"Dimaria… you're really my best friend."
Brandish looked at Dimaria as she walked up to her, a faintly mocking smile tugging at her lips.
Honestly speaking...
If it weren't for Dimaria pulling something like this, how could she have fallen for it so easily?
If it had been Rain or Erza pouring her milk, Brandish would've been on guard from the very start.
"S-sorry, Randi… I really didn't mean to,"
Dimaria clasped her hands together apologetically, lowering her head slightly.
"I just… wanted to be with you all the time, Randi."
"..."
"I mean—don't get me wrong, I am happy you said that,"
Brandish admitted, a trace of warmth flickering across her face.
"But did you really have to use this kind of method?"
Her expression quickly shifted into helplessness.
Couldn't they use something more reliable?
"Wait—hold on. What exactly did you do?"
Brandish suddenly stiffened, eyes widening as a thought struck her.
"What do you mean you want to be with me all the time? You're not planning to just kidnap me and leave the Alvarez Empire, are you?!"
The moment that possibility crossed her mind, Brandish immediately looked toward Rain and the others, her voice tense.
There was no way...
Other than that, she honestly couldn't think of any other explanation.
"Relax. We're still inside the Alvarez Empire,"
Rain said calmly, trying to reassure her.
"That's not reassuring at all!" Brandish shot back.
"It just means you haven't had enough time to drag me away yet, right?!"
She folded her arms and complained bitterly.
"Alright, alright—can you at least tell me now?"
Brandish took a deep breath, finally calming herself.
"What exactly are you planning to do? Did you really just run away like this?"
"Don't worry, Randi,"
Dimaria grinned brightly.
"We're not running away."
"We're resigning."
"...Resigning?"
Brandish froze, a blank look spreading across her face.
For a moment, she genuinely didn't understand what Dimaria meant.
Capital of the Alvarez Empire
During Zeref's absence, most of the Empire's internal affairs—aside from routine matters handled by the ministers—were temporarily managed by one of the Spriggan Twelve, the Empire's "Double Shield."
August.
At that moment, August received a letter.
"…Strange. Someone actually sent me a letter?"
Seeing his name written as the recipient, August frowned slightly.
Though puzzled, he opened it without hesitation.
The world is vast, and I want to go see it for myself.
So I'll be leaving the Alvarez Empire for a while.
If anything urgent comes up, you can contact me.
—Dimaria
"…Traveling, huh?"
August nodded faintly.
He was quite familiar with Dimaria. In fact, he held her in fairly high regard.
Given a few more years, she could easily grow into a pillar capable of supporting the Empire.
Since there had been nothing particularly urgent in the Empire lately, even if she left for a while, it wouldn't cause any real trouble.
Letting her roam the world and gain experience might even benefit her growth.
But just as August finished reading that letter, his eyes moved to the second one...
...and his expression turned strange.
August,
This is Brandish.
I am resigning of my own free will and withdrawing from the Alvarez Empire to return to my hometown.
Rest assured—I will never take action against the Empire.
—Brandish
A clear fingerprint was pressed beside her name.
"..."
August fell silent.
He knew Brandish well.
Well enough to say, with absolute certainty—
Not a single word in this letter had been written by Brandish herself.
The only genuine part… was that fingerprint.
Which raised an obvious question.
Was Brandish really resigning voluntarily?
Just thinking about it made the answer obvious.
Impossible.
"What exactly happened to Brandish…?"
August's gaze sharpened.
Without delay, he activated his magic, performing divination and predictive analysis on Brandish's current condition and location.
"…Northern region of the Empire," he murmured.
"She's healthy. No signs of injury. No immediate danger."
That at least put him somewhat at ease.
After all, with Brandish's strength, forcibly restraining her without causing a massive disturbance would be nearly impossible.
If something violent had happened, the Empire would have noticed already.
"Still… better to have someone check it out."
After a brief pause, August made his decision.
He activated his marking magic again, mapping the locations of the Empire's strongest mages in his mind.
"…The closest one is—"
"Irene?"
August hesitated.
For something like this, asking Irene Belserion to step in felt… excessive.
Before he could decide, a calm, dignified voice echoed directly inside his mind.
"Is something the matter, August?"
Irene Belserion.
The moment he heard her voice, August knew—
She had already noticed his magic.
Across space itself, she had sensed his intent.
"…As expected of you, Irene-senpai,"
August sighed inwardly, unable to hide his admiration for her mastery of magic.
"Something seems to have happened between Brandish and Dimaria,"
August replied honestly.
"And since you're the closest to their location, I was hoping you could go check on them."
"…I see."
--------------------------------------
Support me at patreon.com/Arthorain and read upto 50 Advanced Chapters and R-18 Content!
--------------------------------------
Update schedule: 7 chapters/week
Every 100 power stones = 1 Extra Chapter
By voting with [power stones], you can easily get double the number of chapters.