As soon as I got back to Hail Kuwait, I was pissed at the Toa. Sierra was pissed at me, too.
　Because they had disappeared for half a day without telling him anything.
　And their moods were even worse.

'What does this mean!'
Why is she here?
Wait, there's a lot going on here.

　We were both equally surprised.
　Because next to me was the figure of the princess of Artemias--Suphilia, the princess of Artemias.

''Isn't this the Princess of Artemias!
Keep your voice down.

　You came all the way to the dining room to eat dinner, but you can't even eat in peace.

I'll explain everything to you, just calm down.

　Then, Sufilia abruptly stood up from her seat.

"My name is Sufilia and I will be accompanying you on your adventure. Please call me Sufilia.

　Their expressions hardened.
　Nem is a cute little thing, frantically eating his food next to me.
　Fortunately, Patrick isn't around right now, so I didn't have to give him a tedious explanation for one of us.
　Well, I'm sure that guy would adapt appropriately.
　By the way, Patrick seems to be training with the Spirit King and magic.
　I don't know how it's going to work, but the Spirit King himself is going to teach Patrick the art.

"Are you going to join Nem's party, Princess?

　Nem asked.

'Yes,'
Really? Nice to meet you!

　Nem established a good relationship with Sufilia in an instant.
　An effective handshake was in place between us.

'So it is. Well, a lot of things have happened, but from today, Sufiria is one of us.
'That's why I'm asking you why!　Why is the princess one of them?
'I don't know what to say but a lot of things have happened and Artemias has been destroyed.
What?
What?

　Sierra and Toa froze again.

'I won't bore you with the details of the dragon's heart, but Sufilia was about to be killed. And I prevented it. As long as I stopped it, you have to protect it, so I brought it back.

　It took a while to convince them both.
　But they have to accept it.
　Because Sufilia is already a member of the party.

''Something doesn't add up........''
'Yes. Were the others in favor of kidnapping the princess?

　Kidnapping is rude.

"If you want to call it kidnapping, that's fine, but if I hadn't kidnapped her, she would have been killed.
"Master Nito saved my life.
I'm curious about the way you say "Lady Nitto", don't you have to have a sama, Sufiria?

　So you just called me out of the blue.
　It's just as expected of a girl in a box.

"I just realized that this party is full of girls, isn't it?
'It doesn't matter, I'm back and we need to talk about the dungeon.
A dungeon...
Dungeons...

　Sierra and Toa don't seem to like it.

''Nito-sama, you don't mean the dungeon...''
I hear there's this thing called a dungeon or something, and I'm thinking of giving it a shot soon.


　Sufiria's expression of sympathy is almost "unfortunate".

I'm sure Nem Nem is going to follow you, but what about Sufiria, are you going to wait?
No, I will follow Nitosama to the end.
''Then what about the two of you, since Sufilia has decided to join, are you really waiting?
I'm telling you, they don't usually go to dungeons, do they?
'Yes. Your Highness had better think this through again.
I'll be fine. My life is with you, Nito.

　Toa's little nose twitched every time Sufilia said something funny.

''Anyway, we'll be leaving within a week, so think it over well before then.

　As I finished talking about the dungeon, I suddenly saw a pair of familiar figures.
　It was Francesca, the demonic correspondent, and a photographer.

''Are you over here?''

　For a moment, Francesca's gaze stopped on Sufilia and opened her eyes unnaturally.



　She didn't pry.

'At this time of the evening, it's hard work, isn't it?'
And, you know, I was wondering if I could be brief about it.
Just so you know, no pictures, okay?

　The cameraman stopped moving and lowered the camera he was about to set up.

'Yes sir. I just need you to answer a few simple questions for me.
By the way, what's going on in Rathhausen?
'Oh, I'm sorry, the Empire has shown up again,'
The Empire?
''Yes. I heard that there was another martyr among the White King's knights. As I recall, her name was Hilda Eckarlert, she's from the Eckarlert family who have a vineyard in Rashausen... hmm, Nito?

　It was so sudden.....
　Sierra looked down at the table and her pale expression didn't move.

''Lie, right........''

　Toa was speechless.
　Nem sagged into a small, sad voice.
　It wasn't something I could swallow right away, either.

* * * * * *.

　Hilda's funeral was held at the Eccarlato Mansion.
　All the White King's Knights were present, but the attendees were few due to Hilda's mother - Maria's wishes.
　When Sierra returned to Radshausen, the image of her sister in the coffin was somewhat unrealistic.
　Maria collapsed on the grass.
　She couldn't bear the sight of her daughter being buried.
　But Sierra didn't shed a single tear.
　She felt buoyant and as if her sister was still alive.
　A few days passed and it never seemed to disappear.

　Ever since then, Sierra had been holed up in her room.
　The only way to go out was to go out to the balcony.
　The clear sky is naturally visible as a clear sky.
　But the feeling of being in a dream is still there.

　Standing by the balustrade, I saw Reinhardt ducking through the gates of the Eccarlato mansion.
　Sierra decided to go down to the gardens for the first time in several days.

　Reinhardt had come to tell Sierra the circumstances of Hilda's death.
　Sierra listened to him in silence.

'This time they only wanted the prisoners. There was no need to force a confrontation, but Hilda but if I had noticed the intrusion a little earlier, none of this would have happened. I'm sorry.

　Reinhardt had waited a few days before Sierra was ready to listen.
　But still Sierra's eyes roamed right and left over the table.

'Sierra, what would you do if ... if you were to go to war with the Empire?'
....
Will you join the fight?
I don't know...

　Something had happened, she thought.
　There had been an event in the past few days that made the word "war" flicker, Sierra thought thinly.
　But it didn't matter to Sierra now.



　A number of horses sluggishly walked across the rough ground, where the gravel stretched for miles.
　They were a group of empire.

''Oh no, and by the way, Gazelle-san. Thank you for your help. Thank you very much for your help on this occasion.

　This time, Gazelle Crown, the lion beastman, led his troops to retake Gido.
　He was indifferent to Gido, who was even more mellow than before, without any sympathy.

''No need to thank me, you know that, don't you?''
Of course, you'll be punished. After all that preparation, I couldn't do anything. I have no excuse, but...
What... what?
If it weren't for that nonsense, none of this would have happened...
'I've heard stories, was it Nito, the S-ranked adventurer?　The world already knows the name. But it's been a long time, and yet we haven't heard anything. What's going on?
I don't know, he's just an adventurer.
But you don't see it that way, do you?
'Well that's a kind of monster. The next thing I knew, all my pets had been killed. And even Fran.
I see.
I've never seen anyone handle advanced magic with their bare hands.
Bare hands?
'Yes, we were just being played. He grabbed Fran's magic with his hand and threw it back.
"...but in any case, this is your fault. I'm sure that man will think so.
'So I'm telling you I understand. By the way, if you came to the rescue, does that mean you had business with Artemias, or did you get the Trifal?
No, they beat me to it.
Well, who are you?
You know that, don't you? A dragon's heart.
Oh, yeah, them. They don't get along with each other, do they?

　On the way to the Empire.
　Gazelle's expression was not clear as she made her way back home.
　Gazelle's mind was still on the sight of the five strange children he encountered on that occasion.
　Trying to explain, but having no idea how to do so, Gazelle sat on his horse, lost in thought.

　Gid is still smiling fearlessly.
　What it means is the next raid or war........
　Either way, in the not-too-distant future, there is no doubt that a major conflict will occur.
　The world must have sensed the omen and felt uneasy from the day the words "Imperial Assault" graced the headlines of the demonic communication.
　Perhaps that smile of his had that meaning in it.

''There's still more to come...''

*

　Aurigaoka took out a map and told the driver where to go.
　Sierra was nowhere to be seen.
　I'm sure you'll be able to get into the carriage first with a cheerless expression on your face.

"Master, what are you going to do about Sierra?

　Nem lets go of the hem of my pants and gets into the carriage.
　I should wait for you to return, that's what I'm saying.
　I know that.....

　The dungeon is a divine thing, and apparently it's not going to be there forever.
　They don't know when it will disappear, and it could be gone at any moment, gone and gone.

　A week had passed since I had seen Sierra off, but she hadn't come back.
　Whether he knew it or not, Sierra had told him so, not to wait for him to go.
　No, you knew that.
　She knew about the dungeon and that she wouldn't be able to return.

'Masamune, are you sure you want to do this?'
'We're adventurers, dungeons come first. Besides, Sierra probably knew this was coming, so I told her to go ahead.
I know, I know.
Yeah, I know that, too.
Master Nito, the carriage is coming up.

　Sufilia urged me to get in at the end.

　The gate to the distant academy.
　I felt as if I was moving away from Sierra as well.
　But we have to move on.
　That's the best thing to do, and Sierra probably thought so too.

''Let's ... go to the Beyoment.

　The destination is Beyoment.
　What a coincidence.
　The name of the town closest to the dune where the dungeon appeared was Biyomento.