Before entering the tent,
Alment had imagined many possibilities.
One of them
was that the tent would be full of enemy officers.
But when he entered, he saw only one towering figure.
At first, he thought it was the invaders' commander.
To his surprise,
it was an unusually tall young woman with striking, dignified features.
Alment remembered her.
During last night's battle, this woman had worn a diadem woven from thorns and used "walls" formed from the light of Dawn to protect her allies.
She was also formidable in combat.
The storm of light she unleashed had made his forces suffer terribly.
Just then,
Alment heard a dry cough.
Only then did he notice
a man sitting beside the tall girl.
Because the girl was so tall, and the gentleman was seated,
Alment had failed to notice him at first.
"Welcome, Mr. Alment." The gentleman rose to his feet.
His features were utterly ordinary and unremarkable. All Alment could tell was that he was of North Continent descent.
Alment bowed slightly in respect, then said, "How should I address you, sir?"
The tall girl beside the gentleman said, "This is His Highness Don Quixote, an Angel who serves before the Lord of War."
Alment narrowed his eyes slightly. "Good morning, Your Highness Don Quixote."
Sifa, who had used the Thousand-Faced Traveler mask to make his features plain, smiled faintly.
He said,
"I assume you haven't had breakfast yet, Mr. Alment."
"If you don't mind, why don't you join us?"
Only then did Alment notice
that the table inside the tent was already laden with food, though none of it was what he usually ate.
Sifa raised a hand, inviting the imperial commander to sit, then began introducing the food.
"I've prepared some food."
"My apologies, but I'm from the North