The door to the communications room opened, and a tall, lean figure emerged. Diana, who had been waiting in the corridor, immediately stepped forward. She looked at Rosetta, who had just finished the network conference. His face was as cold and stern as ever, but this time, beneath that severity, there was an indescribable heaviness.
It seemed something had happened during the meeting. Perhaps His Majesty Gawain Cecil had brought new intelligence, or perhaps the elves or dragons had encountered fresh problems with the evacuation plan—several guesses surfaced in Diana's Mind Core, but she did not ask. She merely lowered her head slightly. "Would you like to rest first?"
"...No need." Rosetta glanced at the head maid before him. The matters discussed in the meeting still circled through his mind—the Mind Unity Field and the Final Defiance, the coming of age of mortal races and divine disasters, one of Gawain's "final plans," and the fate that might await them all. His expression was solemn. After standing silently in the corridor for two seconds, he suddenly spoke. "Is Matilda in the Obsidian Palace?"
"Her Highness the Princess returned half an hour ago," Diana said with her head lowered. "Shall I summon her?"
"Have her come to my study," Rosetta said in a deep voice. Then, as if recalling something, he frowned slightly. "How is the exploration of Violet Island progressing?"
"Our expedition has entered deep into the southeastern forest. We have yet to find any traces of a city, only some stone relics resembling 'monuments' in the forest," Diana reported the latest intelligence from the north. "The advance team has established a secure camp near one of the monuments and set up a Mage Tower and supply station. Follow-up forces are continuing to land from the southeastern coast and are expected