Alicia blinked once upon hearing Ryan’s question.

"Your Majesty... do you plan on going to that place?"

"No." Ryan shook his head. "Not for now. But Beatrice has an important mission, and that portal is the safest path for her."

Alicia nodded slowly, processing the information.

"I understand. In that case, I will prepare the beastmen from the special unit to accompany her. Since she is to be their commander now, I believe it is only fitting."

"No." Beatrice interjected before Alicia could say anything else. Her voice came out firm, leaving no room for negotiation. "This is something I must do alone."

Alicia looked at her with a doubtful expression.

"But going to such a dangerous place without an escort..."

"That is how it must be." Ryan replied calmly. "What she needs to do requires staying under the radar. A group would only draw attention."

"In that case, then. I will take you there; please follow me." Alicia pursed her lips but didn’t question further. She nodded with a brief bow and headed for the door.

’She’s clearly not satisfied, but at least she knows when to stop pushing.’

The three of them left the house and began walking along the village path, following Alicia.

It was then that a familiar voice sounded from the side of the path.

"Hey, Ryan."

Karol appeared with her staff in hand. She glanced at the group for a second, then fixed her eyes on Beatrice with a slight frown.

"Who is... wait." She narrowed her eyes. "That blue hair. It’s that relic you had, right? Which means you’re Beatrice."

Ryan glanced at her sideways.

"How convenient that you’re here. Come with us."

"Where are we going?" Karol asked as she fell into step with the group.

"You’ll find out soon enough."

She opened her mouth to press further but thought better of it and simply kept walking.

It didn’t take long before they heard voices further ahead on the path.

Then the four of them stepped through the portal, and now they were in the forest.

Then Ryan looked at Alicia, and she told him that the portal he was looking for was at the end of the forest.

"I remember that place very well; we passed through there when the elven soldiers rescued us from Demon King Rigal’s territory..."

After saying that, she kept walking, and Ryan and the rest adjusted their pace to match hers.

’I’d like to ask her more about that matter, but now isn’t the right time. Besides, from the way she said it, it’s likely that people very dear to her died back then.’

So they continued walking, guided by Alicia.

"I’m telling you it wasn’t like that!" The shout echoed from between the trees, reaching them.

"And I’m telling you it was." the other voice replied in its calm tone, which somehow irritated more than any shout.

Hearing them, Ryan sighed.

’Those two are already arguing. Weren’t they supposed to be guarding the area?’

Karol let out a loud laugh upon hearing them argue, and then they began walking toward where they were.

Helen was the first to turn around, and when she did, she fixed her eyes on Beatrice with a confused expression.

"Ryan? And who’s the one with the blue hair?"

"Idiot." Mirian sighed. "It’s Beatrice."

"What? But her hair..."

"Come here," Ryan ordered. "Since you’re just playing around, come with us for a moment."

Helen frowned but obeyed.

"But where do you want to go?" She walked over to him and clung to his arm.

"Mmm, it’s better if you see it for yourself. Just wait."

Mirian followed without asking questions. But she also clung to Ryan’s other arm.

Alicia guided them for a good stretch to the furthest end of the forest, where the trees grew denser and light became scarce.

They stopped in front of an area where the ground sloped down toward a surface of dark, still water.

"The portal is underwater," Alicia said.

Ryan looked at the water for a moment.

’I had flown over this area with the wyvern, but I never noticed the portal. Now I see why, though I suppose I should have asked for its location.’

"But I don’t want to get wet..." Mirian replied.

"Don’t be so picky; look, Beatrice has already dived in," Helen pointed out in response.

Then Ryan entered without another word, and Karol and Alicia followed him.

After they dove in one by one. The water was cold. Upon crossing to the other side, the sensation changed abruptly.

Cold air.

Snow covered everything as far as the eye could see. The ground, the trees, the rocks. All white.

"Is this entire place part of the demon king’s domain?" Ryan asked curiously.

"Wow," Karol murmured, looking around.

"This cold is horrible." Helen grumbled, shaking the water from her hair.

"This place is Kowarre." Beatrice said, observing the landscape with an expression that was hard to read. "Everything here is under the control of Demon King Rigal."

Mirian crossed her arms and looked at Ryan calmly.

"So, what are we doing here exactly?"

"Beatrice is going to look for her brother." Ryan replied.

The two heroines looked at him without saying anything for a moment.

"I see. So, you brought us here to face the demons, right?" Helen asked.

"Of course not!" Ryan replied. "She’s going alone. I just wanted to make sure there were no enemies nearby."

"What...? But I wanted to face some demons..." Helen grumbled.

Helen turned her head toward Beatrice with an expression that mixed annoyance with something that wasn’t exactly concern but looked quite a bit like it.

"Hey," she told her directly. "You’d better not die on the way. I’ll be the one to kill you—during training, of course..."

Beatrice let out a short laugh.

"Don’t worry, Helen. I don’t plan on dying at the hands of any demon. Especially not before you get your chance."

"Good, I like that look." Helen looked at her defiantly.

Then, Mirian crouched down and studied the ground near where they were standing.

"There are tracks here," she said. "They don’t look recent, but don’t get overconfident. Move with stealth from the moment you leave this area."

Beatrice nodded.

Karol already had her hands extended when they all finished talking.

"I’ll take care of moving you away from the portal so it doesn’t look like you’re coming from this side."

She activated her magic, and a current of air surrounded Beatrice.

"But I’m warning you, it will only stay active for about twenty minutes. Fly using stealth, and get away from this place as fast as you can..."

"Understood."

"What route are you going to take?" Mirian asked.

Beatrice looked toward the south, where the snow stretched out uninterrupted.

"I will follow the borders of Kowarre until I leave Rigal’s territory. From there, I’ll enter Morrisen, Ophelia’s domain. Then I’ll be close to the capital, which is where I need to go."

"Kainon?" Karol asked.

"Yes."

Ryan approached her while she floated just a few centimeters off the ground.

"If you take longer than expected, I’ll come looking for you."

"That won’t happen." As she finished the sentence, she activated stealth and lunged at Ryan, kissing him.

The rest of the girls could no longer see Beatrice. But from Ryan’s movement, it was obvious what was happening.

"That damn woman!" Helen grumbled.

"Hahaha." Karol laughed nonchalantly. "I didn’t think she was that bold."

"Enough, be quiet," Ryan commented after stopping the kiss.

Beatrice began to rise slowly with Karol’s magic. Once she was high enough, she started flying at full speed, and her figure vanished into the gray air of the snowy sky.