Chapter 126: Journey to Northgard and the Stowaway

Late the following afternoon, after laying General Dhorga to rest and reworking their battle strategy alongside Olga, Haruto, Elrond, and Faramir, an airship zeppelin finally lifted off from the city center, setting a direct course for the Kingdom of Northgard. Dion perched near the edge of the deck with Gina sitting atop his head. Gathered around him were Luna, Aria, Sheila, Mei, and Cleo, while Nala stood a short distance away, staring down at the passing landscape below.

They had decided to embark for Northgard with a force consisting of twenty holy knights from Thetor under the command of Aria and Luna, fifty barbarian warriors led by Sheila and Nala, ten elf soldiers and five soldier golems alongside fifteen crew members under Cleo’s command, and five Shadow Hand operatives led by Mei. Dion turned to look at Sheila beside him, noticing her anxious posture.

"Why have you been so quiet this whole time?" Dion asked gently.

"I’m just a little hesitant about returning to my kingdom. I haven’t been back in so long... I wonder how the people at the palace will react... I can’t even imagine it," Sheila admitted softly.

"Don’t worry about it. I’m sure you’ll be just fine. Honestly, I’m more worried there won’t be anyone left at the palace to greet your arrival," Dion replied.

At Dion’s words, a heavy hush fell over the deck. Everyone knew exactly what he meant. The assassination of Dhorga, the royal seal recovered from the missing Shadow Hand operative turned undead in Minatheras, and the sudden wave of flying monster assaults across various kingdoms all pointed toward one grim reality: Northgard was far from a safe haven, and the true state of the royal palace remained a complete mystery.

"Anyway, let’s not jump to dark conclusions just yet. We’ll be arriving in two hours. What matters right now is deciding where we’re going to land," Cleo interjected, breaking the silence.

"That’s right! Whatever is going on over there, we’ll see it soon enough, so there’s no point making wild guesses right now," Luna added encouragingly.

"Hmm... That’s unusual, coming from an airhead princess thinking so positively," Aria remarked, darting a smirk toward Luna.

"Shut up, you dumb princess!" Luna shot back instantly.

Then, everyone turned to look at Mei, who stood with her arms crossed. Her head was turned off to the side, her face set in a dead serious expression.

"What is it, Mei?" Aria was the first to ask.

"Hmm... Something’s off," Mei answered, still looking off to the side.

"Off how?" Luna asked.

"There are supposed to be five Shadow Hand operatives on this ship, but... I’m sensing a sixth presence... Excuse me for a moment," Mei replied. She abruptly turned on her heel and walked toward the doorway leading into the ship’s interior.

Mei slipped inside, while Dion, Luna, Sheila, Cleo, and Aria watched her disappear behind the closing door.

"Is there an enemy on board?" Sheila asked, her curiosity piqued.

"Who knows... Let’s just wait and see what Mei finds," Luna answered smoothly.

"If there really is an enemy on board, then we definitely have a traitor back in our territory. We can’t go around trusting just anyone outside our immediate inner circle," Cleo cautioned gravely.

"Yeah... Aside from Lady Olga, Johan, and Astrid, who are clearly above suspicion, I still don’t trust Lord Elrond or Lord Faramir one hundred percent... Maybe it’s just because we barely know them and haven’t seen what they’re truly about," Aria noted.

"What about Lord Sion?" Luna asked.

"Same thing... To be completely honest, I don’t trust him one hundred percent either... Probably because we know he’s a spy and his domain operates in a total grey area to us," Aria replied candidly.

"Come on, there’s no way someone betrayed us. In theory, Lord Sion was right: that undead passed through city security because he was an active Shadow Hand member. Naturally, our protective barrier and watchtowers wouldn’t flag him as an enemy. He moved freely through the city, entered from the western district, and went straight for General Dhorga. Still, if I hadn’t seen that Northgard royal seal, I’d probably assume we had a traitor among us, too," Dion reasoned calmly.

"Ugh... I’m so anxious to find out what’s actually happening in my kingdom... I don’t even dare imagine the worst-case scenarios... Look at her, I bet she feels the exact same way," Sheila murmured, darting a glance toward Nala.

Dion, Luna, Cleo, and Aria looked over at Nala, who was sitting near the edge of the deck, leaning back against the railing. She held her staff tightly in her arms, her head bowed low, it was impossible to tell whether she was sleeping or lost in thought. They turned back around, leaving her to her solitude.

"When you think about it, why did we bring Nala along in the first place?" Luna questioned.

"Technically speaking, she’s still our prisoner of war. Sorry to say this, Sheila... but to be completely honest, I don’t trust her one hundred percent yet either," Cleo admitted plainly.

"Same here. I thought I was the only one thinking that," Aria chimed in.

"I can guarantee she won’t pull anything funny. I’ve known her since we were kids, and I know her character inside and out. Forget betraying us, she genuinely hates conflict and always seeks peace. She only got dragged into this whole mess because of the class she possessed," Sheila argued, defending Nala firmly.

"If you’re willing to vouch for her like that, then I trust her," Dion said casually.

"Sigh... Fine then. If you can guarantee it like that, I won’t press the matter any further," Cleo said, shrugging her shoulders.

Suddenly, blam!

The interior door burst wide open. Mei stepped out, dragging a Shadow Hand operative along the floor toward Dion and the others. Seeing Mei emerge, Gina floated off Dion’s head. Instead of landing on Mei’s shoulder or head, however, she landed right on the chest of the operative being dragged, who immediately wrapped her arms around Gina, her face obscured by a ninja mask. Reaching the center of the deck, Mei unceremoniously tossed the operative to the floor.

"Ow! Could you be a little less rough, Big Sister?!"

Dion, Sheila, Luna, Aria, and Cleo stood dumbfounded as a young girl’s voice whined from beneath the mask, watching the operative rub the back of her head with one hand while holding onto Gina with the other. Mei yanked off the hood and pulled down the mask, gasp! Dion, Sheila, Luna, Aria, and Cleo gasped in shock.

"Wait, Harumi?! Why are you here?!" Dion blurted out, stunned.

"Aren’t you supposed to be grounded back home by Lord Sion?" Luna asked, gaping at her.

"I thought you were still traumatized by what happened yesterday!" Aria added in surprise.

"Uww... Hi, everyone! Hehehe," Harumi squeaked out, looking around at everyone staring down at her.

"She snuck onto the ship. That’s why I sensed a sixth Shadow Hand presence even though we only brought five operatives," Mei snapped in annoyance, her arms crossed tight over her chest, her face flushed with anger.

"Sigh... What do we do now? We can’t exactly turn the whole zeppelin back just to drop her off, can we? We’re already halfway there, and we’ll arrive in about two hours," Cleo sighed, rubbing her temples in exhaustion.

"Please let me come with you, Big Sisters... and Brother-in-law! I promise I won’t be a burden! Really! I have an S-rank Ninja class... You don’t need to worry about me at all!" Harumi pleaded frantically, trying to convince Dion, Sheila, Luna, Aria, Cleo, and especially Mei, who was glaring down at her with razor-sharp intensity.

Dion instantly got a headache and rubbed the back of his neck. He knew full well how fiercely protective both Mei and Haruto were over Harumi, Mei had gone so far as to kill Yugo for her sake, yet here Harumi was, already aboard the ship. He turned to look at Luna, Cleo, Aria, Sheila, Mei, and even Gina, who was still cradled in Harumi’s arms. Every single one of them was staring directly at him.

"Why are you all staring at me?" Dion asked.

"So... what do you think?" Cleo asked, speaking for everyone.

"Sigh..." Dion let out a heavy breath. He looked down at Harumi, who was still sitting in the middle of the deck hugging Gina, both of them looking up at him with wide, piteous eyes.

"Well, what choice do we have? She’s already with us... We can’t exactly send her back alone. Like it or not, she’s coming along," Dion stated.

"Yayyy! Thank you, Brother-in-law!" Harumi squealed, diving forward to tackle Dion’s leg in a tight hug. She let go of Gina so fast that the little dragon flopped onto the floor before floating back up into the air.

"Hey... cut it out," Dion said, trying to shake his leg free.

"Supposing you come, you promise not to leave my side. Do you hear me, Harumi?" Mei demanded sternly.

"Sir, yes, sir!" Harumi chirped, snapping upright to give Mei a sharp salute, while Gina floated down to perch on her shoulder.

With that settled, Harumi was welcomed into the fold by Luna, Aria, Sheila, and Cleo, even if Mei still looked visibly annoyed. Meanwhile, Dion could only stare at her with a bitter, helpless smile.