"What the hell is in that coffee? I'm still not sleepy," Conn muttered, rubbing his face.
The men were all seated around the fire outside their tent, eyes alert despite the late hour.
Even Cecilion hadn't returned to his tent up ahead, where the noble knights were camped.
Now, every single one of them was staring at Legion.
He sighed, exasperated.
"Don't look at me like that. I warned you," he said, arms crossed.
"What kind of magic did the Empress use?" Dorian asked, brows furrowed.
"But isn't it common knowledge that the Empress can't do magic? That she can't detect or control mana?" Robin, one of Cecilion's knights, questioned.
"And did you all notice the weird thing with our HP?" Cecilion suddenly said, eyes narrowed. "Mine says 180/200 +10."
A murmur of agreement spread through the group.
They were all seeing the same thing.
Their HP had increased… but there was now an additional number beside it.
Their eyes turned back to Legion.
He exhaled heavily.
"It's true that the Empress can't sense or control mana. But she does have magic. And using it takes a toll on her body, so she doesn't use it often," he explained, giving them half of the truth.
"And the weird HP numbers? Our MP increase?" Captain Hugo asked, watching Legion closely.
Legion met his gaze.
"It's one of her gifts," he said, voice steady. "Whenever she offers you something... no matter how small... it grants you +10 HP and MP."
Silence.
Then...
"Even small things?" Faelan asked, disbelief clear in his voice.
Legion nodded.
"Even something as simple as putting food on your plate," he confirmed.
Hugo frowned. "And the '+' in our HP?"
"I don't know," Legion admitted.
"You don't know?" Hugo's brow twitched. "Don't tell me you didn't ask?"
Legion sighed, shaking his head.
"I did ask, Captain. But she just said it was my job to figure it out," he replied.
Another long pause.
Finally, Hugo leaned back, watching him intently.
"…I assume you didn't join the expedition just for a sack of barley," he said.
"No." Legion shook his head. "The Empress gave me a task."
"What task?" Renee, the other knight, asked.
"To reach the Frozen Sea and bring her a block of sea ice," Legion answered.
Everyone frowned.
"…For what?" Cecilion asked, suspicion in his tone.
"To make salt," Legion said simply.
Mara, who had been quietly listening, finally spoke up.
"The salt that made the food taste good?" she asked.
"Yes," Legion confirmed.
"But… how?" Conn's confusion was clear.
"I don't know," Legion admitted.
"Didn't you see how she made the salt you brought?" Dorian asked.
Legion nodded.
"I did. She created it using magic," he said. "But like I said, using magic drains her. She can't rely on it too often."
The men exchanged looks, all equally astounded.
"She created it? From nothing?" Cecilion demanded. "That means… she has Creation Magic?"
Legion smirked.
"She has more than just Creation Magic," he said. "If you ever visit the Empress's palace, you'll see how powerful she truly is."
Cecilion scoffed, folding his arms.
"You talk as if she's a goddess," he muttered.
Legion only smiled.
"Well… thanks to her magic, the Malvera tree in the Empress's garden has bloomed and bore fruit."
Every man in the tent froze.
Then...
"Shut up!" they shouted at the same time.
"That's just a legend!" Cecilion snapped. "Malvera trees don't bear fruit!"
"That's what we thought too," Legion said, voice calm. "But we saw it. We tasted it."
Hugo leaned forward, eyes sharp.
"…You tasted the Malvera fruit?"
Legion grinned, a glint of amusement in his golden eyes.
"Yes, Captain. And let me tell you something... " He let his gaze sweep over the men gathered around the fire, his smirk deepening.
"What you tasted tonight? That was nothing compared to the Malvera fruit."
The men listened intently as Legion continued, pride evident in his voice.
"The Empress can create plants. She made black pepper... the one I mixed with the spices in our food. She created sugarcane that will eventually produce sugar. And an apple that, aside from its color, looks and almost tastes like the Malvera fruit."
He turned to Mara.
"On the day of the enlistment, she met your children," Legion said gently. "She gifted them that fruit and made them promise to plant the seeds."
Mara's breath hitched.
She lowered her head, her hands trembling slightly as she tried to hide the tears welling up in her eyes.
She hadn't said goodbye to her children. She hadn't even let them see her that day, afraid that if she did, she might change her mind and run back to them.
Instead, she had begged their elderly neighbor to watch over them... to check in when she could.
But deep down, Mara had little hope. Her five children were only ages three to seven. Even if she did survive this expedition, there was no guarantee they would make it through the winter without her.
But now... knowing that the Empress had met them, had fed them... meant that, at least for one day, they had not gone to bed hungry.
And that thought alone was enough to bring her peace.
Legion turned back to Captain Hugo.
"The Empress didn't tell me why she wanted to meet with you," he admitted. "But I suspect it has something to do with making salt."
Hugo's brows furrowed as he considered the implications.
"If it's truly possible to make salt from the Frozen Sea, that would be huge for our kingdom," Cecilion said, his voice more contemplative than arrogant for once. "As far as I know, I've never heard of 'salt' before today, which means it doesn't exist in any other kingdom either. That means we'd have something valuable to trade."
"So you think that's the Empress's goal?" Mara asked, her voice still thick with emotion.
Legion shook his head.
"I don't know," he admitted. "But the Empress did tell me something once." He paused, his voice quieter yet resolute.
"She wants to create a world that does not rely on magic."
Silence fell over the group.
"She admitted that poverty will always exist," Legion continued. "But she wants a world where commoners... people like us... can have a chance at a better life. Not because of magic. Not because of noble blood. But because of our skills... because of what we can contribute to society."
No one spoke for a long moment.
Then, slowly, smiles began to spread across their faces.
A world like that…
A world where their worth wasn't dictated by the magic they couldn't use or the noble blood they didn't have…
It was impossible.
And yet, the thought of it made them hope.
Made them want to see that world come true.
And because of that...
They wanted to meet the Empress.
They wanted to see the woman who had uttered such a bold dream.
And since no one was the least bit tired, the night stretched on with Legion at the center of their attention, answering every question they threw at him about the Empress.
He told them about the luminous butterflies she created on the night before the late Emperor's burial.
About the Cherry Blossom Tree she planted in the palace gardens, one that kept the Empress Palace warm despite the eternal winter outside.
He shared how the Empress hated waking up early.
How she despised repeating herself, forcing Legion and Delphine to always pay close attention to her words.
Of course, he left out certain details.
He did not tell them about the special abilities the Empress had granted him and Delphine.
And most importantly...
He did not tell them about how breathtakingly beautiful the Empress was now.
He deliberately left that part out.
Because for now…
He wanted to keep that truth to himself.