When Sanders stepped out of Valhalla's summer palace, he could not help letting out a long breath. He had not expected the Crown Princess to agree to meet Prince Leven so quickly. Although the meeting place and some other details still needed to be discussed, those were all insignificant side issues.
For this reason, the Xifah Family would send a special delegation to discuss the matter, but that was outside his authority. As Sanders stood in the lush, tree-shaded plaza, his gaze passed through the layers of branches surrounding Valhalla. The hills around Tonigell stretched into the distance before him, and he suddenly realized that he might be leaving this place soon.
Although he had only caught hurried glimpses of it over the past few days, the beautiful scenery of the Mintai Hills had still been carved deeply into his heart. This was a strange land, one that was flourishing with vigor and displaying a vitality nowhere else in Eluin could match.
People discussed the reclamation of lands beyond the borders of civilization, the clearing and exploration of the Black Forest, cultivation, mineral resources, and hopes for the coming year. The struggles of countless people came together into a weighty poem. The sons of farmers, craftsmen, and apprentices now possessed titles of knight.
What seemed outrageous in the eyes of other nobles was perfectly natural in this frontier land. When he saw the knights and squires carrying fluttering Swallowtail Banners enter the dark, primeval forest with their newly knighted lords, he was deeply shaken.
Pioneer Knight
Had it been in the Year of Frog Croaks, or after the Year of Blazing Flames? How many years had passed since the kingdom last had a Pioneer Knight?
It was not only in Eluin. How many years had it been since humanity had