1118 -1104- The real troublesome figure

"Senpai...!"

Seeing Rozen mercilessly throwing countless living humans into the fire to burn to ashes, Yukina began to waver.

Obviously, Yukina had never witnessed such a shocking massacre. As a girl who had not yet reached fifteen years old, she couldn't conceal her emotions no matter how calm she tried to be.

But La Folia smiled at Yukina.

"Look carefully, Yukina."

La Folia said with a commanding tone, prompting Yukina to subconsciously raise her gaze and gaze earnestly into the sea of flames ahead.

Then, Yukina noticed.

In the blazing fire, countless black-armored soldiers who had been burned to ashes not only did not scream or mourn, but they melted into molten iron.

"Molten iron?"

Yukina widened her eyes.

In other words...

"These soldiers are not human, they're automatons."

La Folia revealed the true identity of the enemy.

Automatons.

That is, humanoid machines made to mimic humans.

The group of soldiers attacking Rozen and his companions were just that—neither human nor demon, nor did they possess life; they were merely humanoid machines programmed to act according to a set of instructions.

La Folia discovered this with extraordinary insight.

Rozen, on the other hand, with the ability of his Mind's Eye, had not sensed any heartbeat, blood flow, neural signal transmission, or microscopic cellular activity in these soldiers from the beginning. Therefore, he confirmed that they were not living beings but a group of automatons.

So, Rozen didn't hesitate to burn down the legion in front of him.

"Since the enemy only dispatched such a force, it proves that this wave is just a probe. They themselves are still hiding behind the scenes and not revealing themselves yet, so, presumably, all possible clues that could lead to their identity have been wiped out from these automatons. In that case, it's better to burn them all down."

Rozen made this judgment and acted ruthlessly.

If the enemy were not automatons, or if there were any clues on them, Rozen would have definitely left someone alive to interrogate and find out who was behind the attack.

And now, the only thing that can be certain is one thing.

That is...

"They're coming for you, Princess."

Rozen affirmed.

Otherwise, the enemy wouldn't have appeared directly in this deserted abandoned church.

You see, Rozen moves using spatial teleportation. If the target were Rozen, they would have lost track of him long ago and there would be no need to act here.

Unless, the target is La Folia.

"Only you have a reason to come here, and the enemy is well aware of that."

That's what Rozen thought.

La Folia didn't seem surprised at all.

"I think so too."

La Folia nodded naturally, apparently in agreement with Rozen's thoughts.

"Can you think of anyone who might be hostile to you?"

Yukina quickly understood the situation and asked La Folia earnestly.

And La Folia replied like this.

"Yes."

La Folia answered very straightforwardly.

"Currently, there are two people on this island who are highly likely to be hostile to me."

In fact, La Folia's visit to this island is closely related to one of these two people.

"He is a former court mage of the Aldegyr royal family who once served and is well-versed in magical technology that requires the mediumship abilities of royal family members. He is currently working as a technician in a large company on Itogami Island. This time, I came to this island because there are some important matters that must be confronted face-to-face."

La Folia said in a calm tone.

"According to intelligence, the company he is currently employed in is called Magus Craft, mainly known for manufacturing industrial robots."

In other words, if it's that company, manufacturing combat-oriented automatons and dispatching them here to attack La Folia is not out of the realm of possibility.

"However, is this a unilateral decision from him? Or is the company itself complicit with him? This is not clear at the moment."

La Folia analyzed the situation as if discussing someone else's affairs, and her reasoning was sound.

Truly, as a princess who had already demonstrated her diplomatic skills on the international stage before the age of twenty, combining intelligence and beauty, she was clear-minded and sharp, not inferior to Rozen in the least.

"Then, who's the other person?"

Yukina continued to inquire.

To this, La Folia revealed a name that no one would have expected.

"The Lord of the Warlord Dominion, the ruler of the Ardeal principality, Dimitrie Vatler."

La Folia actually mentioned such a name.

"If it's him, it's equally possible that he's targeting my life."

These words prompted reactions from both Rozen and Yukina.

"Dimitrie Vatler...!?"

Yukina was astonished beyond measure.

"Dimitrie Vatler...?"

Rozen was equally surprised.

This name, Rozen had heard it not for the first time, and it could even be considered familiar.

Certainly, if it was that vampire noble who was hailed as the existence closest to the Primogenitors, he would also have a reason to target La Folia's life.

Because Aldegyr and Ardeal were neighboring territories and historical enemies, having experienced numerous conflicts and wars in the past.

Even though there had been a formal ceasefire between the two countries due to the appearance of the "Sanctuary Treaty," ceasefire did not mean that both sides would forget their animosity, nor did it mean that they could coexist peacefully. The people of both countries surely still saw each other as thorns in their eyes and meat in their mouths.

So, if they learned that La Folia, the first heir of Aldegyr, appeared on Itogami Island, they might indeed take action.

The question is...

"Is that 'Snake Charmer' also on Itogami Island?"

Rozen was somewhat surprised.

"Oh? You didn't know?"

But La Folia smiled pleasantly.

"This time, not only me, but Dimitrie Vatler has also visited Itogami Island, as a diplomatic ambassador."

With just this sentence, Rozen understood.

He understood who the troublesome figure mentioned by Natsuki was.

It wasn't referring to La Folia.

For Rozen, the real troublesome figure was him—Dimitrie Vatler.

"Speaking of which, it seems that the Lord of Ardeal is planning to hold a ball in the near future to entertain his invited guests. I've already received an invitation, you know?"

La Folia seemed to realize that something interesting was about to happen and smiled very happily.

"I'm sure we'll meet at the ball, Nichiyo."

It was just a premonition.

However, for some reason, Rozen had a strong feeling that it would come true.

"Truly..."

Rozen sighed softly.

It seems that encountering the troublesome figure is inevitable.