The holy knights who came down to Picardin totaled six people. This was far too few to properly investigate the forest.

However, they couldn’t simply avoid investigating the forest. The fact that all the missing people were found there was suspicious no matter how they looked at it.

They decided to first divide the forest into sections to examine the entire area. Since a devil might be targeting them, they split into groups of three to explore the forest while preparing for potential attacks.

But after more than two weeks, they had no significant findings. During that time, they had examined the entire forest and carefully checked around the stream where the chef said villagers frequently went to fetch water.

Yet they couldn’t find any traces of a devil anywhere.

About a month into the investigation with no progress, everyone showed clear signs of fatigue even though no one mentioned it aloud. They were losing energy due to the lack of progress in their investigation.

Romei felt the same way.

The devil had definitely nested in the forest. Looking at the forest over the past month, there couldn’t be a more suitable place for harvesting people’s souls.

However, just as there were no traces left on the victims’ bodies, they couldn’t find any traces in the forest either. There was a very faint sense that something had been there, but whatever it was had already left, leaving nothing behind.

Romei, who had been silent throughout the meal, suddenly spoke up.

“I’ve been thinking deeply about this—the devil might be watching us cautiously.”

“Watching…?”

“You mean it’s observing us from somewhere?”

Martin and Edward asked with puzzled expressions. They had been so focused on finding traces left by the devil that they had never thought about it that way.

Romei met their surprised gazes calmly and explained her thoughts.

“Otherwise, we wouldn’t have found absolutely nothing after combing through the forest so thoroughly.”

“Maybe our thinking was wrong. It might not be the forest after all.”

David, who had been quiet, countered Romei’s statement.

They had spent a long month investigating the forest. If nothing had turned up despite that, it would be natural to reconsider whether investigating the forest was the right approach.

But Romei thought differently.

“If our judgment was truly wrong, there should have been more disappearances while we were distracted investigating the forest. That would mean the devil is somewhere else.”

“…”

“But there haven’t been any disappearances for a month. If it hasn’t moved elsewhere, it must still be in the forest, just lying low.”

David couldn’t respond to Romei’s counterargument. Her point made sense.

During their stay, there hadn’t been any disappearances in Picardin. They had received several telegrams from Brodie, but none mentioned the harm spreading to areas other than Picardin.

Romei continued.

“The devil behind this is cautious and cunning. It consumed souls without using magic, leaving no traces on the bodies. So it must have erased evidence in the forest in response to our movements.”

“Then what are you suggesting? Should we report this to the Captain?”

“I’ve been thinking of a strategy—I could disguise myself as an ordinary village girl and enter the forest alone.”

Enoch, who had been sitting comfortably in his chair, jumped in surprise at Romei’s suggestion to enter the forest by herself. He was so startled that his body seemed to float slightly in the air.

“You want to go alone? What if you encounter the devil? You know devils aren’t enemies you can face alone, Romei.”

“Right. That’s too dangerous.”

Aron, who was sitting next to her, supported Enoch’s statement. It had nothing to do with Romei’s skills. Anyone at the table would have received the same response.

Devils weren’t opponents one could face one-on-one. Doing so would be tantamount to suicide.

Romei explained that her plan wasn’t what they were thinking, trying to calm her friends down.

“It’s not what you’re thinking. I don’t plan to fight the devil alone. So calm down. I’ll just pretend to be alone.”

“…Pretend to be alone for what purpose?”

“To make the enemy lower its guard when it sees me. That might make it reveal itself.”

“…”

“Until now, we’ve all been wearing full uniforms with swords at our waists. Anyone would recognize us as holy knights, so it wouldn’t easily appear. But if I pretend to be a villager, alone, it will surely reveal itself. Then you all, hiding nearby, can appear and attack. What do you think?”

Romei’s proposed strategy wasn’t bad. They were growing tired of their fruitless investigation, and it was time to try a different approach.

However, none of them readily agreed. It sounded nice to call it a strategy, but she was suggesting using herself as bait to lure and ambush the enemy. Not just anyone, but Romei as bait.

Romei’s five friends worried she might get hurt. Being bait wasn’t as easy as it seemed. It was extremely dangerous since she would be the first to encounter the enemy, and without calm handling, she could lose her life.

They didn’t want to assign such a dangerous role to Romei.

Completely unaware of her friends’ concerns, Romei urged them to respond to the continuing silence.

“Well? Tell me what you all think.”

“Is it really necessary for you to be the bait? One of us could disguise ourselves as an ordinary villager.”

Edward carefully suggested. The other friends agreed with him. It was a touching effort to exclude Romei from the dangerous role of bait.

“Yes, Romei. Some of the missing people were men too. You don’t need to volunteer as bait.”

“That’s right. It would also be easier for us to respond.”

“But I think they would lower their guard more easily if I, a woman, did it…”

Romei murmured. Seeing that persuading her might not be easy, Aron offered a solution.

“How about we draw lots to decide? Whoever gets picked takes the bait role without complaint.”

“That’s a good idea. Smart thinking, Aron!”

Without giving Romei a chance to respond, they excitedly gathered six long sticks and marked one with red.

They rushed the process this way to make it difficult for Romei to add anything more.

After preparing the lots, they placed the sticks in a wooden container and shook it well to ensure fairness. Then they took turns drawing lots.

First Edward, then David, Martin, Enoch…

But none of them drew the stick marked with red. Everyone’s mouths were secretly getting dry.

Mathematically, Romei was more likely to draw a non-winning lot than the winning one. They had thought that if they drew first, one of them would surely get the marked stick, but it remained until the end.

Aron, pretending to ignore his pounding heart, held out the container with two remaining sticks to Romei. She thought carefully for a moment, then reached out and drew a lot.

“Oh?”

And at the end of that stick was a red mark.

She had drawn the winning lot.

A look of dismay crossed their faces. Aron drew the last remaining stick with a desperate feeling, but it had no mark.

Romei, completely unaware of their feelings, quietly smiled and shyly waved her stick in front of them.

“I’m the bait.”

“Let’s switch with mine, Romei.”

“No.”

Aron, who had drawn the last lot, held out his stick to Romei, but was flatly rejected.

They hadn’t expected this outcome from the drawing they had arranged to prevent Romei from becoming the bait, and now they looked at each other with quite perplexed expressions.

They needed to find some way out, but there wasn’t any. Romei was conscientious to the point of being rigid. Once a decision was made, she didn’t like to reverse it without a serious reason.

Their only regret was that they should have suggested rock-paper-scissors, which they could have rigged, instead of drawing lots.

Completely unaware of their feelings, Romei held the stick in her hand and said with a gentle smile tinged with relief:

“I was so nervous about not getting picked, but I’m glad.”

“Romei, can’t I just take the bait role instead? I suddenly want to do it.”

Edward desperately pleaded with a ridiculous excuse. But Romei remained firm.

“That’s not possible. We agreed that whoever drew the lot would be the bait without complaint.”

“…”

“Besides, this was my proposed strategy, so I think it’s right that I take the most dangerous role.”

Seeing Romei’s unwavering resolve, her five friends decided to give up trying to persuade her. What Romei said was too reasonable to leave room for persuasion.

They all swallowed sighs they couldn’t voice aloud and accepted the result of the draw with gloomy expressions.

“Fine. Romei… drew the lot, so we have no choice.”

Then they devised a strategy that would minimize Romei’s danger as much as possible, while making sure she wouldn’t notice their intentions.

By the time all the details of the operation were decided, it was already midnight. It was time to disperse.

“Let’s go to bed now. It’s getting very late.”

At Aron’s words, everyone stood up seemingly relieved, yawning and stretching. Their bodies, stiff from sitting for so long, were screaming in protest.

As Romei was also heading back to her room with her tired body, Edward approached her, nudged her side with his elbow, and said:

“Bait, let me know if you change your mind. I’m dying to do it. Got it?”

“That won’t happen, but alright. You must be tired, go to bed. See you tomorrow.”

“Right. Sleep well, Romei.”

After exchanging final greetings, Romei entered her room and locked the door. Then she lay down on the bed and fell into a deep sleep.