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No matter the night, dawn was bound to come.

Just outside the town of Rohwein, at a location visible from the town walls. As if last night’s heavy rain were nothing more than a bad dream, the sky was clear without a single cloud, and the damp grasslands sparkled like silver sand in the morning sun.

The covert knights of Setulev had confidently set up their tents there. Certainly, they couldn’t enter the town, and the town’s side most likely had no plans to allow it either, but that was not important.

Lucella was sipping tea boiled over a small campfire while nibbling on portable rations. Inside the tent, Monica was using a sleeping bag, peacefully asleep. As Lucella gazed at the gradually rising sun, she noticed a small shadow within it.

Like ink dripping from a pen, the small shadow grew larger as she watched. And then, folding its limbs, a Red Dragon soared rapidly through the air like an arrow, revealing its form.

Surprised and awed voices rose from the direction of the town.

Kafal flapped her wings several times in the sky, gradually applying brakes. Each time, a gust of wind swept the ground, and droplets flew. And before she could touch the ground, there were figures leaping from her back.

“Hey, Lucella! Glad to see you’re safe!”
“You can see the situation.”

Resounding with armor akin to mountain ranges, Tim executed a landing no less impressive than Kafal’s. Wein and Viola followed suit. Kafal had flown a great distance from the depths of the Eastern Gufare front to bring them here.

“Haven’t flown this fast in a while. I’m glad everyone managed to hold on.”
“We aren’t adventurers for show.”

Tim has a nonchalant expression despite holding on to a dragon to fly here at high speeds.

Lucella ran towards Kafal, rubbing her head against the dragon’s lowered neck. The scales were smooth and shiny, with rugged seams.

“Mom, well done. I asked the lord to prepare a meal, so feel free to eat.”
“Oh, thank you, Lucella.”

In the camp of Setulev knights, about ten well-fed cows were tethered in a row. Lucella had, let’s say, persuasively obtained—or rather, graciously received them from the local lord.

“Oh, this is the local Latael cattle! They’re raised by feeding them a ton of high-quality medicinal herbs with the motto ‘Magical Nourishment.’ It’s a super-premium beef breed. There’s a history of misguided criticism, suspecting them of being part of experiments to artificially create monsters. Interesting! This should be more than enough for dragons to—”
“Big sis.”

Viola’s glasses gleamed as she observed the cows. Monica, who had somehow woken up and joined them, pulled Viola’s sleeve to nibble on it.

“Are you more interested in cows than me?”

Staring resentfully, Monica then hugged Viola and rubbed her head against her. Viola was left momentarily speechless.

“Lucella… did something happen to Monica? She seems more assertive…”
“Well… You could say that…”
“Sorry. If I knew you were here, I would have come to see you right away!”

Whether Monica was listening or not, she kept nuzzling Viola. It wasn’t an expression of loneliness, but for some reason, Lucella felt that Monica’s actions had a natural rhythm.

How beautiful was it when people got along. Alongside this scene of sisterly affection, Kafal displayed her wild nature. Grabbing the pitiful cow’s head with her forelimbs, she skillfully took it down. Then, with gusto, she bit into its torso, crunching bones as she voraciously began to feast.

Eat when you can. After exerting herself recklessly and depleting energy, it was crucial to replenish it. While humans were protected within the society they created, for a dragon living in solitude, the only one capable of protecting itself and its offspring was the dragon itself. Lucella understood this action as a conscious decision arising from that awareness. It was also for Lucella’s sake.

“Do you want to eat, Lucella?”
“Well, just a bit…”

Kafal tore into the cow’s flank with sharp claws, then tossed a meat chunk larger than Lucella’s head towards her. Curious, Lucella decided to try biting into it raw. Unlike wild beasts or magical creatures, this meat, carefully prepared by human hands, lacked any unpleasant odor. The fatty meat melted in her mouth with a delightful flavor, surprisingly tasty even when consumed raw.

Tim and Wein were offered chairs by the Setulev knights and were being treated with tea.

“How’s the situation on the battlefield?”
“You’ve heard about strange creatures appearing, right?”
“Yes, that much I know…”

Except for Lucella, the members of the Golden Helmet had taken the initiative and set up arrangements to wait ahead of the Gufare Union.

Lucella was aware of the peculiar incident that occurred where they headed, thanks to information from Ivar. Recently, in the battlefield where Maltgartz clashed with Gufare, numerous unknown creatures had suddenly appeared, wreaking havoc.

“They’ve increased suddenly since yesterday. It’s gotten to the point where you can’t tell who’s the army. Gufare is desperately trying to stop the monsters, and Maltgartz seems to be in the same situation, right?”

I mean yesterday, Wein said.

That meant it happened either when the “Wisdom Eye Vortex” went berserk again or around that time.

Mysterious monsters… Based on what I know, they seem to be of a similar kind to the water giant from yesterday…

When Lucella first heard about the appearance of strange creatures, she initially thought it could be just one of those things. However, considering what she witnessed in the battle last night and where the berserk “Wisdom Eye Vortex” was heading…

She began to suspect a connection, as if there was some link between them.

“And officially, we, in a position unrelated to authority, were called to provide information about the situation on the Gufare side. It’s different in reality though.”

In practice, it was Lucella who had called her companions. The situation was extremely unexpected, and she needed the assistance of her comrades.

The town of Rohwein was part of the old Maltgartz Kingdom, falling under the Latel territory.

“I am Tantela Latel, the lord of Latel. It’s an honor to meet you in this way, and I regret that our meeting had to happen under such circumstances.”

As the lord of this land, Tantela responded promptly to the crisis. He contacted the Regalia retrieval team and spoke with Lucella, who had arrived there. During lunchtime, Lucella entered the town of Rohwein and met him at the lord’s castle.

Present at the meeting were Kafal, Tim, and Wein. The Golden Helmet members, at least in form, had been hired by Tantela. Viola, with her subtle position, decided to refrain from participating in this particular event.

Tantela, in his mid-fifties, was a man as sturdy as a massive boulder both vertically and horizontally. Aside from height, he resembled a dwarf. Lucella couldn’t help but think that, in terms of dignity and presence, he surpassed King Lazarus.

“Last night in the battle, you protected our soldiers from the rampage of the Regalia. For that, I want to express my gratitude first.”
“Are you sure it is okay to thank us…”
“It may not be the best for the empire’s reputation, but considering the uncertain fate of that very empire…”

Tantela gave a deep bow and exchanged a passionate handshake with Lucella.

In reality, Tantela was surprisingly understanding. He readily agreed to provide supplies to Kafal and even suggested becoming a nominal employer when Lucella mentioned wanting to call her companions.

However, despite this, they didn’t let their guard down.

If it were just three people, they could have easily used the teleportation magic circle network on the Maltgartz side, and if Lucella had demanded it, he would have agreed. The reason for not doing so was that adventurers were aware of the dangers posed by teleportation magic circles manipulated by a suspicious party.

Amidst the common problem of the rampaging Regalia, they put aside other differences and cooperated without caring about appearances. In the face of the evolving situation, Tantela could become an enemy. Even now, it was uncertain if he could be considered an ally. Regardless of Tantela being an honest man, Lucella was well aware that this fact remained unchanged.

“Some parts of this may already be known to you, but immediately after the Regalia went berserk again, it somehow flew to the imperial capital and caused devastating damage to the imperial palace. The attack the imperial palace suffered was just a single strike, but it was too significant. The empire’s central command was destroyed, and both the Emperor and the Prime Minister are missing. Well, ‘missing’ means… their bodies haven’t been found, and there’s no prospect of finding them… In normal circumstances, it would mean they shouldn’t be alive, but…”

While she had suspected as much, hearing Tantela’s words, Lucella couldn’t help but gasp. The ‘head’ of this colossal empire had suddenly been blown away. While a person dies when their head is cut off, a nation doesn’t. Those who were the lifeblood of the country began to stir with their own intentions. Tantela could act on his own judgment because of this situation, and he had no other choice.

“After that, the Regalia caused a massive storm and is heading east.”
“Why east? Do you have any idea why it would be relevant to Maltgartz?”
“We don’t know. At least, I don’t. The answer to that, and probably the key to ending this abnormal situation, is likely…”
“The ‘Wisdom Eye Vortex,’ right?”

The reason why the Regalia once flew to the imperial capital was unclear, but it was certain that it was now heading east towards the battlefield. Lucella still didn’t know what awaited there.

“Efrain…”

Lucella muttered under her breath.

Right before the Regalia flew away, Lucella indeed saw Efrain. She witnessed his figure just as the indigo regalia staff seemed to be drawn into his hands.

Since then, what happened to him? Most likely, even the answer to that lay within the ‘Wisdom Eye Vortex.’