Chapter Index

    The mountain path on the other side. So, as soon as the members of the warrior party, presumed to have come up from the territory of Count Amador Clive, came up, our eyes met.

    First of all, the expressions on the faces of people like Seolhyun, Serista, and Seraphine seemed as if they had expected this.

    And girls like Agnes and Natalie looked at me with some skepticism about my presence here.

    “Hehe, Lee, Release… ? What the heck, you guys… .”

    “… That’s what I wanted to ask, Miss Agnes. And to the warrior, the saint, and Princess Seraphine, it’s like… .”

    “… I think what Amaryllis is thinking is right.”

    … Now that I think about it, there was a full moon a while ago.

    That means that Seraphine had predicted to some extent that they would meet at the summit in the future.

    I told the story to the warrior and the saint, but I don’t think I told anyone else. That’s why people like Agnes are so surprised to see me here out of nowhere.

    “Excuse me, Ethan.”

    “Yeah, release.”

    “… I feel like I’ve gotten myself into trouble again.”

    “… Yeah, I was thinking the same thing.”

    Edan nodded as if he didn’t have any particular feelings about it anymore, perhaps because he had been involved with many things including the warrior party with me.

    In reality, it’s not that they’re not part of the party, but aren’t they almost like part of the warrior party? The moment the same thought crossed my mind.

    -Whewww!!!

    … from the side of the cliff, something black and huge rose into the air.

    ‘Keeek!!!’

    “B, Black Dragon?!”

    “No! That’s not a black dragon or anything, maybe… .”

    “Saryong Teta Toya! Everyone, prepare for battle!”

    …ah.

    Seriously, I want to stop now.

    ⁎⁎⁎

    A five-hour hike, and then a battle with the last Four Heavenly Kings of the Demon King’s army.

    The battle with the dragon on the narrow, rugged mountain was fierce and dangerous.

    A single flap of a giant dragon’s wings could send us carelessly falling off a cliff, or the dragon’s special aura spewed from its mouth could nearly engulf our party of warriors.

    Even among our group, only one of our middle-aged Seristas could land a proper attack. Even though he was already strong, his physical and magical attacks were useless because his dragon body had been transformed into a sage dragon.

    The fight is divided into three groups: a long-range combat group that attracts the attention of the dragon and induces action, a close-range combat group that blocks direct attacks and protects teammates, and a group of Seristas that have to put in all the recovery, fire, and damage alone, and lasts for about three hours.

    -Kwarrr!!

    ‘Keeek!!!’

    The last sacred technique, ‘Divine Punishment’, consumed all of Serista’s remaining divine power, causing the body of the Saryong Tetato to fall to the ground.

    -Kuuung!!

    “Hoo, hoo, hoo… .”

    “Ugh, ugh… .”

    “Heh, heh, heek, heck… .”

    The sight of people exhausted from a long battle collapsed or lying down, all sighing in exhaustion.

    At this moment, there were no princesses, saints, or princesses. They were all lying on the ground as if they had collapsed due to the battle that had occurred right after the arduous mountain climb.

    In front of the hazy scenery, a translucent system message once again obscured my vision.

    『Release has reached level 51!』

    『Release has reached level 52!』

    … I really want to stop seeing these damn level-up notifications.

    In this world, if you’re around level 50, you’re at the level of a knight directly under the palace or a palace magician. If you enter the magic tower, you’re at the level right next to the tower lord, and on the battlefield, you’re at the level right below the general.

    So, these days, leveling up is no different from proving that you’ve worked hard. In this game, the experience points increase the more you kill enemies whose levels are much higher. Not only upwards, but also downwards.

    ‘Now, I really don’t need it…’

    In the past, you had to go up 1 or 2 levels to survive in the wild, but not anymore.

    I just want to quickly go back to Blackwood Estate and watch Ethan take over Blackwood.

    I could never understand why, when I was a rookie, I had to go through all that hardship again and why combat events were forced upon me when I no longer needed to.

    “E, Eris… Is Eris okay…?”

    “Yes, Miss Lilith. You can rest assured that Miss Iris is protected by our escorts.”

    -Cooul.

    “… This one seems to be sleeping peacefully, so it’s a good thing.”

    By the way, when the battle started, Iris was in charge of Prince Antonio’s bodyguard… I don’t know his name, but I asked him to take care of her for a while.

    Considering each individual’s fighting ability, Ethan and I were in a position where we couldn’t escape, and leaving it to Lilia was definitely unsettling.

    Seeing Iris sleeping without knowing anything about the world, I felt somewhat relieved.

    ‘In the end, I couldn’t get the wind bird’s feather.’

    Until just before, there seemed to be dozens of wind birds on the mountaintop, but during the ongoing battle with the Saryuu Tetato, they all disappeared or were wiped out.

    Unable to withstand the breath of the evil dragon filled with evil energy, or losing magical power and disappearing from the form due to the magic used by Agnes and me.

    I really wanted to cry because I had hiked for five hours and still couldn’t achieve my original goal.

    “Ugh, say… .”

    “Release… .”

    … Really, it was a mountain path that I climbed while going through all kinds of hardships, thinking only of reconciling with Sei.

    It was true that my efforts had been in vain, but now I really felt like all hope had disappeared. It was as if I had practically lost my last chance to reconcile with Seiwa.

    When you return to Blackwood Manor, as a prospective Duchess, you won’t be able to go out to far places without permission, and it will be even more impossible to do so alone.

    In the first place, this schedule was difficult to follow as planned, but it was the same as forcing myself to do it. I somehow got permission once, but I know best that it won’t happen twice.

    “Miss Liria, is there a place around here where I can see more of those things called sky magpies?”

    “These are all the things that appear on Baramgol Hill during this period. They will appear in other areas around next summer… .”

    “… Half a year later is still too late.”

    “That, but this is the first time this kind of phenomenon has happened, so it might happen again in a few days! The Sky Oriole disappeared after the battle with the dragon at Wind Valley Hill, so this was the first time I experienced this phenomenon… .”

    “… That’s what they say. Then how many more days do you want to stay, Release?”

    “No, Ethan. Let’s go back soon. If we delay any longer, I won’t have anything to say to my father.”

    “… Are you okay? You said you came here to make peace with the spirits.”

    “Anyway, this place, which is contaminated with the energy of the Four Dragons, is not an environment where the Wind Bird can live because the mana is polluted. It will probably take several more years for all this ominous energy to disappear, and by then it will be no longer needed, so it is meaningless.”

    “… Okay, release. Then let’s go back tomorrow morning. ”

    … there’s nothing I can do.

    I could only explain it as something that couldn’t be helped.

    I can only explain it as the brief relationship between me and Sei that only lasted for a moment.

    It was my fault for breaking up in the first place. It’s shameless to ask for reconciliation now by offering to give me a gift.

    If you think about it, it’s not like she completely broke up with me, and it seems like she’s still by Iris’ side. I can’t help but take comfort in that.

    “Edan Gongja, Lilith. I would like to ask you two for your opinions on the distribution of materials and contributions to this dragon subjugation. Is that okay? ”

    “… I would appreciate it if you could just do it moderately, Princess Seraphine.”

    “Yes?”

    “I don’t really need the materials for the dragon… . I didn’t climb the mountain hoping for that in the first place… . I think it would be best if you just convert it into money… .”

    “… Miss Lilith? Your complexion doesn’t look so good. Are you perhaps sick from the curse of the Four Dragons? ”

    “Nothing in particular… I just lost my motivation a little bit… .Ah, Ethan, what are you going to do, Ethan…? Just take everything from me, that would be better… .”

    I have no motivation.

    And there are no spirits.

    Actually, it’s not really necessary anymore. Even if the Duchess brings the wind spirit and the fire spirit, they’re only useful for fan and heating.

    … Even though I tried to say it like that, I couldn’t help but feel sad. Even though I had talked to Sally about keeping some distance from her for a while, I hadn’t even been able to say a proper goodbye to Sei.

    “It seems that the release is not in a state where it can talk properly, so please give me the release’s share first, Princess Seraphine. ”

    “Yes. Since you are a couple, I will give it to you both and you can divide it up as you see fit.”

    “Although Lilith asked for gold, I think it would be better to receive the materials. There aren’t many opportunities to deal with dragon materials, especially dragon materials. Since I know a dwarf craftsman, we can utilize him… .”

    Although I was talking to Seraphine and Moore about how I was not in a position to negotiate properly, I did not listen at all.

    I just waited for the two people’s conversation to end, scraped the dirt with the toes of my shoes, and then went down the mountain with a shuffling pace.

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