Very late update, sorry about that, but I wanted to finish this and move on to the Black Butler book lol.
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-3rd POV-

"You ended up coming back for seconds, thirds, and even fourths of that "risotto" dish, Baur." Lilia teased, "That good, huh?" He chuckled.

"...Yes, well. Upon reflection, I concluded food can hardly be held accountable for man's misdeeds." Baur said.

Sebek smiled, "I'm glad you enjoyed it!" He said, as Silver had a slight smile.

He cleared his throat, "If we could move on, General..."

Lilia nodded, "Right. The Silver Owls have been coming here from Howling Canyon awfully frequently as of late."

"Those despicable illegal miners go around acting like they own the place, despoiling Briarland territory wherever they go!"

"A century ago, it was one little sailboat that came ashore at Cape Sunrise...But their population multiplied faster than you can blink, until they started outnumbering the fae who live here. Now they inhabit all the land east of Howling Canyon."

"Grrr...Foul humans! We should have ejected them from our land from the beginning!"

"I'm sure her majesty wasn't expecting matters to get this far out of hand back in those days either."

Sebek and Silver were silent as they listened in with the others.

He furrowed his brows in anger, "If they respected animals and nature and lived modestly, we could leave them be...But we cannot let them tear up any more of our mountains and forests. I need to get Lady Maleanor's letter to their eastern stronghold, and fast."

Grim tilted his head, "Who's this Maleanor Lady?"

Sebek frowned at him, "You know nothing of Lady Maleanor? She's our liege's—erk!" He instantly cut himself off, "Lady Maleanor is the princess of Briarland."

Lilia nodded, "The boy's right. She's the only child of our reigning queen Maleficia. She's our commander and the lady of Castle Wildrose."

"Castle Wildrose? Not Castle Blackscale, the royal castle in Dragonopolis?" Silver questioned.

"There's an expanse of wetlands in southern Briarland called the Verdurous Moor. In its center stands a citadel—an object of ire for many a ruffian coming from the Coral Sea or Howling Canyon. That's Castle Wildrose." He explained.

"Lady Maleanor is a key figure in our national defense. She commands the royal guard. We are her palace guards, whom she dispatched as a delegation to deliver her demands to the Silver Owls. We set out from Castle Wildrose just today on that mission." Baur said.

"Her demands? What kind of demands?" Sebek questioned.

He frowned, "What else would it be? It's obviously an ultimatum warning the Silver Owls to cease their ill-mannered conduct in our lands!"

Lilia sighed, "We could fly over to their stronghold if flight magic was an option."

"Is there a reason it isn't?" Silver said.

"Every other delegation that set out for the eastern stronghold has gone missing."

"What?!" The two Diasomnia males exclaimed, eyes widening.

"Our first job is to deliver the letter. Our second is to search for the missing delegates as we travel. And our third is to seek out and expel every Silver Owl mining our lands without fae permission." Lilia said.

"Rgh...Diplomacy should be our nobles' job. Why should our esteemed General of the Right be stuck with it?" Baur said.

"Because the humans outnumber the fae. We've had a nonstop labor shortage ever since the Silver Owls first showed up. Besides, our nobles are a useless lot. They'd swoon where they stood at the first whiff of iron. I'm sure that's why Lady Maleanor picked me for the job."

"Well, ah..."

"We're about to exit the Tenebrous Wood, travel across the Verdurous Moor, and head for the Howling Canyon. Once we're through Howling Canyon...we'll conduct searches in the Scarlet Plains and Dragontail Peak while approaching the Silver Owl stronghold on the eastern coast."

"...This sounds like it's going to be a long trip." Silver said.

Lilia smirked as he chuckled, "Getting cold feet? So, messenger boys and girl. Do I look like I have time to go to school?"

The rest were silent.

"You can keep busting your tails following along with us, but all you'll get for it is a boatload of danger. Look, I'm saying this for your own good. Get out of here and go back to school."

The silver haired male shook his head, "No, sir. If anything...Hearing all of this only reinforces my wish for you to attend Night Raven College."

He furrowed his brows, "What."

"I'll grant that we probably can't teach you much in the way of magic. But I'm certain that school life will be an irreplaceable experience for you."

Sebek looked at his friend, "Silver..."

"Once your mission is over, I'll extend our invitation once more...to Night Raven College, our alma mater!" He said, which made the others smile.

"I highly doubt I'll change my mind once this mission's over with. Are you willing to stick with us anyway?"

"Yes, sir!"

"Even if it means endangering your life?"

"Yes, sir!"

He was silent for a bit, "I'm not exactly an authority on humans, but...I'm starting to suspect that Night Raven College is full of people who are weird even by human standards."

"It's true that it has a great number of unique individuals."

Sebek continued, "They come from different backgrounds, different species, different cultures...It's very diverse."

"And that means every day is educational."

Lilia sighed, "Suit yourselves. Don't say I didn't warn you."

"Thank you, sir!" The two said with smiles on their faces.

"General, I remain very much opposed to this! How can you allow humans to accompany our troops?!" Baur exclaimed, glaring at the students from the corner of his eye.

"They can at least cook our meals and carry out things. If they ever slow us down, we can just ditch them. Not like we're responsible for their well-being." Lilia said.

"If you say so, General..."

"My real worry is Castle Wildrose. The sooner we wrap up this job, the better. I'll use whatever gets it done faster, be it fae or humans."

"I guess a general shouldn't be gone from his castle for too long." (Y/n) said.

"And I imagine you worry for Lady Maleanor as well." Sebek said.

Lilia's eyes widen, "Me? Worried for Maleanor?" He laughed, "It's not her highness I'm worried about. It's the castle itself, and my hide. The last thing I want is for the princess to destroy the whole castle in a fit of pique while I'm gone."

"Wait, what?"

"Briarland's ruling family, the Draconias, are descended from the dragons at the top of the nocturnal fae hierarchy. Maybe where you're from, princesses are fair damsels in need of everyone's protection...But our princess is so powerful, the rest of us combined wouldn't stand a chance against her. She's also unruly, quick to start fights, selfish, and irascible..." He sighed.

"Not to mention incredibly spiteful." He smirked, "Lady Maleanor is Briarland's most menacing figure. If we take to long, she'll call lightning bolts down on our heads or burn us to a crisp with her fire breath. And for the record, I'm not joking. She'd do it in a heartbeat."

Baur was shocked by his words, "General! That seems rather harsh to say about our princess!" He said, looking around as if she's near.

"Oh, pardon me. That was putting it lightly, though. I'll have you know I've been subjected to her vagaries for as long as I can remember—some 300-odd years now. If Lady Maleanor were the kind of princess to sit quietly in her castle awaiting a prince on a white dragon...my life would be much less difficult."

"General!"

"The one silver lining is that she'll be sitting quietly in Castle Wildrose for another two or three years. Even her highness won't take any silly risks until her precious egg hatches."

Everyone's eyes widen.

"Her egg?!" Silver and Sebek exclaimed.

Lilia narrowed his eyes at them, "What? Why the loud reaction?"

"Princess Maleanor has an heir already?!" The silver haired male said.

"Where is my li—ah, the royal egg now? Is it in Castle Wildrose with the parents?!" The light green haired male exclaimed.

(Y/n) blinked with dotted eyes, 'Tsunotarou hatched from an egg?'

'How old is Malleus-senpai?' Shoto thought.

"Why would you all be so interested in where the heir's egg sits?" Baur glared at them, "Something's fishy. You'd better not be after the egg!"

"Ah..." Silver shook his head, "Absolutely not! We just, ah, didn't realize an heir had been born..."

Lilia huffed, "Come now. In our land, even common children know where the egg rests. Dragon eggs require love and magical energy from their parents to hatch. Plus, there's no safer place in our land than in Lady Maleanor's arms. So what if they know where it is? Not like they can do anything with that info."

"But General! There's also the Dragoneye Duke to consider. We cannot risk trusting outsiders!" Baur said.

"Raverne, the Dragoneye Duke...If only he'd made it back, we wouldn't have ever had to act as substitute delegates. He and his wife have both given me no end of extra work since we were children."

"Well..."

He yawned and stretched, "It's getting light out. I'm going to bed. Don't put out the campfire. Silver Owls aren't the only threat around here. There are also ravenous direbeasts. The rest of you should get some sleep too. We're setting out eastward at noon."

"...Yes, sir. I hope you rest well. Night's blessings."

"Night's blessings." He said, getting up and walking off, going inside a tent.

Baur turned to the students with a glare, "Listen up, humans. Regardless of what the general said, I don't trust you in the slightest. Remember—the moment I spot the slightest sign of any funny business, I'll use my magearm to vanquish you on the spot! But for now, go find some empty tents and rest. And don't disturb any of the troops." He turned his back to them, "Hmph." He then walked off.

"Did you heard that, Sebek?" Silver looked at him.

The said male smirked, "Indeed I did! To think that our liege is already born! Oh, would that I could see him just once...To lay eyes upon his egg-like visage!"

"It ain't egg-like. It's literally an egg." Grim deadpanned.

Silver was quiet, which the girl noted.

"What's wrong, senpai?" (Y/n) questioned him, putting a hand on his shoulder.

He looked at her, "...It doesn't make sense."

"Huh?" The others questioned.

He looked at them, "Father said, "for as long as I can remember—some 300-odd years." And in the real world, he's 700. That means father's having a dream from 400 years ago. But he said the heir's egg would hatch in two or three years."

Sebek's eyes widen in realization, "Ah...You're right! That is strange! That would be quite a difference from our liege's real-world age."

"How old is Tsunutarou now?" Grim questioned.

He smirked in pride, "Our liege is going on 178 years old!"

Midoriya choked on his drink, coughing as he hit his chest, "He's 178?!"

'That seems so young compared to 700.' (Y/n) thought with dotted eyes.

"Mrah?! That means Tsunotarou's an old geezer!" The feline exclaimed.

Sebek glared at him, "Watch your tongue! I'll have you know that's quite young by dragon standards!"

Shoto hummed, "Wait, that means..." He trailed off.

Silver nodded, "Now you're getting it, Shoto. That's a 200-year discrepancy."

"200 years?! That goes way beyond a "discrepancy"!" The tanuki said.

"Even accounting for the long-lived fae's indifference to the passage of time, it's still far too drastic of a disparity." The light green haired male said.

"You think so too, huh. Considering how big of a deal Malleus-sama's birth would be, I can't chalk this up to father misremembering things. Hm..." Silver hummed, "Father and Malleus-sama have hardly ever spoken about the past in my presence."

"There wasn't much literature about Briar Valley history on our bookshelf at home or in the school library..." He turned to his dormmate, "Sebek, do you have any insights here?"

"Grandfather's shared many tales of heroics revolving around the Draconia family and Lilia-sama...But he never spoke much about Lady Maleanor...or about the passing of Malleus-sama's parents. I've read many books to gain a greater understanding of Briar Valley and our ruler...But hardly any of them touched upon such topics. And nowadays, the Vendurous Moor and Castle Wildrose are outside Briar Valley's territory."

"They did have some long and chaotic years...But what actually happened?" He looked at the tent Lilia went into.

"If you wanna know, couldn't we just hit up Castle Wildrose and see for ourselves?" Grim questioned, "We're tryin' to find a way to break Malleus's spell, right? Maybe his old digs will have some kinda clue! Am I smart or what?"

"No..." He shook his head, "That's not an option. A dream is an unstable mental world constructed by the dreamer. When you go off too far from the dreamer, you tend to hit either dead ends of places covered in darkness." The silver haired male explained.

"Mrah...So taggin' along with Lilia's our only real option, huh?"

"I'm afraid so."

"Rgh...! I can't believe this. How I wish I could have seen even a tiny glimpse of our liege!" Sebek exclaimed.

"Once father delivers the letter to the eastern stronghold, his troops should return to Castle Wildrose."

"Ah! So you're saying there's a chance we could see our liege?! Then we must finish this mission posthaste!"

"Yeah. Let's rest up for now and prepare for tomorrow."

"Hmph! I hardly need you to spell that our for me." He said.

(Y/n) blinked, 'Isn't he a freshman? Why is he so mean to Silver-senpai...?' She thought.

"By the way, Silver. I note that you haven't dozed off once today. Normally you're quick to nod off regardless of what you may be doing, be it training or having a conversation."

"Yes, well...I don't get hit with irresistible drowsy spells when I'm in dreams." Silver said.

"Hah! So you're more awake when you're asleep. That's rich."

"You're not wrong. I wish I could remain wide awake in the real world too."

"But the drowsy spells prevent that?" (Y/n) questioned.

He nodded, "Yeah, exactly. They hit me hard and fast. It's been that way since I was a child."

"I know all about that! It's so easy to doze off when I'm in Trein's class, or when I'm sittin' on a courtyard bench after lunch..."

"...I'm fairly certain my drowsy spells work differently than yours, Grim. In my case, it can happen when I'm walking or in the middle of a conversation. Even when I'm doing sword training. Drowsiness just hits me with no warning whatsoever." He explained.

"Whoa, during sword training? You sure it's not just 'cause you're tired from binge-gaming all night or somethin'?" The feline said.

"Yes, I get plenty of sleep at night. I have no idea why it happens. Father's taken me to a great many different medical mages to try and identify the cause...But all of them were stumped. None of them could pinpoint anything." He softly sighed.

The dual haired girl softly smiled and rested a hand on his, which made him look at her, "I hope you can find the issue and fix it someday." She said.

He softly blushed, then nodded, "Thanks. If only I could fix that dozing habit of mine, it would ease one of father's worries."

"Y'know, I notice you call Lilia "father" sometimes...Is that supposed to be some kinds in-joke? Or a nickname or somethin'?" The tanuki tilted his head.

Shoto nodded, "I was curious about that myself."

"Oh, sorry. It's not a nickname." Silver said.

"Mrah? Then what is it?" Grim questioned.

"When I enrolled, Lilia-senpai told me not to tell people about it since it could cause confusion with other students...But I don't see the harm in telling you four. Lilia-sen—Father took me in as an orphan and raised me. He's actually my father."

"Huh? Like...for real real?!" He exclaimed in shock.

"I was not expecting that." Midoriya said.

Shoto shrugged, "Well, fae are long-lived. I had a vague inkling..."

"Sorry if this is strange for you. I've tried to stick to addressing him as Lilia-senpai while on campus...But sometimes old habits kick in, and I say father without thinking." The silver haired male sighed.

"I doubt a human could relate, but long-lived fae who merely took young are hardly uncommon in Briar Valley. My mother is fae, and she looks younger than my father despite being older in age." Sebek said.

"Mrah...I guess there ain't much difference between how Lilia looked 400 years ago and how he looks now." The feline said.

'With the exception of his long hair...' (Y/n) sighed with a small blush on her face, before snapping out of it when her brother hit her lightly on her head.

"No, but...While he may look the same visually, he's very different from the father I know. I never really knew him at all, did I...?"

A warrior walked up, speaking in fae, startling the rest.

"Ah! Pardon our noise! We're going to bed now." Sebek said, apologizing, then turned to the rest, "Great, now your rowdiness has angered the royal guardsmen! Remember, our objective is to reach the eastern stronghold as quickly as possible...so that we can bear witness to Malleus-sama's egg-like visage in Castle Wildrose! Hmph!" He then walked off to go rest.

"Right. Let's rest up and prepare for tomorrow. Good night." Silver said, getting up and walking off.

"...Man, Sebek changed up his whole goal, just like that." Grim huffed, "Ain't this a mess and a half, (Y/n)?"

The girl nodded.

"Wonder what Ace and Deuce and the others are dreamin' about right now..." He instantly got comfy in the girl's arms, before mumbling and snoring soon after.

"And he fell asleep..." She muttered, "Good night."

"Night, imotou. Midoriya." Shoto said.

"Night, you two." Midoriya smiled.

-----

"...Time to get up, (Y/n), Grim." Silver gently shook the girl's shoulder.

The said girl blinked her eyes open and then sat up, rubbing her eyes.

"Mm..." Grim woke up, "Goin' to sleep and wakin' up in the same dream ain't right, I tell ya." He said.

"Did you rest well?" He then pointed at a nearby stream, "Washing your face in the stream should help you feel refreshed." The male said.

The girl yawned and nodded, going up and splashing her face, but then her eyes widen, "The water is cold..." She said.

"Mrah! This water's cold as ice! Brrr!" The feline shivered.

"The spring water in the Thunderclap Mountains is cold year-round. This continent's far to the north of Sage's Island. The mountains get piled high with snow in the winter. We're lucky the dream doesn't take place in that season." Silver said.

Sebek walked up with the other two, "Looks like the royal guard's starting to head east. Get dressed and get moving!"

"...Stay sharp, Sebek."

He smirked, "Who do you think you're talking to? It's you who'd best not do anything stupid."

"Okay, let's get this show on the road!" The tanuki cheered.

-----

"To reach the eastern stronghold in the shortest amount of time, we should head for Howling Canyon in the northeast." Lilia said.

"Ironclads have also been sighted at the foot of Dragontail Peak and near the coastal settlements. It may behoove us to