Dawn of an Empire

Inside the walled capital of Falconia, Griffith gathers his ministers to weigh questions of governance, from reclaiming outlying land to sheltering the flood of newcomers seeking refuge. He frames a sweeping ambition before them, to raise a fresh dominion for humankind that would inherit the legacy of Gaiseric's long-lost realm. When the meeting ends, his officials eagerly trade ideas on how to make that grand design real, and Foss reflects that a people hungry for inspiring dreams need exactly such lofty promises to follow.

Once evening falls, Griffith passes quiet hours with Princess Charlotte. Seated by a window beneath a full moon, he studies a lock of his own hair and notices a few threads that have darkened. Sensing that a recurring event tied to this night is about to arrive, he rises and vanishes into the sky.

Locus delivers a military briefing, confirming that the giants roaming the lands to the west have been wiped out, and he presses for seizing the northern mines to expand the nation's reach. Owen turns the discussion toward internal order, warning of the strain that migrants and gathered heretics place on security. Laban voices confidence that the mixed population will bind together, especially after witnessing Griffith's ascension rite.

Foss raises the plight of orphaned children and relays Charlotte's wish to found an orphanage, a plan some officials resist on financial grounds. Griffith overrules the doubt, arguing that the city should chase prosperity and instill shared values rather than merely endure. He proposes folding discriminated refugees into the army, an idea Locus welcomes for the camaraderie it breeds. Afterward, Sonia fails to draw Griffith's notice and resolves to travel somewhere distant, while Charlotte secures his company for tea.

This installment ran in the debut combined issue of Young Animal, numbers nine and ten of 2019. Its appearance followed a lengthy gap of roughly eight months since the prior chapter. The episode belongs to the Elf Island Chapter of the Fantasia Arc.