The number of dragons flying in the sky was three. They formed a beautiful triangle and flew in the direction where Camila and the others originated.
Were they heading towards the fortified city of Noitral?
Judging from their speed, they should arrive by the next morning.
Lawrence grabbed Zeke, whom was trying to stand up.
“Be quiet, you don’t want to make any noise right now. Even if we return to Noitral, we wouldn’t make it in time, so let’s discuss it with everyone tomorrow.”
“Do you know something about that?”
“No. But I think Noitral will be alright. As long as Princess Faelis is there, they wouldn’t be able to resort to anything extreme no matter what. That’s why I left the Princess. I don’t want to be indebted to Her Majesty the Dragon Princess—after all, eventually, we’ll become enemies.”
Camila’s expression changed. Zeke scratched the back of his head with an indescribable expression.
Lawrence being Lawrence, he didn’t care about their reactions.
“The number of people is too small to be called a squad. A messenger, or a scout… no, it’s better to think of another possibility, when it comes to this, as I thought… this is their destination?”
Lawrence pointed at the map he had drawn on the ground.
“This is the best meeting point for when something happens. There’s a dragon nest in the vicinity, therefore, no one’ll dare to approach. If anything happens, I’ll escape here.”
“…Are you being serious.”
“I am. There’s a possibility of being surrounded, however, if it’s there, they wouldn’t dare create too much of a disturbance. Otherwise, they’d be provoking dragons. It’s the perfect place to escape. Just in case, share it to everyone too, even if it came from me.”
It was a little East of the confluence. The place was close to the Rakia Mountains.
“It might be even safer if the Dragon Emperor or the Dragon Princess escapes. I don’t really believe in myths, but it seems that the protections of both the Goddess and the Dragon God are real. Therefore, asking for God’s help shouldn’t be a bad idea.”
“You seem keen that it’s a trap—but what about you? You’ll be the one with the biggest disadvantage here—after all, it could be said that you’re a pawn.”
Both Camila and Zeke knew well that a pawn could easily be discarded or sacrificed.
If not for Jill, whom they met at Veilburg, Camila and Zeke would’ve deserted their homeland for that exact reason.
Lawrence smiled and showed a bitter smile.
“How kind of you to be concerned about me. But I’ll be fine. Certainly, due to my lack of magical power, I’m considered a failure in Kratos. Thus, I can’t expect success or to achieve results if I don’t do risky job. I’ve decided that it’d be in my interest to help you. I want all of you to succeed here for my own future.”
“…If you put it like that, I’m scared of what will happen to us after we succeed~”
“Before anything else, we have to succeed first, right? You haven’t given us anything yet as of this point.”
Towards Zeke’s bitter remarks, Lawrence uttered.
“That’s indeed a serious problem. …It’s honestly a waste. She has no backing here. Even if she doesn’t get married to Prince Geraldo, she might end up being worshipped as a battle maiden in Kratos.”
However, Camila glanced at the tent that a certain teddy bear was guarding.
“But would Jill-chan be happy with that? Is that truly where her happiness would reside? That’s also an important question, don’t you think~?”
“You’re truly considerate about Her Majesty the Dragon Princess, aren’t you~?”
“Aren’t you the same?”
“You can tell? But I’m truly curious. Why is she here? What on earth is so good about that Emperor?”
“Well, is there any need to ask that? You should’ve learned the answer, already. To be honest I’m stuck in the mud about this, too~”
From the bottom of his heart, Lawrence nodded mysteriously—his expression no longer suited his young age.
“I’ll be careful. I think it’s unlikely that Her Majesty will abandon that Emperor and return to Kratos—after all, the two of you are also there to follow her.”
“Not just Captain, we also don’t want to abandon that Emperor.”
Lawrence blinked in surprise. Zeke stared at the campfire as he continued.
“Some time ago, for Captain’s sake, he told me that we’re to hand him over to the enemy if anything were to happen. With a calm face—it’s honestly annoying.”
Even Camila frowned at that. Lawrence replied.
“It’s indeed an effective way to protect Her Majesty… I understand, but would she truly just accept that?”
The three didn’t say anything as the fire they surrounded crackled.
Eventually throwing the last branch that he had into the fire, Lawrence stood up.
“If all goes well, we’ll reach the rendezvous point tomorrow evening. I’m going to sleep. You two shouldn’t overexert yourself, either.”
“Thank you, good night.”
“See you~”
Seen off by Zeke and Camila, Lawrence entered his tent.
Camila, with her elbows on her knees and her chin on the back of her hands, said to Zeke whom was beside her.
“That boy, he is good, I’m irritated by him~ I just want to get rid of him right here, right now.”
“Stop that. If you attempt anything, I’m sure he’ll know.”
Camila slapped Zeke’s head lightly. Even though Zeke was the careless one, why was she the one being reprimanded? Once again, she glanced at the tent where the teddy bear was seated.
If it was as Lawrence had said—that the reinforcements were a trap, the situation would completely change into a direct crisis.
Thus, she thought that it’d be good to get a good rest that night.