Although Lloyd had agreed to Alice's suggestion, he couldn't immediately depart for other worlds.
The reason was twofold. First, there were still matters left unresolved in the Lands Between. Second, finding such worlds wasn't simple—Alice needed time to locate, assess, and prepare them, as well as to construct stable portals for travel.
The decision had been made; what remained was only a matter of time.
...
Back in the Lands Between.
After finishing things on Fretia's side, Lloyd pondered for a moment before opening his map. He first Fast Traveled to the Academy, where he exchanged another round of cold greetings with Renna. Next, he visited the Haligtree to administer some "treatment" to the Corrupted Sisters. Finally, he warped to the Royal Capital to check on how a certain village girl was recovering.
Then...
"Who did you just say she was? Fortissax? The strongest rock?"
Lloyd arrived just as the Crown Prince was revealing the identity of the dragon lady to the village girl.
It wasn't that the prince had deliberately kept Fortissax's identity secret. It was simply that too much chaos had unfolded—the barbarian's return, his mother's resurrection, even the Greater Will's involvement. In the face of all that, no one had the mind to question the presence of one dragon woman.
But now...
"So this is your type?"
Though she said it teasingly, the village girl didn't truly mind her eldest son taking a dragon as a companion. It just felt... a little complicated.
After all, she knew Fortissax quite well. Though she was aware that the Ancient Dragons were beyond concepts like gender, years of familiarity had led her to regard Fortissax as male. She'd always believed that the bond between Godwyn and Fortissax was one of pure brotherhood—nothing more, nothing less.
But now, as she looked at the man and dragon standing before her, memories resurfaced, and her expression grew increasingly strange.
"No, Mother, Fortissax and I aren't like that..."
Godwyn tried to explain, but no matter what he said, the village girl simply nodded along with a dismissive "Ah, right, right," look. She kept agreeing outwardly, but it was obvious she didn't believe a word of it.
Just then, Lloyd arrived. Godwyn immediately turned to him, pleading silently for help.
"They're really not that kind of relationship," Lloyd said seriously.
"They just sleep together at night."
Godwyn: "...?"
After his routine harassment of Godwyn, Lloyd walked over to check on the village girl's condition before chatting about other matters.
Since her earlier ordeal, Marika had been weak, and the argument with Metyr had drained much of her strength. Although Lloyd had managed to bring her back, he hadn't yet had a proper, long conversation with her.
Marika herself had only just recovered and hadn't learned much about the outside world. She didn't even know what had become of Fortissax, let alone everything else.
Then...
"Your eldest son was stabbed by your youngest daughter—oh, right, you already knew that."
"Your other son, Messmer, shut himself away in the Shadowlands. Since he couldn't reach you, he almost wasted away in isolation."
"You've met Morgott and Mohg, and you know what they did—so I'll skip that."
"You've also met the Radahn siblings, though it doesn't seem you talked much with them, so I'll give you a quick summary."
"Ranni died and became a doll. Rykard was devoured by a serpent and is now a giant snake head. As for Radahn..."
"Although he seems fine now, not long ago he was being tortured by Scarlet Rot—the same one that afflicted Malenia—barely surviving by devouring corpses."
"As for why things turned out that way, we have to start with the Battle of Caelid. And to explain the Battle of Caelid, we'll need to talk about how it began—with Miquella's plan..."
After listening to Lloyd's account, the village girl was left stunned.
At first, the revelations were shocking, but not entirely unexpected. During the time of the Shattering, she had already braced herself for bad news. Hearing it firsthand still brought sadness, but not surprise.
But what came next...
Malenia's Scarlet Rot, the Shattering's stalemate, and Miquella's scheme—especially the implications of his particular "tendencies"...
Even the fearless Highland warrior listening nearby couldn't keep a straight face after hearing about Miquella.
Dude... isn't that a bit much?
"You all never noticed anything strange about him before?"
"...No."
Marika hesitated before admitting it.
The last two children had been born late, right in the middle of her worst conflict with Radagon. And Miquella had always leaned closer to Radagon's side.
So, though unwilling to admit it, she had to acknowledge that she'd paid little attention to those two children. Because of that, she had never noticed anything amiss with Miquella.
"At least he didn't succeed in the end," Marika sighed.
Otherwise, even she couldn't imagine what would have happened—two blood-related brothers as God and King, with tags like "hypnosis," "coercion," "mind control," and "bodily corruption" thrown in.
Even for the Lands Between, that would've been a bit too advanced.
After finishing their talk about Miquella, Marika asked to see Melina.
Though they'd met once before, most of that meeting had been consumed by her argument with Metyr, and then interrupted by Alice's meddling. As a result, she hadn't gotten the chance to properly speak with her long-missed daughter.
And now...
"Woo woo woo, my little Melina! Come let Mommy hug you—"
The moment Lloyd summoned Melina, he finally understood why her expression had been so uneasy at the mention of meeting Marika.
Especially now, watching her get pulled straight into Marika's arms the instant she appeared—her head completely buried against that massive armored chest—Lloyd briefly wondered if she might actually suffocate.
"Was she always like this?"
Lloyd glanced at Godfrey beside him. The man shook his head.
"Not back then. She was much stronger in those days. Forget the other kids—even I had a hard time breaking free."
Seeing that mother and daughter clearly wanted some privacy, Lloyd gave them a moment, calling Godfrey to join him for a walk through the Royal Capital.
With the war finally over and a new ruler crowned, the atmosphere of the capital had completely transformed. Soldiers were stationed on patrol everywhere, while golems busied themselves repairing the areas left in ruins by the war.
It wasn't long before Lloyd encountered a familiar presence.
A dragon lady.
One from the Lands Between.
"It has been a long time. I didn't expect that when we met again, you would already be the Elden Lord."
Lansseax gazed at Lloyd with a faint sigh. The two exchanged casual talk for a while, until Lloyd, ever direct, asked, "So, what do you need from me?"
After a brief pause, she finally spoke, her tone hesitant.
"Well… I heard from Fortissax that her current form—the one she has now—was made with your help…"
In front of Godwyn, Fortissax found her appearance—and the way she interacted with him—deeply embarrassing.
But in front of her sister, it was another story entirely. Having been teased countless times by Lansseax for her past transformation mishaps, Fortissax always forced herself to act proud, no matter how mortified she felt inside. She would deliberately stroll back and forth in front of Lansseax, saying things like, "Now this is what humans call beauty," "Look at this flawless skin," or "Oh, what's with that look on your face, sister?"—each comment making Lansseax's teeth grind with frustration.
And whenever she thought about that knight who'd run off with his witch and ended up consumed by the Frenzied Flame, Lansseax's mood only worsened.
So, upon hearing that Fortissax's new form had been made with Lloyd's help, Lansseax decided to find him herself. She wanted a dragon lady form of her own—just to see what it was like.
Of course, her dragon pride wouldn't let her ask outright. Instead, she danced around the topic for quite a while before finally voicing her request.
Lloyd listened thoughtfully, then nodded.
"I can do that. Though I might need your help with something as well…"
"Please, tell me."
Lansseax tilted her head, curious. He was the Elden Lord—what could he possibly need from her?
She found out a few seconds later.
When Lloyd brought Placidasax forward, the aura radiating from her stunned Lansseax into silence. Her mind went blank for a moment before she blurted out instinctively,
"My Queen?!"
"Ah, no—she's not Placidusax. She's Placidasax. Think of her as the daughter who inherited Placidusax's power."
But the explanation only made Lansseax's mind spin faster.
She'd never heard of the Dragonlord having a daughter. And now, suddenly, one stood before her. Within seconds, her imagination had spun entire sagas' worth of stories to fill in the blanks. When she finally returned to herself, her eyes on Lloyd held nothing but reverence.
"Um… then, you'd like me to…"
"Help teach her about the Ancient Dragons."
Though Greyoll was ancient and possessed vast knowledge, her understanding of the Ancient Dragons was limited by her kind. Placidasax, on the other hand, had a unique nature—able to learn both from the Flying Dragons and the Ancient Dragons.
That was why Lloyd wanted another teacher for her, to fill the gap.
Lansseax hesitated briefly before nodding.
"If you do not mind, I would be honored."
She could tell this matter was laced with complications—perhaps even danger—but having already accepted Lloyd's offer, and given the chance to stay in the Elden Lord's good graces, she had no reason to refuse.
Still, she made a silent vow: she would focus solely on teaching. No questions, no curiosity—better to avoid being drawn into whatever strange stories lay beneath the surface.
Afterward, since her new form's design would take time, Lansseax departed with Placidasax.
...
Wandering a little longer through the Royal Capital, Lloyd soon encountered another familiar face.
Sir Gideon Ofnir, the All-Knowing.
Though they were old friends, though they hadn't seen each other in ages, upon their reunion, the man across from him, the All-Knowing, showed not a shred of joy. The moment they met, he immediately turned and walked away, desperately trying to preserve his sanity.
But just as he turned, before he could take a step, a hand landed on his shoulder.
"Long time no see, The All-Knowing."
The All-Knowing's body stiffened for an instant, a phantom pain throbbing in his temples.
After a moment's silence, he activated the pre-set magic array on his body, instantly enveloping himself in protective barriers before turning to face Lloyd.
"It's been a while, Tarnished One."
"Or perhaps I should address you as 'Elden Lord'?"
As he spoke, The All-Knowing braced himself for another beating from Lloyd.
Unexpectedly, this time Lloyd didn't spew any violent rhetoric. Instead, he broached a serious, conventional topic.
"I wish to establish education in the Lands Between."
"Not just Sorceries and Incantation, but a comprehensive education encompassing culture, mathematics, Ash of War, and more.
"But as you know, though I've traveled far, I'm not well-versed in the Lands Between's circumstances, nor am I skilled in education. So I seek a capable person to oversee this endeavor..."
"What do you think?"
"Mr. Gideon."
Faced with Lloyd's invitation, The All-Knowing didn't immediately agree.
Not because he wasn't interested, but because he hadn't grasped Lloyd's true meaning.
After all, the Lands Between were essentially one giant battlefield. Both the village girl and the barbarian had emerged from primordial tribes, paying little attention to education. Naturally, they hadn't established schools or similar institutions during the Golden Order Dynasty, let alone compulsory education.
As for the neighboring Magic Academy, while it was indeed an academy, it was specialized—established for gifted 'Sorcerers'—and fundamentally different from the "comprehensive academy" Lloyd had mentioned. The All-Knowing's confusion was understandable.
But it didn't matter.
With no pressing matters at hand, Lloyd simply found a place to sit and explained the concept to The All-Knowing in detail, discussing ideas like "literacy campaigns," "basic education," and "mass education."
After listening to Lloyd's explanation, The All-Knowing fell silent for a long while before letting out a deep sigh.
"This is truly... an astonishing idea. Though I have no idea how Lloyd came up with it, and I've never encountered such a thing before, The All-Knowing is still The All-Knowing. After a moment's thought, he roughly guessed some of the changes this action might bring about.
Though he couldn't fathom how Lloyd had conceived it, nor had he ever encountered such a thing before, The All-Knowing was still The All-Knowing. With just a moment's thought, he roughly deduced the potential changes this action might bring.
Moreover, the changes this behavior would bring were precisely what he wished to see.
"The will of the ignorant is a cancer, so malignant it makes even the horns of Omen seem tame." These were words The All-Knowing had spoken before, expressing his stance toward certain entities.
Or, to put it more bluntly, he had long since grown weary of the Lands Between being overrun by illiterates and fools. He was particularly infuriated by their tendency to spout nonsense despite knowing nothing, even clinging stubbornly to their own delusions of correctness.
Now, presented with a plan to improve literacy and elevate cultural standards in the Lands Between—especially one issued by the new Elden Lord with full backing—The All-Knowing naturally wouldn't refuse.
After discussing foundational education for a while, The All-Knowing mentioned needing to return to gather materials
to refine the proposals.
Lloyd suddenly remembered something, raising an eyebrow.
"Oh, right, Gideon. I've recently gathered some information I think might interest you..."
The words hung in the air as The All-Knowing froze.
Simultaneously, the initial buffs from their earlier exchange had just expired.
And then...
There was no then.
As the conversation continued.
Long-absent wisps of blue smoke rose once more.
They lingered, refusing to dissipate for a long time.