The morning air was colder than yesterday. Raid had fallen asleep with his grimoire pressed against the desk, and when he opened his eyes, the imprint of paper was marked on his cheek. He sat up and rotated his neck in a circle. There was an unpleasant creaking sound. "Perhaps I'm pushing this forty-two-year-old body too hard," Raid muttered to himself. After speaking, he looked out the window. Something like a flag was fluttering in the morning wind that swept across the plateau. It was a color he didn't recognize. Raid furrowed his brow, grabbed his upper garment, and went outside. People had gathered in the village square. No—not just people. There were horses. Eight armed men. And at the front—a young woman with reddish-brown hair tied back, sitting upright on horseback with perfect posture. It was an advance unit of the Imperial Knights. A reconnaissance and civilian liaison unit sent ahead before the Empire's deployment to the frontier. Usually they operated in squads of