Avalon's Dungeon

　Soon after the conquest of Avalon, the world is at peace.

　Alexis is on a diplomatic mission and Fransisca is in command of Sagrado. Meanwhile, the blonde knightess Valencia is breathing heavily, surrounded by two monsters deep in the forest.

「Haahh, hahh—」

　Her beautiful pure white armor is covered with dust and scratches.

　The sword of magic crystal in her hands, which was supposed to be light, feels extremely heavy.

　Two shambling, jet-black monsters snarled at Valencia as if they were hunting down their prey, and she involuntarily stepped back.

　As she does so, her back slams into a tree behind her. She can't go back down any further.

（Damn... is this it? Alexis-sama...I'm sorry. I'm—）

　Sooner or later she'll die.

　Even after all those years, she had to endure at the bottom of the Avalon Dungeon. But she regrets only one thing... that she disobeyed the order of the Priest-King.

　*

　Valencia was originally the leader of the team to defeat the remnants of the monsters. Even now, she was in charge of crossing swords with the monsters as she ran around the deserted lands of Sagrado, the former site of Jet-Black.

　At that time, she was on her way to lead her army around the lands of Sagrado.

（I can't believe I'm the leader of this group）

　She never thought that she would rise to such a position just a few years ago when Sagrado was still alive and well.

　So, whether it be a gold medal on the chest of Sagrado's pure white knight's armor, a magnificent embroidered cloak, or the horse she is now astride with its ostentatious saddle, armor, and decorations, or even the army following close behind... Whatever was there, it didn't seem to make sense to her.

（At first, there are more remnants than we expected. This is going to take longer than expected...）

　Apart from her imposing armor, she has a well-defined figure, a style that asserts her femininity, and an impressive face. These are the things that attract the eyes of the following knights, but she is unaware of them.

　Or rather, she was not interested in them, no matter how many eyes were on her. After all, Valencia is now the leader of the group, a position with a lot of responsibility.

　Now, she sighs secretly as she rides her horse.

　She has not seen her sister or even her beloved princess for a while. It's time to start feeling lonely.

　However, there is no time for whining.

　Valencia takes a deep breath to cover her sentimental feelings. Just then, the sound of horses' hooves approaches. From across the meadow, the knight Sagrado approaches with his horse.

「That one...」

　She knew him. It must be one of the scouts she had sent out.

　Several scouting parties are separated from the main party to search for monsters.

「Commander! Commander!」

　The approaching scout changed his expression to one of blood. The distance between them was quickly closing because he was hurrying his horse.

　In a panic, Valencia stopped his horse to avoid a collision.

「What's going on?」

　She decided to stand up straight in front of her subordinates and respond in a dignified manner. If she does not do so, for some reason, her subordinates themselves give her a hard time. They say, "Because it would be undignified," or something.

「You didn't find a large remnant, did you?」

「No, not that big! Maybe more?」

「Hey? What's wrong?」

　The scout answered in a low voice.

　As he coughed to cover it up, the scout's face turned pale and his words became more forceful.

「It's bad. I've confirmed two remnants of monsters... well, at least, two. Maybe more. Anyway, they've gone across the border into the neighboring country!」

「What?」

　Valencia's face turns pale.

「Why did you follow the monster? Didn't I tell you not to go after the scouts too hard?」

「Y-Yes. But I was afraid they were going to end up in a neighboring country...」

「Okay, okay. I'm going after them! You guys join the main group and continue with normal operations!」

　She immediately tries to ride her horse in the direction the scout points, but the scout says, "B-But!"

「Are you sure you don't want us to go with you?」

「We can't just march in the direction of the border with a big army, can we? There are only two of them. Then I'll be fine on my own!」

「What? Commander, I told you it might be more than that...」

「Anyway, leave the rest to your Commander! Don't worry about me... just do what you have to do!」

「C-Commander!?」

　Valencia drove her horse without worrying about the panicked scouts.

　The destination is beyond the grassland, further away from the forest along the border.

　As she rode, she suddenly realized...

（...Ah, by the way, Alexis-sama had told me not to go out in front of the group as much as possible since the Commander-in-Chief is in command of the group...）

　It was Alexis who appointed Valencia as the leader of the strike team before he left here for diplomacy. He said that she should be the one who knows the most about the monster.

　And he told her that she should be a commander. He probably knew Valencia's disposition to go to the front lines at once, and that was his bitter advice. In addition, they gave her two chiefs of staff. Maybe they don't trust her.

（...Well, I'm already in the front line...）

　Since she can't stay still, it can't be helped.

　In general, it's all right if she's safe. It is the same in this case.

（If I catch up with the monster right away and kill it before it can do any damage... there's no problem!）

　The first one is the winner.

　For this reason, it is best to act alone. After all, the more people, the less mobility.

（So, my decision is right, right?）

　Valencia convinced herself and looked forward without any hesitation.

* * *

　At that time, Alexis, who was sent as a diplomat of Krangal instead of Sagrado, was talking with the king of a small country in a luxurious room with his companions Eden and Maria.

「Well, please make arrangements for the trade...」

　He fumbled in his pocket to put his seal on the contract in the middle of his desk.

「...Hmm, where's the seal?」

　Maria Keithley, who is here as a secretary, calmly offers the seal "here" to Alexis, who raises his eyebrows.

「Oh, yeah. Sorry.」

「......」

　As he turned around to accept the seal, Maria gave him a look through her glasses and pleaded with him to behave himself.

　Alexis answers with a glance and decides to stamp the seal.

「By the way, do you think you will get the throne of Sagrado soon?」

　The king, with whom he had made a deal, asked me as if he had just remembered.

「Oh, yes. Ahhh, I'm afraid I'm getting famous for that too, huh? In a couple of years or so.」

「Good news travels fast. I knew it. Sagrado is an important neighbor of our country. I personally look forward to a long-lasting relationship with Sagrado.」

「Haha, of course, that would be my pleasure.」

　Alexis responded with a smile, but inwardly he thought to himself.

　This country was one of the countries that were eagerly waiting for Sagrado. It was also one of the countries that had turned its back on Sagrado as soon as Krangal had come on the scene.

（...For value, huh? But I guess we're both alike）

　This kind of exchange between countries is familiar to him.

　After stamping each other's seals, they checked each other's documents. When they are sure that there is no mistake, both of them stand up and offer their hands to each other "for the future".

　This was one of the most joyful moments for Alexis.

（I did it! Now I can go back to the hotel...!）

　It's a hassle. To be honest.

　Just as they were shaking each other's hands smilingly, the door opened with a loud bang.

「Your Majesty, Your Majesty, there's a problem!」

　A knight rushes in as if rolling.

　The king raises his eyebrows.

「What's going on! There's an important guest here!」

「But that's not the point! Two monsters have been sighted in the direction of the Sagrado」

「Monster!?」

　The king's eyes widen in shock. Alexis did the same.

「What's going on here, Conqueror!?」

　Naturally, his anger is directed at the conqueror in front of him.

「Well...」

（...Valencia, did you let it out of the border?）

　He thinks about it and responds.

「Your Majesty. Leave this to us.」

「Of course. If you don't do something, our contract will be broken!」

「It's understandable that you're angry. Of course, we'll deal with it as soon as possible.」

　"I'm counting on you, Conqueror...!" He said to him while squeezing his hand.

　He is probably the person he feels he can rely on the most, even though he is angry with him.

　The king looked at him intently, and Alexis made a serious face and nodded.

「Leave it to me.」

　He answered, but inwardly he had only one thought in his mind.

（Ah, I would have liked to be held by a beautiful woman anyway...）

　The trading partners are basically men, men, and men. And to top it all off, he is dealing with an old man like this. The diplomatic trip that his father has requested is not very sexy.

　Though he brought two women, he'd like to have another woman once in a while. It doesn't matter if it's a woman from the past. For example...

（Valencia）

　If she was right in front of him right now, he would punish her conveniently. But, since the king kept his serious face, the king was thinking about the monster and he should respond quickly. Well, although he seemed to have recovered from his anger by then, he nodded gravely when the king said again, "Please take good care of them."