Early at dawn... Silence descended upon this remote alley.
Nobody dared to say anything.
Clopeh Sekka had a calm smile on his face as he looked up at the sky while Tasha and the other robed individuals, who they believed were Dark Elves, seemed to be at a loss for words.
"Pffft."
Rosalyn seemed to find something to be funny, as she had her head down and was trying her hardest to not laugh.
Mary was simply standing there.
The silence was finally broken after a long time where Cale felt as if each second was as long as a minute. Tasha was the one to speak.
"...Are you talking about a religion?"
'Aigoo.'
Cale brushed his face with both hands.
"Is that 'Cale' a term for a god......?"
"A god?"
Clopeh shook his head.
"That sir is not a god. He is considered marvelous and can be called a legend because he is human."
If, hypothetically speaking, Clopeh had raised his voice and shouted with passion...
That would have been better.
However, Clopeh was as calm as possible. He was wearing a robe but his white armor and his face were visible and his voice was so full of conviction that it seriously... He truly...
'He really seems like a crazy bastard.'
Cale truly thought Clopeh seemed like a crazy bastard. No, he was indeed a crazy bastard.
Step step.
Cale got chills and subconsciously stepped back and stood behind Rosalyn. The robed Tasha's head turned from Clopeh to Mary.
"...Mary, do you know this guy?"
"I do."
"Haaaa."
Tasha sighed deeply as if she was feeling despair.
"...How did such a good kid-"
'I know what you must be thinking. But he isn't that kind of person.'
Cale's mouth opened and closed a few times, but he could not say anything as nobody would be able to hear anyway. He could only close his eyes in frustration.
On the other hand, Rosalyn was smiling oddly without stepping into the conversation. She looked toward where she expected Cale to be standing and mumbled to herself.
"He's not wrong."
'What?'
Cale's eyes opened wide as he looked at her in disbelief, but Rosalyn continued to say what was on her mind.
"It looks like the palace is already watching us."
She then turned toward Tasha. Her finger pointed toward Tasha's upper body. To be more specific, she was pointing to an open area of the robe.
"Isn't that a video communication device?"
"Ha!"
Tasha let out a short laugh before slightly lifting her robe.
A video communication device was there, although it seemed to be off.
It was not connected now but Rosalyn was sure that she had felt the flow of mana. This video communication device had been on until moments ago.
A person was observing them while stealthily covered by the robe.
It was obvious who would have done that.
Alberu Crossman. It must have been the crown prince.
Rosalyn thought not about the present Alberu but the Alberu of the past as she continued speaking.
"Two days later. We will go see his highness."
Tasha's head tilted to the side.
"Why should I trust you?"
"Don't trust me, trust your superior."
'Mm.'
Tasha held back a groan at Rosalyn's stern response.
'I only said that the palace was looking for them.'
However, the woman in front of her seemed to know who she worked for. Rosalyn seemed to have read Tasha's thoughts as she calmly continued speaking.
"The future of the Roan Kingdom will take my words as a promise."
Tasha barely held herself back from sighing.
How did this woman know that she was connected to the crown prince?
'Did Mary tell her? That's not it. Mary doesn't know about the relationship between the crown prince and the Dark Elves yet.'
She only knew that the Dark Elves left every so often to work in the Roan Kingdom.
Rosalyn pointed to the now lit up video communication device.
"Your superior seems to have already figured out who I am. He will know that I will not be lying about this."
Cale now had his arms crossed as he looked at Rosalyn with an odd gaze.
'Yes. This is Rosalyn.'
She was the bold yet rational mage. There was no better way to describe Rosalyn.
Even if it was an illusion, Rosalyn was able to treat Tasha as if they were strangers without having any issues.
Rosalyn said one more thing to Tasha, who seemed to be thinking about a lot of things.
"I am not stupid enough to put the Breck Kingdom in danger."
'Why is she suddenly mentioning the Breck Kingdom?'
Tasha found it odd that the mage in front of her mentioned the Breck Kingdom. She then suddenly recalled the list of important figures on the Western continent that she had memorized to help Alberu.
A red-haired woman.
There was one person. She could only remember one person who fit that description.
She had never seen that woman in person, but that person was extremely closely related to the Breck Kingdom.
"No way-"
The moment Tasha's shaky voice flowed out of her mouth...
"Also, please trust Miss Mary."
Rosalyn mentioned Mary. Tasha's chaotic mind instantly calmed down and her eyes clouded over.
Rosalyn was looking past Tasha's shoulder at Mary. Her gaze had warmth behind them, completely different from the coldness that Tasha had seen until now.
"We do not leave our friends alone to fend for themselves. Miss Mary is going back to her family right now, but we will go to see her again. Isn't that right, Miss Mary?"
Mary slowly nodded her head.
"See you in two days."
"Sounds great. See you later."
Mary walked up to Tasha after saying goodbye to Rosalyn. Tasha could see Mary lift her head slightly to look at her.
Mary's clear eyes looked into Tasha's eyes. Her eyes did not look like the eyes of someone being forced to do things. In fact, her eyes seemed livelier than they had ever been while in the Underground City.
'...Bubbly? Mary looks bubbly?'
Mary had always seemed somewhat depressed. But now she could see signs of life in the strong but always tired child's face. This was something probably only someone like Tasha could tell.
"Haaaaa."
Tasha got a headache trying to figure out what to do about this situation.
'I can't force them to go with us.'
After using the mage's red hair to hypothesize who she might be, she then noticed the white-haired green-eyed knight.
'...If that mage is that woman from the Breck Kingdom, this guy-'
The North. He might be a certain person representing that area.
Information quickly flew across Tasha's mind to identify the knight in front of her.
If these two really were the people Tasha believed them to be...
'...They are major figures.'
They were dangerous individuals that she did not dare to mess with as a Dark Elf who needed to remain in hiding. None of them could have their identities revealed for both the crown prince and the Dark Elves.
"What do you think? Wouldn't it be better to see us in two days?"
Tasha looked at Clopeh again after hearing Rosalyn's question.
"I don't know if that knight is planning to do the same."
Clopeh responded without any hesitation.
"I only follow the will of the hero. That sir has not said anything so we can proceed as discussed."
'Ah, I'm going to go crazy.'
Cale wanted to smack Clopeh on the back of the head. No, he wanted to stuff his mouth so that he could not say anything else.
Unfortunately, the die had already been cast.
"......."
Tasha observed these unfamiliar people in front of her as she debated what to do.
'Do I withdraw? Or do I grab them?'
It was at that moment.
Piiiiiiiiiiii– piiiiiii-
They heard a small alarm go off. The Dark Elves all turned toward Tasha who raised her hand immediately. The Dark Elves quickly moved.
The noise coming from the video communication device right now...
It was a signal from Alberu telling them to withdraw. It meant that he had finished thinking things through and gave an order based on his decision.
"Two days later. See you then."
Ooooooooong-
The magic circle cast by the Dark Elves surrounded Mary, Tasha, and the rest of the Dark Elves.
Mary slightly lowered her head toward the others as the teleportation magic circle activated.
Paaaat!
There was a bright light and the individuals who had been filling up the alley disappeared.
* * *
"This is driving me crazy."
Tap!
Alberu Crossman tapped on the arm rest of the chair with his palm over and over. He could not hold in his frustration while sitting alone in his office.
"Toonka, the Breck Kingdom's successor, and the Guardian Knight of the North?"
He had confirmed the foreigners' faces through the video communication device Tasha had been hiding. That was the issue.
"Yes... I could have ignored it if it was just Toonka."
The Whipper Kingdom would soon have a civil war between the mage faction and the non-mage faction. Toonka would have to go back for that, so he would not have much time to cause any issues in the Roan Kingdom.
"...But the other two are a different story."
Rosalyn was the first successor for the Breck Kingdom and Alberu had no idea that she was even here.
Where was the Breck Kingdom?
It was a kingdom next to the Roan Kingdom. The successor of such a place had stealthily infiltrated the Roan Kingdom.
'This, this is definitely something I cannot ignore.'
Thud.
Alberu stood up as he could not hold in his frustration. He paced around his office.
"...Clopeh Sekka."
The places that the Roan Kingdom, no, that Alberu was currently focusing the most on right now were the three northern kingdoms. The Paerun Kingdom was located farthest north of the three. The people there always desired a place with warm weather, land that would not freeze.
That was why Alberu was extremely wary of the Mogoru Empire at the center of the continent, as well as the North. A mediocre nation like the Roan Kingdom, a place without anything exceptional, was easy prey for them.
But such people were stealthily inside the Roan Kingdom right now.
They were here to find someone called Cale.
"...I informed Count Deruth Henituse to come to the capital, so..."
He had ordered Count Deruth to stealthily enter the palace as the crown prince was looking for him.
The Count was someone who did not show himself much and probably wouldn't know much as he focused only on increasing his wealth, but Alberu still needed to chat with him.
This Cale person was said to be a Henituse.
'It is extremely likely that he is impersonating a noble, but it is best to be thorough.'
Alberu walked to the window.
Chhhhhhhh.
The sun was rising as he opened the curtains.
"This isn't good."
He was just about to start doing things in the Kingdom.
However, this 'Cale' person suddenly appeared to throw everything into chaos.
"Pffft."
He scoffed.
"He is someone who cannot be found, someone who cannot be seen?"
Clopeh Sekka. He did not like seeing this aloof guy revering someone.
"Most importantly, that guy is not a god."
It must be a person, since Toonka said they were close friends.
"Ha!"
Alberu could not hide his disbelief. His gaze gave off a cold light despite burning up with rage.
"What the hell is going on in this land that I don't know about?"
'Why are the strong individuals around the Western continent headed for the Roan Kingdom?! Why here of all places?!'
A bitter smile appeared on Alberu's face.
"...This isn't something I can handle on my level."
The crown prince, who had neither reliable maternal relatives to support him nor military strength to back him up, could not handle this on his own.
'I am far too weak to handle this.'
He clenched his eyes shut before opening them back.
"I must go see Royal Father."
The powerless crown prince... The only thing he could do for the Roan Kingdom right now was to share this information with his Majesty, Zed Crossman.