While Yuuya and the others were fighting with the Fist Saint, Lexia visited the neighboring Regal Kingdom on official business. The Regal Kingdom and the Alceria Kingdom had been building a friendly relationship for many years. Lexia, who was popular among the royal family members, was appointed as an ambassador for regular exchange.
Usually, Owen would be present as a guard for Lexia. But with Luna who was also a strong guard, Owen was now able to stay behind to guard Arnold, the King.
The two of them arrived at the capital of the Regal Kingdom safely. They were immediately ushered into a noble room to meet with Royle, the Prime Minister of Regal, and Orghis, the King.
"Well, well… you are as beautiful as ever, Lexia-sama."
"Ara, thank you."
Luna was standing in the back and watching as Lexia smiled at Royle and Orghis for their words.
(…Good grief, what an outrageous wolf in sheep's clothing. Who is this person?)
Luna looked at Lexia, who was smiling and carrying on an amiable conversation, with a dumbfounded gaze. Luna knew that the real Lexia was not so ladylike since she was appointed as Lexia's bodyguard.
(But, if she can't switch between public and private like that, she might not be able to serve as a member of the royal family…)
While Luna watched the conversation between Lexia and the others with such thoughts in mind, Orghis opened his mouth as if he remembered something.
"Aah, come to think of it… I've heard that there's been a bit of a problem in the Alceria Kingdom…"
"What is it?"
"No, nothing. It's just a rumor, but it seems that the first prince, Rhaegar, has committed treason…"
Orghis said, but his eyes seemed to have ascertained that the rumor was true.
(Oh well… royalty is such a pain in the ass… searching one's mind in detail. Even though they are a friendly country, they will eat you up if you show them the slightest opening… if you're not careful, they're even scarier than the Dark Guild.)
As Luna suspected, although the Regal Kingdom and the Alceria Kingdom were on friendly terms, there were also many problems that they faced because they were neighbors, such as territorial disputes.
Therefore, if they show even a small gap, the Regal Kingdom will exploit it, and they may be placed at a disadvantage.
(The first prince's attempt to assassinate the King has been suppressed on the surface by the King's secret orders, but even that is not perfect. Although the King and the first prince have now reconciled, there is still a possibility that other countries will take advantage of the first prince and encourage him to rebel. There is no guarantee that the Regal Kingdom might not be interested. We should not be too careless.)
While Luna was quietly analyzing this, Lexia smiled leisurely.
"Ara, you know a lot, don't you?"
"Hmm!?"
"…Hou?"
Luna's eyes widened in surprise as she realized that Lexia was not hiding the incident.
(Lexia, what are you thinking? Why would you show such an opening to the other side…?)
As Luna looked on in bewilderment, Lexia continued without hesitation.
"However, my brother is… His Highness Rhaegar has completely reconciled with His Majesty. There is no longer any chance of His Highness committing treason."
"But that doesn't change the fact that he did rebel. That means that he was dissatisfied with the King of Alceria, doesn't it?"
"Of course not; they are father and son. It was just a small quarrel between father and son."
"You call an attempted assassination of the king as a father-son quarrel?"
"Ara, what kind of assassination is that? His Majesty is still alive, and His Highness is fine. Besides, because of this quarrel, the bond between the two of them is now stronger than ever."
Royle was appalled while Lexia was unperturbed to any extent, but Orghis laughed out loud, changing his serious expression.
"Hahahahahaha! You're sure an extraordinary girl to take it so positively!"
"I'm glad to hear that you are enjoying yourself."
"Yeah, I was satisfied, too. If you show any weaknesses, I will squeeze as much as I could out of you… I didn't think you'd take it as an advantage instead of a weakness!"
Orghis laughed and then looked at Lexia again.
"So, now is the time. I've got one other thing that caught my interest, and I'd like to hear it from you too."
"A thing that has caught your interest…?"
"Yes. In the Alceria Kingdom, there is a valley where the legendary dragon is said to rest, right?"
"Yes."
"Is it true that the said legendary dragon has awakened…?"
""!?""
Lexia and Luna did not yet know the information that Orghis disclosed just now.
"It seems that you did not know about it either."
"Y-yes. Is the story true? Isn't the legendary dragon just a myth?"
"Well, I guess that's the right response…"
"Didn't you feel a tremendous shaking on the way here, Lexia-sama? It was like the whole ground was shaking…"
"Come to think of it…"
When the legendary dragon, Ouma, woke up, Lexia, who had already left the royal capital, remembered that she had felt a tremendous tremor on the way. In the end, however, nothing happened after that, so she concluded that it was just a temporary phenomenon.
"The ground shaking is said to be the roar of the legendary dragon."
"I-is that so? But I think there is a great distance between the Regal Kingdom and that fairytale valley…"
"Well, since it's a legendary dragon, it's not surprising that it has a roar that makes that distance seem insignificant. After all, it has been alive since the beginning of time."
Orghis nodded as if his own words convinced him, and his expression became serious again.
"But the problem is not that the legendary dragon has awakened."
"Eh?"
"It's the fact that someone in your country may have tamed the dragon is the problem."
"Eeh? No way!"
Lexia answered unconsciously to the words of Orghis.
However, neither Orghis nor Royle blame her for that. It's because it was so shocking.
"Who in the world is that?"
"No, that's exactly what I want to ask you… A mysterious man with black hair and black eyes went to investigate, and when he returned, there was a small dragon beside him. The roar of the dragon was so loud that it shook the earth, and I think the dragon was huge, but after returning from the valley, he got that dragon… I am sure that the small dragon had something to do with it."
"Perhaps, in some way, he made the legendary dragon smaller. This may be rare, but it is said that you can get a pill that will allow you to change the size of your body freely from the Fantasy Rabbit."
""…..""
Lexia and Luna naturally looked at each other at the words of Orghis and Royle.
"It's Yuuya-sama, right?"
"That must be Yuuya!"
"Yuuya?"
""Ah.""
She unintentionally said Yuuya's name and hurriedly pressed it with her hand, but it was too late. Orghis grinned and asked Lexia.
"It seems that you know the man, don't you, Lexia-dono?"
"Ugh, that's…"
"Now, why don't you tell us who he is?"
Lexia was flinching at first at the gazes directed at her by both Royle and Orghis, but as soon as she realized something, she returned to her normal state.
And then──.
"Okay, if you want to know so badly, I'll tell you──about the man who's going to be my husband!"
"What, Lexia?"
Luna panicked at Lexia's confident declaration.
"Hey, Lexia! You…"
"What, you got a problem with that?"
"I have no choice but to complain!"
"Isn't it okay? It's just a matter of time!"
"That's not the point…!"
Since Lexia and Luna started arguing all of a sudden, the neglected Orghis could only watch in amazement.
Then Orghis came back to his senses and cleared his throat.
"Ahem! Ah… um, are you done?"
"Ha! I'm sorry… for neglecting the two of you; I got a little heated."
"Well, whatever. It seems that the Alceria Kingdom has been blessed with a lot of good people in a short while. At first I was surprised that Owen was not here, but… the woman there seems to be terribly skilled, too."
"Yes, Luna is strong, you know? Right, Luna?"
"…Hmph."
Luna just snickered when she was suddenly asked to talk.
While Orghis laughed at the sight of that, he gave a sharp look that Lexia and the others did not notice for a moment.
"Well, I envy you. But our country is not to be outdone, is it?"
"Huh? What do you mean?"
Lexia tilted her head curiously, and Orghis smiled triumphantly.
"What's more, our country has succeeded in welcoming the Sword Saint.
""Eeeh!?""
Just like the legendary dragon, Ouma, the existences that bore the name "Holy" were like a fairy tale to Lexia and the others. The fact that they were able to welcome such an entity was no different than acquiring a tremendous amount of strength.
"So, I'm thinking of having them compete in front of us at our country's upcoming national festival."
"This year is the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Regal Kingdom, right?"
"Yes."
Lexia was no longer using polite language, but Orghis continued without seeming to be bothered by it.
"Of course, we are planning to invite the Alceria Kingdom as a guest of honor… but if you'd like, you can make it a prelude to a match between our Sword Saint and that Yuuya of yours."
"Eh!?"
"Yeah, I don't want to force you. It's a matter of national prestige. It would be too much for him to take on the Sword Saint, wouldn't it?"
"What did you say?"
"Mm? Did I say something strange? This is the "Sword Saint" after all. You should know the outcome, don't you?"
"Are you saying that Yuuya-sama will lose?"
"H-hey, Lexia….? You don't need to…"
"Luna, shut up!"
Luna, who felt that the situation had become unpleasant, called out to her, but Lexia refused to stop.
"It's okay, if you say so, then let's do it! Yuuya-sama is definitely stronger than your "Sword Saint"!"
The moment Lexia said that, Orghis lifted the edge of his mouth as if he had trapped her.
"Is that so? So, you're going to cooperate with the match? Well, well, I'm glad."
"Of course! I can't just keep quiet now that you've said that!"
"Ah, damn it! I don't know anymore!"
Orghis's purpose was to investigate the mysterious existence of Yuuya, but Lexia, who was unaware of this, was provoked by Orghis's words.
───Thus, once again, Yuuya was involved in another big event in an unknown place.