TDAA Ch 53

“What do you mean, he doesn’t know…? You know that all the information can be seen from the control room.”

Ladie had only been outside the human lands once. And that was only to meet Siol, and she had never been inside a city, so it was natural for her to be mistaken.

Siol explained the situation in the therianthrope lands, which she did not know.

“In the therianthrope lands, there are no buildings with suns like here. Probably at the hands of the Demon King…”

As he said this, he glanced at Eorzen, who nodded.

“Everything was destroyed by the Demon King, and only the Towers of Survival remained. That’s probably why the human lands and the therianthrope lands handle the protective barriers differently. Since there’s no control room, they can’t open a map to check, like you can, Ladie. I think the only person who can deliver news to the king from the human lands is probably Nathaniel.”

The human lands and the therianthrope lands were far apart. If they were near the border, they might be able to exchange news using communication orbs, but the king was already in the middle of the therianthrope lands. The only person who could likely contact the king, who was constantly on the move, was Nathaniel, who possessed the power of a witch. The king had probably told Nathaniel to deliver the news if anything happened in the human lands, but…

“Nathaniel will probably need some time to rise in his new body, and even if he’s already awake, he won’t be in the right mind to deliver news to the king. He’s very proud, and he didn’t seem to like the king much in the first place, so he’ll be more focused on revenge.”

The gleaming eyes that had boasted they would make him regret it were still vivid in his mind. Nathaniel’s personality was not one to humbly accept the fact that he had been defeated not once, but twice, by an opponent he had looked down on. The Nathaniel before he died seemed to have a plan. His eyes were like he knew Siol’s weakness.

“The king will continue to occupy the therianthrope lands without knowing anything about what’s happening in this land.”

“Right. So we’re not completely out of time. In the meantime, Ladie, you get your hands on more towers and head for the royal capital.”

“We don’t know how much time we have. Wouldn’t it be better to leave for the royal capital right away? If the king isn’t in the royal capital, it might be faster to sneak in, find the way to the control room, and seize it.”

He hadn’t thought it possible to go straight to the royal capital without subduing the surrounding territories.

Siol was momentarily stunned by Ladie’s suggestion.

He had been thinking based on the rebellions he had only ever read about in Earth’s history books. A very long time ago, when there was no magic, sorcery, or espers. A time when you had to start a rebellion under the pretext of punishing the king’s misguided politics, gradually conquer the land from where you started to where the king was, occupy the capital, and hang the king.

The royal family of this land was not maintained by legitimacy or religious support. All that mattered was whether they had the power to maintain the protective barriers. Now, since it was known that only the king’s bloodline had the right to appoint the next lord, everyone valued the king’s blood, but if the rules were to change, the lords’ loyalty would change as well.

Because the most important factor for survival in this land was the protective barrier.

So, without necessarily having to play a game of taking territory, if they sneaked into the royal capital, found the control room, and seized the royal capital as Ladie said…

Lost in thought for a moment, Siol soon shook his head.

“No, I think that’s probably impossible.”

“Why?”

“If the authority of the royal capital’s control room could be taken away that easily, the king wouldn’t have bothered to murder the former king.”

Until now, the king had gone to great lengths to avoid as much attention as possible. He had waged war with the therianthrope lands, put forth a non-existent death alchemist, and helped Nathaniel, the child of a witch, to take the blue dragon. Especially in Nathaniel’s case, he had used deception upon deception to stall for as much time as possible.

Siol glanced at Eorzen. The reason the king had tried so hard to divert attention in such a convoluted way was probably to prevent the blue dragon from noticing this plan. The blue dragon was protecting the therianthrope lands, and if he found out that the therianthropes’ mana was being exploited, he wouldn’t let it slide, even if he was the last remaining descendant of the royal family.

These were all things he wouldn’t have had to do if he had kept the former king alive. If the former king had been alive, he could have framed the situation as if the former king was the one who had committed these acts, and escaped scot-free.

“You’re saying that man murdered my father for the authority of the control room?”

“The king may be seizing other towers at will now, but I don’t think he had that ability from the beginning. He was able to do so because he got his hands on the royal capital’s control room. So what was it like at the beginning? In order to get his hands on the royal capital’s control room, that man…”

“He killed my father to vacate the throne. Because the only way to get his hands on the royal capital’s control room was to become king.”

“That’s my guess. And… it’s probably right. Look at his actions now. He doesn’t seem to cherish this country or power, does he? Trade between territories is in shambles, and we’re on the brink of war with the therianthrope lands. If anything, he seems to find the act of ruling a country bothersome.”

“…Indeed.”

Ladie gritted her teeth as if to suppress her anger. She seemed to be recalling the day the former king died.

Siol, out of consideration for Ladie, also remained silent for a moment. After collecting her thoughts, Ladie spoke again.

“The reason that man had to vacate the throne was because he didn’t have the ability to enter the control room without becoming king. But I’m different now. I can enter because of the ring Master Siol made for me. And if I can just get into the control room, I should be able to take it.”

“No, the reason I said I thought it would be impossible wasn’t just because you can’t get to the control room.”

“Then?”

“Last time, I said that a lord probably didn’t need to obey the king to become a lord. That the concept was originally more of a great lord. But that didn’t mean it completely negated the power of the royal capital’s tower. The royal capital’s tower clearly has powerful authority unlike other towers. For example, the authority to requisition mana from other territories. Ladie, I don’t think that’s possible in the other territories you’ve acquired… what do you think?”

“How did you know I tried?”

Ladie’s face turned red as she asked back, incredulous. She seemed embarrassed that after being so appalled by the fact that the royal capital was taking mana from the territory’s people, she had secretly tried to see if she could do it too.

“…You’re right. When I tried, that message saying ‘insufficient authority’ appeared.”

“It means your authority isn’t high enough to meddle with the royal capital’s tower. If you want to seize the royal capital’s tower, you’d at least have to be on the same level to even try.”

“…You’re right. I’ll give up on the plan to go straight to the royal capital.”

Siol was inwardly relieved to have finally succeeded in making Ladie give up. Ladie could be overly reckless at times. He felt like he could understand the feelings of Lord Meric, who was always getting angry at her for rushing into dangerous places.

Eorzen, who had been listening quietly, turned his gaze to Ladie. When the man who seemed to have been watching the situation from a step back opened his mouth, everyone focused.

“According to the map you showed earlier, the king has occupied nearly half of the therianthrope lands. Among them were five cities that are part of the sworn brotherhood, and if their chieftains had died, I should have been contacted. The fact that I wasn’t… means that it’s now possible to co-own a tower without killing the chieftain, and that this ability can be bestowed upon others. Unlike when he killed the former king.”

Eorzen paused for a moment before speaking to Ladie again.

“And, Princess, you are approaching the throne step by step, according to the king’s arrangements.”

“Until now, I’ve just been picking up what that man throws at me, but from now on, it will be different!”

Ladie, who had become agitated due to the anger that had welled up from the story of the former king’s death, burst out. Eorzen shook his head.

“I am not trying to blame you. I’m saying that at this rate, you are scheduled to ascend to the throne smoothly.”

“…Pardon? What is that…”

Ladie, who had trailed off, bewildered by the sudden assertion, suddenly shot up and slammed her hand on the desk. Her chair tipped over and fell with a loud clatter. But this was no time to be concerned with such things.

“You mean to say the king intended to hand over the throne to me from the very beginning?”

There was no need to hear an answer.

The king killed the former king and ascended to the throne. At that time, he had no authority, so he had to kill the former king to become king. But now that he was king, he could use the authority of the control room to make a tower have two kings, lords, or chieftains.

The king’s goal was eternal life and immortality, and becoming a god, not becoming king. To him, the throne was merely a means to gain the power to handle the control room, so now the throne was just a burden.

Thus, the king had laid out the steps to the throne before Ladie’s eyes. The territories he had thrown at her one by one like pebbles, hoping she would pick them up, were not just part of a plan to attract people’s attention. The king intended to throw not only the territories but the throne itself to Ladie.

“He planned to pretend to be defeated by me, hand over the throne, and then secretly live an eternal life with the mana exploited from this continent, looking for a way to become a god… is that it?”

As Eorzen had said, she had been scheduled to ascend to the throne smoothly. That would have been the case if she hadn’t known anything.

Ladie gritted her teeth. To think he had not only killed her father but had also tried to use her for his own purposes. And Ladie had been deceived all this time. If Siol hadn’t found the control room, it would still be the same now.

“While I was ruling this country without knowing anything, he was planning to use the authority of the control room to take over the therianthrope lands and exploit this continent as he pleased.”

Not only the king’s goal but also the way he was going about achieving it was utterly base.

“And that’s not even the end of it. The blue dragon said it. The ancient people tried to become gods and were destroyed by the Demon King, and what the king is trying to do now does not seem to be any different. That means, when the king finds a way to become a god someday and does it, the Demon King will appear to destroy humanity, doesn’t it?”

“That’s right. It will surely be so.”

Siol squeezed his eyes shut.

If they hadn’t uncovered the secret of the control room, things would have really gone according to the king’s will. They would have moved according to the script written by the king in the play he directed, and become decorations on the stage he desired. And in the distant future, this land might have become a sacrifice for the king who wished to become a god.

When he opened his eyes again, a hint of elation could be seen in Siol’s eyes.

This was it. This was the king’s secret that had been obscuring his vision until now. It felt like he had finally buttoned up all the buttons that had felt strangely tight and mismatched.

“Ladie.”

“Yes.”

“Let’s seize as many territories as we can before the king arrives. The king has deceived our eyes again and again in every possible way. In a situation where we still don’t know what other tricks he has up his sleeve, we need higher authority to get proper information.”

“You mean to say that if we gain higher authority, we’ll be able to learn more about what the king is hiding.”

“Right, so…”

It was then.

Eorzen shot to his feet and stretched his hand towards the window. Ryufen also stood up, lowered his upper body, and contorted his face in a guarded manner. Siol didn’t have time to grasp what was about to happen. Before he could open his mouth, the window shattered and a fierce wind rushed in. The four people in the room were able to avoid the barrage of harsh wind thanks to the protective barrier Eorzen had cast.

From outside the window, a large bird elegantly tilted its body and flew in. It looked like a bird, but it wasn’t a real one. It was flying with a strange movement that couldn’t be described as using its wings, so it was immediately recognizable. The bird flew to Eorzen and landed on his forearm.

Eorzen stroked the bird’s cheek and then took the piece of paper held in its beak, putting it inside his coat. Then, the bird lifted one of its legs and held it out. A piece of cloth was tied to its leg. The method of tying cloth to a bird’s leg was not the way of a magic user.

As soon as Ryufen saw it, he recoiled in disgust and took several steps back.

“Ah, wait. Those are my sister’s claw marks.”

He was almost terrified. It was surprising that he recognized it was his family just from the way the cloth was torn, but what was more surprising was the fact that Ryufen was cowering as if he were scared stiff. Not just his expression, but the way his back fur stood on end and his faltering movements as if he kept trying to back away further all indicated it.

Siol grabbed Ryufen’s shoulder and asked.

“If it’s your sister, isn’t she family? Why do you dislike her so much?”

“Siol. My sister is a monster.”

“Are you scared right now?”

“You’d be scared too if you saw her!”

To think Ryufen wasn’t even hiding the fact that he was scared. What kind of wolf could possibly frighten this hopelessly self-willed wolf? Siol had a baseless conviction that she would be judged as a good sister by Muriel, and would be a kind wolf to wolves like himself.

“It’s her, right, Commander? Your sister? Does your sister use magic now?”

“No. This bird was sent to me by my father. I don’t know how he coaxed it to tie a cloth around its ankle, but…”

When Eorzen untied the cloth from the bird’s foot, the bird spread its wings, stretched wide, and then deflated with a hiss. It was Eorzen’s bird—blue, round, and small. Eorzen frowned and stared at his own bird. The messenger bird blinked its eyes and then seeped into Eorzen.

It seemed that the bird Eorzen had sent using his mana had been greatly altered by his father, and he could roughly guess how it had happened. His mother must have praised her son’s mana messenger bird, and his father, saying he could do it too, must have used his power unnecessarily. After that, being large and conspicuous, it must have been caught on its way back and ended up with a cloth tied to its ankle.

Eorzen unfolded the cloth and began to read, then froze. The more he read the letter, the more serious Eorzen’s expression became.

“…Princess. I’m afraid I must leave for the therianthrope lands.”

“Pardon? Why, Commander? What’s the matter?”

“Ryufen, your nephew has been kidnapped.”

“…Pardon?”

The color drained from Ryufen’s face.

“What? What did you just say… Kid, kidnapped? Kidnapped? What did my sister say? Is she really mad? Does she say she’s going to kill everyone?”

Ryufen made a fuss, asking nonstop. His body language showed more shock, bewilderment, and fear than anger. The wolf species had a very strong family bond, a fact that could be proven just by how Muriel disliked Ryufen while at the same time cherishing him deeply.

But why didn’t he show any signs of worrying about his nephew?

It was strange. But Siol couldn’t pry into another family’s affairs while a kidnapping was being discussed, so he quietly kept his mouth shut and waited for Eorzen’s answer.

“Princess Ladie. I ask for your understanding in this matter. As the commander of the sworn brotherhood in the therianthrope lands, I must respond to the chieftain’s request. Fortunately, this request aligns with one of our objectives. Nathaniel is in the therianthrope lands right now.”

“Nathaniel is the one who did it? That stupid bastard!”

The restless Ryufen interjected again, but Eorzen paid him no mind and continued speaking to Ladie.

“In exchange for my absence, I will compensate with more than the promised amount of supplies and personnel. For supplies, consult with Muriel, and for the knights…”

“I’ll stay! It would be perfect if I stay and help the Princess. Wouldn’t it?”

“Make some sense, Ryufen.”

“Ah, I don’t want to go…”

“…If not you, to whom would I entrust Siol?”

At that, Ryufen whirled around to look at Siol. Siol flinched back from his irritated gaze.

“Why are you so damn weak…!”

Ryufen, who was stomping forward and shouting, was grabbed by the scruff of his neck by Eorzen and sent flying into the wall. After slamming into the wall and rolling on the floor, Ryufen covered his eyes with both front paws and made a strange sound, “Euuuh-heo-uh-uh.”

He’s not a child, what is he doing? Siol found the sight so pathetic that he didn’t even feel angry.

As Siol stared with a fed-up look, Eorzen sighed lowly.

“…Siol. Please forgive Ryufen. Ryufen is not in his right mind right now because he ran away from home, scared of his older sister.”

“Ran away… you say?”

“They say he climbed over the castle walls the night before he was to become a knight, with only a little money.”

“No, to run away from home no matter how scary your sister is…”

As Siol muttered, unable to hide his bewilderment, Ryufen shrieked.

“You don’t know! My sister is a real… a really scary wolf…”

“She is an alpha wolf supported by over a dozen cities. In human terms, you could call her the queen of the wolf kingdom.”

The therianthrope lands originally functioned as independent city-states, but in the case of cities made up of the same species, it seemed the species’ characteristics influenced their diplomacy. Since wolves have a natural tendency to form packs, they must have started cooperating with each other and eventually reached the point of supporting a single leader.

Wouldn’t that be considered a nation, then?

“Th…then is Ryufen a prince?”

That large wolf rolling on the floor is a prince? Unable to believe it, Siol asked cautiously, and Eorzen smiled.

“No. The chieftain of which city becomes the leader changes each time, so there is no system of hereditary succession like in human kingdoms. The previous leader was a wolf from a different city, so he cannot be called a prince. Of course, Ryufen isn’t very prince-like either.”

It was a strange system, neither a monarchy nor a democracy, so it seemed a bit of a stretch to call it a nation. In the first place, a nation’s identity is most important, and even if they revere a single leader, if each state has a different national identity, it would be difficult to call it a nation.

Thinking that far, Siol shook his head to clear his thoughts. What did it matter anyway? The cities of the wolves or the federation of the wolves were places that had nothing to do with Siol.

However, he was curious about the person who made Ryufen so terrified and whom he avoided meeting.

“But…”

Siol recalled something that had been bothering him ever since he heard Nathaniel’s name.

“The fact that Nathaniel woke up sooner than expected could be due to some variable, so let’s put that aside, but why did he kidnap Ryufen’s nephew? With his persistent personality, I was sure he would come after me right away.”

That day, although he had reluctantly shouted that he was wrong to the king, that he was his subordinate, thinking of how his face had flushed with humiliation, it didn’t seem likely he would act for the king. Considering Nathaniel’s personality, it was more likely that he had found something in the city of wolves that would make Siol regret.

Could he possibly intend to make him regret by tormenting the people around him? To think so, the child of Ryufen’s sister was too distant a connection. Besides, to enrage a wolf that even Ryufen feared was too dangerous. Wasn’t it a plan where the price Nathaniel would have to pay was too great compared to the blow it would deal to Siol?

“Nathaniel is said to have kidnapped the child and hidden in some nearby ruins. Kidnapping the child is just part of his plan; his objective of tormenting you, Siol, has likely not changed.”

“…’Guests must only be received when the situation is fully prepared,’ I taught him that.”

That was a story from a time when he hadn’t thought that guest would be himself. Siol stared at the floor, his fists clenched tightly. Nathaniel was waiting for him now in the therianthrope lands. After creating a situation where the blue dragon had no choice but to go there. Whether Nathaniel’s intention was to take the blue dragon to hurt him, or whether he had predicted that Siol would naturally go where the blue dragon went, was unknown, but in any case, the conclusion was one.

“Ladie, can I go too?”

Right now, he was under Ladie’s command. He knew how much of a burden it would be to be absent at a time when he should be active as Ladie’s alchemist, but if Nathaniel was causing trouble, he couldn’t send just Eorzen and Ryufen. No, in the first place, Nathaniel held a grudge against Siol, so whatever he was plotting, it was obvious that Siol was the target. He must have set up a trap that only Siol could enter.

“It’s a Nathaniel problem, so I can’t stop you. Go ahead.”

“Thank you, Ladie.”

Siol sent a grateful look to Ladie, who nodded readily.

However, Ladie waved her hand as if it were a bother.

“It’s not a journey I can stop anyway.”

There it was again. Ladie was making that complicated expression again, as if she had a lot to say but was holding it in for now. Siol asked with his expression what on earth it was, but Ladie only scolded him with her expression and gave no explanation.

“Blue Dragon, please finish the promise you were making earlier. The knights?”

“I’ll leave the knights to the white lion under Muriel. That one has enough power to subdue other therianthropes if they run wild… or cause any other trouble.”

“What if the white lion runs wild?”

“Then you can talk to Muriel.”

“…Muriel can defeat the white lion?”

Muriel was a notoriously weak wolf among wolves, so that couldn’t be possible. Siol also looked up, wondering why Muriel’s name had come up, and Eorzen answered with a smile on his lips.

“Lions are a species that is quite devoted to their lovers. And the white lion is courting Muriel, so he will listen to any of Muriel’s requests. Use him as you see fit.”

Ladie sighed, wondering why the situation in the therianthrope lands revolved around matters of affection rather than political interests.

The way to handle therianthropes was completely different from the way she had learned to handle human knights or dog knights. Because of that element called love. The blue dragon was a species famous for that sort of thing, so that was understandable, but to think lions were also that kind of species. Come to think of it, didn’t wolves have a bit of that side to them as well?

Politics moves according to the laws of desire. The desires of therianthropes were on a different track from the desires of humans, so it was obvious that there would be much confusion when they came to interact in the future. But the day to worry about that conflict will not come if Ladie does not win.

“Are you leaving right away then?”

“Tomorrow.”

“What? But you said the child was kidnapped….”

“Ah. That’s….”

Eorzen’s low voice trailed off as if in a bind. Seeing him hesitate, as if wondering whether he should or could say it, Ladie was about to tell him he didn’t have to if it was a difficult story, but the wolfman Ryufen interjected.

“He was already a dead child, Your Highness.”

“…What did you say?”

“My nephew never cried from the moment he was born. He never spoke, never opened his eyes, and couldn’t even move a fingertip. He was a child who would have died long ago if born into an ordinary family, but my sister moved him to the Tower of Survival and took precious care of him, barely keeping him alive. For about three years, we too thought he might wake up. But still….”

Ryufen, who seemed to be growing more agitated as he spoke, suddenly shut his mouth.

“Anyway, my sister is the only one who thinks that child is alive now.”

Sorrow tinged his troubled expression. But the sorrow soon vanished, transforming into a slight irritation and resentment. Siol couldn’t dare to guess the true nature of the complex emotions Ryufen held for his nephew.

However, one thought flashed through his mind.

‘A child should eat a lot and play a lot!’

‘When we wolves are young, our relatives take turns licking us clean.’

‘It’s snowing, why aren’t you playing outside!’

‘You’re putting down your fork after eating just that measly amount?’

Perhaps all the nagging Siol had heard until now were things Ryufen had wanted to say to his own nephew. When he opens his eyes, I’ll do this for him, and that for him, and get into trouble together…. He had been full of such expectations, but the child never woke up, no matter how much he licked him or nudged him with the tip of his nose. Regrettably.

Ryufen seemed to feel guilty for saying the child was dead. A glimpse of sorrow could be seen amid his complex turmoil. Wasn’t he, in fact, hoping the child wasn’t dead?

And yet, there was no hesitation when he firmly stated that his sister was the only one who believed the child was alive.

Why?

Ryufen was not originally a wolf with such a complex psyche. He accepted everything in the world simply and expressed it simply. If he liked it, he liked it; if he didn’t, he didn’t. Even complicated matters produced surprisingly simple conclusions once they entered Ryufen’s mind. Hadn’t he dismissed the story of the war with the king as just a land-grabbing game to take the tower?

But when it came to this issue, Ryufen couldn’t dare to reach a simple conclusion. No, he tried hard to reach a simple conclusion, but deep down, he himself didn’t know what to do.

“…My sister alone… is clinging to that child….”

Ryufen’s mumbling voice trailed off.

Seeing the look in his eyes, filled with longing and pity, Siol finally realized the true nature of his emotions. Ryufen hated seeing his sister suffer because of a child who couldn’t wake up. But he couldn’t tell her to give up on the child. Because he knew how much his sister loved her child. That’s why he couldn’t even attempt to simplify the matter, just like that….

Ryufen likes his sister.

From the moment the talk about his sister came up, he had been trembling, calling her a scary wolf and what not, but it was clear his true feelings were different. Ryufen was not a wolf who would run away and tremble in fear, even if an opponent was frightening; if it were an enemy, he would bluff and charge. If he had the personality to tremble in fear, he wouldn’t have rushed at the blue dragon to settle things with a fight.

The word “scary” was something he could say because he willingly admitted his defeat. And Ryufen whining about being scared was similar to how he sometimes acted towards Eorzen. Perhaps trembling in fear was also a reaction he only showed to people he liked.

Come to think of it, Ryufen had a soft spot for his family. In Muriel’s case, too, despite calling him weak and ignoring him, he never got angry at Muriel’s sharp remarks, and when he heard Muriel was kidnapped by humans, hadn’t he gone to rescue him right away?

“How about leaving in about a week, Captain?”

“If you’re okay with me telling Lipez that we’re late because of you.”

“…Let’s go tomorrow….”

Ryufen replied listlessly and flopped onto the floor. A deep, dark sigh swept across the ground.

⋆୨🔮୧⋆

Afterward, Muriel and the white lion Reston were summoned to the conference room.

Since Muriel was also Ryufen’s brother, the kidnapped child was his nephew as well. Muriel also seemed surprised when he first heard the story, but it seemed to be more out of concern for his sister’s anger rather than worry for his nephew.

Ryufen had said his sister was the only one who thought the child was alive.

Siol quietly got up and slipped away from the negotiation. He headed towards Ryufen, who had by now crawled to the window and was sighing heavily while watching the snow pour down, but thankfully, no one paid him any mind. In this kind of political negotiation, there was no room for Siol to intervene anyway.

If they were on bad terms, he would have stayed seated to mediate, but Ladie and Eorzen got along fairly well. They respected each other and didn’t engage in pointless power struggles like trying to unnecessarily suppress the other during negotiations, so there was no reason for an alchemist like Siol to remain seated.

“…You’re here.”

As Siol sidled up next to him, Ryufen sat up and made room for him. Siol went over and sat snugly next to Ryufen. It was a little cold due to the draft coming from right in front of the window.

“You really don’t want to go?”

“Hey, you really don’t know what kind of wolf my sister is. The moment I get there, I’ll have at least eight bones in my arms and legs broken.”

“Muriel doesn’t seem scared.”

“That’s ’cause he’s weak as hell. Ah, come to think of it, you’re the same. My sister will be nice to you.”

“Is she nice to weak people?”

“Yeah. She’s nice to kids who’d die if you gave them a little tap.”

He just has to talk like that.

Siol glared at Ryufen with daggers in his eyes, but Ryufen didn’t seem to have the leisure to notice Siol’s mood, just sighing repeatedly. Seeing Ryufen like this, who always acted full of confidence and as if he didn’t even know the meaning of the word “worry,” Siol gradually felt a sense of pity.

“Then hide behind me. I’ll protect you.”

“Why do you work so hard talking nonsense…. How would you be able to protect me, you dummy….”

“I just thought maybe, since you said she doesn’t hit weak kids….”

As Siol muttered dejectedly, Ryufen put a forepaw on Siol’s shoulder, draping his arm around him, and said.

“Just rush in front of me when my sister is about to hit me. The Captain will save you if it looks like you’re about to get hit. Then the Captain and my sister will have a go at it…. Ack!”

Ryufen screamed, clutching his head. A butter knife clattered to the floor. Ryufen also rolled on the floor, letting out a whimpering sound. Despite the commotion, the only person at the table who looked this way was Ladie. Eorzen, who had probably thrown the butter knife, and Muriel and the white lion Reston, who must have seen it, were paying no attention to this side.

A feeling of pity arose as he looked at the dejected Ryufen, who wasn’t receiving a single shred of attention. He’s not normally a whining wolf.

“It’ll be okay.”

Siol patted Ryufen’s back and comforted him quietly.

Even though Ryufen was expressing so much anxiety, Siol was strangely curious about this sister wolf.

A powerful individual whom even Ryufen feared. An alpha wolf supported by over a dozen wolf cities. But a person who was gentle to weak wolves. A mother who had preciously protected a child who had never once opened his eyes since birth.

What kind of wolf would she be in person?

A certain premonition, too strong to be called simple curiosity, kept tapping at him.

Late into the night, Ryufen and Siol fell asleep, but Eorzen and Ladie talked through the night. It was a meeting that Muriel, the white lion Reston, and later, Lord Meric, also joined.

Everything from specifically what resources would be sent from the Beastmen’s lands, how, and until when, to the number of knights to be provided and their treatment, was put down in writing. Of course, the matter of how to repay the debt after the war was over was also part of the negotiations. When Ladie became king, she would have to take responsibility even for the price of the atrocities committed by the current king.

Ladie was more than willing to do so. A king is one who bears the name of the nation. It was only natural that everything done in the country’s name became the king’s responsibility. Just as one honors and is admired for the glory of their predecessors, one must also feel shame and take responsibility for their predecessors’ misdeeds.

Fortunately, the Beastmen’s demands were more lenient than Ladie had thought.

⋆୨🔮୧⋆

And the next day.

After having breakfast together, Siol, Eorzen, and Ryufen finished their preparations to leave.

“I want to go too!”

Luber pleaded, trailing closely behind Siol.

“I told you, you can’t, Luber.”

“Why? I want to go too! I want to go with Master Siol too. Please take me with you. Huh? I’ll comb your hair, do the laundry….”

“Luber.”

“Why! Take me, take me too. Why are you leaving only me behind?”

Unable to move because Luber was now hugging his leg with his whole body, Siol looked down at his feet, troubled. The large, golden-brown puppy’s face was already a mess of tears. His eyes, full of sorrow, were so pitiful that he couldn’t bring himself to push him away.

As Siol stood there, not knowing what to do and just calling Luber’s name, Ryufen strode over, grabbed Luber, and flung him away.

“Hey, I told you, you’re too weak, so you can’t go.”

“But I can still protect Master Siol!”

Luber shot back up and yelled. Ryufen clicked his tongue at him, then looked down condescendingly and said.

“You pup, you’re weak. But there’s a bigger problem than being weak, you know? You have no will to become stronger. You run away as soon as the training gets a little tough, and you think you can protect Siol? Pfft. This kid is saying some funny stuff. Siol may be frail, but he gets things done when he has to, you know? He even fought and won against Nathaniel, you know? Of course he’s stronger than you.”

“Master Siol… is stronger than me…?”

“Yeah. You’d just be a hindrance if you came along. Think about it, you dummy. Are you a better cook than me, are you a better fighter? I heard you didn’t even train properly, saying you just wanted to be a pampered pet dog that everyone fawns over. And you want to come to such an important place after all that? Just stay here and live getting pampered by people.”

Was there really a need to be so harsh? Just as Siol was about to stop Ryufen, Luber, who had been sniffling with his chin trembling, pressed his lips together and burst into tears. He just stood there, tears streaming down his sorrowful face, and it was impossible to ignore him and pass by.

Siol put down the luggage he was holding and hugged Luber.

“I’m sorry, Luber. It’s dangerous, so I can’t take you with me.”

“If… if I were strong, you would have taken me, right?”

Luber sniffled, rubbing his face into Siol’s chest. Siol quietly looked down at Luber for a moment before simply pulling him into an embrace. With Luber crying so miserably, he couldn’t offer the false comfort of saying no. He didn’t know if they would ever meet again, so he didn’t want to lie, nor did he think a lie would comfort Luber.

And yet, the thought of taking Luber with them didn’t cross his mind, which perhaps meant Siol had also become tinged with the cold reasoning of the Beastmen. Unlike the human lands where one was dragged along by force once they became a knight, the Beastmen’s lands were thoroughly wild. He was sorry, but Luber could not be part of the group.

“I’m going to train. I’ll train hard and definitely follow you next time.”

“…Okay. If you’re training hard, I’ll take you with me next time.”

“I’ll work really, really hard. Really, really hard and… hu-eong….”

Siol gave one last tight hug to Luber, who couldn’t even finish his sentence before breaking into sobs again, and then let him go. Luber looked up at Siol with a face dripping with reluctance. Siol gazed down at the face, a mess with tears and snot, gently stroked his forehead, and then planted a little kiss on it.

“See you next time, Luber.”

“Hic… hu-eo-eong…!”

The unexpected farewell seemed to be a huge shock, but he’d probably be okay after a little while. Siol also felt a pang of regret as they had grown quite fond of each other while living together for a while, but he couldn’t take a kid who said he hated fighting and training to a dangerous place. It would be safer for him here than going to deal with Nathaniel.

He might be crying like this today, but feelings of disappointment and sadness were bound to get better with a little time. Luber was the most beloved dog in the mansion, so everyone would surely vie to comfort him, and while receiving so many pets from so many people, he might quickly forget the person he had only spent a few months with.

That would be a little… disappointing.

As Siol reached to pick up his luggage again, Ryufen snatched the bag away as if stealing it.

Leaving Luber behind like that, they went outside the mansion, where Eorzen, Ladie, and Lord Meric were waiting.

“Master Siol.”

“Ladie.”

Ladie threw her arms around Siol in a tight hug.

“I’m so worried about you.”

“Me too. I’m worried about you too.”

“Don’t you dare get hurt. You have the pouch, right?”

“I have it right here. Don’t worry.”

The pouch Ladie was talking about was the one Siol and Ladie had used before to let each other know they were alive. The crystal ball couldn’t be used over long distances, but this pouch was different. On Earth, too, there were often times when a text message could get through even in places with poor reception where a video call was impossible. It was presumed to be a similar principle.

Remembering this pouch yesterday had vastly increased what the group could do. They could communicate with each other and even deliver supplies. Of course, in the process of discussing this, Siol had to confess that his claim about the pouch being on the verge of breaking was a lie. Ladie had grumbled that she would have understood if he had just told the truth, but it seemed she decided to be satisfied with being able to communicate more often.

Confirming each other’s well-being and delivering supplies were incredibly important. But the true value of this pouch lay elsewhere.

Originally, to stop the king, they simply had to wait for Ladie to conquer more territories and gain a higher level of authority. There was nothing they could do besides the standard plan of acquiring more territories to gain more authority and eventually seizing the Royal Capital’s tower.

Although they could pinpoint the king’s location from the control room here in Meric territory whenever he captured a new tower in the Beastmen’s lands, it was obvious that by the time the dragon flew to that tower after confirmation, the king would have already left for another location. The distance between the human lands and the Beastmen’s lands was too great to carry out such an operation.

But now, they could confirm the king’s location in real-time through messages with Ladie.

If they could track him down and take his life, they could end this entire situation in an instant. Even if they failed to assassinate the king, if they could just make the city’s Beastmen witness the king coming out of the tower during the fight, they could change the tide of the situation.

Informing them that their towers were being taken without their knowledge would make even the cities that had been indifferent until now take the problem with the king seriously.

If the Beastmen’s lands united, dealing with the king would become much, much easier.

“Nathaniel is a creepy and insidious man. There’s no telling what he has prepared. You know that, right?”

“Don’t worry, Ladie. I’m an even more insidious alchemist. I’ll make all sorts of preparations and come back victorious.”

“Master Siol is… a little insidious, but he’s not creepy.”

Ladie said, subtly averting her gaze, as if she couldn’t bring herself to say he wasn’t insidious. Having seen Siol laugh insidiously while conducting research in his lab several times, it seemed Ladie just couldn’t tell a lie.

Siol nodded and chuckled. It was now truly time to leave.

“I’ll be going then, Ladie.”

“Master Siol, never leave the blue dragon’s side. You’ll be safe then.”

“I will.”

“I’m not kidding. I’m telling you to go everywhere with the dragon.”

“I said I will.”

Siol smiled and nodded, then turned around. His eyes met Lord Meric’s, who gave a nod with a stiff face. Though his expression was gruff, Siol could see the worry within it. Siol nodded back at him in greeting.

Eorzen, who had been waiting for the farewells to finish, held out his hand to Siol. Siol gazed at Eorzen, who looked especially beautiful today, as if in admiration. How could he have talked with Ladie all night and still be dressed so beautifully? He was truly a diligent dragon.

As Siol settled into his arms, Eorzen unfurled his wings from his back and soared high into the air. On the ground, Ryufen, carrying a large backpack, began to run. Hearing a voice call out, “Master Siol,” he looked back to see Luber, who had run out of the mansion, practically wailing. Asios was patting Luber on the shoulder.

Siol buried his face in Eorzen’s chest, squeezed his eyes shut, and then opened them. The Meric territory, which had become tiny in an instant, was receding below his feet.

The human lands were originally a place that held only painful memories for Siol.

It was the land he arrived in after abandoning the blue dragon, the place where he met the king, and also the place where he lived, deceived by the king. As soon as he arrived, the repercussions of his past actions hit him squarely. He acted as if he were avoiding showing his face out of consideration for Lord Meric, but in truth, he had simply holed himself up, afraid of the contemptuous gazes.

If Luber hadn’t helped him, he might have stayed cooped up forever. Thanks to the big puppy who had approached him, he had slowly crawled outside to research firewood, save the children, create a tool for Ladie, stop Nathaniel’s plot involving his last breath mixed in wine, drive away Nathaniel when he attacked again, and find out about the control room….

As he diligently solved the problems right in front of him, the people of Meric territory began to acknowledge Siol. That feeling when Mrs. Oshu from the bakery first held his hand and thanked him—he still couldn’t find the right words to describe that feeling. At that time, all he could think was that he had to work hard. Harder, and even harder.

And so, Siol came to have a place to belong. It was the room on the second floor, made cozy and warm after an argument between Luber and the maid Ronia. A real room, completely different from the basement where he had simply placed a bed in a corner of the lab.

People cared about what Siol ate, sighed when he ate too little, scolded him when he dressed too warmly, put good firewood in his fireplace, and smiled at him when they met.

At some point, the human lands were no longer just a painful place for Siol. Siol was deeply glad for that change.

But the happiest thing was something else.

“Siol.”

“Yes.”

“What are you thinking about?”

Eorzen asked, tilting his head towards Siol.

He couldn’t possibly say to that gently smiling face that he was happy to have met him again, and happy that if this mission succeeded, he felt he could create a place to be by his side. If he was caught making such an insidious plan, he would surely be interrogated about his ulterior motives. This kind of thing had to be carried out secretly, without the person’s knowledge, so that by the time they came to their senses, it would have already become reality.

“It’s nothing. I was just… thinking about after everything is over.”

“After everything is over.”

“Yes. You, Lord Eorzen, will go back and rule your city.”

“You as well.”

Eorzen whispered, as if cutting him short, and then spoke in a chiding tone.

“You promised to go with me, did you not.”

“Did… I?”

“You did.”

When was that? He couldn’t for the life of him remember when he had made such an admirable promise.

Seeing Siol’s expression as he desperately wracked his brain, Eorzen narrowed his eyes. Siol felt terribly wronged. If something like that had happened, there was no way he would have forgotten. But he didn’t want to argue that he had never made such a promise either.

Just as he finally decided to slyly pretend he remembered, Eorzen confessed with a face so pale it was as if he had suffered some great betrayal.

“…You said you wanted to be my alchemist, did you not.”

“What? Well, of course I did, but….”

“And you asked if you could return after all your work was done.”

“I… did.”

“I have been looking forward to that day ever since, and now you say you won’t return with me.”

Eorzen’s tone, which had been full of disappointment at first, gradually turned to reproach. He spoke again before Siol could even answer. This time, it wasn’t reproach, but a voice so full of disappointment it seemed it would flicker out at any moment.

“Or was it perhaps a promise to come back in about a hundred years….”

“What? No! Right away, I’ll go right away!”

Siol quickly denied it and, composing his voice which was trembling with joy, emphasized once more.

“Let’s, let’s go back together….”