After glancing at Dan Feng, the guard said nothing more and left the area.
Dan Feng silently burned the corpses and then prepared to go find Roxy and Fia.
When he returned to the spot where Roxy and the others had been gathering herbs, he found the two of them lying on the grass, resting.
Hearing someone approaching, Roxy quickly sat up from the grass.
"You're back? How did it go? Did you take care of it?" Roxy asked hurriedly once she saw it was Dan Feng. She knew exactly what Dan Feng had gone to do.
Dan Feng nodded, indicating it was handled. "Have you two finished gathering?"
"We're done. So tired—we searched forever!" Fia slowly got up from the ground, then said to the two of them, "What were you guys just talking about?"
"Nothing, just some personal business. It's already taken care of."
"Then let's go. We need to hurry back and submit the quest!" Fia stretched lazily as she spoke.
Afterward, the three of them descended the mountain at high speed and successfully returned to the city.
Once back in the city, the three hurried straight to the adventurers' guild without stopping.
"Here are the collected quest materials. Take them!" Fia took the materials from Roxy's hands and handed them all over to the staff member.
The adventurers' guild staff member carefully inspected the materials Fia submitted. After confirming everything was correct, she let out a relieved sigh.
Then she looked up, her gaze falling on Fia, and asked with concern, "May I ask, did you sustain any injuries while carrying out this quest?"
Fia clearly hadn't expected the staff member to suddenly ask this. She froze for a moment but quickly recovered.
The corners of her mouth lifted slightly into a confident smile as she answered proudly, "Not at all! This quest was a piece of cake—super easy, couldn't be simpler!"
Dan Feng and Roxy, standing nearby, exchanged glances upon hearing Fia's reply, inwardly groaning.
They both knew very well that if Fia had actually gotten hurt, this kingdom would probably come after them for accountability.
After all, Fia was an important figure in this country!
The thought that their own fates could be so easily manipulated by others felt utterly unbearable.
Once it was confirmed that Fia was unharmed, the staff member handed the quest sheet to the three of them for signature confirmation.
The three took the sheet and each signed their names.
After completing the signing process, the staff member handed over the quest reward to Fia.
Fia accepted the reward, then immediately divided a portion and gave it to Dan Feng and Roxy, smiling as she said, "Here, this is your share of the reward."
Dan Feng and Roxy took the reward and thanked her.
Although they had received their rightful pay, their moods didn't lighten because of it.
Especially when they saw Fia's beaming smile, something felt off.
By now, Fia had changed back into her previous armor. Her smile looked a little strange, as if it concealed a trace of regret.
But soon, that trace of regret was replaced by a look of acceptance on her face.
Even though Fia said out loud that today had been really fun, Dan Feng and Roxy could still sense that her heart wasn't truly in it.
"Alright, I should head back now." Fia said to the two of them.
"Yeah! If there's a chance in the future, let's party up again." Roxy put away her reward and smiled as well.
"Yes, thank you both. If there's an opportunity, let's team up again! Farewell." Fia's expression didn't change—still smiling, yet carrying a sense of distance.
...
That night, Dan Feng, Roxy, and Etrill sat together in a restaurant.
They had come for dinner. After all, this was their last meal in this country, so of course they had to eat at a proper restaurant!
In any case, they were eating happily.
Dan Feng and Roxy ate while listening to Etrill share the gossip she had heard.
"You guys know what? This is just a rumor~" Etrill said mysteriously to the two of them.
The pair looked at her in confusion, waiting for her to continue.
"Today I was reciting poetry in a tavern in the Shirone Kingdom, right?" Etrill's voice carried a hint of excitement, as if what she was about to say would be astonishing.
Dan Feng and Roxy exchanged a glance, both seeing curiosity in each other's eyes.
"So guess what news I heard?" Etrill teased them, deliberately making them guess.
Dan Feng thought for a moment, then shook his head. "The world is so big—I can't guess." His tone was very direct.
Roxy nodded in agreement with Dan Feng.
Seeing their reactions, the corners of Etrill's mouth curved upward into a mysterious smile. "Alright then, I'll tell you. But this is classified information—if it gets out, people could be executed~"
Dan Feng and Roxy's curiosity was fully piqued. They both unconsciously leaned forward, wanting to hear more clearly.
Etrill lowered her voice to a volume only the three of them could hear. "This country is going to send their princess to marry into the neighboring country—to prevent a war through the marriage alliance."
"What?!" Roxy's face was full of disbelief.
This country's princess? That had to be Fia, right?
Without a doubt, Fia was about to be married off to the neighboring country.
"But there's no helping it. A princess's fate is basically to serve as a tool for political marriage to end wars." Etrill said with a sigh, as if she were already accustomed to such things.
Dan Feng took a sip of cold water, feeling refreshed, then said, "Respect other people's fates. When it comes to matters on the scale of nations, not just anyone can interfere."
Dan Feng said this for Roxy to hear. Although they had only known Fia for one day, the feeling Fia gave Roxy was very much like a best friend from her previous life. Even though Fia sometimes looked down on her, she was still a very good person.
Roxy understood this perfectly well in her heart. She fully grasped what it meant for the kingdom to make such a decision.
However, she had no intention whatsoever of trying to stop it, because she knew deeply that this was an unchangeable fact.
Still, one question lingered in Roxy's mind: Was Fia truly willing to accept this?
After all, from what she had seen of Fia in just one day, this girl had quite a stubborn personality.
Yet reality turned out to be completely different from Roxy's guess.
In truth, Fia had long been aware of her own fate.
She knew she would be married to the neighboring country to bring an end to the war between the two nations.
This was the helpless destiny of being a princess of a weak kingdom, yet Fia chose to accept the arrangement willingly.
That was precisely why she had been granted permission to go out today—her one chance to personally witness the outside world.
For Fia, doing this would not only resolve the conflict between the two countries but also pave the way for her younger siblings.
As long as the two nations achieved peaceful coexistence through the marriage alliance, they would stand on the same side, and the strength of both countries would see a qualitative leap.
In this way, this originally weak nation would have the chance to rise and become somewhat stronger.