Late at night, beyond the Eastern Ranges, in one of the bathhouses…

In a large, open room full of steam, Falcon is sitting in a pool of water, nude. His elbows rest on the tiles on the threshold of the pool of warm water, and his hands upon the bare shoulders of two women that are hugged into him, likewise naked. Decorative outlets in form of dragon heads spew hot water out into the pool in a steady stream, splashing slightly, creating a soothing noise as it flows out of the white-tiled wall. Though the room is spacious, it's empty. Falcon, along with the two women, are the only people perusing the facility at the moment.

「…Lord Falcon, may I see that sword of yours?…」

One of the women in his grasp asks, and reaches for the sheathed sword that's lying on the floor, right below the pool's elevated threshold.

Plap.

「You may not…」

Before she can take the sword behind his back into her hand, and with the sound of a wet slap against skin, Falcon grabs her arm. His grasp is firm, forceful, overpowering, even. Yet, with fine control of his strength, he holds her wrist with just enough force for it not to be painful in the slightest. Lightly surprised, she looks him in the eyes.

「Eeeeeeh?…」「Eeehhh…」

Both of the women let out disappointed sighs. The one in Falcon's grasp blinks her puppy eyes at him with a tilted head, but he only lets go when he feels her trying to pull her hand away from the sword. She turns back towards the dragon heads, and Falcon puts his hand back onto her shoulder as she leans onto him again.

「…Why nooot?」

She asks, pouting slightly. Falcon smirks, glances over his shoulder at his sword, and reclines further, looking up at the steam-shrouded ceiling.

「When I draw my blade, something dies…」

He confidently declares with a smug smirk.

「Uwaaa… You're dangerous, Lord Falcon…」

The woman on his other shoulder remarks with her brows raised, covering her mouth with her fingers.

「…Does that mean we'd die if you'd draw it, Lord Falcon?」

The woman looks at his sword again, then returns her gaze to Falcon's serious, yet nonchalant face.

「Hmpf… Certainly not. In my hands, it's a weapon that protects the innocent…」

He calmly replies, gaining a slight smirk again as he lowers his head to the water. Steam-shrouded silhouettes of plump breasts squished against his chiseled chest fill his vision.

「Then why?-」

「…But a prudent warrior knows not to draw his sword needlessly.」

Falcon adds with a confident tone, cutting off the woman's question.

「Uwaaa… Not only are you a protector of our land, but also a sage-」

「…That, and moisture is bad for it. If I took it out of the sheath here for but a second, I'd have to pat it completely dry and polish it before it rusts. A good warrior takes care of his weapon.」

He chimes back in, quickly interrupting the second woman's awe-filled compliment.

「Is that hard to do, Lord Falcon?…」

The other woman tilts her head again.

「It's not difficult, so to say, but time-consuming. The other day, when I finished slaughtering the fiends plaguing a village, I had to work on my blade for hours.」

Falcon shrugs his hands with a nonchalant smirk, briefly lifting them off their shoulders.

「Fiends?… You mean demons, Lord Falcon?…」

The second woman at his other shoulder leans in, lightly splashing the water around herself. He returns a light nod with a calm face.

「Fiends are demons, yes… And nasty ones, at that. They've nearly slaughtered the entire village before I cut them down…」

He replies, and turns his gaze to the stream of steaming water pouring out from the maw of one of the dragons.

「…I could share a little secret, but you'd have to promise me that you'll keep it to yourselves.」

Falcon adds, and glances at the two women with a little smirk on his face.

「We will!」「Yes, we will!」

The women nod, and press their soft chests into his chiseled one as they lean in closer, blinking at him with excited eyes.

「…Supposedly, the demon lord is back, and he's controlling the fiends. I don't know how much truth there is to that, but it would explain why they're so organized.」

He shrugs, then lets the women in on the secret of the demon lord. They recoil back with silent gasps, both covering their mouths in shock.

「…The demon lord?」

「…What if he's really back, Lord Falcon?」

The two look at each other, then turn their widened eyes to Falcon's calm and nonchalant face. He pulls them in closer to himself with a light splash.

「Now, you need not worry… We're working on it in the palace. Supposing he is back, the great demon lord is a coward hiding somewhere in a forest. Hardly worth the look in your eyes.」

Lightly amused by their frightened gazes, he soothes them with a smug smirk and a confident tone. The women quickly regain their pleased smiles.

「Still… Isn't that scary, Lord Falcon? Are you not afraid to fight demons? They're much faster and stronger than a human is, aren't they?…」

One of the women asks, tilting her her head with a lightly concerned expression on her face, staring intently at Falcon.

「I would be lying if I said I'm fearless… But fear will never keep me out of battle. Only a madman would feel nothing in face of a demon. I see fear as a horse, and the mind as a wagon…」

Tap. Tap. Tap…

He turns his gaze back to the dragons, and replies with a calm, nonchalant tone while watching the water flow. While he speaks, none of them notice the soft footsteps approaching.

「…With no horse, your wagon will be at a standstill. With a rampant horse running wild, you will crash and die. But when you reign it in, you will be where you have to be.」

…Tap. Tap.

Falcon concludes, and shrugs his shoulders as he looks at the woman.

「Say, Lord Falcon… Isn't your other sword getting a little too moist here? Why don't we polish it a little in the steam bath, so that you can sheathe it properly?-」

One of the women hugs into Falcon, gaining a smirk on her face as she traces the contours of his muscles with her finger. The other one doesn't want to be left out, and also presses up against him.

「Wise words. Too bad they're coming from a lecher's mouth.」

Willow abruptly declares from behind the three. The women snap their eyes to the old man standing over the pool, and looking down at them with his mouth aslant.

「Eh?-」

Falcon looks up, and only catches an upside-down, split-second image of Willow and his walking staff descending onto his forehead.

Donk!…

「Gyyeooowwwwww!… 」

Falcon clutches onto his forehead and lets out a pained groan when the wood makes noisy contact with his skull.

「Gyaaaaaaa!」「Kyaaaaaaa! Perveeeeeert!…」

Splash!… Patpatpatpatpat!…

Covering themselves with their arms, the completely naked women shoot up to their feet and run off into a side room.

「P- Pervert!? The pervert was in there, with you!…」

Outraged and indignant, Willow wags his wooden staff in the direction of the women, shouting at them. With a disapproving shake of his head, he turns his scowl to Falcon.

「…Gaahhhhhhh! What is your problem, old man!? Why'd you come here!?」

With his teeth clenched in anger, Falcon slams his fist onto the threshold. Still clutching onto his forehead with his other hand, he glares up at the old mage.

「Why, I'm glad you asked…」

Willow spreads his hands, lightly amused by the young man's anger. He looks at his red armor set aside on a long bench, right by the wooden storage lockers too small to fit it.

「…I'm here to tell you to get some rest… Real rest, not to fool around with easy women. We have a plan.」

With his tone becoming serious, the old mage then turns his eyes to the two women peeking their eyes out from beyond an open doorway, before returning his gaze to Falcon.

「They're not easy!… It took me some time to convince them to join me!…」

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Splash!

The young man gives his forehead one last rub, then angrily snatches his sword off the floor as he stands up.

「…And you don't need to babysit me, old man. Tell me who, what, when, and where. That's all.」

Falcon adds, standing completely unabashed in front of Willow with his sheathed sword in hand.

「You are moving out tomorrow, that's why it's important for you to be well-rested. As for the details of what and where…」

The old man briefly glances aside at the two women again.

「…It's a matter better discussed back at the palace.」

He nonchalantly adds. Exasperated, Falcon clicks his tongue and runs his wet hand through his hair in frustration.

「…Really? That's all? You couldn't have waited an hour or two?… Or better yet, not bothered me, so I would be relaxed tomorrow?」

With his mouth heavily scrunched, the young warrior throws his hands up before placing his fist on his bare hip. Willow looks down at his groin with an unimpressed expression.

「…Pft. So much pride in something so unremarkable. Good grief.」

Clank… Clank… Clank…

The old mage turns to leave, shaking his head with a disapproving sigh.

「Huh!? What was that supposed to mean!? You've got something interesting to say, old man!?」

Falcon's jaw briefly drops, and he takes a few steps after Willow, spreading his arms. He stops by his armor.

「I'm far too old to get into these types of contests, but keep in mind that there is always a bigger fish, Falcon…」

Clank… Clank… Clank…

Willow nonchalantly replies, without even as much as bothering to glance back at him, walking away at a leisurely pace with the help of his staff.

「Huh!? Explain!… Explain yourself right now, old man!…」

Falcon shouts, but Willow ignores him, and his dark silhouette in the steam disappears into the lobby.

Deeply confused and troubled, with his fists on his hips, Falcon turns his gaze to his armor upon the bench, but his pensive eyes are visibly in intense thought below his furrowed brows…

…

The next day, in the early morning, in Redwing Kingdom's capital…

Two cars ride into the city, and behind them, a small detachment of soldiers escorting a wagon.

Vrrrrrooooooommm…

The car at the front driven by Straf makes a loud ruckus, overpowering the soft noise coming from the kubelwagen driven by Stripe just behind him. Though visibly curious, the citizenry move out of the way as for normal carts and wagons. A few minutes later, Straf rolls to a stop nearby the bank.

「Okay!… Nona, here's your stop!… See you later!」

Straf looks at Stripe's car, then points his thumb in the direction of the bank. Nona exits, and throws the door shut behind her.

「See you!…」

She waves to Straf with a disarming smile as she heads for the bank.

「…Byeee!」

Nona then waves towards Stripe, who clicks her tongue and turns away, crossing her arms.

「Yeah, whatever…」

Stripe grumbles under her breath, ignoring Nona.

Vrrrooooooooommmm…

Straf continues onward, and the caravan moves on. Another few minutes later, they reach a crossing near the palace.

「…And I suppose here's yours… Unless you want me to make a detour and drop you off at your doorstep?」

As he rolls to a stop, Straf turns his eyes to Lily.

「There is no need. This is conveniently close enough. That was interesting. Pay me a visit again, Straf. My door is always open for you.」

Lily declares as she stands up and jumps over the door with ease, then briefly glances over her shoulder at Straf.

「Yeah, doors can't really stop me. I'm something of a master key… See you later, Lily.」

An amused huff escapes Straf's nose, and he bids her farewell with a smug smirk on his face. She nods her golden head, then heads for the bell tower.

With now only Straf and Stripe in each of the cars, the caravan once again continues onward. Mere moments later, they drive through the open gate. Straf parks the kubelwagen just outside the door, and with some difficulty, Stripe stops a few paces away, then pulls on the parking brake.

「Don't forget the key.」

Vrrrrrrrrtttrtrtrtrtrt…

「Ah, right…」

Straf calls out to Stripe, who nods back. He turns the key in his own vehicle, and its engine grinds to a halt. The noise pollution finally ends as the vibrations stop.

The trailing supply wagon rolls to a halt as well, and the escorts start pointing their fingers at the ground and waving their arms around.

「…Get out!」

One of them shouts, commanding the fat king within. He tries to exit, but hesitates to make the giant leap forward unassisted.

「Tsk… Get out, you fatass!」

The soldiers grow impatient, and begin dragging the king out. With some difficulty, and with the threat of being crushed looming over them, they manage to get him out of the supply wagon.

「…Lead the way, minister.」

One of the escorting soldiers says when they pull the tight-lipped king up to the door. Straf exchanges a quick glance with Stripe, then enters the palace…

…

An hour later, in the throne room…

Resting her cheek on her fist, Cycelia is sitting in her throne with a bored expression on her face. She stares at the ground down the steps, looking at nothing in particular.

Clack. Clack. Clack. Clack…

The sound of armored footsteps clattering outside the throne room makes her chestnut head perk up, and her emerald gaze stares at the open doorway.

「Straf!… That took a while!…」

Cycelia calls out and smiles when she sees Straf enter.

「Yeah, sorry… Getting up all those stairs takes a while.」

Straf shrugs his hands as he approaches the throne with a little grimace on his face.

「Nonono, that's not what I meant… What I mean is… I know it's silly, but I was getting worried. I thought that maybe something went wrong.」

She quickly shakes her head and waves her hands in front of herself, then shrugs her shoulders. She looks back towards the door, and tilts her head when she sees the footmen enter.

「Nah, it went pretty well. I fixed those maps, by the way…」

Straf shrugs again, then opens his [Portable Storage] and pulls out a rolled-up map. He climbs the steps, and holds it out for Cycelia.

「Let's see…」

She takes it into her dainty hands, and unrolls it to take a look. Her brows quickly furrow, and her green eyes blink in confusion.

「…Um. Straf?」

With her brows raised and furrowed, Cycelia meekly calls out, looking up at Straf from the map while he's looking over his shoulder.

「Yeeeah?…」

His attention returns to Cycelia, and she lowers the map so he can see it too.

「…I think you gave me the wrong map. Look. Parnatau Kingdom is supposed to have a border around here, and their color is still a little too similar to ours.」

She points at the Parnatau Gap, and tilts her head a little as she looks up at Straf's face with a troubled expression on hers.

「Oh, no. It's fixed, I assure you. Their king is here to confirm that…」

Straf steps out of the way, and points his thumb at the fat man standing in front of the throne in grasp of the soldiers. The plumed guards watch on with confused grimaces.

「Geh!?」

With a sound of a frog being stepped upon, Cycelia drops the map onto her lap. Her jaw drops, her hands remain frozen up to hold the map, and her emerald eyes blink in confusion at the king.

「…Y'see, they kind of didn't like my trade offer, and so they declared war on us. I took care of it, but I need to you to do the whole vassalization thing…」

Straf points his hand at the fat man down the steps.

「…It's kind of like chess. Or grand strategy games. When you capture the king, your war score gets maxed out, so you just kind of say「I won!」and no one questions it.」

He adds, and shrugs his shoulders as he returns his gaze back to Cycelia.

「K- K- King Parnatau?…」

Cycelia stammers, and her whole body begins jittering with her face frozen in stupefied shock.

「Indeed… Queen Cycelia Redwing, I presume? I did not expect our first meeting to turn out like this.」

The fat king nods his head with a tight-lipped grimace on his face. His head remains somewhat lowered, and his gaze nervously darts to the nearby soldiers every few moments.

「Right. So now that the meet and greet is over, could you-?」

Straf nods, shrugging his hands.

「Awawawawawawawawawawa!…」

Shaking, Cycelia short-circuits. With her jaw dropped, she stares at the fat ruler of a mighty kingdom, standing in front of her with his head lowered at her feet…