"So, Baron Harry, do you intend to get to the bottom of this?"
Yuna was intelligent, but this cleverness did not come from a quick wit alone; it stemmed from a clear understanding of her current circumstances.
This intuitive grasp of the broader situation made it plain to her that, at this stage, resistance was futile.
Even if she died, she would only be throwing away her life for nothing.
Moreover, she firmly believed in that figure who coughed and wheezed every day yet remained busy under the oil lamp.
He would never leave her in a hopeless situation.
Furthermore, her grandfather, Audis Von, currently held the financial reins of the Kingdom of the Moon.
If the opposition wanted to fully seize Brilliant City, they could not afford to harm her lightly.
Baron Harry gave a faint smile, his refined and elegant expression making it seem as though the two were merely having a casual tea party.
"Naturally. In fact, I am quite curious about this Saintess. After all, six months ago, she was someone who concerned herself with nothing at all."
"Indeed. Back then, Her Highness was truly... complicated to describe."
By now, their Saintess had been in power for nearly a year and six months.
The political situation during the first year had been appallingly bad.
At that time, the demoness Martha controlled both the political and military power of the entire Kingdom of the Moon.
The Saintess had been almost completely marginalized as a figurehead.
Every order had been issued by Martha.
Resources were squandered, and the army was constantly ordered to move from place to place without purpose.
Back then, Yuna had no idea what that personal nun, Martha, was trying to achieve.
It was only after Martha's true identity was revealed that Yuna finally understood.
She had merely wanted to exhaust the knights, ensuring they couldn't return in time to stop the demon army under Zuka from invading and capturing Brilliant City.
That period of governance had caused the already declining national strength of the Kingdom of the Moon to plummet off a cliff.
Fortunately, Her Highness proved to be wise and formidable, not only exposing Martha's identity but also immediately leading the army to strike back against the demon race, even uniting all the races of the continent to counter-attack the demon island.
Furthermore, it seemed that Her Highness maintained quite a good relationship with both the Dragon King and the Beast Sovereign.
Yuna did not know what those two top-tier entities of the continent truly thought of Luo Li.
In fact, most people were in the dark.
After all, no one leaked the details of the meetings or transactions between the Dragon King and Her Highness.
To outsiders, the relationship between the Dragon King, the Beast Sovereign, and Her Highness appeared exceptionally close.
Two of the most powerful beings on the continent were willing to join Her Highness in the campaign against the demon island.
As for the finer details, Yuna knew a bit because her clever grandfather, Audis, had vaguely hinted at them.
Recalling the words Grandpa Audis had spoken, a smile couldn't help but tug at the corners of Yuna's mouth.
'Granddaughter, remember this: we can use the names of the Dragon King and the Beast Sovereign, and outsiders will fear to move against Her Highness because of them. But you must remember one thing—those two cannot be trusted.'
Outsiders would never know the true nature of the relationship between Her Highness and the two sovereigns because many of the details were based on their public interactions.
In the eyes of the public, those interactions were symbols of a close bond.
Unless one was directly involved, it was almost impossible to see anything unusual.
Based on this, they were to be used but never befriended; those were the words of her grandfather, Audis.
"I am very curious about what that Highness went through to suddenly become so heroic in just a few days, even managing to repel the demon race. I wonder if Knight Yuna would be willing to enlighten me?"
Suppressing her memories, Yuna's lips curled into a smile upon hearing the question.
She turned her head to look at Baron Harry.
"I can answer the question you just asked me."
She reached out and picked up a glass of wine from the table, observing the clear liquid before draining it in one gulp.
Then, she set the glass down with a heavy thud.
Thump.
"It is quite simple. Compared to nobles like you who do not even dare to face the demon race, who do you think people would rather bet on—a Saintess who personally led her army to repel the demons and even counter-attacked their island?"
The girl's words echoed through the hall.
Baron Harry fell silent, and the three unaffiliated female experts also suddenly lapsed into silence.
Watching the group go quiet, Yuna calmly poured herself another glass.
After all, such fine wine would likely be hard to find for any family other than the Harry family, who controlled the great mining city.
Even Her Highness had probably never tasted wine this exquisite.
Hm, perhaps she should take a couple of bottles back for Her Highness to try later?
As someone who frequently visited bars, Yuna was quite fond of good alcohol.
Every time she went to a bar, she would bring her best friend, Hilda, along.
Thinking of Hilda made Yuna feel a pang of worry.
Though she didn't know what Brilliant City was like at this moment, Hilda, as the Saintess's personal knight, would undoubtedly be facing the greatest danger.
Hilda, please don't let anything happen to you.
"One... cannot look at it that way."
Just as Yuna thought Baron Harry would say nothing more or leave in a fit of rage, he suddenly spoke.
Yuna instinctively fixed her gaze on him, curious to hear what he had to say.
Seeing Yuna's attention, Baron Harry smiled slightly and raised his glass in a toast.
"Knight Yuna is correct; that Highness did indeed lead the army to campaign against the demon island. However, Knight Yuna, you must not forget something."
He paused, his gaze boring into Yuna.
"The ones truly fighting the demon race were not that Highness, but the dragons, the beastmen, and the knights from our noble families."
Hearing this, Yuna was stunned for a moment before she couldn't help but burst into a fit of giggles.
Baron Harry's brow tightened, and he instinctively pressed her.
"What are you laughing at, Knight Yuna? Did I say something wrong?"
"Oh, you are absolutely right. The ones fighting the demon race were indeed the knights who came from our noble families."
"Then do you find something humorous in my words?"
Baron Harry questioned her again, but Yuna only shook her head dismissively.
"Regarding your point, Master Baron, I only have one thing to say... If the nobility could truly replace the Saintess, then why was it the Saintess, and not Knight Kevin or any other noble, who led the main force in this counter-attack?"
Baron Harry seemed highly dissatisfied with Yuna's words, and the refined smile on his face grew stiff.
"She could lead an army to campaign against the demon island... perhaps I could as well?"
"You?"
Yuna was momentarily dazed as she looked up at the young man sipping his wine.
Now, she finally understood.
The youth before her was nothing more than an arrogant pretender, a delusional fool.
If counter-attacking the demon island were truly that easy, why had no one done it in a thousand years?
It was because it was simply impossible.
They truly had no way to win against the demon race.
However, this Baron Harry had clearly misjudged everything.
But it no longer mattered. Now that the conversation had reached this point, Yuna didn't even have the heart to argue.
Arguing with such a person was a complete waste of breath.
Rather than wasting her breath, it was better to focus on the delicacies before her.
After all, food like this was not easy to come by.
She didn't know where he got his courage from to say such things.
Forget it, she wouldn't bother with him.
Eating came first!
Yuna stopped speaking and continued to eat.
From then on, no matter what the young master said, Yuna only offered perfunctory agreements.
The atmosphere in the hall grew strangely awkward for a time.
...
Meanwhile, far away outside Twin-Wing City.
With a face full of anxiety, Yanagi Musashi looked up toward the northeast.
Had the message been sent? Had Lady Momoka received the news?
If she had, why was there no reply?
There should have been some form of contact at the very least.
Of the dozen or so knights he had sent out, not a single one had returned with a report.
Had they all met with accidents?
Over the past two days, the situation inside Twin-Wing City had felt incredibly eerie.
The city seemed to have entered a state of war, and the gates were no longer opened even during the day.
It had been four days—nearly four days now.
At this point, the entire refugee camp had completely run out of food.
Although his own unit still had some grain left, it was only enough to sustain his soldiers for a single day.
Even if he distributed it, it wouldn't last through a single meal for the masses.
The subsequent migration convoy seemed to have realized the situation at the front as well.
The tail end of the group had already begun retreating toward Gorge Island.
If this continued, Gorge Island likely wouldn't hold out for long either.
Although Gorge Island was called an island, it was actually part of the mainland.
It was called an 'island' in name only.
Compared to the four main islands of the Kingdom of the Sun, this piece of land was incredibly narrow.
The territory was shaped like a winding noodle, only about seventy kilometers at its widest point.
The narrowest part was only thirty kilometers across.
Its total length was roughly three hundred kilometers.
The local area produced neither grain nor fruit.
Aside from wild game, there was basically nothing worth boasting about.
This region had been carved out from other nations a thousand years ago because the Kingdom of the Sun wanted a direct border with the Holy See.
It was a territory that had been finalized a millennium ago.
Only about a million people lived on this land.
Their daily consumption usually had to be purchased from the Kingdom of Flame.
Given the current situation, even if these people retreated, they might have nothing to eat.
After all, the seventy million people who had passed through Gorge Island earlier had already consumed almost all of the local grain reserves.
While the Kingdom of Flame could grow rice all year round, whether they would step in to provide aid at this stage was another matter entirely.
The situation here was dire.
Yanagi Musashi's heart grew increasingly heavy, feeling as though a giant hand was gripping the throats of himself and these migrating refugees, slowly tightening its hold.
Yet he couldn't even touch this hand; he could only feel himself being strangled, suffocating bit by bit.
Right now, their only savior was Brilliant City.
If Lady Momoka still didn't arrive, what was he supposed to do?
Should he launch a forced assault on Twin-Wing City?
If such a thing happened, would these migrants from the Kingdom of the Sun ever be allowed to move into the heartland of the Kingdom of the Moon?
Would his actions cause the local citizens of the Kingdom of the Moon to reject them?
But if he didn't attack, this massive migration convoy of seventy million people, stretching for hundreds of kilometers, would truly starve to death!
Even if they didn't starve, a civil uprising would surely follow.
Once Twin-Wing City was torn apart in the chaos, would the other local citizens of the Kingdom of the Moon still welcome the people of the Kingdom of the Sun with open arms when they heard the news?
By then, they likely wouldn't be met with rice and grain, but with scythes!
The more he thought, the more anxious he became, and the more he thought about it, the more he couldn't control his worry.
He hadn't slept at all this night; almost all of his subordinates had been sent out to search for food.
Though it was like trying to put out a forest fire with a cup of water, they had to hold on for as long as possible!
Unable to sleep, Yanagi Musashi rose, threw on his red cloak, and stepped out of his tent, standing on the open ground to gaze at the distant sky.
It was already dawn; he checked the time and saw it was roughly six-thirty in the morning.
This was already the fifth day, wasn't it?
Yanagi Musashi couldn't help but mutter to himself.
"Lady Momoka, and Lady Luo Li... please, find a way quickly. These seventy million subjects are starving... what am I... supposed to do?"
As he whispered to himself, a tiny black dot vaguely appeared in the distant sky.
As a Guardian Knight, his eyesight was naturally exceptionally sharp.
Compared to an ordinary person, this visual strength manifested not only in tracking moving objects but also in the limits of his vision and his ability to discern fine details.
A small black dot had indeed appeared in the far-off sky.
Yanagi Musashi was momentarily stunned.
He knew that at this distance, if he could see a black dot, the object had to be massive.
Otherwise, it would be impossible to spot.
What could it be?
Could it be an airship transporting grain?
No, while grain airships were large enough, there wouldn't be just one.
Then what was it?
For a moment, Yanagi Musashi stared blankly into the distance.
As he watched, the black dot gradually began to grow clearer.
Its speed was significantly faster than an airship, and the dot itself seemed to be moving independently.
An airship's hull was basically stationary aside from its propellers.
But this thing... seemed to be alive?
Yanagi Musashi squinted his eyes, carefully studying the object.
As the distance closed, Yanagi Musashi's expression shifted from one of squinting bewilderment to his jaw slowly dropping, his tiger-like eyes snapping wide open.
"A dragon!?"
Throughout the continent, although legends of dragons were everywhere, those who had actually seen one were few and far away.
On one hand, the number of dragons was small to begin with—only a few hundred, less than a thousand in total.
On the other hand, the Dragon Island where they primarily resided was far from the mainland.
It was rare for the dragon race to take action on the continent.
"Lord Musashi, what are you saying?"
Beside him, a messenger who was on standby was startled.
He instinctively followed the direction Yanagi Musashi was looking.
However, he did not possess the powerful visual capabilities of a Guardian Knight and saw nothing, leading him to ask the question.
"A dragon... no, there is another one?"
By now, Yanagi Musashi could vaguely see that not far ahead of the giant dragon, there was another dragon, though it was much smaller in size.
And on the back of that smaller dragon, there seemed to be the shadow of a young girl.
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