Ryan looked at the dragon girl in detail as she stood planted right in front of him, invading his personal space.

His cold eyes scanned every feature of her face. He observed that, although seemingly relaxed, she hid the lethal muscular tension of an SS-rank beast ready to attack at the slightest stimulus.

"So, Irnina is your older sister, huh." Ryan pronounced.

"Yes, that is right, she is my beloved sister." The pink-haired girl responded immediately.

Upon mentioning her, her sharp pupils dilated and shone with an evident and sincere pride. There was not a single hint of doubt in her voice.

Faced with her enthusiastic declaration, Ophelia, who was observing the strange interaction from one side of the cabin, brought a hand to her face.

She closed her eyes and let out a long, heavy sigh of exhaustion, as if she were dealing with a little girl, and added.

"She gets very excited when she talks about her sister."

Ryan did not change his expression; he was processing the complex web of loyalties among the enemy factions of the continent.

That two existences with that level of power, both SS-rank dragons, were directly related.

"Huh, I must say that you two are very similar, but I didn’t think it was possible for both of you to serve different demon kings."

Ryan looked at her with profound curiosity, thinking that members of the exact same bloodline were separated into factions that could end up annihilating each other.

"Then, you are stronger than your sister, aren’t you?"

Faced with that direct question, Janina took a half step back and rapidly shook her head, denying it with both hands in an almost comical gesture.

"Huh? No, not at all, my sister is very strong."

"If that is the case, how come you serve a demon king and she serves the son of one?" Ryan questioned, coldly searching for the logic or benefit behind that hierarchical decision.

Janina shrugged her shoulders with total unconcern, making her short pink hair flutter.

"I don’t know, I think it’s just a whim of my sister’s, she must be very interested in that person."

But she made a sudden pause. Her movements froze completely. Her eyes opened wide, as if a crucial piece of information had finally clicked in her mind.

The relaxed and playful aura that surrounded her instantly turned sharp and oppressive, filling the small cabin with a suffocating density.

"Wait a second, and how come you are still alive if you ran into my sister?"

’I admit that back then, in the middle of the dungeon, she could have killed me with ease if she had wanted to.’ Ryan thought, remembering the immense and insurmountable stat gap of their first encounter.

’But now, with the assimilation of mana and my Templar class, the outcome would be very different.’

Ophelia, feeling the abrupt change in the air pressure, took a step forward and crossed her arms, intervening before her subordinate’s curiosity could turn into full-blown hostility.

"Wait, I am also curious to know how your encounter went." Ophelia intervened, fixing her intense crimson eyes on the human.

Ryan shrugged his shoulders, completely downplaying the near-fatal event with a facade of pure indifference.

"Nothing important happened, I remember that she was infuriated because the other son of the demon king was interfering with her plans. Or something like that."

"Ah, you are talking about Ligther." Ophelia commented instantly.

The Demon Queen nodded slowly, as if recognizing the pattern of political and territorial conflict that involved that particular individual.

Janina nodded energetically at the mention of the name, clenching her fists.

"My sister cannot stand arrogant and cold men, so she hates him with all of her being."

Ryan raised an eyebrow. His logical mind immediately found a flawed and contradictory aspect in that statement.

"It seems to me that those words apply to Solaris as well."

"But I said she cannot stand men, only men." The pink-haired dragoness clarified, emphasizing the gender difference with an obvious and radiant smile, as if that were the most logical explanation in the world.

"Huh? Anyway, not that it matters. But, you two are in opposing factions; what would you do if Ophelia ordered you to fight against your sister?"

Ryan threw that question out like a poisoned dart. He needed to probe her true level of loyalty, measure the beast’s mental stability, and calculate what would happen in the hypothetical case of a total war that pitted them against each other on the exact same battlefield.

Janina didn’t even blink. She didn’t change her cheerful expression, nor did she hesitate for a single millisecond in her response.

"Obviously, I would kill her."

’She didn’t even hesitate.’ Ryan analyzed in cold silence.

Ophelia took a step forward, justifying the inherent cruelty of that statement in the face of the human’s possible doubt.

"Just as it is for demons, it is for dragons; the hierarchy of the strongest reigns supreme. A battle among family is much more common than you think."

’I should have assumed something like that from the very beginning.’ Ryan reflected, observing both women.

’Even if they outwardly look like us, and reason using language like us, at their core they are still completely different races. Their instincts, their customs, and their survival habits are ruled by pure domination and power.’

Satisfied with the conversation, Janina stretched a little, raising her arms above her head before turning toward the exit.

"Well, I will leave now like you asked." Janina said, passing very closely by Ryan’s side and walking toward the outside of the cabin with a light step.

And when she was just a single step away from crossing the wooden door toward the outer valley... with a simple and dry swoosh of air, she disappeared completely from sight.

There were no flashes of light, nor any portals. Simply put, her physical speed was so absurdly high that it erased her presence from the surroundings, leaving behind only a strong gust of hot wind that ruffled Ryan’s trench coat.

"She is very fast." Ryan commented, adjusting his vision and analyzing the residual trail of dark mana left in the air.

"She is, even faster than her sister, although, she always refuses to accept it." Ophelia responded, walking toward the center of the room.

"Then, do you think Janina could kill her sister?"

Ophelia stopped for a moment. Her eyes stared into the void, evaluating the immense destructive power that both sisters possessed.

"I think they would both die if they faced each other."

After that grim but sincere prediction, Ophelia sat down on one of the thick wooden benches in the cabin. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

She adjusted the dark fabric of her elegant dress and extended a hand, inviting Ryan to take a seat on the bench located right in front of her.

"Now that we are alone. Let us move on to the important matters for which I brought you here."