The message inside was short — but heavy with meaning:
"Due to the approaching demon war, we must strengthen the unity of the Kingdom.
Therefore, the Royal Family invites the members of the four great noble houses to a Royal Hunt,
to be held in the Greenwood Forest."
Silence fell over the hall.
The Wolf Knights knew well that a Royal Hunt was never just entertainment.
It was politics.
A show of strength.
An opportunity for alliances.
And perhaps… a warning of something far more dangerous.
Young Wolf slowly folded the letter.
"Andras:
Looks like… we're going hunting."
Arc 14 – The Royal Hunt
On the Sky Island, the day after Firestorm's unexpected arrival in Wolfwood, Sakura Dry slammed her dumbbells together with enough force to make the clouds tremble, as if the weights themselves were to blame for everything.
She burst out in frustration.
"What in the blazing wounds happened this time? How did Firestorm end up as a waitress in some Wolfwood inn?!"
Eli massaged her forehead, already looking as though she regretted being awake.
"Is your brain made of muscle too?" she muttered. "Firestorm's little sister is the only sacred memory she has left of Meteora. In the evil future, humans took Fireburp away from her — that's why she turned against them. But in our timeline, Fireburp is happy among humans, so Firestorm doesn't see them as enemies."
Uriel nodded quietly, her wings giving a soft, thoughtful tremor.
"Meteora adored humans. She told the Hero's stories to little Firestorm with all her heart. That curiosity toward humans was always inside her… and now it has finally awakened."
Sakura Dry straightened with smug satisfaction.
"Well, whatever the reason, it's clearly thanks to my precious student."
Eli continued, half amused, half resigned.
"As long as Fireburp is under Young Wolf's protection, Firestorm will never turn against humanity."
Sakura Dry sighed, her gaze drifting toward the distant horizon.
"At this point, the Demon King has already lost two Demon Generals — and we haven't even had a real battle yet."
Eli let out a disbelieving laugh.
"Yeah. The insane White Witch turned into a sweet magical maid, and the world‑destroying Fire Dragon Queen became a waitress. And the funniest part? Young Wolf didn't even try to make this happen. He just lives according to his heart."
"Two out of four Demon Generals are practically allies now," Sakura Dry noted. "The Demon King has lost half of his strongest warriors."
"At this rate he'll run out of Generals entirely," Eli grinned.
But Uriel shook her head, her expression darkening.
"It would be nice, but that won't happen. Noelle and Firestorm aren't true demons — they could be turned to the good side under the right circumstances. But the other two Demon Generals are demons to the core. Only the Demon King can control them. Against them, bloody battles are inevitable… and there will be casualties."
Eli's smile faded.
"Salamander, leader of the Fire Demons…"
"And Quelenna, the Succubus Princess," Sakura Dry added.
Uriel nodded gravely.
"Yes. We're in a good position now, but victory still won't come easily. And on top of that, the mad demon Wildfire has begun to move. In the evil future, Noelle and Firestorm prevented him from becoming a General… but now nothing restrains his rampage. What will happen? Will he burn the Kingdom again, or will they stop him in time this round?"
Sakura Dry's eyes narrowed.
"A mad demon who burns everything — enemy and ally alike."
The grove fell silent, as if even the Sky Island itself held its breath.
Riel Kingdom – Wolfwood Castle
Bandorn Wolfwood was seated in his study when his son, Andras, stepped inside. The lord opened his mouth to begin the conversation, but his gaze caught on the girl standing behind the boy.
"I wanted to speak with you in private. Why is Noelle here with you?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.
By then Andras had already taken a seat, leaning slightly forward so Noelle could better reach his shoulder.
"I just finished my morning training," he replied with complete naturalness. "Noelle is massaging my shoulders and neck while we talk. Yes, there… right there. You're really good at this, Noelle."
Noelle let out a pleased little giggle as she continued her work.
"Hehehe! Am I doing it right? Or would you like it harder?"
Bandorn sighed, but eventually waved it off.
"Well, it doesn't matter. Noelle has been by your side since childhood. If anyone is safe to have around, it's her."
He pulled two letters from the drawer of his desk.
"As you already know, the King sent a messenger regarding next week's Royal Hunt in Greenwood. But it wasn't the only message. Another letter arrived… from the Empire."
Andras lifted his head sharply.
"That part I didn't know. And what do the Imperials want?"
"Not exactly the Empire," Bandorn said, tapping the envelope. "Your mother's father, Jack Goldfred, wrote. He says he wishes to come here, to Wolfwood."
A grin spread across Andras's face.
"So my other grandfather. I've never seen him. About time he dragged his ass over here."
But Bandorn didn't share his amusement.
"What bothers me is that they know about the events of the Royal Knight Tournament. He even congratulated our Wolf Knight for her glory against the Hero. The Imperials have spies in the capital… and likely here in Wolfwood as well."
Andras shrugged, as casually as if they were discussing the afternoon weather.
"Don't worry about the spies. The ones in the castle—I threw all of them out the window. The ones in the city… well, their lives ended a bit less cleanly."
Bandorn's eyes widened.
"You threw them out the window? Wait… every year there were cases of maidservants falling from the castle windows!"
"They were Imperial spies," Andras explained calmly. "They thought they could disguise themselves as maids."
"I see!" Bandorn leaned back and rubbed his forehead. "You could have told me. I thought they were suicides."
"This spring, however, I didn't throw out the new spy," Andras continued. "Instead, Noelle caught her, and Master Florian tortured her a little in the castle cellar."
Noelle straightened proudly while still massaging Andras's shoulder.
"That woman was well‑trained. She only confessed after two minutes that she worked for the Emperor. By the end she revealed all her contacts and snitched on everyone she could in the city."
Bandorn nodded slowly.
"And what became of that spy?"
Noelle shrugged, as if saying that's life.
"She became Master Florian's test subject. Unfortunately, she ended up as another failed experiment."
Andras let out a quiet laugh.
"She would've been much better off falling out the window."
Silence settled over the room for a moment before Bandorn drew a deep breath to continue.
Bandorn folded his arms and studied his son's face as the conversation drifted into increasingly serious territory.
"And did you learn anything from the spies in the city?" he asked at last, a hint of hope in his voice — the faint possibility that perhaps something useful had been extracted after all.
Andras stretched comfortably in his chair, as if they were discussing nothing more pressing than the weather.
"Anita had her fun with them," he replied lightly. "But all we uncovered was the Empire's spy network within Wolfwood. The spies operating in the rest of the Kingdom belong to a different organization."
Bandorn snorted, a short, derisive laugh escaping him.
"Foolish Imperials.
They send dogs among wolves and think we won't notice? Hahaha!"