“R-Really?”

Fey’s face had been pale until then and now regained its color. Vega couldn’t accurately discern Fey’s inner thoughts, but at least her expression was quite clear.

Vega smiled and nodded. “Yes. The first condition, which was for me to become your escort knight, hasn’t been broken. My retirement is just a subsequent process. I’m grateful for your kind offer, Fey.”

“Is that so? I’m glad it’s a good offer for you.”

“Yes, however…”

“However?” Fey tilted her head.

Vega recalled the ever-expressionless face of his superior, Saint Lia. She was the issue.

“Lady Fey, you can ride the Grand Transcontinental Express to Gashal. That’s for sure. But before that, if a request is made to extradite you back to Brimfe, Saint Lia probably won’t refuse that request.”

Vega took a deep breath. “As you know, Gashal is a closed-off country. The Grand Transcontinental Express was created primarily for Saint Lia’s convenience, not for ordinary citizens. There are many who harbor illicit desires and aim for a war, so Gashalians are extremely wary of outsiders, and immigration procedures are also strict. Moreover, the wounds from the civil war haven’t fully healed yet, so we must be cautious in our relations with other countries. Of course, with me, the immigration and train procedures won’t be difficult, but the problem is…”

“I understand.”

Fey cut through Vega’s litany calmly. Then, with a determined face, she clenched her jaw. “Still, I will go. It’s okay. If an extradition request is made, I will immediately return to the Empire, and I will do my best to prevent that from happening. I won’t cause any harm to Saint Lia and you. So please take me with you.”

Fey thought to herself. She knew the Empire wouldn’t make an extradition request. O’Bellie family was already a fallen one. Luné, the only one who awakened the power of the fairies after King Oberon, was dead.

Although she still held the title of Marquis, more than half of her territorial rights had been taken by the Imperial Family. Rather than making an extradition request for the pitiful and powerless young heir, it was even more likely that they would be grateful for the situation and turn Fairy Tail, O’Bellie’s grand territory, into Imperial land.

So Vega’s concerns were unnecessary, and everything would be fine.

“Understood. You’re quite determined.” Vega smiled softly.

“Then when will you depart?”

“As soon as possible. I want to leave as soon as I can.”

If it were possible, tomorrow would be fine. In response to Fey’s determination, Vega spoke. “The earliest date for the start of train operations is three weeks from now.”

“Three weeks?”

Vega looked up and nodded. “Yes. The next train will depart four months after that. I’m available anytime. However, if you want to catch the train that runs in three weeks, it will be a tight schedule to leave tomorrow morning. If you want to take the train that operates four months later, I will visit Brimfe again around that time.”

Four months? Don’t make me laugh.

“Let’s go tomorrow,” Fey replied sharply, suppressing a snicker.

Vega looked at her with concern. “Are you alright?”

Vega assumed she would naturally choose the next train departing after that. It seemed obvious to him, considering her apparent exhaustion. But Fey’s urgency outweighed Vega’s worries.

“I’ll eliminate everything that made Luné die.”

Deneb’s vow from earlier was the trigger. She was in a situation where her head and neck might be separated in just three weeks. Fey quickly stopped her thoughts and firmly clenched her jaw as she spoke.

“I’m fine. Let’s depart tomorrow immediately.”

“Is that so? Understood,” Vega had no intention of opposing Fey’s choice.

“Then we will depart from the capital as soon as the sun rises. Please bring your luggage to the front of the Tighalst Gate.”

The year was 675 of the imperial era, it was a sunny spring day.

It was the moment when Fey O’Bellie and Vega Thanatos’ new “promise” was fulfilled.

* * *

The next day. The yet-to-rise sunlight mixed with a hazy blue hue enveloped O’Bellie’s mansion.

Fey cautiously pushed open the mansion’s front gate with both hands. Despite it being spring, a chilly breeze lingered outside.

Fey wished summer would come quickly, but when summer arrived, she would inevitably long for winter, so she would rather have the current weather continue.

Fey wore a loose-fitting emerald green dress with a matching cloak draped over it. She didn’t wear any accessories because she had stowed away all the expensive-looking ones in her bag last night, so there were no fancy adornments on her body.

The chestnut-colored leather bag on her back was filled so that it completely concealed her figure, but in reality, there was nothing much inside.

A few bundles of accessories, a handful of Limphus (the highest currency denomination in Brimfe), a few sets of underwear, and one spare outfit.

That was all, yet somehow the bag had swelled up enormously.

‘Even if I combine everything, would it be enough to live on for a year?’

She might have to stay in various inns for a while, and she would need to find a new home, so no matter how much money she had, it would be insufficient. If she had more time, she could have found more valuables to sell.

Still, Fey didn’t regret setting today as the departure date. If she had left four months later over money concerns, she might have died even before leaving.

‘Should I have sold this sword after all?’

Fey tightly embraced the last precious item that lay inside the leather bag. That sword was none other than the O’Bellie’s family heirloom, the ‘Fairy Sword Obelus.’

* * *

After returning to O’Bellie’s mansion from Tighalst last night, Fey went straight to the underground treasure chamber as soon as she arrived. The reason was obviously to take treasures that could be turned into money.

However, as she opened the door to the treasure warehouse an absurd scene unfolded before Fey.

Said to contain only the world’s greatest treasures, O’Bellie’s treasure warehouse was empty, except for a dusty and dilapidated warehouse that made Fey sneeze.

Fey didn’t know that the treasure warehouse would be so empty, even though she knew that Past Fey had not only emptied the treasure warehouse but also accumulated debts.

[Pay your debts. Leslie Finance.]

[Pay the interest. Roban Finance.]

[I’m coming. Soon. Your warm family, Dorothy.]

Luné’s office was filled with overdue debt collection letters. It was another reason for Fey to escape from Tighalst without taking anything. She wondered if she had to start from scratch without much money.

And then it happened.

Miraculously, in the most remote corner of the treasure warehouse, she discovered ‘that item.’

It was the Fairy Sword Obelus. Buried in a dusty apricot-colored crystal case, it still shone brightly with its long silver blade.

When Fey found Obelus, her complicated worries vanished instantly. Fey took it and left the treasure warehouse without hesitation.

‘Yes. If I sell Obelus, I won’t have to worry about money for the rest of my life.’

Fey hugged the crystal case containing the silver blade tightly and walked quickly. Obelus was a legendary sword said to have been used by the fairy king Oberon, originally paired with ‘Oberia, the Fairy King’s Heirloom.’

However, Oberia was a treasure cherished by Luné, and it no longer existed, buried under a thorny bush after her death.

Obelus was a symbol with such significance that even the past ‘Fey,’ who sold off all the treasures, couldn’t easily sell it.

But the current Fey didn’t care about such symbols, history, or legends. The only thing that mattered was survival. She was prepared to sell all the family heirlooms and genealogical records if necessary.

Fey adjusted the strap of the large leather bag that was constantly slipping down. As she exhaled, a misty breath escaped her. The street was quiet and gloomy in the pre-dawn hours.

She couldn’t call a carriage because she had to hide her tracks as much as possible during this journey. But eventually, she couldn’t hide her anxiety, and Fey’s pace gradually quickened. It felt as if she had become a thief. Nevertheless, she had no choice. All she wanted was to disappear from this place as soon as possible.

When she reached the castle gate, she suddenly thought, ‘What would Deneb think?’

At first, he would think she had just gone to the palace as usual. But as the days passed, Fey wouldn’t return to the mansion, and he would become more and more curious. In the end, he would realize that she had escaped and fled.

After that, Fey had no idea how Deneb would react. It would be better if he just cleanly gave up on her.

“Ah, Sir Vega.” When Fey arrived at the castle gate, she saw a blonde-haired man standing behind the door. Tying his horse to a pillar with his sleek hair tied into a single strand, it was unmistakably Vega Thanatos, even without seeing his face.

Fey lowered her robe hat, trying to avoid the eyes of the drowsy guards, and stepped out of the castle gate. “Sir Vega!”

As Fey called out Vega’s name, panting heavily, he finally turned his head.

“You came, Fey.” Vega’s skin and green eyes sparkling with intelligence made Fey’s heart beat faster. Ah, she can really leave Brimfe.

“Thank you for keeping your promise, Sir Vega.”

Fey couldn’t hide her laughter. Vega smiled quietly. “I promised you. Please give me your luggage.”

“Here you go. Oh, I’ll hold onto this.”

“Is that… Obelus?”

—