Chapter 768

“That’s how it happened.”

Ja-han, with the tone of a protagonist reflecting on their life, confessed the crushing defeat of that night’s battle. In front of his shadowed face, we bowed our heads solemnly, mourning the tragedy that had swallowed him… or so we would have, if it weren’t for the fact that it was all his own fault.

“Good job, guys.”

Tragedy? What tragedy? This was self-inflicted. You got drunk, had a pride-fueled argument, and it escalated into a fight on the bed? I’m speechless. Are you two ten-year-olds? Or twenty? Wait, Nigel is in his early twenties, but still… If Freide heard this, she’d be rolling on the floor laughing, maybe even passing out from lack of breath.

The others listening seemed to share my sentiments, as they all let out awkward laughs and shook their heads.

“Nigel, you’re bolder than I thought…”

Rana, with a blush on her cheeks, planted an irreversible thorn in Nigel’s heart with her innocent remark. Milia looked at Nigel as if she had finally found a fellow countryman after wandering in a foreign land, while Asha, with a slightly sullen expression, put away her now-useless scissors.

“It was… a mistake…!”

Nigel’s face turned so red it looked like you could fry an egg on it. It was so comical that Ophelia, exhaling a long puff of magical cigarette smoke, chuckled.

“What a bunch of idiots. If you wanted to win so badly, you should’ve spiked their drink.”

What kind of nonsense is this? Typical mage thinking. First, she was obsessively collecting World Tree leaves, and before that, she was chugging something like stimulants to defend against mental attacks. Is this woman secretly a drug addict?

—

After causing trouble while drunk, the two of them sat in complete silence, pondering for a while before agreeing to treat it as an accident and forget about it. They decided it was just a one-night mistake and vowed never to mention it again.

But all that agreement was for naught, as I—no, Cascador—ended up exposing their secret to the world. That beast, I knew it would cause trouble someday. Revealing someone’s secret like that, it must not understand human emotions at all, being a dumb animal.

“Anyway… if Nigel’s out, who should we send?”

Ignoring Nigel, who was crouched in the corner with his face buried in his knees, we pondered how to deliver the news to the Pailoon territory. With Nigel out of commission, the only ones who could ride Cascador were Rana and Ophelia… but it’s too dangerous for Rana, and Ophelia doesn’t have the stamina for a forced march.

“If we had any fuel left, I could go, but we used it all up earlier…”

Asha also had no solution. Riding a horse was impossible for her race, and flying with a jetpack was out of the question without fuel.

“Sigh… this is going to take longer than expected.”

Without Cascador, we’d have to find a regular horse and gallop to Pailoon, which would take days. If we’re unlucky, we might be stuck here guarding the dragon bones for weeks.

But… what can we do? If that’s the only way, we’ll have to endure it. Let’s think positively—at least we won’t freeze to death with two mages who can start a fire.

Just then…

“Um… Astika. I think I can help with that.”

A golden savior appeared before me.

“You can help? Weren’t you just saying you had to return to defend the Holy Kingdom?”

“A female knight with master-level skills, stamina for a forced march, and the ability to ride a unicorn—that should suffice, right?”

“…I guess so?”

“Our Holy Legion needs to return, but lending you a high-ranking paladin shouldn’t be a problem. If we report it as sending reinforcements to the Imperial Diocese where you are, even the Cardinal would understand.”

Seilon then introduced a paladin standing nearby.

“This is Judge Adamante Clair from our order. She was my junior when I was just a paladin, and she recently got promoted to Judge.”

“It’s an honor to meet you, Astika! Judge of Order, Adamante Clair, at your service!”

The Judge, removing her helmet, bowed deeply with a bright, energetic voice. Her short, dull blonde hair and determined eyes sparkled with admiration.

“Uh… nice to meet you.”

“Thank you!! That you would need me, Astika! What an honor!! Please, entrust me with anything!!”

…What’s with this energy? Her voice, actions, even her height—she was unnaturally large. She was at least a head taller than me, which would make her a giant even in the real world.

“…Is she really okay?”

I pulled Seilon aside and whispered in his ear. Her exaggerated demeanor was hard to trust.

But Seilon just smiled and nodded reassuringly.

“Yes. Don’t worry. Aside from her loud voice, Adamante is a skilled and honorable Judge. She’s a proud junior of mine.”

“If you say so… alright, I’ll trust her.”

I nodded, reassured. After all, Seilon wouldn’t lie to me about something like this.

—

And so, I handed Adamante the Sealing Ring and summoned Cascador, asking her to deliver our message to Pailoon. Adamante, with a solemn expression, vowed to complete the mission at all costs and saluted.

True to Seilon’s word, she mounted Cascador without issue. I was worried her height would make Cascador struggle, but instead, the beast looked dozens of times more lively than when I rode it. It was like the face of a freed slave—completely forgetting all the care I’d given it.

“Then, I’ll be back soon!! Seilon-senpai!! It’ll be hard to see you again!! Good luck!! May Astraea’s blessings be with you!!”

“…Yes. May her blessings be with you too.”

With Adamante’s departure to the Empire, it was unlikely she’d see Seilon again. After a brief farewell, she spurred Cascador and galloped down the mountain.

“Hmm…”

Thanks to Cascador, it was an impressive display of horsemanship, enough to draw a quiet gasp of admiration from Ja-han.

—

Several hours later…

“Then… we’ll be returning as well. We’re ashamed we couldn’t assist you to the end, but… we can’t leave the Holy Kingdom unattended for long.”

“Don’t worry about it. I should be thanking you. Without the Holy Legion’s support, we’d have been in serious trouble.”

Seilon and the Holy Legion descended the Sky Mountain Range and headed back to their homeland. Though we had just reunited, it was inevitable they had to leave. The Holy Kingdom couldn’t be left undefended for long. Sending two thousand troops was already the maximum they could spare.

—

“Everyone’s gone.”

“Yeah. But at least they left us the barracks. Let’s take it easy here for a while.”

“Take it easy…?”

Ophelia, shivering from the cold, exhaled a white breath, as if questioning the meaning of “taking it easy.” But that wasn’t my concern. There were far more important things to deal with than listening to Ophelia’s complaints.

“Asha, do you still have that bear hide from before? Wrap that fairy up and stuff her in a corner. Check if her tendons are still attached.”

“Got it!”

For example, the issue of storing the Fairy Guardian whose ears I’d cut off…

“Hey, pink scales. You still awake?”

Or dealing with the prisoner who surrendered the moment the battle turned against us.

“…Finally, you’re looking my way. I thought you’d forgotten about me after leaving me here for hours.”

“How could I forget you? A two-legged, winged pink lizard.”

I’d been busy with post-battle cleanup, but I hadn’t taken my eyes off him. Unlike Ereneisia, who was completely incapacitated, Macaoros was a dangerous individual who could cause trouble if he regained his strength and mana.

“So, you’re surrendering to the Empire? You’ll cooperate fully with whatever we ask?”

“More precisely, I’m surrendering to you. Kneeling to a barbarian with no elegance is humiliating, but… dead men can’t be elegant.”

“Smart. It’s hard to maintain elegance when you’re a corpse covered in scales.”

As I looked down at Macaoros, I pondered what to do with this lizard.

“You’re so smart, you must have an idea of what I’m thinking, right?”

“Whether you’ll accept my surrender or, just in case, cut my head off?”

“Exactly. I’m still not sure.”

I nodded, then drew Durandal from my waist and pointed it at his neck.

“Give me a reason to spare you.”

I let my killing intent show, ready to behead him if he resisted or spouted nonsense.