Less than 30 minutes later, in the gem mine's top levels…

「…Some fuckin' solo adventure this is… Returning rabid jewels to their natural state. Tsk…」

With his hands in his pockets, Straf grumbles as he emerges out of the tunnel into the open area with miners. The mine's foreman notices his return and jogs up to him.

「You're back!… What happened down there? We heard rumbling!」

He asks, walking by Straf's side while he's heading towards the exit.

「Your rock goblin problem is solved. Don't accidentally step on the charged gems or you'll invent an anti-personnel mine before I do.」

Straf replies with a bored grimace on his face.

「A what mine?…」

The foreman stops behind Straf as he enters the exit tunnel.

「…Wait! What about your reward!?… Didn't you want the supergems!?」

He shouts down the tunnel, furrowing his brows in confusion.

「I will send merchants to pick up the mine's output. I already took what I wanted.」

Straf nonchalantly replies, glancing over his shoulder at the shirtless foreman as he disappears behind one of the tunnel's gentle twists.

A few moments later, he reaches the exit. The natural afternoon light blends with the magic lamps' pale blue, and he steps outside the mine's reinforced entrance. As his gaze turns to the city in the distance, Straf takes a large lungful of the fresh air, finally leaving the damp, warm, stale environment behind. The land of Telas Kingdom is geographically similar to Redwing Kingdom, but a perceptive observer can easily tell the difference, as unlike there it's difficult to find a field that is not promptly interrupted by a large hill, or a small grove.

「Right… Gotta get myself a wagon back home. I am not walking all the way back…」

He sighs out, rubbing the back of his head with a very mildly frustrated expression as he reluctantly heads for the stone road leading towards the nearby city.

「…I should make a flying machine.」

Straf rubs his chin, thinking while walking down the road.

Snap.

「Genius!」

He exclaims with a snap of his fingers, grinning as he heads back to Tollenheim…

…

In the evening, in the Redwing Kingdom's capital…

Just outside the city gate, with most of the forces demobilized and already on their way back to their fortresses, a military caravan of wagons is heading towards the city. Draped in Straf's coat to protect her from the chilly winds, Cycelia rides alone in the back of her wagon with only Stripe keeping her company. The heavily armored dragon cultists are trotting right beside them, their heads swiveling in search for threats, red capes fluttering in the wind. Holding her helmet in her lap, Cycelia's emerald eyes meet with Stripe's golden, vertically-slit ones.

「…How is Straf treating you?」

She asks with a light smile, tilting her chestnut head.

「…Fine.」

With her arms crossed, Stripe returns a curt reply, turning her gaze away.

「Really?… He didn't tell you to say that, did he?…」

Cycelia hops benches on the wagon, scooting over closer to her.

「No… It's just fine. Could be worse.」

Stripe shakes her animal-eared head, briefly glancing at Cycelia before looking away again, watching the wagon of capital-based healers trail behind them.

「I see…」

Cycelia nods, lightly tapping her armored fingers on the helmet as the atmosphere grows awkward. Looking for things to say, she stares at her warped reflection on the polished metal.

「…You know, if you renounce your loyalty to the Eastern Kingdoms and swear to never act against the kingdom again, I could tell Straf to release you.」

She suggests, tilting her head again.

「I'm not gonna. I am loyal to the Eastern Kingdoms and I will be until I die…」

Stripe replies with an unyielding and determined tone, refusing to as much as glance over her shoulder at Cycelia.

「…Besides, I was never ordered to act against your kingdom. I was told to investigate things. I just ran out of options.」

She adds, explaining herself. Her golden eyes glance at hers as they pass through the city gate.

「That's right… That's why I was reluctant to punish you, but you're still a spy for a foreign land. I can't exactly let you run amok.」

Cycelia nods in agreement, shrugging her armored shoulders with a metallic clatter of their plates.

「So? My loyalty is absolute. I'm not going to renounce it.」

Stripe remains resolute, staring into Cycelia's eyes with a serious expression with her arms crossed.

「…What if you swore loyalty to the throne as well?」

Cycelia tilts her head, blinking her emerald eyes at the beastman.

「I said I'm not going to-」

「I'm not telling you to renounce your loyalty. I'm asking if you'd be willing to work for me as well.」

Somewhat angered, Stripe repeats herself, but Cycelia cuts in while shaking her chestnut head.

「…Are you asking me to have split loyalties?」

Stripe asks, narrowing her eyes at her. The citizens take note of Cycelia and her caravan, some waving their arms towards her, some simply staring with puzzled faces.

「I'm saying I don't like the idea of you being a slave. You served your mission the best you could despite the adversity. I think that's admirable even for an enemy.」

Cycelia replies as she waves back towards the citizens, smiling at them. She turns her emerald eyes back to Stripe when she's done greeting the people, smiling at her too.

「And what if I do that, and then you order me to act against the Eastern Kingdoms?」

As her golden eyes narrow further, Stripe looks at Cycelia with a suspicion-filled gaze.

「I wouldn't ask you to choose, of course. I don't consider the Eastern Kingdoms our enemies… They're too far, after all. But even if we came to blows, I'd ask you to sit it out.」

Cycelia shrugs her shoulders, and the armor plates upon them clatter beneath the coat again.

「…That's it?」

Stripe asks, scrunching her mouth to the side in an expression of suspicion-filled disbelief.

「That's it. Please consider it. I don't want to force you into it either way.」

She nods, smiling at her while they circle around the Redwing tomb and continue towards the palace.

「…Can I ask why you are so loyal to the Eastern Kingdoms? I don't know much about their land or their culture. It's a land of mystery to me.」

Cycelia says as she turns her emerald eyes away from the distant palace gates back to Stripe. They briefly look at each other before Stripe turns her head away again.

「…I have a life-long obligation.」

She quietly replies, shrugging her black cloth-covered shoulders. The wagon of healers stops by the mages' guild, then the men and women begin jumping out one after another.

「How come?」

Cycelia blinks her green eyes at her, tilting her chestnut head.

「…I was an abandoned child. A spy from the Eastern Kingdoms found me and took me in. He taught me his trade, then delivered me to the Eastern Kingdoms…」

「Ah…」

Stripe replies without looking back at her. Cycelia's shoulders slump a little as her face grows slightly sullen.

「…They thought they could use a beastman spy, both because I'd blend right in with the beastmen, and because of my unique abilities. I'm better than most, essentially.」

She continues and briefly glances at Cycelia.

「So you must be pretty important to them, that's why-」

「No.」

「Eh?」

Stripe bluntly replies, causing Cycelia's head to perk up in confusion and surprise.

「I'm just another spy. We're all disposable in the end. I'm simply returning a debt owed to a man loyal to them.」

She adds, shrugging her shoulders again as she turns her gaze away from Cycelia.

「So… It's because of your father-?」

「He wasn't my father.」

「Your adoptive father-」

Stolen story; please report.

「He wasn't my father.」

She asks, and Stripe corrects her more and more insistently, only confusing Cycelia further.

「…He was just a man who raised me up to a certain point. I owe him a life's debt, so I'm returning it to them. I don't know who my parents were. I don't even know what I am.」

Stripe adds as the palace gate is drawing near.

「…Is there no one in your kingdom who treated you like family?」

Cycelia asks in a gloomy tone.

「I'm not actually loyal to any one king, but to the central authority, the Divine Embodiment…」

She replies, lowering her golden eyes to the wagon's floor.

「…Willow was a little like a grandfather to me. He never treated me like one, but he also never distanced himself from me.」

「Willow?…」

Stripe adds, and Cycelia tilts her head at the strange foreign name.

「Your majesty, we're here.」

The driver announces as he looks at Cycelia over his shoulder. The two plumed guards at the sides stand at attention while they roll inside the perimeter.

「Ah.」

Cycelia notices Lily following the wagon at a slow, leisurely pace. Her crimson eyes look at their wagon, and her brows furrow gently. The dragon cultists stop outside the gate.

They slow to a halt, and the driver quickly hops off. He rushes to the rear as Cycelia stands back up. Stripe jumps off, and the driver offers his hand to help her down.

「…Redwing girl. And where is Straf?」

Lily asks, her golden twin tails lash about while she looks everywhere.

「He's dead.」「Hrk! Wha-!?」

Stripe nonchalantly declares with a tight-lipped grimace. Lily's jaw drops, and she clutches at her flat chest while blinking in shock at the beastman.

「…Don't tell me you took that seriously. I can't imagine what could possibly kill that monster.」

Stripe sighs and looks at Lily with her clawed fists on her hips, her mouth aslant. Lily quickly collects herself and crosses her arms.

「Hmpf. I was outraged by this ridiculous claim. I didn't take it seriously for one second. Complete and utter nonsense. Tall tales for children are more believable. Hmpf…」

She replies, pouting heavily with her head turned aside towards nowhere in particular, audibly scoffing every few seconds while rapidly tapping her boot on the ground.

「…I assume your pointless and short-lived conquest was a success, given that Straf came with? Where is he?」

With her arms still crossed and still pouting, Lily adds as her crimson eyes turn to Cycelia while she dismounts from the wagon.

Clack.

「…It was. He's attending some kingdom business in Telas Kingdom, Lily. He said he should be back in a day or two, don't worry.」

Jumping off the wagon's last steep step, Cycelia replies with a loud accompanying noise of her armored boots on the ground.

「Hmpf!… Worry!? About Straf!? Hah! Ridiculous! What a ridiculous joke! As if there was something to worry about!… There's nothing that can match Straf!…」

Taptaptaptaptaptaptaptap!…

Lily scoffs while rapidly tapping her boot on the ground, once again turning her head away with a scoff. Stripe furrows her brows while watching her foot.

「…You're denying being worried pretty strongly-」

Stripe remarks, pointing her clawed finger at Lily.

「Silence, beastman.」

She growls back, glaring into Stripe's vertically slit eyes with her crimson ones.

While her tone and expression would be enough to terrorize a human, the attempt falls flat on Stripe, and she remains rather unimpressed as she lowers her hand.

「Straf told me to say hi, Lily.」

「He did?…」

Cycelia chimes in, and Lily's murderous face softens in an instant as the little girl turns her scarlet eyes to hers.

「Yes. If you'd like, you could come to the palace tomorrow and I'll tell you everything. I have to see Sir Vinis and have the town criers announce the victory.」

Smiling softly, Cycelia nods her chestnut head, still holding onto her helmet. Two maids exit the palace and approach the wagon.

「Hmpf… I'm here because I wanted to see Straf, but if he's not here, it's a waste of time. I will visit when he's back.」

Lily declares and turns away. She departs towards the gate, flicking one of her twin tails behind her back with her clawed hand.

「Goodnight, Lily. See you then.」

Cycelia nods towards her, then turns to greet the bowing maids with a little nod of her head as well, smiling…

…

Around the same time, in the palace garden by the gazebo…

Clang!… Clang-clankclankclangclang!…

Orange sparks fly as Shien swings his broad-headed spear down at Lian. She deflects it with ease, and the blade digs into the grass.

「What did I tell you about brute force, dear brother!?」

Clunk.

She shouts at him with a smug smirk when she stomps her foot onto his weapon's shaft, just above the spearhead.

Shien clenches his teeth and shifts his stance, ripping the spearhead out of the dirt and raising Lian on his weapon.

Thukk!

「Ngh!」

He grunts when Lian finds herself at the perfect height to deliver a kick right in his feminine face with her other foot. She jumps back down to the ground while he stumbles.

「…Again with the brute force!」

She shouts, grinning while spinning her spear around blunt side towards her brother.

Thunk!

「Hrk!…」

Shien lets out an airless gasp when his smug sister's spear shaft slams right in the center of his chest, just beneath the ribs.

「Hnngh!… Hhhhnghh!…」

Clutching at his solar plexus, he tries to breathe, but finds himself unable to. Lian watches Shien helplessly gasp for air like a fish on land.

「…Is he okay?」

Will asks while watching the battle with Greaves and Alicia, all three leaning onto the gazebo's side balustrade.

Ssswoosh.

「…How pitiful, dear brother… Now you're making Will worried. If this keeps up, I'll be next.」

Lian remarks with a smug smirk on her face, her spear's edge by Shien's throat while he's kneeling before her and trying to breathe.

「Hnnnnnghaaaah!…」

After a brief struggle, Shien finally manages to catch a breath and continues gasping for more. Lian retracts her spear and returns to the gazebo.

Clapclapclapclapclap!…

Alicia claps her hands, impressed by the martial show.

「I'll spare you the humiliation of admitting defeat again. I'll simply assume that you know when you've lost.」

Lian smirks at Shien over her shoulder as he slowly picks himself up off the grass.

「Yes…」

He nods, replying calmly as he wipes his mouth of a small trail of blood, and joins the rest at the gazebo.

「…This time my defeat can be attributed to a previous negative experience. This isn't the first time I've had someone step on my weapon.」

Shien explains while Lian rests her elbows on the outside of the gazebo's balustrade by Greaves and his party.

「Really? What happened, then?」

She asks in a sardonic, tilting her silken black head.

「When I met my master I had grievously wounded him, but one of his acquaintances was a vampire. Bizarrely, it was like a giant beast stepped on my spear…」

「You wounded Straf?」

Will's head perks up in surprise. He and Greaves exchange confused, incredulous looks. Shien nonchalantly nods back as he continues explaining.

「…I tried to get her off, but she greatly outmatched me. To put it simply, she was toying with me just like you are, elder sister.」

「Hmmm…」

Shien adds, turning his black, vertically-slit eyes to Lian. Her smirk grows as she hums.

「I only trust my spear to be a weapon. While I'm sure my strikes and kicks could deal significant damage, I am reluctant to try to do so.」

「That's why I keep wiping the floor with you, dear brother. It's good that you trust your weapon… But just like a loyal and trustworthy friend, it too can fail…」

Lian smugly replies, shrugging her shoulders and spreading her hands.

「…A shrewd warrior anticipates when his trusted friend will become unreliable, instead of waiting to be disadvantaged by it.」

She adds, and bounces off the balustrade, taking her spear back in hand.

「I will keep that in mind. Thank you, elder sister.」

Shien bows his head towards Lian.

「…How about you, Will? Could you keep track of all that?」

Lian turns her almond-shaped eyes to Will. He adjusts his glasses, straightening out.

「Well… Mostly.」

He nods, taking his staff leaning onto the balustrade into hand as well.

「Hm. I'll head back to my room.」

「Goodnight, Lian.」「Bye!」

Will nods, and Alicia bids her farewell with small wave of her hand towards Lian as she heads for the glass doors.

「…S'pose I'll hit the hay too. Let's go on an adventure tomorrow.」

Greaves straightens out and stretches a little before exiting the gazebo.

「Tsk. Again with this…」

Will clicks his tongue, gently shaking his head as they follow him back to the palace…