Chapter 39

He had asked a second question, which was more or less answered by the first.

As the instigator of the incident—

Sheffy Harl stood at the center of the light.

Seeing that the situation was about to become increasingly troublesome, she had tried to persuade the “fervently contributing magic power to honor her mother” Sylatrella, but her efforts had proven utterly ineffective.

Sylatrella believed that her filial piety had no limits! She thought that it was only because Lady Sheffy felt sorry for her that she was being asked to stop, which only made her act even more recklessly!

Well, there was no helping it.

Sometimes, one really had no choice but to take a tougher approach.

In a very small area, on the surface of the Holy Sword where Sheffy’s palm was placed, a trace of dark light appeared.

That dark light had originally been just a small patch.

Yet in the blink of an eye—an enormous dark-purple conical magic field, even more overwhelming than the towering golden pillar of light, instantly engulfed all the gold, as if it had dragged the entire Royal Capital from daylight into night in a single instant.

However, the process was so brief that, to the naked eye, it merely looked as though the golden pillar had dispersed on its own.

But Xiarette, witnessing it from such close range, had seen it all with perfect clarity—Sheffy had forcibly suppressed the Holy Sword’s rampage with her magic power. Inside the sword, Sylatrella had gone completely silent—likely stunned unconscious by Sheffy’s magic.

Sheffy remembered that after she had finished suppressing Sylatrella’s “filial piety”, she had looked around at the state of the castle and found it a scene of utter devastation.

Even if one raised a hundred large dogs to wreck the place, the result probably would not have matched this level of destruction.

The Crystal Palace had been reduced to a Palace of Shards.

The once-sealed and dignified palace dome had become open-air. From now on, one could gaze at the stars from within.

Sigh… although the process had been a bit complicated, in the end the result had proven the point, hadn’t it?

Just as Miss Shaya was happily raising the Holy Sword, preparing to ask the King whether he now acknowledged that the sword could resonate with her—

Well, what did he have to say now!

What happened next on the battered throne was a sight that surprised both Sheffy and Xiarette.

His Majesty the King…

Had actually knelt down just like the soldiers!

And he kept muttering words like, “Oh God… oh God… please bless the kingdom…” with devout sincerity.

It seemed this was probably the first time in his life he had ever “witnessed a god”.

Princess Livra Aurus, on the other hand, had fallen to the ground in a duck-sitting posture, which, by comparison, actually looked rather graceful.

And what about Prime Minister Firex?

Later, when the soldiers were cleaning up the broken bricks and debris of the castle, they had found the unconscious Prime Minister near a column at the entrance to the council chamber. Judging by his sprawled posture and the lingering terror on his face, it seemed that he had run straight into the large column while trying to flee, knocking himself out in the process—and one of his front teeth hadn’t survived the impact either.

In short, Miss Shaya had successfully gained the King’s recognition and obtained a basic identity within the Human Alliance—truly a joyous occasion, most worthy of celebration!

Of course, after they had returned home, Sheffy Harl had grabbed Sylatrella by the ear and given her a sound beating. The blue-haired little girl had curled up trembling in the corner, repeatedly thanking the world for its blessings. Clearly, she was very optimistic and not the least afraid of Sheffy’s iron fist.

And now, back to the present moment.

Miss Shaya was sitting on a bench at the training grounds of the Kingdom’s Knight Order.

She wore a light blue dress, swinging her little feet—barely able to touch the ground—as if she were visiting some scenic spot. The pair of small brown boots on her feet had been newly bought by Xiarette, and Miss Shaya liked them very much.

As for why she was idling about at the Knight Order’s grounds—

That traced back to when they had been leaving the palace that day: the King had granted Shaya the identity of a “Kingdom Apprentice Knight”.

Though the King had been terrified, he had at least retained the ability to think.

For someone like Miss Shaya—blessed by a god and able to draw forth the Holy Sword’s power to such an extent… The King had even thought that it would not be an exaggeration to consider Miss Shaya a divine envoy…!

Having witnessed such a scene, his mindset had completely changed; his whole perspective had broadened, elevated.

Given how rare Miss Shaya’s abilities were, she had become someone the Kingdom absolutely had to protect. However, when Shaya had mentioned that she valued her freedom and did not wish to be followed by anyone except the Hero—

Naturally, the Hero was the most reliable guardian—so the King had given Shaya this identity, allowing her to remain openly at the Hero’s side.

Previously, without an official status, she had only drawn attention. For someone of the Hero’s stature to be accompanied by a mysterious little girl was bound to arouse suspicion and pose a potential threat.

But with a formal identity, the matter was easily explained—she was simply an apprentice knight learning under the Hero.

No one would feel any particular wariness toward a little knight.

In the Kingdom, it was a fine tradition for the strong to guide the weak—perfectly normal.

At first, Sheffy had found it troublesome and wanted to refuse. But the King had explained that she did not need to attend Knight Order training; this was purely a nominal title.

Most importantly, the King had promised that Miss Shaya would receive a substantial Knight Order salary every month!

Why didn’t you say so sooner!

Miss Shaya had immediately brightened and gladly accepted.

To be able to idle about and still earn money—who would be foolish enough to turn that down!

And so, at this moment, Shaya was at the Knight Order’s grounds to idle away the time.

In fact, she did not even need to come idle here; she could have just stayed at home. However, Xiarette had said that part of the Hero’s duties included occasionally coming to the Knight Order to provide some guidance and advice to the kingdom’s knights.

Sheffy Harl had thought that she had nothing better to do at home anyway, so she had simply tagged along with Xiarette today out of curiosity.

Originally, she had assumed that this so-called “guidance and advice” would surely amount to nothing more than some boring speeches.

But… that was not the case at all!

Sheffy’s little head slowly turned as flashes of blades and shadows of swords burst forth before her.

Are you sure this is called guidance and advice?!

Xiarette, weren’t you basically here to give these poor Knight Order members a good beating?!

In battle, Xiarette looked incredibly cool—she was practically a war goddess.

She held nothing more than a slender bamboo rod in her hand.

And yet, the dozens of fully armed Kingdom knights before her could not even slightly shake Xiarette’s steady stance.

Her fighting style was graceful to the extreme; the bamboo rod in her hand seemed almost alive, twirling and spinning through deft movements of her fingertips, ever-changing in form. With subtle force, she flicked away every incoming blade, which clattered against the stone walls with crisp sounds before falling to the ground.

With a simple press of the rod in a reverse grip, she effortlessly knocked down the powerful knights before her.

Meanwhile, not a single blade managed to cut even one strand of Xiarette’s golden hair.

Perhaps feeling that this kind of training lacked challenge, Xiarette lightly drew a straight line through the air with her bamboo rod. In the blink of an eye, that line transformed into a fierce windstorm. Even though the knights, well-trained, had immediately raised their shields in unison to defend, they were still blown several meters away—shields and all—unable to resist.

Most of these knights were new recruits who had only recently entered the Kingdom’s Knight Order and therefore required guidance. Their levels ranged roughly from fourth to fifth tier. Among the common folk, such strength was more than enough to dominate a village or even a small town.

But the gap between them and a tenth-tier warrior was simply overwhelming.

The Knight Order selected its members based on strength, and there were also female knights among them.

The knights struggled to their feet in small groups, some picking up their helmets, others righting their shields, all dazed from their rough landing.

“Ahh, I thought I was going to die… is the Hero in a bad mood today or something… why is she hitting so hard?”

“I don’t know… usually we just spar in small groups, right? But today she suddenly had everyone come at her at once… I honestly thought we had a chance, but we really couldn’t do a thing.”

“You think you can mess around with someone at tenth-tier? The Hero didn’t even draw the Holy Sword.”

“It’s ridiculous.”

The knights’ complaints or praise—Xiarette did not listen to a single word of it.

She was a serious person. Since the Hero had the duty of helping new recruits grow stronger, she had always been dutiful and conscientious about it in the past.

But today…

Out of the corner of her eye, Xiarette’s gaze kept secretly drifting toward the small figure seated on the bench.

She had to admit—today’s training carried a bit of personal motive.

Ugh… wanting to show off a little in front of someone you like—that should be perfectly normal, right?!

Of course, this also helped train the Knight Order, so it was still part of her official duties.

But which of these two reasons mattered more… well, that went without saying.

Unable to see clearly with just the corner of her eye, Xiarette could no longer resist her anticipation. She seized an opportunity and quickly turned her head to look toward Sheffy Harl!

And then…

“Uh…”

She saw Sheffy hopping down from the bench, raising both hands and running.

Looking closer… she was chasing butterflies!

Sheffy!!

Argh… cursed butterfly, of all times to appear—why now…?!

Before long, Miss Shaya returned, clutching a butterfly, and sat obediently back on the bench.

Xiarette suppressed her disappointment, her expression immediately turning stern once more as she raised her bamboo rod again.

—Pointing it straight at the group of knights who were struggling to get back on their feet.

“Training. Once more. Get ready.”

“””Eh?!!”””

—

40. Team Pet!

The poor new recruits of the Knight Order had not even seen real battle yet— and they had nearly perished during training.

They had been sent flying three whole times—three times!

Their bones were practically ready to fall apart.

In theory, after this, they should have gained experience and battle scars, and be quite pleased.

And Xiarette—she should have received applause and admiring gazes from her little darling.

But that was not how things turned out.

Xiarette threw her bamboo rod aside, her cheeks puffed out like a hamster’s, and marched straight over to stand before Sheffy Harl!

Her sudden approach startled Miss Shaya so much that the butterfly she had just caught flew away!

“Ahh… butterfly!”

“Ugh… She—Shaya! Why do you always look away at the crucial moment…?”

“Huh? Look at what?”

“Of course, to look at…! N-Never mind.”

Hmm?

One second, Xiarette was bristling with energy, like an angry big cat.

The next second, she deflated, averted her gaze, and began pacing back and forth in frustration.

Sheffy, do you even need to ask why…

Wasn’t it because every time this older sister tried to show off in front of you, something unexpected always happened on your side?!

The first time, it had been a butterfly that suddenly caught your attention and sent you chasing after it.

The second time, the doughnut in your hand had slipped and you had frantically juggled it midair to keep it from falling.

And the last time…

—You had been sitting on the bench trying to feed the butterfly with the doughnut you caught!

But can a butterfly even eat a doughnut?!

It was just like when you excitedly wanted to share something you loved with a friend, only for your friend to suddenly say, “Sorry, I have to go,” leaving you there alone with an expectant smile quickly turning bitter.

Xiarette thought she had better just give up…

Many things in life were like this—full of unfortunate timing. She would just try again next time.

However, Sheffy Harl suddenly ate the remaining half of her doughnut in one bite, tilted her head, and said:

“I don’t know why you suddenly got mad… but Xiarette! You were really cool just now! One bamboo rod, one little knight down! How did you do that? Whenever I use a bamboo rod, it just snaps right away!”

“That’s because you’re too violent, of course… ah… Shaya, so you were watching just now?!”

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