After Sinafa and Samantha left, only Sanders and Kant remained.
Sanders quietly gazed at the distant Boundary Forest... By now, there were not many trees left in the Boundary Forest. It was almost entirely lava pools. Even the few trees still alive would likely not survive amid the drifting dust. It probably would not be long before this place needed a new name.
The heavy snow was still falling, but the moment it drifted over the lava pools, it was steamed into mist. Dust swirled below, firelight shone, and white fog curled through the air. At first glance, it was rather beautiful.
"No one expected such a demon to be sleeping beneath the Boundary Forest," Kant muttered. "A lord fallen from its throne—truly a rare sight."
Sanders did not pick up Kant's thread. His gaze remained fixed on the distance. It seemed to rest upon the Boundary Forest, yet also seemed to pierce through it toward the even more distant Howling Plains.
"What are you looking at?" Kant asked in puzzlement.
Sanders slowly said, "I'm wondering whether she will return."
"That is hard to say. But Demon City's martial lockdown will end soon, and we will likely leave before long. Even if Dongla returns then, she will not affect us much." Kant paused, his eyes flickering. "Besides, given how deeply she has been tainted by misfortune, I do not think Dongla has much chance of returning."
After Kant finished, Sanders merely smiled and shook his head.
The one he meant by "whether she would return" was not Dongla, but... Madeleine.
When Dongla began fleeing with Mangimornie, Sanders had noticed Madeleine, who had been watching the battle from afar, transform into thorns and burrow underground to secretly follow them.
With only a little thought, one could tell what Madeleine intended to