I had a dream. I dreamt of the burning Imperial City, the end of the world.

The sky burned red. Screams and shouts. Hunters and knights, merchants and townspeople alike fled as if in a bubble.
The wide streets were overflowing with people and everyone was frantically running towards the outside of the city.
And then I was blocked by the wall that was supposed to protect the city.

I was alone in an empty room, looking down on it from above the Imperial City.

I was on the top floor of the Clan House of Footprints, where I usually spend my time - a place even higher than the Clan Master's office.
From a bird's eye view of the Imperial City, the situation is clear. And why the sky is on fire.

The Imperial City of Zebrudia is a historic city that will soon be three hundred years old.
The neatly arranged cityscape was covered with red-hot water.

The slippery, viscous water slowly spread across the city.
It looked as if a huge tsunami was about to wash over the city, but there was no ocean in the vicinity of the Imperial City, and from the air I could see that it was flowing through the city with a different regularity than the flow of water.

It was - it was clearly aiming for life.

Rather than buildings, empty carriages, and stalls with no vendors, it prioritized fleeing children, the elderly, and knights trying to contain the chaos.
All life that came into contact with the water, without exception, flared up like torches and vanished without a trace in a few seconds.

Empty armor, clothes, and swords were lying on the roadside. The air against my skin is hot.

The outer wall, which had protected the people from the surrounding demons and phantoms for three hundred years, blocked the fleeing people.
The Imperial City of Zebrudia was surrounded by a wall, and the size of the exit was too small for the number of people living in the city.
The exits were overflowing beyond their capacity, and the evacuation was slow.

There was no sign of life in the castle in the distance.
Also, half of the city was already in ruins. It was eerie to see a quiet town where there was no damage to the buildings, not even a corpse, and only life had vanished.
There may be survivors inside the buildings, but with water surrounding them, escape seems hopeless.

The amount of water shows no sign of decreasing. On the contrary, it even seems to be increasing little by little.
The water will eventually flow not only to this city but also to the outside of the wall and wash away the whole world.

No, it's not water. I knew it.

It's a living thing.
The weakest demon that ever existed in this world.
A product of madness that should never have been created based on it.

I was told to be careful with it, and I may have accidentally missed it.

Before I knew it, there was a girl standing next to me, looking down on the same scene as me.
She had kind, slightly slanted eyes and short, pink-blonde hair.

The plain, featureless gray robe is not the enchanted stuff that mages wear to conquer treasure halls, but work clothes used for experiments that are meant to get dirty.

The girl looked up and turned towards me as if she had just noticed me.
Her eyes widen. Her expression falters in spite of the emergency, and she says in a soft voice, as if she were making small talk.

Her voice blurs. I couldn't make out what she was saying, but I could see the excitement in her sparkling eyes.

I try desperately to stop her, but I cannot speak. A dark desperation and impatience ran through my body. I grab her by the shoulders and the girl smiles shyly and hugs me.

No, she said. I'm not complimenting you!

I grab her by both shoulders and push her away. And when I shook her shoulders, satisfied with the results of my slime, I woke up.

I sat up on the bed in the pitch-dark room and shivered.
My back is cold with sweat. My heart was still beating wildly.

It was a terrible dream. And it was very real. Especially the part where he hugged me.

I'm a rather anxious person, so I have nightmares all the time, but this was definitely the most recent.

I breathe slowly and try to catch my breath. I tell myself.

Don't worry, the Imperial City won't be destroyed so easily.

Zebuldia's national power is high.

It has an unbeatable Order of Knights and a magic army of hundreds of mages. There are also hunters and many former hunters.
It is not only our military power that is high. The Empire is at the forefront of knowledge, technology, and research as well.
It is undoubtedly the most powerful nation in the surrounding countries. And as its capital, the Imperial City, with its Treasure Palace around it where anything can happen, has the best defense capability.
If a disaster were to strike that would destroy the capital, no other country would be able to respond.

......? I don't know why I remember it so vividly.

It's a great way to make sure you're getting the most out of your vacation.

'......No, no, no, no, no, no, my dream has never come true. ......'

'......What's wrong with you?

A stuttering voice rang out to my left.
When I looked to the side, I saw that Liz was about to raise herself, as if it were natural.

I frowned at the face of the girl who had appeared in my dream, who looked a little like Cicely.
Liz and Cicely are sisters by blood. Although there are many differences such as the length of their hair, the way they look at each other, and their height, their appearance is so similar that it would be hard to tell them apart if they were disguised with a lot of effort.

Liz smiles at me with no ill will.

'Good morning, Cry. Did you sleep well?'

Thin fabric. In her loose-fitting nightgown, she stretches out and clings to my arm, which is throbbing in an unpleasant way.
She is full of energy and her body temperature is much higher than mine. When she hugged me, I started to sweat.

I'm pretty sure this is the cause of my nightmares. I thought she was gone before I went to bed. .......

I don't know whether to complain or not, but I don't think it's worth mentioning that I had a nightmare.

I don't answer, but Liz's legs are wrapped around mine.

The ring attached to my ankle touches me, and is slightly cold.
This is the standby form of Liz's treasure, the Highest Roots. It is usually in the form of a shoe, but when not in use, it changes into a metal ring.
Her motto is "Always on the battlefield," and she never takes it off, not even when she takes a shower or goes to bed at night. She only takes it off for a few moments during the day.

A faintly sweet scent wafts from the close contact with Liz.
The arms and breasts that embrace you, the supple legs that entwine with you, everything is soft and warm. The sensual pleasure of the skin rubbing against you is slowly rising from the depths of your brain.

If you stay quiet, you're just a girl.
And it was her hobby to genocide those who came to her as bait.

As I sit in silence and catch my breath, Liz asks me in a cat-like voice, "What are you doing?



'Hey, Crye, are you free today?

'What about Tino's training?

'Hmm, ...... too much might break it, so good night.'

'What about Liz's training?

She has all her licenses and inherited the name 'Zekage' from her teacher, but she's a hard worker. Tino's training and her own training keep her busy while she's in the Imperial Capital.
She smiled at my question.

'Good night for today.

Is ...... okay? Well, it's not my place to interfere, is it?

I don't know what you're going to do, but if Liz is with you to protect you, you should be fine to go out. I don't have any plans.

This isn't the first time Liz has taken me around.
Especially since she stopped accompanying me to the treasure house, those occasions have been increasing little by little.

It is the leader's role to take care of distractions. No, that's all I can do. ...... I want to respond to their requests.
One of the reasons is that they are quiet while doing so.

I'll forget about the trivial nightmare I just had.

A nightmare. Just a nightmare.
A nightmare caused by Citri and Lise making it hard for me to sleep. They're terrible sisters.

'Okay. I'll go with you.'

'Yikes! Thanks, Cry!'

Lise squealed and buried her head in my chest.
Patting my friend's head, I let out a small sigh.


§§



At the entrance of the clan house, Liz was glaring at a large man with a swarthy look in her eyes that would make a demon run away barefoot.

Whether it's a nobleman, a knight, a warrior, an acquaintance, or a high ranking member of the explorer's association, her attitude is the same.
Unlike her usual attire for conquering treasure halls, Liz's attire is casual and not that of a hunter. She is not wearing a belt with a knife on it, nor does she have a weapon. The base color of her clothes is still black, but she is wearing a skirt and her stomach is showing.

But the only thing that hadn't changed from when she attacked the Treasure House was the black jewelry that covered most of her legs up to her knees, and it was thumping irritably on the floor.

The difference between the two is too drastic.

'I'm busy today, Cry? Can you please not disturb Liz and the others with trivial things? I don't have time to wipe up your mess, so get lost.

'Liz......? You've already come back? What about the castle of the demons? I told you to report to me after conquering the treasure hall above level 7.''

Gark-san frowned at the little madman, a frown I hadn't seen in a while.
He's known her long enough to understand how troublesome she can be when she's in a bad mood.

In the background, Kaina, who was not a former hunter or anything, and the other staff of the search cooperative were looking at them with pale expressions.
Ah, bad timing.