Airia listened to Parker’s report via one of the new mana communicators that Ryucco had developed.
“And...Veight is still missing?” she asked, her voice trembling.
In a grave voice, Parker replied, “I’m sorry, Demon Lord. I was with him, but all I could do was run. If anything, I would have gotten in his way.”
Airia took a breath to calm herself and replied, “No, it’s thanks to you that Friede and Prince Shumar made it safely back to Mount Kayankaka. It’s reassuring to know that you’re by their side.”
There was a long silence before Parker spoke.
“Thank you... You and Veight really are too kind...”
“We’ll need your strength in the coming days, Parker,” Airia said gently. She then said in a much sterner voice, “I order you to safely escort Prince Shumar to Encaraga. That’s our top priority right now. Regardless of what he says, he cannot join the search for Veight.”
Parker nodded, though he knew Airia couldn’t see that through the transceiver. “Understood. I’ll take Friede and her friends back as well. She’ll be sure to listen once she hears that it was a direct order from the Demon Lord.”
“Thank you. See, you’re more reliable than you think, Parker.”
“I-It’s nothing. I appreciate the encouragement though. I’m done beating myself up over things I couldn’t control,” Parker said, his tone turning cheerful.
“Meraldia won’t sit idly by while Kuwol is in crisis,” Airia replied with a smile. “First, I’ll send another forty werewolves to help guard Kuwol and search for Veight. Fahn will be in charge, but since you’re the most aware one on the ground, I’ll tell her to defer to your advice, Parker.”
“Understood. I’ll do everything I can. If we’re up against a Valkaan, humans will just get in the way, so send only werewolves and werecats if possible. I’ll have my skeletons start searching the region as well.”
“Thank you.”
The two of them worked out a plan of action, but before long, the transceiver started running low on battery. It took a lot of mana to converse over long distances like this.
“If anything happens, contact me immediately, even if it doesn’t seem important.”
“Yes, ma’am. Don’t worry, we’ll bring Veight back safe and sound. He’s not the kind of man who’ll die easily, after all.”
“...True enough.”
Airia turned off the transceiver and placed it on the desk. She then flopped down onto her chair, exhausted.
“Veight, Friede...please come back alive,” she muttered softly before falling asleep.
✦ ✦ ✦
When I opened my eyes, I found myself in an unfamiliar room...
“Nngh...” Everything hurt, but my stomach hurt the most. That Burbelga guy got me good.
I gingerly touched my stomach. The wound was still there, but the bleeding had stopped. It seemed I’d managed to heal enough before my strengthening magic wore off to avoid death by blood loss. That said, my head was still spinning from the amount of blood I had lost. It was too dark to make out what kind of room I was in, and I didn’t have the energy to transform and use my enhanced vision. The last thing I remembered was falling.
“You’re finally awake. Can you understand me?” came a voice spoken in the ancient language.
I reflexively tensed up, but soon realized it wasn’t Burbelga’s voice.
“Relax, this old castle has long been buried under the dunes. You fell here through an opening in the ceiling. Burbelga won’t be able to find you here. Good grief... That man has gone completely mad.”
I turned my head and saw a thin old man who looked to be in his seventies. He was wrapped in a faded sheet like a monk’s robe, with a weathered iron circlet atop his head. The sheet was so old that it was impossible to discern what color it might have once been.
✦ ✦ ✦
