Floralys's eyes gleamed playfully.
"If Carla hadn't calmed Ironclaw, she would have torn apart all four of my knights," she laughed.
"Oh, surely the knights could have taken care of themselves, don't you think?" Carla answered lightly.
"In my long life, I have even seen dragons," Floralys said more seriously. "I can tell what a powerful beast that Ironclaw truly is."
Carla waved dismissively.
"Oh, Ironclaw is just a sweet puppy."
Christina burst into laughter.
"That sweet little puppy played with the Blue Ogre as if it were a toy—for an entire hour. In that time, the Ogre would have crushed me three times over," Christina remarked.
Carla's eyes widened.
"Goodness, is Ironclaw really that strong?"
"Wait, Carla… you truly didn't know?" Floralys asked in surprise.
"But she's so adorable, isn't she?" Carla defended herself, prompting Christina to burst into laughter again.
"Carla, you wouldn't even notice if your son brought home a dragon!"
"Oh come now, I'd recognize a dragon at least," Carla replied with a laugh.
Floralys then turned to her with a more serious tone.
"Will you introduce me to your son, Carla?"
Carla's eyes gleamed playfully.
"Don't tell me you've set your sights on him too?"
"I only thought it would be nice to have someone to dance with," Floralys answered diplomatically.
Christina interjected at once.
"Unfortunately, the Young Wolf is already promised to dance with my niece."
"Is your niece a mage?" Floralys asked curiously.
"No," Christina shook her head. "Neither a mage nor a swordswoman."
"I am a mage," Floralys said firmly. "I would have something to talk about with the Young Wolf. Your niece would likely bore him during the dance if they had no common ground."
Christina's eyes flashed, her voice tinged with offense.
"Really? I myself have spoken with the Young Wolf many times, and he has never been bored with me."
Carla raised her hand to calm the tension.
"Come now, ladies. The dance lasts an hour. My son will have plenty of time to dance with both of you, all right?"
Christina sighed, then nodded.
"You're right, Carla. Forgive me if I acted foolishly."
"No, I went a little too far myself," Floralys admitted. "Sorry."
Carla smiled as she refilled her glass.
"Then let's drink up all this delicious wine!"
The three ladies broke into laughter, their glasses clinking merrily together as the lively hum of the ball surrounded them.
Meanwhile, at the King's table, Master Albert was approached by his old acquaintance, Master Florian. The meeting of the two elder magi felt as though shadows and memories of the past had come alive once more.
"My dear friend, Albert!" Florian greeted him in a booming voice. "It's been an age since I last saw you. How fares life?"
Albert lifted his head in surprise.
"Well, well, Florian. I did not expect you to greet me."
"Oh, let us leave the past behind!" Florian waved dismissively. "Tonight we celebrate. The Hero has risen, and together we shall fight against the demons. The two of us, as in the old days."
Albert nodded slowly.
"Hmm, you are right. Against the demons, we must unite. So you no longer resent me for defeating you and becoming Archmage?"
Florian shook his head with a smile.
"Not at all. In fact, even my stubborn mind has come to understand: my destiny was to be the Wolf Mage."
Albert's eyes gleamed mischievously.
"Come now, tell me! You want to boast about your pupil, don't you?"
"You see through me as always," Florian laughed. "Indeed, I am so proud to have been the teacher of the Young Wolf Mage."
Albert nodded gravely.
"I suspected as much. He possesses two magical elements. We ourselves never succeeded in awakening a second."
Florian's voice rang with pride.
"Imagine my face when I saw that he awakened his second element at only six years old!"
Albert stared at him in disbelief.
"Only six?! Are you serious?"
"I was speechless," Florian recalled. "I rushed at once to my lord to announce the news."
Albert sighed with admiration.
"That must have been quite a feeling."
"And then, at eight years old, he found himself a half‑elf girl in the orphanage," Florian continued. "Noelle is such a talented little mage!"
Albert raised his eyebrows.
"That half‑elf maid?"
Florian waved dismissively with a laugh.
"After all this time, we have much to discuss. Let's drink something, my throat is dry! What is this grape juice? Don't you have anything stronger, Albert? Something homemade, the kind that could knock even dwarves flat?"
Albert smiled.
"What do you take me for? Of course I do! I'll have the lads bring some at once."
"Now that's the spirit!" Florian exclaimed. "We'll drink to the Hero! We'll drink to the King! We'll drink to our friendship! We'll drink to the Young Wolf and to Noelle as well! So many toasts to make, we'll never be left thirsty!"
Albert laughed.
"It truly has been a long time. If we don't let ourselves go now, the demons will leave us no time or mood for it later."
"That's the spirit!" Florian replied. "I'm so glad to speak with you again, my foolish old friend!"
Albert's eyes flashed seriously, though his tone remained playful.
"You could have come to me sooner. Did it really take the demons dragging your old ass here to see me?"
Florian lowered his head.
"You're right. I was foolish, proud, and stubborn. Our friendship should have meant more than that."
"You could have been my assistant," Albert said. "Together we could have led the Royal Magi."
But Florian only shook his head with a smile.
"No matter, it turned out better this way. If the Young Wolf defeats even one of the Demon Generals, then it was worth being the Wolf Mage."
Albert sighed bitterly.
"The Royal Magi are nothing but talentless nobodies. I wouldn't recommend a single one to the Hero. If I could name anyone to her, it would be Floralys and the Young Wolf. Those two. But truly, let us drink—this cannot be spoken of with dry mouths."
Florian raised his glass with a wide grin.
"That's the old friend I know!"
The Princess proudly approached the Wolfwood table, intent on personally introducing her knight—the Hero, Eris Scarlett.
"Young Wolf!" she addressed Andras. "I saw you earned my father's praise."
"Greetings to you as well, Princess," Andras replied calmly, his tone a touch cool.
"At last I can introduce you in person to my Hero," continued Anabella Augusta Riel, her eyes shining with pride. "This is Eris Scarlett."
Andras rose and bowed respectfully.
"Greetings, Eris. I see the Goddess Neptune has chosen you as Hero."
"Well met!" Eris answered, her voice firm yet friendly. "I have already heard much about you from the Princess."
Andras smiled, his words carrying a playful edge.
"I can imagine the fine things she must have said."
"She truly did speak well of you," Eris nodded. "She thought you would be a worthy member of the Hero's Company."
Andras shrugged.
"Among the elves you will find mages far greater than I."
Eris leaned closer, curiosity in her eyes.
"I heard you fought the Blue Ogre. Will you tell me what kind of monster it was?"
Andras's eyes darkened, his voice grew grim.
"As strong as it was, it was just as foolish. With the lightning element, knights are natural killing machines. My lightning was useless against it. Without Christina and Ironclaw's earth element, we would all have died."
The Princess looked at him in surprise.
"You astonish me. I thought you would boast of its defeat."
"When you face such a monster and survive," Andras replied solemnly, "you learn to be grateful even for the smallest things."
Eris nodded slowly, her expression turning serious.
"I see. So the magical beast truly was that powerful."
"The Demon Generals will be far stronger still," Andras said, his voice carrying the weight of warning. "My duty is to protect Wolfwood from the demons. So if you seek a mage for your company, you should look to the Elven Kingdom instead."
For a moment, the Princess and Eris fell silent, as though Andras's words had cast a heavy shadow across the brilliance of the festive ball.
The Princess proudly introduced the Hero, Eris Scarlett, to the Young Wolf, but the conversation quickly took on a more serious tone.
"It is rare to meet someone," Eris remarked, "who refuses the chance to join the Hero's Company."
"Others would kill for the honor of being chosen," the Princess added, her voice almost offended.
Andras answered grimly:
"Eris, a word of advice. The time will come when you must choose between saving two children. And when you save one, but the other dies before your eyes, you will understand that the title of Hero means nothing."
"Eris will save both children!" the Princess snapped, her tone heated.
But Eris slowly shook her head.
"No, the Young Wolf is right. My father always tells me: a Hero is not a god. There will be times when it is simply impossible to save everyone's life. Especially when the Demon King appears."
Andras's eyes flashed with seriousness.
"Learn everything you can from your father. You will need it against the demons."
"So I shall," Eris replied firmly.