Kyran and Leif talked a bit more before meeting with Maren.
Leif, initially considered the inclusion of Cove and Irving to the meeting. But she then realized the potential complications if they disagreed with her decision to accompany Kyran. Recognizing Maren's flexibility and keen judgment, she concluded that it was fine to inform her at least of her plans.
Maren more or less guessed what Leif did not say and promised to keep an eye on Cove and Irving. She then asked Kyran to keep Leif safe because she was the only daughter of Overlord Oceanus.
Kyran did not respond, but Maren did not seem to mind because she simply bowed to him as if understanding he meant to keep Leif safe even without her requesting it.
After that, Kyran and Leif left the Dragon Plane.
*
Aillos looked up as if he found something interesting above their heads.
"He left the plane, isn't it, Milord?" Cyneah, seemingly sensing his action, asked with a slight smile.
"Yes," Aillos replied with a heavy sigh. "I will have to talk to him about improving our plane's barrier when he gets back. It irks me how easily he left the plane with the barrier active."
Cyneah giggled at Aillos's worry.
"Fortunately, he is the only one who is capable of doing that, being the Void Master."
"Hm..." Aillos grunted in agreement. "I suppose. But that doesn't exempt him from brazenly entering and leaving the plane."
"Yes, you are right, Milord."
Aillos glanced at Cyneah from the corner of his eyes. She was smiling and acting the same as if Kyran's sudden departure did not matter much. She did not even appear to be forcing herself to act normal. Nevertheless, Aillos could sense that Cyneah was only reigning in her real emotions because she did not want to worry the others when they were already busy with the array creation.
If Cyneah had been any other people, Aillos would have advised her to be more selfish and to voice her real thoughts because no one would blame her.
However, Aillos felt that Cyneah did not only want to worry the others but also not to be a burden. Her actions were most likely influenced more by her disability than by the importance of what the others were doing. In the end, he decided to stay silent and simply observe.
In Aillos's opinion, Kyran wanting to solve everything by himself was not an act of being considerate of others but of him being self-centered. Aillos understood that Kyran could not share everything with the dragons, especially when they were the first ones to have shown hostility or indifference. However, Kyran should have at least explained the gist of the reason he had to leave.
If he could not tell the dragons, at least he should have told his people and assured them. But he did neither.
Kyran probably thought that he was protecting his people by keeping them in the dark about what was happening, but why could he not understand that his supposed 'considerate action' could become a burden?
Just like now.
The array creation started half an hour ago, but Auto-one was the only one working as ordered by Kyran. Raya and the other Regis members followed his lead, but they still seemed to be distracted because their pace was slower compared with Aella, Ducal, Nithe, and the five Array Saints that the latter brought, who were on another side writing formulas.
As time passed, the slower pace on Raya and the other side became more evident, and the aides, especially Ducal, started to show some annoyance.
Aillos initially did not want to intervene because he thought the array creation could be a good way for the two sides to be acquainted. But because of Kyran's sudden exit, the relationship between the two might get worse rather than better.
"Auto-one," Aillos called Auto-one, who was the only one acting normally on Kyran's side.
In fact, Aillos had nothing to say to Auto-one, but because he saw Ducal about to stand and likely confront Raya and the others, he called him reflexively.
"Ah!" Raya seemed to have understood what Cyneah meant and exclaimed in amusement. "He did sound like Neo just now."
"Neo?"
"Yes. Neo is one of the Young Master's first creations..."
The Regis members then started talking about Neo and how he was programmed to mirror Kyran's alter-ego, Tyr. When they mentioned the name Tyr, Auto-one's interest was piqued, and he started asking them questions about him.
Soon, Raya and the rest of the Regis members started talking about topics related to Kyran or his creations. Auto-one was quite fascinated to hear about them. Of course, they talked without neglecting their work. In fact, the more they talked, the more work they managed to get done.
It was as if talking about their Young Master gave them a sense of peace, allowing them to work at a much better pace.
The atmosphere changed at Ducal and the rest of the dragons as well. Initially, they were rendered speechless by Auto-one's remark and decided to mind their own business. However, some of them started to pay attention to what the Regis members were talking about.
The most evident ones who appeared to have taken an interest in the Regis members' topic were Aella and Nithe. On the other hand, Ducal's face was devoid of emotion, making it hard to read his thoughts.
"I think I may have been rude to you. For that, I apologize," Aillos suddenly apologized to Cyneah.
Cyneah raised her brows in confusion as she looked toward Aillos's direction.
"Milord?"
"It is nothing," Aillos replied, shaking his head with a smile. He turned his attention back to the Regis members and the dragons working on the array and added, "It's just an old man's ramblings."
Cyneah only smiled in response.
The progress of the creation of the new array became more stable after that.
*
At the Main Palace, inside the area where the Regis Terram was connected, Ames and Myst's work on the gate's creation had started to show noticeable progress.
Although they had yet to place the array inside the Regis Terram, they could already sense that the array formulas were resonating with each other.
Crackle!
Sizzle!
"Hm?" Ames raised her gaze toward the Regis Terram upon sensing magic fluctuations inside. Her eyes widened as she noticed a familiar presence inside.
"No way... have they already finished the array on the other side?"
Myst looked toward the Regis Terram as well after hearing Ames.
"This presence...!"
Like Ames, Myst also recognized the presence that appeared inside the Regis Terram.
"It's Master Cade's!"