“Is it Belus Alphen?”
Ereta’s voice. Aslan felt the voice of the clinging woman tickle his neck, and he sighed as he moved his mouth slightly.
He wondered if there had really been a need to cling so closely, but the woman seemed to have no such thoughts.
Rather, as if trying to make up for the two days she hadn’t seen him, the woman even placed her legs on Aslan’s lap and wrapped her arms around his neck.
There was no way for Aslan to escape from this aggressive physical assault.
Firstly, because Aslan himself had agreed to forgive occasional behavior like this.
Since there was tacit consent, Aslan merely nodded his head to change his focus.
When Aslan nodded without showing much expression, the woman with clear signs of injury rubbed her cheek against Aslan’s chest.
“Belus Alphen will play the most crucial role in this agreement. In fact, if we can secure Belus Alphen’s cooperation, we might even be able to end this civil war.”
Upon hearing this, Ereta let out a snort through her nose. The woman didn’t seem to care much. It appeared that as long as she could be with Aslan and observe his actions, nothing else mattered.
“I think it would be better to move after having more recovery time.”
Thus, the opposing opinion wasn’t Ereta’s.
Ereta’s sarcastic tone was different from the cold tone that followed, which seemed to mimic someone else.
With that tone, the elf girl with an adorable appearance said:
“Everyone’s combat ability has significantly decreased. If we were to encounter a surprise attack, it would be dangerous.”
Aslan silently listened while glancing at Phey, who was imitating his tone, and Phey looked around the group with a cold expression.
Angie, wrapped in bandages, Ereta, whose wound was still healing and had a bandage on her head, Tiamat, who seemed to have difficulty moving her arm as she kept rotating her shoulder—these comrades who had endured the two days without Aslan were still recovering from their injuries, and even Phey belonged to this group.
The elf girl with bandages around her abdomen inside her dress wanted to wait until they had recovered further in case of any possible ambush and intended to advocate for it.
However, before that argument could be made, Tiamat laughed softly and said,
“That won’t happen, creepy brat.”
Even with a nickname bordering on insult, Phey showed little reaction.
The emotionless elf girl accepted the insult without changing her expression and asked,
“Why?”
In response to this question, Tiamat crossed his arms and lifted his head. His demeanor radiated arrogance.
“Because the mountains, valleys, and hills surrounding Belus Alphen are entirely ours. Even the mighty warriors, the sons of the mountains, do not dare to challenge us, and neither does the Calus Empire reach out to us. Our dragon-born warriors are as strong as a million soldiers within our own land!”
“Ugh, shut up!”
Tiamat’s confident shout was loud enough for Angie, sitting right next to him, to cover her ears and wave her hands.
Because of this, several gazes from the campsite briefly turned toward the group before withdrawing.
At first glance, it sounded like nonsense. Ereta’s expression was indifferent, and Phey’s remained cold.
But as evidenced by Angie staying quiet despite not being fond of the dragon-born or Tiamat, there was some truth to what he said.
Still speaking somewhat boastfully, Aslan commented,
“There is some truth to it. Belus Alphen is overwhelming in defensive warfare, and their dragon-born warriors are indeed quite strong.”
“Yeah! Belus Alphen is strong! So, the road ahead will be safe….”
“Ah, stop being so loud! Speak quieter!”
Once again, Angie waved her hands. Tiamat yelped and rolled on the ground.
Despite the ridiculous sight of the red dragon-born rolling on the ground, Aslan explained without changing his expression.
“Tiamat is right. The road ahead will be safe.”
The slum area known as Tail Quarter has a considerable population. Despite its size surpassing many other slums, there has never been a single instance of rebellion or unrest within Belus Alphen.
This fact alone revealed one aspect of Belus Alphen’s strength. Moreover, since this power is concentrated solely around Belus Alphen and its neighboring regions, the local security is exceptionally good.
Upon hearing this explanation, Phey, who had never been to Belus Alphen and was uncomfortable due to her reduced combat ability from her injuries, tapped her foot while crossing her arms as if deep in thought.
“Trust me and come along.”
Aslan smiled slightly at Phey, who then, upon seeing his gaze and smile, reluctantly nodded, acknowledging that there was no other option.
Since Ereta didn’t require persuasion, the only one left was Angie.
Angie, who wasn’t particularly pleased about going to Belus Alphen.
The girl stopped her argument with Tiamat and looked at Aslan.
“…Do we really have to go this far?”
Her question was valid. This civil war wasn’t Aslan’s battle.
After saying this, the girl seemed to realize something and added,
“Ah, of course, I don’t doubt you. I… trust Aslan’s judgment. Still, I just… wonder if it’s necessary for us to get involved.”
It was obvious that her real reason was simply that she didn’t want to go to Belus Alphen, but the girl tried to hide it and instead watched Aslan carefully.
Seeing the worried expression on the girl’s face, wondering when Aslan might scold her, Aslan smiled slightly.
“You’re right. There’s no absolute necessity for us to go this far. We could send official envoys from the empire to resolve this…”
“Then…”
“But it’ll be faster and more certain if I take the lead. Besides…”
Besides? The girl tilted her head curiously, and Aslan continued with a smile.
“It’s because I can.”
The girl tilted her head the other way, seemingly not understanding, but Aslan had already made his decision.
Aslan couldn’t delegate tasks that fell under his responsibility to others.
*
Belus Alphen was located to the north of Count Scherlukunde’s territory and northwest of Varmanz.
The route to Belus Alphen was akin to retracing the path they had already taken but choosing a different direction.
Previously, they had crossed the tunnel through the mountain where they fought the Gobil tribe in a fierce duel over honor, and traversed the vast plains of the Crown Tribe.
After the guide changed, and their mounts and equipment were updated, the group traveled along the canyon of the Silent Tribe and marked the hills of the Hill Tribe as they moved forward.
By following the unofficial borders of Varmanz on a large scale, they arrived at the Plague Valley on the northwest border of Varmanz three weeks later.
Their journey was expedited thanks to the well-maintained roads of Varmanz and the cooperation received within Varmanz itself. They arrived earlier than the initially expected month, creating a relaxed atmosphere among the group.
Aslan’s group decided to rest thoroughly upon reaching Plague Valley and quickly prepared their camp.
“Aslan, I’ve brought plenty.”
“Thank you.”
While Ereta unloaded firewood with a crash and Tiamat skillfully shot wild animals, Aslan stacked the firewood Ereta had brought to build a campfire.
Skillfully constructing the campfire, he surrounded it with stones to prevent the wind blowing from across the valley from easily extinguishing the flames. He also dampened the firewood with an appropriate amount of oil to facilitate ignition, completing the preparations.
The oiled firewood glistened as it waited for ignition, prompting Aslan to extend his finger, only to pause.
Aslan’s magic did not respond, but there was a presence nearby. A presence that didn’t belong to anyone in the group.
Aslan retracted the finger he had extended to ignite the fire and subtly turned his eyes.
There stood Tiamat. Already having shed his upper garment, Tiamat concealed an arrow behind his back and drew the bowstring.
Their eyes met—Tiamat’s yellow pupils and Aslan’s teal ones—and the seasoned intentions of both warriors aligned.
The moment Tiamat nodded, Aslan’s hand swept his cloak and lunged forward.
“Aaaack, Thud!”
A swift ambush. A clever counterattack against the would-be ambusher startled someone hiding behind a tree. A bronze-feathered dagger embedded precisely beside the man’s head trembled, causing him to step out from the shadows.
At first glance, the man appeared shabby, yet Aslan frowned upon examining his attire.
The spear in his hand, the axe slanted at his waist, the padded armor wrapped around his body, followed by chainmail—his eyes burned with hostility, revealing his identity clearly.
He was too well-equipped to be a mere thief. Likely a mercenary turned deserter or bandit. After finishing his calculations, Aslan reached for his next dagger, only for Tiamat to grumble and aim his bow.
“What kind of incompetent warrior allows bandits to operate near Belus Alphen? I’m just about to…”
The steel bowstring tightened, and the arrow in his hand rotated into position—a calculated ambush shot. Just as the arrow was about to target the man, he flinched upon spotting Aslan.
This reaction wasn’t due to encountering a dragonborn archer for the first time or sensing the impending flight of a massive arrow—it was pure astonishment.
Both Tiamat, a dragonborn, and the man recognized the difference in reactions. However, the bowstring had already been released.
If things went as planned, the man would be split in half. At that instant, Tiamat twisted his bow, disrupting the aim. The arrow, leaving the steel bowstring, flew askew and charged toward a towering tree.
“BOOM!”
“Screeeeech… BOOM!”
The thunderous sound accompanied the falling giant tree. The man, beyond flinching, wet his pants, prompting members scattered around the campsite to rush over upon hearing the explosion.
“What’s happening? What’s going on?”
Among them, Angie was the fastest. Angie dropped the large animal Tiamat had caught and rushed over.
“Huh?”
She stopped upon seeing the man standing rigidly beside the fallen tree, having wet his pants. Her wide eyes and gaping mouth expressed shock.
“Angie?”
And the shock wasn’t limited to Angie alone. Upon seeing Angie, the man hesitated and called out her name, even though no one had mentioned it. Moreover, they were near Belus Alphen.
This implied only one thing. Thus, Aslan furrowed his brow and questioned,
“What’s someone from the Tail Quarter doing here? And with such good equipment?”
The man was a pauper from the Tail Quarter. Among humans familiar with Angie, there could be no one else.
Furthermore, for a pauper from the Tail Quarter to be heavily armed near Belus Alpen meant almost one conclusion:
Rebellion.
As Aslan prepared to throw his dagger at any moment, demanding an answer, the man, who had wet his pants, trembled lightly and glanced behind him.
In the direction the man was looking, a group emerged from the dense bushes.
They were all heavily armed individuals.
Spears, axes, shields, swords, and maces—they bore little resemblance to paupers anymore.
Seeing this motley crew, Tiamat’s expression contorted, and Aslan clicked his tongue. Anticipating the chaos of a major uprising in the Tail Quarter and the fall of Belus Alphen, someone stepped out from amidst the disorder.
“What’s the matter? I told you to maintain your ambush positions. The patrol schedule isn’t even…”
It was a dragonborn.
Clad in scale armor that seemed to conceal red scales, with a larger-than-average human frame, though not as big as Tiamat, holding a shield and a blunt weapon—an impressive dragonborn.
His hand, gripping the shield, with only three fingers remaining.
Only when Aslan saw the veteran’s shield with a sizable hole did he recognize who it was.
“…Harrod?”
At the sound of his name, Harrod widened his eyes and looked at Aslan and Tiamat.
Of course, he had said they’d be able to return to Belus Alphen, but not this quickly.
Just as Aslan was about to greet him with surprise and joy, Harrod spoke.
“Tiamat senior…?”
Hearing this, Aslan paused and turned his head. Tiamat, true to his expressive nature as a dragonborn, wore a bewildered expression that Aslan could easily recognize.
“Brother?”
As Aslan turned his head back to look at Harrod, Harrod said with a strange expression,
“Why are you appearing from there, senior…?”
Above the valley where a chilling breeze blew, the two dragonborn brothers stared at each other with expressions of disbelief.
