In the Dwarven Kingdom, at the same time that Ziel woke up. King Auva was sitting checking the report on the redevelopment of the Dwarven royal capital. He looked exhausted and pale because he had not had enough rest these days. While he was focusing on looking at one of the reports in his hand, he was startled by the sound of someone screaming suddenly entering his tent.
"Father! I came to report something!" Prince Torin entered hastily. He had forgotten to ask his father's permission to enter the tent because he was too panicked.
"What's the important thing you want to report to make you rush like that?" King Auva was annoyed by Prince Torin's attitude. But right now, he was ignoring it out of curiosity about the important news he brought. Prince Torin did not immediately answer. He took a breath first as he was still panting.
"Forgive me for my rudeness, father. But I must tell you this news immediately. The unknown barrier in the Elven Kingdom was gone. As I, the soldiers, and golems entered to check the situation there, we saw a situation like the end of the apocalypse. The damage in that place is even more terrible when compared to our royal capital." Prine Torin gave his report in one breath.
"What!? Then, did you find the cause?" King Auva was startled and stood up from his chair. If what Prince Torin said was true, then the people fighting there were much stronger than those fighting in the Dwarven Royal Capital. He had to find out who it was to come up with a plan to prevent such a thing from happening in his kingdom.
"Unfortunately, after I came to that place, I couldn't find anyone. The soldiers and I keep searching the place looking for clues but ended up in vain." Prince Torin shook his head helplessly.
King Gustave sat back in his chair after hearing Prince Torin's report. He closed his eyes and began to contemplate. Not long after, he opened his eyes and looked intently at Prince Torin.
"You go back there and keep looking. I want you to find any small clues." King Auva gave his orders to Prince Torin. He had to find the cause no matter what. He couldn't imagine the horror of a power that could wreak more devastation than what happened in the Dwarven royal capital.
"I understand!" Prince Torin bowed his head and left King Auva alone in the tent.
***
At the same time, inside the temple hall. The white statue met again the girl who had previously come to the place.
"What was the result of your investigation?" The girl asked first before the white statue could speak. The girl looked curious about the guardian of the continent.
"I'm sorry, miss. When I checked into the place after the barrier disappeared, I couldn't find any whereabouts of the guardian of the continent or the people who fought against it. I suspect this has something to do with the Elven Kingdom. It's just that I couldn't carelessly enter there because of the barrier from the world tree and Dryads." The white statue did not dare to look directly at the girl. He felt he had failed in carrying out the task assigned to him.
"I understand. You don't need to apologize. I don't blame you for this. If it were that easy to get information about the guardians of the continent, then we would have known about it long ago." Even though the girl said it was okay, her voice sounded disappointed.
"Once again, I apologize for my failure." The white statue was even more depressed after hearing the girl's voice.
"Okay. I'll go first because I have things to do. Keep the investigation. Once you get some clues, you should tell me immediately." The girl walked away from the temple hall.
"I understand, miss!" The white statue answered firmly.
***
Dryad was dumbfounded and didn't know what to say when she saw the embodiment of a creature coming out of Ziel's body.
"Ken...that is..." Dryad finally came to her senses and asked in a trembling voice.
"You are right. This is the nine-headed imperial dragon. The guardian of the continent that I previously fought. Maybe it's better if I say this is a miniature. This dragon has already lost its power. For whatever reason, it seems this dragon thinks of me as its master." Ziel explained it to Dryad.
"Haa…as usual, you're awesome and unpredictable, Ken. Even now, the guardian of the continent has become your pet. From the shape, I don't think anything has changed." Dryad sighed heavily and shook her head. She examined the imperial dragon in front of her in detail.
"He is the same, only smaller in size. I think he can still use the special ability that he had used against me before." Ziel nodded in response to Dryad's words.
"So, what exactly do you want me to help you with?" Dryad shifted her gaze from the imperial dragon to Ziel.
"I want you to help me make a contract with him. Not a master-servant contract but a contract that spirits usually do." Even though the imperial dragon considers him its current master, the dragon's memories may return and attack Ziel again. He didn't want to carry such a ticking time bomb inside his body. He thought it would be a waste to kill the dragon. So, he decided to use it instead of his broken divine dress.
"Hmm… I understand. I also feel it is possible to do. Alright, let's start now. give me your hand." Dryad quickly grabbed Ziel's hand and stabbed his fingertip until it bled.
After that, he dripped the blood on the imperial dragon.
Roaaaaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrr!
The imperial dragon roared and was shrouded in the grey light. Not long after that, Ziel's spirit circle appeared by itself and released the spirit power threads connected to the imperial dragon. Ziel calmly watched the process.
It took a while until the process was complete, and the light that enveloped the imperial dragon disappeared.
"Finished!" Dryad clapped her hands and smiled broadly.
"Just like that?" Ziel thought that the contracting process with the spirit would take a very long time.
"Usually, it takes quite a while. Since I did it, the time can be shortened." Dryad smiled and puffed out his chest proudly.
"Thank you. Then I must return immediately. Otherwise, some people will worry about me." Ziel got up from his bed and intended to get out of the hut. But before he could leave the place, he felt a soft sensation on his back. When he glanced back, Ziel saw Dryad hugging him.
"I will miss you, Ken!" Dryad tightened his hug on Ziel.
"You just have to give me permission to go in and out of this forest barrier so I can come to this place any time." Ziel knows that Kalya will miss her friends and the atmosphere in the Elven Kingdom one day. So, he prepared this in case Kalya suddenly wanted to return to that place.
"Is that true!? Yay!" Dryad jumped happily and hugged him again. Greenlight enveloped Ziel's body. That light was the authority the Dryads had given him to enter and exit the barrier of the world tree.
" I'm leaving, Dryad." After saying that, Ziel disappeared from the place.
***
When Kalya and the other girls returned to the building where the academy people were staying, they were greeted with curious gazes from the students and teachers.
"Kalya! Where have you been!? We've been looking for you everywhere but couldn't find you!" Merlick and King Gustave approached Kalya. His face looks relieved after seeing Kalya has returned.
" I'm sorry if I have worried you, principal. I was called by my sister to come to the castle. After finishing with my business there, I quickly returned here. But on the way, I met the three of them." Kalya pointed at Princess Freya, Princess Iris, and Lilith. They had already discussed what excuse they would use when they returned.
"You? Aren't you supposed to be in this room? Since when can you be outside?" Merlick and King Gustave finally noticed the three of them. Lilith and the two princesses sneaked out while the teachers, Merlick and King Gustave, were unconscious.
"Put that aside first, principal. Have you contacted the human region again? I think we can connect to it by now since the barrier that divides the human and demi-human regions has disappeared." Kalya tried to change the topic so that Merlick wouldn't make things difficult for Lilith and the two princesses. After all, the most important thing right now was to return to the human region quickly.
"The emissary from the Elven Kingdom already told us that. Queen Jasmine has also sent a message to the Human region and received a reply. They will pick us up within three days." Merlick nodded at Kalya's words. At first, he was wary when the elven messenger came. But when the elf explained his reason for coming to the place, Merlick was pleased with the news he received.
"Ah, Princess Aishia has also given us information about the situation outside. I also don't know where she got it from, but we can only believe it at the time. It turned out that all the information she gave was true." King Gustave added.
Kalya raised her eyebrows after hearing that Queen Jasmine bothered to contact the human region and sent an envoy to this place. She was also confused about where Princess Aishia got all that information. But she quickly threw away the unnecessary thought.
"That's fine. Then we'd better go back to our separate residential buildings and let the students rest. I will also go back first because I feel a little tired." Kalya bowed her head to Merlick and King Gustave and left them. She didn't wait until they gave their answer.
King Gustave and Merlick looked at each other, then smiled bitterly. They began to rearrange the residences of the academy people according to what had been previously divided.
After Kalya returned to the teachers' building, Lilith and the two princesses walked to Clara. They saw her chatting with Beatrix. Clara waved her hand with a big smile when she noticed their presence.
" Where did you guys go? I've been looking for you guys ever since. I think you guys are in danger. It's good that you came back safely." Clara is worried about their safety. Lilith and the two Princesses could see that she was sincerely saying that.
"Ahaha...I'm sorry. Earlier I wanted to take you too, but I saw you were busy taking care of Miss Beatrix. So we decided not to bother you." Princess Iris smiled apologetically. She felt guilty after hearing what Clara said.
"Hmm... okay. I will forgive you this time. By the way, where's Ken?" Clara suddenly asked where Ziel was. She looked around the room but couldn't find him. She thought that Ziel went with Princess Iris and the others.
"That is..." Princess Iris didn't know what to say. She looked to Princess Freya and Lilith for help, but she felt betrayed because they took their eyes off her.
When Princess Iris was about to answer, the boy came and answered first.
"I'm here, my lady. I fell asleep in a room because I was too tired. After waking up, I quickly washed my face and came back here. I'm sorry if I made you worry." Ziel walked over to Clara and brought her some hot tea.
"Thank you. I thought you went out too. Thank goodness you're fine." Clara smiled a little and accepted the tea that Ziel had served. Lilith and the two Princesses finally breathed a sigh of relief after seeing that Ziel had returned.
After chatting with Clara, Ziel left the room and returned to the male students' building. But when he came out of the building, someone was waiting for him outside.
"Ziel..." Princess Aishia called her in a low voice.
Ziel just ignored her and kept walking. He pretended not to hear what Princess Aishia said.
"Ziel! I know it's you! Do you want to keep pretending!? You were even able to notice my existence when I followed Freya before!" Princess Aishia called out to him again with a slightly high tone. She already knows that Ziel is Ken. Princess Aishia is the one that Ziel talked to before he fought against the Imperial Dragon.
"Princess Aishia, I hope you forget everything you saw and heard. Right now, I'm not the butler of Princess Elise but Miss Clara. So, we're just friends at the academy." After saying that, Ziel left Princess Aishia alone in that place.
"I will never let anyone else have you, Ziel! Even if that girl is Freya!" Princess Aishia shouted with determination.
Three days had quickly passed, and the magic train that had picked up the academy's people had finally arrived. The people who picked them up were King Raghnall and King Jonathan.. That day, the academy people eventually returned to the human region.
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