Ardiana was taken aback.

"Princess...?"

She had spent her entire life within the palace walls.

At times, she attended festivals and banquets where nobles gathered, but she had never once appeared before the people of the Empire.

"Then how...?"

"Princess, hello, I am the King of the Dead!"

Ardiana clenched her hand beneath her cloak.

"Can she... see through me?"

Before assigning this state commission known as the "Watchtower mission" to Agavert,

Ardiana had, of course, gathered information about the King of the Dead.

A childlike appearance and behavior.

And the terrifying power hidden behind them.

The informants who had tried to investigate the King of the Dead all said the same thing.

"His true identity? It will be difficult to find out. Even dozens of informants failed to do so."

They said the King of the Dead controlled his appearance and behavior with extreme care.

"Imagine this—walking down the road, suddenly picking up a stone and examining it. Or abruptly chasing after a butterfly! It feels like he swallowed a child. Of course, that was probably done deliberately to confuse us."

But Ardiana did not find such a King of the Dead unpleasant.

His behavior was strange, but if one looked at the path he had taken, there was a sense of integrity in it.

"He stayed in Pearlcity and protected the residents. He safely rescued the factory manager who had been trapped in subspace."

And even the incident at Caldenbein Ridge.

Adeline, whom she had managed to contact after a long time, had said at the time:

"I am not saying this because he helped me, but the King of the Dead is truly a kind and pure person, Your Highness."

"May I ask why you think so?"

"Because there is not a single trace of malice in him. I understand that the rumors make you wary, but you will see it for yourself soon."

That was how Ardiana had been able to completely discard her prejudices.

"Besides, if he is a mercenary, then he is someone I ought to be grateful to in any case." 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎

Unlike the emperor, Fides, she valued mercenaries.

Protecting the people was the duty of the state, but mercenaries, on the contrary, sacrificed themselves for the country.

Ardiana wanted to build a friendly relationship with Agavert.

She even wished to have them join the Association, so that their benefits could be guaranteed systematically.

But—

"Princess, you are so beautiful!"

At that moment, she had not expected the King of the Dead to see through her.

She had concealed her entire body from head to toe, leaving only her eyes exposed.

While she stood frozen, her adjutant, who knew her identity, cast a glance at the King of the Dead.

The look was questioning.

What are you going to do?

After a brief moment of thought, Ardiana dropped to one knee.

Raising one hand, she stopped the others from approaching, then looked straight into the eyes of the King of the Dead and asked:

"How were you able to see through me?"

The King of the Dead’s face became puzzled.

"See through?"

"You can simply see my true identity?"

The King of the Dead parted her lips.

"I will not deny it. In the future, you will be working with me, and trust will become more important than anything. But my identity must not become known to the world. If it is revealed that I am an imperial princess, the Association I worked so hard to build will collapse. Naturally, I will not be able to guarantee your benefits either."

Silence fell.

Looking at the King of the Dead’s face, where tense contemplation had begun to show, Ardiana thought:

"Adeline, I am relying on you. I wonder how she will respond?"

Adeline was a wise and capable attendant.

If she said the King of the Dead could be trusted, then Ardiana could trust her as well.

As expected, after some time of thought, the King of the Dead quietly whispered:

"Princess... you really are a princess?"

Then she stepped closer and whispered into her ear:

"And you... are the head of the Sorrie Association?"

Ardiana, frowning, nodded.

"Yes. For certain reasons, I conceal my identity."

Tie was struck with a powerful shock.

"The princess and Tie... are the same?"

Both were leaders of a group, hiding their identities.

And if the truth were revealed, they could lose everything.

They had far too much in common.

Tie squeezed her cheeks with both hands and muttered:

"So that’s it... Tie revealed the chairman’s identity..."

The squad members had said:

The head of the Sorrie Association was a person hidden behind a veil.

Even when appearing, fully wrapped, impossible to recognize.

"Because she is a princess!"

As if enchanted, Tie stared into the princess’s eyes.

Deep blue eyes, as if they had absorbed the sky.

When the princess blinked, her pupils slowly expanded and contracted.

Tie whispered excitedly:

"Tie will keep the secret."

Then she glanced back at the squad members standing far away and added:

"I won’t tell anyone! We are the same strong strong!"

For a moment, the princess froze.

But soon, she replied calmly:

"Thank you."

While Tie giggled shyly, the princess stood up.

She raised her hand toward the other squad members and the people of the Luminel house who had already arrived nearby.

When everyone had gathered, the adjutant standing beside her stepped forward.

"I am the manager of the Sorrie Association."

Unlike Ardiana, she removed her cloak.

"The reason an emergency assembly was called today is that the magic crystal you will be assaulting in a week has a rather unusual form."

Basto frowned.

"Unusual? What do you mean?"

"It means that its form does not resemble any we have encountered before. This magic crystal is larger than any we have seen so far. And its appearance is completely different."

"Is that true?"

Edmund, who had been standing beside Agavert, stepped closer.

He gave a brief nod to Tie and asked:

"There was no such information /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ in the strategic headquarters."

"The Association only learned of it recently as well."

The manager continued calmly:

"You all know the ruins of the old imperial palace in the north."

The ruins of the old palace.

The place where the imperial palace had stood before the appearance of magic beasts.

Now it had long since become ruins.

People no longer went there, and nearby, a magic crystal had formed.

But the fact that this place had become the target of the mission—

"The problem is that the magic crystal is absorbing the palace. According to our investigation, its source is the clock tower within the palace complex."

She raised her hand and pointed to the towering structure behind them.

"The style is the same. However, the tower in the old palace will be entwined with black vines. Your task is to destroy them."

Silence fell among the squad members.

The people of the Luminel house were also at a loss for words.

Until now, magic crystals had only existed in the form of buildings.

But judging by the manager’s words, this time—

"Are you saying the vines themselves are the magic crystal?"

"According to our data, yes."

Edmund frowned.

The manager continued:

"Since there have been no similar cases before, we needed people who have proven their strength. That is why the right to carry out this mission was granted to Agavert. As for the Luminel house—there is no need to explain."

Instead of answering, Valentis looked at Astie.

"This sounds dangerous."

If he had not known her secret, it would have been one thing.

But now, the thought of a child participating in such a matter made him uneasy.

Although Tie looked carefree.

"Yes! Then when do we go? In a week? And how do we go?"

Tie, jumping excitedly, fired off questions.

The manager hesitated for a moment, then answered:

"In a week. You will be sent together with a unit of Holy Knights. The Association will provide the teleportation portal."

With her heart pounding, Tie turned around.

She was about to say something to Basto—and suddenly froze.

At the far end of the square.

Along the straight road, a small dot was approaching.

Tie widened her eyes, then rubbed them with her hand.

The dot grew larger.

Or rather—it stretched upward.

They were people.

"Huh?"

"Tie. I wanted to tell you this morning..."

Lucarion approached and whispered, but Tie did not hear him.

She could not take her eyes off the figure ahead.

"And this is the level of the Association?"

The approaching man stopped, his gaze cold.

"For years you used us like dogs, and now you decided to throw us a bone?"

Tesetan smirked.

"And now you’re even taking away the bowl you gave us yourselves?"

Tie forgot even to blink, staring at him.