“Geez, I was just about to tell you not to run on the ice or you’ll slip, but you managed to do it before I could even say anything…”

He could hear Jhin’s exasperated tone, followed by footsteps.

But the entire surrounding forest was gripped by frost, meaning he couldn’t tell their exact locations. Still, he knew his companions were close to reaching him.

The mages had figured that out, too.

“…Rin, we’re retreating.”

“B-but, Lady Alice?! Aren’t we going to deal with him?!”

“We’ve destroyed the power generator. We know enemy reinforcements are coming—staying here would be dangerous.”

The two witches dashed across the hill.

After using Rin’s earth golem to gather the subordinate mages, they got back onto the monstrous bird they had originally been aboard.

“It was Iska, right?” The princess of the Nebulis Sovereignty turned around, blushing from the disgrace of her earlier blunder. She’d allowed him to see her face, even though she’d wanted to keep her identity a secret from the Empire. “I’ll let you go for today. Don’t think I’ll do that next time!”

As the bird flapped its wings and echoed through the rustling trees, Iska watched the two girls disappear into the sky.

“Iskaaaaaa, I’m so glad you’re safe!”

“Whoa, Captain?” He caught the childish captain as she leaped into his arms.

“I was so worried. Are you okay? Are you hurt?”

“…Why would you jump on someone when they could be hurt?”

On the other hand, Nene and Jhin were looking up at the hill before them and sighing.

“What’s this? Hey, Jhin, is this really the work of astral power?”

“Just as the rumors say. It seems like she’s no ordinary mage. It’s like the Ice Age around here. There was even some snow at the rendezvous point on the front line.”

“…It’s exactly what it looks like.” Iska glanced around the frozen forest and shrugged.

“How long has it been since you’ve been injured by an astral mage? Make sure you disinfect your injuries.”

“Th-that’s right, Iska. We need to treat them or they’ll get infected.”

“All right.” Iska nodded, even as he felt his heart throb in his chest.

…Why is my heart beating so hard?

…I’m probably still wound up from all the fighting. But why? I’ve never felt like this before.

It might have been because of the lingering tension from the battle or because of something else—regardless, he failed to understand why it was happening.