Chapter 41

The situation was becoming increasingly unclear. The Holy Theocracy was not entirely oblivious to the principle of “when the lips are gone, the teeth will grow cold.” If that were not the case, they would not have been providing support to the Kingdom all these years. This showed that, even if they harbored their own intentions, they still held fear toward the Demon Clan. If the Kingdom were truly on the verge of collapse, they would undoubtedly join the war—though that moment had yet to arrive.

Sheffy reckoned that Xiarette probably did not understand all of this.

But Sheffy’s next words immediately enlightened the naive Hero.

“The key point is that, unlike the Holy Sword, ‘Shaya’s’ ability poses no threat to the Theocracy. Do you remember? ‘Shaya’s innate ability’ only targets higher demons. The previous resonance of the Holy Sword in the palace—that was merely the Holy Sword’s magic. The Hero could achieve that too.”

“No, I can’t,” Xiarette replied honestly. She did not believe she could unleash the Holy Sword’s magic to that extent.

“Ahem! If I tell Sylatrella, then you can do it! Anyway, regarding Shaya’s power, we will claim that she’s only at the sixth tier. I bet once the Pope hears that, he’ll just wave his hand and say—‘Ah~~ let her be~~.’”

Sheffy deliberately mimicked the tone of an elderly person, which not only failed to sound convincing but even came across as adorably silly like a little creature.

Xiarette’s mind cleared at once; now she fully understood why this matter was nothing to worry about.

“…Now that I think about it, you’re right! Could it be, Sheffy, that you predicted this back then and deliberately phrased it that way…?”

“Oh, oh, not really. It’s just that you mentioned the lowest tier at your academy was the fifth tier, so I had to save some face for myself. Seventh tier would be a bit too much, fourth tier wouldn’t be reasonable. Between fifth and sixth, I picked sixth tier to stand out! Yay!”

“But this really is the most suitable explanation.”

“Oh, right—about when I referred to the Theocracy’s stray dogs in a roundabout way, you still remember that, don’t you? That Prime Minister holds a grudge, so he will surely report this to the Pope, complaining bitterly. Once the Pope hears that, he’ll be even more convinced that Shaya relies not only on the Kingdom but also harbors a poor impression of the Theocracy and is beyond their control.”

“Sheffy, you’re amazing…! Do you always think so far ahead before doing anything?”

“Perhaps it’s because whenever I catch a fish, I always think first about whether I want to braise it or steam it. So I tend to think ahead.”

“These two things are not related at all…”

Xiarette lightly tapped her forehead. Perhaps this gesture was a wish that she could become a little wiser and help Sheffy more.

On the other hand… it also reflected how increasingly proud she was of her own Sheffy.

She was truly incredible—seeming as though she had not given it much thought, when in fact she had already considered everything thoroughly.

Indeed… through the ongoing war between the Kingdom and the Demon Clan, the Holy Theocracy had long seen clearly how powerful the Demon Domain truly was. Now that they heard the Kingdom had produced a genius girl with an innate talent specifically effective against the demons’ sealing abilities, the Theocracy naturally would not see her as a threat to their own safety.

Just like how, centuries ago, when they tried to steal the Holy Sword and later realized they couldn’t wield it, the Theocracy neither attempted to destroy it nor threw it into the sea—instead, they properly returned it to the Kingdom.

In the end, interests were interests, and private thoughts were private thoughts. For someone like the Pope to have ascended to his position, he surely knew what could be done and what must not be done—he had a sense of propriety.

Just as Xiarette’s mindset was beginning to settle…

Sheffy, who had been intently staring in the direction of the Kingdom’s Knight Order training grounds, suddenly spoke a sentence—

—and it caused Xiarette’s heart to skip a beat again!

“By the way… those female knights training over there, a few of them have pointy ears? Are those elves? Speaking of which, that race really is strange. There are quite a lot of them, yet you can hardly find one that looks bad. Maybe the soil and water of the Elven Forest, Enos, are just that good?”

“Uh, Sheffy, why are you suddenly talking about… appearances… Don’t tell me you’re thinking…”

“Nope. Don’t sully my purity. I was just curious why there are elves training in the human knight order.”

“Really now…?”

“What else could it be?”

Sheffy looked at Xiarette, whose demeanor had suddenly turned odd, tilting her head in confusion and thinking it over.

Then, as if a light bulb went off, she braced her hand on the seat and leaned in close to Xiarette’s face—

Showing her little canine tooth, a mischievous smile spread across her face.

“Hee~ Xiarette, Xiarette, don’t tell me… you’re jealous~?”

“Wha… Why would I be jealous?!” Xiarette tensed up at once when she heard that.

Sheffy… had she seen through the truth?! Was it the Eye That Sees Through Falsehoods?! But that shouldn’t have that kind of function, right?!

Yet what Sheffy said next turned out to be a little different from what Xiarette feared.

“Oh, that thing—back when I said Livra was pretty, you reacted the same way. I’ve heard of this before! The theory goes like this—an older sister doesn’t want her younger sister to say other girls are prettier than her. It’s like a form of familial recognition and emotional bond, right? Don’t worry! This isn’t real jealousy, it’s just a psychological reaction. Besides, they’re not even as pretty as you. Didn’t I say it already? Girls from the Elven Forest have good average looks, but that doesn’t mean they reach the extremes. Xiarette, your ‘extreme value’ is way better than theirs, so you can totally be more confident, hahaha!”

“Among family…?”

“Ah? Was I wrong?”

“No, you were right.”

“I knew it! I’m the best at analyzing and deducing!”

Alright then… Xiarette might need to phrase it differently.

Sheffy was smart, and she was good at analyzing.

But in some areas, she could be a bit… dull.

Looking at that carefree and innocent face, beaming as if celebrating her triumphant deduction—

Xiarette couldn’t help but look forward to what kind of expression Sheffy would make once she realized her assumption had been completely wrong.

Just wait, Sheffy.

Whether this sister was truly jealous or pretending to be jealous—you’d find out soon enough.

“Ah.” Sheffy finished laughing, and curiosity struck again. “So, why do elves train in the human knight order? That’s weird.”

42. Will They Come?

Seriously… should she stop bringing Sheffy to the knight camp in the future?

Following Sheffy’s gaze, past a few rows of neatly trimmed rare tree species, Xiarette could also see those “pointy ears” Sheffy had mentioned.

Without removing their knight helmets, just looking at their faces, one might assume they were beautiful girls from the Kingdom’s remote regions visiting the Royal Capital—for their refined features seemed rather uncommon in the capital area.

But once they took off their knight helmets, brushed aside their beautiful, sweat-dampened hair, and revealed the pointed ears hidden beneath—

it became clear that they were indeed foreigners.

Namely, those whom the world often praised for their beauty and elegant magic: the Elf Tribe.

And it wasn’t just females. Over at the male knight training grounds, there were also elves—

not many, but not none either.

“They came all the way from the Elven Forest, crossing mountains and rivers to get here,” Xiarette replied, recalling the general situation.

“Huh…? Why would they come all the way here? Don’t tell me it’s like me—they couldn’t stay in their hometown anymore?”

“Pfft, you’re not far off. But the reason they couldn’t stay back home is the opposite of yours.”

“How so?”

Sheffy’s departure from home had been because the Demon Clan had too many expectations for her. The pressure was overwhelming, so she had no choice but to pack her bags and leave.

“But those elves are different,” Xiarette said, a flicker of sympathy in her eyes—alongside admiration. “The Elf Tribe is known for its vast variety of magic types. But these elves training with the knight order? Almost all of them are ‘outliers’ born without any innate talent for magic.”

“No way… You’re telling me there are actually elves who can’t use magic?”

“Yep. I thought it was strange too at first. After all, people say that as long as you’re an elf, you can use magic. But they still—”

They truly couldn’t use magic. Word was that the elders and residents of the Elven Forest looked down on them. Since they couldn’t contribute to protecting the forest, they faced a lot of cold treatment. In the end, they could no longer stay in their homeland.

They came to the Kingdom’s Knight Order in hopes of training themselves and gaining strength as knights—rather than relying on the naturally weak magic they had been born with.”

“I see… these pointy-ears are really inspiring.”

“Yes. They usually train even harder than others. Probably because they hope that one day, when they return to their homeland… they won’t have to endure cold stares or harsh words anymore. They’re the ones who refuse to accept their fate.”

Like butterflies flown from a distant forest, carried by the winds for thousands of miles, hoping that one day the wind would blow them back home again—in joy and harmony.

Sheffy could hardly bear hearing such things. She rubbed her eyes, deeply moved.

—Until she said the next sentence, and the moving atmosphere instantly vanished.

“Boohoo… so pitiful! They can’t stay in their own Elven Forest, and can’t even eat their proud homegrown cabbages and mushrooms anymore! It’s so sad…! No, I really sympathize. I still have donuts—I must go share some with the elves!”

“You’re sympathizing with their diet…?! Ah, Sheffy…! The elves probably won’t…!”

Elves probably didn’t like eating donuts.

Before Xiarette could even say that, Sheffy had already pulled out an unopened bag of donuts from her Storage Magic, ready to break some apart for the diligent elves to taste some Royal Capital snacks.

But halfway there, she suddenly stopped.

After a moment’s thought, she opened her Storage Magic again and quietly swapped it out for the same brand—just a different flavor.

Based on what Xiarette knew about her, she was almost certainly switching to a flavor she didn’t like herself!

The exact flavor didn’t matter.

What mattered was this: living far from home, receiving a small donut from a cute young girl in this foreign, uncertain land—surely, that would feel like finding a ray of sunshine in the fog.

So no matter what flavor the donut was, it would undoubtedly taste the sweetest.

From afar, Xiarette gazed at the petite figure standing there—“Miss Shaya,” bringing the elves a fleeting moment of smiles.

And before she knew it, a gentle smile also climbed onto Xiarette’s own breathtakingly beautiful face.

Sheffy, do you know?

Bringing smiles to others—this is a skill truly worth being proud of.

The world is vast, and troubles are many.

Fortunately, by watching over just one person, all worries can melt away; wherever the eye falls, it is filled with blossoming flowers.

Perhaps this was the happiest Xiarette had felt during all her years visiting the Knight Order?

……………………………..

On the way back from the Knight Order, Miss Shaya was in extremely high spirits.

The main reason? Xiarette had actually said she would take her to the most famous donut shop in Royal Capital Cormier—and let her freely buy whatever she wanted!

Heehee… Good deeds truly bring good rewards. Just earlier she had given a pack of donuts to the hardworking elves, and now after visiting the shop, she had restocked with a full five packs!

And they were all strawberry-filled!

Of course, it wasn’t just the donuts. Sheffy’s great mood also came from her curiosity about the surroundings.

The Kingdom’s Knight Order training grounds were not far outside the Royal Capital Cormier Castle. Aside from having visited the castle once, Sheffy had never really explored the surrounding area—this entire zone, filled with buildings rich in human history, was still new to her.

“Xiarette, Xiarette! What’s that?! That square thing! It looks like a library!”

“That is a library… the Royal Capital Royal Library. It contains records of all the magic documented in the Kingdom’s history. And as for other books—pretty much anything you can think of should be there too.”

“Wow, impressive, impressive… I had thought about building a library like that back in the Demon Domain. What about that one, what about that one…! That oval-shaped building surrounded by big white columns!”

“Which one? Oh, that one—that’s the Royal Capital Arena.”

“Arena? You mean like in the Demon Domain, where they throw in two magical beasts and nobles place bets while they fight? I don’t really like those…”

“Well… it serves that function too, but the Royal Capital Arena has another main purpose: two people with a grudge can sign an agreement and settle their score in the arena—fight to the death, if necessary.”

“Huh? That’s so violent. What if someone gets killed?”

“They’ve signed an agreement. Killing in the arena isn’t illegal. Unless it’s a deep grudge, most people wouldn’t choose to settle things there.”

“Impressive, impressive.”

Though it seemed like Xiarette was patiently introducing the surrounding buildings to Sheffy—

In truth… her gaze kept drifting toward the northern side of the castle every so often.

There stood a grand ceremonial hall.

A pure white structure with a minimalist yet elegant design of three spire-like towers—

it rose proudly to the north of Cormier Royal Castle, like a dazzling pearl embedded in the earth of the Royal Capital.

Even in her high spirits, there was no way Sheffy would fail to notice Xiarette’s wandering gaze.

“Xiarette? What are you looking at? Ah…! That pretty white building over there—you’re looking at that, right? What is it?”

“The Cormier Royal Grand Hall.” Xiarette withdrew her gaze from the distance. When she turned to look at Sheffy, her eyes now carried an extra hint of anticipation and tenderness. “It’s where the Kingdom’s nobles and royals hold large receptions—birthday banquets, victory celebrations, even weddings. All of those can be held in the Grand Hall.”

“You humans are quite romantic, huh! Good at picking venues.”

Xiarette nodded in agreement.

But her previously steady steps now seemed a little hesitant and uneasy.

Still—Xiarette was the Hero.

And a Hero must have courage!

“Sheffy!”

“Mm?! What’s gotten into you all of a sudden?! Why are you suddenly shouting like that?!”

“Well… do you remember? I told you before—my birthday is coming soon.”

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