“……”

I swallowed hard and pulled out the flute tucked at my waist. The flute Aspeiran had gifted me, to help me control monsters.

‘Though I’ve never used it in a real battle before.’

There’s no time to hesitate wondering if I can do it, if it’s okay to do it.

I assumed a familiar stance. What’s most needed right now is to send those lions away.

The melody imbued with my strong will flowed from the flute, stretching out towards the blue lions.

Sensing my song, the lions’ movements slowed for a moment. Their steps faltered.

However.

“Kuhuk!”

My chest grew hot, my head spun, and blood burst from my throat. Though it was my first time experiencing this, I instinctively knew.

Those blue lions had just rejected my command. This was the backlash.

“Huh, huk.”

It hurts, it hurts so much I could die.

I collapsed to the ground, burying my head in the cold snow. I’m dizzy.

‘I want to sleep…’

Even if I give up, Aspeiran is here so he’ll probably take down all the blue lions.

But there will likely be injuries on our side. Maybe, someone might even die.

I gritted my teeth and forced myself up. Thankfully, Sam Mem Mer’s large body blocks the view.

As… he probably didn’t see me cough up blood and collapse.

I roughly wiped the blood from my mouth with the back of my hand and put the flute to my lips again. If the command to return doesn’t work, I can give a weaker command.

For example, something like ‘stop’.

The song flowed out again. A lively melody that didn’t match the battlefield of raging flames and flowing blood seeps into the ears of the ferocious beasts.

The blue lions’ resistance was fierce. I felt something trickling down my philtrum. But it didn’t matter. As long as we can all return home safely together.

In the end, I was the victor.

Surprised by the blue lions suddenly stopping their movements, everyone engaged in battle turned to look at me.

It would have been nice if our Sam Mem Mer had hidden me well, but unfortunately, Awesome had just moved aside from in front of me.

The faces of the knights and expedition members who saw my face, which must have been a mess, contorted with shock. Aspeiran’s expression, I deliberately didn’t look at.

‘I’m going to get scolded so badly…’

Fortunately, the awkward moment didn’t last long. Because Aspeiran started giving orders again.

“…I’ll block the lake so no more monsters can come up, you deal with all the monsters here. Hurry!”

His slightly trembling voice finally shouted at the end.

The combat personnel’s movements became swift. The tide of battle that had been a tense tug-of-war completely turned in our favor.

‘It’s almost over.’

My consciousness that I’d been stubbornly holding onto through sheer will was gradually slipping away, my vision becoming hazy.

But it’s okay, the battle will end soon. Then I can rest. I let myself relax.

…I shouldn’t have.

Rumble―

I heard something like the sound of something collapsing behind me.

At the same time, Sam Mem Mer’s urgent cry tore through the air. Why?

“Uh…”

Why is the ground so far away?

I hurriedly gathered my scattered thoughts. Only then could I finally grasp the situation. My body was being lifted into the air, caught by something like a snowball.

“What is this…”

I turned around, pounding on the snowball tightly gripping my body. And I screamed.

“W-what?!”

Some giant snow monster was kidnapping me!

The snow giant shook the hand holding me. Because of that, the flute fell to the ground. This is bad. If I can’t play the flute!

Sure enough, the blue lions I had forcibly stopped began to rampage again.

The expedition members had no spare energy as they tried to hold off the blue lions, the knights tried to approach me but were hindered by the blue lions, and Sam Mem Mer, who had rushed at the snow giant, was sent flying far away with a yelp.

“Guys! Damn it, let go of me!”

I took off the goggles I was wearing and struck the snow giant’s hand with them. But it didn’t even leave a scratch.

Cold sweat trickled down my spine. Damn it, damn it! What should I do…

That’s when it happened.

An intense gust of wind blew past me. At the same time, my body regained its freedom. The problem is, I’m now free-falling through the air.

“Aaaah!”

“Shuria!”

An urgent voice caught me. Soon after, someone held me tightly.

A familiar embrace that seemed like it would protect me from all the dangers in the world.

It was Aspeiran.

“My lord…!”

“Hold tight to my neck.”

I did as he said. Aspeiran easily avoided the snow giant’s hand swinging towards us and swung his sword. Following the clean trajectory of the blade, the snow giant’s leg crumbled.

Fearing I might fall, I tightened my grip around Aspeiran’s neck.

As I glanced at the snow giant, I saw that not only its leg but also one of its hands was gone. It seemed the gust of wind from earlier had cut off the hand that was holding me.

The enraged snow giant roared, shaking the entire land. A blizzard whirled up.

However, Aspeiran cleared away the blizzard with just a wave of his hand. And kicking away the snow giant’s physical attacks, he soared higher and higher.

The sword in Aspeiran’s hand began to hum. A blue light started to envelop the sword. One layer, two layers, three layers… countless layers.

And when the silver sword was dyed black.

“Who do you dare lay your filthy hands on.”

With those words, suppressing his anger to the limit, Aspeiran shot downwards. His target was the snow giant’s brow.

This strike belonged to Aspeiran Roakin, the Hero King of Roakin who had single-handedly annihilated tens and hundreds of monster hordes.

There was no way it could miss.

The sword, with aura layered upon it many times over, struck the snow giant’s brow. A sound like the world shattering rang out.

“…!!”

The snow giant began to crumble piece by piece. A blinding white light emanated from the cracks.

The moment I saw that light, I instinctively realized something had gone wrong. Aspeiran’s hand holding my waist tightened.

The white light burst forth and enveloped us. Just before we were completely consumed by the light, Aspeiran shouted.

“Everyone, return to Elros!”

That was the last thing I heard. Feeling my body being sucked somewhere, I lost consciousness.

A deathly silence engulfed the lake area.

Just moments ago, the last blue lion had disappeared in flames. Now all that remained were 5 knights, 7 expedition members, 1 researcher, and 3 moonlight wolf dogs.

Their lord and the woman who had risked her life to protect them were nowhere to be found.

“How… could this…”

One of the knights who had barely been standing finally collapsed to the ground. A deep despair swept over them.

The thought that it would have been far better if they had died instead of their two lords going missing…

“Snap out of it!”

Canis’s shout awakened those caught in despair. Despite the disappearance of his lord who was more precious than his own life, the man’s eyes were burning with determination.

At the core of that was an unwavering faith in his lord.

“Our lord is surely safe.”

“Commander…”

“From now on, we will carry out the orders our lord left behind. Get up!”

The orders their lord had left behind.

Those words drove away the shock that had been raging in the knights’ minds like a storm. It was the same for the expedition members and the researcher.

Everyone remaining here rose with resolute expressions.

Canis struck the ground with his sword and asked.

“Is there anyone injured to the point they can’t move?”

“No, sir!”

“Then from now on, we’ll return to Elros. Pack your things.”

With Aspeiran gone, Canis was now the highest-ranking person here.

Suppressing the worry that had risen to his throat, Canis approached Akla.

“Mr. Akla, is it possible to get out of Beltraum within 6 days?”

“It’s possible.”

Akla, who had composed himself, took out a map. Canis and Akla put their heads together, looking at the map and compass.

“We took a somewhat roundabout route when searching for the Bonakau’s habitat, but now that we know the way, we can find a faster route.”

“I understand. Then from now on, please lead the expedition, Mr. Akla.”

The situation had been sorted out. Now they had to safely return to Elros and inform Beloi Castle of the current situation.

Canis stared blankly at the empty space where those he was supposed to protect had vanished without a trace. Elkin approached him.

“Don’t worry too much, Canis.”

“Brother Elkin.”

The two, who had been close since long ago due to their similar minds, still addressed each other comfortably in private despite their different positions now.

Canis slumped his shoulders.

“Where could our lord and Lady Shuria have gone?”

“In my opinion, they’ve probably crossed over to a different terrain.”

“A different terrain, you say?”

“That light that swallowed our lord and Lady Shuria, it had a similar wavelength to the magic flowing from Beltraum’s gates.”

Surely our lord must have realized this fact as well.

And if they really did cross over to a different terrain, there’s no way the two of them wouldn’t be safe.

When chased by the Fallen King Keimeloyeum, they had survived in Beltraum for 70 days. The idea of them losing their lives in Beltraum was more nonsensical than a dog giving birth to a cat.

Canis, having reached the same conclusion as Elkin, puffed out his chest and smiled.

“The two of them will definitely return.”

“Of course!”

“Then, shall we depart?”

Canis immediately ran towards the moonlight wolf dogs. The moonlight wolf dogs, who had been howling at the empty space where Shuria had disappeared, narrowed their eyes sharply when they saw Canis.

It was completely different from the gentle gaze they had given Shuria. Canis swallowed hard.

“Um… hello, you know me, right?”

“Grrrr.”

“Won’t you come back with us? If we go back and wait a while, our lord will return with Lady Shuria.”

Sam Mem Mer, who had been snorting disapprovingly, exchanged glances at the word ‘lord’.

Although Sam Mem Mer had no interest in humans except their leader, they knew who this human was referring to as ‘lord’.

The leader male of that human group who would become all flustered and not know what to do whenever he saw their leader.

That male, who was more or less qualified to be their leader’s mate, was incredibly strong, so he would surely bring their leader back safely.

Sam Mem Mer stood up. Canis sighed in relief and led Sam Mem Mer.

The expedition team, having treated their injuries and packed their belongings, left the lakeshore.

All that remained was the solidly frozen lake and traces of the fierce battle, the smell of gunpowder and blood vibrating from all directions.

Into that scene, a black figure stepped in.

“What a mess.”

The figure was completely wrapped in black cloth from head to toe. However, thanks to the deep voice, it was clear that it was a man.

The man quietly looked at the charred blue lion, then whispered in a gentle voice.

“Come here.”

Black larvae wriggled out from the blackened corpse.

The man hummed a tune as he placed the larvae on his finger, treating them like beloved pets.

“You’re a fast-growing child. To even defeat me.”

And even summoning the ‘gatekeeper’…

As if he had never cherished it, the man crushed the larvae in his hand.

A smile spread across his lips, briefly revealed.

“This is troublesome… I only meant to tease a little, but even our side took damage.”

The man shook off his hand, which was crumbling from the edges. It was a light gesture, as if dancing.

“How delightful.”

Child from another world.

Please, return home safely.

“And let’s play again next time, shall we?”