The caravan chose not to take the blood-soaked path. Instead, it veered onto another road leading to Bluewater City.

Inside the carriage, Violet curled up in my arms, clearly shaken by what had happened earlier. I didn’t tell her the details of the outside chaos. I simply said there’d been a fight up ahead, and the caravan was taking a detour to avoid getting involved.

My mind kept circling back to what I’d overheard—about the Sword and Axe Mercenary Corps.

I’d wanted to discuss it with Eunice, but once the commotion settled and she saw I was safe, she returned straight to Rosalynd.

My thoughts were a jumble.

The Sword and Axe Mercenary Corps held significant influence across Avaria. They even had a branch in Bluewater City, a border town of the empire. Their true stronghold, however, lay in the empire’s heartland.

It seemed they were using the disappearance of their Third Division as an excuse to declare war on the Wolfhawk Mercenary Corps—another top-ten guild. If Sword and Axe won, their power would swell even further.

That Caroleo appeared determined to get to the bottom of the Third Division’s disappearance.

But what could they truly achieve, even if they found the old mage hiding in the Severed Forest? Before dying, Captain Edmondton had revealed that Sword and Axe’s leader, Sorg, was merely a Crowned Blade.

Old Granny Zerah had wiped out the entire Third Division in just a few moves. Overwhelming numbers meant nothing against a powerful mage. If Sword and Axe truly sought vengeance, they’d pay a crippling price—one that might shatter their very foundation.

Yet one question nagged at me: Why were the Third Division mixed up with the Chaos Cross? The Chaos Cross had plotted to kidnap the Princess Royal. Would Sword and Axe really dare such a thing?

They were still just one faction within Avaria. If the Avaria Empire turned against them, the entire guild could be erased overnight.

One Crown Order Knight alone could make Sword and Axe crumble to dust.

Unless… was Sword and Axe secretly a pawn of the Chaos Cross Chapter, cultivated in Avaria’s shadows?

A hidden piece on the board…

Amidst this tangled web of thoughts, the caravan finally reached Bluewater City—the place I’d longed to see.

Excitement washed over me. I shoved all thoughts of Chaos Cross and Sword and Axe aside, stepping out of the carriage to gaze at this otherworldly city.

Before me rose towering stone-gray walls, ancient and heavy with history.

Armored guards with gleaming spears flanked the city gates. Since this was the western edge of the empire, most leaving the city were hunters or villagers traveling back and forth.

Bluewater City was the empire’s last western stronghold, but not humanity’s final outpost. Scattered villages lay between the city and the Severed Forest. Hunters often brought their spoils here to sell, and Bluewater City regularly bought grain from these villages.

Yet every four years, villagers were required to return to the city for the entire spring, only going back to their homes in summer. They came to shelter from an impending disaster.

Bluewater City wasn’t just a settlement—it was Avaria’s western shield. Every four years, as winter faded and spring approached, the Severed Forest would erupt in a Beast Tide. Countless frenzied monsters would gather into a dark, surging wave, crimson-eyed and ravenous, sweeping toward the empire’s border. These mighty walls stood to hold them back.

Villagers would stay in Bluewater City until the tide receded, then return to rebuild their ruined homes. The Avaria Empire earned its people’s loyalty not just through strength—every village was rebuilt with imperial aid. Repairing damaged houses was hardly a burden the empire couldn’t bear.

But I still wondered: Why not simply bring these villagers into Bluewater City permanently?

President Bluton showed a pass-like token to the questioning guards. The caravan passed through the gates without delay.

I’d already slipped back inside the carriage, watching Bluewater City’s streets and passersby through the window.

Honestly, my heart raced with nervous excitement. To me, this otherworldly city pulsed with mystery at every corner.

It was hard to believe—every road in Bluewater City was paved with stone slabs. Not as smooth as roads from my original world, but far better than muddy dirt paths that turned to sludge in the rain.

Peering out, I saw crowds dressed in medieval-style garb moving through the streets. It wasn’t bustling like a metropolis, but it was far from desolate.

Violet still clung to my chest, seeming uneasy about the outside world. Her expression was unhappy.

"Violet? What’s wrong? Are you feeling unwell?"

"Outside… there are too many people… I hear so many voices…" She looked up, gripping my sleeve, her voice barely a whisper.

Her eyes were timid. One arm wrapped tightly around mine, her soft body pressed close against me.

After days together, I’d realized Violet suffered from a deep-seated fear.

My initial guess? An aversion to men.

Even her father, President Bluton, made her recoil in disgust—and fear—if he came within two steps of her.

Her dislike of Eunice had only one cause: Eunice’s current body was male.

It was the identity of "Aranthien" she rejected.

Only with women did Violet feel safe enough to sleep soundly. Otherwise, even when exhaustion dragged her into unconsciousness, she’d jolt awake halfway through the night.

That was why no maids had joined this caravan trip. And why Violet had been so overjoyed to see me that first time.

Was this "female dependency"?

But it felt like more than that.

Now, the crowd outside terrified her. A faint tremor ran through her as she huddled in my arms—like a child who’d lost her parents.

She feared crowds too.

Not just men… but people.

Crowd anxiety… a form of phobia, perhaps?