"Greetings, Knights Cecile, Rebecca, and Nana. We’ve been expecting you," Sara said as the carriage approached. Since Rebecca and the others had been appointed as delegates, Sara had prepared to receive them with proper courtesy.

Little did she know, the additional guest was a coincidence.

"May I ask—who is the lady accompanying you?" Sara asked.

"My name is Leafa," the newcomer said gracefully. "I am the scion of Count Senestry. Pleased to meet you. May I know your name, Lady of the Dovekin tribe?"

"I am Sara. Please, just call me Sara. I am no noble," she replied. "Are you traveling with Rebecca? Are you part of the Daneswald Duchy?"

"Erm... no," Leafa said calmly. "I am not affiliated with Daneswald. I came because the knights under my command encountered trouble with a local tribe. I intend to investigate personally."

Silence fell.

Sara’s expression hardened. Her gaze lingered on Leafa with clear hostility. Cecile tilted her head in confusion.

"Aren’t you here for the same reason we are?" Cecile muttered.

Rebecca quickly elbowed her.

"She’s here on behalf of the knights," Rebecca clarified. "We’re here on behalf of Sara—and the Dovekin."

"Ah... sorry," Cecile said sheepishly.

"Let it be known," Leafa continued evenly, "that I will judge this matter impartially. If the knights are guilty of massacring a local tribe, they will be punished. But if this new tribe—the batkin—proves hostile to the kingdom, I trust you understand what must be done."

She paused, then added, "Like Rebecca, I am also a symbiote user."

Leafa turned to Rebecca.

"I suppose this is where we part ways. I will head to the knights’ headquarters in the mining village. You, I believe, will be visiting the Dovekin treehouses."

"Um..." Cecile hesitated, caught off guard. "Yes..."

Rebecca nodded firmly. She then turned to Sara, asking for direction. "Yes. Sara, please lead the way."

"Okay. Please follow me."

They soon parted ways with Leafa. Rebecca let out a quiet sigh. The hostility Sara had shown made it clear how strained relations were between the Dovekin and the kingdom’s knights. Rebecca couldn’t ignore the possibility of open rebellion. In the worst-case scenario, Litmus might have to deploy true combat symbiote users like Seraphine or Cylia to eradicate the tribes.

It sounded extreme—but even a peace-loving nation like Litmus couldn’t tolerate open defiance. If rebellion were allowed to grow, the throne’s authority would be undermined.

"So, should we speak with the batkin?" Cecile asked. "They’re the root of the problem, right?"

"...I will arrange a meeting," Sara replied. Her voice hesitant. "You may rest in one of our treehouses in the meantime."

Rebecca frowned as she looked up.

Dozens of houses hung suspended high above the ground—perched atop towering trees nearly twenty meters tall. Rope bridges and platforms connected them, swaying gently in the wind. This was the Dovekin village.

Rebecca swallowed. She was not fond of heights.

"I will have someone lower the rope ladder," Sara said.

She unfurled her wings and leapt gracefully from branch to branch. In just a few effortless hops, she reached the house in the enter. Hiro hadn’t expected her to move so fluidly—especially while wearing a dress and heels—but she landed with perfect elegance.

Hiro didn’t want to be outdone. He might lack elegance, but climbing trees was not a problem for him.

Instead of waiting for the rope ladder, he extended a tentacle skyward, anchoring it securely to the structure above. He wrapped the others gently and lifted them upward like an elevator.

"Hiro, thank you! You’re amazing!" Cecile laughed, hugging him happily. "I was wondering if we’d have to climb ladders every time we came here."

Rebecca was quieter, but relief showed clearly on her face as she stepped onto the wooden platform.

Hiro poked her cheek teasingly.

Rebecca immediately knew what he meant—and glared back, embarrassed that he’d noticed her fear.

"Did the house just move?" Nana asked, steadying herself as the structure swayed gently beneath her feet.

"Yes," Sara replied. "We Dovekin—and the batkin—live in treehouses. When the wind blows, the trees sway. It soothes the mind, doesn’t it? Like being rocked in a cradle."

Her enthusiasm was met with polite, slightly strained smiles. What the dovekin saw as a feature was a flaw for them. This house felt unsafe.

Sara turned toward the doorway and called out, "Miss Sapphire, the delegates from Daneswald territory have arrived."

A woman stepped forward to greet them.

"Welcome," she said warmly. "I’m glad Duke Daneswald finally heard our plea. This fighting has been senseless. We live in harmony with nature—we disturb no one. Yet those knights treated us like pests. They slaughtered our kin like savages."

She stepped aside and gestured for them to enter.

"Please, come in. We don’t have much in the way of food, but you’re welcome to rest. Sara, when will you guide them to the batkin settlement?"

Hiro had anticipated the food shortage. Before leaving Quantora, he had ensured they packed dried provisions—jerky, pemmican, and other preserved foods.

Sara turned to Rebecca. "When will you be ready to meet the batkin representative?"

"How about an hour from now?" Rebecca said. "We need time to settle in and adjust."

She glanced at Cecile and Nana. In truth, she was still tired from the long journey—but she wasn’t about to admit that.

"Understood," Sara nodded. "I’ll inform the batkin immediately."

Miss Sapphire led them deeper into the treehouse and showed them their room. Rebecca thought she had lowered her expectations. She was wrong. There were no beds—only four hammocks hanging side by side.

"You may place your belongings anywhere," Sapphire said gently. "I hope your stay will be comfortable."

Rebecca forced a polite smile. Sapphire wasn’t being rude—this was simply how they lived. When Rebecca peeked into the other rooms. They were even smaller. This one, apparently, was the most spacious.

"Do you like sleeping in hammocks, Miss Sapphire?" Cecile asked.

"Hm? How else would you sleep?" Sapphire replied. "Is there another way?"

"There are no wardrobes... where should we put our clothes?" Cecile asked, glancing around. Her question had changed the awkward atmosphere.

"You may hang them here." Sapphire pointed to a thin rope stretched from wall to wall. "All garments are hung to dry."

She paused, then added, "Once you’ve settled in, please join us for lunch."

"Of course. We’ll be right there," Rebecca said.

When you thought you’d hit the bottom, you discovered you can dig deeper. That was how Rebecca and the others felt when lunch was served. Three live coconut grubs and ten chestnuts.

That was all they had for lunch.

Sapphire ate the same meal without hesitation. She cracked a chestnut open with a small wooden mallet, calmly eating the contents. Then she picked up one of the wriggling grubs and swallowed it in a single bite.

The way the creature squirmed sent shivers down their spines.

"D-d-don’t worry..." Rebecca said weakly. "If you look closely... it kinda looked like Hiro’s tentacle, right?"

Hiro stiffened in offense—but when he glanced at himself, he couldn’t deny it. Aside from the color, the resemblance was unsettling.

He felt oddly defeated.

"That’s rude!" Cecile protested, hugging him protectively as he curled around her. His tentacles were swallowed by the soft boobs. It was soothing.

"Is something wrong?" Sapphire asked politely. "You haven’t touched your food. These are the finest grubs in our village."

"Hahaha... it’s not that," Rebecca said nervously. "We’re just... not used to food being this fresh."

She took a deep breath, pinched the grub between her fingers, closed her eyes, and forced herself to bite down. Nana and Cecile followed her example. They handled it better than Rebecca had expected.

Once the initial disgust passed, another problem emerged. The portion was far too small. It wasn’t even close to a normal meal—especially not for them.

"Ah, have you finished?" Sara asked, stepping inside. "Then allow me to eat as well. I’ve spoken with Sharon. She’s willing to meet you. We’ll depart in an hour."

"All right. Where should we go in the meantime? Should we just rest in our room?" Rebecca asked.

"You may go anywhere within the village," Sara replied. "We won’t restrict you. Just make sure to return here in an hour."

She then sat down and began eating her meal. Hiro couldn’t help but wonder how she maintained such a well-endowed figure on so little food.

Rebecca returned to her hammock and lay down, hugging Hiro like a body pillow. Cecile and Nana, meanwhile, stepped onto the front porch, taking in the unfamiliar surroundings.

As the silence grew, a faint metallic clanking echoed in the distance. Nana turned toward the sound. Sara, who had just finished eating, stepped outside beside them.

"That’s the mining village," Sara explained. "it was founded barely a mile from here."

"Has there been any trouble with them, aside from the killings?" Cecile asked.

"Well... not really," Sara admitted. "Some of us were annoyed by the noise. But the food they bring has become an important emergency lifeline—especially during droughts. So we tolerated their presence. Sometimes we also bought medicine."

"What do you trade with them?" Nana asked.

"They take an interest in our feathers," Sara said. "When we molt, we collect them and sell them to merchants. We also trade animal fat in exchange for salt and other necessities."

She paused, then added quietly, "We don’t hate the village itself. We hate the knights who killed our allies."

"I’ve heard mining operations often destroy forests," Cecile said. "So it surprised me that you allowed a new village to be built so close. This tribal village was only recently found by the kingdom, right? How did you know it belonged to a duchy?"

"They were friendly," Sara replied simply. "At the beginning. And we never used the stone they extracted anyway, so we let them do their own thing. Besides, we already knew we were within a duchy’s territory a long time ago."

She hesitated, then continued.

"Forty years ago, my mother witnessed knights led by a man wreathed in red flames eradicate a dungeon nearby."

Cecile didn’t ask further. She had seen what symbiote users could do. That alone was enough to understand why the Dovekin chose cooperation over defiance.

They lingered a while longer, quietly admiring the view from the swaying treehouses. After some time passed, Sara spoke again.

"Let’s go," she said. "It’s time to visit the batkin tribe."