Gadaga, gadaga.

Amidst the teeth-souring creaking sound, the carriage slowly entered the harbor city of Yikante, which had become the temporary capital after the coup, under the escort of more than ten shadow knights.

This port city on the west coast was not bustling to begin with. Even though it had a harbor, its location was a bit far from the sea trade routes, so it was not as well-known as the beacon, a city famous throughout the entire western continent.

But precisely because of this, the strict military control implemented temporarily had little impact on the kingdom's maritime trade. Moreover, being situated by the sea and at the confluence of many rivers, armies from all over could quickly assemble.

"Has father turned this place into a military fortress?" Tiran poked his head out of the carriage, looking at the streets under martial law and the soldiers fully armed on the city walls.

Inside the city had already been planned out, but outside Yikante, on the flood plain with a dense network of rivers, it had completely turned into a massive military camp. More than three army corps were stationed on the flat plains, with their numbers continuously increasing.

"Ah... have we finally arrived? This carriage has nearly shaken my bones apart." Aya groaned, straightening up and rubbing her shoulders.

The news of the attack on the magitech capital quickly spread through various channels, disseminated by intelligence personnel from various countries lurking in Sainz. Along with attracting attention from all sides, it also attracted some illegal organizations trying to take advantage and make a fortune.

So not long after leaving the magitech capital, Milanía's convoy was ambushed in a valley. They probably thought that, due to being low-key and not flying any flags, the Milanía envoy would be just an ordinary small merchant caravan.

The result was predictable. The bandit gang that had originally planned to lie in wait on the mountain encountered a fierce tiger, with dozens of shadow knights easily crushing over a hundred people, just like chopping vegetables. The problem was that one of the boulders that had fallen from the mountain hit the carriage.

Although the sturdy military carriage withstood the impact, many fastenings were loosened. The jolting during the journey became more than twice as severe.

But after all, it was just a short distance. It was not cost-effective to change the carriage now, so they simply made do. Tiran and Aya had no objections to this.

-—However, Aya was starting to regret it.

"Squeak, mama... I'm hungry." Chirp's small head, resting on Aya's thigh, yawned and rubbed its sleepy eyes, softly murmuring.

"Hungry again? You eat and sleep, sleep and eat. Is this child a pig?" Tiran couldn't help but click his tongue, giving Chirp's cheek a pinch. The tender and smooth sensation satisfied the little princess.

"Wuwuwu, mama papa meanie!" Chirp struggled and turned over, burying its little face in Aya's chest, mumbling incoherently.

Aya pursed her lips, clapped her hands to remove the claws of the little princess: "I'm telling you, don't bully children."

"Just teasing, what's wrong with it? Plus, Aya has become braver." Tiran looked at Aya maliciously.

Under the scrutiny of that kind of gaze, Aya felt a bit uncomfortable, and she shrunk back towards the rear with Chirp in her arms: "What's the matter? Don't forget, you can't beat me now."

"Tsk!" When reminded of that matter, Tiran became displeased again. It had already been more than a week, but his body had only recovered a pitiful amount of Chi. At most, he could emit a spark, not even as good as an apprentice knight...

Aya, who had a golden dragon body, recovered quite well from the internal and external injuries caused by the Heavy Divine Machine. Her mana, Chi, was also restored to its optimal state, and her strength seemed to have slightly improved after fighting against the Holy Rank.

So Aya began to enjoy the most comfortable period of time since being taken back home by Tiran. Tiran couldn't do anything to her, and she could even tease or play with the young girl anytime...

Of course, it's just a thought. Aya doesn't want to face any consequences later.

"Hey, by the way, does the king have any important matters to attend to? I thought we would directly return to Gilliast." As the carriage was about to arrive at the temporary army headquarters in the city, Aya suddenly remembered this matter.

Originally, the envoy was supposed to return directly to Tiran's territory after crossing the border, but they received a magic communication letter at the border station and changed their destination to the city of Ikanthe.

"I'm not sure, but it sounds like something urgent... Maybe. Well, we will know when we see him." Tiran also became uncertain at the end. The result of the negotiation with Sainz had already been transmitted to the War King through long-distance magic communication in the Magitech capital. As for other matters... he really couldn't think of any.

Granzon himself fought his way up from the military during the turbulent times, and he had never been concerned about enjoyment. Plus, the situation was critical now, so he simply lived in the temporary army headquarters.

After reaching the army headquarters, Tiran and Aya were led by a guard to the courtyard where Granzon's study was located. They passed through aisles and saw soldiers with tense faces coming and going. Even these two thick-skinned individuals could feel the solemn and murderous atmosphere unique to the military.

Indeed, a war was about to break out.

The two looked at each other and pushed open the door.

"Ah, Ah, Ah, little Tiran, are you okay? I heard you fought with that attacker? Are you hurt? How do you feel, is it painful?" The handsome silver-haired man rushed towards them, lifted Tiran's arms, and lifted his sleeves to check for any wounds. His face was full of nervousness.

"...Aya silently picked up Chirp and took two steps back, covering the little girl's eyes with her hand.

Indeed, it was the king. This personality of his would probably never change in this lifetime. Oh, the princess over there has already turned dark as well.

"You pervert, go die!"

...

"How could you be like this, little Tiran? I was just concerned about you!" After a moment, War King, with a handprint on his face, leaned against the desk and looked at Tiran with teary eyes.

"It was you, the pervert! How can you touch your daughter so casually when you meet her?!" Tiran stared at Granzon coldly, arms crossed.

"Because I was really worried! Tiran, you were chased by Angel and fought against the Holy Rank. How could your father not be concerned!" War King opened his hands, naturally took two steps forward, and touched Tiran's head, revealing a rueful smile tinged with guilt. "But it's really good that you're safe... Speaking of which, it's frustrating to watch your own daughter in danger without being able to help. Looks like I'm an inadequate father."

"It's not really your fault, Dad..." Tiran, whether it was because he was not accustomed to this sudden display of affection or for some other reason, surprisingly showed a shy expression in front of the king, and his tone involuntarily softened.

"...Therefore, it is necessary to check the wound, cough!" Aya, standing by the door, twitched her eye corner and watched as War King was hit in the abdomen, feeling sorry for His Majesty for a second.

...

"You should take a break, are you not tired enough?" After the study room quieted down again, Tiran sat on a chair next to him, covering his face in exhaustion.

Granzon rubbed his stomach and grinned, clearing his throat before responding to Tiran's words, resuming the dignified posture of a king, "Cough, I won't cause any more trouble. We handled the situation with Sainz quite well."

"Of course, it's all thanks to Delua's involvement," Tiran rolled his eyes.

"That, of course, played a part," His Majesty said, "but the fact that Sainz accepted our request so quickly is also due to you."

"Because I killed Hermes?" Tiran stroked his chin. This reasoning made sense, considering the bounty on Sainz's back wasn't a small sum. Moreover, Tiran had managed to kill Hermes while keeping the Gespenst intact, which undoubtedly held significant research value.

"That's right. Also, after news of slaying a Holy Rank spreads, everyone will know that Milanía has a super strong individual, which is a significant advantage in the current situation. At the very least, many troublesome individuals will reconsider the feasibility of backstabbing behind the scenes."

"Well, I didn't think that much. Killing Hermes was just a side note. The main reason for going this time was to save this child," Tiran pointed to Chirp next to Aya.

"Huh? Is this... the child who was with you at the palace? It seems... to have grown up?" Granzon's gaze fell on Chirp, hesitating as he asked.

Indeed, she had grown quite a bit. Chirp looked at most ten years old when they were at the palace two months ago. Now, she appeared to be around thirteen or fourteen years old, somewhere between a young girl and a teenager.

- And she was already tall enough to defeat a certain eternal loli boss.

"Well, it's a bit difficult to explain," Tiran shrugged. Even Sainz, who had spent the most time exploring the underground ruins, couldn't figure out Chirp's origins. Hermes only treated Chirp as an infinite power bank, so how could he expect to understand what this child was all about?

"Oh, and there's one more thing I need to mention."

"Huh?" Granzon paused for a moment, not quite understanding Tiran's intention.