Just then, Foreign Minister Alaba spoke up.
"In fact, we received a letter from Muria yesterday. They asked when Lady Mia would be sent."
"The young king is rather impatient," said King Minophon with a faint chuckle.
"So it seems. That was his second request."
"Well then, maiden of the human realm, let me ask you—though this decision rests with us, your thoughts are worth hearing. Do you have the willingness to go to Muria and receive further education?"
Mia nodded. Like they'd let me refuse anyway—why ask like they're doing me a favor?
"You won't be treated poorly there, so there's no need to worry. But I do have a favor to ask."
"A favor?"
"Yes. It's possible that Muria will make some kind of offer to you—directly or indirectly. Should that happen, I ask that you report it to us exactly as it is, upon your return."
"..."
So they want me to act as a double agent?
Mia stayed silent, her unease mounting. Jakiel's voice suddenly rang out, sharp and commanding.
"His Majesty is speaking. Why do you not answer?"
"…Understood."
She gave the only answer she could.
Leca did say Muria might try to win me over... So I guess I really am being asked to play both sides. Just great.
Perhaps sensing her discomfort, the king spoke gently.
"There is no need to worry. All we ask is that you share what you hear and observe. Nothing more."
"In that case, I have a request as well."
All eyes turned toward Mia.
"…And what is that?"
Leca said he was exiled because of me. Because he failed to protect me, and for hiding the phoenix summoning. I can't ask for that punishment to be lifted—that would reveal what I discussed with Julius. Then…
"I would like to travel to Muria with the High Commander."
Gasps rose from the elders. Even the king and Jakiel looked surprised. A few of the elders began whispering among themselves. The king spoke slowly.
"Curious. Did you not leave the palace because you quarreled with him?"
Mia hesitated before replying.
"In any case, I was receiving magical training from him. It would be disruptive to stop now."
"Very well. Then you may go. We shall summon you again when the time comes."
As Mia exited the chamber, the king turned to the others.
"Do you all still believe, like the Grand Vizier, that this girl requires a rite of passage?"
Murmurs spread among the elders. Jakiel remained silent. One elder finally stepped forward.
"Yes, Your Majesty. As the Grand Vizier said, a rite of passage seems appropriate. If she has been studying so diligently, then surely it is worth testing."
"A short time spent outside the palace—like the Grand Vizier proposed—would not be too difficult."
"I agree. The rite should not be skipped."
The king nodded to the words of the various ministers.
"Very well. When she returns from Muria, she shall complete it then. Now—summon Leca."
"Your Majesty… are you reinstating him?"
The king shook his head.
"That is not possible. The charge of concealing the phoenix summoning still stands."
That night.
Leca was summoned in the dead of night, under a sky full of stars. Just like when he had first been brought to Nakil, he was loaded into a prisoner's transport carriage. Still groggy from sleep, he asked the guards what was happening—but received no answer. Only:
"Get in."
Leca wondered if he was being taken to his execution. But then one of the guards unlocked the shackle on his ankle with a click, and he realized the opposite was true.
"Where are we going?"
"To the palace."
So this is what Father meant when he told me to wait.
Sooner than expected. That must mean…
Lady Mia has returned.
Maybe. Maybe not. He would know soon enough. The carriage rumbled through the night. Just as Leca's head began to nod from exhaustion—
"Get out."
It felt like he'd only just dozed off, but they had already arrived. Dawn was just beginning to break. When Leca stepped down from the carriage, he saw a palace servant he vaguely remembered, standing beside an armed guard.
"Clean yourself up. You are to appear before His Majesty."
After bathing, Leca was handed clean clothes. They were not his old commander's uniform or armor, but a plain tunic like a servant's. The shackle on his ankle was removed—but the mana suppression collar around his neck remained in place.
When Leca was brought before the king, the monarch was already awake.
Upon seeing Leca's worn and haggard appearance, the king's face filled with quiet pity.
"You've suffered greatly."
"…I'm fine, Your Majesty. It brings me joy to see you in good health."
"Still unwilling to tell me who summoned the phoenix?"
Leca sighed inwardly.
Truth be told, he owed nothing to Mithys. She wasn't even his master.
If he simply said he brought Mia because she was a proper queen candidate, that would be explanation enough.
But admitting Mithys was alive would invite more questions—like why she hadn't returned. And that… was a path best avoided.
The king waited a moment for a reply. When Leca remained as silent as a clam, the king smiled faintly.
"I wondered if you might confide in me… but I see not."
"Forgive me, Your Majesty."
"No need. I don't truly consider it of great importance."
"…I'm simply ashamed."
"I summoned you because the human girl has returned. Will you accompany her to Muria?"
"You mean me? May I truly do so?"
Leca's face lit up at once. The king squinted at his expression.
"She asked for you personally."
"Lady Mia… said she wished to go with me?"
"She did. It seems you were a rather good teacher. She insisted she couldn't interrupt her training."
A heat swelled in Leca's chest. Without hesitation, he spoke.
"Then I have a request, Your Majesty."
"Go on."
"Please… allow me to remain as Lady Mia's protector. Wherever she goes, whatever she does—even after returning from Muria—I wish to stay at her side. Please appoint me as her personal guard."
The ruby on the king's brow shimmered faintly.
"Why such a request?"
"I am already a condemned man. I don't intend to return as Sibareth's High Commander. But Lady Mia is someone I brought here. It is my duty to protect her. She… is now my master."
The king's expression remained clouded. Leca continued with renewed resolve.
"For a spirit to fail their master… it is agony. Every time I think of the dangers that might befall her, I feel as if my life is being torn apart. Your Majesty, I beg you…"
"…I was your first master."
The king closed his eyes, as if lost in the past.
"Among all spirits, you were especially loyal. That's why I trusted you enough to assign Mithys as your new master and sent you to fetch her. And when you believed her dead… you chose the girl instead."
"…At the time, it felt like the best choice I could make."
"And now?"
"It still does."
"Mithys, aside from her bloodline, was never truly fit to be queen."
Leca blinked in surprise. The king, however, seemed unaffected by his reaction.
"Mithys, the human girl, and you—you all lived together in that other world, did you not?"
"…Yes, we did."
"Fairy folk have close bonds with high-level spirits. Sometimes more so than our own mages."
Leca flinched slightly at that, but the king didn't seem to mind.
"Well, I suppose I understand. I'll let the phoenix matter rest."
"Your Majesty…"
"You may go. You will be assigned to guard her during her journey to Muria."
The king closed his eyes and muttered a soft incantation.
With a pop, the mana suppression collar around Leca's neck split in two. The iron ring clattered to the floor.
"Go now. Do as you wish."
"Your Majesty's grace will never be forgotten."
Leca knelt and bowed deeply before taking his leave. He rushed to the window beneath Mia's room.
Morning had fully broken; birds chirped all around.
From inside the room, he could feel Mia's mana. Strong, calm, and warm. She was well. The relief washed over him. He sat beneath the window and closed his eyes.
Forgive me for not being there these past few days. But at least… being close to you now gives me peace.
At that same moment, inside the room—
Mia was dreaming. It was a strange dream.
Almost like she was someone else, watching herself from afar.
In the dream, she was not herself—but another version of her, observing from above.
The other Mia was with friends, sighing every five minutes and muttering:
—Ugh, I really need to win the lottery.
—Don't I deserve one good payout already?
—Maybe I should just get isekai'd and go grind some monsters or something. Cash for every kill, right? Kyahaha…
Dream-Mia watched herself and smirked. There was something oddly satisfying about it.