Returning to the room with Eleanor, Aske immediately received a hero-like welcome.

"I'm really ashamed, I only did a little bit of work." Faced with the grateful gazes from Emperor Otto and the Duke of Bavaria, Aske humbly said.

Leaving time for the father and daughters to catch up, Aske and the others left the room and went out into the corridor.

"So, my sister is going back to the Lorraine Duchy with you guys next?" Ludwig asked.

"Of course, Princess Sofie needs to officially become a citizen of the Saxon Family, register her name in the genealogy, there's a series of work to be done," the Dragon of Imagination, Bruno said with a smile.

"You're going to take her back?" Aske asked in surprise.

"Lord Aske," the Acid Erosion Dragon, Hedwig, spoke up, "I'm very grateful for your efforts in persuading the Princess, but given her noble identity, she probably can't be a mercenary for long. You should understand the reasoning."

"Hey, if an Empire Princess can't be a mercenary, does that mean our princess from the Bavarian Duchy can be one?" Red-haired Otto complained.

"It's not the same," Hedwig said helplessly. "She's not just any princess."

Right, the reason Eleanor was treated so was not just because she had the Giant Dragon family's blood flowing in her veins, but because she was the only person in the history and the current world who had mastered the Unyielding Holy Sword—naturally, she had the legal status of a ruler of the Franks.

"Did you ask for her opinion?" Aske brought out his trump card.

"Not yet," Bruno said with a smile, "If she refuses and insists on staying with The Azure Longsword, actually, there's not much we can do."

"Hey, Bruno!" Hedwig said discontentedly.

"You wouldn't be thinking of forcing her, would you, Lord Acid Erosion Dragon?" Bruno joked, "Be careful not to get killed by her."

Hedwig: ...........

He, too, had sparred with Eleanor before, spitting acid on her Holy Sword Shield, but it had absolutely no effect.

"Anyway, I believe Your Majesty will be able to persuade her to change her mind," Hedwig stubbornly said.

"Then we can bet," said Bruno. "Bet that she will stay."

"Bet on what?" Hedwig asked.

"On the dowry we should give her in the future," Bruno said. "The loser pays for the winner."

"I certainly won't bet on that," Hedwig immediately said. "You have more money than me, and you still want me to pay for you?"

"So you're so sure you can't win?" Bruno laughed heartily, turning his head to ask Aske, "You see, even the Acid Erosion Dragon knows she will definitely go with you, so when do you plan to get married?"

Aske: ???

Why did the fire suddenly get redirected at me?

*Cough*, "Actually, we haven't gotten to that point yet..." he could only stiffly say.

However, everyone looked at him as if to say "do you think we're idiots?", making it almost impossible for Aske to continue.

About half an hour later, Eleanor had finally finished dealing with things, so she was taken back to Lusitania by Red-haired Otto along with another person.

When it came to what she had discussed with her two fathers, and when she would return to the Empire, Eleanor cunningly claimed it was a secret and temporarily couldn't reveal it to Aske.

Aske wasn't the kind of person with an obsession; he immediately replied that it was fine, and actually, he wasn't very eager to know, making Eleanor feel a sense of loss.

Back in Lusitania, and carefully calculating the time away, it was probably no more than three hours, so the girls didn't even realize that the two had taken a quick trip to Valencia.

Mia was in charge of safeguarding the ancient book today, and after exchanging greetings with Aske, they planned to return to Fire Island with Eleanor.

"Lord Aske." Mia suddenly reminded him, "Thira was looking for you just now."

"Thira?" Aske was momentarily stunned, then nodded, "Alright, I got it."

Back on Fire Island, Eleanor went to seek out Miel for the "Acceleration Plan" level-up training, while Aske headed to the second floor of the manor, where he indeed found Thira sitting in his room, holding a document.

"You were looking for me?" Aske asked.

"Oh, Squad Leader." Thira stood up, her expression hesitant.

"What's the matter?" Aske asked with a smile, "Did you have a dispute with your grandfather?"

For the matter concerning the mining vein, Apilius had also come to Lusitania; hence Thira had gone to find her grandfather after the meeting. Aske guessed that something had happened during that time.

"It's not about a dispute with my grandfather," Thira shook her head and sighed, "The Church Court plans to launch a Holy War by the end of this year – after the war in Iberia ends."

"Holy War, you mean..."

"The target is Constantinople, which is occupied by the Seljuks," Thira said seriously, "My grandfather has already reached an agreement with the Church Court and plans to use this opportunity to restore the East Solomon Empire."

"Oh, well, that's good news." While Aske said this, he gradually found himself at a loss for words.

He knew that Theodora had been lured to join The Azure Longsword Mercenary Corps precisely because her country had fallen. Now that the restoration of the East Solomon Empire was hopeful, would she continue to stay in the group as a mercenary?

It was unthinkable. After all, restoring her country was her lifelong dream.

"What do you plan to do?" Aske asked.

"I don't know," Thira shook her head, "I'll just try to reach Demigod Level first, there's still about half a year left."

Half a year to advance from Lv.12 to Lv.20 – it would be deemed impossible for ordinary Transcendents. However, the girls of The Azure Longsword had this confidence because they could grasp Laws from their future selves through the Acceleration Plan.

In other words, cheating.

Hearing Thira say this, Aske breathed a sigh of relief. Ascending to Demigod Level... Once the team advanced to Lv.20, he could form a party to tackle the instance corresponding to the Bronze Dragon.

After that, irrespective of whether he successfully returned to Earth or failed, there would no longer be any purpose for The Azure Longsword Mercenary Corps.

"Alright," Aske nodded and said, "I see."

Thira was slightly surprised, for she had thought Aske would try to retain her, but he had agreed so readily, leaving her feeling a bit let down and annoyed.

However, realizing that Aske's acknowledgment came only after she mentioned becoming a Demigod, Thira suddenly grasped the key point:

Indeed, she had joined the mercenary group with the goal of restoring her Empire, while Aske had formed this band of mercenaries... it seemed it was to return to someplace?

Although Aske had never discussed this with her, Thira, from her conversations with Medea, keenly sensed that their Squad Leader apparently had plans to travel somewhere in the future.

The key to getting there was to kill a Demigod Level Extraordinary Creature, and Medea had consistently tried to prevent him from doing so.

Knowing that she would leave after becoming a Demigod, Aske showed an indifferent attitude. It meant Medea's worries were indeed true:

Right from the start, he was prepared to abandon everyone in the mercenary group, planning to return to that place alone.

Thinking this, Thira felt both ashamed and embarrassed for her initial anxiety and longing.

Well, if even the Squad Leader doesn't care about this mercenary group, then why should I? Once my Empire is restored, I will go back and proudly be the Emperor of Solomon!

Humph!

The more she thought about it, the angrier she became, and suddenly, she reached out and pinched a piece of flesh on Aske's arm, then twisted it 180 degrees.

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