“Anyways~,” Aella said, “I was researching the history of this world, and something struck me as odd. World War 2. The Deadliest war the world has ever seen… The sequel? I guess. Whatever the case, the death count was only 115 million. Is that not a terribly low number considering Dragons of the S rank have been roaming around since back then?”

S-rank dragons were said to be an entire army on their own. Nowadays, they have the technology to limit the damage such powerful beings can cause, but development only started for such things during the latter half of the war.

“Wait… Are you implying that… Someone quelled the war?” Grayson asked hesitantly, still reeling from the war comment earlier.

‘That came out of nowhere. This kid is far too clever, isn’t he?’ Aella mused, her eyes widening that Grayson, of all people, managed to pick up on her words.

“Sort of. The war itself wasn’t the issue. It was the destructive weaponry used. Since the first SS rank only appeared about 60 years ago, only the world could quell such a threat. If not, it risked dying out,” She explained, remembering the poor state of the alternate version of this world that had experienced that exact treatment.

Her words were lies. Well, sort of. The [Will of the World] is a being that acts precisely as its name suggests. If the world is in danger, it will do everything possible to protect it. It can do this because of a unique ability that they possess called [Authority], which lets them grow stronger in response to the threat of the world.

If several gods were to appear, then the [Will of the World] could sacrifice some of its vitality to fend them off in the worst-case scenario. Since this wasn’t the worst-case scenario, such vitality wouldn’t be required.

“I’m sorry if this isn’t my place to speak, but… Do you expect us to believe you? This is a rather outrageous claim.” Aimi stepped forward.

Turning her attention to the black-haired girl, Aella narrowed her eyes.

“Firstly, you can speak English. Of course, you can. Why wouldn’t I learn Japanese for no reason.” She sighed sarcastically before continuing, “Secondly, I don’t care if YOU believe me. I care if Mr. Magnus believes me. Also, I think appearing out of nowhere and killing hundreds of people to save you and your mother is more outrageous.”

Magnus thought for a while with a serious expression on his face. The entire time he did this, Aella felt something glaring at her despite Magnus not even looking directly at her.

“Are you aware of how much time you have to prepare?” He questioned.

“4 months. 3 if we’re being conservative. Before that, it’s a game of politics, which I have no interest in.”

Magnus’s eyes narrowed at Aella as he let out a defeated sigh. “Fine, fine. I’ll back off. I’ll observe for now.”

“I’m glad we’re on the same page. Anything else. I know you have something to ask me, Mrs. Aimi? You’ve been antsy the entire time.” Aella smiled.

‘He accepted that easily?! Why? Even if he knows about the Will’s existence, he shouldn’t back off so quickly… Is he biding for time? Why and how much? I just need him not to harm me for two months, no 1. 1 month is all I need to build up the countermeasures for him.’ Aella thought.

Despite her outer exterior, Aella was mildly terrified right now. She was ready to reveal her Aetherstream, her actual firepower, and even her access to Skadi and Boreas’s dimension if needed, but he gave in so quickly. This was the second time Aella had miscalculated something.

It seemed being out of the game for nearly a decade has made her rusty. Whatever the case was, the hardest part was dealt with. Now, all she needed to do was maneuver around literal children. With that said, she sent Blair a text telling them they could return.

That aside, Aimi looked at Aella with a resolute look. She rolled up her sleeves slightly, revealing a small device around her wrist that was worn like a watch.

“Despite being a student at the 4th ranked Dragon Rider Academy, I was dreadfully reminded of my weakness. Despite that, all I’ve ever found myself good at was fighting, so I’m having doubts about being of any use to you. Would you please reassure me that I’m ready to protect the ones I love?”

Aella’s facade nearly faltered momentarily as a genuine smile nearly appeared on her face. “So you’re ready to go to war? You’re aware if you stick with me, your hands will be stained with the blood of thousands of people, right?”

“They cursed my mother! Even if it means sacrificing myself, I’ll stand by you in fighting them!”

Nodding, Aella was about to give her answer only to turn her head. Seraphina and them had returned.

“Welcome back, Seraphina. Did you enjoy the scenery?”

“Yep! It’s so pretty and green! Aetherion seemed to enjoy it, too!” Seraphina cheered, jumping off of her partner and running to Aella.

“Good. Hey Seraphina… That girl over there wants to practice sparring with me. What do you think of that?”

Seraphina’s eyes widened in shock as she looked at Aella and then at Aimi before looking back at Aella and then… It happened another dozen or so times, with her jaw-dropping slightly more every single time.

“You want to fight with Aella? Willingly?! You’ll die!”

“PFT-” Aella let a laugh slip before regaining her composure. She foresaw that exact reaction, but it was far funnier to her than she thought it’d be. There was a 50 percent chance that she would react in the most disrespectful way possible or be really shy and silently give her condolences.

Aimi frowned slightly as a result. She, naturally, knew that the result would end that way as well if Aella wanted to kill her, but hearing a girl who was seven years younger than her made the fact set in hard.

“Alright, alright. How about this? Seraphina, go join her. It’ll be you two versus me.”

““What?!”” Both Aimi and Seraphina reacted, and Grayson and Magnus also shot a weird look at Aella from the background.

“Fighting Aella? But I can’t match you!”

“I’ll teach you how to control your magic.”

“Deal!”

‘Easy as that.’

Without another word, Seraphina ran back to Aetherion, preparing to fight. Aimi was… A little more apprehensive about working with the little girl for about as many reasons as one could imagine. Her being a 9-year-old child is at the very front of that long list of reasons.

“Y-you want me to fight with her? What if she gets hurt!” Aimi panicked, rightfully so.

Aella shrugged in response, “If we’re referring to physical strength alone, she’s stronger than me. Also, you see her dragon. Third, her mother is right there. You can take complaints up with her.”

Aimi looked at Blair with helpless eyes, the resolute expression she had earlier vanishing entirely. In response to this, Blair only smiled.

“I will bet 100 dollars that Aetherion sends you flying across this Abyss Nest.”

“I’m half tempted to deny that offer, but I refuse to deny a bet,” Aella stated rather casually.

If this was before she got her third tail, Aella was sure she’d lose this. Aside from the fact that Hoshihime and Aimi ultimately have who knows how many unknown abilities, Seraphina’s strength stat was so much higher than hers that she had no choice but to be extremely careful about the dragon AFTER gaining her third tail.

The fact that Seraphina still had a higher strength stat while being half of her level still didn’t sit right with Aella.

“W-wait? Are you guys really going to fight? Isn’t it dangerous to do that in an Abyss Nest?” Grayson questioned in panic, only for everyone present to look at Magnus.

“Oh-okay, yeah. Fair enough. But I still don’t think this is a good idea!”

“I agree, it’s not fair yet. Join them, Grayson.” Aella demanded.

“What?!”

Ignoring his confusion, Aella walked over to her little brother, patting him on the head as she considered how to approach this fight.

“Watch how cool your big sis is, okay?”

Cid froze for a few seconds before his eyes lit up. “Right! Do your best!”