Klen and the others have just arrived in a nearby town. While they wait for Alicia to gather information, Nell makes Klen a cup of coffee. He’s never heard of coffee before, so he asks Nell what it is — but she’s not entirely sure either. It’s just some expensive drink that Verco used to have her make for him from time to time. So, she grabbed some beans on their way out, figuring Klen might like it.
Klen decides to give the mystery bean soup a try. After letting it cool, he takes a sip… and hey, turns out it actually tastes amazing! Nell is happy he enjoys it, but there’s something she’s been meaning to ask: what happened to that strange man who attacked Klen back at the camp? He kind of just vanished, and it’s a little weird.
After learning about wizards and magic from Alicia, Gart had told Klen that he’d be leaving to report back to his master. So, they won’t be seeing him for a while. Still, Klen assures Nell that even if they do run into him again, he’s no longer suspicious of them and won’t attack.
Just then, Alicia comes running up the hill with bad news. According to the village, the situation in Heiden is a complete disaster. The neighboring country of Bolate has broken past the border and invaded. Heiden is trying to fight back, but with the king dead and the capital in ruins, they don’t stand a chance.
Apparently, the country of Esin tried to slow down Bolate’s advance, but it didn’t do much in the end. Klen asks why Esin would even bother helping Heiden when they aren’t directly involved in the conflict. Alicia explains that Esin has been at war with the Bolates for ages, but they’re currently weaker. They don’t want the Bolates getting their hands on the Heiden Forge — a powerful artifact that could make them unstoppable.
Of course, even if they got the forge, it would be useless without someone of royal blood to activate it. The real problem is that Heiden is hopelessly outmatched, especially since Klen killed their king — and they don’t have any sorcerers left. At this rate, Heiden might just disappear from the map.
That sounds awful… but Klen doesn’t really care. His only goal is to make Luna king. Whether Bolate takes over Heiden or not doesn’t matter to him. But Alicia argues otherwise — if Heiden falls under Bolate rule, Luna will never be allowed to be king. Only Bolate-born citizens are eligible, and from Luna’s appearance, it’s painfully obvious he’s a pure-blooded Hidemite.
Under Bolate rule, that would make Luna an outcast. Worse still, pure-blooded Hidemites are extremely rare and highly valued — their blood is essential for refining Arcana Sight. And with a man like Drel leading the invasion, there’s no telling how far he’d go.
Drel was the one who killed Alicia’s father. Not in battle — they used to be friends! But because Alicia’s dad was once considered one of the greatest swordsmen in the nation, Drel, years after his retirement, decided to challenge him to a duel… just to prove he was better. Real classy. And as if that wasn’t enough, after mortally wounding him, Drel looked Alicia in the eye — and then blew up their house. Just because.
Enraged, Alicia nearly grabbed her father’s sword to strike back, but her dying father stopped her. Drel wouldn’t hesitate to kill her, he warned. In his final moments, he begged her not to give in to revenge, because it would only drag her down a dark path of endless war. Instead, he wanted her to become a hero — someone who saves people — and promised he’d always watch over her.
Having experienced Drel’s cruelty firsthand, Alicia tells Klen that the only way to ensure Luna’s future is to stop the Bolates and drive them out of Heiden. Klen knows she’s right… but he’s still slightly annoyed that he now has to protect a place he once planned to destroy.
Alicia is happy he’s willing to help. She says she’ll get ready to leave right away, but Klen tells her to stay. If he’s going to intervene directly, he can’t let people know he’s doing it just because Alicia asked him to. He needs a better excuse.
And luckily, he’s got one: Drel has been kidnapping Dark Beast children to turn them into wizards for his army. That, Klen decides, is reason enough to get involved.
This also gives Klen an excuse to see just how strong these wizards really are — and honestly, he’s a little excited. He assumes Alicia must be itching to take revenge on Drel for what he did to her father. But her father’s last wish was clear: he wanted her to become a hero, not someone consumed by vengeance.
Alicia remembers that promise, but after everything that’s happened, she finds it hard to call herself a hero anymore. She feels like nothing more than a walking corpse — someone forced to carry out orders.
Still, Klen challenges her thinking. What does it really mean to be a hero? Even if Alicia doesn’t believe she is one, Klen is sure that Nell sees her that way. After all, Nell’s life is so much better now, and that’s largely because of Alicia’s efforts.
Realizing he’s right, Alicia agrees to stay behind. Klen then transforms and rushes into the forest, heading straight for the Bolate army.
Meanwhile, the Bolate army has just broken through the second fortress on their march toward Heiden, and Rod is growing increasingly worried. If they’re not stopped soon, they’ll reach Hitat. Acting quickly, he races alongside Mikel along the cliff face, pointing out a shallow river up ahead — possibly their last good chance to slow down the Bolate advance.
Back in the city, Alicia takes Nell and Luna with her into town. While walking through the streets, they suddenly hear the sound of someone getting badly beaten. At first, Alicia is concerned — until she realizes it’s just one of the bandits who managed to survive her earlier attacks. She quickly loses interest.
The townspeople know all about the bandits and the chaos they’ve caused. So, when they recognize this one, they don’t hesitate. Nell is a little frightened — that particular bandit used to torment her constantly — but Alicia reassures her. There’s no way he’d recognize her now, after how much she’s changed.
Unfortunately, he does recognize Alicia. And the moment he spots her, he tries to redirect the townspeople’s anger by shouting that she’s the hero who released the giant sea beast from the mine shaft.
Some townsfolk turn in confusion, but by then, Alicia has already slipped away. Even if they had seen her, it wouldn’t have saved him. In the end, all the bandits found in the city are hanged.
Still, the townspeople are growing deeply concerned. First, there was Clevatess’ attack. Then came the Bolate army, followed by an ancient octopus monster. Jokingly, they wonder what’s next — radioactive wasps? Glacial worms? But one thing’s for certain: no matter what comes, they’re determined to protect their town.
Elsewhere, Alicia and Nell search for a place to stay, but it’s difficult with the city on high alert. Before entering the inn, Alicia asks Nell not to refer to her as a hero — she wants to keep her identity hidden for now.
As soon as she opens the door, two large men block her path and accuse her of being one of the bandits. Alicia is unsure how to handle the situation — but luckily, their mother arrives and tells them to stop bothering the guests.
Phil tries to explain that Alicia looks suspicious — she has an eyepatch and a sword — but considering recent events, walking around armed is pretty normal. What really catches attention, though, is the presence of a Hidemic baby.
Carrie, the innkeeper, asks for an explanation. Alicia responds that she and Nell are bodyguards assigned to protect a very important individual — the baby — at all costs. The explanation is convincing enough. Though Carrie suspects there’s more to the story, she’s not interested in prying into the affairs of paying customers.
She asks what they need, and Alicia requests a room for two, preferably with a bed comfortable enough for a baby. Carrie quotes a price of two silver coins per night, so Alicia pays for a two-night stay. Carrie directs them to the first room on the left and tells her sons to help carry the luggage.
Pete offers to help Nell, though she insists she can manage. He persists, so she hands over the bags — and he instantly regrets it, realizing just how heavy they are.
Eventually, Pete and Phil carry everything up to the room. Alicia seems satisfied, and Carrie says she can come downstairs if she needs anything. Once she leaves, Nell suggests they put Luna to bed so he can rest.
However, neither of them realizes that one of Meynard’s insects has spotted Luna. Now that Meynard knows exactly where the Hidemite prince is, he is sending his entire insect army after him.
A little while later, Alicia is gazing out the window, wondering whether Klen has reached the battlefield yet. But her thoughts are interrupted when Nell calls her over to take a look at something — Luna’s very first baby tooth.
A few minutes later, Carrie knocks on the door to let Alicia and Nell know that their food is ready. But when she sees Luna still asleep, she tells Alicia she can just come down and bring the food back to the room.
Alicia follows Carrie downstairs, and Carrie points to the food waiting at the end of the table. On her way over, Alicia overhears some bar patrons grumbling about how everything going wrong is the heroes’ fault. According to them, if those so-called heroes hadn’t gone out and challenged one of the beast lords, then Clevatess wouldn’t have destroyed Heiden, and the Bolate army never would’ve started this war.
Public opinion on heroes is absolutely tanked. People have every right to be mad — in their eyes, all the “heroes” have done is make life worse.
Just as Alicia is about to head back upstairs, she suddenly senses the presence of a dark beast. In the next moment, something smashes through the downstairs window and lands right next to Pete. He thinks it’s just a regular ball and casually reaches to pick it up — until Alicia yells at him not to touch it.
Unfortunately, she’s too late.
The “ball” suddenly expands and launches Pete into the ceiling. Surprise! It’s actually a giant centipede.
Meynard then enters the inn like it’s just another Tuesday and announces that this isn’t some ordinary bug. This centipede hails from the Dark Beast Forest, meaning it’s on the same level as some of the most powerful dark beasts out there.
One guy in the bar doesn’t even wait for the lecture to finish. He came here to drink, not fight an overgrown insect. So he dives out the window — a perfectly reasonable plan… if only Meynard hadn’t already stationed hundreds of bug monsters outside. So yeah, the guy gets eaten. Bad luck.
Meynard reveals that this whole creepy-crawly ambush was part of his plan to make sure no one leaves town until his mission is complete. Just to make it extra official, he introduces himself as the highest mage in Lord Drel’s army.
Everyone panics. No one expected Drel’s forces to actually attack their village like this.
But Meynard clarifies: he’s not here to take over. His mission is simple — to confirm whether the Hidemic baby here is of royal blood.
Alicia immediately realizes how serious this is. If Meynard already knows that Luna is here, she has to get him out — fast.
Suddenly, a scream from upstairs breaks through her thoughts.
Nell is in trouble.
Turns out Meynard already sent his subordinate wizard, Naye Chiffonite, up to their room. And she’s currently pinning Nell against the wall using the bed frame like she’s auditioning for a villain role in a horror movie.
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