269 Episode
Ray tried to console Karen.
However, Karen could not easily shake off her sorrow upon realizing that the gift she had put so much thought into had been overwritten.
It would have been less of a shock if the gift had simply been deemed useless and shoved into a shelf.
As Karen continued to sniffle, Ray eventually explained everything that had happened in the Imperial Capital, which was far from a wise decision.
After hearing Ray’s explanation, Karen asked him.
“…When you slightly drew the Sacred Sword, did divine power seep out and settle into the brooch?”
“Yeah.”
“…”
Karen looked at Ray with dimmed eyes, her gaze implying something like, “Are you really sitting there using this as an excuse?”
In fact, even Ray himself thought his excuse sounded pretty stupid.
But since it wasn’t a lie, Ray felt frustrated and kept trying to explain.
Finally, Karen, who had been picking at her food, got up from her seat.
“…I’ll be going now.”
“No, it’s true! Wait a moment, Karen!”
Ray chased after Karen, who was clearly pouting.
Thus, Luna, who had been left alone, calmly finished the remaining meal and began working on setting up a protective barrier.
While it wasn’t difficult to deploy the barrier to keep petty thieves away, the problem lay with the power source.
Without a strong power source, even a simple barrier would be hard to maintain for several months.
“…”
Luna decided to set up a barrier that could last about a month.
If the war dragged on, she could come back every month to reinforce it.
As Luna quietly continued her work, Ray returned with a deflated expression on his face.
It seemed he had failed to properly console Karen.
Nevertheless, Luna proceeded with her task and soon finished.
Having prepared the barrier to be activated at any time, Luna started getting ready to leave.
Ray asked her.
“Where are you heading?”
“…I’m going to the Sigini Mountain Range.”
She meant she was going to visit the research lab located in the mountains.
Though climbing the mountain in the dead of night might seem dangerous… it wasn’t for Luna.
Despite this, Ray insisted on accompanying her home, citing the barriers as his reason.
“…”
Once again, silence enveloped them as they walked along the path.
Ray made an effort to clear his emotions.
He didn’t have the luxury to waste time wrestling with fruitless anguish like someone floundering in mud.
Now was the time for practical thinking.
Taking a deep breath, Ray spoke.
“Luna.”
“…”
“I mean, the procedure you told me about… Would it stabilize Lea’s dragon blood if she underwent it?”
Luna looked up at Ray.
Her gaze was filled with curses.
A defeated Ray quickly added further explanations while nervously sweating.
“No, what I mean is, Luna…”
If the procedure Luna had devised worked on Lea, it would significantly reduce the risks Ray had to take.
That way, he wouldn’t need to undertake the perilous journey of bringing Lea to the Imperial Capital.
Luna understood what Ray was implying but shook her head.
“That’s not possible.”
The Dragonheart fragment Luna used to sustain Ray’s life was a piece of the artifact ‘Valerius,’ originally possessed by Ulte.
This small fragment of Dragonheart was infused with Valerius’ hopes and powers.
Using this, Luna had researched and developed a procedure to protect Ray’s heart.
Not just any Dragonheart would suffice for the procedure, and the powerful fragment of Valerius’ Dragonheart could only sustain one person.
Therefore, Luna’s procedure was exclusively for Ray.
“…And besides, this treatment won’t help Lea much.”
For the imperial family, the ‘Imperial Dragonheart’ functioned both as a device to protect their hearts and as a reservoir for dragon blood.
Without the Imperial Dragonheart, it was difficult to store the dragon blood flowing through the veins of the imperial family stably.
This was why the Empire had struggled to replace the Imperial Dragonheart thus far.
If Luna had been given ample time, she might have found some solution through research, but…
Neither Ray nor Lea could afford to wait for that time.
Understanding Luna’s explanation, Ray sighed.
Ultimately, they would have to transplant the Imperial Dragonheart into Lea.
At the same time, they would also have to deceive others into believing Ray had used it.
This was not something Ray could accomplish alone.
As always, he had no choice but to rely on Luna.
“Luna… Can you…”
Feeling embarrassed and apologetic toward Luna, Ray trailed off.
However, Luna immediately saw through what Ray wanted to ask and nodded calmly.
“I’ll try to find a way.”
“…”
“As long as I can help Ray, then…”
“…”
“Please stay by our side.”
Luna grabbed Ray’s hand.
After hesitating for a moment, Ray tightly held Luna’s hand and continued walking down the darkened road.
*
Clemens arrived at the Manor’s training ground upon Ray’s summons.
Since the training ground was located down a flight of stairs, Clemens managed to reach it with basic magic and spirit assistance.
“Lord Ray. Ah, Lady Countess is here as well.”
Inside the training ground, Ray and Alesya were waiting for Clemens.
Ray gestured toward Clemens.
“You’re here? Let’s first establish a contract seal with Young Miss.”
It was an extremely sudden request.
However, Clemens followed Ray’s orders without showing any signs of displeasure.
Tszzk!
The contract seal between Alesya and Clemens was successfully established.
Due to the limited amount of Selomia energy Alesya had left, they couldn’t form a powerful contract, but this newly formed seal allowed Alesya to impose certain restrictions on Clemens’ actions.
Having added another layer of safety measures, Ray questioned Clemens.
“Your body seems to be getting stiffer lately. It looks like you’re struggling to walk with just your crutches.”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
“The aid from an ice spirit probably won’t help much with mobility… So, I’ll arrange a wind spirit contract for you. You should be able to move around more smoothly for a few hours each day.”
“Huh? But how…”
Clemens reflexively questioned Ray when he casually mentioned contracting with a spirit.
Ray turned to Fenrir, the wind spirit Alesya had summoned beforehand.
“Do you know anyone else we can call?”
[…]
Fenrir solemnly shook his head, refusing to betray another of his kin.
Then Ray approached Fenrir with a satisfied smile.
[Keeaaak!! Keeeek!!]
After being punched a few times by Ray, Fenrir finally went off to find a friend.
A short while later, Fenrir returned with a mid-level wind spirit.
Satisfied, Ray reached for his sword, but the spirit summoned by Fenrir seemed to already favor Clemens.
Clemens, too, preferred a non-aggressive method for the contract process, so Ray decided to observe the situation.
Tszzk!
Ultimately, Clemens successfully formed a contract seal under quite good conditions.
Witnessing this, Fenrir let out a sound similar to a howl, feeling wronged.
I wanted to contract with Natural instead of Monocle! How did I end up making a slave contract with Monocle?
While expressing his grievance, Fenrir caught sight of Alesya’s eyes.
Immediately, Fenrir flipped onto his back and started acting cute in front of Alesya.
Alesya stroked Fenrir’s belly with a bland expression.
Meanwhile, Clemens awkwardly moved his body with the help of the wind spirit.
Although normal walking was still impossible, with enough practice, he could manage to mimic walking.
Clemens clenched his lips before repeatedly thanking Ray.
“Thank you very much.”
“Alright, focus and do better from now on.”
“Yes, I will try my best.”
“Soon, you’ll need to evacuate. Pack your things. Oh, by the way, can he still walk on his own?”
“…”
Clemens uncomfortably scratched the back of his neck.
*
The evacuation began.
It was difficult to control too many people moving at once.
Therefore, Count Philip instructed the viscount of Gadi’s subjects to evacuate first.
Additionally, Count Philip arranged a few carriages specifically for the sick, elderly who had difficulty moving, and young children.
Jimy traveled to the Dinor region to help control the crowd alongside his companions and chuckled.
“How strange.”
Jimy muttered these words while watching the elders and children board the carriages.
Back when he was a mercenary, Jimy occasionally encountered evacuating groups.
There were usually plenty of physically fit men among the refugees.
The weak and the poor were often abandoned or fell behind during the evacuation and died.
But such a disciplined and considerate evacuation line—where the weak were cared for—was unprecedented to Jimy.
He muttered to himself, marveling at how long life had brought him to witness such a scene.
With that, the evacuees from the viscount of Gadi’s territory departed.
A few knights on horseback, soldiers, and hired mercenaries accompanied them to ensure order.
Ray watched the evacuation lines depart without worry.
Ulte Gadi was leading the group.
Even if complications arose, Ulte was capable of suppressing issues with force.
“I should check my belongings again.”
Ray turned his back on Philip County.
On the other hand,
Some mercenaries and thieves began lurking around the viscount of Gadi’s territory.
After the residents had left, an eerie silence settled over the area.
Though the traces of human habitation remained, the empty village exuded a rather unsettling atmosphere.
Of course, to the mercenaries and thieves, the viscount of Gadi’s territory appeared like a treasure trove.
The fleeing residents likely tried to take valuable items, but preparing bundles also had its limits.
There were still plenty of valuable things to be found if one searched carefully.
Though it was risky to raid villages while Philip County was still evacuating, lingering longer would only allow other mercenaries to get there first.
“Let’s start checking from over there.”
The leader of a small mercenary band moved toward the well-built mansions first.
Arriving at the mansion, the leader forcibly broke open the door, which was surely locked.
Kwadeg!!!
The leader and the mercenaries entered the mansion together.
However, they sensed movement inside.
The mercenaries, startled for a brief moment, soon resumed their calm demeanor and began conversing amongst themselves.
“Wow, we’re lucky with the first house. She’s alone.”
“She’s kinda cute. She might be worth some money.”
“What money? There’s nowhere to sell her right now. Let’s just deal with her quietly among ourselves.”
“But isn’t there a chance she came back looking for something? Feels a bit uneasy.”
“What do you want us to do, Chief?”
As the mercenaries chatted among themselves, Luna suddenly asked.
“…Who are you?”
“…?”
“How bad of people are you?”
Evacuation (3)
