Maps, longbows, refined iron arrows, short swords, rations, coins, and gems—these spoils were all things they could actually use.

Collecting loot from enemies was not only an important part of an intelligence officer’s duties, but also a long-standing military tradition.

“Mm, this is great. Now we don’t have to wander around the forest like headless flies anymore.”

As she spoke, the elder Twin Star sister, Emily Thompson, glanced again at the dragon knight Mark Benson, who was busy digging a pit. It seemed that man didn’t mind their actions of collecting spoils at all.

In just a short while, a huge deep pit appeared in the forest, and the wind dragon Geli and its rider Erica were buried together in one spot.

Erica’s dragon lance was stuck into the large mound of earth, and a dozen or so felled trees were placed around it, making this a location that would be easily spotted from the sky.

When the opportunity arose, Mark Benson would notify someone from the Portland Republic to come and collect the bodies.

Now that they knew their current location and had obtained a rough map, Mark Benson and the Twin Star sisters’ journey was no longer as aimless as it had been in previous days—they now had a new destination.

The border town of Cedar Town in the Sylan Empire.

In this foreign world, the only person the Twin Star sisters could rely on and trust at this moment was the same man known as either Dragon Knight Morin or Colonel Mark Benson.

For Mark Benson, he was also eager to obtain the assistance of the Empire’s official forces to search for the whereabouts of Sally and Sophie Carter, which would be far more efficient than the three of them searching blindly.

After burying the Portland Republic’s dragon knight and his dragon, Mark Benson’s expression remained grim. Although his conversation with the slain Portland Republic sky knight had been brief, it contained a great deal of information.

As the most professional intelligence officers, the Twin Star sisters played a significant role at this moment.

With the limited information at hand, they continuously deduced, filtered, and organized, analyzing things that even Mark Benson hadn’t thought of in depth.

The current situation in the Sylan Empire was far from optimistic. The war with the Texi Empire seemed not yet over, and neighboring countries were beginning to stir. Especially the eastern neighbor, the Portland Republic—even their dragon knights had begun to cross into the eastern border for targeted reconnaissance.

Combining the newly acquired map with the fact that the Twin Star sisters had encountered a three-striped ice-fanged wolf a few days ago, it could be inferred that a large army had just crossed the icy rock mountains on the western border of the Portland Republic.

The packs of giant wolves that lived near the alpine snow line had been forced to leave their cold mountain homes and enter the Green Mist Forest to hunt, all because of the army’s activities.

This pointed to an even more serious message: the Sylan Empire was likely about to fall into a predicament of being attacked from both front and rear, beset on all sides.

Mark Benson had to admit that these Twin Star sisters were indeed skilled in intelligence analysis.

He had only given them a rough introduction to the basics of this world, yet they were still able to make highly credible deductions.

Three days later, Mark Benson and the Twin Star sisters saw a winding path through the woods.

This meant they had finally made it out of the vast, dense Green Mist Forest.

Fortunately, the three of them hadn’t encountered any Portland Republic troops, nor any other dragon knights.

Perhaps the other side was still hampered by the difficult terrain of the Green Mist Forest, and their progress wasn’t as fast as they had imagined.

“We finally made it out!”

Grace Thompson let out a long breath, tossed away her walking stick—she felt she no longer needed it—and then shouted at the top of her lungs in relief.

She turned to her sister and said, “I need a good bath. Oh my god, I haven’t had a hot shower in a week—I must stink! Dragon Knight Morin, get up front and lead the way!”

“……”

Colonel Mark Benson probably never imagined he’d one day become a guide.

Chapter 0011: The Place Where It Began

The eastern border town of the Sylan Empire, Cedar Town, was now in sight.

At the end of the increasingly wide road, a city wall built from rough stone blocks appeared in the sight of the three—Mark Benson and the sisters.

Behind the not-so-tall stone wall, the tops of some buildings could be vaguely seen. There were no ornate eaves or brackets—most were tall, sturdy, flat-roofed structures, with few sloped designs.

“Cedar Town! That’s right, this is the place.”

The Twin Star sisters didn’t pick up on the subtle change in Mark Benson’s tone—a complex feeling that came with returning to one’s homeland.

“By the way, what about your identities?”

Mark Benson suddenly stopped and turned his gaze to the two sisters.

It was indeed a problem. Although the Sylan Empire’s restrictions on population movement weren’t as strict as those in ancient China, it still had a relatively complete household registration system.

After all, population was closely tied to the Empire’s tax revenue.

As a dragon knight of the Royal Dragon Cavalry, Mark Benson’s identity was naturally unquestionable, but for these mysterious twin sisters to travel within the Sylan Empire, they would definitely need a set of legal identities.

“Colonel Mark Benson, what’s your suggestion?”