"What's going on with those two Zoiger?"
Keshiva pointed at the two enormous black bird-like creatures resting on the clearing, confusion written across his face.
Zoiger were known as the vanguard of darkness, while Tiga was a Giant of Darkness himself. Could there be some hidden connection between the two?
"Oh, those two Zoiger were tamed by me," Yu Zhou explained calmly. "Without my command, they won't act rashly."
"Tamed…?"
Keshiva looked at him in disbelief. According to Yuzare, darkness was an invading power, an overwhelming enemy to their world. For a human to coexist peacefully with the heralds of darkness—let alone tame them—was unthinkable.
But now, seeing it with his own eyes…
"I'll give these two Zoiger to Camearra," Yu Zhou said, gently patting one of the giant birds' heads. "Didn't she have two Zoiger eggs? With these two adults, she should be able to hatch them."
"Zoiger eggs?"
Keshiva turned toward Camearra in surprise. Camearra nodded and reached into the dimensional pouch at her waist, producing two enormous eggs that glimmered faintly under the sun and setting them down on the ground.
"This…"
Keshiva was speechless for a moment. His daughter had brought back bird eggs?
"Father, help me find a place on the island," Camearra said directly, "I want to raise the Zoiger."
Ever since she was a child, whatever she wanted, her father would find a way to give it to her.
As expected, Keshiva immediately ordered his people to prepare a suitable area for raising the Zoiger.
It wasn't necessarily a bad thing—if anything, it could bring unexpected benefits.
They could study the Zoiger's powers, perhaps even breed a group to fight alongside them.
Judging by how Camearra and the others rode the Zoiger earlier, it was clear they could be used as mounts.
Perhaps, in time, they could even form a Zoiger Cavalry—knights who fought while riding these dark creatures.
"By the way, Camearra," Keshiva asked curiously, "how did you meet Tiga?"
Tiga had mentioned knowing her back in R'lyeh, yet from their current behaviour, they seemed like recent acquaintances.
Camearra, seeing her father's curiosity, began recounting what had happened on the Island of Darkness.
But as Keshiva listened, his attention soon shifted to one particular detail—
that strange island she mentioned.
Before entering, it had looked like a small island. But once inside, it turned into a dark stone forest… and beyond that, a barren wasteland teeming with monsters?
Could it be…
"Lord Island Master," Yu Zhou suddenly said from the side, "we can contact Commander Yuzare now. I think we've already found the Source of Darkness."
"Good!"
Keshiva nodded and immediately went aside to contact Yuzare.
Hudra and Darramb also greeted Yu Zhou and Camearra before heading off to meet their own mentors—Keshiva's personal guards.
Once the others had left, Camearra moved closer to Yu Zhou and asked quietly:
"Tiga… are you close with that… Yuzare?"
"Eh?"
Yu Zhou froze, blinking at her flushed face. Camearra was… jealous?
That was unexpected.
But thinking back—both in the Final Odyssey and in later stories—Camearra had once said that Tiga was deceived by Yuzare's sweet words. She had always seen Yuzare as a rival.
"Yuzare? Yeah, I know her," Yu Zhou said. "She's the current leader of the Earth Defence Force. I worked with her before while searching for the Source of Darkness."
"Oh, I see…" Camearra sighed softly in relief. She didn't know why she cared so much, but she just couldn't help it.
Thinking for a moment, she realized—almost everyone referred to Yuzare with some title of respect: Princess, Commander, or Lady Yuzare.
But Tiga had just called her by name, without any honorific.
To be able to do that… they must be pretty close, right?
"Princess Yuzare… is she beautiful?"
The question slipped out of Camearra's mouth before she could stop it.
"???"
A bead of sweat rolled down Yu Zhou's forehead.
This question… was dangerous.
And why was she even asking this? They weren't even in that kind of relationship—were they?
Realizing what she'd just said, Camearra's eyes widened, her cheeks burning crimson.
"She's… not beautiful," Yu Zhou said quickly, without hesitation.
Straightforward and decisive.
He knew this was a question that could cost him his life if answered poorly.
"You're lying!" Camearra huffed, puffing up her cheeks. "Yuzare's the pride of the heavens, a princess of the continent, praised as talented and beautiful beyond compare! How can you say she's not beautiful?"
"I'm not lying," Yu Zhou said helplessly. "If I said she was beautiful, wouldn't that be even worse?"
"Then…" Camearra's lips trembled slightly.
"I think Camearra is far more beautiful—ten thousand times more beautiful than Yuzare," Yu Zhou said smoothly.
Sweet words—sometimes, they really worked like magic.
Camearra blinked, then looked away shyly.
"Wh-where would I compare to her… She's a princess…"
"No," Yu Zhou shook his head. "You're a goddess. That's far greater than any princess."
"In my heart, Camearra will always be the most beautiful."
"Really?"
"Really!"
"Then what about your old friend? Between us, who's prettier?"
"Uh…"
"Ha! You're lying again!"
"Camearra is the most beautiful!"
"…Hmph!"
Their playful back-and-forth sounded almost like flirting—leaving the nearby guards struggling not to choke on the flood of sweetness.
Keshiva stood not far away, watching the two of them, and sighed softly.
His daughter… had truly grown up.
But Tiga…
Tiga was a man with an uncertain origin.
Even though Princess Yuzare had said he was her friend, all Keshiva's investigations revealed was that Tiga came from the constellation Orion.
A fisherman from a small coastal village had claimed to see a streak of light fall from Orion—and when he went to investigate, Tiga appeared there.
The registration record Tiga filled out when entering Akaru City also listed Orion as his place of origin.
So, that story was likely true.
Still, letting his beloved daughter be close to someone with such a mysterious past—a being from Orion, a giant infused with dark power—Keshiva couldn't help but feel uneasy.
"Tiga… just how many secrets are you still hiding?"
he murmured, narrowing his eyes slightly.
Perhaps it was time for Camearra to learn a little more about this mysterious man herself.