Having enjoyed the balloon dart game excitedly and achieved good results, Irene’s mood reached its peak since coming to the Esper territory.

Thanks to that, holding hands with Kalos was no longer uncomfortable or awkward.

She even had the leisure to look around her surroundings.

It was then that she noticed something strange: there were quite a few people walking around with peculiar animals as if they were pets.

‘Wait a minute.’

Not just strange animals… those are magical beasts!

To think that magical beasts would be wandering openly on busy streets.

Irene was startled and grabbed Kalos’s collar tightly.

Kalos, who stopped abruptly, looked down at her with confusion.

“What’s wrong?”

“There’s a magical beast over there.”

Kalos glanced at where Irene was pointing and smiled faintly.

Jessie and the others also smiled as if they found Irene cute.

I’m being serious, why is everyone laughing?

Irene looked at the people in bewilderment.

Jessie stepped forward to explain on behalf of everyone.

“The magical beasts walking around the streets have all completed the smoke ritual, so you don’t need to worry.”

“By magical spirit… you mean magical beasts tamed to obey humans, right?”

“Yes, that’s correct. The magical spirits all wear collars with inscriptions so they can be identified.”

As Jessie said, all the magical beasts wandering the streets were wearing collars.

Irene finally felt relieved, but her cheeks flushed slightly with embarrassment for making a fuss without knowing.

Jerdin added an explanation.

“Of course, magical spirits freely roaming the streets is only possible in the Esper territory. In other places, even magical spirits as small as your palm must be moved in specially made cages.”

Dewey spoke in a proud tone.

“Unlike other territories, the Esper territory is a land where monsters and magical beasts coexist without being hunted.”

Come to think of it, before coming to the Esper territory, Dewey had said something like that.

When asked if it was possible, he had said that she would see it was possible when she got there.

Irene hadn’t understood Dewey’s words at all until now, but seeing this, she clearly understood.

While street vendors selling interesting items and street performances had been Irene’s main interest before, now it was the magical spirits.

She had thought magical spirits, being magical beasts after all, would look terribly fierce and scary, but they were surprisingly cute and adorable, which caught her attention even more.

Come to think of it, the magical creature named Yomi that she had met while walking around Esper Castle before was quite cute too.

“…miss? Miss?”

Lost in her own thoughts, Irene turned to Jessie when she called out.

Jessie smiled and asked again.

“Aren’t you hungry?”

Until just a moment ago, she hadn’t felt hungry at all, but suddenly felt hunger upon hearing Jessie’s question.

Come to think of it, lunchtime has passed.

“I’m hungry.”

“Then let’s go eat lunch. Is there anything you’d like to eat?”

Instead of answering, Irene looked at Kalos.

What Kalos wanted to eat took priority over what she wanted to eat.

Kalos, who immediately noticed the meaning behind her gaze, said gruffly.

“I don’t care what I eat, so tell us what you want.”

But ‘anything’ is usually the hardest choice.

Maybe Jerdin would decide for her instead?

Irene looked at Jerdin with a glimmer of hope, but unfortunately, Jerdin said he was fine with anything too.

What should I eat?

As Irene struggled to decide on a menu, Dewey suggested.

“There’s a famous lamb rib restaurant nearby, would you like to try it?”

“Yes! That sounds good!”

With nothing particular in mind and lamb ribs seeming like a safe choice, Irene nodded eagerly.

*

Though it was said to be a famous lamb rib restaurant, the place was bustling with customers even after lunchtime had passed.

The waiting line was quite long, so I thought we’d have to wait for a while.

But after Dewey exchanged a few words with an employee, we were soon able to enter.

And it was the only private room in this restaurant.

It took only a few minutes from sitting down, ordering the menu, to the ordered dishes being served.

“Looks delicious.”

Unlike Jerdin, who immediately picked up his utensils while drooling, Kalos looked out the window.

The people in charge of training magical beasts were called guides, and those guides were busy running around as if searching for something.

Something’s up.

“Deuce.”

When Kalos called, Deuce immediately stood up and approached behind him.

Kalos gave an order in a voice so low that only Deuce could hear.

“Find out what the guides are looking for.”

“Yes, sir.”

Deuce immediately left the room to carry out the order.

“Has something happened?”

Jerdin asked curiously, but Kalos didn’t answer.

And he started eating as if nothing had happened.

The others also picked up their forks one by one after watching Kalos’s reaction.

Although the lamb was delicious as expected from a famous restaurant, the strange atmosphere made it impossible to properly savor the taste.

How long had they been eating in silence so quiet that one couldn’t tell if the food was going into their noses or mouths?

Deuce, who had returned from his outing, reported to Kalos’s ear.

Deuce reported what he had found out to Kalos’s ear.

After hearing the full report, Kalos frowned and turned to Dewey.

“I need to visit the magical beast training grounds, Dewey.”

As Dewey immediately stood up, Kalos added.

“Find out how the magical beasts waiting for the smoke ritual managed to escape from the training grounds.”

Magical beasts escaping from the training grounds?

Hearing this absurd news, Dewey almost reflexively asked what that meant, but he managed to collect himself and answered “Yes.”

“Magical beasts escaping from the training grounds. Is that true, Master?”

Jerdin asked instead, but Kalos didn’t answer and gave an order to Deuce.

“Deploy the Esper Knights to find the escaped magical beasts from the training grounds. If they cause any disturbance, it’s fine to kill them.”

“Yes, sir.”

As Deuce left again, Kalos turned to Irene this time.

“Return to Esper Castle immediately after the meal is over.”

In other words, this meant the festival sightseeing was over.

“Yes.”

Although Irene was very disappointed that she couldn’t see the fireworks she had been looking forward to the most, judging by the atmosphere, it seemed like a serious problem had occurred, so she answered without complaint.

Kalos’s gaze shifted to Jerdin.

“You’re responsible for safely escorting her back to Esper Castle.”

“What about you, Master? Aren’t you coming with us?”

“I need to find the escaped magical beasts.”

According to Deuce’s report, seven magical beasts had escaped from the training grounds, and only one of them had been found so far.

The fact that only one had been found two hours after the magical beasts had escaped meant that it was unreasonable to expect the guides to find them on their own.

Still, under normal circumstances, he would have left them to handle it themselves or just deployed the knights.

But now, since it was the festival period and many outsiders had come in, Kalos had no choice but to move directly to resolve the situation before they noticed.

Jerdin thumped his chest as if saying to trust him and said.

“Understood. I’ll make sure to escort that woman safely to the castle.”

“…”

Why does this feel so untrustworthy?

Kalos considered escorting Irene to the castle himself, but there wasn’t enough time, so he had no choice but to entrust her to Jerdin and stood up.

As if about to leave immediately, Kalos opened the door but stopped midway and turned to look at Irene.

‘Does he have something to say to me?’

Irene looked at Kalos with slight tension.

“…”

Kalos looked at Irene with an indecipherable, strange gaze, then slowly opened his mouth.

“…I’ll resolve this quickly and let you see the fireworks, so wait just a little.”

I thought he was going to threaten me not to even think about running away while he was gone or something like that.

Irene’s eyes widened at this unexpected statement.

Jerdin, Jessie, and even Raymond looked at Kalos with slight surprise.

An awkward silence fell over the restaurant room.

“Yes.”

The one who broke that silence was none other than Irene.

Grateful for his thoughtfulness even in such an urgent situation that required his direct involvement.

Irene answered with a faint smile.

“I’ll be waiting.”

*

The carriage they had originally taken to the square had been sent back to Esper Castle and was gone.

Calling it back seemed like a waste of time, so Jerdin hurriedly rented a regular carriage.

It wasn’t easy to rent a carriage during the festival period, but by adding a generous tip, they were able to secure one quickly.

“I’ll charge this to Master later.”

Irene laughed silently as the crown prince, who should be wealthier than anyone, grumbled about money matters.

The carriage that had been speeding towards Esper Castle came to a stop not long after.

Jerdin frowned and slightly opened the window connected to the driver’s seat to ask.

“Why did we suddenly stop?”

Raymond, who was sitting in the driver’s seat, answered.

“The road is blocked by people who came out to see the festival, so we can’t move forward.”

Jessie, who was in the driver’s seat with Raymond, added.

“There are a lot of people, and street vendors are blocking the way. Plus, there are many carriages stuck like us, so it doesn’t seem like the road will clear up easily.”

Jerdin drew back the curtain and checked outside himself.

As Raymond and Jessie had said, the street was extremely chaotic.

The Esper territory’s patrol officers were working hard to organize things, but with so many people, it was futile.

We need to get to Esper Castle quickly, but what should we do?

Jerdin, pondering how to overcome this obstacle, casually asked Irene.

“Do you like walking by any chance?”

“Are you planning to walk to Esper Castle?”

Irene, who immediately understood what he wanted, asked back, and Jerdin nodded.

“That’s right. Looking at the situation outside, it seems faster to walk than to wait for the street to clear… is that okay with you?”

“I don’t mind.”

“Then let’s walk.”

The moment they made the decision and got out of the carriage.

BOOM-!

A massive sound that could tear eardrums was heard, and then the ground began to shake as if there was an earthquake.

“Ah!”

As Irene lost her balance and was about to fall, Jerdin caught her.

“Are you alright?”

“Yes, I’m fi-”

Before Irene could finish her sentence, the ground they were standing on split in two with a crack.

Irene and Jerdin hurriedly moved apart.

THUD-.

The ground suddenly rose like a volcano vent, and something popped out.

‘A mole?’

But it was too big to be one. It had three eyes, and its protruding large teeth looked hard and sharp enough to chew through stone.

“It’s, it’s a magical beast!”

Someone shouted in a voice that sounded like it was about to tear.

“A, a magical beast without a collar! Run away!”

“Aaagh!”

People fled in panic without anyone needing to lead the way.

“W-wait…!”

Irene flailed her arms as she was swept away by the crowd ebbing like the tide.

She tried to hold on somehow, but eventually couldn’t resist and was carried away by the crowd like a twig swept away in a rough current.