“Disband?!”

At that moment, Ribia burst into the tent.

It seemed she had been eavesdropping by the entrance—losing her balance, Allerik and Viktor awkwardly stumbled in after her.

“Disband? Disband?!”

Ribia hurried forward and wedged herself between Basto and Tesetan.

Such fear was rarely seen on her face.

“No, you can’t disband! Even if our squad leader lost, you can’t disband!”

Tesetan pressed a hand to his forehead.

Basto looked down at Ribia without a trace of expression.

Ribia quickly turned around. Then she rushed to Nordix, who was sitting at the field table.

“Old man. You’re the one in charge here, right? Say something! We’re not disbanding, right? You know what Tregava went through to get here!”

Nordix did not respond, and Ribia rushed back to Basto again.

“T-then what about a temporary suspension? We won’t do anything at all! You take all the missions, take first place in the rankings—we won’t say a word, okay?!”

“Ribia. Enough.”

“Let go!”

Allerik tried to intervene, but Ribia shoved him away.

Tears were already pooling in her eyes.

“I can’t go anywhere without Tregava. You know that, Allerik! You know what this place means to me!”

“...Ribia.”

“I can’t. The way I lived... how could I even...”

She collapsed to the ground, and tears began to fall.

Tesetan silently closed his eyes.

A cold voice rang out in the tent.

“If your mercenary squad was that precious to you, you should have stopped your leader before he pulled something so reckless.”

Ribia looked up.

Basto’s face, lit by the torches, was icy.

“Because of your childish games, our squad leader put his life on the line. Moreover—you even broke the rules of the duel. And yet our squad leader...”

Basto looked at Tesetan again.

“With a wounded body, she covered for you. That was mercy.”

Nordix nodded and stood up.

“He’s right. I’m also sorry that your squad is falling apart, but since you set the condition before the duel, you must keep your word.”

“No!”

Ribia sprang to her feet.

“But you can’t disband! If Tregava disappears...!”

“There is no point in continuing this discussion. We have stated our position. The rest is for you to decide.”

Basto turned away. Nordix followed him.

Ribia sank back to the floor again, and Allerik hurried to support her.

And then—

The entrance of the tent rustled.

“Don’t disband!”

The lifted flap slowly fell and landed on top of Tie’s head.

“Eeng.”

Grunting, the child pushed the fabric aside and looked at Tesetan.

“Th-then... a merger...?”

“Hey, you brat!”

Veyl rushed in from behind with a stunned expression.

Dodging him, Tie ran forward and stopped in front of Ribia and Tesetan.

“If you don’t disband, but merge? Then you don’t have to separate.”

Ribia froze.

Slowly, she repeated:

“...Merge? You mean a merger?”

Tie nodded quickly.

“Yes! A merger! Together—as one!”

For a moment, Ribia’s eyes flashed.

‘Right. If it’s a merger...’

Tregava wouldn’t be torn apart.

And besides, Agavert was far from a weak squad, so it wasn’t a burden.

Honestly, it was almost strange that such an offer was being made—this was the best possible outcome for Tregava in every sense.

“Are you serious?”

“Yes!”

“Brat, have you lost your mind?”

Veyl ran over and carefully lifted Tie into his arms.

With irritation, he glanced at her hand.

“You’re going to take under your command someone who did that to your hand? Do you even understand what a merger means? It means we become one family!”

Avoiding his gaze, Tie muttered:

“But...”

“......”

“Why can’t we become one family? That’s possible too.”

“W-what?”

“When friends play, they sometimes get hurt... the teacher said so too...”

“Ridiculous.”

Tesetan cut in.

Tie’s eyes widened as she stared at him.

Suppressing the sudden surge of emotion inside him, Tesetan looked at the King of the Dead.

‘That face again.’

The same harmless smile.

Before the duel, during it—and now.

With bandages on her shoulders, as if she held no hostility toward him at all...

“You. Are you pitying me?”

At his harsh voice, Tie’s brows lowered slightly.

“Pity...?”

“Are you pitying me?”

The child frowned.

“Pity...” Tie murmured, then suddenly raised her head.

“N-no, it’s not like that!”

“Then what? Do you think I’ll be grateful for your offer of a merger? Do you think I’ll drop to my knees and accept it?”

“No. Tie just...”

“Even if my wrist is cut off, I won’t crawl under your command.”

Saying this coldly, Tesetan tore the bandages from his hand and threw them to the ground.

“We’ll disband on our own. Stay out of it.”

And without giving anyone a chance to stop him, he walked out of the tent.

“Squad Leader, hey... HEY! Squad Leader!”

Ribia immediately ran after him.

Still in Veyl’s arms, Tie silently stared at the entrance.

Veyl shook his head and scoffed.

“I knew it. A bastard without a shred of humanity.”

Tie’s face gradually darkened.

She stood still for a moment, then lowered her shoulders and buried her face into Veyl’s chest.

“We’ll reopen the assembly soon.”

At the central square of the capital, where they had returned through the portal.

Ardiana addressed Tie.

Tie nodded weakly.

“Yees......”

She forced a smile.

“Then goodbye, Princess... no, Chairwoman. See you later.”

Ardiana silently watched her leave.

From the side, an adjutant approached and said quietly:

“In all the time the Association has existed, there has never been a case like this.”

But Ardiana still could not take her eyes off Tie.

Voices of Agavert members could be heard.

“Let’s go, Squad Leader.”

“Yeah, let’s rest. We came to a meeting, and look how it ended.”

“Want me to carry you? Don’t your legs hurt?”

After the unexpected duel, everyone looked unsettled.

But Tie only shook her head sadly.

“...It’s fine. The King of the Dead always walks forward on her own.”

Ardiana’s gaze darkened.

She murmured quietly:

“So they will merge after all.”

“Hm?”

“Agavert and Tregava.”

The adjutant hesitated.

After thinking for a moment, he answered:

“I don’t know. Judging by the atmosphere, it seems more likely that Tregava will simply disband.”

“......”

“For the Association, that’s a loss, but now there is Agavert...”

Ardiana let out a quiet sigh.

The King of the Dead.

Adeline had spoken of her as “an honest and pure person.”

She found herself thinking.

‘They said she... is just pretending to be a child.’

And she continued watching until Astie’s figure disappeared.

After returning home, Tie staggered toward the sofa on the first floor.

Veyl brought firewood and began lighting the fireplace.

The squad members, exchanging glances, approached one by one.

Why she accepted the duel, what happened with Tesetan, whether there would be consequences.

There were many questions, but the child’s expression was too complicated.

No one dared to speak.

Even Lady Marshal, who had brought warm milk, froze in the kitchen.

Then suddenly, Tie quietly murmured:

“Why don’t they want to merge...?”

Everyone flinched and looked at her.

Tie, pressing her lips together, looked deep in thought.

“Isn’t merging with Tie much better ➤ NоvеⅠight ➤ (Read more on our source) than Tregava disappearing...”

Basto sighed.

He carefully sat down beside her.

“Tie. That’s...”

“Agavert is much smaller, right?”

At that moment, a cheerful voice came from the doorway.

Selena, who had arrived at some point, ran up to Tie.

“Imagine this. You have two huge cakes, and I only have one candy. And suddenly I suggest we combine our sweets. Would you like that?”

Tie’s lips parted slightly.

And then she shook her head.

With a look of complete understanding.