“Then, could you tell me what happened here before?” Suran asked the chubby Carrion Imp.

Chubby scratched his head with a claw, as if straining to recall.

After a moment, he spoke: “Humans… fight troll. Troll all dead, ya.”

“Then… more humans come. Kill some who beat troll. Take one away.”

Listening to his broken speech, Suran pieced things together and asked:

“So—the humans who fought the troll were later killed by another group, and one was taken captive?”

Chubby nodded.

“Was the one taken… a golden-haired female knight?”

He nodded again. Plamia’s radiant golden hair had left a lasting impression; every secretly observing Carrion Imp remembered it.

Suran fell into thought.

From the Imp’s clues, she deduced: the Solflare expeditionary force—whom she’d spared during the Crimson Garden campaign—had cleared the troll tribe as ordered.

Since Chubby confirmed the newcomers were human, it couldn’t have been Duskmire Legion demons drawn by blood to finish them off.

Then… who were they?

“Any impression of that second group? Which way did they go?” Suran pressed.

Chubby struggled, vocabulary failing him, before blurting: “Those humans… all look same!”

Suran’s eyes sharpened. “You mean… their attire shared a common feature?” She tapped her waist. “Like a shiny emblem right here?”

Chubby nodded vigorously and turned, pointing a claw down a path.

Now it clicked.

Both the troll-slaying expedition and Plamia’s captors belonged to the Solflare Legion.

Why would factions within the same Legion clash?

Could it be… over the Lait Magic Crystal?

Suran reasoned: the Legion comprised many sub-legions, mostly “colleagues.” Given Xingfeng Valley’s corpse-strewn horror, Plamia’s team had barely survived. If another sub-legion arrived, saw weakened “colleagues” and priceless spoils… silencing them, seizing loot, claiming credit—wasn’t impossible.

After all, the human heart held terrors of its own.

But why capture Plamia? Why not let her “die in battle”?

Suran couldn’t unravel it.

Didn’t need to.

All she knew: the Lait Magic Crystal—the sole key to her return to Earth—had changed hands twice in moments.

*Ugh… Please just keep it safe. Don’t drop it.*

“Thank you, little one.”

She sheathed her dagger. Free, Chubby chirped softly. Suran bent, gently patted his round head, and set off toward the pointed path.

…

The Auster Kingdom—one founding nation of the Solflare Legion—boasted martial might, magical mastery, and birthed the famed Holy Flame Order.

Not every member could claim the title “Holyflame Knight.”

That honor belonged solely to the Order’s most elite.

When people spoke of the Holyflame Knight, praise flowed like poetry—especially for the current bearer, Plamia. Young, radiant, and unmatched in wielding the Sacred Flame, her repeated victories over monstrous foes earned her the king’s “Great Hero” title this year, soaring her fame higher.

Yet now, her name stirred a different storm.

“Fallen to darkness… Killed comrades… Betrayed the kingdom… Lady Plamia? N-no way!”

“I don’t believe it either, but the proclamation’s been up for days… evidence must be solid.”

“My uncle in the Order whispered: Lady Plamia faces public hanging in three days. The royal court’s recruiting temporary servants to attend her final days—letting her meet her end with dignity. Princess herself fought for it.”

“This… can’t be…”

Across Capital City Rhine, death-sentence proclamations plastered every wall. Crowds gathered daily before bulletin boards, murmuring in disbelief.

*Plamia… so that’s the golden-haired knight’s name.*

Cloaked and blending into the crowd, Suran listened.

After Xingfeng Valley, she’d tracked the Solflare expedition’s faint trail—the only one exiting the valley. Easy for “the strongest assassin.” It led straight to Rhine City.

“So the next Holyflame Knight must be Lady Elsa? I heard she slew ‘Bloodsoaked Battleaxe’ Erthos—that monstrous troll—and brought back his axe!”

“Of course. Lady Elsa, Plamia’s senior, selflessly taught her everything yet stayed second-in-command. And Plamia betrayed her… She truly betrayed Lady Elsa’s trust.”

“Rumor says Lady Elsa personally escorted Plamia back and handles all arrangements now. Even as heir to the title… her heart must ache.”

Suran absorbed the crucial detail: Elsa was the captor—and the one in charge.

*Elsa…*

Where to find her?

The royal court sought temporary servants for Plamia’s final days. Elsa oversaw it all.

Apply as a servant… get close to Elsa.

The thought alone made Suran recoil.

*Loyalty. Steadfastness. Never betray.*

The maid’s creed she’d sworn to Lyasis echoed fiercely within her.