Lyra returned directly to the Royal Palace, and showed off her tags to the royal family who seemed more than pleased. The Emperor however was less pleased when Lyra explained the test, and the hole in the wall which was the result. However he accepted that it wasn't technically Lyra's fault, as she had just followed instructions, but still suggested Lyra ought to have known better, and asked her to please refrain from using any attacking spells costing more than 1000 mana inside the Capital in the future. To that point, she relented.
The days following, the Royal Family was very busy and had little time for Lyra. Instead, Lyra spent her days in her new mansion with Sofie. All old servants belonging to the traitor Duke had naturally been let go, so the mansion was now entirely empty. Lyra and Sofie went through the sprawling mansion, taking inventory of the furniture, checking the floorplans, and discussing changes. A few days later, they left a comprehensive plan on the Empress's desk, outlining what new furniture would be required, and how many servants they'd need to keep the mansion operational, along with a spreadsheet outlining the expenses.
From this, Lyra learned all the signs in the Revean empire for the numerals. Thankfully, in all human kingdoms, it was standard to have a 0-9 number system, just as it was on Earth. Lyra guessed it could be something carried over from a previous hero generation. Regardless, the numbers were written entirely different from back on Earth however, but not something Lyra couldn't memorize. And because she knew how to do math and count already, so long as she could now recognize the numbers, she could now look at prices and such at stores, and purchase things herself, with ease.
Another day later, and the 7th Knight Order finally returned from Brightfield. The Capital they returned to was now vastly different from the one they had left, as the Emperor was now back in action. Lyra heard Henry argue with his father one evening, how every surviving member of the 7th Knight Order ought to be given a medal of honor, for they had accepted a mission which meant certain death and carried out the orders of the empire without fail. The handful who had died should also be given burials with the highest honors, and their families be given proper compensation.
All in all, a week passed from when Lyra had done her test at the Adventurers guild, before it was suddenly time to leave. A personal request were sent to the guild, where the Royal Palace asked for Lyra by name, to make her mission to the Kingdom Alliance official. As soon as she accepted it, it was time to leave. It was decided that Henry would sit this one out, as he had just returned from a long mission. Instead, the First Prince, Thomas, would travel to Luna Fortress alongside the 3rd, 4th and 5th Knight Orders. They'd also be accompanied by the First Princess Amanda, as well as the Court Magus Helena.
Luna Fortress was a Fortress Town located just on the border to the Ytrand Kingdom. It usually held a Garrison of 100 soldiers, but would now be reinforced by 100 Elite Knights from the Capital. The reasoning was that the Revean Empire were worried the Kingdom Alliance might try something the moment they learn the Traitor Duke was dead. Everyone knew that should the entire military might of the Kingdom Alliance go marching on Luna, the Fortress would undoubtedly fall. But should worst come to pass, with the 100 knights present, the hope was that they might at least significantly delay the armed forces of the Kingdom Alliance enough that the Revean Empire has time to prepare.
A call to general mobilization had already been issued, which would mean any noble of the Empire would be forced to mobilize their private forces as soon as possible and have them ready to defend the Empire should it be necessary. This is why the Royal Family had been so busy past week, as they were in meeting after meeting with the various noble factions, sending out draft papers, getting responses from nobles on how many men each could pledge, and forming preliminary cohorts and military units based on these numbers. However, it would take about a month in total for the Empire to form and ready its full military fighting force. One also had to contact merchants and form supply-lines, which also took time and effort.
Naturally, everyone in the Empire at least hoped this general mobilization would not be necessary. But hope was not enough, one had to be ready. Which is why Lyra now found herself in a carriage headed for Luna, sharing it with First Prince Thomas, First Princess Amanda, and Court Magus Helena. Lyra was officially there as a hired Adventurer this time, so she was in her adventuring attire from a week prior, which she preferred over the Knight-uniform. With a carriage, it would take another week to reach Luna, so Lyra had plenty of time to talk things over with the other passengers of the carriage.
Out of all of them, she knew Helena the best of course, but getting to know Thomas and Amanda was also quite nice. Having heard that Lyra was on first-name basis with their brother, both of them demanded Lyra also call them by first name. She had first assumed Thomas might not like her that much, but turns out he and Henry had made up properly now, and actually begun acting like actual brothers, and so he had heard quite a lot of good things about Lyra from Henry. Unlike the rumors she had first heard from Henry, which were based on lies and misinformation from the Traitor Duke, Thomas turned out to be just as sharp and devoted to the Empire, as Henry. In fact, they were extremely similar in more ways than one. Thomas too seemed to like it when Lyra pat his head, and he blushed just the same way Henry had done in the past.
Helena informed Lyra she should not touch the royalty, but then Amanda demanded headpats too, and after that it could just not be helped. However, by the time a week on the road had passed and they saw Luna, Lyra's ears were ringing. She was still not the most social and talkative, but especially Amanda and Helena seemed to never stop talking, and so it had begun tearing a bit on Lyra's mental well-being. Thus, when the Luna Fortress came into view, Lyra felt an instant wave of relief flow through her. After that, things progressed rapidly. Helena and Thomas did their rounds around the Fortress, making inspections, getting the place ready for a possible siege. The Knights also familiarized themselves with the walls and bastions, and began training the soldiers to get them up to speed.
The Princess was there in case the Ytrand Royal Family would accept the marriage offer, to which point Princess Amanda could meet the Ytrand Prince in but a matter of days, just as a formality. This was the outcome everyone hoped for. But it all came down to if Lyra would succeed, in the hostile nation. As for Lyra, she had spend most of her mana during the carriage ride on making more "Mana Gems[1]" which she placed in her Sub-space inventory. However, she gave a mana-gem each to Helena, Thomas and Amanda, just in case.
Lyra spent a single night in Luna fortress, though found herself unable to sleep. Tomorrow morning, she would set out alone, crossing the border into Ytrand Kingdom. She found herself wondering about her former classmates, the summoned heroes. She had never been particularly close with them of course, but she wondered how the past ten years had been. Indeed, spring was ending, and it was soon summer. Summer would mark exactly ten years since she and they had first been summoned to this world. So much had happened, in that time, she almost thought. But in truth, the first nine years, she had actually not done all that much, and that was fine.
She had lived life on her own terms, according to the flow of the seasons, alone in her spirit sanctuary deep in the Oberon Wilds. But it had been good, even if that life now felt so far removed. She had been a lone High Elf alone in the forest, just catching fish from the lake and growing vegetables, and now here she was, trying to stop a war between nations. It was quite wild to consider just what she had ended up getting dragged into, but when she thought back, there was nothing she regretted. She had always followed her own whims, never doing anything she did not want to do, and it had ultimately led her here, to this moment.
So she got out of bed, and dressed herself in her adventuring attire in the middle of the night. Then, she left the room she shared with Helena, and took a walk out on the Fortress Walls. Despite the late hour, the walls were staffed with sentries at every hour of the day, and the night was no exception. She nodded at them as she passed them, before she found a space to sit, her feet dangling off the edge. She looked up at the stars, and found herself smiling briefly. Despite all the changes to her life, the nightsky here was the same nightsky she had grown to love back in her spirit sanctuary. She was still the same Lyra as back then, just a Lyra who had come out of her shell and found herself in this wide, wide world. And it was not bad, not at all. She had made friends, gotten a mansion, found herself with a job as an adventurer. Overall, she was quite happy, wasn't she?
With a wistful smile, she got back up on her feet, and padded down to the barrack kitchen. She took a bit of bread and some fruits, and stuffed it in her bag. If she left now, she could reach the border by dawn, she reckoned. Part of her wanted to bid her friends goodbye before she left, but then again that would feel a bit odd. She planned to be back soon, anyways, and couldn't stand stuffy goodbyes and ceremonies. So it came to be, that in the middle of the night, the High Elf bid the sentries at the gate farewell, and snuck out into the darkness, making her way towards the border...
[1] Mana Gem: "A consumable item capable of storing 3000 mana. Can be consumed to return 3000 mana to the caster."