Leonel's sharp intake of breath slowly calmed, his emotions sitting on a cloud high above. He didn't believe that there could be a greater happiness in the world. It wasn't just about the feeling itself, but rather about the fact the woman he liked so much had been by his side during it.
"… You didn't have to do that."
Leonel's voice carried and edgy gruff to it. Maybe it would still take him a while longer to recover completely.
"No, I didn't have to." Aina said with a sweet smile. "I wanted to."
Leonel smiled beside himself.
"Looks like we need another bath." Leonel said playfully before hoisting Aina up again.
She giggled lightly, letting Leonel do as he pleased.
…
While the couple were in their own little world, they had no idea about the goings-on outside.
Though the Segmented Cube had been left right in the middle of a battlefield, no one dared to disturb it. Was that a joke? With how wrathful Leonel had been despite the fact no one had actually laid a finger on Aina, how would he react if they tried to interfere in his matters now?
By now, though, the battlefield had been cleared and the dead had been dumped in a pile to be burned. Or, rather, Arthur had tried to do this, only to realize there was no chance of burning the corpses of Fourth Dimensional entities with normal flames.
Without a choice, he had to call upon one of Camelot's Three Star Magi to do the job. The last thing they could afford now was some sort of diseased outbreak. Arthur didn't know if the Fourth Dimension still had plagues, but what he did know was that if they did, they would be far beyond what a disease of the Third Dimension could compare to. There was no need to take such a risk.
It was during these moments that the others finally learned of what happened at the Demon Empire.
"… He did what?"
King Arthur stood in a daze, looking toward Crakos as though he was examining a mentally ill patient. He wasn't very fond of Demons to begin with, so he was hesitant to believe their words in any situation, let alone this one.
Crakos looked down toward Arthur, his gaze indifferent and his demeanor carrying the very same scholarly air. He didn't understand the rhetorical question culture of humans. In fact, he didn't understand their sarcasm either.
He knew well that Arthur had already heard what he said, so there was absolutely no need for him to repeat himself.
"Stop." Mordred put out a hand, stopping the situation from reaching a point of escalation. "Is what you said true, Crakos?"
Crakos nodded seriously. "Yes, Your Majesty. He helped us to eradicate the entire army. The ones we tried to capture killed themselves, so now there's no one left. There should only be the normal citizens of White City left. Before he left, Leonel suggested that we mobilize an army to capture it."
"Capture White City?" Mordred fell into her thoughts.
It was indeed not a good idea to leave a city filled with citizens of another world unconquered. Also, there was always the chance of others coming to take it over. If that happened, then Camelot would be thrust right back into the same situation.
Mordred looked toward her father and they both nodded. They were both aware that Leonel's suggestion was the smartest. It was really inadvisable to leave a city unchecked in their territory like this.
"Alright, we will –"
Arthur's words paused, his gaze narrowing.
At the moment, the three of them – Arthur, Mordred and Crakos – were within a military tent on the very same battlefield City Lord White had fallen on. It had been about two days since Noah and his troop left.
Of course, Arthur didn't blame them for leaving. After the ass whooping Leonel gave them, he wouldn't have had the face to stay either. But, to think they would come back.
From the looks of it, it seemed that Noah had semi recovered while Nile was nowhere to be seen.
In truth, Leonel was quite lenient with Nile at the time. He could have blasted a hole through his heart, but he gave the Junior Governor Duke a chance at life. Whether he seized it or not seemed to remain to be seen.
Noah led the troop, his face pale. It was clear that he was still heavily injured. Yet, if it wasn't for the natural reaction of his skin tone, it would be impossible to tell from his facial expressions.
Noah swept a glance over the battlefield. Seeing that the Segmented Cube was still in the same place it had been before, his gaze flashed with an imperceptible light, but he didn't say anything until he made his way to Arthur's tent riding upon the back of another black wolf.
With a leap, Noah descended from the back of the wolf as Arthur, Mordred and Crakos exited the tent.
Without mincing his words, Noah spoke.
"White City has been captured and I've stationed half of my army to keep the order. I will need to return to Earth to report this to my Imperial Grandfather. Before I do, we have yet to begin our negotiations."
Mordred and Arthur's expressions became serious.
Even if most of White City's main forces had already died, capturing a city was no laughing matter, especially not in such a heavily injured state. Yet, Noah had done it…
It was impossible for Terrain to not have made contingency plans to protect their cities… So, how had he done it exactly?
But, even beyond this, in all the chaos, they had almost forgotten that there were negotiations that had yet to be completed. Let alone completed, they hadn't even begun.
Before, they had been reliant on Leonel, but now that they knew that Leonel was actually a Prince of this Royal Family… Could they still count on him the same?
At that moment, the Segmented Cube which had remained immobile for the past several days suddenly moved.
Two figures walking hand in hand appeared out of it. One was a smiling young man and the other was a young girl wearing a mask.. Despite the fact they were only leisurely walking and idly chatting with one another, the world's energies seemed to revolve around them.