To soar the skies, unhindered by the shackles of earth. That was Fye Loraexion’s dream, ever since a young age she wished to see the world from above and beyond the clouds, an ambition many would call foolish or pointless. But ever since she had married her husband, she saw her dreams come just a little bit closer to reality.
“What do you say Princess Leona? Will you help us finish our greatest creation?”
The Princess’ eyes wandered from the lady’s hand extended in front of her to Krieg’s visor which was slightly turned towards her. She was at loss, she truly wished to see something like that become real, but at the same time where excitement grew, her worries did the same. Even if she was able to deliver whatever that Fye wanted, there was no guarantee that it would help finish that ambitious project and if that failed, she would have wasted precious time going to the northern kingdom.
Leona took a deep breath while racking her brain for answers, but instead she drew a blank. However before panic could take over, she took one glance at Krieg and decided to take the most rational approach to the matter at hand.
“I want to say yes, but I’m still unsure how we’ll be able to proceed through all of that. Could I have some time to decide on the matter?”
Fye retracted her extended hand and nodded gently.
“Yes, of course. Once you have decided on an answer please do let me know. Whatever it may be.”
“I will make sure of that, thank you Lady Fye.”
The elegant demi-human lady took her leave and gently closed the door behind her, once her footsteps vanished away in the corridor, Leona turned to the knight wearing a worried expression on her face.
“Krieg, I want to know your opinion on this. Even if we do succeed in aiding in whatever that plan is, don’t you think it would put us back too much needed time?”
He folded his arms while staring at the floor. There was much to be considered in a voyage like that, to the east the path consisted mainly of mountain ranges and narrow passages through caves which all in all wasn’t that dangerous, not considering the fact that death angels could be found at any moment since there was no guarantee of safety outside the kingdom’s borders. Now to the north, while consisting mostly of plains and hills, the temperature could drop way below water’s freezing point, which made the travel much harsher on both people and transport alike. However, it would only take thirty days to get there on foot as opposed to sixty to the east border, not accounting the water transportation which could be from a month to anywhere close to two months depending on the captain of the ship.
“Considering this does indeed succeed and we are allowed to take the air vessel, we should be able to cut the time needed by more than half.”
Leona raised an eyebrow while looking at him.
“Half? How can you be so sure?”
“Queen Eleonora once rode a dragon in the war to the Empyrean Mountain Range, it took half the time than on foot.”
“I see… this is some very good information.”
She lowered her head while pinching her nose ridge with the right index and thumb. Half the time on foot, that was a gigantic time difference, even if they had to take breaks or be attentive to whatever was the needs of a flying vessel, that meant they could make it to the east country and back with more than enough time to spare. Though that was assuming it would succeed, nevertheless Leona opened her eyes with a confident glint in her irises as she looked to the knight.
“Alright. Krieg, call Phoebe, we are heading to the Londrian empire as soon as we are able to.”
He bowed before standing up and exiting out the room with each of his heavy footsteps. The moment he left Leona alone she tried to lift herself up but a sharp pain in the right side of her ribs and with smaller breaths in quick succession she managed to shake off the pain, though it was nothing she ever felt before.
‘Must be from yesterday’s fall…’
Upon turning on her right side the pain subsided and she was able to sit up and touch the cold wooden floor with both bare feet. A chill went up her spine as it had been a very long time since she felt such low temperature. Apparently the blankets were of high quality since she couldn’t feel the difference until just now.
“Brrr…”
Each one of her toes folded inward and out, as if trying to warm themselves. A pair of comfortable looking brown slippers were on the ground just beside her bed, apparently it was readied for her. She slipped both her feet inside them and an almost instant relief hit her body as the fluffy footwear warmed her soles.
She stood up noticing her clothing was changed to a set of white silky clean pajamas and surprisingly it kept most of her body heat from dissipating in the cold room. Reminiscing about the colder nights back in the kingdom made her appreciate the comfortable clothing they prepared.
‘This is really good…’
Leona stepped out of the room and was greeted by Karla who seemed to be waiting for her with a coat ready. She gave a short bow before coming up behind the Princess and putting the coat over her shoulders before helping her wear the surprisingly light garment. Leona couldn’t help but want to ask.
“Karla, are these pieces of clothing made here in the citadel?”
“Hmm? Oh, no, most of them are brought from Londria, since the Loraexion family works closely with researchers from the empire they usually send us prototypes or some samples of finished products. Many of them are garments which sound strange now that I mentioned it since our focus has always been production of arms and transportation, it does sound odd doesn’t it?”
“Well… no one would ever argue against better clothing in this cold I suppose.”
Karla chuckled.
“That is true.”
The servant showed Leona the way as they arrived perpendicular to a staircase after passing through a wooden double door. It was a well lit interior with bright lamps hanging from a silver chandelier, the walls also had mounted supports for lamps but as Leona could easily tell, they were much brighter than the gas-powered lamps found back in the Arcadian capital. The walls were decorated with paintings of previous heads of the Loraexion family, many of which were total strangers to the Princess’ eyes, only the last one that was hanging in the middle of the two staircases leading to the second floor was familiar as she had spoken with Lady Fye just a few minutes ago.
Leona was mesmerized, it felt like a different world, many other servants were busy attending to their daily chores to pay any heed to the princess wandering in the middle of the hall while curiously looking around the whole place as if she was in a museum. Upon crossing to the other side of the hall, she noticed a faint noise of clicking metal, though she wasn’t exactly sure what that was, it surely caught her attention as she turned around to Karla.
“What is this noise?”
“Oh, it’s the typewriter, the young lord must be recording the shipment again.”
“Typewriter?”
“Yes, shall we take a look?”
Leona couldn’t help but feel giddy inside as an involuntary smile grew on her face.
“I would be pleased if possible.”
Karla felt satisfied with herself for being able to entertain such an esteemed guest such as her. She opened another set of double door and this time instead of a dimly lit hallway, there was a spacious storeroom choked full with supplies, different kinds of metals both raw ores and processed ingots were sitting around the place, wooden crates filled with different textile materials were pushed against the stone wall and a few riveted horizontal barrels in the far corner of the room. Sitting in the middle of all that mess there was a pale horned young man of short messy blonde hair and crimson red eyes. His clothing was rather informal and more focused on comfort rather than looks since the washed white shirt was lazily buttoned and the baggy fluffy trousers didn’t make any sense with the rest of his clothing. He pushed up the round glasses as he was going through what seemed to be an endless list of materials on his left hand while the right kept all fingers frantically pressing different keys on a machine set in front of him and every so often he’d smack the side of it, making a cylindrical part make a ding sound every time it hit the edge of the curious contraption. His concentration was only broken the moment Karla got close enough to gently knock on the table, but even then he refused to take his eyes off the task at hand.
“Apologies, I’m finishing soon.”
His voice was deep and serious. Leona couldn’t tell if it was his personality or just the current work weighing in his attention, as his eyes darted back and forth while checking the list as his fingertips nimbly typed out the rest of his remaining workload with a sharp ding coming off the machine the moment he finished. The young lord first slumped back on the chair looking to the ceiling before releasing a relieved sigh. Karla approached him and leaned in beside his left ear, whispering.
“Young lord, we have a guest.”
His eyes darted downwards and the moment he saw Leona awkwardly staring at him, he jolted from his seat and stood up straightening his shirt and glasses. Looking closer, his horns were akin to Lady Fye’s in both form and color, but it was much more coiled. He bowed courteously with his right hand in front of his chest while the other was behind his lower back.
“I sincerely apologize for my lack of perception. Allow me to introduce myself, I am Cyrus Loraexion, elder son of this household. Pleasure to meet you Princess.”
Leona chuckled while shaking her right hand in front of her.
“There is no need for formalities lord Cyrus, my name is Leona Crossford, it is also a pleasure to meet you.”
She observed the way he was dressed and it reminded her of both of her mother and father as they would usually use clothes that were more shifted to comfort and practicality rather than looks and status. Though what really caught her attention was the strange machine sitting on top of the table on his right.
“Lord Cyrus, mind if I ask what this curious invention is?”
She motioned to the surface of the table. He followed her left hand with his eyes until he came across the typewriter. The moment he looked back at her, his eyes had a glint of strange happiness to it.
“Oh you mean the typewriter! It’s a personal gift from an inventor friend of mine, he devised a way to press words into the paper using blocks rather than writing them manually with ink. Come here I’ll show you a sample of it.”
He removed the piece of paper with his annotations and handed it to Karla, who then proceeded to take it outside. Cyrus sat in front of the table as he put a new piece of paper on the top of the typewriter and adjusted the machine by rotating a knob-like piece from the right side, which eventually led the paper to go around the rotating cylinder. He looked up to her with a small grin on his face.
“Here you go, each key represents what you'll ‘type’ on the paper. Here, try it out.”
He stood up beside the table while motioning to Leona to take the seat.
“Ah, thank you.”
She raised both hands above the keyboard with anticipation, each finger spreading towards different keys as she carefully looked for each key she pressed to make sure she wasn’t writing it wrong. In the spacious storeroom, the dry sound of metallic stamps hitting the paper in an uneven rhythm filled the place. Leona was mesmerized by how each of her letters were being imprinted in the paper slowly coming to life, it felt surreal, like as if she was dreaming.
“Princess Leona. I’ve brought Phoebe as you requested.”
Krieg’s voice caught her attention as it snapped her back to the storeroom choked full of supplies. Standing by the doorway, the knight was accompanied by both Phoebe and Karla. Surprised and also a little bit disappointed by their fast return, Leona stood up from the chair.
“Thank you very much Krieg. Lord Cyrus.”
She extended her hand for a handshake after a short bow, showing the excitement in her glittering eyes as she continued.
“I’m honored that you let me use this typewriter machine, I’ll return to this household to discuss more about it with you, if that’s possible.”
He smiled in return while scratching the tip of his left horn as his big right hand grasped the Princess’ smaller palm.
“Of course! I’m glad you liked using it, as brief as it was, Princess Leona.”
She shook his hand firmly with a few nods before walking out of the storeroom accompanied by the knight and the elf behind her. They followed her to the main hall where a few workers carried wooden boxes and other supplies around in a hurry, apparently it was just another day in the Loraexion household.
Settling for the side of the spacious hall where they wouldn’t get in the way, Leona decided to speak with both of them. Her eyes had a glint of determination, an usual sight for the knight but not so much for Phoebe who already held her right hand up as to tell her to wait.
“Before anything Princess, while I don’t believe this household has any grudge against you I would advise to keep an eye out outside, the moment we step out of this house there’ll be eyes of the capital all around us.”
Leona tilted her head slightly as she raised an eyebrow, not quite sure of what the elf was talking about.
“Sorry Phoebe but could you explain that better? Are you telling me there are Arcadian spies here?”
“Not spies, it’s the royal knights from Arcadia, apparently there was a dispatch yesterday from the capital.”
“Yesterday? Didn’t we flee just the day before? How did they-”
Phoebe flinched a bit before sharing worried stares towards Krieg who raised his right hand and shook it in disapproval.
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“Oh…”
The elf slowly nodded while gently biting her lower lips. Leona looked at both of them obviously confused by their strange behavior. She sighed before asking them both.
“What exactly is going on between you two? Did I miss anything?”
Krieg scratched the side of his helmet as he explained.
“Princess, I couldn’t find a better time to tell you this but, you have been sleeping for three days straight.”
Leona blinked a few times, it was as if her brain was trying to comprehend what he had just said.
“Hah?”
“It’s true.”
Phoebe continued to explain.
“After the soldiers aided us in driving the death angel back we hurried to the citadel where they were already taking you to treat the wounds. They were originally a rescue team for the youngest heir of their family.”
Leona covered her mouth with her right hand as her heart was stung by a sense of guilt.
“Selene…”
“Worry not Princess Leona. I already dispatched other soldiers to look for my daughter.”
Upon hearing a familiar female voice, she turned around to face Fye standing somewhat in the middle of the hallway accompanied by two soldiers wearing dark green caps, overcoats, trousers and thigh high brown leather boots. They carried bags and weapons much like the muskets found in Arcadia but slightly bulkier and shorter than normal attached to a sling over their shoulder across the chest. The soldier on the right gave Leona a short bow, she squinted her eyes for a few seconds before she recognized the sharp pointy ears and the blonde hair. Her face lit in surprise as she pointed at him.
“Wait… you’re the person who saved me!”
He straightened his back and placed both hands behind him as he raised his chin before speaking clearly.
“Lest Kimbell, at your service Princess Leona.”
Upon taking a better look, she noticed his eyes were of different colors, the right one being green and the other was blue, they almost seemed to sparkle with pride.
Shortly after his introduction he was elbowed in the ribs by the soldier standing beside him.
“Ow. What was that for?”
“Idiot, if it wasn’t for me she would’ve died. Who in their right mind would forget to carry their medical supplies for a six day trip?”
The haughty female voice surprised Leona since she thought the soldier was another man, her voice however sounded familiar to the Princess’ ears. The female soldier took a step forward and bowed respectfully with her arms behind her back.
“I’m so sorry for my brother’s behavior, my name is Frey Kimbell. I’m the captain of the Personal Self Defense Squad.”
She raised her head again, her eyes were much like her brother’s except opposite colors, her hair was much shorter just slightly above her neck and most of her feminine traits were concealed by the heavy military overcoat.
Leona was somewhat surprised by what she had just heard, female knights were a rare sight, one being a captain was unheard of even in Eleonora’s reign. Seeing someone hold an esteemed position within a household of great importance in another kingdom was definitely impressive in those times. Seeing her with her mouth half opened in surprise, Lady Fey decided to explain.
“They work under our orders, a private army of soldiers if you will. Our family is centered in the business of warfare and technology advancement after all.”
She scratched the side of her right horn with her thumb. Aimlessly gazing at the workers moving all manner of things left and right in a hurry, she shortly returned to look Leona in the eyes, her dark purple eyes with a spark of hope.
“May I have your answer, Princess Leona?”
The Princess’ eyes slowly drifted downwards before she shut her eyes, she took a deep breath before opening them again, staring at the depths of the mesmerizing violet gaze in front of her. There really wasn’t an optimal choice, the added danger from going to the frozen lands of Londria was indeed a very tall hurdle, but with only three people if they ever encountered a death angel in their travels to the east it meant certain death for them. If anything the cold aided in fending off those unholy beasts, but at the same time it was the worst enemy for those unprepared for the arduous travel.
“My answer had already been decided after I left my room. I shall provide whatever aid I can to the Loraexion household in return for the rights to use your airship invention for my expedition to the east.”
Fey couldn’t help but let a small smile curl up in her face as she turned around to the two soldiers.
“Very well, then it’s decided. Take them to the supply and armament depot, give them anything they need for the expedition. Don’t forget to report back to Cyrus once you are done.”
“Yes, Madam Fye!”
They both saluted with their backs straight as the woman started to walk towards the staircase, Leona, Phoebe and Krieg followed her with their eyes until she turned around again to the Princess.
“Safe travels. I pray that you succeed and may our alliance be a lasting one.”
“I appreciate your concern and I hope the same.”
Lady Fye nodded and started to head upstairs. Leona turned around to face Frey who was already holding in her hands the bag she was carrying on her back.
“This is our standard uniform, Lady Fye suggested that you wear this in case there were any Arcadian knights patrolling the streets.”
“I see… thank you.”
Leona took the folded dark green overcoat, opened it and slid her arms through the thick sleeves, it was a perfect fit. Even while still wearing the ragged dress she was able to wear the full uniform without hindering her mobility, the boots were a very welcomed addition after spending almost a week wearing nothing but cloth to protect her feet.
The overall quality of the uniform was something beyond her imagination for the common footsoldier, not only that but seeing how they were armed with ranged weaponry rather than swords or lances meant they weren’t specialized in taking down beasts, but fellow men and women. She couldn’t help but want to ask.
“Tell me captain Frey, do you use that weapon on your back often?”
The elf glanced at her without moving her head. Her posture was impeccably straight as if she was standing ready for combat at any moment.
“Not really, unless something like a riot breaks out but even then our job is only to keep people safe, not kill them.”
“I see, I believe your words. It’s reassuring to know I’m working with people like yourself.”
“I’m honored that you feel that way.”
Once Leona wore the military garb, Frey stepped in to help her button up the coat, it was a different kind of button from what the Princess was used to and instead of weaving it inside a hole it was two pieces of metal that snapped together when pressed against one another.
“Thank you. I never knew it worked that way.”
Upon looking to the side, she noticed Krieg had already changed to the military garb, his features however stood out amongst the rest of the group, the gray hair and crimson red eyes were unusual features in that part of the country, even some workers stopped in their tracks to take a quick glance before continuing their work. Frey took a look at the knight wearing the overcoat and noticed the Princess also doing the same, which brought a half smile on her face as she started to explain some of the history behind it.
“These are new uniforms from Londria, we were originally from there but the Loraexion family hired us as bodyguards at first before giving us formal training and founding the Personal Self Defense Squad.”
Curiosity picked Leona’s attention after the captain mentioned military training.
“Mind if I ask who exactly gave you this formal training?”
“I’m sorry but I can’t, that’s confidential information.”
“I see, sorry I asked. So shall we move out?”
“Follow me closely.”
Frey turned around and headed to the double doors on the opposite side of the staircase, it had an intricate looking clockwork lock with many gears and switches that once the captain inserted the key that was hanging from a string hidden around her neck into the diamond shaped lock, the contraption started to move as if it was alive. Clicking and snapping could be heard as the gears moved into place to unlock the heavy metal door.
With the creak of metal, the door slowly opened inwards, the sudden light bombarded Leona’s eyes as she squinted and looked away for a few seconds before she could adjust to the unusual bright blue tint. It was becoming much colder in the dwarven citadel with each passing day and the weather reflected exactly that. A thin layer of sleet covered the stone paved street and a chill breeze brushed against Leona’s cheeks, making her instinctively squint her eyes and cover her face with the right arm. After her eyes adjusted to the brighter environment, she noticed the double doors went direct to the street rather than a front entrance, it made her wonder how exactly the place she spent three days in looked like from the outside. She noticed once she had turned around, the building seemed more like a factory rather than a noble’s mansion. Metallic tubes encompassed the entire building, probably pipes for transporting liquids or gas, though the Princess had no idea what they were for. The city was much different from the Arcadian industrialized areas, for one it was much less noisy, there was less traffic of people bringing materials from one place to another and the city was much cleaner.
“Have you ever been to the citadel before Princess?”
Lest asked while adjusting the sling of his rifle from across the chest to the left shoulder, carrying it much like Krieg did with his greatsword. The street itself wasn’t exactly empty but there were a few civilians walking around minding their own business.
“No, not really. Maybe I came with my family but I was too young to remember anything.”
“I see, I hope the cold doesn’t bother you. It’s not as bad as Londria’s weather but it’s chillier than Arcadia’s.”
Leona gave a half hearted bitter grin.
“Well… we’ll be going there anyway so I don’t think I have much choice other than to get used to the cold.”
Frey scratched the side of her cap before straightening it on her head.
“Alright, let’s move. The supply depot isn’t far from here, from there we’ll head to the northern gates to see you three off.”
“Will we get anything to transport our things?”
Phoebe asked out of the blue which almost surprised the captain. Phoebe’s presence felt like it could blend itself to any environment, or maybe it was because she is usually quiet.
“Why yes, you still have to bring a piece of equipment with you. We’ll arrange your ride so don’t worry about transportation.”
“I see, how very kind.”
The Princess could feel some tension in the air as the two elves exchanged words. She knew about the existence of elves and high elves and how they shunned one another for cultural reasons, which didn’t make much sense in her head but nevertheless she had read a thing or two about the rivalry between each race.
Lest cleared his throat before speaking up, breaking the intense exchange of glares from both elves.
“Shall we? It’s rather cold here to be standing idly.”
Frey took a step forward as her head slowly turned away from Phoebe’s intense stare. The soldier sighed while shaking his head.
They proceeded through the wide streets. The path they took wasn’t exactly subtle, much of the time they spent moving was in full open view of other citizens that occasionally glanced at the unusual group of five odd individuals.
“Worry not, most of them mind their own business.”
Frey assured them. Though she knew half of the reason why there were some stares as she glanced back at the knight holding the greatsword on the left shoulder by the sling and the elf wearing her infiltrator garb. Leona noticed the captain eyeing Phoebe up and down as if there was something wrong, but upon gazing at the elf wearing nothing but some seemingly thin cloth she decided to ask.
“Phoebe. Isn't it too cold with that little clothing?”
“Hm? Ah, worry not about me Princess. This shinobi armor is actually enchanted to withstand both heat and cold.”
“Shi- what?”
“Ah, I think a short explanation is in order. Some time after the great war a certain swordmaster started to teach some new ways of warfare and I was trained in one of them. They call us shinobi.”
“Huh, I haven’t heard of news like that. But I guess it’s only natural, given the circumstances of the death angel menace there.”
Phoebe nodded slowly a few times.
“Truly, even with our arts it takes too much effort to bring a medium sized death angel down.”
“Arts?”
“Do you remember our encounter with that party of adventurers in the forest near Karna Village? The curved sword wielding female demi-human, she was using what we call noble arts. To put simply, she could invoke the power of the heavens to inflict thunder attacks upon her enemies.”
Leona grasped both sides of her chin, seemingly lost in thought.
‘So she did cast a spell with hand movements. Interesting.’
“Sorry to interrupt, but we are here.”
Frey stopped the group before gesturing with her open hand towards the right side. A tall semi-circular building made of metal sheets riveted together had a reinforced metal sliding door halfway open, inside there were incandescent light bulbs illuminating the vast area inside, though different in sizes, there were a plethora of wooden boxes stacked with some of them open and filled to the brim with raw materials, mainly metal sheets and beams. Leona was awestruck, there were many workers bringing in and out materials, soldiers from the Personal Guard were also lending a hand with the moving of parts and pieces.
“Wow…”
Frey stepped in front of the group.
“Just one minute, I’ll arrange your transport.”
After a short bow she entered the building while Lest stayed outside with the group while checking their surroundings. Leona wanted to tag along but both guards standing beside the entrance didn’t seem to let anyone in aside from their team inside. Krieg noticed his liege’s eagerness but he was merely wearing the guards outfit, so instead he approached Lest while whispering just low enough so the Princess wouldn’t hear it.
“Do you think you can arrange a way inside for her?”
“I don’t know…”
Lest glanced at the Princess looking earnestly towards the entrance of the supply depot. He scratched the back of his head before turning to the knight once again.
“I’ll try, but don’t get your hopes up.”
The male elf walked with his rifle behind his shoulder and started to talk to one of the guards posted in front of the entrance. Meanwhile Leona approached Krieg with excitement all over her face.
“Krieg, the design and material choice for every building in this city is amazing. Maybe when this is over I’ll officially ask for Lady Fye’s assistance towards the infrastructure matter back in Arcadia.”
“I’m glad that you are enjoying yourself, Leona.”
“I’ve always wondered how these incredible cities were founded. Capital city of Arcadia, Empire of Londria, Citadel of Akrapocalis, even Windia, being a rather small city amidst the neverending ocean of sand. How they came to be what they are today and how we can learn to improve as a nation.”
The spark in her eyes never ceased to amaze the knight, ever since she was little she would always think ahead how to help or improve other people’s lives. Not only for herself or those around them, but also those unfortunate souls mistreated by fate. She believed in a place where everyone could earn their living if they worked hard enough and for that she needed to improve as a ruler and as a person.
The two of them were distracted with the small talk before Lest approached them with a faint smile on his face.
“Princess Leona, I arranged a deal with the guards stationed here, they will allow your entry while my sister is inside. Feel free to follow me, I’ll show you the way around the place.”
Leona could barely hold her excitement the moment she heard his words, surely it was just a supply depot, not much of interest could be happening inside but her brain was brimming with curiosity. Lest turned around to walk inside, he glanced over his shoulder towards Krieg and Phoebe before calling them.
“Oh and you two can come along too. Just keep your weapons sheathed so we don’t disturb the workers inside.”
Phoebe nodded, while Krieg simply let out a short laugh as he followed the Princess inside the building.
Though it looked very messy from the outside, once they were inside there was a clear path between all the stacked wooden boxes and shelves holding materials of all sorts of sizes. Though mostly were of iron, some had intricate looking wooden parts and a few others from brass.
“I’m sure my sister is still handling some of the business regarding your transportation, it is honestly not all that easy to arrange such things in less than three days. Though considering it was a direct order from Lady Fye, I doubt anyone would have the nerve to ignore her in these dire times.”
Phoebe squinted her eyes a bit after she heard what Lest said.
“You say dire, but from what I’ve seen this city is mostly peaceful inside these fortified walls.”
She kept glancing around randomly at the workers who passed by carrying materials, some didn’t even notice and those who did, tried their best to avoid eye contact with her.
“Well… not many are aware of the death angel threat. Those who know about it only heard rumors about them. Thankfully we haven’t had a single casualty inside these walls but I can’t say the same for Lugna, I only helped from afar but the whole place feels like a battlefield.”
Lost in thought, Leona grasped her chin as they reached a wider space amidst the maze of stacked boxes.
“Lugna Plains… wait, you mean you are fighting in an open field against death angels?! Why would anyone do that?!”
“Because we don’t want those fiends terrorizing the hearts of our people.”
The deep voice of a man came from the immediate right of Leona, her eyes traced to the right until she noticed Frey standing with her arms behind her straightened back. The Princess' eyes further moved to the side and upon noticing someone standing beside the captain, she lifted her head to see the face of the person who just spoke. He was very tall, even slightly taller than Krieg. The tanned complexion as well as the grizzled hair, beard and sharp hazel eyes showed his experience, he wore the same outfit as the other soldiers only with different shoulder decorations which instead of matching the colors of said uniform, they were made to stand out with a hint of frostburnt silver on the epaulets.
“Greetings, one of the throne candidates, Leona Crossford. My name is Kurt Dietrich, commander of the Personal Self Defense Force. Or should I call you, Princess Tactician?”