Chapter 68

Sylatrella held the trophy in her hand, lifting her head high as she watched her opponent swiftly leave.

She was still waving her little hand in farewell.

“Hey…! Look, when I said I wanted the trophy, she just handed it over! Saved us so much trouble, huh, what a nice person! Ah… the feeling of getting something without working for it is really great, hehe… getting something without effort, I’m so bad!”

What are you laughing at! The gold coins just flew away!

Sheffy raised her head, a glimmer of starlight flashing in her eyes.

Though she really wanted to punch Sylatrella right now, priorities had to be set. Things should be handled one at a time!

Quickly turning toward Xiarette, Sheffy instructed her as fast as she could.

“Xia, wait here for a moment. That one used Speed Boost in advance, you probably won’t be able to catch up. I’ll go myself… damn it, she even snatched my coin! She must be doing this just to annoy me! I’ll beat her up to vent my anger!”

“Sheffy…!”

She really was too fast.

Sheffy didn’t need to apply any enhancement magic on herself. In the blink of an eye, Xiarette watched as Sheffy completely vanished from sight.

Even if she couldn’t catch up, she had to chase slowly…!

Xiarette hurriedly called Sylatrella back.

“Sylatrella, hurry up!”

“Look! The trophy!”

“Don’t look at the trophy! Get inside the Holy Sword quickly, Sheffy might be in trouble!”

“Then hurry and chase!”

“…”

At times like this, the Little Holy Sword knew when to behave.

At this moment, cutting through the wind, Sheffy was darting through the sky at high speed, tracking Belith by following the traces of her magic. Only one thought occupied her mind.

Belith…

Give me back my gold coin!!

69. Purpose? (Five thousand characters)

Above the early autumn clouds, the night brought extreme cold, and the wind roared loudly.

The eight-winged, silver-haired girl tore through the stars. The low temperature and pressure of the high altitude could not hinder her advance in the slightest. Even the ice-cold magic birds that lived year-round at high altitudes and soared through the skies respectfully hailed her as an ancestor when they saw that black flash streaking past at tremendous speed.

In fact, Sheffy’s pursuit of Belith wasn’t difficult at all. On the contrary, it was going unusually smoothly.

One reason was that she flew faster, giving Belith no chance to escape.

The other reason… was even more significant.

Belith had deliberately left behind obvious traces of magic in the air.

It was as if she intentionally left signals and markers for Sheffy, helping her avoid getting lost in the sky and allowing her to quickly lock onto Belith’s location.

Such deliberate behavior clearly seemed like a trap…

But it didn’t matter!

Whether it was a trap or not was secondary. The most important thing right now was to take back the gold coin!

Shameless Sheffy had already taken it for granted that the reward Sylatrella obtained rightfully belonged to her.

Flying over a barren plain, ahead lay a field of snow and snowy mountains.

Looking down from the high altitude, a vast and boundless mountain forest stretched below.

Sheffy squinted her eyes to sense the surroundings. This place should already be close to the border between the Demon Domain and the Kingdom of Aurus.

If she went any further, it would mean crossing the border and returning to the Demon Domain.

Then where was Belith now…?

Sheffy slowly opened her dim purple eyes surrounded by surging magic.

She already had the answer.

Belith was right below, having already landed.

Did she stop because she got caught up? Or was she intentionally waiting here for Sheffy to come?

No need for pointless guessing.

Rather than speculating, it would be much more efficient to go over and ask her directly.

High-Level Domain Perception.

Centered on Sheffy in the sky, an invisible current of magic rapidly spread in all directions. In just moments, it covered the entire forest.

Domain Perception allowed her to sense all living beings within the range covered by her magic, grasping the situation entirely.

Hmm… in this forest below, besides Belith, there wasn’t a single person.

That was normal. The period of peace hadn’t lasted long yet, and the situation was still unstable.

This was near the border, and being a forest, the humans who once lived here had long since migrated to towns within the kingdom.

Sheffy shifted her flight posture and dropped straight down.

Since no one was around, she didn’t need to waste time changing back into Shaya’s appearance; keeping her original form would suffice.

The eight black wings completely ignored air resistance, as the ground rapidly approached in her view.

Sheffy flipped her body midair, and when she was only inches away from the ground, her falling speed suddenly became light and gentle.

Her toes lightly touched the ground, the black wings spread gracefully to both sides. She landed firmly without any wobble, as elegant as a princess.

Oh, she thought, I’m a Demon Clan Princess anyway, so that’s fine!

This landing technique was something Sheffy had imagined for a long time and had always wanted to try. Compared to those brainless heavy landings with loud thuds, this looked much cooler!

The cool and flashy little Sheffy hummed a tune, maintaining her graceful flair as she strode forward.

However…

The heavens are always full of surprises.

When you’re trying to be cool, accidents always catch you off guard.

“Ah, ow!!”

Thud!

The elegant Miss Sheffy was tripped by a small stone protruding from the forest floor, causing her to fall forward with her arms stretched out, landing solidly.

The most dreadful part was probably the strange, crisp sound produced when her flat chest collided with the flat ground—strangely clear and ringing!

Unlucky… extremely unlucky!!

With a grunt, Sheffy covered the back of her head—which actually didn’t hurt—and climbed back up, dusting off the dirt on her skirt with an indifferent air, as if nothing had happened.

Phew… fortunately, no one was here. Otherwise, this incident would have gone down in history as eternal shame.

“Pfft…”

Hmm?

Who was laughing here?!

Actually, who else could it be? She had already sensed who it was long ago.

A sharp glint flashed deep in Sheffy’s eyes, radiating a murderous intent like that of someone ready to silence a witness.

At the same time, she turned around and cast this intimidating gaze—which in truth was no more threatening than a small animal glaring at you—behind her.

The moment she turned her head—

It was a scene of layered beauty.

Waterfalls, mountain streams, and spring stones.

They were standing in an open area at the edge of the forest.

The person in a black cloak was clutching her stomach, suppressing laughter at first.

But soon, unable to hold it in, she burst into laughter, swaying and trembling from amusement.

The black cloak loosened from her body, and just as a gentle breeze blew past—it swept the cloak off toward the waterfall, carrying it away with the current.

Without the cloak, a blue dress, colored like ice crystals, was fully revealed.

With breathtaking beauty and a city-toppling smile, she stood before the sparkling waterfall, resembling a larger version of Sheffy herself, laughing to the point of tears.

Between the mountains and rivers, under starlight, her five wings spread toward the sky, radiating incomparable elegance.

Unlike Sheffy, Belith’s royal aura came naturally. Simply standing there, smiling without moving, she exuded a sublime grace like she was gracefully dancing.

Unfortunately, Sheffy couldn’t appreciate the so-called beauty of a beautiful woman and scenic view combined. She wasn’t capable of enjoying that.

She was a vulgar person. What she was staring at right now was the pouch of gold coins in Belith’s hand!

For now, that wasn’t the most urgent matter.

What was more important and urgent… was something else.

“Tch… is it that funny?”

“Haha… forgive me, Royal Sister. If you don’t like me laughing, then I won’t laugh. It’s just that… ha, you were simply too adorable just now. I couldn’t help it… pfft…”

You say you won’t laugh, but you’re clearly still laughing and haven’t stopped at all!

Sheffy showed no mercy.

With a turn of her palm, a ball of ghostly blue flame gathered in her hand, illuminating her small, stern face. The terrifying flames seemed to distort the air with their heat.

Completely unlike someone who had just tripped and been seen on the spot.

“Belith, I’m giving you two choices. The first: keep laughing, and I’ll erase you here and now so you won’t be able to speak of it. The second: swear to keep what you just saw a secret and tell no one. That way, I won’t have to punish my own kin.”

“……”

The ghostly blue flame continued to burn.

But the atmosphere wasn’t going as smoothly as Sheffy had expected.

She had originally thought that Belith would at least show some fear, then make a simple promise, and the matter would be over.

Instead… Belith did stop laughing.

But what remained on her face was a faint mischievous smile.

With a finger resting under her chin, she slowly spread her wings and arms, speaking with a fearless tone.

“Royal Sister, feel free~ If I were to die by your hand, Belith would feel especially blessed~”

“You…! Did you take the wrong medicine these past few days or something?!”

“Hehe… judging by what you said, it seems Royal Sister doesn’t really intend to punish her own kin after all.”

“You think I won’t dare?!”

At this sharp retort, the ghostly blue flame flared up magnificently.

But when Belith looked up, she saw that even as the intense flames touched the leaves, they didn’t burn them.

Fireflies flew freely within the brilliant flames, entirely unaffected. The strong light did not outshine the faint glow of the fireflies.

This was Royal Sister’s tyranny and gentleness…

Belith slowly spread her arms wide.

Facing this dazzling magic, she gracefully walked toward Sheffy.

Though this little girl was only half a head taller than Sheffy, she walked with the aura that only tall, elegant figures could exude!

Ugh… Sheffy was full of resentment!

“Why would Royal Sister remind me of something so obvious? The sight of you falling just now is a memory I will treasure and keep forever in my mind. How could I possibly share such beauty with others? To have shared memories with Royal Sister is Belith’s greatest honor.”

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