After the events in the magitech city, Tiran fulfilled his promise and erased all the wanted records for Snow Wolf. He also handed over all the treasures they obtained to her before parting ways in Sainz.

For the mercenary captain, the trip to the magitech city was a great success. Not only did they acquire a large sum of money, but they also resolved Snow Wolf's predicament. Finally, Tiran could give his comrades a satisfactory explanation.

He never thought he would have another chance to see this guy, but he unexpectedly showed up at this moment.

"You mean you want to join the castle's guard?" Tiran raised an eyebrow after hearing Beinrich's words. It was rare for these free-spirited mercenaries to willingly become part of the regular army.

"Not join, what I mean is that Snow Wolf is willing to serve as an external force for His Highness, as a way to repay for bringing us back." Beinrich rubbed his nose and casually said, "I don't like owing favors to others. The help His Highness provided to Snow Wolf is far more significant than my minor role in the ruins."

"Your Highness, don't believe this guy! He's just a wanted criminal, surely up to no good!"

Before Tiran could speak, the female knight unsheathed her sword and shouted. She and her undercover knights received orders to protect Tiran, and they couldn't afford to back down at a time like this.

Allowing an untrustworthy person to enter the castle... if news of Tiran losing his Holy Rank powers were to leak, it would undoubtedly spell trouble for the entire kingdom.

"Hey hey, knight-lass, first of all, correct one thing. I am no longer a wanted criminal. If you insist on calling me that, please add the word 'former' in front. Secondly, we have fought side by side before, so there's no need to be so wary, right? Lastly, I am asking for His Highness's opinion. Please don't overstep your bounds."

"You!" Shuma clenched the hilt of her sword with frustration. How strange, she should normally be calmer. Why did this annoying guy always manage to provoke her emotions with just a few words?

What's even more infuriating is that his arguments seem quite sensible, and she can't come up with a counter-argument.

As for Tiran, she glanced at Shuma, who was pouting with anger, and then at Beinrich, who was grinning while supporting his heavy sword. Suddenly, an idea came to her mind.

— I really want to see what these two are like together.

The female knight realized that things were taking a turn for the worse when she saw Tiran's wavering gaze. If this continued, His Highness might actually agree to let Snow Wolf enter.

"Wait, wait a moment, Lord Tiran! Please reconsider! Our undercover knights can also guard the castle, not to mention the guards under your command, along with your power as a dragon slayer. We don't need them!"

Shuma desperately gestured with her eyes, reminding Tiran that his current position was crucial for the safety of the kingdom. Beacon City, and even the area near the castle, surely had a significant number of intelligence agents from different factions. If anything unexpected were to happen...

"Oh, right. On the way here, I found two guys lurking around suspiciously, so I brought them along. You can decide what to do with them."

As he spoke, Beinrich made a gesture, and his men immediately brought forward two unconscious men and threw them onto the grass in front.

Both men were dressed plainly, indistinguishable from typical town residents. However, Shuma easily found two communication devices resembling pendants emitting magical fluctuations from their bodies. It seemed they were indeed intelligence agents, but it was unclear which faction they belonged to.

"How about it? We're actually quite skilled in reconnaissance and counterintelligence," Beinrich flexed his arm, easily lifting one of the unconscious spies with his strong arm and flaunting it in front of Shuma.

"Hmph, what's there to be proud of in something born out of a bunch of criminals..." the female knight pouted and turned her head, dissatisfied, "It's no big deal! If it were my subordinates, they could dig out all the hidden rats in the vicinity within three days!"

"These two guys were caught by Snow Wolf, so if you want to compare, you'll have to add two more heads to our record," the captain of the mercenary group casually spread his hands.

"Alright, I agree," the princess finally made the decision.

...

"So it gradually evolved into the current situation."

On the rooftop terrace of the central tower where the princess resided, Aya and Tiran stood side by side, leaning against the railing and enjoying the cool night breeze. They each held a glass of drink in their hands.

Now that the Dragon Maid had completely freed herself from her maid duties, or rather, this was definitely the most enjoyable time she had since being captured.

Angel called her Senpai every day, Chirp called her mom, and even Mimi had become less excessive towards her because of Chirp. And Tiran was unable to use violence temporarily due to losing her powers... It felt great!

After listening to Tiran's words, Aya remained silent for a while, then put the highball glass on a small table beside her, turned her head and leaned over the railing, cupping her hands in front of her eyes and carefully scanning the surroundings of the castle.

It was already around 7 or 8 o'clock in the evening, and the night was getting darker. However, with the help of the faint moonlight in the sky, Dragon's visual acuity was still able to see clearly.

So she saw that there were at least ten locations around the castle where people were searching or arranging something.

In addition, there was an area in the rear guard camp of the castle that seemed out of place compared to the surroundings. A bright bonfire burned in the center of the camp, where more than twenty people were drinking, laughing, and having a good time. Two well-built guys were wrestling shirtless by the bonfire, their tanned skin reflecting the warm glow of the fire.

It was simply a standard adventurers' camp, in stark contrast to the nearby guards' camp.

It's not that the army camp was always gloomy. On the contrary, similar scenes could be seen in the guard camp on normal days. Tiran did not have strict requirements for the etiquette of the several hundred guards in the castle—after all, she was not good at it herself.

But today was different. The guards were very unhappy, extremely unhappy.

As the regular military of the kingdom, being selected to guard the royal residence was definitely the cream of the crop, and in terms of combat power, they were not inferior to the Palace Guards. So the guards naturally had a sense of superiority when facing mercenaries like Snow Wolf who came from unconventional backgrounds.

We are the true defending force of Gilliast Castle. What are these mercenaries, who suddenly appeared out of nowhere, doing in our own camp?

So, in order to show Snow Wolf's people the quality of the regular army, a few captains secretly held a small meeting in the tents, quietly ordering their subordinates to pick up the etiquette they usually disregarded, tidy up their military uniforms and armor, and ban any violations such as bringing alcohol into the camp. Everything was done according to the strictest standards, and for a moment, Tiran felt as if her subordinates had suddenly become a royal palace guard ceremonial squad.

- There are even some guys who are usually carefree and have completely forgotten about the standards for conduct assessment. They hastily retrieved the booklet of conduct requirements given when they joined the army, as a last-minute attempt to make up for their behavior...

Recalling their usual behavior, this group of people is truly toxic. Aya silently provided her assessment.

"So why did you agree to let Snow Wolf and the others stay here? If we wanted to search for enemies, I could just use my psychic powers to scan the surroundings and find them, right?"

"That wouldn't be fun, would it? I want to see what those outsiders can discover. It would be a shame if they don't find anything meaningful." Tiran scoffed, suddenly stood up, and raised his cup high towards the wilderness outside the castle before drinking it all in one gulp.

"Besides, don't you find it satisfying that while a bunch of idiots are working day and night, lying on the wild fields eating dry food as they monitor us, we are living comfortably in the castle, enjoying the good life?" Tiran flashed a mischievous smile and gave a thumbs up.

... This guy's personality is really terrible! Whoever ends up marrying her will definitely be unlucky! Aya silently complained in her heart.

"Hey, don't think that I don't know what you're thinking. I'll beat you up, you know." Tiran grumbled.

"Well... Don't mind me, I was just thinking..." Aya awkwardly chuckled.

"Alright, let's not argue about this anymore. You mentioned earlier that you received an S-class mission from the Adventurer's Guild today, right?" Tiran's mood seemed slightly down when he mentioned this, but Aya didn't notice at all.

"Yeah, we'll be setting off in a couple of days. The destination is the Dark Swamp on the southwest coast. It should take about ten days to half a month, but we might make a lot of money from this trip." Aya confidently smiled. How about that? We can earn money on our own now. Come on, praise me.

Actually, if possible, Aya wanted to leave as soon as possible and come back as soon as possible. She couldn't wait to leave, but Etras and the others said they still needed to prepare some things, so they had to wait for a while.

Ten days to half a month...?

"Uh, why are you suddenly silent?" Aya noticed that Tiran suddenly fell silent and raised her hand in front of her eyes, waving it. "If you're worried about safety, there's no need. With the contract, you can summon me back at any time. It has nothing to do with strength."

Idiot, it's not because of that kind of thing.

Tiran muttered silently in his mind, put down his cup, and prepared to take a bath, leaving Aya alone on the terrace to continue enjoying the night view.

...

In the steam-filled hot spring, only Princess Aya was hugging her knees in the corner. She let the water flow from the lion-shaped spout hit her head, drenching her silver hair, which slowly floated in the water.

The sensation of hot water flowing down her back was very comfortable, but Tiran felt an odd feeling in his heart, feeling uncomfortable without any reason.

Tiran thought for a long time but couldn't figure out why he felt this way. It seemed to have started when he found out that Aya was going out to do a mission... But could it really be because of this? That doesn't make sense.

Just a mere ten days to half a month. It's not like she won't come back.

Besides, even if she really doesn't come back, she's just a stupid dragon...

Just a dragon...

Tiran absentmindedly stirred the water surface next to him with his hand and repeatedly muttered this phrase.

Is she really just a dragon?

Ah, why do I even care about these boring things in the end!

With a thud, Tiran plunged into the water, attempting to wash away the distractions in his mind.