(Heartfelt thanks to 'Little Flame-chan' for the 1,888 reward! And to 'Gale Sand,' 'Deng Mao,' 'White Starry Sea,' 'DaringSAMA,' 'Number One Soy Sauce Party,' 'O0 Tear Wound 0o,' 'Pokémon,' 'GS Chaoshi,' 'Qu Meifeng,' '4Alice4,' and 'HJAkeno' for their rewards!)
In the early morning, gentle sunlight shimmered up from beyond the mountains.
The sun slowly rose, finally sweeping away yesterday's gloomy weather and filling the world with renewed vitality.
Within a forest, three figures sat facing one another, each occupying a different corner of a clearing.
Lying on the ground like a dozing beast was a pitch-black griffin.
Sitting on a rock, with a harp in her arms, was a Witch cloaked entirely in black.
The last was a man dressed like a clown trying to attract attention, leaning against a tree trunk with his arms folded.
These three were Gleya, Aurora, and Maxwell.
Yet at that moment, the three of them displayed very different reactions.
Gleya lay there as though he had truly fallen asleep, his eyes shut and his body completely still.
Aurora continually polished the harp in her hands, looking utterly relaxed.
Only Maxwell had his brows tightly furrowed, as though he were deeply dissatisfied with something. A faint trace of agitation could be seen between his brows.
After the scene continued like this for roughly half an hour, the sun finally rose high into the sky, illuminating the entire land.
Maxwell seemed to have finally run out of patience. He lowered his folded arms, straightened up, and spoke.
"Why haven't Your Highness and the strategist returned yet?"
His words made Aurora, who had been polishing her harp, stop what she was doing. Gleya, who had been dozing, opened one eye as well.
The two exchanged a glance, each seeing the same thought in the other's eyes: *He