Sitting around a table inside a dark cave lit only by a few candles, 6 people covered in hooded gray cloaks could be seen sitting silently in a solemn atmosphere as no one dared to break the silence. Finally, feeling that enough time had passed, an old burly man with short gray hair and a gray beard decided to speak up, saying:

“Liria, it’s not your fault. None of us were able to stop her death.”

At this statement, an elf who looked to be in her thirties with a head of green hair and blue eyes, lightly flinched at this statement aimed at her. While she was facing downwards, it was still easy to see her face contort slightly in anguish and frustration at the old man’s attempt to console her.

Seeing that the old man’s words prove to be completely ineffective in improving the elf’s mood, an older elf, a woman with short gray hair who appeared to be towards the final third of a person's lifetime, tried her own hand at improving the ‘young’ elf’s mood as she said:

“Old Crix is right, there was no way for any of us to act fast enough to save her. After all, we all underestimated just how far the betrayal of the elven elites had gone.. So you shouldn’t blame yourself too much for not being able to act quickly enough to save Aria.”

Deciding to pitch his own words of comfort, an elven male with blonde hair and green eyes who appeared to be in his thirties spoke up saying:

“That’s right, just as Crix and Leveen have said, what happened is not your fault. Instead, you should be proud that you managed to rescue the girl. After all, her safety is essential for the future in this world.”

At the end of his words, two of the others in the room who had been silent up to now, began to nod and give a few short words in assent.

Hearing all the words of comfort coming from her comrades, Liria released a sad sight as she raised her head to look at them and said:

“I-It’s not just Aria’s death that I’m mad about, It’s also Ailya who I feel I failed. Unless you were there to see her, you wouldn’t understand. The poor girl’s face at having to see such a cruel thing done to her mother. Especially since it was her own family who had her killed. It’s just… It’s just not right for such a young girl to have to experience such a traumatizing sight.”

Following up Liria, was the only person to have remained silent up to now, a burly looking elf with brown hair and eyes whose appearance was uncommon among the normally lean members of the race. Speaking up in support of Liria’s experience, the rather wide elf said in his deep and powerful voice:

“I can empathize with what Liria has said. Since I was helping to secure an escape route for Liria to drop Ailya away, as well as creating a false path for the Elven guards to follow, I had the opportunity to see Ailya, and well… The poor girl must be traumatized and confused right now. Honestly, If it wasn’t because we had to make sure the guards lost our trail, I wouldn’t have agreed to leave her by herself in the forest. Even if the active barriers made it so there weren’t any imminent threats to her.”

Hearing Vertice’s statement, Liria shook her head strongly as she rebutted:

“But we can’t be sure that she’ll be safe! After all, the reason why the royals allowed the barriers to be activated was as a precaution to whatever the hell was summoned by the cultist! I swear, I fuckign detest that despotic accursed family, how could they kill a member of their own family! An elven hero like Aria at that!”

Answering Liria’s outburst was Leveen, as she said in slightly accusatory tone:

“You know that she was never liked by her family. She was born with far too much potential and shone far brighter than any of them. You know that the only reason they allowed Aria, a member of royalty to leave the sacred forest, was that they hoped she would have died fighting against the great demon general Gratz. If it wasn’t because Alfred and her defeated Gratz, and as a result Aria became a great hero, they would have never allowed her back into the sacred forest. Though, I guess we should be thankful that as a result of them not wanting her anywhere near them, they allowed her to live by herself in a large manor at one of the villages at the edge of the sacred forest, since it helped her hide Ailya’s existence.At the end of the day, it was Aria’s decision to return to her homeland, and she knew the risks that she faced by returning.”

At this moment, a skinny man with black hair and dark brown eyes added on:

“That’s right, Aria knew that she would always be at danger as long as she remained in the sacred forest, especially with having to take care of and hide Ailya. Truthfully, she should consider herself lucky to have lasted for 12 years without anyone having discovered the girl. Even if she completely cut off contact with everyone else in order to not raise suspicion, all it takes in the end is one mistake for a spy from the royal family to get a whiff about Ailya’s existence. And in this case, it was her own mother who found her out.”

Seemingly not satisfied with this answer, Liria continued to complain as she grumbled.

“But Aria should have never been in such danger Luis! Alfred should have been here all along doing his duty of taking care of his wife. How could he leave Aria all by herself, especially when she was carrying his child!”

Choosing To answer was Croix, who said:

“Now now Liria, you know that Alfred had to take care of important matters. After all, you know that after Aria discovered that she was pregnant, she had old fortune teller Baba read the child's fate. And after we all discovered that Ailya carried a great fate as a ‘child of destiny’, both Alfred and Aria, as well as the rest of us agreed that we needed to prepare for the return of the Demon Lord. It is for that reason that Alfred has been traveling trying to gather his old allies as well as gain support from other key people. You should know that without the support of the Dragon Queen, we won’t even stand a chance against a full demon invasion.”

Adding on to this was Luis once again, as he said:

“That’s right, Alfred has been working tirelessly to build support for our Order so that we’ll be ready to face the great dangers to come. At the same time, it was Aria’s fault for deciding to return. Even if she felt guilty at having abandoned her duty as a member of royalty and giving up her position as crown princess, allowing for the current idiots to have gained power, it was still her choice to come back and help her people. No one was forcing her to come back and decide to become a doctor to help the poor. Even if the common people welcomed her, so long as the capital was festered by those elitist and controlled by her family, she knew she would always have enemies so long as she resided in the sacred forest.”