unyielding heart finally paid off!
I'm over the moon, Dias!
I'm happy too, Alna.
Of course, I'm delighted the field's doing well.
But Alna...
What makes me even happier is that you're so tickled.
This is the box that mousekin named Aymer was hiding inside.
Pleased to make your acquaintance, Lord Dias.
It spoke!
My name is Geraint.
I serve Lord Eldan as a sp—
Ahem. As his chief messenger.
Th-Then are you a demihuman, too?
Indubitably. My people are known as pigeonkin.
I-I beg your pardon.
Heavens, pay it no mind.
The reason for my visit is to deliver a letter from Lord Eldan.
It is urgent in nature.
Oh.
I have to open it.
Some small-ilk dogkin are keenly interested in becoming your subjects.
I'd like to know whether you'd be willing to take them.
Geraint, what does "small-ilk" mean?
With dogkin, there are both large-ilk and small-ilk.
DOGKIN SMALL-ILK, LARGE-ILK
Large-ilk are stronger and more similar to humans,
whereas small-ilk look more like their ancestors, are weaker,
and are clumsy thanks to their paws.
You don't say.
It seems they heard about Iluk Village from the large-ilk who came here,
and now they aspire to live here permanently.
All right.
Once I get approval from the rest of the village, I'll go ahead and accept.
Would you mind waiting while I go ask around?
Delighted to.
Stare...
Would you like to have some of those beans?
May I?!
Wow!
There are doggies coming?!
Hooray!
We can play with them!
Well, I haven't decided for sure yet.
Doggies! Doggies!
I think we're done scolding them.
Bow wow! Can't wait!
Alna, can we talk about something?
Did those two say anything to you?
No. They seem sorry for what happened,
but they refuse to explain why they had a mouse in bed with them.
They must have a good reason for that.
Let's just wait for them to volunteer the info someday.
Well, if you say so, Dias.
By the way, what do you think of accepting more subjects?
I'd like to get your opinion first.
Go on and do as you see fit.
My duty is to support your decision.
Yeah? But if something bothers you, I'd like you to come out and say it.
To me, you're—
To you, I'm the best wife in the world.
I was going to say my rock.
Both when it comes to managing our domain,
and in protecting our family.
I beseech you!
I want to live in this village!
Okay, but...
If you were in Eldan's domain, wouldn't you be able to get back home someday?
Why do you prefer it here?
Well, I want to stick around with Senai and Ayhan because their powers—
I mean, I want to help them grow.
I may not look it, but I'm literate and I know basic math.
So I'll work hard as a tutor for the girls, or at some other job.
Please permit me to live here!
Well, if you promise to try to keep things hygienic.
I got everyone's approval regarding the small-ilk.
I also wrote that we intend to take in Aymer.
Please pass this along.
By all means.
NEZROSE DOMAIN STATUS REPORT
SUBJECTS: ALNA, KLAUS, 2 BAARS, 12 WOMEN, SENAI AND AYHAN, AYMER THE MOUSEKIN
INFRASTRUCTURE: 5 YURTS, 4 STORES, MEETING SPOT, PRIVY, WELL, BARN, STABLE, FIELDS
ANIMALS: 4 HORSES, 2 WHITE GHEES
Dias, wake up.
Visitors.
Visitors? This early in the morning?
I was asleep, so I didn't notice right away.
They're already close.
It's probably those dogkin we're expecting.
I can clearly sense one, and there are multiple smaller ones.
Also, there's one that's much bigger.
The small ones might be the dogkin. What's the huge one?
I don't know.
Is that it?
Is that another beastkin who wants to live here?
No! It's a lich anaconda! A monster!
They're being chased!
Damn!
Oh, no! I left my bow behind!
It got him!
Help!
Somebody!
Wait! We're unarmed!