In the southern part of the continent, at Tepelo Castle occupied by the Karelia Army.
Lunarienne Iniang was serving as the lord of this castle, which was adjacent to the border with Ohana's army.
At first, many questioned whether she had been given too much responsibility despite her short tenure—
But as time passed and Luna herself proved her abilities, those complaints quickly subsided.
Her clear system of rewards and punishments, and her meticulous attention to even the smallest details that other castle lords would ignore, effectively silenced those who doubted her.
It wasn't surprising, considering that Karelia, and Vanessa who assisted Karelia, prioritized ability above all else in their personnel selections.
And now, in the royal palace of Tepelo Castle—
Tifa and Luna were having a private conversation for the first time in a long while.
"Old man Kein wants to see me too?"
"Yes."
"Why? I'm busy training the kids."
"He said he has something to show us."
"Really? What about the others?"
"He mentioned he'd prefer if it was just us."
"Huh, is that so?"
Tifa said with a grin.
"The three of us together—me, old man Kein, and Luna... it reminds me of the old days."
"..."
In truth, Luna had thought the same thing.
The only difference from back then was...
That 'that person' was no longer here with them.
"Right. You've heard the news too, haven't you, Luna? About the white-haired magician in Brands territory."
"Yes."
"I'm one hundred percent sure it's Swen."
"You think so too?"
"Of course. How many other young men with white hair could cause such absurd incidents?"
Just as Luna had immediately recognized "this must be Lord Swen" when she heard the news.
It seemed Tifa had also quickly detected that it was Swen.
"So magic really does exist, huh?"
"But is it actually magic? The rumors say he performed a ritual to the sky."
"If dropping rocks from the sky isn't magic, then what is?!"
"...Is that so? But Lord Swen never used magic when he was with us..."
"Maybe he was just hiding his powers?"
"...Hmm..."
Luna wore a slightly puzzled expression.
But Tifa, as if none of that mattered, bumped her fists together and said:
"Anyway! If even a scrawny guy like him can use magic, then I should be able to use it too!"
"But as I was saying, it might not be magic—"
"I don't care! I'll start training from today and figure it out somehow. Though I'm strong enough without magic anyway!"
These days, Tifa had been pushing herself through almost murderous training.
She strengthened her body by repeating simple movements hundreds or thousands of times.
Three times a day, she ran 3km around the territory of Tepelo Castle.
From the day her confidence in her own strength was shattered—
The day she was utterly defeated by Irene Juliet... since then, she had been driven by the crisis awareness that "this level of strength isn't enough to help Luna, let alone protect myself," leading to intense training.
Even when her training overlapped with missions, she never missed a single session, even if it meant reducing her sleep.
Luna, understanding Tifa's determination, had mainly assigned her to train the soldiers since becoming castle lord.
When soldiers trained, Tifa trained alongside them, making efficient use of even her mission time.
Just then.
"I see you've both gathered. I apologize for being late."
In the distance, Kein slowly walked toward them.
However... he wasn't coming alone.
"Hurry up, old man! Wait, who are those people behind you?"
People?
Well, they were people, but... more precisely, they were young boys and girls.
Kein was accompanied by one boy and two girls.
The oldest, the boy, appeared to be around 16 years old.
"Kein, who are these children?"
"...I was just about to introduce them to Lady Luna and Miss Tifa."
As Kein stepped slightly to the side.
"It is an honor to meet you, Lady Lunarienne."
The three young people knelt before Luna in unison and greeted her.
"They are my relatives. Due to circumstances... they are all orphans now."
"Huh? Hey, old man. You had relatives? You said you didn't have any family."
In response to Tifa's words, Kein nodded and said:
"...Well, that was true when we were at Jeilant Castle. These children were in an orphanage in another castle."
"An orphanage?"
"Yes. I thought it would be good to introduce them to Lady Luna now that some time has passed."
As Kein finished speaking, starting with the oldest-looking boy, they introduced themselves in order:
"My name is Francis."
"I am Charlotte."
"I'm Violet."
Luna looked into Francis's eyes.
Golden eyes and somewhat dull blonde hair.
She felt like she'd seen him somewhere before... or was it just her imagination?
Charlotte also had golden eyes similar to Francis.
Violet had black eyes resembling Kein's.
Both girls had black hair.
"It's nice to meet you all. I am Lunarienne."
"So, what's your purpose? Introducing your relatives can't be the only reason you called us here, right?"
"Well, that's true. Listen."
Kein looked at Luna with a more serious expression than ever before and said:
"Lady Luna, please take these children under your guardianship."
"These children? Me...?"
"Yes. Though it's embarrassing to say with my own mouth, they are all children with extraordinary qualities. They will surely be of help for your great cause in the future."
"By great cause, you mean...?"
Kein nodded at Luna's words.
"I don't think it's Lady Luna's intention to remain a castle lord under the Karelia Army forever."
"Ah, I see."
Tifa seemed to finally understand why they had been summoned and nodded.
"These kids will be on our side later, right?"
"That's correct."
"..."
Indeed.
As Kein said, Luna had never intended to abandon her ambitions here.
Hadn't she promised Swen? That if an opportunity came, she would never let it go.
If she did that, he promised he would definitely return to her side.
Even now, she had never forgotten his voice when he told her that before leaving.
"It would be good to have them stay at Lady Luna's mansion to prepare for the future. Lady Luna doesn't have any servants at the moment, does she? If you take these children in as servants, others won't find it strange."
As castle lord, Lunarienne had been given the massive mansion where the previous lord, Carlos, had lived.
It was far too spacious for one person, and she had been managing somehow without any servants.
"But why me...? Since they're Kein's relatives, wouldn't it be better for you to take care of them?"
"Haha... Lady Luna. I understand what you're saying, but I'm already old enough. I might die next month for all we know. Well, it's a natural thing for an old man who has lived a full life."
"Don't say such things...!"
"Yeah, old man. They say the biggest lie old people tell is 'I've lived long enough, so I'm ready to die.' Shouldn't you at least live to see Luna rebuild her country?"
At those words, Kein chuckled and said:
"Well... I think I've already done my part by introducing these children to Lady Luna."
"Hmph. I get that they're relatives, but how talented are they that you're so confident?"
"Miss Tifa will understand in time what I mean."
After saying that, Kein bowed his head to Luna and said:
"Anyway, I hope Lady Luna will take them in. Before anyone else does. I promise they will be of great help."
"..."
Eventually, she would need to break away from the Karelia Army and raise her own forces.
Having more people who would follow her will was never a bad thing, only a good one.
"...Would you all please stand up?"
At Luna's voice, the kneeling children all rose.
She walked slowly toward Francis, the oldest among them, and said:
"Francis."
"Yes, Lady Lunarienne."
"You can call me Luna from now on. It's fine to think of me as your guardian. I look forward to our time together."
At Luna's words, Francis blushed slightly, bowed his head, and said:
He seemed somewhat awkward around women.
"I... I understand. I'll do my best."
After that, Luna also briefly greeted Charlotte and Violet.
Fortunately, they didn't seem to have any aversion to Luna.
Kein watched Luna and fell into thought.
'I considered watching a bit longer... but indeed, Lady Lunarienne is the only lord worthy of my service.'
These children, whom he had hidden at the risk of his life, born of noble blood like himself.
If these children existed under Lunarienne, they would surely provide legitimacy comparable to Serphina's in the future.
They could effectively shake Serphina's foundation, which was built on overwhelming legitimacy despite maintaining tyrannical rule.
What these three people didn't know was—
Their fates had changed significantly after meeting him.
Originally, Kein would have died without properly making up his mind, only passing these children to Luna through his will on his deathbed.
But after staying with Luna at Jeilant Castle and fleeing to the south, he had been able to choose a new lord to support before his life ended.
The same was true for Tifa.
Rather than discovering mana by miraculous coincidence after a long time—
Hearing about the magician 'Swen' had made her think more quickly that magic, or 'mana,' might exist.
She was the only strength-type general who could read mana. It was as if the timing for her potential to explode had been accelerated.
Lunarienne, who had gone from being the ruler of a small country to becoming a castle lord of the Karelia Army, one of the continent's major feudal states.
Tifa, who recognized the existence of magicians much earlier than usual.
Kein, who quickly decided which lord to serve through various experiences.
All of this was possible thanks to just one person—Swen.
Swen's existence was dramatically reducing the time needed for the "royal build-up" of Lunarienne's forces.
* * *
A week had passed since I arrived at Valhalart Castle.
During that time, Irene and I were able to enjoy our time together after a long while.
"Should I hold it like this?"
"Yes, that's right. Now tie it here like this... and it's done. Three more to go."
First, we made something like a scarecrow for Irene's training.
I couldn't help but smile at how typical it was of her to bring a training scarecrow into the room first.
In our spare time, we walked around various parts of Valhalart Castle together.
Valhalart Castle had its own charm, different from Anel Castle, and wasn't a bad place to stay.
Considering this place was practically on the border, it seemed the Aishers Army had managed to protect Valhalart Castle like an iron fortress.
Of course, there was still some tension... but at Kelstein, also located on the border, such a peaceful atmosphere would have been impossible.
I was immersed in an emotion I hadn't felt in a long time.
Peace.
Back when I belonged to Luna's forces.
The memory of dancing with Luna during inspections at Jeilant Castle, where the atmosphere had completely changed after the harvest.
That exact feeling I had back then... I was now experiencing it here at Valhalart Castle, far away, with Irene.
'I wonder how she's doing.'
By moving from Brands Army to Aishers Army, I still couldn't find the answer to the question "Can Lunarienne Iniang become the unifying monarch of the world?"
Nevertheless, my belief that she was doing well somewhere remained unshaken.
'It wouldn't be so bad to just spend time with Irene like this.'
I could tell this period of peace wouldn't last long.
Unless the Brands Army was foolish, something would surely happen soon.
Rather than spending time worrying about such things, I decided to enjoy the peace while it lasted—
I spent each day very meaningfully with her.
After about 10 days had passed.
Irene and I were returning home after purchasing tea leaves and other necessities from a general store in the castle.
That's when.
'Huh?'
There seemed to be some commotion in that back alley.
"What's wrong, Swen?"
"No. Over there... something concerning is happening."
A young woman wearing a veil was surrounded by three sturdy-looking men.
From the atmosphere, it didn't seem like the woman and the men knew each other.
Even from a distance, it wasn't difficult to see that the woman was in trouble.
'Ruffians, perhaps.'
We were generals belonging to the Aishers Army.
That meant our walk also served as a patrol to maintain public order.
While we might have ignored it had we not seen it, once it was in our sight, we couldn't just pretend not to notice.
I approached them.
"What are you doing there?"