Veight’s wishes were answered. It was but a simple day when the King requested the Nobles to provide a few soldiers in order to tread further into Alabaster. Veight was among those that represented the House of Trois, Diane’s to be exact.

Unfortunately, or perhaps, fortunately, nothing much happened to the unit Veight was assigned into. They treaded Alabaster treating it as a frontier. True, unfamiliar beasts had shown itself, but given the information that the adventurers scoured, as well as the first deployment, they had an idea of how to deal with such beasts.

Spiked Hyraxes. Catoblepas. Several adventurers fell prey to such beasts during the scouting period. Especially when it came down to the Catoblepas’s petrification, which then was impossible to cure. Not to mention the deadly Cerastes which devoured adventurers during the night.

They spent several days and nights wary of the secrets of Alabaster. Then, on one day, lightning struck from the distance. It was a cloudless night. The moon shone brightly. It was dubious how lightning formed and struck. However, news came once the expedition ended.

“So, how was it? Did you find what you were looking for?”

A solemn answer came from Veight. “No.”

An obvious outcome. It has been a year since Albert vanished. His remains would have long been preyed upon by the beasts of Alabaster. A sliver of chance was the only hope, but even that sliver seemed far and out of reach.

“I see.” Diane nodded. “Is there anything else?” asked Diane, her eyes focused on what seemed to be a draft or scribbles of some sort.

“A few had died. Not in the unit I was assigned, however, soldiers of some of the Nobilities perished.”

“And? The cause?”

“Sightings of those who survived said it was a goat. One coated with a golden fur.”

Diane nodded. “Right. Right. I could see that coming.”

“…”

“…”

“You… don’t have much interest on the golden beast?” Veight knitted his brow. He thought the news of such a rare beast would pique Diane’s interest, enough to make want it as a trophy or some sort.

“Whatever you are thinking, no. I’m not inclined nor am I interested in such a beast. The fact that it could manifest lightning just as the reports I received said meant it was no ordinary beast, you know? In fact, I’d rank it among mythical beasts if I were asked. Because even for us humans, even for Academia, manifesting lightning is a tall task. It’s very unstable and hard to control. It can even kill the caster. With that… you get what I’m trying to tell you, right?”

“… Maybe so.”

Diane sighed. “What I mean is it’s extremely hard to make practical use of lightning. Maybe if it was on the level of a powerful spark, we could handle it. But the beast made use of it freely, no? In other words, we shouldn’t mess with that beast.”

“I understand.”

“On the off hand, which houses did those fools came from? I’m pretty sure they’d be a laughing stock for the other Nobles for quite a while. Wait, no. Just get me more details on the expedition and hand it to me in a form a report again. But be sure to include the list of fools.”

“Understood.”

Ahh… How long has it been? Veight thought. Was it 23? Or was it 24 years since? Ah, right. This is the 24th. Still, it has been a long time, hasn’t it, Lady Diane? You were just a little girl, and now you are a mother of two and a Queen at that. I wonder what Albert would tell me if he knew I’m acquainted with such a great person? Still, this is a fine day. A fine life. To witness this event. To witness Heroes for these olden eyes of mine. It’s a great honor, Lady Diane.

“Take me to the captain of your ship. He or she may confirm the authenticity of the crest I have presented you,” Veight suggested.

To his front were soldiers of Laurel. They came ashore as soon as they found Veight walking along the southeastern coast.

“In exchange,” Veight added. “Do allow my comrades to remain free. All the answers you seek will be answered by me.”

Just as Darwin had previously surmised, Laurel placed soldiers around Surtur. Although it was pure conjecture from Laurel’s side, the thought of Libet being responsible for Amelia’s whereabouts was inevitable. Laurel and Libet were never on good terms, to begin with. In addition to the fact that Surtur was the closest possible base of operations for Libet to strike Laurel, the recent announcement coming from Amelia that blamed Libet for the poisoning and the forest fire made Libet a prime candidate.

One Relian soldier expressed his concern, his brows knit underneath his helm. “I see… But perhaps… No, we will take you to our captain after we’ve located your base and identified your comrades.”

“I mind not.”

Some of the Relian soldiers gulped a mouthful of saliva. They gripped the pommel of their swords and asked Veight to lead the way.

This might be a trap. What are they doing here? Are they related to Her Highness? Be wary, be wary. Heighten your senses. Leave no stones unturned.

Several thoughts swirled within the group of Relian soldiers. After all, Veight was every little bit suspicious. His relative calmness on the matter made the soldiers tense.

In every step of the way, Veight recounted the time he spent under Diane’s command.

Though I admired your brilliance, I had hoped to see the same from your daughter. However, you made her grow spoiled. No, to be exact, the late King had spoiled her too much. She grew up as much as you’d expect from a Princess. If that event had not happened, she wouldn’t have exerted her all. It was a like a glimpse of light in the depths of the sea.

True that your daughter had achieved merits upon merits upon rising as a completely different person. But she is by no means comparable to you at your younger years.

Veight had witnessed Diane’s capability. Though for several years it had been mainly observation and negotiations, the base was completely solid.

Rather than a fox, you are more akin to a spider. Moving around never mattered to you. Building the basis for everything was your priority. You simply wanted your house free from the hands of the Nobles, but you ended up as a Queen. A little tragic.

Gradually, Veight’s entertainment shifted towards ‘What would Diane do?’, ‘How would she do it?’, ‘What will be the consequences’, and ‘Who will be involved?’.

Now tell me, Lady Diane, what move will you take? Tell me what I’ll do and let me witness your grace once more.

“Ahaha.” A strained laugh escaped Amelia’s lips. “I’m pretty sure this is Kanna’s fault. Though it’s my fault too for not informing her firsthand. But if I did… she wouldn’t frantically search for me. That and Father would suspect her movements… Still, Kanna, I’m sorry. I really can’t bring you into this. This is just some crazy idea of mine during that moment. So, do forgive me when I come back.”

Amelia wanted to leave the boat adrift for a while longer. However, sighting mercantile ships down south made her move the boat towards Surtur. It would have been all according to her plan if the Halvsoth did not attack during the sail.

“Somehow,” Amelia chuckled. “It feels like I’m hiding from Erina like I used to. But I guess I can’t do that anymore.”

Amelia shifted her sight to Evelyn. “Yeah, I can’t do that anymore. Not with everything going around.”

Throughout the night, Evelyn remained asleep.

“I really can’t wrap my mind around it.” Amelia pinched, balled, clenched the ball of mana on her hand. “This is different from what’s around Evelyn.”

The ball of mana and the protection around Evelyn were similar as far as Amelia could observe. However, they acted differently. Amelia’s mana was controllable by her own will, however, the protection around Evelyn had a mind of its own.

“But this is a fortunate result.”

Evelyn would have been awake by now, Amelia thought. But it seemed that her repeatedly making Evelyn touch her necklace had fortunately extended Evelyn’s time spent unconscious, or in Amelia’s case, asleep.

Although unknown to Amelia, the protection around Evelyn was not an absolute defense. Amelia had drained a sizeable amount unknowingly. Since the protection of the vassal was an utmost priority for the blessing, it had shifted its attention towards replenishing the stocks of the defensive barrier—effectively slowing down the time Evelyn experiences during her stay in her world.

In other words, the relativity of time between Origin and Evelyn’s world had evened out.

A welcome result while Amelia assesses the nature of the mana surrounding Evelyn.

“Still, I can’t land on Surtur…”

The volcanic island was well within normal eyesight.

“The question is… where should I go now?”

It seemed the time she bought for herself unknowingly was only enough to rethink her plan.

It has been a while, but it had me curious. If Libet were able to tame Flameclads, they probably came from Surtur. Not unless there’s another place that I don’t know of where Flameclads lives. Surely, they aren’t transporting them by ship, right? I can’t imagine a ship burning in the middle of the sea due to a Flameclad mishandling.

“Are you serious?!” Evelyn exclaimed. The moment she woke up, still bewildered by the previous event, Amelia gave her a few options. “You want us inside that ship?!”

“Like I said, we could stay adrift or get into a ship. I don’t mind eating for days, but I don’t think the case is the same for you. And don’t think about it. Whatever food you take out here, I’ll take it from your hands.”

Evelyn pressed the palm of her hands onto her temple. “Please give me a moment.”

Evelyn clutched her fringes.

Just… just what is going on, really? What happened. Was it just a nightmare? But I woke up passed out on the floor…

Light pangs pounded Evelyn’s head. “Ugh. A little bit more time, please. I can’t comprehend anything.”

Really, what the heck is going on?! The place was thrashed and practically devastated. And that is no ordinary calamity. I never heard of the sky ripping open for whatever unknown reason! And this girl! Just how fast did she move this boat to arrive here in a few hours!

When Evelyn woke up in her room, everything was normal. She had repeatedly left her room and investigated the immediate surroundings of the building she was staying. After finding out that nothing had changed, she was left sitting on the edge of her bed completely and utterly bewildered.

“Just what the hell happened, then?” She asked herself, her eyes devoid and her sight glued to her feet. She embraced her knees and fell to her side—blinking her eyes in confusion. “…”

Several minutes passed and Evelyn gave up on finding an answer and booted up her capsule. Thinking that it’s no use thinking about things she could not comprehend, she then sought entertainment—games.

That was then when Amelia gave her options.

“You’ll sneak inside that ship with me or we’ll remain adrift.”

Surtur was never near when she took a nap. Evelyn was sure of it. However, she was now at a distance that she could easily identify the coast of the island. A distance where a ship could safely anchor itself.

“Ugh. I shouldn’t have logged. This gives me more headaches.”

“Hmm?” Darwin reared his head towards his cabin’s door. He brought down his feet rested on a nearby barrel and approached a wall decorated with different swords. Once he grabbed the hilt of what seemed to be a rapier, he said, “Who goes there? None of my sailors knocks as silently as you do.”

Darwin left Surtur along with his men, leaving Veight and the others. They believed they’d be a hindrance when negotiations with Relian soldiers start—which is why they decided to bring the ship further north.

The door opened. Nothing. Nary a figure a person was seen across the hall.

But then came a whisper beside his ears.

“Rest your sword.”

It was over. A blade unraveled itself out of thin air and appeared beside his neck. “I’m taking over this ship.”

Darwin creaked his head. There he saw a somewhat familiar figure. An infamous figure in Libet.

“By my name, your life will be spared. That is, if you do as I command.”