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The water had receded, and what was once a lava island now stood like a small hill. With the dragon aura that once permeated the land now spent, everyone gathered near the small lava pool that glowed like a campfire.

The surrounding forest had been torn apart by the storm, with shattered trees half-submerged in mud. Even the insects seemed to have been washed away, their usual chorus silenced. Only the occasional crackle of wood dropped into the lava disturbed the quiet.

“I wonder what love really is,” Wein muttered, chewing on his damp but thankfully intact emergency rations.
“What’s got you thinking like that all of a sudden?”
“When you think about it, this whole incident started because of love, didn’t it? I mean, it was enough to wipe out several kingdoms.”

Wein shrugged with theatrical flair, glancing at his azure staff. Even the once-rampaging “Wisdom Eye Vortex” had calmed, now resting like a weary child, reduced to nothing more than a staff.

“Legends, who knows how much of them are true, but plenty talk about miracles sparked by love. And just as many about the disasters it brings.”
“There are even wars that started from tangled love triangles,” someone added.
“Love—whether you have it, lose it, or never find it—always causes trouble. It’s terrifying, really.”
“Perhaps that’s how it is,” Kafal interjected, having quietly listened to the humans’ idle musings.

Though she had been sitting a little apart to avoid crowding the others, Kafal stretched her long neck toward the group, her triangular head lowering beside the fire. She didn’t speak often, human speech still wasn’t easy for her, but she had no hesitation when it mattered.

She spoke not just for Lucella’s sake, but for everyone’s.

“As long as we live, whether human or dragon, we’re all at the mercy of love. Every thinking creature is. You can’t run from it. You can’t ignore it.” Her voice wasn’t lofty or condescending. It carried the weight of quiet wisdom, like a breeze passing through leaves.

She, too, had been swayed by fate. Perhaps love was like a chronic illness, inescapable even for dragons. Humans called it the highest of virtues, but maybe it was something far more primal…beyond good and evil, beyond reason.

And yet…

“Yeah. That might be true. But even so, I’m happy now.” Lucella felt it deeply. She was happy—because of Kafal, because of her presence, and because of whatever mysterious thread had tied them together.

“Thank you, Mom,” Lucella said, her voice brimming not just with gratitude but with joy. She gently pressed her forehead to Kafal’s and nuzzled her cheek with affection.

“Thank you, Lucella,” Kafal whispered, her jewel-like eyes soft with warmth that surpassed even her flames. Then, with a nudge, she pushed Lucella down and began licking her playfully.

“Ehehe, haha, hahaha!” Lucella burst into ticklish laughter, until a heavy step landed nearby.

“Monica?”

The girl stood over her with a deadpan expression, then abruptly yanked Lucella out from beneath Kafal and leaned in, licking her cheek like a predator sizing up its prey.

“Eek?!”
“Oh my, oh my, oh my…”

Monica’s tongue, much smaller than Kafal’s, tickled as it dragged across Lucella’s cheek. She jolted upright in surprise, then froze stiff like she’d been struck by lightning.

Viola adjusted her broken glasses, which flashed ominously.

“Salty,” Monica muttered with a sulky face before turning and walking away.

By the next morning, Kafal had taken flight at dawn, soaring steadily toward Mount Kuguse. To keep her passengers secure and maintain stability despite her injured wings, Kafal flew at a measured pace in a breaststroke-like motion.

Normally, the thin air and harsh winds at this altitude would make breathing difficult for humans, but Viola’s magic barrier shielded them from the worst of it.

Far beneath them, the landscape stretched into a patchwork of floating islands and desert expanses. Even majestic cities with towering castles looked no bigger than moss clinging to stone from this height.

“It’s confidential, but Crown Prince Cain has reportedly sent a message to the Gufare Union, hinting at peace talks,” Ivar said.
“Already?” Lucella asked.
“He probably figured it’s best to settle things now, while he can still claim the chaos as an excuse. As it stands, he can blame the whole defeat on the Prime Minister.”

Sitting atop Kafal, Lucella held a talisman engraved with a magic circle. On the other end of the Caller, Ivar’s voice came through.

Though Ivar had closed a chapter during this homecoming, he was already diving back into the international unrest, wasting no time.

“Of course, that won’t be enough to satisfy the new territories.”
“Well, that’s no longer my problem,” Lucella replied.
“Figured. I’ll stick around and make some money in the meantime,” Ivar said casually, though his tone hinted at deeper involvement in the brewing civil conflict.

Lucella suspected there was more behind Ivar’s reckless involvement than a desire for profit. Perhaps something unresolved was pulling him back in.

“Just… be careful.”
“Come on, you know who you’re talking to.”
“Touché.”

They shared a quiet laugh, familiar and reassuring. Even so, Lucella knew her own situation was far more uncertain.

“I won’t be away from the office for long. Expect some good stories when I return,” Ivar promised.

The Caller dissolved into darkness, its role complete, and Lucella let the fading fragments scatter with the wind.

“Hey, look down there,” Wein called from near Kafal’s neck, leaning forward and pointing.

Beyond a thin shroud of mist lay a city nestled on the southern slopes of the verdant mountain range, clinging to the hillside with winding canals and steaming hot springs.

As they descended, the city grew larger in view. At the forest’s edge near the mountain’s base, a vast clearing appeared, centered around a dome-like structure sculpted from magically shaped earth.

Kafal slowly began her descent. The air around Mount Kuguse reacted to her presence—birds scattered, insects fled, and even distant monsters stirred restlessly at the pulse of her returning wingbeats.

The moment Kafal touched down, the warm air stirred by her wings rushed through the forest, setting the leaves into a whispering rustle.

Once they unfastened the straps securing them to Kafal’s back and stepped onto solid ground, a collective sense of relief settled over the group.

A massive yet modest earthen house stood nearby, clearly built to accommodate a dragon’s size. The plaza around it bore scorched marks and dried beast blood. Even though this was supposed to be home, Lucella felt more disoriented than comforted.

“Whew… feels like it’s been forever since I last set foot here,” Lucella murmured.
“It turned out to be a longer trip than expected,” Tim replied with a chuckle, unfastening the gear from Kafal’s side.

When Lucella first set out on this journey, she had braced herself for an adventure, but reality had quickly exceeded anything she imagined.

“Everyone!!”

As they began checking for damage to their belongings after the flight, a voice rang out from the road leading into town, followed by a figure sprinting toward them.

It was a young woman in the formal attire of the Adventurer’s Guild, one of the administrators from the Kugutfulm branch. She had once overseen Lucella’s former party.

“Oh hey, Guild lady?” Wein called out.
“Welcome back, Golden Helmet! Sorry to spring this on you so soon, but please take this!” she panted, handing Lucella a quest slip and a bundle of documents.

The form was signed by the chief administrator, the one truly in charge of the Golden Helmet party, though unable to leave the branch. So the task had been entrusted to this junior officer.

Lucella’s companions leaned over her shoulder to look at the paperwork, their expressions souring in unison.

“An outbreak of Bomber Apples?”

Bomber Apples were deadly plant monsters that hurled explosive fruit at unsuspecting victims, then absorbed the bodies for nourishment. Since they bore fruit year-round, they often blended in with regular apple trees, making them especially treacherous during harvest seasons.

It took roughly two years for them to grow into full-sized, man-eating trees, so finding and destroying them while they were still saplings was essential.

“Even if there’s a major outbreak… we’re talking about trees, right? Where did they suddenly come from?”
“I don’t know, but a large number of mature trees appeared overnight. Since the affected area is a forest by the canal, all shipments have been suspended since yesterday. In any case, the situation needs to be resolved immediately.”

Setulev was a canal-based kingdom, and Kugutfulm served as a crucial transport hub along those waterways—especially now, with vast amounts of military supplies being sent north over Mount Kuguse. Even though both the Emperor and Prime Minister of Maltgartz were dead and the Crown Prince had begun pushing for peace, the war wouldn’t end overnight. Disruptions in logistics could still plunge the region into chaos.

“Well, if you’re exhausted, we could assign this to another team instead…”
“No, it’s alright. Let’s handle it. Most people are up north on assignments, and you’re short-staffed here, right?”

Although the young staff member hesitated to assign such a task to their top-ranked party, Tim made the call without pause. In Maltgartz, the government had begun hiring adventurers, meaning the occupied territories were in desperate need of manpower. Many adventurers from Kugutfulm had already headed north as migrant workers. Those who remained behind had to shoulder extra burdens just to keep the city operational.

“Yeah, this is an emergency. We can’t risk sending in amateurs without knowing what we’re dealing with,” Wein agreed.
“Th-thank you so much!” the staff member exclaimed, bowing with perhaps too much enthusiasm.

“What about you, Lucella?”
“I’m coming along.”
“Shouldn’t you be resting?”
“I’m good. I’ve recovered enough to handle this.”

Lucella appreciated their concern, but she knew she was fit enough to handle ordinary monsters. If anything, she was more worried about her teammates. Despite their strength, they were still human, after all.

“Alright! Golden Helmet, we’re heading out! Just the four of us,” Tim declared. The others nodded in firm agreement.

“You people are something else… I’ll be waiting here,” Monica muttered, watching the group with a look of disbelief. After all the fighting, and a long flight on Kafal’s back, she looked thoroughly drained as she sprawled on a magic beast pelt like a tired cat.

Monica often stayed at Kafal’s nest when Viola was away on quests. It was a sanctuary where even the authorities had no reach. She had already started moving in her personal belongings, clearly planning to lounge about until the others came back.

Kafal lowered her head and gently nudged Lucella. Lucella leaned into the touch without hesitation. Though the glossy red scales on Kafal’s angular head still bore signs of battle, they would heal in time.

“Alright, I’m heading out.”
“Take care. Be back in time for dinner,” Kafal said.
“Got it!” Lucella replied. After a brief rub of their cheeks, she turned and sprinted off to join her team.

Author’s Note:

Thank you for reading along up to this point!
The fourth arc ends here, and this will also be the tentative conclusion of the story itself.

Below is the link to my post about the conclusion.
https://mypage.syosetu.com/mypageblog/view/userid/977381/blogkey/3154727/

Translator’s Note:

Summary of the blog post

The manga is on hiatus because of the mangaka’s health problems, but it’s not “axed” and hence possible to resume. That said, there’s little hope that it will actually continue, realistically speaking.

The Light Novel has a lot of content based on the manga version, so with the manga on hiatus, they see no point in releasing it (because of sales/etc I guess). Volume 3 was supposed to be released with the completion of the fourth arc, but forcing a release now wouldn’t be beneficial.

The reason the author called it a “tentative conclusion” is because of the aforementioned reasons. That is, since it’s not clear whether the publishing will continue, the author doesn’t have enough free time or money to keep writing it, but is prepared to do so if there’s an opportunity. But the possibility for that to happen is very slim, just not zero.

Some potential story bits that the author planned/plans to write if the novel were to continue:

• Did the Prime Minister Manuel and the senile Emperor Richard really die?
• Why can’t the ancient people be resurrected using the modern holy magic?
• Did the Human-Dragon war really end on a draw? Are the Ancient Dragons hiding something?
• What even is Giselle’s ring?
• What are Dragons?
• What are the Demons doing? What is their goal?
• Who killed Kafal’s husband?
• Who will be Kafal’s new marriage partner?
• And so on…

He was considering stuff like that, but didn’t want to leave unresolved points so only kept the ideas in the background until he was sure that he would be able to follow through with them. He wrote Dragon’s Daughter in a way that it could be ended at any point, so he was careful not to include anything that couldn’t be properly resolved.

He suggested the fans who have too much free time to ponder answers to those.

He also mentioned that the head maid Joanna who worked in Monica’s mansion and got fired was reemployed by Viola somewhere between the third and the fourth arc and moved to Kugutfulm (I don’t remember if she appeared in the WN, maybe in the LN).

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