Kalia stood in front of the fairy tree, holding the sword of Amuntia imbued with Gaia’s power.

The desolate appearance of the tree seemed to reflect the state of the city.

Kalia closed her eyes and thought of the fairy children.

Recalling their innocence and sweetness only made her feel even worse.

[Hmm, this tree feels quite powerful. It must be a tree that has possessed the power of nature since ancient times, like the Primordial Tree. It wouldn’t have been easy for a tree to retain such refined power in the human realm… Ah, and this tree…]

Gaia sighed with a hint of sorrow.

[It seems like it played a role in protecting the village at the center of this city. It must have had a strong attachment to this village.]

The tree that steadfastly guarded its position, along with the fairies, protecting the village.

If they were unharmed, they surely exerted great power to protect the village.

In a way, it was a pity that they fell into a deep slumber, but at the same time, it might not have been a bad thing.

Kalia opened her eyes and took a step closer to the tree.

She could feel a cold gaze observing her from a short distance away.

That gaze wasn’t solely focused on her companions.

Well, it didn’t really matter.

There was no need to do things secretly.

No, it might even be better to be watched.

She could show them a miracle while they were immersed in unhappiness.

“Let’s do it.”

She tightened her grip on the sword of Amuntia.

And she slowly felt the purifying power flowing through her body.

The pulsating warmth and the slowly flowing coolness.

She sensed a stronger energy than when she first felt the power.

[Indeed, it’s more stable than before.]

Gaia exclaimed with admiration.

The power that felt like a mist turned into a stream of water, flowing like a river through Kalia’s body.

Soon, a tremendous force surged toward her like a wave, engulfing Kalia.

Kalia calmly focused, throwing herself into the power flowing within her own body.

She could feel the power gathering at the tip of the sword.

Controlling this unruly power was difficult, but she wasn’t willing to give up.

‘This is my power. It’s my own power. So… I can control it.’

Roughly trembling, she focused her power into the sword of Amuntia.

In that moment, as her whole body was filled with the overflowing power, Kalia forcefully drove the sword into the ground beneath the tree.

Crack!

With a dazzling light, a wave of power spread out in a wide circle, expanding in an instant.

The size of the power rapidly extending outward was tremendous.

However…

‘I need more, more power.’

This level of power wasn’t enough to envelop the entire village.

Kalia clenched her teeth and concentrated even harder.

It felt as if her palm holding the sword was being scorched, and her muscles felt like they were being torn apart by excruciating pain.

The uncontrolled power exploded uncontrollably.

Kalia struggled to contain that power, holding her breath, but it wasn’t easy.

[Let the power spread. What you need to focus on is the direction the power goes, Kalia.]

A gentle voice flowed into Kalia’s mind, like a soothing whisper.

Along with Gaia’s words, a gentle power enveloped the sword.

[I will control the smaller fragments of power. So you… just focus on your direction.]

The turbulent purification power, like sparks flying, became much more refined than before.

With no unnecessary leaking of power, the concentration of power increased.

Following Gaia’s guidance, Kalia focused on the direction of the power.

She gritted her teeth, urging it to reach further and spread wider.

[…Now!]

At the moment Gaia shouted, the pinnacle of the wave was felt.

Kalia once again poured her strength into the tip of the sword.Crack!

The rough sandstorm created by the wave of power whirled around her.

“…Ugh!”

It felt like her heart was about to burst.

Yet she couldn’t stop no matter what.

She exerted all her strength, sending it as far as she could.

When she finally reached the very end, the strength in Kalia’s legs gave out.

Thump.

Under the strain, one of her knees buckled.

“Ugh, ugh!”

Kalia leaned her head against the sword, breathing heavily.

A sense of momentum rushed through her, as if she had been running at full speed.

But it wasn’t an unpleasant fatigue.

Furrowing her brow, she lifted her head.

The vivid blue sky pierced her vision, and the dry branches swayed in the gentle breeze.

“Kalia!”

“Lady Kalia!”

The companions who had been anxiously watching over Kalia rushed towards her.

Of course, the first one to reach out and lift her up was Simon, who appeared as if carried by the wind.

“Are you okay? Did you overexert yourself?”

Simon lifted her effortlessly with a light touch of his hand.

Judging from the fact that she could hardly feel his strength, it seemed he had skillfully used magic.

Kalia faintly smiled and nodded.

“…I’m fine. I feel more refreshed than I expected.”

“What? Refreshed?”

“Yeah. It feels refreshing, as if I trained until exhaustion.”

Simon’s face contorted in a peculiar way in response to her answer.

He murmured, clearly not understanding at all.

“…Why would it be refreshing? If it’s difficult, you can just say it’s difficult, Kalia.”

In response to Simon’s bewildered question, Kalia let out a small laugh and spoke.

“There’s a kind of refreshment in it, Simon.”

“Is that so…? Well, if you say you’re okay.”

Simon shrugged his shoulders and supported her. Just a step behind, Hemmie and Allen hurriedly came and embraced Kalia.

“What just happened, Lady Kalia? Was that… something you did? You didn’t push yourself too hard, did you?”

“Are you okay, Lady Kalia?”

“Abuuuu!”

“Kyaoooo!”

Sasha, who had been in Hemmie’s arms, reached out and quickly hugged Kalia tightly.

It could be an illusion, but in that moment, Kalia felt a slight headache subside.

Following Sasha, Drea came and embraced Kalia in her arms. When Kalia staggered from the reckless charge, Simon’s face stiffened.

“There, you two little ones.”

Simon lifted the two babies into the air and placed them in Allen’s and Hemmie’s arms.

“You two wait a bit.”

As Simon raised his eyebrows warningly, Sasha puffed up his cheeks as if expressing dissatisfaction.

It was confusing to see him like that.

It seemed like Sasha already understood what the adults were saying.

It happened when Kalia turned her head with a slight smile.

In Kalia’s tired gaze, she saw several people bursting out of the door.

Their pale faces looked extremely surprised, and their trembling pupils were dilated as if in disbelief.

Some of them were holding someone who had fainted in their arms.

‘Ah…’

Kalia gently folded the corners of her tired eyes and murmured with a smile.

“…It’s a success.”

* * *Countless people poured into the square.

They cheered, some shed tears, and others thanked their beloved family members by touching their faces freely.

“It’s a miracle. A miracle has happened!”

“Oh, dear God!”

“What on earth is happening!”

Kalia’s companions watched them happily from a distance for a moment and then quietly turned away.

Some people who witnessed Kalia’s group tried to find them, but they had already concealed their tracks perfectly with Simon’s magic.

“Wouldn’t it be better to let them know who you are?”

“They already saw us acting so confidently, so they won’t be unaware of who I am. It’s just that if we get caught by the people here, it will delay our time… and we still can’t be sure of anything, so it’s best not to show too much showmanship.”

Simon nodded in agreement with Kalia’s opinion.

She was right.

Being cautious in such a big situation wouldn’t hurt.

“But there is one concern I have.”

“A concern?”

“Yes. So, Simon, I think I need to ask you for a favor.”

Kalia reached out to Simon with a small glass bottle she had prepared in advance.

“What’s this?”

Inside the small glass bottle, which could fit a couple of Simon’s fingers, was filled with a transparent liquid.

Kalia smiled and answered.

“Fairy water.”

“Fairy water?”

“Yes. It’s the fairy water that the fairies of that tree gave me as a gift. I thought it would be nice to give this to those children… So, by the way, can you come back here quietly tonight?”

Simon recalled the three little ones he had seen before.

On the day he saved them from Buford’s sorcerer, the conversations they had right before they fell asleep, feeling exhausted.

What did those children say again…?

-…With the same light as you… from that beautiful… human’s…-

The words of the children, which were about to fade away in vague memories, came to his mind.

Now, inferring from that, it was probably not ‘With the same light as you. From that beautiful human’s…’?

Perhaps those fairy children knew about Sasha’s existence, growing inside Kalia’s belly.

Simon smirked and accepted the small bottle from her.

“Alright. It’s not a difficult task.”

“Thank you, Simon.”

“If you’re thankful, at least show it.”

Simon tilted his eyes slightly and gently nudged her right cheek with his.

Although they exchanged kisses overflowing with passion every day, kissing on the cheek felt embarrassing for some reason.

“Ahem.”

Kalia cleared her throat softly and stole a kiss from his cheek.

Then she made a kissing sound loudly on purpose, and Simon smiled with satisfaction.

“In the future, use me often. I’ll run errands for you.”

Who could possibly stop Simon?

As if indicating that Kalia couldn’t stop him, she shook her head and laughed, playfully nudging his side with her elbow before turning around.

But as she expected Simon to follow, she saw him standing alone in that spot.

“Why are you like that?”

“…Wait a moment, I need to cast a healing spell.”

“Huh?”

Why would he cast a healing spell?

“Where are you injured, Simon? When did it happen?”

“…No, it’s nothing. Let’s just go.”

Simon wiped the cold sweat and shrugged his shoulders as if it was an ordinary occurrence.

“Where does it hurt? Why did you cast a healing spell?”

“…There’s no such thing. Let’s go quickly. I’ll wait for you.”

“That’s strange. So, when did you get hurt?”

Unable to bring herself to say that he had an injury because of Kalia, Simon got on the carriage first.

The companions who were waiting saw Kalia and Simon getting on the carriage and quickly hit the road.

And so Kalia’s group left Antik.

* * *

And around that time…

“…The capital of the Empire wasn’t anything special.”

Buford and Damon arrived at the Imperial Palace.