Enzi broke the news of Alice’s disappearance to Ronny almost immediately after getting back to the medical ward. They were the only people in the room at that moment, so they could talk freely.

He put down a book and looked up, “She’s not here? Well where is she then?”

“Like I said, he didn’t know.”

“He only claimed not to know. There’s a good chance that he just didn’t see any reason to tell people like us anything about it.” He continued, “Regardless of what he didn’t say, the fact that he told you anything at all is suspicious. If she’s really missing, I’d imagine they’d do anything to get her back. Risitro isn’t careless enough to leak that kind of information… Not unless he’s trying to use us as pawns to track her down.”

Enzi chuckled weakly, “I think you might be reading into that too much.”

“Am I though? Think. What other means does The Queen have to deal with the coming events? None that we know of.” Ronny held the book he’d been reading up, “I’ve been doing some research on this nation. The military had been my focus.”

“And?”

“Okay. So first off, the highest-level unit in Barnock’s armed forces is the Knight. That’s the position we’ve been training for and it’s the position that Grayson holds. As I’m sure you’ve realized, you’re already more or less on par with him.”

“Sure, but what does this have to do with Alice?”

“If Grayson is indicative of the best soldiers this country has to offer and Mythrill-ranked adventurers are as strong as the evidence suggests them to be, there’s no conceivable way the combined forces of Barnock and Sundenspur can win. Not without Alice.”

“I’m not sure what you’re getting at.”

“What I’m saying is that the notion that Risitro told you about Alice’s disappearance was because he expects us to find her for him. I can’t see any other reason.”

“You know, he could have just been trying to be nice.”

“That’s another can of worms entirely. If that really was his intention, that would mean that recovering Alice isn’t seen as necessary… and I really doubt that he has some kind of secret trump card that we don’t know about.”

“Okay, so assuming that you’re right about his intentions, what course of action are thinking about taking?”

“As much as like to try and find her, I don’t think that’s the correct move for ensuring her wellbeing. There was a reason she left and given the circumstances, it had to be something very compelling. We shouldn’t get in the way of that.”

Enzi frowned, “Well if you intend to sit here and await the invasion, you should know that I won’t be here for that. I only agreed to join the Knights-in-Training because Alice’s Inn was closed and I had nowhere to go. If there’s no hope of defeating the invaders anymore, a Demon like myself can’t stay here. They’d kill me on sight.”

“Where would you go?” Ronny forced himself to sit up straight.

“The Dural Forest. I’d camp out there until things blow over.” He added, “Hopefully you’ll join me out there. Your ability has made me strong enough to survive out there on my own, but only barely. Having some help would be nice.”

“Assuming the status quo on Alice doesn’t change in the coming days, I’ll join you. I only agreed to join the Knights-in-Training because I wanted to stay close to her. If she’s not here, there’s no reason for me to stay.”

“I’m glad to hear it.” Enzi laid himself down on top of his bedspread.

“So what did he say about your horns?”

“He didn’t know much… but he said that the Demon King might want to meet me. He also seemed to suspect that you had a role in the changes.”

“That man is a sharp one. I trust that you didn’t confirm his suspicions?”

“Of course not. He also said that he would keep the news about my transformation ‘out of The Queen’s ears’. I thought that was a strange thing to say. Seems like there might be some tension between them.”

“Maybe it has to do with Alice.”

“I don’t either of them well enough to say.”

Ronny shrugged, “I get the feeling we’ll find out soon.” He added, “Let’s leave the palace tomorrow morning. We’ll go to The Inn to see if she’s there. If not, we’ll leave for the forest. The sooner the better, I think.”

He and Enzi continued talking for while after that, going on about the preparations they’d need to make and about plans for surviving the forest. They fell asleep anxiously anticipating the next day.

♦

Deep underground, in the depths of her labyrinth, Madison stood across from the Blight Lord, her greatest accomplishment and worst sin. She had been working on it since her teens, and its childish-sounding name reflected that. By now, it was almost twenty years old, but it still hated her as much as it had on day one. These days, the combined hatred of its components was powerful enough to go against her orders on occasion.

She had hoped to use it only after Alice dealt with the Mythrill Invasion, to deal with the Adamantite that would surely be sent, but now that she was out of the picture, the Blight Lord would have to be brought to the surface ahead of schedule.

The world wouldn’t take the fact that it existed well. Madison had no doubt that she’d go down in history as being one of the evilest humans ever to live, but that didn’t bother her. In her mind, she was only doing what was best for her people.

After a few deep breaths, she pulled the lever that would let her creation begin its escape into the outside world.