The central square was bustling, caught in the fervor of a post-defense victory celebration.
Right next to it was a cafeteria.
Three women had gathered in this space, open late into the night in honor of the victorious celebration.
A red-haired mage in a wheelchair. A saintess in snug-fitting cleric robes. And a young sorceress with a foxy expression, her pointy hat pulled low.
Their names were Lilly, Saintess Margarita, and Junior. They huddled around a table.
"Alright, let's start the second meeting of the 'Crossroad Women Heroes and Mercenaries Rights Protection Committee,' or for short, 'CWHMRPC,'" Lilly announced solemnly.
Junior, who was attending this gathering for the first time, furrowed her brows.
"Uh, Senior Lilly, can we change that abbreviation...?"
CWHMRPC? What was that? It didn't even sound like a dragon roaring or anything. More like someone puking... (TL Note: Don't worry, it made no sense in Korean too.)
"...Please understand, Junior. This name was coined by our President, Miss Evangeline. As the Vice President, I don't have the authority to change it."
Lilly sighed softly and looked towards Margarita.
"President Evangeline is currently confined to the temple due to injuries."
Margarita, who had just come from treating patients at the temple, nodded with a face full of dark circles.
"She is stable but needs to rest for at least today. She told me to apologize for her absence at your initiation ceremony... um, I mean, your welcoming party."
"You just said initiation ceremony, didn't you, Saintess? You definitely did!"
"Ah, no, it's a welcoming party, a welcoming party."
Margarita dodged eye contact as she broke into a nervous sweat, and Junior's eyes twitched.
"So, I was invited, but what exactly is this gathering about?"
Lilly pulled out the cafeteria's menu to answer.
"It's just as the name suggests. We unite as female heroes and mercenaries in Crossroad for our rights and—"
"And?"
"—have some chats, drink some booze, and get along."
So it's just a casual get-together...
Deflated, Junior sank into her chair. She initially thought it was some grand event based on the name, but apparently not.
"Well, having a space like this isn't so bad, right?"
Lilly lifted her hand with a bright smile.
The cafeteria owner hurried over, and Lilly ordered a bottle of wine and a few simple appetizers.
"We should at least be friendly among ourselves in the grim monster frontlines. It was a great idea by Miss Evangeline. Oh, and she's covering all the meeting expenses."
At that, Junior's eyes lit up. Well, if that's the case...!
Soon, wine and appetizers were arranged on the table. The three women awkwardly toasted their filled glasses.
"So, shall we..."
"To commemorate today's victory?"
"Uh, cheers?"
Even the clink of their glasses seemed awkward.
Lilly savored the aroma of her wine, Margarita downed her shot, and Junior took a small sip before grimacing and putting her glass down.
Though their drinking styles differed, the atmosphere eased as soon as alcohol entered the equation.
Before long, the three women were giggling and gossiping away.
"Come to think of it, all the members of our group are single, right?"
As a new bottle of wine and appetizers arrived, Lilly shifted the conversation to the topic of romance.
"Saintess Margarita, you're such a beauty. Don't you have a boyfriend?"
Margarita, clad in her priestess robes, was undoubtedly a head-turner. Although she'd been developing dark circles under her eyes lately...
After downing a glass of wine, Margarita shook her head with a sour face.
"I've pledged my life to the Goddess. I have no interest in romance or marriage."
"Aww, priests are all the same. Boring."
Lilly, visibly annoyed, shifted her target.
"What about you, Juju?"
"Between magic training and providing for my siblings, I'm too busy. And as you can see, my face isn't exactly inviting romantic opportunities."
Junior had a vivid burn scar on the left side of her face. She continued with a bitter smile.
"Also... I don't think I'll be living much longer."
"Ah..."
"So I'm dating myself. I'm in love with magic. That's more my style."
Junior lifted the mood with her hearty laughter. Lilly and Margarita joined in.
"That's right, who needs men! I'm in love with myself!"
"Let's live as fabulous career women!"
Just as the three women were about to toast with a unified 'Yay!', an unexpected, dreary voice interrupted.
"You never know what life has in store for you."
Startled, the three women turned to see an officer in imperial uniform—Reina, holding a cigarette, seemingly out of nowhere.
With a smirk, Reina extinguished her cigarette and winked at Junior.
"Even when you think you're going to die here, you might find yourself living much longer than you thought. Life's unpredictable."
Junior frowned.
"What brings you here, Officer Reina? We didn't hear you were coming today."
"You're so cold. Didn't I hear something about a 'Crossroad Women Heroes and Mercenaries' meeting?"
Reina nonchalantly pulled out a chair and joined the table.
"I may be temporary support, but aren't we comrades fighting on the walls of Crossroad? I think that gives me the right to join."
Reina stretched her arm and placed it over Margarita's shoulder.
"Isn't that right, Saintess?"
"Eek, eek!"
"Aww, no one's going to eat you. If you shiver like that, I'll be offended."
However, Margarita, who had once been the target of a direct assassination attempt by Reina, was trembling, almost teary-eyed.
Junior growled menacingly at Reina.
"Would you kindly leave, Officer Reina? We have no desire to associate with you."
"That's harsh. Didn't we coordinate pretty well in today's battle?"
Reina poured herself some wine and took a sip.
"Fine, I'll state my business and leave... Hey, Jupiter's daughter."
"My name is not Jupiter's daughter; it's Jupiter Junior."
"Isn't it the same?"
"..."
Well, when you think about it, yes.
Junior, who was at a loss for words, saw Reina flash a sly smile at her.
"Your magic today was impressive. Who would have thought you'd not only build your spell formula around yang, but also incorporate yin? If the old geezers at the Ivory Tower saw that, they'd be dumbfounded. Truly genius, a paradigm shift in modern magic."
Junior rolled her eyes, unimpressed.
"I just mimicked vampire magic, that's all."
"It's still remarkable that you integrated it into human magical formulas. Your name will go down in history."
"So, what's the point? You came here just to compliment me? Thanks, I guess. Would you mind leaving now?"
Reina flashed another smile at the surly Junior and blurted out,
"Your dwindling lifespan."
"...?"
"There's a way to extend it."
Junior's eyes widened.
"What did you say?"
"Leaving someone as talented as you with a short life would be a travesty for someone devoted to magical studies like me. That's why I'm making this offer."
Thud!
Reina placed her half-empty cup on the table, pushed her chair back, and stood up.
"If you're interested, come find me. I'm stationed in the barracks with my subordinates."
"..."
"I'll be waiting. Now, if you'll excuse me, sorry for the intrusion. Enjoy yourselves, young ladies."
As Reina gracefully exited the cafeteria, she turned around with an "Ah!"
"And! Date while you can, you got it?"
And with that, she left the establishment.
The tension in the air loosened almost instantly.
Lilly let out a long sigh, and Margarita slouched in her chair.
"She's really uncomfortable...and scary..."
"Me too... Did you see her fire that wind magic at me, and now she acts like we're pals? Creepy. Ugh, I need another drink."
Lilly ordered some more snacks, and Margarita started blowing on her liquor bottle.
Junior kept staring at the spot where Reina had disappeared.
'Extend my lifespan? Is that even possible?'
***
It took a while for the awkward atmosphere to clear and for things to get back to normal. Junior shifted the topic to break the ice.
"So, what about you, Senior Lilly? Not dating anyone?"
"Um, uh, huh?"
"From the way you brought up the topic of relationships, you seem to be the most interested, aren't you?"
Junior grinned, fox-like.
Clearly flustered, Lilly eventually let out a deep sigh.
"Well, there was a guy I thought was decent."
"Oh?"
"We were getting along, even had dinner together. It seemed like the right timing to get closer."
"Ooh...!"
"But it turns out he was deceiving me."
It was about Godhand.
Lilly sighed deeply, her face flushed from the alcohol.
"I thought he was a decent guy... Sigh. This is why you can't trust other races..."
"..."
"..."
The atmosphere grew heavy once again.
As Junior and Margarita awkwardly sipped their drinks, taking cues from Lilly's mood, a young girl's voice chimed in.
"Hehe, love. Love, huh? What an interesting topic."
The voice belonged to a young girl.
The trio looked up in surprise as Evangeline, wrapped in bandages from head to toe, walked into the cafeteria.
"Evangeline? Shouldn't you be resting?"
"Ah, it's just a minor injury. I'm fine, I'm fine. I couldn't bear missing out on the night of our victory, so I came out."
Evangeline then introduced her companion.
"This is Elize. She came from the Imperial Capital and helped us in the recent defense battle. I've temporarily added her to our group."
"I am Elize from the Winter Silver Merchant Guild. Although it's a temporary membership, pleased to meet you."
A woman in a maid's outfit, who was also a swordswoman, Elize bowed gracefully.
She then scanned the group with her cold, navy-blue eyes.
"Also, fortunately, it seems none of you consider Prince Ash as a love interest."
"...?"
"He has already chosen someone. Please maintain this attitude moving forward."
Prince Ash belongs to my master, Lady Serenade, so don't get any wrong ideas.
Elize tossed out this gauntlet.
Caught off guard by her blunt remark, Evangeline awkwardly scratched the back of her head.
"Oh, is that so? He's made up his mind already? I see. To think he had chosen me..."
...She's misunderstanding something.
Evangeline twisted her body in embarrassment.
"Ah, how foolish of me not to know his heart. That's awkward... Understood, Elize. I'll make sure to keep any loiterers away from him!"
"As expected of Evangeline, you possess the wisdom befitting the heir to the Margrave of Crossroad. Thank you."
"Why would I let people stick to him? Ahahaha!"
"Indeed, quite the fitting sentiment. Hehehe..."
Amidst the slightly off-key conversation, they ordered more food in high spirits.
It was all meat, as if to cater to the warriors.
"Now, everyone, drink up! I'll cover all the costs!"
Beaming, Evangeline suddenly put on a serious face, stretched out her hand, and slowly clenched her fist.
"And then, by expanding the influence of 'CWHMRPC,' I'll eventually gather all the female heroes of this city and..."
"Gather and then?"
"...take control of Crossroad!"
"..."
I mean... you'll eventually take control of it anyway, as the heir to the Margrave of Crossroad...
Everyone thought that, but there was no reason to refuse free wine and snacks.
The party atmosphere deepened.
Evangeline and Elize ate meat, Saintess Margarita began drinking again, and Junior was lost in thought about the words Reina had tossed at her earlier.
As for Lilly,
"Hmph, what mission could he have taken that's keeping him from returning..."
She grumbled to herself, thinking about Godhand.
- Miss Lilly, my team and I are departing for our mission now. If we can return safely, I wish to apologize in person then.
- We'll be on our way.
After saying that, he had been silent for a long while.
Maybe Godhand had left this front line for good.
He might not return. Maybe he ran away without looking back, ignoring the mission altogether.
Elves were all like that, really.
"Liars."
Lilly muttered as she took a sip from her glass.
"Liars..."
***
At the same time.
The three members of Shadow Squad were hanging in the underground dungeon.
Godhand. Bodybag. Burnout.
All three were bloody, having endured brutal torture. Godhand, in particular, was so battered that his face was a mess of blood.
Chained by the neck and both arms to the cold iron of the dungeon, they hung like cuts of meat in a butcher shop—utterly pitiable.
"..."
Blood dripped, drip by drip, through Godhand's green locks. His eyes slowly opened, blurred.
He heard something.
Clop. Clop.
The sound of shoe heels hitting the floor.
Then, with the harsh creaking of an iron door, someone entered the dungeon.
"You've got some nerve, you elven spies."
Straining his blood-soaked vision, Godhand looked ahead.
"You dare crawl before me of your own volition."
Standing there was a dark-haired girl wearing a silver crown.
She looked barely ten years old, but that was deceptive.
She was actually one hundred and twenty years old; her name was Dusk Bringar, derived from the name of her dragon ancestor.
She had many titles.
Duchess Bringar. The Dragon-Lady Sovereign.
And simply, the Dragon Lady.
Her dragon eyes, like those of a reptile, had vertical slits for pupils. Radiating the aura of a malevolent dragon in her small frame—
The Duchess who stood before the prisoners grinned wickedly.
"So, how would you like to die?"