The movement of life toward new growth.
But the world does not always move as one hopes....
Empress Drian of the Silva Empire and her retainers were on their way back after meeting Empress Nereia of the Aqua Empire.
They crossed the boundary of the deep sea and climbed once more onto the forest path.
The closer they came to the heart of their own empire after leaving Aqua behind, the more the expressions of the retainers accompanying her hardened.
Tarban spoke cautiously.
“Now that I think about it, no matter what result our exchange with Ignis leads to, it seems difficult to view it favorably.”
Drian asked.
“What do you mean?”
“If we are to obtain Ignis’s cores, we must give them an equal amount of life cores in return. So even if Ignis accepts our proposal, it leaves something to be desired; and if they do not accept it, then beyond that disappointment, a certain unease remains.”
Bramir looked at him.
“Isn’t it only natural that, for our own growth, we must also give the other side something of ours? It may feel uncomfortable for us to give Ignis life cores again, but there is nothing to be done about that.”
“That is true. But if Ignis refuses our proposal, I mean that it will not merely be a disappointing result for us, but something that makes the future even more worrying. What reason would they have to refuse? Would it not mean that the state of their empire has already recovered to the point where they no longer need our help?”
Drian let out a breath.
“Both outcomes would be unwelcome to us. Even so, if we decide not to meet with Ignis, our growth will stagnate. Aside from Aqua, the only empire we can approach is Ignis. What we gain from them is not merely cores, but the possibility of our own growth, as well as information about them. Through this exchange, we should be able to roughly learn what Ignis’s current situation is and how they intend to move.”
Drian and her party passed through Driandel and headed south.
They silently quickened their pace.
Their footsteps were passing through the southeastern region of a world not particularly familiar to them.
As Empress Drian, Tarban, and Bramir descended southward, the sky grew redder and the air hotter.
They had now reached the border of the Ignis Empire.
Ragdor hurried back to the fortress of Ignis and informed Emperor Vulcanus.
“Empress Drian has arrived from Silva.”
“Hmm?”
Vulcanus rose from his throne.
“What business brings her here?”
“It seems she has some matter to discuss with us, but we will have to hear the details from her directly.”
Vulcanus moved forward, scattering sparks from his body.
“Very well. I suppose we should have a talk.”
Drian and her party were crossing the red earth toward Volcanium.
As they looked around, the citizens of Ignis also looked back at them.
One nearby citizen said in a small voice,
“Thank you, truly. For saving us....”
Drian did not answer.
Instead, Bramir received the citizen’s greeting.
“It was nothing.”
All the citizens recognized Drian and her party.
And because they knew that their empire had survived thanks to Silva, they felt gratitude and embarrassment at the same time.
Within Ignis, the flames did not burn particularly fiercely.
The buildings, too, seemed not to have been fully restored; there were more than a few traces of damage.
Tarban whispered,
“It seems the shock has not yet fully passed.”
Bramir added as well,
“Metalum must have intended to bring Ignis to complete ruin. I can understand well enough. We, too, have been attacked by Metalum before.”
Seeing Ignis’s situation with their own eyes, their aversion toward Ignis somewhat subsided.
From Silva’s standpoint, Metalum was a more dangerous existence than Ignis.
Even if Ignis had once harvested Silva’s life cores without permission and was an empire Aqua did not favor, it was still a necessary force for keeping Metalum in check.
Before long, when Drian and her party reached the border of Volcanium, Vulcanus and his retainers were waiting for them.
“To come all the way here. What is the matter?”
“I have come to make a proposal.”
Vulcanus looked around and said,
“Hm. The state of the country is a sorry sight. It does me no honor.”
It was an uncharacteristic tone for him.
Perhaps it was because the other party was Drian, who had come from Silva.
Drian nodded and said,
“I know that Metalum inflicted considerable damage on your empire. We, too, had our forest ravaged by them, so we know that pain well. Nor have we forgotten that at that time, we escaped danger thanks to you.”
Tarban and Bramir looked somewhat tense.
Since they had helped each other, they had thought the relationship with Ignis would be settled at this point.
But those events were now being mentioned again for the sake of negotiation.
Vulcanus asked briefly,
“I know. So what proposal do you wish to make?”
Drian spoke without hesitation.
“I would like us to exchange cores with one another. Our life cores will help rebuild your empire.”
When her words ended, a heated silence flowed between them.
The retainers of both empires silently looked back and forth between Drian and Vulcanus.
Vulcanus asked Drian a question.
“You must have come all this way because you need our cores as well, have you not?”
“To be honest, yes. I believe your cores will also be necessary for our growth.”
“For what purpose will you use them?”
“The ember cores you shared with us left a deep impression. We, too, wish to grow through those cores.”
There was no hesitation in Drian’s answer.
Now it was time to wait for Vulcanus’s decision.
Vulcanus looked straight at Drian, then answered.
For Vulcanus, it was an ambiguous reply.
“An interesting proposal. But now is not the time to decide. For the moment, I will put it on hold.”
Drian’s expression did not change, but a fleeting calculation passed through her eyes.
“Do you perhaps have no need of our support?”
“For now, we will try to kindle the fire with our own strength. You have Aqua as an ally. If Aqua learns that you are dealing with us, would that not put you in a difficult position as well?”
As expected, the Ignis side was also conscious of Aqua.
Vulcanus spoke as though he were being considerate of Drian’s side, but another meaning was hidden within his words.
In truth, Aqua not only knew about the contact with Ignis, but Drian had even spoken with them beforehand. Even so, she could not bring herself to say any more.
“...Very well. If you need our help, you may come to us. However, we cannot allow you to take our cores without permission as you did last time.”
“Hm.”
A sly smile bloomed on Vulcanus’s face.
“There will be no such thing, so you may rest assured. Is that all you came for?”
“Yes. Then I will await word from you.”
Drian and her retainers turned around.
Vulcanus’s side also returned to the fortress as though they had no further regrets.
In the end, Drian and her retainers had no choice but to return empty-handed.
Their faces were all filled with disappointment.
Tarban looked around the interior of Ignis’s territory and said,
“Why has he not made a decision yet? From what we can see, Ignis still seems to need quite a bit of help to rebuild the empire. I thought he would naturally accept our proposal, but why...?”
“Let us discuss the details after we leave this place.”
“Understood.”
Once they left the border of Ignis, the red air gradually disappeared.
Bramir spoke worriedly.
“For Vulcanus to mention Aqua... he may already have noticed somewhat. That if he gives us flame cores, some of them will soon pass to Aqua as well.”
Drian looked up at the sky for a moment.
Instead of red smoke, a gray sky veiled in faint mist was revealing itself.
“So that is why Vulcanus could not decide easily. It seems he was more concerned about Aqua getting their hands on their cores than about giving cores to us.”
She looked forward again and continued.
“But an answer that is neither acceptance nor refusal suggests that he may accept our proposal later.”
Tarban looked at her and asked,
“Ah, is that so? Since it is not yet a complete refusal....”
“The possibility still remains. However....”
Drian seemed to have something about Vulcanus’s answer that bothered her.
“I still cannot tell what he meant by saying he would try to kindle the fire himself. Did he mean he would simply gather cores in silence, just as he said, or does it mean he is already receiving some other support from somewhere?”
Bramir tilted his head.
“I do not know. Is there anything other than us that could make their flames burn stronger?”
“There may be something we have not considered at all. Until Ignis comes to give us an answer, we will have to continue watching them.”
They walked in silence.
Having failed to obtain Ignis’s flame cores, Silva now needed its next plan.
After walking toward Silva for some distance, Drian and her party stopped and looked around.
Upon land that belonged to no one, with neither flames nor heat.
And yet, as though some invisible current were passing through, the texture of the wind was strangely different.
Bramir said,
“Your Majesty, I sense an unusual energy beyond there.”
He pointed in a certain direction.
They were returning to Silva by a different route from the one they had taken to Ignis.
An energy they had not perceived while moving toward Ignis had now reached them.
Drian and her party changed direction and searched for the source of that energy.
Drian said,
“This feels like the energy of water. Could it be Aqua?”
Tarban answered,
“Aqua is to the north, but this place is closer to the south. I do not think Aqua would have come all the way here.”
Soon, a tranquil lake spread out before their eyes.
A region where the energy of water was thickly diffused.
And yet Aqua did not exist there.
In truth, this was the very lake that Vulcanus’s army had encountered in the past when approaching Silva.
From the energy rising from that place, Drian and her party felt a cool sensation.
Drian and her retainers approached the lake as though drawn by that energy.
Bramir slowly dipped his hand into the surface of the lake.
“Ohh....”
He marveled despite himself.
“It is indeed water. It feels refreshing.”
They all carefully entered the lake.
“It truly is.”
Drian came back out of the lake.
“It feels as though I have entered the sea of Aqua. But there seems to be a vague sense of strangeness different from Aqua. This place is certainly not Aqua.”
Tarban asked,
“Does Aqua know of this place’s existence as well? Should we inform them?”
Drian began walking again and answered,
“Not yet. Even if we told them, it would not be very important information. What we need now is the direction of our future growth. For the time being, let us simply keep in mind this water energy whose owner we cannot identify.”
The wind blew, rippling the texture of the lake.
Beneath that lake, all remained still.
But in another lake somewhere, a dull and busy movement was taking place.