[Ace POV],

Looking at the destruction that lay before my eyes, I couldn't help but turn to look at the emperor flying in the sky beside me. What a monster! This thought kept going through my head as I kept switching my view towards the emperor and the destroyed landscape below me.

"Hmmm. The ogres have left the area, just like I suspected," the emperor said as he observed the location below us with a serious expression on his face.

Hearing his words, I finally understood the reason why he suggested we should head out in the first place. It seemed that she wanted to assess the state of the ogres after the last huge attack he had sent towards them before joining me and her men to run to the settlement.

According to the emperor, he was certain that the ogre king was still alive. I didn't know how she knew that. At first, I thought it might be because of the primordial chronicle. Whenever we killed something that provided us with primordial records, the chronicle would send a notification, listing the name of what we killed and the primordial records we received. It could be the case here, and if the ogre king truly survived that attack, then he was a monster as well.

I already knew this, but now it became even more apparent, as the area hit by the emperor's spell showed no signs of life and was very barren. There was no trace of corpses or any evidence to suggest that living beings had been struck by that spell. It was possible that everything had turned to ashes from the attack.

Although I wasn't close enough to witness the full glory of the spell, even from a far distance, I could still appreciate its magnificence. However, it seemed that the view I had of the grand spell in the beginning wasn't enough to fully do it justice.

Putting aside the matter of the spell, I wondered what the emperor was planning to do now. There were several reasons I could think of as to why he wanted to know if the ogres were still in this location, but I didn't want to jump to conclusions.

"Let's head back to the settlement," the emperor said to me, and I nodded as we both flew back.

"I'm sorry for bringing you on what may have seemed like a needless scroll from the settlement, but I had to confirm a few things," the emperor said to me. I simply nodded again while caressing the neck of my tamed beast.

"When we get to the settlement, I will fulfill my side of the deal and give you another dragon-related item," the emperor spoke again, and this time his words piqued my interest.

"Mhmm," I hummed in agreement with the emperor. After that, no one spoke as we delved into our own thoughts.

"What dragon item would the emperor give me?" This thought dominated my mind as we drew closer to the settlement.

Would it be another dragon blood like the one he gave me last time? If so, that would be good. Perhaps I would even be able to perform one of those peculiar rituals from the knowledge in my head that required items like dragon or phoenix blood, or body parts belonging to the four great beasts.

Most of these rituals were strange, but according to the knowledge I possessed, they had unique benefits that were difficult to believe, even for someone like me who had the job of making the impossible possible.

However, these rituals would only be worth considering if the item the emperor gave me was dragon blood again. But dragon blood should be highly precious, so even if there was a possibility that the emperor didn't know what to do with the dragon blood in his possession (if he still had any), he might be unwilling to give it to me. The last time was a special case since I somehow played a part in his successful ascent to power.

Regardless, even if it wasn't dragon blood that the emperor would give me, anything dragon-related should be valuable enough to satisfy me. As I pondered this, it reminded me of another dragon-related item that I was fortunate enough to own.

Although its connection to dragons was primarily in its name, the dragon potion I received from the quest to stop the phantom revival was also valuable. Perhaps the emperor might have something similar to offer.

If he were to give me something like that, it would be good. After all, the dragon potion expelled impurities from my body before my evolution, and the knowledge I gained about alchemy from that evolution indicated that any item capable of purging impurities was a treasure.

As my thoughts started to wander, contemplating what the emperor might give me, I slowly made my way to the settlement with him. When I finally saw the settlement walls, a strange feeling began to well up in my heart.

It was something I had felt before, but this time it was more intense than any of the intense feelings I had experienced in the real world when battling numerous monsters stronger than me. I felt excitement, and this time it was different from most of the past excitement I had felt.

I wasn't excited because I was in a battle with strong monsters, but because I was anticipating what the emperor was going to give me.

It felt really strange and unfamiliar to me, but I ignored it and focused more on where the emperor was leading me, or rather, Blue since he was the one flying us to land. historical

This was supposed to be the plan when suddenly I heard a bell-like sound in my head.

I knew it was a message, which piqued my curiosity about who it was from. I had only a very small number of contacts in my contact system, and apart from Anna, with whom I usually communicated, only the emperor and one of his subordinates used the contact system to talk to me.

Could it be my mom or my sister? I wondered, and another strange feeling started to build up in me, one that I didn't like as it was very uncomfortable. I think you should take a look at

Or could it be Anna?

I pondered, as that was also very possible. After all, Anna was the person I spoke with the most.

On the other hand, there was a part of me that wanted to see the name of any of my family members more than Anna's name. Unfortunately, when I accessed the primordial chronicle in my head, it was indeed Anna who had sent me a message.

[Annabella Dark]

Hey Ace! I'm bored of resting at home, and even after going out to the true world to hunt monsters, I desire to meet you and talk with you!

******

What's wrong with this girl? I thought as I continued reading the message.

[Annabella Dark]

Hey Ace! I'm bored of resting at home, and even after going out to the true world to hunt monsters, I want to meet you and talk with you!

Oh, and by the way, I also ran into Emma and Chris in the forest, so why don't you come and complete the team?

Don't reply to this message if you are busy, and even if you're not busy, still don't reply, since we might meet when you're close regardless.

******

At least she knows it costs coins to send a message. After reading the message again to ensure I hadn't missed anything, I was about to dismiss the panel in front of me without replying. After all, I was busy, and a war could break out at any second, so there was no way I would waste time...

Hmm. Come to think of it, my teammates aren't exactly burdens. Perhaps they might even be useful to me and the emperor. I'd rather work with them, since I'm at least familiar with them, than stay alone in an unfamiliar environment with only Blue.

However, I should ask the emperor first if I can bring my teammates. I reasoned that I should ask him because I was not sure if he wanted his settlement to be known by more people, even if the number was small.

As I pondered these things, the emperor had already led Blue to a large clearing in the settlement for us to land. After landing, he was about to head to another location when I spoke out.

"I was wondering if it would be fine with you if I brought my teammates to the settlement," I uttered to the emperor. His eyes widened a little at my words, but he did not reply immediately. He took a moment to think before speaking.

"These teammates of yours, are they your friends?" the emperor asked, but a particular term he used caught me off guard.

'Friends?'

Are Anna, Emma, and Chris people I can call my friends?

What does it mean to be a friend, anyway?

I did not fully grasp the true meaning of this particular word, but I still replied with the first thing that came to my head.

"Yes. Yes, they're my friends."