A Sympathy Call and a Hyena Guard Captain Sariphi is assigned to visit the town Maasya to inspect the troops and see the appointing of the new lord, but Leonhart cannot come because he must attend to a dying friend. Guards are assigned to her, but the Hyena Lanteveldt is the only one who volunteers. She nicknames him Lante and he annoys everyone but her due to his lack of manners. On the journey, Lante makes them take a detour that gets them attacked by giant sand serpents, but he defeats them. He admits to Sariphi that he lured them on purpose to make himself look good. They arrive and Sariphi tells the troops that Leonhart believes in them and to do their best. The new lord, Braun, will be made official tomorrow. Some troops harass Lante for being a Hyena, citing that his people were once traitors, but Sariphi scolds them. Lante dismisses her as naive when he lies about himself and she believes him until he reveals the truth. The next morning, they find that Braun was attacked.