Ariel had already seen him in the recording that Eluria had given her, but she simply couldn’t contain her excitement upon seeing him alive and well in person. Selected as a Hero among countless candidates, Dian bore a strong sense of responsibility and always volunteered for the most dangerous tasks. When he’d learned just how much sacrifice would be necessary for the Second World invasion plan, he’d stepped up to lead the operation and sworn to Ariel that he would make it a success, even if it meant ensuring it with his own life. Despite his rough demeanor, he was one of the kindest people she knew. How could she not be happy to find that he was alive?
“But... But also...!” Ariel sniffled. “Stop calling me a pooch! Waaah!”
“Goddammit!” Dian hissed, then whipped his head around to Millis. “Hey, blondie! Is it just me, or is she acting weird as hell today?!”
Millis sighed. “Sorry about that... I think Ariel regressed in age after sightseeing in the capital...”
“Oh, for fuck’s sake, none of you are making sense today! Hey, stop crying already!”
“Sir Dian!” Fareg snapped, holding his head. “How could you hit me with your shoe? I nearly fell over and face-planted!”
Valtos threw his head back with a hearty laugh. “Ha ha ha! It has been too long, Dian! It is I, your crown prince!”
“Shut up, you two! Nobody asked!” Dian hissed, his hands still busy landing chops on Ariel’s head. “I’m busy over here—I’ve got no time to deal with a brat and a meathead!”
Ariel pouted, her eyes now red and swollen. His chops actually hurt a bit, so she wished he would stop.
“Anyway...” Dian glared at Fareg. “Like I said, you’d better not do anything excessive, brat. It’s not like you can change anything anyway. Vegalta can’t side with him even if they want to.”
“But—!”
“Besides,” he cut in, “do you really think that geezer wasn’t expecting this to some extent? Annoying as it is, that guy isn’t just your ordinary ‘wise old man.’ He’s crazy smart.”
Ariel observed Dian’s bitter expression with slight interest. His praise must have stemmed from the fact that Raid had managed to shut down their operation. Regardless, it wasn’t every day she heard Dian dish out such high praise.
“By the way, blondie,” Dian continued, turning to Millis. “Why did you guys come back to— Huh? Why’s there a second blondie? Ugh, what a pain...”
“This is our first meeting, and you just rolled your eyes at me!” Norn exclaimed, aghast.
Millis cleared her throat. “This is Norn, my descendant. She’s the former Keeper of Paradise.”
Dian squinted. “‘Former’? What happened to it?”
“Oh, many things, actually...”
“Ugh, I can’t be bothered. Summarize it into three points.”
“First: The Hero and the Sage ran wild in the First World. Second: The Hero and his subordinates ran wild in the imperial capital. Third: The empire was dismantled in exchange for ownership of Paradise.”
“Elaborate on just the third point.”
“Simply put, we offered Paradise to the imperial family and bigwigs of Altane. In exchange, all authority over the empire was transferred to the Lambut family.”
“So now, I have a big castle and am super important!” Norn added.
“Oh? So, this tiny blondie is the new leader of the First World, huh?” Dian hummed, then furrowed his brow again. “Then...why’d you bring the meathead along?”
Valtos gasped. “I knew it! You did call me a meathead earlier!”
“Who else would I be callin’ a meathead, these girls?” Dian groaned. “This tiny blondie would’ve been enough. Why drag along this pain in the ass too?”
“Must you insult me so?! I am your crown prince!”
“By the way,” Millis pleasantly chimed in, “as I said earlier, Altane has been dismantled. So Valtos has been demoted to ‘ordinary civilian who’s just going around screaming that he’s the crown prince.’”
“All the more reason to leave him behind...” Dian deadpanned.
“I’ve nothing to do back home, and I, too, wanted to see the Second World for myself! So far, I am greatly pleased by the food!”
Dian leveled Millis a flat look. “Did you really have to bring him?”
“Fret not!” Millis declared. “I have with me the scepter that can restrain the Heroes. If he ever runs wild, I can easily stop him!”
“Oh? How?”
“By giving him the shock of his life, of course!”
Dian chuckled. “Hey, that sounds fun. Show me.”
“What is this sudden bout of injustice?!” Valtos shrieked before receiving the most unjust shock of his life.
It was to this chaotic scene that Raid returned, entering through the door behind them while rolling his shoulders. “Yo, I’m back... Huh? What’re you guys doing?”
“Waaaaah! Raid, I’m so terribly sorry for being so useless!!!” Elise wailed, swiftly landing back into her most familiar position—prostrating on the ground.
“S-Save me, Freeden! I swear I’ll fight properly on the front lines, so please, just take this girl away from me!!!” Valtos screamed.
Raid shot them both a withering look. “I have no idea what’s going on, but I think you should both calm down.”
Dian walked over while casually waving his hand. “Sounds like you had a tough day out there, geezer. Not the warmest welcome, huh?”
“Definitely not. But don’t worry—I plan to use this to my advantage.”
Dian narrowed his eyes. “I knew it. You’ve got a plan, don’t you?”
“Sure do. I’m playing along with their little farce, so I need to earn my fair share from it, don’t I? I shouldn’t be wasting my time on this nonsense, especially when my bride’s still waiting for me back in the First World. In fact, I’m itching to get back to her already. So...” Raid’s lips curled into a dark and ominous smile. “Why not use this Assembly to gather all the forces and resources we need in one fell swoop?”
His eyes were glinting like a predator who’d found his prey.