Recaps

After Mel and the others rescued the captive dwarves, they learned the base had been producing new weapons but found no useful records or leaders. A broadcast then revealed that Reynold had been kidnapped and tortured, leaving the group to face an immediate hostage crisis.

• The dwarves told Mel and the others that they were kidnapped engineers who had secretly seen where the weapon blueprints were taken and heard the factory production lines running.
• Moli asked about the little elf, and the dwarves explained that she was usually kept separately; the group decided to investigate the weapons and take the elf with them.
• Mel and the others searched an abandoned laboratory but found no useful information, while Anna pointed out that important records would be stored on a computer or portable drive.
• The television switched to a masked kidnapper, who announced that Reynold had been captured and displayed him bound and gagged.
• The kidnapper denounced the Magic Council and shot Reynold in the thigh with a Magitech pistol as Mel and the others watched.

After Reynold was stabbed during a broadcast, Xipei admitted he still cared for him, and Mel promised to help rescue him. Xipei and Mel shared a kiss before startled onlookers appeared with cameras and guns.

• Xipei grew furious and worried after seeing Reynold bleeding on the broadcast, while Mel calmed him and Moli condemned the kidnappers’ attempt to frame the Dawn Alliance.
• Xipei admitted he cared about Reynold, and Mel promised they would get him back together.
• Xipei teased Mel about rescuing Reynold, and Mel joked that Reynold would not make Xipei abandon him; Xipei kissed Mel and told him he loved him.
• Mel moved Ruiduo into Anna’s arms and kissed Xipei, but a crash interrupted them and Absolute Protection spells appeared around them and the apprentices.
• Xipei blasted several hidden cameras, then he and Mel saw a skylight open as gun barrels and panicked faces appeared outside.

Angela and Alessia arrived with reinforcements after the teleporter broke, and the rescue team began searching the base for captives. As the operation neared completion, Angela’s disturbing interest in Reynold left the narrator wondering whether rescuing him would only bring him new trouble.

• Angela introduced Alessia, commander of the Magitech Corps’ mecha division, and explained that the temple and border garrison had sent reinforcements.
• Alessia gave the narrator and Mel a magic bracelet, then eagerly discussed their future wedding plans with Mel.
• Angela privately asked the narrator about Reynold’s performance in bed, then revealed her enthusiasm for seeing him tied up and struggling.
• Lusien directed the troops to search the base, where detection equipment found nearly fifty likely kidnapping victims on the lower levels.
• Lusien ordered the soldiers to search for survivors, while rescued dwarves reunited with their people and the narrator worried about Reynold’s fate with Angela.

After the rescue mission was handed over to the Magitech Corps, the narrator and Mel agreed to help save Speaker Reynold and went to rest while the authorities investigated. They left for a nearby city with their apprentices, planning to find lodging and order food.

• Lusien told the narrator and Mel that the Federation was investigating Reynold’s kidnapping and asked whether they would join the rescue, which they agreed to do.
• Lusien gave them special phones and advised them to rest in the city while the higher-ups handled the situation.
• Mel used the phone’s map to find their way through the Holy Dragon Empire, and the group studied its dragon-lair information.
• Moli and Anna tussled over holding Ruiduo until the sprite pinched their cheeks and the girls took turns carrying her.
• Mel urged the group to fly to the nearest city, and the narrator suggested they find a place to stay and have Moli order takeout.

Xipei and Mel traveled with the apprentices to the Holy Dragon Empire, where Mel explained the real story behind his legendary feat and used his friendship with Dragon Empress Cynthia to secure entry permits. They entered a border city and saw that its dragon knights also used motorcycles.

• Xipei questioned how Mel had supposedly maintained a blizzard spell for three days, and Mel explained that he had been called to undo a snow disaster caused by the Dragon Emperor and the blue dragons fooling around.
• Mel described the Holy Dragon Empire's leadership, including the unreliable Dragon Emperor Agnes, the capable Dragon Empress Cynthia, and the dependable Holy Dragon King.
• Xipei and the others reached a border city in the Holy Dragon Empire and received a warning text about flying near dragons.
• Mel called Dragon Empress Cynthia, who arranged five special entry permits for Xipei and the group.
• Xipei noticed that the dragon knight who delivered their permits rode a flying motorcycle.

Mel explained that many dragon knights never find dragon partners, then hurried Xipei to a luxury hotel for a private romantic getaway. The chapter left them alone in their room, where they began an intimate encounter.

• Mel explained that dragons were scarce and that dragon knights did not need dragon partners to qualify as knights.
• Moli clarified that many dragons and dragon knights remained single because finding a compatible partner was difficult.
• Mel took Xipei and their apprentices to a luxury hotel, paid for two rooms, and left Anna to handle registration and food.
• Mel pulled Xipei into their room, activated its barrier, and eagerly undressed while Xipei followed.
• Xipei admitted how much she liked being with Mel, and they kissed before Mel brought out elf-made ointment and they began an intimate encounter.

Xipei and Mel spent an intimate, affectionate time together at the hotel, where a dragon housekeeping manager mistakenly thought Mel was one of his kind. Later, Moli and Anna took Ruiduo shopping while Xipei and Mel protected her with extensive magic.

• Xipei felt overwhelmed during their intimacy, and Mel comforted her and admitted he had researched ways to make their first time more comfortable.
• Mel collected their meal and found the hotel staff had prepared bloody, nearly raw food because a dragon housekeeping manager mistook him for one of their kind.
• The dragon apologized and arranged human food, while Mel blamed Xipei's attractiveness for the misunderstanding.
• Xipei reflected on how happy life with Mel made her and enjoyed the sunlight and their meal.
• Moli and Anna took Ruiduo shopping, and Xipei and Mel placed numerous tracking and protective spells on her.

The narrator and Mel cared for Ruiduo, a nearly ten-year-old elf who had never learned to speak, while Anna and Moli helped teach her. After learning that Reynold’s kidnappers had falsely blamed the Dawn Alliance, Lusien informed them that the Federation was considering a rescue plan.

• The narrator examined Ruiduo and concluded that she had no health problems but had never learned to speak, then cast spells on Anna and Moli to keep them from using crude language around her.
• The narrator and Mel discovered that their hotel had mistaken them for dragon guests and placed them in an extravagant dragon room, then spent several days relaxing and gathering ingredients.
• Anna and Moli dressed Ruiduo in princess clothes, and Ruiduo learned to ask the narrator for a hug in halting human speech.
• The narrator and Mel watched news coverage of Reynold’s kidnapping, which had made him more popular than Mel as the footage of his captivity circulated widely.
• Lusien told the narrator and Mel that scouts had determined the kidnappers had likely framed the Dawn Alliance, but the Federation lacked enough information and could not send forces abroad without provoking international condemnation.
• Lusien said the Federation would discuss a preliminary rescue plan for Reynold and asked them to wait for further news.

The narrator and Mel agreed to represent the Federation in rescuing Speaker Reynold, while Anna and Moli insisted on joining them and chose extravagant titles for themselves. A news report then revealed that the Dragon Emperor had also been kidnapped, before the chapter shifted to Reynold’s memories of Ciprins breaking up with him.

• The narrator and Mel agreed to go alone to rescue Reynold, and Lusien promised to report their plan to his superiors.
• Anna and Moli burst in and demanded to join the mission, declaring themselves the “Flames of Death” and the “Blade of the Evil Shadow.”
• Lusien ended the call after the apprentices’ declarations, and Ruiduo praised them as amazing.
• A television report announced that the Dawn Alliance had kidnapped the Holy Dragon Empire’s Dragon Emperor.
• Reynold recalled that Ciprins had ended their relationship by phone and reflected on their gentle but uneventful time together.
• Reynold remembered an online rumor that he had used a low-ranking mage as a substitute lover, though he doubted Ciprins had seen it.

The narrator recalled how Ciprins survived a childhood kidnapping, then realized he had accidentally drunk a truth potion and confessed his feelings for Mephistopheles while holding Ciprins. After Ciprins broke up with him and apparently got together with Mephistopheles, the narrator discovered he had turned into a sheep and found the pair embracing.

• The narrator learned that Ciprins had been kidnapped as a child and rescued seven years later as the sole survivor.
• The narrator took what he thought was Ciprins's sobering potion, but it was a truth potion secretly switched by Ciprins's assistant.
• After the narrator blacked out and spent the night with Ciprins, Ciprins broke up with him, and the narrator discovered he had called out Mephistopheles's name.
• The narrator resolved to stay faithful to Ciprins and win him back, but then found Ciprins embracing Mephistopheles.
• The narrator realized he had turned into a sheep wearing underpants as Mephistopheles pointed a Mage Hand at him.

After witnessing Mephistopheles and Ciprins leave together as a couple, Field felt his heart break over losing Ciprins. He then reviewed footage of the kidnapped Dragon Emperor Agnes and refused to let Moli and the others join a rescue, though their reminders of his own past heroics left him struggling to argue.

• Field watched Mephistopheles and Ciprins act affectionately and leave together, grieving the loss of his relationship with Ciprins.
• Field examined footage of Dragon Emperor Agnes in captivity and recognized similarities between her kidnappers and the group that abducted Reynold.
• Moli asked Field to let her join the mission to rescue the Speaker and the Dragon Emperor, while Field and Mel joked about the group's chuunibyou behavior.
• Field refused to let Moli and the others go, warning that the kidnappers posed a serious threat to both the Osland Federation and the Holy Dragon Empire.
• Moli and Anna challenged Field's decision by citing his own dangerous exploits at their ages, including his rescue of Anna and defeat of the Annihilation Cult.

Anna and Moli persuaded their teachers to let them face danger, and the group prepared to travel while arranging for Ruiduo to stay with the Holy Dragon Empire. As they discussed rescuing the Dragon Emperor, a kidnapper’s video showed Reynold alive and demanded one hundred million Federation credits for him.

• Anna and Moli argued that demanding battles would help them become worthy apprentices, and their teachers agreed to let them face danger while promising to protect them.
• The group took a photo together, then Mel and the narrator taught Anna and Moli combat spells as they prepared to leave.
• Mel said Lusien would arrange for a diplomat to take Ruiduo to the palace and revealed that the Holy Dragon Empire also wanted them to bring back the Dragon Emperor.
• Moli worried about rescuing the Dragon Emperor because online gossip described him as fussy and troublesome.
• Lusien introduced Madam Christine, the acting chair of the Magic Council, to discuss Reynold’s kidnapping, and the kidnappers broadcast a video showing Reynold alive while demanding one hundred million Federation credits.

After the kidnappers threatened to keep torturing Reynold and target Agnes, Mage Field accepted Angela’s offer to rescue him. Mage Field and Mel then traveled toward Kojinier City, where Reynold’s tracking signal had disappeared, but the chapter ended when a sudden noise jolted them awake aboard the dragon ship.

• The kidnappers cut Reynold and threatened to broadcast daily torture until they received ransom, then warned that Agnes would be next.
• Angela offered Mage Field the entire hundred million prepared for ransom as a reward for rescuing Reynold, and Mage Field accepted.
• Moli showed the group online reactions to the kidnapping and news speculation about Mage Field’s identity, but none of the guesses identified Mage Field correctly.
• Mage Field, Mel, and the apprentices left Ruiduo in a dragon manager’s care and boarded a dragon ship to Kojinier City, where Reynold’s tracking signal had vanished.
• Mage Field fell asleep with his head in Mel’s lap, then woke to a loud noise and accidentally struck Mel’s chin with his forehead.

Xipei and Mel fought off Magitech fighters attacking their dragonship, but the attackers escaped with the dragon crystal. The dragonship then lost power and plunged toward the ground.

• Xipei noticed the dragonship had been attacked by Magitech fighters and used Mage Hands to pull passengers back aboard while Mel protected the ship.
• Xipei summoned a tornado filled with lightning and struck the fighters with an electric net.
• The lightning broke a fighter’s shield and killed its pilot, prompting the surviving fighters to flee.
• A passenger warned Xipei that the attackers had taken the dragon crystal, and the dragonship suddenly lost power and began falling.
• Mel scolded Anna and Moli for screaming as he held Absolute Protection steady.

Anna used an Anti-Gravity Magic Array to stop the damaged dragon ship from crashing while a dragon knight and his white dragon helped protect it from attacking magitech fighters. The ship began descending safely, and Anna got her first clear look at the calm, long-haired paladin.

• Anna drew an Anti-Gravity Magic Array as a dragon knight and his dragon slowed the dragon ship’s fall.
• Anna diverted her weather magic into the array, and the ship’s escaping fighters avoided the tornadoes and lightning.
• The paladin shielded the mage from a magitech cannon blast, then brought down a fighter and rescued its parachuting pilot.
• The paladin stopped his dragon from mistreating the captured pilot as Anna raised the dragon ship and began guiding it down.
• Anna accepted magic and mental power from Mel, while the remaining fighters fled and the paladin and his white dragon stayed beside her.

Ciprins and Mel escaped the reporters after safely landing the attacked dragon ship, then joined Goliath and his white dragon, Xuefeng, in the sky. Goliath recognized Mel as Archmage Mephistopheles, and Mel recalled that Goliath had missed becoming Holy Lord because he refused to dye his black hair.

• Goliath introduced himself as a paladin and his battle partner as the white dragon Xuefeng, whose tantrum ended when Goliath threatened to break up with him.
• Goliath warned Ciprins to prepare a speech as reporters gathered below and hailed Ciprins as the mage who had turned the attack around.
• Ciprins cast an Invisibility Spell, while Mel and the apprentices also escaped the searching passengers and reporters.
• Ciprins and Mel flew up to Goliath and Xuefeng, who let them ride on his back.
• Ciprins praised Goliath and Xuefeng, and Xuefeng accepted Ciprins as someone with discernment.
• Mel asked whether Goliath was the grand commander of the Temple Knights, and Goliath recognized him as Archmage Mephistopheles before Mel mentioned why Goliath had not become Holy Lord.

After Goliath explained the stolen dragon crystal stone and offered to carry the group onward, they flew to the last location sent by Reynold’s tracker. At a lake outside Kojinier City, Anna spotted someone hiding underwater, and the group prepared to confront them.

• Goliath explained that dragon crystal stones powered dragonships and said he and Xuefeng could track the stolen stone’s aura later.
• Goliath offered to fly the group to Reynold’s last known location, and they accepted the ride on Xuefeng.
• Moli used the tracker coordinates from Madam Christine to guide them toward the outskirts of Kojinier City.
• The group reached a lake where Reynold’s signal had vanished, and Anna spotted someone hiding underwater.
• Mel used Mage Hand to reach into the lake where Anna had pointed.

Mel and the others found Reynold alive in a lake after he escaped from his kidnappers, and Goliath healed his wounds. Reynold warned that the kidnappers might not know he had escaped and urged the group to return to their secret base to investigate and rescue the Dragon Emperor.

• Mel pulled Reynold out of the water, and Reynold explained that he escaped because the kidnappers’ anti-magic shackles could not hold him.
• Reynold revealed he had hidden underwater near the tracker-removal site, expecting the Federation to search there; Goliath healed his wounds.
• Moli told Reynold that the group would receive the hundred-million ransom for rescuing him, and he asked whether the kidnappers had announced his escape.
• After learning the kidnappers were still using prerecorded videos to threaten the Federation, Reynold urged the group to return to the secret base and rescue the Dragon Emperor.

The group remembered their promise to rescue the Dragon Emperor and searched for a land entrance to the underground area where she might be held. Xuefeng joined them in human form, and his teasing with Goliath distracted the group before they continued their search.

• Goliath decided to help rescue the Dragon Emperor, while Xuefeng complained that the Dragon Court Parliament would rather keep her imprisoned.
• The group chose to search for a land entrance after Reynold emerged from the water, and Goliath had Xuefeng take human form to avoid drawing attention.
• Xuefeng explained that dragons learned to transform and bragged about his handsome human appearance.
• Mel and the narrator questioned Xuefeng about whether his human form had functional human anatomy, and Xuefeng made Goliath confirm his abilities.
• Xuefeng draped himself over Goliath and played on his phone while the narrator considered studying dragon transformation and acquiring dragon materials.

Xipei used a necromancy spell to send the dead searching for the mechanical fanatics, while Mel feared that Xipei might join a temple and put off their marriage. The undead had not yet returned with information, and Mel anxiously asked Xipei to promise they would get a marriage certificate.

• Reynold and the others asked Xipei to track the mechanical fanatics, citing Xipei’s reputation for hunting dark mages.
• Xipei explained that the fanatics were unlike the dark mages Xipei had tracked before, then cast the Return to Spring Spell to summon remnant souls to search the area.
• Goliath praised Xipei’s necromancy and suggested joining the Shadow Moon Temple, but Mel pulled Xipei away and worried that clergy could not marry.
• Mel asked Xipei to get their marriage certificate as soon as they returned, and Xipei pretended to consider joining the temple to tease him.

Xipei agreed to marry Mel, who recorded her acceptance and announced their engagement before they returned to scouting for the fanatical organization’s lair. As Xipei sent her fellow disciples to search the area, Goliath gave her a card that could connect her to him or the High Priest, and Mel put it away.

• Mel worried that Xipei would leave him to pursue magic at Shadow Moon, so Xipei reassured him that she would marry him.
• Mel recorded Xipei accepting his proposal, posted that Mephistopheles was getting married, and said they would first destroy the fanatical organization’s lair.
• Xipei questioned the usefulness of the departed souls’ reports and sent her fellow disciples to scout the area and gather the wandering spirits.
• Goliath gave Xipei his card and told her she could use it to reach him or the High Priest at any time.
• Mel took Goliath’s card from Xipei and put it in his spatial ring.

Ciprins and her companions pursued the magitech planes, captured one, and repelled a cannon attack before the remaining planes fled toward ancient ruins. As they continued onward, Moli worried that she had given Ciprins a dangerous idea, while Anna and Moli fussed over Ciprins and Mel held her hand.

• Ciprins learned that low-flying magitech planes had been spotted and flew with Reynold, Mel, Goliath, Xuefeng, Moli, and Anna to find them.
• Ciprins’s departed souls surrounded a plane, and Mel caught it before it crashed; the terrified pilot fainted.
• Goliath split an incoming cannon shell with his sword while the group defended against magitech and conventional attacks, forcing the remaining planes to flee.
• Anna reported that the cell signal was being jammed near ancient ruins, and Moli worried the planes might damage them while searching for a supposed divine artifact.
• Moli feared she had given Ciprins a brilliant idea, and Anna and Moli checked on Ciprins as Mel continued holding her hand with their fingers interlaced.

The group learned that Reynold’s kidnappers had tortured him for information about the Northern Cross Barrier, the Federation’s defense system around Holy Light City. Reynold explained the barrier’s capabilities, though most of the group struggled to follow the details.

• Moli and Anna showed a video of the kidnappers torturing Reynold while the real Reynold angrily tried to use his phone.
• Reynold remembered that his captors had interrogated him about the design of the Northern Cross Barrier.
• Goliath explained that the Northern Cross Barrier protected the Federation’s capital and had helped end the Lightless Years.
• Reynold revealed that he had not memorized the barrier’s complicated design, easing the group’s fears that he might have disclosed it under torture.
• Reynold described how the barrier’s functions had expanded to include coordinating Magitech energy across the Federation.

Reynold explained that destroying the defense system could shut down internet services across several kingdoms, while the group continued toward their destination. After Mel caught an invisible mecha attacker and Moli exposed more enemies by setting the bushes on fire, Mel promised to make Xipei a staff and perhaps a magic sword for their honeymoon.

• Reynold explained that the defense system's collapse could disrupt civilian and military internet services across several kingdoms, alarming Anna, Moli, and Xuefeng.
• Anna revealed she had undone the silencing spell, so Mel transformed her into a black rabbit as punishment and handed her to Moli.
• Mel intercepted a bright attack with Xuefeng's awakened dragon shadow, and Xipei brought down an invisible mecha warrior with a Gravity Field.
• Reynold identified the attackers' camouflage as a light-refracting coating, and Moli burned away the bushes to expose the hidden mechas.
• Mel noticed Xipei admiring Reynold's staff and promised to make her a staff and possibly a magic sword during their honeymoon at the Elven Sanctuary.

The group learned that an ancient ruin—and possibly a dangerous weapon—lay nearby after defeating and questioning mech pilots. Moli’s fire had exposed the ruin’s entrance, and the group prepared to investigate.

• Mel offered to make magic implements in different styles, and the narrator kissed his fingertips and asked him to teach her.
• Goliath and Xuefeng dismantled the mechs and captured the pilots, who said they worked for Homeland Security Company and had been misled about their target.
• A pilot reported rumors of ancient ruins and a weapon in the area, while Moli found a spellcasters’ forum post about the excavation.
• Reynold worried that fanatics could use an ancient weapon against the Federation, while the narrator and Mel eagerly considered the magical knowledge the ruins might contain.
• Moli spotted an opening in the burned mountainside, and the narrator ordered her to copy a sentence a thousand times for setting the hillside ablaze.