Yggdrasil Year 1633, Month 2, Day 19Kingdom of Scharlwarltz, Royal Palace of Ancardia, Training Ground
The training standard for the Valkyrie has been intensified ever since the discovery of Sage Ore. The elves have set up shop at the Town of Shills and Arminia, which serve as a shipping point to the Kingdom of Scharlwarltz.
The weapon prototypes were tested by the Lexington Family before they were shipped out to the Kingdom of Scharlwarltz to be tested by the Valkyries, and it has been two months since Yuki created a Sage Bow.
Sword, Longsword, Spear, Staff, Bow, Longbow. All weapons that pass the initial run from the Lexington Family would be given to the Kingdom of Scharlwarltz to put into practice. Since it's a prototype, Luciana forbids any issue with the weapons made from Sage Ore.
Marietta and Randgris also test the new weapon, and it fits them well for a standard weapon. There has been no news since Reynes created a flame-imbued sword, but they understand that the Lexington Family chose to focus on making weapon variants before going for augmenting the weapon with magic attributes.
"The weapon seems to fit our hand so well."
"It's better than when the Dwarves are making it for us."
"Still. I just find this could be problematic if we're training Princess."
"True."
After some training, Randgris went on training Dawn for weapon mastery. Instead of using standard-issue weapons, Dawn is also armed with Sage Ore weaponry to test her combat skills. But everything started to change when Dawn began to use fire magic.
"[Spiral flame!!]"
Targeting the target practice, Dawn burns the training dummy to a cinder. However, as she finishes burning the training dummy to a cinder, she decides to do something more as she casts another fire.
"[Flame Tornado!!]"
When Randgris hears Dawn cast such a spell, she stomps the edge of her spear thrice, and the Valkyries prepare to form a containment formation.
Dawn succeeds in burning more targets to a cinder. But, as she maintains the spell, it starts to grow uncontrollably.
"Kh… I must… Control it…!"
Dawn tries to maintain her own Advanced-class spell. But things didn't go well as she started to sense her magic growing out of control.
"N… No…! I have to…!"
As Dawn tried to keep the Flame Tornado under control, the flame began to spread everywhere. Randgris and the Valkyries quickly cast spiral water to contain it.
"[Water Tornado!!]"
"[Aqua Pillar!!]"
The Valkyries mustered their Water-type Advance-class spell to contain Dawn's uncontrollable Flame Tornado. After five minutes, the Flame Tornado dissipates. It frustrated her as her power remained unstable after Randgris and her Valkyrie Squads diffused her Flame Tornado.
"Why I'm not improving like this…?"
"Maybe you should need motivation, Princess."
"But, they were after my power and authority. I've had enough of those letters from noble, asking me to be someone's fiancée that I haven't known of."
"I know that. Which is why Her Majesty already prepares a parting gift when you reach your coming of age."
"My mother has a plan for me?"
"Yes. But she didn't tell me about her plans further."
Randgris bandages the wound on her arms. It's common for Dawn's arm to be injured after her fire spell goes out of control. But, in a few hours, the skin would grow back as if she hadn't received any wound.
"Princess. Would you let Meryl train you in healing?"
"Why? I fear my magic went out of control again like before."
"Don't worry about it. It would be handy someday. The power of the Mulminam the Phoenix is not just power for destruction but also for healing. We will do our best to develop your magic power until your coming of age."
"T-thank you for the offer, Randgris."
"Now, please take a rest. We will clean this place up."
After cleaning the Training Ground, Randgris reports to Luciana's office for a post-training update.
"That's how it goes, Your Majesty."
"I see. Thank you for the report, Randgris. Now, regarding the coming of age matter. If she insists on not becoming someone's fiancée, I think I will do what I have done in the past. I believe only you and Marietta know who makes me pregnant, right?"
"Y-yes. Your Majesty."
Luciana went absent from the throne for five years, concealing her identity as a Valkyrie and marrying someone she loved dearly. Upon her return, she was pregnant with Dawn.
"I could wish I could go down again to see my husband. But then again, I have to avoid any suspicion since I do not want to cause my husband trouble."
Looking at the sky through the window, she makes a sad smile.
"Randgris. I think you've already guessed what my plan is after I tell you about my husband. If Goddess Uror wants them to weave this destiny, then I shall not defy it. We, after all, need to be changed. From what I can see, this Kingdom should strengthen its relationship between countries. We can't rely on ourselves to be the protector of this world forever. We need to begin seeding other countries to take our place, allowing ourselves to be the last bastion of humanity's hope."
"But, does that mean we would sit and watch if they wage war against each other?"
"We will. After all, we have no interference in each of the country's affairs when it comes to war. I'm more concerned about the Draconian Empire at the moment. They've set their eyes on the Arteria Continent, but we have the Midgard Kingdom as our primary defenses on the east. Though, I'm also concerned about the Lighthalzen Kingdom as well. There were multiple reports that adventurers were missing, and even Indexa Scholar's investigation bore no fruit."
"Midgard… If I recall it correctly, we've made some trades with them due to Metron Stone, wasn't it?"
"Yes. That's what makes their Kingdom stay warm, albeit the climate was sub-zero all the time."
Alfhmeihr, the Capital City of the Kingdom of Midgard, houses the elite soldiers who also served as Metron Hunters. The Metron Stone is a stone that generates a heat source, essential to most of Midgard territory's survival, that houses sub-zero climate in their region. The mining of the Metron Stone itself was through monster subjugation, where they would harvest the "Core" of its body. It's very rare to find a mine that houses Metron Stone, as monsters at the Midgard Kingdom have the ability to produce Metron Stone from low-grade to very high-grade, depending on their size and location.
The Kingdom of Scharlwarltz welcomes this stone, as it can provide warmth for the Kingdom that floats in the sky. Perhaps Metron Stone is a unique stone due to its unique magic signature.
"I only could wish my daughter would see the world. You already imagine how I have to keep innovating ourselves if we don't want our power to decline. To be honest, I envy Lexington Family. Their knowledge has brought the countries to advance their technology."
Randgris nodded, and she pardoned herself to leave Luciana's office.
In the meantime, Dawn is reading books related to the Lexington Family's journey in the Library's Restricted Section. She didn't understand their hardship, as the journal itself contained information encoded in a diary.
"I don't even understand how they could survive through many countries like that."
Dawn can't help but imagine the worst thing when she read this book. She had had enough of royal etiquette, nobility, and lessons that she thought were unnecessary. But she has to wait for another nine years if she wants to go down unsupervised.
"I should ask mother if she knew something."
Heading to her office, she saw Luciana finishing her work for today.
"What's wrong, my daughter?"
"Can you decode this book, mother?"
Dawn shows the book about the Lexington Family's journey encoded as a diary.
"Ah, this book. It's the story of the Lexington Family's journey, but they encoded it into a diary."
"What does that mean?"
"Unlike any information commonly made as to the report, they have a tradition of writing it as a part of the diary. It records its new encounters and discoveries. So far, only Shina, as the outsider, manages to reach the Lexington Family's birth town."
"What kind of town?"
"Sevis. It's known as the Town of Wandering. No one knows where it comes from as the entrance to such a town only appeared in a selected time. Even for us, Valkyries, have difficulty finding it."
"But how couldn't we find it?"
"Because it remains a mystery for us. Shina was summoned there to conduct a prophecy. Scholars have been working hard to solve this problem, and they've never found anything or trace that leads to Sevis."
"Can I ask who's the protector of Sevis?"
"The Supreme God Sevis."
"Does that mean he's above Goddess Yggdrasil?"
"Yes. All of us have been struggling to find Sevis. It is said that all the records from incomplete to completed journey were stored there. This book is only a copy, but I can sense immense magic power inside it. This mystery remains undeciphered to this day."
"Maybe we could gather statements from those who were married to the Lexington Family?"
"We've tried that, but… It's no use. Not all of the Lexington Family's partners can enter. It could have some criteria. We've managed to decipher it but can't dig into it further. Even when we're asking Indexa Scholars, they also meet a dead end."
"So that means we need to visit the Lexington Family if we want to decipher it?"
"Yes."
Dawn becomes curious about the Lexington Family. She takes the book and bows to Luciana.
"Thank you, mother. I will try to understand this."
As Dawn returns to her room to study, it amuses Luciana.
"My. It seems I have to prepare some training for my daughter to become an adventurer."
Luciana has already experienced what it feels like to be an adventurer and wants to pass that knowledge to Dawn.
She began to create a program for Dawn to get herself used to camping on the ground for survival in the future.