Empire, in the southern high-end residential district.
This area had once been a gathering place for nobles, filled with rows of ancient yet luxurious mansions.
Inside one of those estates.
A man was furiously venting his anger.
He was the current head of the Furt family, and one of the nobles whose title had been stripped away by the Bloody Emperor.
"What did you say?!"
"Our family has existed for over a hundred years. We were once great nobles who supported the Empire!"
"One day we will reclaim our noble status!"
"And yet you want to leave the family? That is blatant betrayal!"
The man looked extremely agitated.
Standing before him was a beautiful young girl.
Faced with his accusations, the girl did not argue.
But the determination in her eyes made her answer clear.
"I've already made my decision."
"I've also paid off most of the family's debts. From now on, you'll have to take care of yourselves."
Arche shook her head and spoke calmly.
Allowing her parents to waste money without restraint would only make things worse.
Having parents like this was truly tragic.
She had endured it for years.
Worked desperately for years.
Wandered between life and death for years.
Yet in the end, she had gained nothing.
So she would not endure it any longer.
For her own sake.
And for the sake of her two young sisters.
Today, she had to leave this hopeless family.
"Arche, can't you reconsider?"
A woman dressed in extravagant clothing approached from the side.
She was Arche's mother.
Seeing her daughter about to leave, she desperately tried to persuade her to stay.
After all, Arche was the family's only source of income. If she left, the woman would no longer be able to buy luxurious goods.
"Goodbye, Father. Mother."
Arche sighed softly and said nothing more.
Her parents' foolish words had long since exhausted her.
All she wanted now was to leave as quickly as possible.
"No!"
"You're my daughter! I won't allow you to leave!"
Seeing that she truly intended to go, the man finally panicked.
Without money coming in, their future life would be unimaginably difficult.
But Arche ignored him completely.
She waved her staff and cast a small binding spell.
Then she walked away without looking back.
She had already quit her illegal worker job.
If she accepted commissions in the future, it would be as an adventurer, facing new adventures alongside her companions.
Entering the bedroom, her two younger sisters were busy packing their cheap toys and luxurious clothes.
Seeing her adorable sisters, a gentle smile appeared on Arche's face.
"Kuuderika, Ureirika."
"It's time to go."
"Big sister, where are we going?"
The two girls ran over and hugged Arche tightly, their faces full of happiness.
They were still too young to understand why they had to move.
But they knew one thing.
Their beloved sister would be with them.
"To the Sorcerer Kingdom."
"A place where people can truly pursue their own happiness."
Arche gently stroked her sisters' heads, her expression full of affection.
She would protect their smiles.
For that, she was willing to give everything.
Even though many hardships awaited them in the future, as long as they kept moving forward, the road ahead would continue to expand.
Arche was no longer lost.
Just as her friend Ninya once said, the future was something people created for themselves.
No matter how difficult it became, she would continue moving forward.
Holding her two sisters' hands, Arche pushed open the heavy doors.
Under the bright blue sky, several figures had already been waiting for quite a while.
"What took you so long? We've been waiting forever."
"Alright everyone, let's go. Destination: the Sorcerer Kingdom!"
"So, to celebrate, Hekkeran, how about we grab a drink tonight?"
"Give me a break. Imina will get mad."
"Come on, you're not married yet."
The noisy chatter echoed around them.
Standing there were the members of the adventurer teams [Foresight] and [Swords of Darkness].
…
Meanwhile.
The Great Tomb of Nazarick, Eighth Floor.
In the middle of a boundless wilderness stood a magic circle formed entirely from blood. Two figures sat cross-legged at its center.
Nearby, the Heavenly Dragon Lord operated the ritual with practiced familiarity.
Scorching Dragon Blood dripped continuously into the circle, maintaining its activation. Pure Dragon Souls rippled through the formation, guiding its direction.
After several dozen seconds, the two figures opened their eyes at the same time.
"Still a little short."
Sephis stood up, sounding somewhat helpless.
The purity of the Dragon Blood had improved yet again compared to before, but it still had not reached the threshold required to learn Wild Magic.
"Almost there. The Dragon Blood probably just needs to be tempered two more times."
Sebas clenched his fist as he spoke.
Although they were both Dragonoids, the paths they specialized in were completely different.
Compared to Sephis, who controlled lightning elements and the power of Dragon Veins, Sebas specialized in physical strength and close combat. Because of this, he could feel the changes within himself much more clearly.
"With your current strength, I doubt any of the Guardians could beat you in melee combat."
Sephis looked at Sebas and spoke in a teasing tone.
Perhaps it was because they shared the same race, or perhaps it was due to their Creators, but the two of them unexpectedly got along quite well.
"You overestimate me."
Sebas replied modestly.
His strength was not that exaggerated. At most, he was only a little stronger than the others~
"By the way, where did Brightness go?"
Sephis clicked his tongue, clearly not believing a word of Sebas's humility.
He had no doubt that if Sebas went all out and landed a full punch on Demiurge, it would probably kill him instantly.
After complaining internally for a moment, Sephis turned to look at the Heavenly Dragon Lord beside them, who was already nodding off.
Normally, the one responsible for refining the Dragon Blood was the Brightness Dragon Lord. Today, however, the Heavenly Dragon Lord had taken his place.
That caught Sephis a little off guard.
"Huh?!"
"Brightness? Oh, him… he went out to take care of something. I think he headed to the Dragon Kingdom."
The Heavenly Dragon Lord yawned as he answered, his voice thick with sleep.
"The Dragon Kingdom, huh? Probably went to see the Dragon Princess."
Sephis did not think much of it. Visiting one's own offspring was perfectly normal.
"I should go find Demiurge as well."
The Dragon Creation Project was still ongoing, and he needed to assist Demiurge.
On the way, he also planned to stop by Carne Village and visit Enri and the others.
"Then I should return to watching over the young dragon."
Looking after the offspring of the Platinum Dragon Lord was Sebas's current assignment.
Sebas personally did not mind the task.
Most of the time, the young dragon diligently trained to control the cursed power within its body.
The only issue was that sometimes its thinking was a little abnormal.
For example, it firmly believed that Naohara-sama was its real father and often tried to sneak away to kill its biological father, the Platinum Dragon Lord.
That part gave Sebas quite a headache.