The rhythmic sound of the horse's hooves echoed steadily.
Having just rushed to catch up with Princess Adeline's carriage, they were now moving at a gentle trot.
"So basically—"
Silverna, her spear slung over her shoulder, glanced at Isaac with a still sulky expression.
"You're saying we're here to assist with the Princess's royal tour, right?"
"Well, technically, we're just acting as figureheads. There probably won't be any major incidents. Since this all happened so suddenly, even if the Blood Demons caught wind of it, it would take them some time to respond."
The tour was expected to take about a week.
It would normally be too ambitious to complete such a journey by carriage in just a week, but it was made possible thanks to the pegasus carriage gifted to the royal family by the Magic Tower.
"So we should be able to rest for a few days. It won't be as grueling a journey as you think, so don't worry."
"I don't think I've ever had an easy time when you were involved."
"..."
That was something even Isaac couldn't deny. The giant and the Silver Clock said it was due to karma he carried—what could he do?
As a regressor, there was a certain burden he had to bear.
"How are things up north?"
"Changing the subject, huh?"
"..."
"Sigh, not much different from when you left. If anything, we're just struggling with all the beast corpses piling up. It's hard to deal with them all."
"What about the Sorcery? Are the Transcendents still crossing over?"
"Oh yeah, it's relentless. You know what it feels like now? Like they've accepted it as fate and are just blowing themselves up out of resignation."
"..."
"There was one recently who set fire to a supply depot and tried to burn himself to death along with it. If I hadn't caught him, it would've been a disaster."
War is about territory.
You maintain your front lines and station troops to hold them.
But with the Transcendents constantly popping up unpredictably inside your own lines, it's beyond frustrating.
"If there's one good thing, it's that they must be under enormous stress too. Their already limited forces are leaking away like a sieve."
Silverna's point was valid.
These kinds of attrition battles were the worst-case scenario for the Transcendents.
Each of them was precious, and thanks to chaotic teleportation, they were losing comrades unintentionally and uncontrollably.
"Hang in there a little longer. I think the end is in sight."
At Isaac's words, Silverna looked at him, wide-eyed.
"Really? You can see the end?"
"Yeah, I think so. Did you hear what happened at the Magic Tower?"
"Oh, that? Reian Leviath mentioned it… but honestly, he's terrible at explaining things, so I thought it was nonsense—"
Despite it being a while since they'd last seen each other, their conversation was relaxed and smooth.
With a bit of alcohol, they might have been having a proper, hearty drink as close friends.
Both of them smacked their lips at the thought.
Amid their chatting, they arrived at the first village.
It was a bit of a distance, and dusk was settling.
Today had been entirely spent on travel; the official tour would begin in earnest from tomorrow.
"What's going on here?"
"They say there's been a beast attack. But based on reports, it seems more like beasts."
"...There are beasts in the central region too?"
Silverna looked surprised at the idea of beasts outside of the north.
Isaac chuckled and nodded.
"They show up occasionally. But these ones probably have something to do with Blood Demons—"
Wooo! Wooo! Wooo! Wooo!
As if in response to Isaac's words, the cries of beasts echoed from beyond the horizon.
A group of ape-like creatures was now charging on all fours toward the carriage just as it was about to enter the village.
"Protect the Princess, Silverna!"
The royal guards accompanying them drew their swords and shields and moved forward.
Isaac also reached for the sword at his waist, but—
"Ugh! You said you don't have a sword!"
"..."
"Just stand back and watch!"
Silverna grabbed Isaac's shoulder and pushed him behind her as she stepped forward.
Her blue cloak fluttered as the northern woman reversed her grip on her spear.
"Huuup—!"
Silverna broke past the shield wall of the guards.
As her foot struck the ground with force, what erupted from her hand was no ordinary spear.
It was a meteor of white light.
The spear, slicing through the air like wind, embedded itself in one of the beasts.
In an instant, the mana condensed within the spear began to swirl like a storm, shredding the magical beasts.
Kududududuk!
"Wow…"
"That's Caldias, huh."
"Incredible."
Even the guards couldn't help but marvel at Silverna's skill.
But none were more astonished than Isaac himself.
"There are still more left!"
Catching the returning spear, Silverna dashed toward the remaining beasts.
Watching her back, Isaac felt an overwhelming urge to charge out with her.
Because what he saw there was a sight he'd seen many times before—
A back he always wanted to stand beside, but could only watch from a distance due to the wall of reality.
'This is the Caldias I know.'
Silverna was a genius.
He had always believed she would blossom one day.
And it seemed that the white flower that had endured the harsh snows of the north had now fully bloomed.
***
"Sniff! For you to come here in person… we don't even know how to express our gratitude."
"Thank you, Princess. Truly, thank you!"
"Our son must have… finally been able to rest in peace."
After the subjugation of the beasts, Princess Adeline personally held the hands of each gathered villager, listening to their hardships one by one.
"I understand. And I'm sorry. Sorry it took us so long to come."
Even the most insensitive person could tell that Princess Adeline's words carried sincere emotion.
'There's no need for me to step in.'
Indeed, as long as her safety was ensured, Adeline could handle things on her own—reliable beyond words.
The royal guards were on protective duty, and with Isaac, Silverna, and even Sharen—who had been napping inside the carriage—joining as the royal faces of the entourage, they made a strong impression.
Helmut and Caldias.
And most recently, the famously rising Baron Logan.
Just the fact that they were traveling with Princess Adeline was already an implicit show of support.
It would surely help solidify the wavering political footing of the princess.
Between the yawning Sharen, Isaac quietly asked Silverna:
"…But is it really okay for you to so openly support her, from Caldias's standpoint?"
At the question, Silverna responded with an incredulous expression.
"You're the one who brought me here, what are you even saying?"
"Ahem…"
"She's the princess. Our loyalty lies with the royal family—it's not a problem. My father just hates political involvement, it's not like he lacks loyalty."
"Hmm."
Normally, Margraves were rumored to have weak loyalty toward the throne, but Caldias seemed to be an exception.
"Haaaam~ Isaac, I'm sleepy."
Even after sleeping all day, Sharen still said she was tired.
"Am I… maybe growing taller?"
"Well, maybe."
In the future, Sharen had become a fairly mature young lady.
But if he told her that now, she'd only get smug about it, so Isaac pretended not to know.
"Come to think of it, Silverna—what happened to the Frostsilver Ore? I can't imagine the Margrave gave it up so easily."
The dull sword at his waist suddenly felt heavier than usual.
Even though Isaac had trained enough to wield a sword now, the ones he used in the past had been much lighter, so it felt comparatively cumbersome.
"Tch… that, huh."
Silverna hesitated, clearly reluctant, and finally sighed.
"Providing Frostsilver Ore is going to be difficult."
Feeling her guilt, Isaac nodded to show he understood.
Honestly, it was shameless of him to even ask for such a rare material so casually.
But Silverna quickly clarified to avoid a misunderstanding.
"It's not that we're unwilling—we just don't have any left. When the Malidan Wall disappeared, all the Frostsilver Ore we had vanished too. And we haven't made it far enough into the northern depths to get more yet."
"So even Caldias…"
"Yeah. We're out of it too."
Isaac smacked his lips in disappointment.
That meant they'd have to use some other rare ore.
'This is going to be a problem.'
He started worrying about whether he could find something on par with Frostsilver Ore, and began thinking about an alternative material.
***
"…."
The report that Princess Adeline had departed on her royal progress reached the Blood Demon fairly early.
The royal guards dispatched for her protection, And the fact that the captain of those guards was none other than Veros…
'Not taking Veros with her might mean… she suspects something.'
Directly interfering with the royal progress would be the worst move.
Instead, the Blood Demon chose to take advantage of Adeline's absence.
A banquet.
The Blood Demon would host her own banquet.
Rather than trying to crash hers, she would host her own grand event to both solidify relationships with the nobles and…
To show them.
Show them just how massive and powerful the force behind the woman they support truly is.
"No need to play on a board someone else laid out."
She would ignore the path Adeline had set and walk her own.
'And if I introduce Jonathan there—it'll be perfect.'
By introducing Jonathan as her younger brother to the nobles, Jonathan's position would also naturally rise.
The Blood Demon let out a chilling smile.
No matter what happened— Everything was in the palm of his hand.