Elise closed the transmission. Outside her tent, the soldiers were eating in heavy silence. That’s both good and bad. Good, in the sense that they haven’t let themselves go. Bad, in the sense that morale was low. She pinched the area in between her eyebrows. Really, how could things have gone from bad, to worse? The dragon got away, and her brother got kidnapped?

“Wait...”

She left the safety of her tent and leaned against a tree. Birds sang as the soldiers ate their breakfast. Closing her eyes, she thought.

“The dragon flew away. He said that he wanted to find Fran. And Fran got captured, but they’ve narrowed it down. Doesn’t that mean that the dragon’s flying towards wherever he’s being held? But Estelle is heading there too... Wait, then what about his knight? Surely the princess wouldn’t sit and wait. But wasn’t Estelle in a completely different place? Urg. Why does no one keep me updated?”

“What happened?” her father asked as he walked closer.

“Nothing. Just summarising what happened to myself.”

“Need any help? And what’s the plan, dear?” Marianne added.

Their arms were linked together. With their faces flush, it was obvious that they were doing something. Elise didn’t want to think of that. She covered her face with her hands, and sighed. As competent as they were in a fight, they really didn’t have anything for long term tactics. And especially not when chasing down a loose dragon. But not all was lost.

If the dragon was a moth, then her brother was a flame. Estelle was heading towards her brother. So was Dan, the dragon. In that case, instead of pursuing the dragon, shouldn’t they head towards her brother?

“Change of plans!” she shouted as she walked towards the soldiers.

Pushing aside her parents, she ignored them completely. Strong or not, the equation functioned just as well without them. Besides, if they wanted to flirt or fuck during the hunt, then it was up to them.

“Yes! My lady!”

Just like they were trained to do so, all of them stood up and saluted. Sharp, and snappy. Elise’s lips curled up. At least her father was good at training them.

“We’re changing our destination. As you all know, the dragon got away. That is my fault. I apologize.”

She bowed her head. The soldiers kept quiet, but anyone could tell that they wanted her like that. Eventually, she lifted her own head, and cleared her throat.

“I give you two choices, everyone. There will be no punishments, nor rewards besides those already negotiated for. Please choose wisely. Now, you can pack up and return back to the Rayleigh estate, or come along to hunt down the dragon. Any questions?”

“My lady, do you know where the dragon is headed towards?”

“Yes,” Elise nodded, “My brother. To put it simply, for some reason, the dragon is headed towards my brother.”

Murmurs erupted through the dispersed groups of soldiers. Some stood up, ready to leave. Others looked undecided, and stayed seated.

“If you want to return, be on my left. And if you want to press on, get on my right.”

Elise held up her hands, and gestured to her sides. She waved in the air immediately to her left and right, and gestured for those loyal soldiers to choose. In order to not pressure them, Elise went back into her tent, and fetched some materials and equipment. And she waited 10 minutes. Ample time for the majority of them to pack their bags.

When she came back, she was taken aback. Overwhelming. No one could have predicted this result. With a near 9 out of 10 soldiers were on her right side. She blinked slowly, and scratched her temple. Was it peer pressure? Or something else entirely?

“Well. This is surprising, I think. All of you,” she motioned to the soldiers who had rallied to hunt down the dragon, “I’ll brief you later. And here you go. Maps, and some money. If you head north, you should find a small town there. Good luck.”

She waved goodbye. Leaves dropped as the camp packed up. She turned back to her soldiers.

“Thank you. Please, have a seat. If you don’t mind, could I know why you stayed?”

“It's simple, lady Elise. We swore loyalty to your family. Personally speaking, if you wanted us to shield you from a dragon, there would be no issue.”

“Haha, is that so.”

“But my lady, what was that about your brother?” another asked.

“Ah... I guess I should tell you. He... Got kidnapped. And the dragon is going to where my brother is. Estelle figured out where he currently is being held.”

“What?” the collective shouted.

Even her parents joined in on the shouting. Questions along the lines of ‘why’ and ‘when’ got thrown around. Then came the statements and blaming.

“That damned Katalina! I knew the young master chose the wrong guard!”

“Right? She should be exiled! No! Executed!”

“Alright, shut up! Enough yapping. Were you trained like dogs? Or are you actual humans who know when to stop talking?” Elise commanded.

She stamped her foot on the ground, and tilted her head up. Pointing her chin towards the soldiers, she looked down on them from that vantage point. Elise crossed her arms and glared.

Instantly, the entire lot of them quietened down. Even her parents stopped talking. There was no contest. Had it not been for the wind and the rustling of the leaves, or the occasional chirp from a bird, one could hear any sound within earshot. Elise nodded. This was the type of discipline she liked. Soldiers that could contain themselves, and got ready.

“From our current position, we need to head East. The opponents that we will face will be from two sources. One, my brother’s captors. Most likely, they are mages. And two, the dragon.”

“Lady Estelle, how do you know if they are mages?” someone raised their hand and asked.

“Good question. That was my sister who figured that out. Any other questions?”

She looked around. The soldiers looked to be in good shape. Great, even. Perhaps fuelled by new motivation.

“We must take back your brother, lady Elise.”

“Why’s that? I don’t think any of you have ever cared that much about him.”

“But he cares about us. He’s a bright light, my lady,” another added.

“Yeap! There was this one time he came and watched our training session, and he was so curious about everything! It felt so good to talk to someone so excited, and not a soldier for once.”

“That’s true! I was thinking about the time when he asked the kitchen to prepare food for him so that he could share it with us.”

“That too! And what about the time when...”

Elise walked away. When did that brother of hers interact so much with the soldiers? Perhaps he had grown more than she thought. Elise smiled at the thought. The soldiers would have some time to talk amongst themselves. It would raise morale anyway.

She waited until the soldiers calmed themselves down. When the conversations died down, she walked into the middle of camp. Raising her blade up high, she struck a pose. Light filtered through her mana stone embedded within the guard of her broadsword.

“Well then. Everyone! We march!”

***

Hiding within the forest, Kim Hye-Sung looked at the chaos. What the actual hell was going on? First, a huge dragon landed on the top of the tower. Second, once the dust cleared, the dragon was gone. Third, someone jumped out from the window of the tower. Or did they fall out? Either way, she rushed to prevent a death. Isolationist or not, a life was a life. She wouldn’t just let one slip through the cracks of her fingers like that.

“What the hell, what the hell, what the hell!”

The woman approached the crash site. From what she saw, that person had no parachute or harness. The breaking of the branches were loud, and she heard it loud and clear. Hopefully that slowed down the fall. She kept her guard up, and trained her bow on the mansion, and the crash.

“Oi! You alright?”

A lady laid on the dirt and grass. On first look, she was unconscious. Dressed in nice clothes, and with a pretty face to boot, why would anyone throw her out?

Hye-Sung dropped her bow. She grabbed onto the woman and shook her shoulders. No response. Putting her fingers on the side of the unconscious woman’s neck, she felt for a pulse. It was there. Upon closer inspection, Hye-Sung realised a few things. First, the woman was a man. Second, he had suffered from a tall fall, and yet his legs were fine. Third, he had suffered a concussion, as the wound on his head presented. Instantly, she reached a conclusion. He didn’t jump out, someone threw him out. Or to put it in simple terms, he didn’t leave voluntarily. That unconscious man in front of her either had toughness like metal, or a huge healing factor. But if a fall like that couldn’t even break his legs, what sort of monster caused that head wound? She didn’t want to stay to find out. Most likely, it had something to do with that missing dragon.

“If you can hear me, I’m bringing you to my home. That mansion isn’t safe.”

With one arm curled around his chest, and another near his stomach, she pulled. To her surprise, he was light. At least, light enough to be lifted up with ease. She changed how she held him. Since he wasn’t heavy, it was better to just carry him fully instead of dragging him along the ground. Hye-Sung propped him up, and used her arm to support his back. The other arm lifted up his legs, and she started moving.

Scurrying away, like a mouse after stealing some cheese, she made her way back to her personal cottage. Tucked away in a quiet corner of the forest, the mansion took most of the attention away from her.

Made out of planks and nails, it looked somewhat old fashioned. Still, Hye-Sung built it of her own accord and out of her own free will. She reached into her pocket and fumbled with her keys. With a click, the door unlocked, and she pushed it, or kicked it rather, open with a leg. Still carrying that beautiful man in her arms, she ferried him inside and dumped him on the floor.

Locking her door, she rushed into her room. There, several glass bottles stood. Filled to the brim with a light red liquid, and sealed by a cork, they looked fragile. The hue and shade of the concoction was similar to blood, albeit on the lighter side. She grabbed one of them by its neck, and walked back to the unconscious man. The cork opened with a pop, and she slowly force fed him. His throat moved as he swallowed. At a slow, but steady pace, the head wound healed. Yet, evidently, it didn’t work fully, for he was still unconscious.

“What a pretty face,” she said, “Kinda like hers, actually.”

She inspected him all over. There was nothing else that she could do. From what she gathered, he had no fever, or anything out of place. Hye-Sung carried him to her bed, and dumped him there. It was better than being on the floor. And besides, with someone like that to watch over, it was unlikely that she was going to get much sleep anyway.

Still, to be this pretty for a man. Of course he would don a dress. Even if he didn’t, the others would have done it for him. She watched his sleeping face. The way his lips were a little bit apart, his soft and slow breathing. It reminded her of her time with her girlfriend. Watching her in bed before breakfast. Hye-Sung smiled. But who was he? That man was not her ex-girlfriend. Nor was he anyone that she knew. But to live in that mansion, he must have some importance to him. It made some sense, actually. The high mana concentration around him was probably a symptom or indicative of him being in the mansion. That mansion was a home to mages, so was he one of them? If so, then why was he cast out? Infighting? She grimaced at the thought of having to deal with the fallout. If they kept it contained within that mansion, then they could fight for all she cared.

“Well, I guess I’ll make a meal for now. If you hear me, hm, probably not a good idea. I’ll leave a note, then,” she said to the motionless man.

Hye-Sung grabbed a piece of paper and a feather. She opened up a bottle of ink, and dipped the pen inside. Coated in a dark blue, she wrote out a message. All she had to do was wait, and hope that he could read. She left the square paper on her bedside table, and went to the kitchen. For a house that looked old fashioned on the outside, it was strangely modern on the inside. With a working plumbing system, she got a glass of clean water and placed it above the paper, acting as a sort of paperweight.

“Wake up soon.”