Alicia left the room as soon as Ryan gave the command, and the sound of her footsteps on the hallway’s wooden floor faded until they disappeared entirely.

Ryan stood looking out the window for a moment.

’Asleep for ten days, huh... well, the timing is right.’

But there wasn’t much time for idle thought. The relic was ready; Runa and Mika had confirmed it.

Everyone gathered outside their usual meeting place. Irina’s grandfather was the last to arrive, wearing his habitual expression of nonchalance.

"Your Majesty, do you feel better? You had everyone quite worried," Kenia said as she took her position at the front.

"I am. But that isn’t the reason I called you all here." Ryan stood before them. "We are leaving this place today."

The silence lasted exactly as long as it took for them to process the sentence.

"So you already know the relocation relic is ready?" Irina’s grandfather asked, leaning forward slightly. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

"Yes, I have already confirmed that. It only remains for Ryan to decide the moment," Runa replied before Ryan could speak, crossing her arms with that poorly disguised smile of pride that had become characteristic of her.

"Mika and I checked every detail twice. If His Majesty’s mana is sufficient to activate it, the portal will move without collapsing."

"If you are counting on the amount of my mana, then everything will go perfectly," Ryan added without further explanation.

Kenia looked at the other elders for a moment. No one questioned him.

"Then we shall proceed as you command," Irina’s grandfather said.

Ryan nodded and began walking toward the village entrance.

...

Gathering everyone took more time than he expected, though it shouldn’t have surprised him.

The elves emerged from the portal in groups organized by the soldiers. The beastmen followed behind, some carrying the smallest children.

The children looked at the destroyed forest with wide eyes, as if it were the first time they had seen this side of the outside world—and for several of them, it likely was.

Ryan watched them from outside the portal, counting silently as the last group finished exiting.

’There are quite a lot of them. More than it seemed while they were inside the village... I’ve already lost count of how many there are.’

Alicia, who was also at his side, noticed Ryan’s expression and commented.

"There are 348 in total, including both Elves and the beastkin race, Your Majesty. That includes the children and the elderly."

"I see. Thank you for your report, Alicia."

"Hey, Ryan, they’ve already taken too long." Helen appeared to his right with her arms crossed and an expression of impatience she had been wearing since she stepped outside.

"If you had let me organize them, they would have been out in half the time, I assure you."

"And perhaps half of them would be unconscious," Mirian intervened from his left, using that soft tone she employed precisely when she wanted the phrase to hurt more.

"What exactly are you hinting at now, Mirian?"

"Nothing, nothing. Just what I saw the last time you organized something. Tee-hee."

Helen opened her mouth to respond, but Ryan raised a hand without looking at them.

"Enough."

The two fell silent, though Helen huffed loudly enough for everyone within two meters to hear it.

Karol floated a bit further back alongside Irina, observing the group gathered in front of the forest with genuine curiosity.

"There are quite a few more than I imagined," Karol commented. "This is going to cost me more mana than I thought."

"Although before the demons arrived, there were many more of us," Irina said with a quiet smile.

Ryan turned toward Karol.

She looked at him with a raised eyebrow, like someone who already knew she was going to be asked for something requiring significant effort.

Ryan pulled the bracelet relic from his inventory and held it out to her without preamble.

"Take this. I want you to use it."

Karol looked at the relic. Then she looked at him.

"You’re giving it to me just like that? You know I wouldn’t be able to use it for long, right?"

"Don’t worry. I just want you to be very alert until everyone is safe inside the dungeon. Because of that, I believe that right now, you are the most suitable person to use it." Ryan held it in front of her as he spoke.

"Once I buff your mana, it will be enough to keep Reveal Hidden active without you turning into an infant. Since I’ll be staying here with Helen and Mirian, it will be useful for you to avoid any demons hidden by a stealth skill."

Karol took a second to respond. She took the relic slowly and observed it with an expression that wasn’t exactly pride but looked quite a bit like it.

"Fine," she said at last, and put it on without further comment.

"Hey." Helen took a step forward. "What about me? Aren’t you giving me something?"

"You don’t need it, Helen," Ryan replied.

"What is that supposed to mean..." she murmured.

"Exactly what I said." Ryan held her gaze until she huffed for the second time in five minutes and looked away toward the group of elves as if she had suddenly developed a massive interest in counting them.

Mirian smiled toward the side.

Irina covered her giggle with her hand.

Ryan left them be and headed toward the wyvern, which was resting near the portal with that characteristic calm it had when nothing demanded its movement. The creature raised its head as it felt him approach.

’I must go out and scout the perimeter first before all of this begins.’

When he returned, the group was fully assembled, and the soldiers were maintaining order without major issues. Ryan took his place at the front and raised his voice enough for everyone to hear.

"Listen to me."

Silence fell quickly. Even the children went quiet.

"Mirian, I want you to be alert in the eastern area of the forest throughout the entire process. Helen, you cover the southern area. Do not stray so far that you lose sight of the group. Understood?"

"Understood," Mirian replied without objection.

"Understood," Helen repeated, though with a tone that made it clear she would rather be somewhere else doing something else.

Ryan turned toward Irina.

"You stay at my side."

She nodded without saying anything, but something in her posture shifted as if that instruction had lifted a weight she hadn’t mentioned.

"Karol." Ryan looked directly at her. "Activate flight magic on everyone. Elves, beastmen... I know it will be tedious, but I’m counting on you."

Karol opened her mouth to respond and then closed it for a moment.

"Ryan, there are many of them. If I lift them all at the same time, I’ll run out of mana before I’m halfway there."

"I know." Ryan reached out his hand toward her and calmly spoke each buffing incantation. The aura surged through Karol’s body immediately, and she felt her mana stabilize and expand under the effect of the buff.

"Ah." Karol moved her fingers as if testing the difference. "That’s better."

"Then... I’ll leave them in your hands. Take them to the sky dungeon."

Karol raised her staff and the air began to move around the group. One by one, and then in blocks, the inhabitants of the village began to rise from the ground.

The children let out small shouts of surprise. Some beastmen looked down with distrust but did not protest.

Ryan stayed by the portal. Irina and Alicia remained at his side, and Runa held the relocation relic with steady arms.

"I think it’s time for you to have this."

The entire group was already floating above the level of the forest when Ryan locked eyes with Karol, who continued upward toward the sky dungeon.

"Now there is only one thing left to do."