“Lydia…!”
Lydia was alive. She had become gaunt, and her chest had shrunk by one cup size.
But seriously, how much emotional turmoil does one have to go through for their chest to shrink???
Feeling the burning resentment towards Historia, I dashed towards Lydia.
Of course, it wasn’t going to be that easy.
Two royal knights were blocking my path, although they weren’t sitting at the broken round table. They looked like they were escorting Lydia, and they stood in my way.
“Stop!”
“Even if they are guests of His Majesty, you can’t approach a criminal recklessly!”
With their scarred bodies, they were formidable. Naturally, as female knights, their bodies retained some curves, but most were concealed beneath solid armor.
One glance and it was evident they had chosen to live as knights rather than pursue personal happiness.
They followed protocol and blocked my path.
…But there was no way I’d be stopped by such weak opponents after coming this far.
I lowered my body to maintain my speed. As my already small frame vanished from their sight, they flinched.
I seized the opening, using sound-canceling footsteps and my Transparent Cloak.
In an instant, I vanished completely. The two knights, looking as if they had seen a ghost, started searching for me, but it was already too late.
I had already slipped past them and arrived in front of Lydia.
“Ha!”
I dramatically cut the ropes binding Lydia with my Unicorn Dagger.
Rude? Who cares. I came here to cause a ruckus today… with Ellie’s power, no less!
“Lydia! Are you okay? Are you hurt anywhere? Oh my. Why do you look so gaunt? Don’t tell me they starved you? Ugh. Lydia’s chest shrank… so unfortunate!”
“You, me?”
Lydia stared at me with wide eyes, her expression flat as if she couldn’t believe it.
However, her voice trembled, and the fire in her eyes felt like it had fizzled out.
In simpler terms, she looked a wreck. She seemed a bit scruffy, like she hadn’t been taken care of.
“No, what on earth happened?!”
I pulled out some mid-grade Holy Water I had left over from the Fourth Floor from my subspace pocket.
I sprinkled some Holy Water over Lydia’s head and channelled some Divine Power to spread it throughout her body.
This was Holy Water from the Goddess of Love, after all, so purification and a little cosmetic effect were included.
It was enough to quickly spruce up Lydia for the moment.
In an instant, Lydia looked like she had just stepped out of the bath. But the problem remained—she still had that haggard complexion.
As I dabbed the remaining Holy Water from her face with her collar, Lydia knelt and blankly looked up at me.
“Jonah. Why are you here?”
“Why? I came to find Lydia.”
“So, why…?”
“Huh? Are you saying I should have abandoned you? If you really thought that, it’s a bit hurtful.”
I pouted, being all dramatic for a moment.
The two knights, who had fallen for my trick so obviously, glared at me.
“How dare you! This is the royal palace of Historia!”
“Who do you think you are, drawing your sword here!”
Though it was a dagger, the fact that I had drawn a weapon seemed to provoke them.
The two knights charged at me, both wielding a thin rapier and a slightly curved scimitar, all with a high-level aura swirling around them.
Unlike the general adventurers outside, the stark difference in aura clearly demonstrated that these royal knights had vastly superior physical enhancements and weapon enhancements.
It’s all about the tier. Pressure? Tenacity? It felt relatively weak, but the sharpened aura was just as threatening.
No, it carried an even greater sense of danger.
A person doesn’t need to needlessly kill with a hammer; a sharp blade would be far more effective.
That must be the logic behind it… Well, blunt or sharp, they all hurt when you get hit.
I carefully watched the knights’ movements while preparing my own.
My target was the knight with the rapier. Since she was going for thrusts, it seemed I’d reach her faster.
Bam!
A heavy reverberation from my lower abdomen. The aura that had grown a bit, but still transparent, enveloped my entire body.
While it wasn’t quite as strong as when I activated Power Explosion and used several abilities, my physical capabilities were sufficiently enhanced.
I focused on utilizing every ounce of that power as I moved.
Twisting joints. Contracting muscles. My straightforward motion layered hundreds, thousands of movements, forming smooth curves.
And as those curves converged, together they formed a circle.
We call this rotation.
“Hah!”
The speed was unbelievable, almost as if I had just turned my back.
The Unicorn Dagger met the rapier with a clear crash.
Clang!
Even though it didn’t seem invisible, I was wrapped in aura.
It looked as if the dagger and rapier froze just before colliding with a slight gap between them.
…So this is how it is.
In terms of pure body strength, I was certainly superior. After all, I had reaped all the bonuses from the Labyrinth.
Yet, in terms of aura quantity and usage, I was significantly lagging behind.
This balance was likely due to that difference.
“How…?”
Had she underestimated me because of my youthful appearance? Or did she think of me as some sort of stealth tool?
The knight with the rapier’s eyes widened in shock.
Well, it wasn’t exactly a fair strength matchup, but…
This was more about impact than strength itself. An impact that was temporarily amplified by the rotational speed.
Thanks to that, it appeared as if we were equally matched momentarily, but just a half-breath later, I would start to lose ground again.
But I didn’t mind. I never intended to engage in a strength contest to begin with.
Flick.
I tilted the blade slightly, swiping my dagger along the length of the rapier.
A slight sting grazed my ear. If the aura barely scraped the surface, all it did was tear a little bit…
But that was about it—my Unicorn Dagger was now ominously poised at the knight’s neck.
Hmm. From the way the dagger was twitching, she must not be a virgin.
Nodding inwardly, I kept moving.
Using the sensation of the blade at her neck as leverage, I intended to restrain the scimitar-wielding knight behind me. But…
Crack!
“Huh?”
Perhaps exhausted, a swaying Lydia stepped right into my path, catching the scimitar with her bare hand.
Yeah, just caught it barehanded!
Lydia, seemingly low on both stamina and aura, focused her fiery aura on one hand to protect it.
Just moments ago, Lydia looked dazed, but now her gaze burned with fierce flames.
It was as if she stated she wouldn’t concede this time, even if it meant burning herself down.
Her crimson eyes glimmered fiercely with the conviction knights lived and died for. A gruff voice erupted from her throat.
“No one.”
Creak.
The twisted metallic sound of the scimitar echoed in Lydia’s grip.
“No one touches Jonah in front of me.”
Crash!
The scimitar, unable to withstand Lydia’s aura and force, shattered into pieces.
Could it be that a dying sinner had been beaten down with a single blow? The scimitar knight’s eyes trembled.
In stark contrast, Lydia radiated a fierce aura.
While she had been disarmed, her fists were still intact, and she seemed ready to knock down the nearest foe if needed.
Lydia’s sudden, sharp reaction surprised even me. Perhaps everyone felt the same way, as a brief silence settled over the broken round table.
…I wonder if that’s why a voice that had been silent till now rang out louder.
“That’s enough. Don’t spill blood without permission before me.”
With deep blue hair reminiscent of the abyss and a crude iron crown atop her head, the woman was none other than the queen of Historia. Modred spoke.
“Karpi. Step back. I’ll have a new sword made for you later, so remain under restraint until then.”
“…Yes.”
Though her expression showed reluctance, she bowed her head, indicating her compliance with the order.
As the tension in the room began to settle, I freed the rapier knight I had been restraining.
Seizing the moment, Modred continued issuing orders.
“Jurgen. The same goes for you. I won’t permit you to draw your sword either. Reflect on this with Karpi.”
“Understood.”
Perhaps they felt ashamed to have perfectly lost to me. The rapier knight bowed, her face flushed with humiliation, and slowly retreated.
As they left, the previously oppressive atmosphere lightened just a bit.
I took a deep breath and supported the swaying Lydia with my shoulder.
At the same time, I covertly gauged Lydia’s chest size again, and… it had indeed shrunk by one cup size.
It wasn’t just my imagination.
While I struggled to keep my rising anger in check, Modred chuckled and continued.
“It seems you care for your knight a lot. Gahelis.”
“Huh?”
“To show such intense rage towards this sister after such a long time.”
“…Huh?”
What on earth was that supposed to mean?
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