"Getting closer, it looks even more magnificent." Aya strained her neck to look up. Human's advanced technology is truly terrifying. This Ferris wheel is even taller than her dragon form. It must require a tremendous amount of energy to support such a massive structure.

"I heard from the members of the Magic Guild that it seems to have borrowed from the natural magic of the Elf race, using sunlight during the day to accumulate energy," Gophit explained perfectly.

"Solar power?!" Emma muttered to herself. "Oh my, why don't they just send it up to the sky? What kind of bizarre things can the Magic Guild come up with? In a few years, they might even have cannons to annihilate dragons."

Thinking about this, Aya broke out in a cold sweat. Hmm, it seems she'll have to keep a low profile after the one-year contract is over. Maybe she should hide away in the human world? That way, she wouldn't be bothered by those dragon slayers anymore.

As Aya turned around, Gophit already had two tickets in his hand. He handed one to Aya and waved the other. "Let's go, let's get in line."

"So fast!"

...

"That idiot Knight Commander..."

"You've been complaining ever since we left. Can you be quiet?" After his ears had been tortured the entire journey, Imo finally couldn't take it and spoke up.

"What do you know? I even lowered my face to ask for help from those little ruffians, but the Knight Commander didn't even bother to respond! It was such a great opportunity, wasted like this! If I had been able to gain some favor with that wave just now, who knows, we might have been able to conquer the Ferris wheel together and bring it home tonight... Then our knight squad would have one more sister-in-law!"

Akul tugged at his hair, frustrated.

...

"Ah, it's so slow."

Standing under the brightly lit Ferris wheel, Aya boredly stared up at the cabins through the long queue in front of her.

"After all, they need to give enough sightseeing time for the passengers," Gophit said. "One full round takes about ten minutes, which is not bad."

Counting roughly, there were about thirty people ahead of her in line. So, they would have to wait for about ten minutes? But interestingly enough, among the thirty-odd people, besides two families, the rest were all couples...

"Because this is a sacred place for dates in the capital," a voice suddenly sounded from behind.

"Eh? It's you?" Aya turned her head and saw the acquaintance.

"Haha, Miss Aya, who cosplays as Lady Flare, didn't expect to meet again," the young man in a black cloak with round glasses on his nose said.

"You're... Johannes?"

"It's great that you remember me." Johannes laughed and then glanced at Gophit, who was looking at him oddly. "But I didn't expect Lady Aya to know Knight Commander Gophit from the Kingdom Cross. Quite surprising."

"You know me?" Gophit was stunned.

"Of course, your reputation precedes you. It's not strange that I recognize you," Johannes nodded thoughtfully. "But what about your outfit?"

"This?" Johannes opened his arms and shook the loose black cloak. A sinister smile appeared on his face as he took out a black hood from behind and put it on his head. The sharp top had a blood-red "F" engraved on it.

"I'm here to remind you that the Inquisition will have activities here later. You better get on the Ferris wheel quickly, or even I won't be able to protect you." After putting on the hood, Johannes somehow took out a torch. "Good luck to you."

...

"Damn, they actually showed up."

"Who showed up? What is it?" Imo looked around cautiously.

"Over there, the Inquisition, the FFF Brigade. I always thought it was just a legend, but they actually exist." Akul pointed to the dozens of mysterious men in black robes gathering in a corner of the square.

"What is it? A cult organization?" Imo's hand was already on the sword at his waist. "Should we take action?"

"No, no, no, don't be so brutal. They are just a bunch of otakus who get together almost every year during holidays because they don't like couples showing affection in public, and then..."

"And then?"

"See for yourself...they've already displayed their banner..." Acker pointed over there and turned his head away.

Heresy Trial! Burn the heterosexuals!

--As it was written on the banner.

"Isn't that dangerous? How is this any different from religious extremists?"

"Don't worry, they're just harmless otaku. 80% of the time, they get dispersed by the security forces at the detention center when they try to burn people. 19% of the time, they end up fighting among themselves due to differing opinions."

"What about the remaining 1%?"

"They end up getting beaten by powerful individuals they've offended."

"...In a way, I suddenly feel sympathy for those guys," Eiom thought to himself.

...

"Wow...Mr. Johannes, are you alright?"

Sitting on the Ferris wheel, Aya pressed her face against the glass and looked down at the amusement park.

As soon as they had gotten on the Ferris wheel, dozens of people, dressed in black robes and carrying torches, sickles, gasoline, and ropes, rushed out onto the square below, shouting, "Burn the heterosexuals!" They chased after the couples who were still waiting in line, causing chaos everywhere.

However, their spectacle did not last long. Soon, a group of security forces patrolling the streets arrived and captured each person in the black robes.

"Should... everything be okay?" A cold sweat dripped down Gofit's cheek. The knight commander had never encountered such an absurd situation before.

Quickly, Aya's attention shifted from the Ferris wheel to the city skyline.

"It's so beautiful!" Aya exclaimed in awe.

"Yes, I've never seen the capital from this angle before. No wonder this place is so popular," Gofit nodded in agreement.

Although they had once overlooked the capital from the highest tower of the palace during the banquet, it felt distant and unreal due to the elevation. But now, sitting on the Ferris wheel, their perspective changed with the height, and they felt much closer to the entire city.

The prosperity of Milanía was evident. The streets were illuminated with bright lights as far as the eye could see. Despite being nighttime, due to the approaching New Year, the atmosphere was especially lively. Travelers from outside the city and residents alike blended together, walking the streets and enjoying the festive atmosphere.

"It's hard to imagine that there was a war here eighteen years ago," Aya sighed.

As a dragon, Aya didn't care about human wars. Different races were like humans watching monkeys fight; even if the fight was brutal, would humans be moved by it?

But after spending so much time with Tiran, Aya unconsciously put herself in the perspective of a human. This was unimaginable for a dragon, but at this moment, Aya naturally felt such a sentiment.

"Indeed, I heard that the capital was half destroyed back then. Everything we see now was built within these eighteen years. After all, it was His Majesty the God of War," Gofit's eyes revealed genuine admiration.

He himself was hailed as the kingdom's new generation genius, but even so, he couldn't imagine doing any better if he were placed in Granzon's desperate circumstances eighteen years ago.

At that moment, their cabin slowly reached the highest point of the Ferris wheel.

Gofit's eyes lit up, and his hands nervously rubbed against his pants to gather courage.

"Miss Aya!"

"Huh?" Aya was startled by the sudden call.

"Last time at the banquet, I was drunk and not clear-headed. It was impolite of me to confess to you in that situation. So I want to say it again now, Miss Aya, I like you! Will you date me?"

Do you all love these dramatic twists?!

...

"Will you date me?"

Hearing the voice coming from the Magic device in his hand, Acker's face twitched, "Did he just confess like that? Are you kidding me? He didn't even build up any affection points and just went for it. Looks like he's prepared to be rejected."

Every member of the Knight Order had a Magic device for communication. Acker had made some modifications to Gofit's communication device, just to be safe, and turned it into a prank.

It was the first time he had tried it, and he didn't expect to hear such a sensational confession. It startled Acker.

Afterwards, there was silence on the communicator, and Akel waited anxiously for Aya's response. Even Iomar couldn't help but curiously lean in to listen.

Boom!!!

Without warning, a loud noise rang out, and Akel could even feel the ground trembling slightly. The people on the street panicked at this sudden vibration.

"What's going on? An earthquake?!" Akel couldn't help but stand up from the hidden bushes and look around.

However, there was no sign of an earthquake. Instead, there was a howling sound in his ears.

It's coming from the sky?

Akel looked up and was stunned.

Dozens of huge rocks rolled through the sky in an arc and smashed towards the capital city of Gusteberd. Each rock had a diameter of nearly ten meters. If such rocks fell in the densely populated city area, it would undoubtedly cause massive casualties.

Fortunately, the rocks didn't manage to land. A semi-transparent barrier appeared in the sky above the capital city, and all the rocks just caused ripples on it before quietly shattering.

"Fortunately, there's a protective barrier in the sky. But... what on earth is that thing?" Akel breathed a sigh of relief and then his gaze became sharp. Who would openly attack the capital city? What kind of person has the audacity to do so?

"Over there." Eomer's face was calm as he pointed with a finger in the distance. "There's a monster."

"Tsk." Seeing the moment when that colossal creature appeared, Akel wore an expression of frustration. "How can there be such troublesome things?"