Hey~ Melissa~

"Gyahahaha! Is that so! So, Cien is still alive, kyahahaha~! Whoaa, I never expected him to become a king. This is so interesting~!"

"…"

In the southern forest of Almarin, Arl observed Lindell, a Champion from Westya. 

She was laughing uproariously, floating in the air, rolling around here and there. She laughed after Arl recounted the significant events in Kastia over the past year.

The image of Lindell as graceful and elegant in Arl's mind was now completely erased. 

Seeing Lindell's far-from-elegant demeanor left him somewhat empty. However, amidst all this, there was one thing that surprised him. 

Throughout the story, when Lindell heard news about Cien and his Arcadia, her face instantly lit up. After that, she laughed joyfully, as if she personally knew Cien Millard.

Arl had never heard that Cien and Lindell knew each other. 

When he was young, Cien never mentioned it. The same went for Ethel. But seeing Lindell's reaction this time, for some reason, Arl felt that Lindell wasn't just familiar with Cien. 

She might be a friend of his Master.

'Is it just in my mind?'

Arl began to doubt. He looked at the fairy-like woman in front of him who continued to laugh endlessly for several minutes. 

After it subsided, Lindell wiped tears from her eyes, then smiled broadly while patting Arl on the shoulder.

"Yosh, I understand the situation now. Sigh... this is foolish. Just leaving for two years, and Westya has changed drastically. It seems that if left unchecked, destruction is inevitable."

'...Then, why did you have to sleep for two years?'

Arl wondered, pondering how foolish someone could be to sleep for such a long time. 

However, he didn't dare to ask that directly. After all, the woman in front of him was considered one of the strongest in Kastia, on par with Arthur and Ragna up there. 

It would be foolish to risk his life over an insignificant question.

"Um, so is Miss Lindell willing to help?"

"Hmm, ohh, of course. Not only because of the Earth Essence, but the Prime Minister's actions must be stopped immediately before it's too late. When the Abyss has emerged as it is now, it would be foolish for us to be divided."

Lindell made it clear that she decided to go to Edenia. 

Although she mentioned going to stop the Prime Minister's actions and to obtain the Earth Essence, she had another interest. Lilinette, who called her. 

She didn't expect the broken doll she encountered a few years ago to have left her dollhouse and become an important figure in the new kingdom.

Lindell's curiosity peaked. She wanted to see what the broken doll looked like now. She was also somewhat intrigued by Kirana. 

To what extent had the abilities of Cien's daughter grown after not being observed for the last two years.

'Huhuhu~ I can't wait to see them...'

As for Cien himself, Lindell was certainly surprised to learn that he was still alive. 

She still couldn't believe that he had actually established a kingdom in that remote place. 

Considering Cien's nature, Lindell was sure that founding the kingdom was not something Cien desired himself. It must have been because of the people around him.

It would be fascinating to meet Cien. However, Lindell felt that now was not the time. 

Before that, she had to address the issues that seemed to have taken root in Westya. Just two years, and everything seemed to have changed drastically after she went to sleep.

"Thousand Swords, what have you been doing all this time? Pathetic!"

Her grumbling prompted Arl to return. 

After seeing him off, Lindell asked Lime to convey to all the fairy folk in Westya to stay hidden in their homes until she returned.

"Activate the illusion formation as a precaution. If there's an emergency, call me immediately."

Lime nodded with a wide smile, "Yes, Miss. How long will you be gone this time?"

"Hmm, who knows. It might be quite a while. Can't let those Abyss demons roam freely."

Lindell then observed Lime's anxious expression. "Your worried face is ridiculous. Just relax, Lime. I will come back."

"Hm. We'll await your return, M—no, Your Majesty."

Lindell just smiled, then touched a tree, and her body instantly began to vanish.

Seeing Lindell leave, Lime couldn't help but feel a sense of worry in her heart. 

She also discreetly listened to Arl's account of the situation in Kastia, realizing that the threat out there was indeed enormous. 

Lime could only pray to the Wind Goddess for the safety of her Majesty.

***

The next day, one day before the war began. Edenia.

In the residence of the Terulina Family, a meeting was held. 

This time, not only the city's officials but also Queen Melissa and representatives from the Arcadia Kingdom attended, including Luis, Lilinette, and Sienna. 

As for Kirana, she had already left for Heijo the previous night.

The meeting was, of course, convened to discuss war preparations. 

Currently, the leaders of Edenia had successfully evacuated half of the residents and tourists to the north of the city. The other half was expected to be completed by the end of the night.

In addition to the evacuation of residents and tourists, Edenia had also begun gathering its forces in three parts of the city: south, east, and west. 

The southern part had the largest number of troops, namely four thousand people, as it was highly likely that the battlefield would be in the southern part of the Edenia or north of Heijo.

As for the eastern and western parts, each had five hundred personnel stationed to be vigilant against enemy attacks from the city's sides, aiming to flank Edenia.

For the northern part of the city, the location of the evacuation route for residents, initially, Rene wanted to send five hundred people as well, reducing the main force in the south. 

However, this plan was abandoned after Lilinette proposed that Arcadia would secure the northern part of the city.

Lilinette, along with the entire Moon Squad consisting of fifty people, along with Gina, Green, and Logan, would guard the northern area. 

Although their numbers were small, Lilinette assured Rene that it was more than enough. The possibility of an attack on the northern part of the city was very low. 

In fact, Lilinette was confident that her forces in the north would not have any trouble at all.

With gratitude, Rene accepted the proposal from the Head of the Social Division of Arcadia.

After addressing the military forces of Edenia, they began discussing the enemy's military strength.

From C-Owl's observations and the testimonies of Gina, Logan, and Green, it was estimated that there were currently about six thousand Westya troops in Heijo. 

This number comprised the forces of Rostgard and Ethyria alone, with four thousand for Rostgard and two thousand for Ethyria. 

However, if Heijo's troops also joined, the total could rise to seven thousand. 

A thousand Heijo troops were left by the Baron to defend the city. Whether these troops would be utilized by the Prime Minister was uncertain; C-Owl indicated a high possibility, while Gina was less certain.

As additional information, the four thousand Rostgard troops consisted of the initial one thousand soldiers who arrived, belonging to Queen Melissa. 

These forces were now under the command of the second wave of Rostgard troops, totaling three thousand soldiers.

Queen Melissa had hoped that her one thousand troops would not be forced into battle, but reality proved otherwise. 

According to C-Owl's intel, it was stated that these troops would indeed participate, positioned at the forefront.

"So, they become meat shields!"

"Hmm, but perhaps this could be an opportunity," thought Innis.

Innis explained that at the beginning of the upcoming battle, Queen Melissa and Count Rene would attempt to negotiate with the enemy before the war drums sounded. 

Trying to end the war by refuting the false reasons provided by the Prime Minister had an estimated success rate of only fifty percent.

At this point, Innis suggested that during these negotiations, seeing Queen Melissa might persuade her one thousand troops at the front lines to switch sides.

"That's foolish," Lilinette exclaimed.

"Hey, at least it's worth a try, right?" Innis replied, turning to the Queen, who nodded in agreement with the suggestion.

Queen Melissa herself did not want to have to fight against her own forces. 

The discussion then moved on to some key figures on the enemy's side—individuals capable of changing the course of the upcoming battle.

The first person mentioned was the leader of the Rostgard forces.

"That army is led by General Barlock. He possesses strength equivalent to Rank 8. Besides him, there are several Commanders and Lieutenants, estimated to have strength ranging from Rank 4 to Rank 5," explained Queen Melissa.

As for the leader of Queen Melissa's Rostgard forces, they had been killed weeks ago, along with other high-ranking officers from lieutenant and above. 

The remaining forces consisted only of a few officers with maximum strength of Rank 4.

"For Ethyria, General Kranel will lead. He has Rank 9 Low-Class strength. As a military leader guarding the Abyss border, he is considered a formidable monster. It will be very difficult to stop him.

"As for the rest, there are only three lieutenants with Rank 5 strength. Other strong figures from Ethyria mostly followed Duke Grenhall to Lumiere," Gina, one of Ethyria's lieutenants, disclosed information about Ethyria forces.

Upon hearing the name Kranel, almost everyone in the meeting turned pale. 

After all, who in Westya didn't know that name? He had been the one safeguarding the Kingdom of Westya from monsters and demons, whose strength was only surpassed by Champions and Westya's Grand General.

"Oh. Don't forget. Gyo," Lilinette added this time.

Gina and the others were unaware that Gyo was not just an ordinary Head Servant. 

Luis then continued Lilinette's statement, revealing that Gyo had been identified as a spy from Divinia. 

The man was estimated to have strength around Rank 7 or Rank 8, but it couldn't be denied that it could be even higher. 

Lilinette could confidently say this because she was one of the people who had faced him in Farnodt before. 

Even though it was brief, she realized that Gyo was one of the figures to be wary of.

"A spy from Divinia? Not just demons, but even Divinia... What is happening in this continent?" Queen Melissa whispered, feeling regretful for allowing so many infiltrators into her land.

"Waa~ It seems like the situation is more interesting than I imagined..."

Suddenly, the voice of a woman echoed in the meeting room, surprising everyone. 

As they turned towards the source of the sound, they found a beautiful woman with shimmering light green hair, floating with a wide smile in front of the door.

"Heyyy~ Melissa, long time no see~"