“Ze, Zero’s girlfriend? No, before that… why are we suddenly talking about him?”
Lucia remembered Zero clearly.
Not just his unforgettable appearance, but also the fact that he, along with his nanny, had teased her.
Despite being somewhat clumsy, she was, after all, one of the Empire’s Ten Swords.
‘To tease me?’
What an insolent guy.
Back then, she had been too flustered to react, but if they met again, she would give him a piece of her mind.
‘I can’t believe Delin had such a person by her side…’
He must have been planning to do something bad, taking advantage of our youngest’s tender heart.
She intended to give him a thorough scolding before he could lay a hand on her.
“How strange. Wasn’t he your ideal type?”
“Him? Nanny! Even if it doesn’t look like it, I have very high standards, you know?”
“Weren’t you the one who said you disliked men who lack the courage to meet your gaze?”
“…Well, yes. But he’s different, isn’t he? It’s not that he didn’t avoid eye contact, maybe he just couldn’t see?”
“Hmm… You do have a point.”
That was the level of people’s perception of slit eyes.
Even the nanny, who usually challenged every word Lucia said, agreed with her.
“And why should I fight his girlfriend?”
“To win over Zero, of course.”
“No, I mean, why should I want to win him over in the first place?”
A fundamental question about this situation.
The nanny’s answer was surprisingly simple.
“You have to marry him.”
It was then that Lucia finally realized.
All this time, from before until now, the nanny’s words were not mere jokes.
“Na, Nanny! Have you lost your mind? How old is he compared to me!”
“Didn’t you just say you’d win no matter what? Age is just a number, let’s prove that!”
“That was when I thought it was a duel! You’re really crazy, crazy! Not only flirting with a young boy but also trying to break up a couple that’s doing well! Is that something an adult should do?”
For Lucia, who was known to be somewhat scatterbrained, it was a remarkably logical argument.
Was it that shocking? The nanny muttered.
“…because it’s something you have to fight for.”
“Eh? What did you say?”
“Love is something you fight for! So let’s give it our all! It may not end well, but we have to try!”
The nanny’s eyes flipped.
The demon obsessed with marriage showed its face again.
“Zero seems to like cute things. We should strategize towards that. So…”
So?
Lucia instinctively hugged a box of snacks to her chest. However.
“You’ll have to lose weight first. Reduce your food intake by 50%, and no snacks.”
“No wayyyy!!”
Lucia’s wail echoed through the dormitory.
Returning to my room after a grueling training session.
Zzzap-!
As soon as I entered, my [Hyper Sense] activated, alerting me to the presence of someone else.
“Keke, isn’t it too late for a visit?”
“…Quiet, insolent one.”
Caron emerged from the shadows.
It wasn’t that I hadn’t seen Caron since the demon attack.
He was one of the investigators, after all.
But personal contact had been impossible. There were too many eyes watching.
‘…It’s still unforgettable.’
After receiving first aid from the nanny, I went to the infirmary.
Caron, who had rushed over like lightning upon hearing the news, focused his gaze on Luna.
The look in Caron’s eyes as he watched the injured Luna.
It was difficult to define due to the mix of emotions, but it was clear he was worried about Luna.
“Let me ask you one thing.”
Caron asked, his eyes gleaming.
“Is the demon attack related to you?”
If I said yes, I could be killed.
The possibility of further demon attacks existed. And that would mean Luna was in danger.
So, I decided to use Luna.
“To be honest, it is related. But the same goes for Miss Luna.”
“…What do you mean?”
“The demon’s shard. It’s involved.”
“I’ve heard that too. That it claimed to be siblings with the demon’s shard.”
Caron knowing this information was expected.
The other kids had heard Bineus speak of it too.
But they had only encountered Bineus from Phase 2 onwards.
Only I had heard what was said before then. In other words…
‘It’s possible to manipulate the information.’
I planned to pass on information about the Four Heavenly Kings using this opportunity.
There was no need to worry about being caught lying.
Not only had a small trust been built with Caron.
‘Because I’m sharing information gained from playing the game.’
In other words, everything I was about to say was verified as true.
“Keke, you’re right but it’s a bit different. He said, Master ‘Lizbeth’.”
“Lizbeth…! So she does exist.”
He nodded slightly in agreement.
“She seems to be in the south right now.”
“The exact location?”
“I’m not sure. There’s information that Bineus flew for a whole month but…”
“…That’s too broad.”
Indeed, it was broad. However.
“He mentioned in passing, after finishing business here, he has to protect ‘Galeta region’.”
From Chapter 3 onwards, if you try to enter the Galeta region, Bineus appears and blocks the player.
We are just at the beginning of Chapter 2.
There’s still some time until Chapter 3.
There might be nothing there.
But.
“Galeta…”
If forces are stationed there, it could significantly hinder Lizbeth’s plans to destroy the south.
‘At least we might catch a whiff of her plans.’
If this strategy succeeds, it could weaken the Four Heavenly Kings’ forces once more.
I had been pondering how to pass on the information, but Bineus’s attack provided a natural opportunity.
Dead men tell no tales.
“How is the investigation on Kalos going?”
“I received a message two days ago that they had arrived nearby. They’ll contact us soon. More importantly, you haven’t been caught by Lucia, have you?”
He must be talking about the Lester family.
Using [One Flash] was the only way to win that battle, Caron must have known as well.
“Keke, that wasn’t the case. Yuridia’s magic erased all traces.”
“That’s fortunate. Be careful not to use it recklessly. It’s not a technique you can handle.”
But if I hadn’t, I wouldn’t be here, would I?
And it saved Luna’s life. That’s really too much.
‘Should I puff up my cheeks?’
I could probably annoy Caron just by doing that.
Did he read my mind? Caron pulled something out of his pocket.
“There’s nothing confirmed yet, so I can’t give you a reward. Take this. It’s hardly a substitute, but…”
What Caron handed me was a restaurant ticket, valid for up to four people.
But the name was different. It wasn’t the restaurant I knew.
“It’s located in the bottom right corner of the square. It’s not well-known yet, so you should be able to enjoy a leisurely meal.”
Oh? So there was such a place?
I pondered over the restaurant ticket.
‘Now that I think about it, I did ask for that.’
After the ‘Annihilation’ event, when my life was threatened by Luna, I had asked Caron to reserve a restaurant.
‘Well, Luna seems to have forgotten about it.’
She seems to have forgotten because of the major event, the attack by a high-level demon, but it might be nice to take her there sometime.
I’ve received plenty of help from Luna, and it seems I’ll be receiving a lot more in the future.
“By the way, I have a question.”
“Speak.”
“When the Lester family was accused of treason, what was the Lucid family’s reaction? Not externally, but internally.”
Not the publicly expressed opinion, but the internal opinion known only to those involved.
Caron’s mouth opened immediately.
“They were busier than anyone. Specifically, they worked hard to find evidence that the Lester family was not traitorous.”
They started looking for evidence to overturn the accusation of treason that had already been made public?
“Why? The Lucid family is loyal to the emperor. They wouldn’t have defied the emperor’s orders.”
“I don’t know much about that. I was on a mission at the time…”
Caron trailed off.
There’s information Caron doesn’t know? That’s surprising.
“Well, they’re human after all. Aren’t they the two families who have been most loyal? They must have had something in common.”
“I see. Something in common…”
“But why do you ask all of a sudden?”
“Keke, I was just curious. Well, there’s also the possibility that the Lucid family had something to do with the Lester family’s situation…”
The rest of the sentence was added because Caron gave me a strange look.
I know better than anyone that the Lucid family is not the culprit.
I’m a veteran player of this game.
“If you have no more questions, let’s end it here.”
Caron vanished in an instant.
The next day, at the training ground.
While taking a brief rest, Luna, who had been watching my training, asked.
“What have you been doing since the other day? It seems like you’re only doing basic training.”
Hmm, Luna, what are you talking about?
I’ve been using only secret techniques from the start of my training until now.
But I fully agreed with Luna’s opinion.
Even though I was using the Fleur family’s secret techniques, they didn’t seem like secret techniques at all.
‘Very static.’
To others, it seemed like I was just swinging a sword normally.
‘No wonder people underestimated it.’
I understood Lérang’s feelings.
If this is called a family’s secret technique, anyone would be disappointed.
If it weren’t for the system window, I would have thrown the sword away, thinking, ‘What kind of secret technique is this?’
‘This is not going to be as easy as I thought.’
Raising [Fleur Family Style] to S rank and becoming ‘real’ was my dream.
At this rate, it might end up being a dream in a different sense.
‘I need a strategy.’
How can I evolve this swordsmanship? That’s when I was contemplating.
“Oh, right. How about Parrot?”
The parrot. She must be talking about the sacred sword.
I took out the handle of the sacred sword Artana.
A plain handle. Nothing more, nothing less.
“It’s asleep.”
“Hmm… Should I give it a kiss? Like waking up a princess with a kiss, you know.”
Was it my imagination? The sacred sword seemed to tremble slightly.
Luna began swinging the sacred sword around, but it showed no reaction.
Of course, it wouldn’t.
‘The cooldown hasn’t reset yet.’
168 hours. A week-long cooldown.
I still had to wait three more days.
‘I’ve already thought about what to experiment with. The sacred sword isn’t a worry…’
The new companion. That was the problem.
‘If only there was a sturdy tank… but there’s no suitable candidate, and everyone’s avoiding me.’
Damn slit eyes.
I was seriously considering whether to draw pupils on them with magic when.
Zzzap-.
[Hyper Sense] activated. The location was near the entrance to the training ground.
[Hyper Sense] isn’t a skill that activates just because someone is approaching. It activates either when someone intends to threaten me or when someone is approaching in stealth.
So, the person at the entrance to the training ground is either intending to threaten me or is approaching in stealth.
I lifted my arm, moving Luna slightly behind me, and placed my hand on the sheath, ready for anything.
If it’s a suspicious person, I’d have to strike immediately.
“…”
But no matter how much time passed, the door didn’t open.
…Wait, does that mean?
‘Not intending to threaten, but approaching in stealth?’
In broad daylight.
It’s an absurd idea, but there’s one person who fits.
Living in stealth, both during the day and normally.
The door creaked open.
“Hi, hiik!”
It was Rezé, no doubt.
–TL Notes–
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