"I will admit, I didn''t expect we would by flying on the dragon," I remarked, holding onto Leo for safety, especially due to how fast the dragon was flying. "I was expecting us to be in one of the few wagons down there, especially with the current situation that Ignifera is in. You know, for security reasons."


    "That would normally be the case but since Rex is vouching for you three, we''re going straight to Princess Cecilia instead. Once I brought you three to her, I am to go back to the group of soldiers that I was with earlier ago. It''s what the lady requested, after all," Rose explained as I turned my attention to her. "Ah, what did she say again? ''I refuse to let some useless royal dimwits put their grubby hands on those travelers so bring them to me. If they intend to help like Rex has, I''ll make good use of those burning flames in their hearts unlike those selfish bastards that only think of money.''"


    The blonde in front of me let out a small laugh in response. "She''s that annoyed with them, huh~? It almost makes me wonder just how bad those people are," he commented with an amused smile.


    "Judging from how she''s describing them, I''m sure they''ll be quite unpleasant, if I were to put it mildly," I said, frowning. "I''ll be honest, I sure hope I won''t have to deal with them. Getting the feeling I''ll probably hate them."


    "Agreed," Vin replied, then sighed. "Though, unless if we''re meeting Princess Cecilia somewhere other than in the royal castle and actively avoiding the castle, we''re eventually gonna bump into one of them unfortunately."


    Rose glanced back at the three of us, a lighthearted grin on her face. "Don''t worry, we''re not going to the palace. Besides, Her Highness doesn''t like staying there anyways," the captain answered. "She typically stays in the headquarters designated for her Royal Army branch, despite some of us lecturing her for that. Though, she does go to the castle sometimes to help her older siblings, especially since they''re always so busy."


    Sounds like she''s the youngest one. I thought to myself as I nodded my head. Perhaps that''s why she''s able to get away and stay wherever she wants. ...or because her siblings intervened and let her but who knows. Well, at the very least, it''s nice to know we''re not going to the palace. Besides... I looked away and frowned, recalling how a lot of the royalties had connections with the Academy. I want to avoid any interactions with that organization at the moment. After all, I have no idea what excuse was given so that my disappearance wouldn''t seem suspicious. If I were to hazard a guess, me being recruited by Prince Tatsuya seems the most likely. ...though I don''t have a star insignia to prove it if they do ask so...


    I immediately shook my head in an attempt to stop myself from further speculation. If anything, I''ll likely either get it from Tatsuya after resolving this Ignifera incident or Rex will give me one once we''re in town. For now, I should direct my attention to more important things. With a sigh, I decided to focus on surveying our surroundings instead.


    As expected, it was mostly desert as far as I could see. Though, there were a few things that did stand out, if excluding the landmarks that the monsters left. The first obvious thing was the distant cities of Ignifera kingdom encased by walls that seemed to span quite far. Though, when I enhanced my eyesight with enough magic and saw how some of them were in ruins, I couldn''t help but frown at that. Biting my lip hard, I tried my best to ignore the sudden sadness that struck me and forced myself to look away to see what else there was. My eyes landed on a huge isolated area that seemed to have a few buildings and numerous domes for reasons unknown.


    Before I could contemplate about it though, I suddenly heard Rose speak up. "Ah, so you noticed that research area," she said, causing me to look at her in surprise as she smiled at me. "That sector is for learning more about the strange greenery that grows here or so I heard. The researchers believe that if they can understand their unique properties, they''ll be able to grow any plant in the desert and ensure it survives. To that end, some mages were recruited to participate in this experiment."


    "Makes sense. That would certainly make their livelihood much better," I remarked as I returned the grin. "Sinces mages are involved, I assume the Academy gave the clear for this."


    "Yeah, according to the princess, it didn''t take much to get their approval," the black-haired soldier answered. "They were probably curious about it too so they decided to take advantage of this opportunity. Though, I sure hope there''s no weird abominations made in that place as we speak..."


    The image of strange mutated plants that came to life in the Academy before came to mind, causing me to avert my eyes elsewhere and laugh nervously. Seeing certain greenery combined together and moving in such an awkward fashion was...quite the experience. Vin, on the other hand, let out a snort in response but made no effort to explain as both Leo and Rose stared at us, clearly concerned by what our reactions were implying. The blonde eventually shrugged it off and took the initiative to change the subject.


    "Anyways, if you don''t mind me asking, are there any ancient ruins that you know of?" the angel asked. "Preferably unexplored or sealed ruins would be nice but I guess we can give explored ruins a try, just in case. Totally not asking as someone that dreams of being an adventurer."


    I glanced at Rose, who chuckled and then nodded her head. "I definitely remember there being a few sealed ones in that volcanic area, down in the lower zones. No one managed to get in and that includes the people from the Academy surprisingly," she replied with a small smile. "From what Rex said though, two of you are Artifact wielders so perhaps you''ll be able to get through. ...or three if you let a certain person join."


    Stolen story; please report.


    "A certain person...?" I repeated as I raised an eyebrow at her. "Is there an Artifact wielder in Ignifera kingdom right now?"


    "Yeah, his name is Raghnall and he wields the fire variation," Rose answered, then lets out a sigh. "As to where he is, he''s probably still in our headquarters, bored out of his mind. He''s not part of the Royal Army but we let him stay since he''s been super helpful during the crisis. Though, that guy is always grumpy as hell after confronting those cultists so we do have to reign him in sometimes, difficult it may be."


    Before I could respond to what she said, I suddenly heard Vin''s voice in my head. "Just to make things clear, he''s not the one responsible for that spell hidden by the Sun," he stated, catching me off-guard. "Raghnall only has white flames and he''s the only one that has that type in the whole world, perhaps as an indicator he''s the user of the Fire Artifact. From what I''ve learned from Tatsuya, the magic circle isn''t white so he''s out of the equation. Besides, that guy isn''t fond of doing something so sneaky. He may be unpredictable but I can assure you, that''s too boring for him."


    Got it. Since he''s in the clear then, I''ll refrain from asking more about him. I mentally replied back as I giggled and said "I see" to the female captain. Though, that said, is there anything else I should know from the talk you had with Tatsuya alone back then? Might as well say now while we''re still connected.


    "Not particularly. Everything else was either insignificant or speculation so there''s no point in sharing those," Vin remarked. "Anyways, with that said, I''m cutting off the connection now. Only did it so I can give you a heads-up."


    As Vin turned off the spell, the dragon we were on suddenly made a noise as if trying to get everyone''s attention, which it successfully did as we all look at in surprise except Rose. The captain, on the other hand, nodded her head and then patted the winged creature. After that, she suddenly snapped her fingers for some reason. ...what''s going on? I thought to myself with a frown as I tilted my head in confusion. Though, I quickly got my answer upon checking our surroundings and noticing that the dragon was slowly descending down onto what seems to be a huge garden with a landing zone specifically made for it.


    In the distance was a relatively large, tall light brown building, adorned with decorations like banners and flags of a lion with a mane of flames roaring proudly. There also were light gray stone pathways and an assortment of plants around, ranging from the orange and red flowers that gave off elemental energy to normal exotic plants like cacti. Seems they really made an effort to make this place look good. It''s certainly a sharp contrast towards how the rest of the desert is. ...though... I turned my gaze upwards and saw that there was no ceiling, despite there being walls adorned with vines and flowers surrounding this large area.


    Once the dragon landed, Rose once more did that snap and suddenly the ceiling slowly appeared out of nowhere. I blinked my eyes in surprise as I watched the traces of magical energy gather together to make it. Isn''t this a work of a mage? With a frown, I glanced at the black-haired lady, who has gotten off the dragon and is now smiling at us.


    "I happened to learn magic as a student of a Guardian," she explained. "As to what a Guardian is, they''re basically a group of mages from our region that follow the religion of Ignifera and have made an agreement long ago with the Academy to coexist peacefully. So don''t worry! I learned this magic stuff legally!"


    Well, that''s certainly a relief but still a bit worrying. I thought to myself as I jumped off the dragon while Vin and Leo did the same. It is interesting to know that a certain group is allowed to teach non-mages about magic but they''re probably required to inform the Academy who they''re teaching. Once the institute knows, they''ll keep an eye on the Guardians'' students to make sure they uphold the regulations. That means if she''s with us, someone might spot me and recognize me. I can only hope I won''t get interrogated when that happens...


    "My, if it isn''t the captain and the guests that my younger sister were waiting for. Your timing certainly isn''t ideal, that''s for sure," an unfamiliar female voice commented, pulling me away from my thoughts. "Cecilia is currently away and everyone else is busy doing what they can to help."


    I turned to see who it was and saw a tanned lady with brown eyes and dirty blonde hair approaching us. Her long hair reached her back halfway and curled at the ends while her bangs were long and slightly messy. The outfit she was wearing consisted of a white unbuttoned military coat with gold accents, black t-shirt, white pants, and black heels. ...who is she? From the fact that she said "younger sister", she must be a princess too but...


    Rose let out a laugh and then put a hand on her hips, grinning. "Ah, Crown Princess Lucia. What a surprise to see you here," she remarked. "Is there perhaps a reason why you decided to grace us with your presence?"


    "It''s because I heard two of them are Artifact wielders. I assume you said nothing about our religion because you wanted to treat them normally?" Lucia answered and turned her gaze to the three of us as the captain averted her eyes elsewhere, a look of guilt on her face. "For our visitors, let me make things clear for you, especially since you probably don''t know anything about it."


    She paused for a bit and then continued. "We believe Artifact wielders are gods that have been reincarnated. So, it''s only a given that I would greet you personally, no?"