There's Something in Unsu Hills

As the morning approached, on the southern outskirts of Heijo City, a group of people emerged from the city's drainage tunnel. 

Waiting for their arrival was a mysterious figure dressed in a cloak with a silver mask.

The mysterious figure, Kirana, sat in meditation, gathering mana, which she had mostly used to thwart their pursuers earlier. 

Upon hearing the footsteps of a group of people, Kirana turned her gaze toward the source of the sound. 

Dressed in tattered and damp clothing, she saw Gina and the prisoners who had escaped from the jail through the tunnel.

Kirana carefully counted everyone present and found that their numbers remained the same as before. 

"No issues?" Kirana inquired.

Gina walked closer, shaking her head, "No, except for Earth Rat, who was too weak. Nothing else troubles us."

Kirana nodded and then looked at the individuals who had been imprisoned. 

From their faces, Kirana couldn't sense that any of them were criminals. That meant that everyone who had been incarcerated was likely falsely accused of other charges.

Kirana then led them into the heart of the forest, far away from the city walls and the stench of the drainage tunnel. 

"Here, have this," Kirana said, displaying five bags filled with fruits and bread. 

Before coming to this drainage exit, Kirana had made a stop at a grocery store. She had awakened the store owner forcefully and purchased food for the weary prisoners.

As for the shop owner, he could only follow Kirana's orders out of fear of the suspicious masked figure. 

Seeing the clean food, the people eagerly grabbed and devoured the food provided by Kirana, as did her three remaining comrades.

Upon seeing those three individuals, Kirana's heart ached. 

Out of her entire squad, she hadn't expected only three to survive. 

No, from the beginning, killing her fellow military members had been wrong. Why did they have to kill their own comrades? Wasn't getting captured enough?

When Kirana inquired about the reason behind the clash at the southern base a while ago, Green, with an angry expression, explained that the conflict had originated when Sam overheard a conversation among the Commanders at the base. 

It might not exactly be called eavesdropping, as at the time, Sam was cleaning the floor in front of the Commander's office.

"What did he overhear that led to the conflict?" Kirana asked.

Green smirked bitterly, "Heh, Sam heard that the First Prince is currently held captive by the Rostgard army."

Kirana squinted as she listened to this. She had already suspected that the First Prince might be in Heijo.

Green noticed no excessive reaction from Kirana, interpreting that her superior had probably already anticipated it. With a faint smile, Green continued the story.

After Sam heard this shocking information, he immediately gathered Kirana's squad members and informed them of what he had heard. 

The first time Green heard it, he genuinely didn't want to get involved in royal conspiracy matters, as he could only see a bleak ending in searching for the First Prince.

In the end, the squad was divided. 

Some of them searched for the whereabouts of the First Prince in Heijo, while others, including Green, stayed at the base, monitoring movements and gathering information from conversations among military leaders.

Several days later, in the morning when all the soldiers at the base gathered, the Military General of Ethyria announced that all Ethyria forces would prepare for an attack on Edenia.

When asked for the reason, he explained, "Our sources stated that Edenia has kidnapped the First Prince and has repeatedly defied the kingdom's orders. 

"With these actions, the Prime Minister declared Edenia as a traitor to Westya. The goal of the war is two: First to secure the First Prince and second, to take control of Edenia's territory from Count Terulina."

Listening to this story, Kirana's eyes turned cold. 

Now she understood the purpose behind the First Prince's abduction. The figure of the Prince was being used as a justification for war against Edenia.

One of the two remaining major regions in Westya that refused to take up arms, Kirana thought that whoever was behind Westya's current issues didn't want people like Count Terulina who couldn't be controlled.

"Wait. Why hasn't the news of the First Prince being held captive in Edenia been known to the public? Shouldn't they have announced it to justify their actions for going to war? Whether it's the people of Heijo or the people in Edenia, nobody seems to know about this," Kirana wondered.

"That's what we felt at the time too. Paul asked the same question and was told that it was done to be able to attack Edenia by surprise, making victory easier."

"Because if they announced the reason for war to the public beforehand, then they would only be giving Edenia time to prepare," Gina explained.

"...cowards," Logan cursed, still upset with the situation.

After the announcement, Paul went to the office of the General of the Ethyrian Forces, stating that the war announcement should still be made. 

Because if not, many civilians, whether from Heijo or Edenia, would become victims. At least give them time to evacuate the residents.

Paul emphasized that they were not monsters who attacked without warning. 

They were human, and humans had a moral code to uphold. However, Paul's request was flatly rejected, with the argument that war was a place where sacrifices always occurred. 

A few civilian casualties were not uncommon in war.

This infuriated Paul. He threw his military badge and declared that he would not participate in this war. 

Unfortunately, upon seeing this, Paul was immediately arrested and publicly executed in front of the military hall the next morning.

"So that's how the clash at the southern base began," Kirana whispered, understanding why her squad members had suddenly revolted.

Before Paul could be executed, they managed to rescue him first, but fighting against thousands of Ethyria soldiers who had gathered there still couldn't help them escape. 

A massive battle ensued, destroying several rooms and buildings, and claiming hundreds of lives. Eventually, Paul and the other members of Kirana's squad were killed.

Gina, Green, and Logan had originally been marked for execution, but Gyo intervened to stop their execution. 

He explained that these three were Kirana's most trusted subordinates, making their value significant for future negotiations with Arcadia.

That's why they were imprisoned in the underground jail instead.

"Sigh... I'm sorry."

"Why do you have to apologize? This is our doing," Green replied.

The atmosphere fell silent.

Kirana then looked to her side, where dozens of people who had been imprisoned in the jail were gathered.

"Why were you all captured?" 

Kirana asked, and the people glanced at each other before shaking their heads, indicating that they didn't know.

"Hm? Do you really not know?" Kirana inquired further.

"...I really don't know. I was suddenly arrested while searching for medicinal plants in the Unsu Hills," explained an elderly man, possibly in his late fifties.

Kirana furrowed her brow, finding it strange. She then turned to the person beside the elderly man, a young man who appeared to be an adventurer.

"I was captured while fighting monsters in the deep forest of the Unsu Hills."

"Hm? Unsu Hills?" Kirana then turned to the woman next to the adventurer.

"Um, I'm his wife. Initially, I was asked to visit the military headquarters because my husband was taken by them. But when I got there, I was arrested as well."

"...the reason for your husband's arrest by the military?" Gina asked this time.

The woman shook her head, indicating that they hadn't been informed of the reason.

Kirana then inquired about the reasons for the others' arrests. Most of them were almost the same: searching for materials, whether it was plants or monsters, spouses or relatives being captured, and the last group was the guards of the city's eastern gate.

From all these arrests, they all had one thing in common: the Unsu Hills. 

The hills are located to the east of Heijo City, a place known for having many weak monsters and medicinal plants. It was a suitable place for novice adventurers.

Listening to all these reasons, from Kirana to the most naive person present, they had already concluded one thing: "There's something in the Unsu Hills."

Kirana didn't know what to say. If her hunch was correct, perhaps the First Prince was in the Unsu Hills.

"What will you do? Going back to Heijo will only get you arrested again, and there's even a possibility you'll be killed." 

Kirana asked, observing that most of the people looked disheartened and confused. 

However, three individuals expressed their desire to return due to their children being left behind.

When they were arrested at the military base, the mothers hadn't brought their children with them. Now, they were worried about their offspring's well-being.

Kirana sighed deeply and then removed her mask, revealing her cold but beautiful face beneath the plain white mask.

Seeing the face of their savior, everyone was stunned. They hadn't expected someone as beautiful as a fairy tale character to single-handedly take on a military base.

"My name is Kirana Millard. I am the Princess of the Arcadia Kingdom. If you wish, I will send you to Arcadia for a new life."

"!!!"

They were all stunned, including Gina, Logan, and Green, who had no idea that Kirana was the daughter of Cien Millard, the newly crowned King of Death Valley. 

All this time, Kirana's squad members had thought her absence was due to her taking a vacation. They never suspected there was another reason.

Now they understood why Kirana had been wearing that suspicious outfit.

"Oh, as for your three children, I will find them and bring them to you later," Kirana then turned to one of her comrades. "Gina, take them to Edenia via the western outskirts of Heijo. Go to C-Owl's residence and find someone named Lilinette. Tell her that I've found new immigrants for Arcadia."

Kirana's instructions were immediately understood by Gina. 

The strong-willed woman quickly told the people to prepare to leave. The three mothers who had inquired about their children approached Kirana, still wearing anxious expressions.

"I will do my best to find them. If you return now, before you locate your children, your lives may be in danger."

Kirana then glanced at the husbands of the three mothers, signaling them to calm down and take their wives away. The three husbands should understand the current situation.

Kirana then turned to Logan and Green.

"Both of you, find the whereabouts of the First Prince in the Unsu Hills. The sooner we find them, the better. Perhaps this foolish war can be stopped if the reason for the war becomes invalid."