The surrounding soldiers exchanged glances, then stepped forward as the girl instructed to block the agitated crowd.
—This is probably Lian’en… his memory.
Senia quickly understood that this was something that had actually happened—because compared to the fantastical, wondrous world she had never visited, the scene before her felt utterly real.
But she did not think that the boy who had shown her affection and smiled at her in that earlier world was a fake.
It wasn’t just because of the consistent appearance and tone of voice… but also because of some factor she herself couldn’t clearly articulate.
‘Is the Ancestor Lord showing me Lian’en’s memories? But why would she do this… no, in the first place, how does the Ancestor Lord know about this part of his past?’
This doubt only lasted a short while before her attention returned to the present—because this scene, over which she had no power to intervene, continued.
She saw the boy timidly raise his head, his frightened eyes fixed on the blue-haired girl.
‘When the soldiers responded, they called her “Your Highness”… Could she be the Sword Saint from the past?’
The girl’s face looked familiar to Senia.
She had initially thought she was the Sword Saint Princess who had fought alongside them during the siege of Fenglin City, but after carefully studying her features, she dismissed that speculation.
She bore a sixty to seventy percent resemblance to Lady Vera… but Lady Vera would never smile like that.
“Who are you?”
The boy hesitated for a moment, then finally slowly asked the girl before him.
“I am Diana. Would big brother tell me your name?”
The boy’s heart, guarded after the Saintess’s rude treatment, was not so easily laid bare.
But the girl’s gentle smile and friendly attitude were enough to make him give his name… and place some of his hopes on her.
“M-my name is Li Lian’en. Your name sounds like… and you look like a foreigner. Is this a movie set? I remember I just dozed off leaning on my motorcycle…”
“Hmm, explaining this might be a bit complicated.”
The girl was clearly as confused as Senia by the unfamiliar words he spoke whose meanings she didn’t know, but she didn’t show it on her face.
“Are you hungry? How about we eat first? I’ll explain slowly over the meal!”
…
Perhaps because the girl’s cheerfulness eased some of the boy’s fears, Senia watched him accept the slightly abrupt invitation with some hesitation.
The military formation opened a path for the two. The girl walked in, and the boy hurriedly followed behind her.
Just as Senia was about to follow, the scene’s lighting dimmed rapidly, just like before.
‘Is the scene changing again?’
Having experienced it twice already, she quickly understood what would happen next.
When this darkness receded, the scene before her was a palace built of white bricks and stone.
This palace was a magnificent complex built on a seaside cliff.
Amidst the surging waves crashing against the cliffs, its white walls and battlements looked like foam, and the blue tiles on the roofs and the azure flags fluttering on the walls merged with the blue sky and sea, giving the illusion that they were originally one.
—This was the imperial palace of Ilansia, the White Sea Imperial City.
Walking through the unfamiliar, empty halls, Senia suddenly realized this.
This struck her as strange. Never having left the Sea of Trees, she couldn’t have visited here.
Her knowledge of this palace probably came only from the general impressions in books and paintings, or from the brief accounts of diplomats who had visited Ilansia.
‘But why do I feel so familiar with this place? And this palace’s style seems to reference some ancient fairy architecture…’
“…This guy is the Hero? What is he doing?”
Stepping out of the hall, Senia found herself in a palace courtyard.
This courtyard seemed to belong to a building extending from a section of the main palace… and on the secluded path, a pair of sisters were looking across a flower bed at the scene on the balcony of the building.
‘Ah, it’s Her Highness Vera.’
Senia immediately recognized the majestic girl with a sword at her waist.
Her face hadn’t changed much from when Senia had seen her, but her eyes were noticeably softer than during the siege of Fenglin City.
“Uh… I think he’s resting?”
The girl standing next to her was the same one Senia had seen earlier, the girl who called herself Diana.
When they stood side by side, anyone could see they were sisters by blood.
‘So this Lady Diana is Lady Vera’s sister… But the Emperor of Ilansia is supposed to have only two sons and one daughter, right?’
As a queen ruling a country, she generally had intelligence on the royal family of the neighboring country… let alone Ilansia, which had been on good terms with the Sea of Trees for generations.
But only now did she learn of this princess’s existence.
Vera and Lian’en had never mentioned this girl…
“Rest… is that what he calls resting?”
While Senia was lost in thought, Vera cast a contemptuous look at the balcony.
‘Is that Lian’en?’
Following Vera’s gaze, Senia saw a comfortable lounge chair on the balcony.
And that boy who had been so timid and frightened earlier was now opening his mouth with a blissful expression, waiting for two maids beside him to feed him grapes.
“Ehehe~”
The boy’s playful laughter with the maids even reached the courtyard.
Vera, hiding behind the flower bed, stared at the scene in disbelief, then turned her gaze to her sister.
“Why isn’t he training? He’ll have to go to the battlefield soon!”
“Because he still isn’t quite used to our world, so Father, the Great Sage, and the Lady Saintess decided to give him some time to adjust…”
“Time to adjust… While he’s living it up here, our soldiers are desperately resisting the Demon Army on the front lines! How can he face the fallen soldiers…!”
“But sister, I talked to him. He said his world was very peaceful, and he had never fought a war… He doesn’t even seem to have hit anyone more than a few times.”
“That’s not the point…! Wait, you talked to him? Didn’t you say that day you only watched from afar at the side of the Summoning Ritual?”
“Ah… well…”
The girl, caught in her lie, became flustered… and just then, the boy on the balcony called out to the garden.
“Isn’t that Diana? You came to see me? Hurry up and come up! The fruits these beautiful sisters brought me are delicious! Let’s eat together?”
“Ah, okay, I’m coming, big brother Lian’en.”
Called by name, Diana reflexively straightened up and poked her head out of the flower bed.
“You’ll accept… no, you call him big brother…?”
The Vera beside her stared at her sister in shock, as if unable to believe what she had heard.
“Well… I was ordered by the Great Sage to teach him some things about our world. That part was originally the Lady Saintess’s responsibility, but big brother Lian’en had a very bad first impression of her…”
“And that sister next to you… is she your guard? She looks pretty too. If you want, come up together?”
Just as Diana was explaining, the boy on the balcony added this.
His frivolous invitation made Vera, standing next to Diana, show a very terrifying expression—
“…Hmph!”
Vera turned and left the courtyard, leaving only her sister and the unseen Senia in a mess among the flowers.
‘Lian’en… was he such a playboy?’
Senia thought, somewhat stunned.