Chapter 16
I now understood the nature of the assassination organization “Seven-Leaf Tree.”
“They kill officials with wicked track records in the name of executing justice. On one hand, they dismantle the Kingdom’s power, while on the other, they deceitfully win the support of the common people. These people truly have sinister intentions, don’t they?”
After I finished speaking indignantly, Qifeng also expressed her agreement—
“I don’t acknowledge these people as ‘justice,’ either. They are nothing but murderers.”
“As an outsider who transmigrated here, I also don’t see any reason why this country needs to be overthrown,” Lian Qi said.
“Thank you for being able to trust me and my country.”
Tristina gave Lian Qi a gratified smile.
“I truly don’t want the Kingdom’s thousand-year foundation to be ruined in my hands.”
Filess-jie fix sniffed coldly with indifference— “Your Majesty the Queen, you needn’t worry. The war situation in the north is advantageous for us. It’s just that these rats are lurking in the royal capital, posing a constant threat to your life. They must be eradicated.”
“Is there any way to stop those people?”
From the bottom of my heart, I could not ignore those who wanted to harm Tristina.
“We haven’t yet found the stronghold of the ‘Seven-Leaf Tree’ organization’s members, so we can’t wipe them all out in one go. However, we can lure them into a trap.”
Filess-jie said with a cold smile, gnashing her teeth, “We will use the targets on the assassination list as bait. We protect them, lure ‘Seven-Leaf Tree’ into action, and then capture them all. Are you willing to join? This is an excellent training opportunity for a transmigrator.”
Qifeng and I turned our gazes toward Lian Qi, wondering what kind of decision she would make.
Right at this moment, a familiar voice once again rang in my ear—
“Hold on!”
We all turned to look, only to see Aijieliya-jie fix appearing in the grand hall of the royal palace like a gust of wind.
I couldn’t help but feel surprised. “Eh? Aijieliya-jie, why are you here?”
“Headmaster?”
Lian Qi and Qifeng expressed their surprise as well. The “Twin Jewels of the Empire,” “Scarlet Flame” Filess and Aijieliya, were actually gathered in the same place at this very moment…
“Fei’er, we’ll talk later. Your Majesty the Queen, please excuse my discourtesy.”
Aijieliya-jie and Filess-jie stood face-to-face, staring at each other.
“Filess, what is the meaning of this? You want my little sister to throw her life away for you?”
The very first words out of Aijieliya-jie’s mouth were completely merciless.
Filess-jie was utterly unconcerned by her offense, stating coldly, “Your little sister? Is Kefei’er yours alone? She’s my little sister too!”
Standing off to the side, I could feel the explosive tension between them. I had never, ever expected this scene to occur— my two older sisters were arguing in the palace, right in front of the Queen.
Aijieliya-jie grabbed the collar of Filess-jie’s military uniform— “How could you let Fei’er do something so dangerous? Are you insane?”
“Do you intend to treat her like a flower in a greenhouse?” Filess-jie said coldly. “You and I both know her strength.”
As she spoke, she broke free from Aijieliya-jie’s grip.
“You know who she is! Fei’er is the one who needs to be protected! Is there no one left in this country? Is it necessary to let her put herself in danger?”
“The Queen needs her right now. Besides, we will inevitably have a battle with the Demon King in the future. How will we fight it? Relying on just you and me? Right now, she is tied together with the transmigrator from another dimension. This is the best opportunity for them to grow together!”
“Tsk. Then what about Qifeng? She’s only a third-tier mage. Are you trying to send my student to her death?”
“Qifeng’s magic is extremely well-suited for capture missions. Besides, you also know that Transmutation-school mages are inherently capable of fighting above their tier.”
“Above her tier? You’re asking for too much! Do you know what level of mage the ‘Wielder of the Deathblade’ is?” Aijieliya-jie turned her gaze to me— “Fei’er, Filess is pushing you into a pit of fire. Don’t listen to her. Come with me right now.”
“You can’t protect her forever!”
“…Jie, I want to hear Lian Qi’s choice.”
We then heard Filess-jie give a solemn cough. “After graduating back then, ‘That person’ joined ‘Fire Hunt’ and fought alongside me.”
“Is that so? Then I choose to join. If the Demon King could do it, I can do it too.”
I hadn’t expected Lian Qi to agree without the slightest hesitation. She had a competitive streak in her bones, especially when it came to the Demon King. That feeling was just like being determined to take first place in the graduation ranking tournament. It was clear that, from the bottom of her heart, she didn’t want to lose to the Demon King, who was also a transmigrator, right?
Seeing Lian Qi so resolute, Aijieliya-jie once again turned her gaze to me, seemingly hoping I would go with her. But…
“I’m sorry, Jie. I’ll be worried if I’m not by Lian Qi’s side.”
I saw the deeply wounded expression on my sister’s face. This was the last thing I ever wanted to see, and it made me feel awful.
“Jie understands. Jie…”
She turned and left, heartbroken and sorrowful. With a light flick of her magical robes, which resembled a starry curtain, she walked away without a single glance back.
“I think I really hurt my sister’s heart,” I said sadly.
“The Headmaster truly loves you.” Qifeng patted my shoulder to comfort me.
“Little sister Fei’er, come with me alone for a moment.”
“Eh?”
Filess-jie took me by the hand and led me out of the royal hall.
She found a place where there was no one else, leaned her back against the wall, and spoke to me with deep gravity. “Aijieliya and I have completely different philosophies on your education, but we both want what’s best for you. I hope you can understand.”
“I can understand.”
“Heh heh. Of course, I’m very gratified that you ultimately chose me. It proves you’ve grown up.”
“What ‘grown up’…” I felt deeply helpless.
“I pulled you aside alone because there is one thing I absolutely must tell you.”
“Hm? What is it?”
“On the assassination list, one S-class target is Queen Tristina… and the other person is you.”
I pointed at my own nose in disbelief— “Me???”
“Are you afraid?”
“Afraid? Well, I’m not really… I don’t think I’ve done anything bad, have I?”
My first reaction was: It’s a good thing Aijieliya-jie doesn’t know my name is on the assassination list. Otherwise, she would have definitely forced me away to protect me, maybe even locked me in her headmaster’s office and not let me go anywhere.
As for being afraid of being killed…
Ahem, just the other day, a fifth-tier mage was trying to kill me, too.
“We haven’t seen each other for a year, and you really have grown up a lot.” Filess-jie’s eyes were smiling as she spoke to me. fix
“Not really…”
I gave a weak laugh.
Don’t be fooled by me wearing women’s clothes; I’m a boy, after all, so I’m comparatively braver.
“The rebels probably think that if they successfully assassinate you, it will be a huge blow to the Kingdom’s morale. So, little sister Fei’er, you must protect yourself, and at the same time, let the transmigrator get some training.”
“Mhm, you can rest assured and leave it to me.”
“According to the intelligence brought back by the spy I planted among the rebels, the assassination organization ‘Seven-Leaf Tree’ will be prioritizing four targets in the near future. Including my subordinates and the three of you, there are nine people in total. You have already been divided into four groups to protect these four individuals.”
I’ve heard that Filess-jie’s subordinates are all incredibly strong mages?
As Filess-jie spoke, she handed me a piece of paper— “And this person is the target you three will be protecting this time.”
Chapter 17: “Wielder of the Deathblade” (Part 3)
17 The target we needed to protect this time was the Lord Imperial Minister, Mandler, or “Lord Man” for short.
When Qifeng learned that the target we were protecting was this “Lord Man,” she grumbled the entire way there. Even after we arrived at Lord Man’s luxurious villa and met him in person, she didn’t give him a pleasant look.
As for why this Lord Man was so disliked by Qifeng, an Inspector…
To summarize it in Lian Qi’s words: “He’s got a potbelly and the face of a corrupt official.”
And Qifeng insisted that he really was corrupt.
“Hmph. Don’t you know why you’ve become an assassination target?”
Qifeng pointed at him indignantly with her hands on her hips. Lord Man sat on a luxurious single sofa, looking utterly bewildered. “Why… why is that?”
“You embezzled disaster relief grain! And you mixed sand into it to make up the numbers!”
“…There was such a thing?” I held my teacup and took a sip. I hadn’t expected Qifeng, as an Inspector of the Holy Light Church, to know so much?
So, really, having Qifeng protect a corrupt official she loathed was truly testing her limits. But it couldn’t be helped; Qifeng had only joined to accompany me. And compared to Lord Man in front of us, Qifeng despised the self-proclaimed “just” assassins even more.
Lord Man spread his hands. “Just because of that?”
“Hah?? Is that not enough for the ‘Seven-Leaf Tree’ assassination organization to be hunting you down?” Qifeng said furiously.
“I mixed the sand in to save the disaster victims!”
“What kind of logic is that!”
“Think about it. If I hadn’t mixed sand in, would that relief grain have ever reached the victims’ hands? It would have been skimmed off, link by link, by the lower-ranking officials long ago!”
“…That’s just twisted logic!”
“Making the victims eat sand-mixed grain isn’t very good…” I said.
“You people have no idea how tragic a famine is. Never mind grain mixed with sand; to stay alive, they’d have to eat sand mixed with grain.”
Qifeng was still unconvinced. “Then what about the grain you embezzled for yourself? You turned around and sold it, and the money went into a private bank, didn’t it? You can’t escape responsibility for that, can you?”
“You can’t just say things like that. A bank can make money grow! Only by doing that could I continue to keep the victims alive! Disaster relief is a bottomless pit. The national treasury is already empty from funding the crusade against the northern rebels! The relief funds and grain allocated by Her Majesty the Queen were only so much— throwing it all in at once would be like tossing it into the water. Do you understand?”
“Listening to you, it sounds like we’re protecting a ‘clean’ official?” Lian Qi said sarcastically, sipping her tea.
“Clean or not, I don’t know. But I am certainly not an incompetent official. I have accomplished many practical things for the former King and for Her Majesty the Queen. It is precisely because of this that I am being targeted by the rebels’ assassination organization.”
“Qifeng, why don’t we take a portion of Bishop Rodrigo’s house of gold to relieve the disaster victims?” I said impassively, taking a sip of tea.
“What house of gold?” Lian Qi asked, completely lost.
“N-Nothing! What I mean is, the Church should also step up to help the disaster victims.”
Right, Lian Qi still didn’t know about my identity as the Saintess. It was a miracle that Lian Qi hadn’t exposed me after a slip of the tongue like that.
I secretly glanced at Lian Qi. She was sipping her tea calmly. Or… had she already grown suspicious? Was she waiting until we got home to make me kneel on a washboard and confess everything? Mmph…
“Speaking of which, ‘Scarlet Flame’ Great General Filess sent you three to protect me, but all three of you are wearing magic academy uniforms. Are you real students, or are you just disguised as students to carry out the mission?”
I, Qifeng, and Lian Qi looked at each other.
“We all just graduated,” I said.
“No wonder you all look so young. So you’ve only just graduated. To think Great General ‘Scarlet Flame’ Filess would actually send you to protect me…”
“What, you don’t trust our abilities?” Lian Qi glanced at him and asked coldly.
“It’s not that— sigh. Do you think I’m only worried about myself? You’re all so young; you could lose your lives, too!”
Eh? This Lord Man was a bit different from what I’d imagined.
“Lian Qi was first place in the magic academy’s most recent graduating class, you know,” I said.
“Oh? First place?”
Seeing Lord Man’s expression, he seemed to be looking at Lian Qi in a new light.
“You’re the one who defeated Minister Onister’s son? I can’t believe Great General Filess would actually send you to me.”
“Don’t feel too good about yourself. We’re just using you as bait to lure the assassins,” Lian Qi said calmly, taking a sip of tea.
I couldn’t help but recall the final instructions Filess-jie gave us before we started the protection mission.
First priority: Protect yourselves. Second: Take out the assassins. Last: Ensure the protected target stays alive.
So, what Lian Qi said wasn’t wrong. In Filess-jie’s eyes, this Lord Man really was just bait. Listening to her… ahem, it wouldn’t matter if he died.
But since the mission was to protect him, I wouldn’t let him die.
Actually, this Lord Man didn’t know that the ones protecting him weren’t just the magic academy’s number one student, Lian Qi, but also me, the Saintess, and Qifeng, an Inspector of the Holy Light Church.
If he knew, he’d have enough to brag about for a long time~
“You must bring those assassins to justice. Those people… they just want to watch the world burn!” Lord Man said, his emotions stirred.
“You don’t need to tell us that,” Qifeng pouted, sulking.
“In the off-chance that we are all defeated, I’ll teach you how to handle the assassin when you’re facing them alone,” Lian Qi said mysteriously, setting down her teacup.
“What? How… how do I handle them?” Lord Man asked.
Even Qifeng and I were curious.
“When you’re the only one left alive, facing the assassin, whatever you do, don’t piss your pants and say something like— ‘Don’t kill me! I’ll give you however much money you want!’ That’s setting a death flag. People who say that line… not a single one survives. On the contrary, you should put on a calm and composed appearance. Show the dignity of a Lord Imperial Minister.”
“And that will save me?” Lord Man asked in surprise.
“No. That will let you die with a bit more dignity.” Lian Qi picked up her teacup with a sly smile.
“…How cold,” I said weakly.
“Did you think I was joking? I’m serious,” Lian Qi said to Lord Man. “While you’re acting all calm and ready for death, tidying your collar and whatnot, you’ll have successfully stalled for a few seconds. After that, you just repeat all that twisted logic you told us to the assassin. Maybe you can successfully stall until someone comes to save you. That’s it.”
“She seems to know everything,” Qifeng said blankly, watching Lian Qi sip her tea elegantly.
“She is someone who transmigrated from another dimension, after all,” I said with a sense of resignation.
Judging by everything she had done to me since she met me, Lian Qi was definitely—
What was that word again? I couldn’t remember it all of a sudden.
Chapter 18: “Wielder of the Deathblade” (Part 4)
18 Night quietly descended. I looked up at the window; the Red Moon was on duty again today.
I had a feeling that the closer it got to night, the closer the danger. The assassination organization “Seven-Leaf Tree” could make its move at any time.
I asked Qifeng, “The Captain of the Royal Capital Guard was also found dead in his home at this time yesterday, right?”
That silly girl was walking in a circle, touching the living room walls all over. She called it “setting up mechanisms.” I understood her magic, but Lian Qi, on the other hand, had an expression of utter disbelief. “Are you wiping dust? Don’t touch Fei’er later.”
I gave an awkward laugh. “Silly girl, remember to wash your hands.”
“The walls in my residence are cleaned by servants every day. It’s impossible for them to be dusty,” our protection target, Lord Man, said. “How did the Guard Captain die? I heard he was completely drained of blood?”
He shuddered, clearly a little frightened.
“So he died of excessive blood loss,” Lian Qi said.
“My end won’t be the same as his, will it? Actually, it’s not just you three protecting me. To be safe, I also hired Golden-rank adventurers. They’re standing guard in the courtyard right now.”
“Mhm, we saw them when we arrived. Golden-rank adventurers are very reliable.”
“Eh? You know that much?” Lian Qi glanced at me and asked.
“Because Mouyue-jie and the others are Platinum adventurers. The Golden-rank below them isn’t bad at all. I hear their magic power is around fourth-tier blue.”
“Isn’t that the same as me?”
“Anyway, with them and you three here, I can rest easy—”
Lord Man’s words were cut short by a loud crash. We looked over to see a Golden-rank adventurer crash through the main door, fly into the house, and land on the floor, unconscious.
“What—?” I stared in astonishment. That was a Golden-rank adventurer! We didn’t even see how he was defeated, and he was already lying there.
Lian Qi shot up from the sofa vigilantly. I saw a yellow-haired girl in silver light armor standing on the collapsed main door, her arms crossed.
“They’re here—! They’re here—!” Lord Man cried out in alarm. The yellow-haired girl, who originally had a stoic face, now revealed a cold smile.
“Executing justice!”
“You aren’t worthy of calling yourselves ‘justice’! You’re just murderers!”
Qifeng pointed at the yellow-haired girl indignantly, finally throwing that sentence at her face.
“A mere third-tier mage dares to spout such shameless nonsense and slander my path of justice?”
Ten giant, armored hands appeared out of thin air and slammed Qifeng into the ground, cracking the floor tiles.
“Ah!? Qifeng!”
It happened so fast it caught me completely off guard. The armor appeared without any warning. I couldn’t help but worry for Qifeng. Lian Qi shielded me behind her.
“Fei’er, stay back! Quickly get the target to a safe place!”
“No, I’m not going anywhere! Staying near you all is the safest!” Lord Man gripped the armrests of the sofa, looking restless, but he absolutely refused to leave.
“Lian Qi, be careful! She might be a Transmutation-school mage—”
Before I finished my sentence, Lian Qi had already charged forward. She dashed in front of the yellow-haired girl and threw a punch! The opponent, who had her arms crossed, didn’t dare to be careless in the face of Lian Qi’s ferocious punch and raised her arms into a defensive posture!
Lian Qi’s fist, wreathed in blue magic power, struck the opponent’s arms, which were also wreathed in blue magic power. Cracks appeared in the space between them, followed immediately by a high-energy reaction—
“It’s you? When we were catching that thief together, I thought you were a decent person. I never thought you’d be one of the Kingdom’s running dogs!”
An armored hand appeared from nowhere, slapped Lian Qi, and sent her flying! At the same time, the yellow-haired girl’s arms exploded!
With a thud, Lian Qi was slammed hard into the wall. The yellow-haired girl was also blasted flying in the opposite direction.
From the start until now, only a minute had passed, and the situation had already developed to this point…
I looked toward Lian Qi, worried for her safety. Just then, I heard the yellow-haired girl’s footsteps approaching me.
It was impossible for her to be completely fine after taking Lian Qi’s explosion magic. I saw her arms hanging limply, as if they were crippled, but her face wore a cold, unconcerned smile.
“You three don’t look like ordinary students, do you? Could you be ‘Scarlet Flame’ Filess’s subordinates? Heh— in any case, all of you will die by my hand today!”
It seemed she didn’t care even if both her hands were severely injured, because she was someone with a “third hand.”
“Lord Mandler, I shall pass judgment upon you in the name of justice!”
I saw Lord Man stand up from the sofa. I thought he was going to abandon me and run, but instead, crystalline red magic power burst from his body. Although it was just a mantis trying to stop a chariot in the face of the yellow-haired girl, still—
“It seems I can’t escape today.”
He said to me.
“Forget it, you should go. You’re still a child; there’s no need for you to die here with me. Go back and tell the Queen to avenge me.”
Eh? He’s surprisingly not someone who’s just afraid of dying?
“Mister, you’ve earned some of my respect.” I summoned a pure white Holy Light hammer and blocked the yellow-haired girl’s path.
The yellow-haired girl smiled contemptuously. “I’ll count to three, and you’ll be dead.”
“Then count,” I said. I inadvertently saw Qifeng lying on the ground, pretending to be unconscious, but actually making a “shh” gesture at me.
Could it be 0.5? I kept waiting for her armored hand to appear so I could whack it like a gopher. But time ticked by, second by second, long enough for her to count 3, 2, 1 ten times over, and the armored hand simply didn’t appear.
“How is this possible? My magic has never had such a long delay—!” she said, her face full of astonishment.
“Delay?” I looked blank.
“What tier of mage are you?”
“What tier? I don’t know, either,” I said, scratching my cheek.
“Could you be a fifth-tier mage? Impossible— I can’t see any magic power on you at all!”
“Why don’t you come a little closer and look again?” I gave a weak smile.
She probably wouldn’t listen to me. She just instinctively took one step forward… and just happened to be tripped by a golden chain that appeared out of thin air.
It was actually Qifeng, who had secretly activated her magic. She was a Transmutation-school mage, and the characteristic of her inherent magic was that any object she touched could be tethered by a chain. She had touched the two walls earlier, and now a chain appeared between them, tripping the yellow-haired girl.
At the same time, the “injured” Qifeng scrambled up from the ground and pounced— pressing both hands onto the yellow-haired girl’s body.
“I touched you.”
Qifeng activated her magic. Golden chains extended from every spot on the living room walls she had touched. They crisscrossed, too numerous to count, and the other end of every single chain was attached to the yellow-haired girl.
This was great. The assassin was now firmly locked to the villa, unable to escape even if she grew wings.
While the yellow-haired girl was still in shock, Lian Qi solemnly placed a hand on her shoulder.
“What a great living target.”
Watching Lian Qi activate her explosion magic, I found one thing strange. Why was the yellow-haired girl’s magic still delayed?
New Cover Left: Saintess Right: Qifeng
Chapter 19: “Wielder of the Deathblade” (Part 5)
19 The yellow-haired girl was bound by golden chains from all directions, unable to move. Lian Qi placed both hands on her shoulders. The high-energy reaction of explosion magic reflected on her astonished face.
She burst out with blue magic power and struggled.
“Bastard! Why are these chains so hard?”
Just as the explosion magic was about to go off, the entire villa shook as if hit by an earthquake. The yellow-haired girl’s magic—the armored fist—after delaying for so long, suddenly appeared.
I saw it aimed right at me and Lord Man. Its size was double what it was before! I just heard the yellow-haired girl laugh coldly— “My magic is the Fist of Justice, capable of killing the opponent in one hit! The stronger the opponent, the longer the delay! Now you’re dead! I’m going to crush you and that corrupt official together!”
“Tsk!”
Lian Qi nervously glanced back at me and the armored fist.
“Make your magic stop! Or I’ll blow you up!”
Amidst the high-energy reaction of the explosion magic, the yellow-haired girl laughed wildly. “Justice will prevail!”
BOOM—! Lian Qi blew her up; her body was consumed by a pillar of fire. Lian Qi turned and dashed over, wanting to protect me. At the same time, the armored fist also came punching down at me.
It looked like she wouldn’t make it in time. Lian Qi said urgently:
“Even though I took her down, the magic won’t disappear?”
It seemed the yellow-haired girl wanted to take me out even if it meant mutual destruction.
I looked up, watching helplessly as the armored fist descended from the ceiling! Its massive shadow enveloped me. I spun the hammer in my hand, pushed Lian Qi aside, and met it head-on with a smash—
DONG—!!
The fist burst with silver light…
…and shattered into fragments in front of me.
Said it was a one-hit kill?
I gave a weak laugh and looked at the yellow-haired girl, who had been blasted black by the explosion magic. She was still held in place by Qifeng’s chains, staring at me dumbfounded. She was still conscious after taking Lian Qi’s explosion magic? She must have wanted to personally witness me and Lord Man being killed, right?
“Your magic is indeed very powerful, but… what if the opponent resists?”
I don’t know if she was angered by me or what, but anyway, she spat out a mouthful of blood and fell unconscious.
I looked toward Lian Qi. What I saw on her face wasn’t just surprise. That feeling… it was as if she had never known me at all.
…Crap.
This was the first time I had exposed my strength in front of Lian Qi. Faced with her gaze, I guiltily hid the Holy Light hammer behind my back.
No—why hide it? I could just make it disappear.
No—that’s wrong— Even if it disappeared, it’s useless. Lian Qi already saw it.
“Um… Lian Qi…”
What… how should I explain this to her?
At that moment, Lord Man collapsed back onto the single sofa and let out a sigh of relief. “S-Saved…”
“Ah, Qifeng, are you okay?”
I didn’t dare to look Lian Qi in the eye. I ran to Qifeng’s side and helped her up.
“I’m… I’m fine… It feels good to be helpful~” She gave me a silly smile.
Seriously, why is she just like Lian Qi, always acting so recklessly?
“I knew letting you join was too much for you,” I said, my heart aching. After all, Qifeng’s magic power was only third-tier. Even if she was a Transmutation-type and could fight above her tier, it was still pushing it. But her chains were really strong; even a fourth-tier mage couldn’t break free.
“It’s fine…! You know, my ability to endure is very strong.”
…To be honest, I really didn’t know.
If the “ability to endure” she was referring to had anything to do with being an M, then never mind.
Just then, Lian Qi cleared her throat lightly. “Fei’er, come with me for a moment.”
“Eh…?” Before I could react, Lian Qi grabbed my hand and dragged me away.
“W-Wait, I’ll put medicine on you later!” I managed to tell Qifeng as I was dragged out of the villa by Lian Qi.
Under the dim yellow door light, Lian Qi wall-slammed me against the wall.
I stared at her, my mind a blank, not knowing what to say.
“Talk,” she said, her amber eyes staring at me.
“T-Talk about what?”
“You were this strong all along? So you’ve been lying to me this whole time?”
My heart trembled. Mmph… The words I feared hearing the most still came out of Lian Qi’s mouth.
“N-No… it’s not like that!”
“Hah?” Even though I denied it, Lian Qi was still looking at me with suspicion.
“I didn’t lie to you.”
“Still say you didn’t?”
“Remember that time at Fontainebleau Manor when we both fell into the lake? I said I would protect you no matter what. You just didn’t believe me at all…”
“…I think that did happen. But how was I supposed to know that what you really meant was that you were super strong!?”
“And on the night of the Christmas festival, I told you that until you grew strong enough to defeat the Demon King, I would protect you… Did you forget?” I stammered.
“Hah? I thought the ‘protect’ you meant was ‘watch over’! Who knew you were actually super strong?”
Lian Qi looked astonished, her cowlick sticking straight up.
“Thinking back on it now… did you mean that even if the Demon King tried to kill me, you could protect me?”
“No, no, no… I meant I could hug the Demon King’s thigh,” I said with a weak laugh.
“I… I really didn’t lie to you or intentionally hide it. It’s just that you wouldn’t have believed me even if I told you… and there was never an opportunity to show you…”
“And I was so worried about you just now,” she said, staring at me coldly.
“Sorry…”
Lian Qi snorted coldly, stopped wall-slamming me, and crossed her arms, pouting at me. After a while, she glanced at me sideways.
“Tell me.”
“Tell you what?”
“Tell me your thoughts.”
“What thoughts?”
“Tell me what was going on in your head when I had you pinned down. You, who could have clearly thrown me off… just let me bully you. What exactly was your mindset?”
“…What was I thinking? I… I…” My face instantly turned red. Lian Qi… she must be misunderstanding something, right?
“Fei’er, oh Fei’er. You have interpreted the concept of ‘playing hard to get’ to perfection. Simply flawless.”
“N-No… It’s not what you think…”
What ‘playing hard to get’? Mmph… This is too shameful!
“Then what is it like? You clearly have the power to resist but you don’t. Your mouth says no, but your body is honest, huh?”
“That’s not it—! My normal strength is the same as a regular person’s. Only when I summon the hammer… am I… very strong.”
Lian Qi frowned, her face full of disbelief. “Is your hammer some kind of divine artifact? ‘Equip item, all stats +10,000’?”
“Sorry… I don’t understand what you’re saying. I just know that the weight of that hammer when I’m holding it in my hand and the weight when it’s smashing someone are completely different.”
“Hmph.”
Lian Qi was still mad at me.
I tugged on the corner of her clothes, trying to act cute.
“What I’m saying is true. And… knowing I’m strong isn’t so bad, don’t you think? This way… don’t you feel… a sense of accomplishment when you bully me?”
Chapter 20: “Wielder of the Deathblade” (Part 6)
20 I couldn’t believe…
…that I would say something so shameful just to appease Lian Qi. It sounded like I was implying she could bully me. Wouldn’t this just confirm her “playing hard to get” accusation?
Mmph… What Lian Qi said wasn’t true! I really was resisting with all my might at the time—!
I shyly stole a glance at her. She was staring at me with dead-fish eyes, as if… savoring my words?
“‘Knowing you’re strong isn’t so bad. This way, bullying you is very… accomplishing?‘”
“D-Don’t… repeat it in such a… serious tone.”
I lowered my head in shame. Unexpectedly, Lian Qi used a fingertip to lift my chin.
Being treated like this by Lian Qi so suddenly left me a bit stunned. I just saw her give a wicked smile.
“That’s right, huh? Since you’re this strong… ‘conquering’ you really would be… quite the accomplishment?”
“C-Conquering?”
My face was red and I was speechless. My back was against the wall with nowhere to retreat. I could only glare at her.
“Did something happen?” …Out of nowhere, Qifeng poked her head out from the doorway, looking at me… and Lian Qi…
She silently glanced at us, and then silently ducked back inside the door.
“Qifeng! Where are you going? Come back— It’s not what you think—”
Uwaaah! Getting caught by Qifeng is so shameful! Why did she have to appear at the exact moment Lian Qi was lifting my chin!
And Lian Qi, too! How long did she plan on holding this pose?
“I thought I opened the door the wrong way…” Qifeng poked her head out again, her face flushed, looking all coy.
“You’re finished tonight,” Lian Qi’s fingertip gave my chin a light tap, finally letting me go.
“Wait, what do you mean, ‘I’m finished tonight’—”
Seeing Lian Qi’s smile, I had a very bad feeling!
Just then, Lord Man’s panicked voice came from inside the door— “Where did you two go? Didn’t you say you’d protect me? How could you leave me all alone with the assassin???”
“Well, we’re not professionals, after all.” Lian Qi slipped back into the house with a half-smile, leaving Qifeng looking at me foolishly.
I felt so ashamed. We had run off to wall-slam each other right in the middle of a protection mission.
“Fei’er~”
“What is it?”
“I want that too,” Qifeng said to me with a smile.
Only because we were childhood friends did I understand what she wanted. Muttering, “You’re impossible,” I used my fingertip to give her chin a little lift.
I quickly pulled my hand back and returned to the room. So embarrassing… I pretended not to see the blissful blush on Qifeng’s face…
After returning to the room, I used a raven to send a message to Filess-jie, who was far away at the royal palace, telling her the assassin had been captured. In no time, she arrived with a large contingent of people, flooding into the villa.
The first thing she did upon entering was give me a big hug.
“Fei’er, you did well, capturing the assassin while staying safe. And the protection target is even still alive.”
…I gave a weak laugh in her embrace. It sounded like the target not-dying was just an added bonus.
But, following her orders, that was indeed the case. The first priority was to protect ourselves, the second was to take out the assassin, and the last was to ensure the protected target stayed alive. Poor Lord Man was really just used as bait by my sister.
I watched as the soldiers clamped the yellow-haired girl—the assassin—in iron shackles. At this point, Filess-jie released me and said, “To ensure nothing goes wrong, I will personally escort the assassin back to the palace’s sky-prison. Lord Man, you should also come with me to the palace to report. After all, your home is no longer safe. It’s highly likely the assassins will send a second wave tonight.”
“Then I will defer to all of the Great General’s arrangements.”
Lord Man wiped the sweat from his forehead, looking thoroughly shaken. He then glanced at me— “Great General Scarlet Flame, I only escaped this disaster tonight thanks to the people you sent.”
“Of course. She is my little sister, after all,” Filess-jie said proudly, adjusting her cap.
“Don’t think you’re safe just because you caught me, you running dogs of the Kingdom!”
The yellow-haired girl, being half-dragged, half-carried out by several soldiers, glared at me viciously. “The rebel army will kill your whole family!”
She was probably targeting me in particular because I was the one who ruined her assassination plan at the last second.
But she actually said she’d kill my whole family…
“Whatever. I have three sisters. One is an academy headmaster, one is a great general, and one is a platinum-ranked adventurer. You can’t kill any of them, can you?”
Filess-jie walked up to the yellow-haired girl without a word and slammed her knee, wreathed in purple magic, right into her stomach.
“Ugh—!” The yellow-haired girl spat out a large mouthful of blood and passed out.
That looked so painful…
“Take her away.”
Filess-jie gestured with her thumb.
“Also, Fei’er, you all can go home and rest. You’ve worked hard tonight.”
“Mhm!”
I nodded and secretly glanced at Lian Qi— just in time to meet her gaze. Thinking back on her “You’re finished tonight,” I felt too shy to look her in the eye.
Although I didn’t dare…
…I was still really concerned about what she was thinking.
On the way home, I walked with an anxious heart, stealing glances at Lian Qi’s profile from time to time. She acted as if nothing had happened, remaining perfectly calm. She would even chime in occasionally when Qifeng and I were talking. I had no idea if she was still angry at me.
—Until we got home.
I told Qifeng to sit obediently on the sofa so I could apply medicine for her. It was the ointment I had originally prepared for Lian Qi during the graduation ranking tournament, and now it was coming in handy.
I had just found the ointment when I turned around, and Qifeng was already sitting primly on the sofa, waiting for me. Her unbuttoned school uniform top was folded neatly on the coffee table in front of her.
Ahem, I hadn’t even asked her to take her clothes off yet. Wasn’t she being a little too cooperative?
It seemed that in her eyes, Lian Qi and I were both girls, so there was nothing to be shy about. Good grief, why was everyone, one after another, so uninhibited around me, a boy?
I calmly applied the ointment to Qifeng’s body.
“…It’s cold… and itchy.”
“Don’t use that kind of tone,” I chided. I had been calm, but hearing her voice, I suddenly wasn’t so calm.
Fortunately, Qifeng’s body only had some bruising. After I applied the medicine, I believed she would be fine by tomorrow.
Mission accomplished. Just as I was putting the cap back on the ointment, Lian Qi came over to us.
“All done?”
Qifeng, who was putting her clothes back on, nodded.
Lian Qi grabbed my wrist, nearly making me trip.
“Then Fei’er is mine now.”
“Eh? Eh? Eh???”
I was dragged into the bedroom by Lian Qi. I had no idea what kind of expression Qifeng had behind me.
I watched helplessly as Lian Qi locked the bedroom door from the inside. A sense of foreboding instantly sprouted in my heart.
“Um… do you need me to brew you a cup of tea?” I asked weakly.
“No need.”
Lian Qi turned around, her back to the door, and looked at me. I uneasily took a small step back… only to find the bed was right behind me. The situation was grim. There was no more room to retreat—
“W-Wait, what do you want to do to me?”
“Do I even need to ask? Obviously, I’m going to ‘find my sense of accomplishment,’ just like you said.”
Chapter 21: It really is… quite the accomplishment~ (Part 1)
21 “W-Wait…!”
Lian Qi pressed forward, step by step. The back of my legs hit the edge of the bed. There was no escape.
“Lian Qi, you misunderstood! I really wasn’t implying you could bully me when I said that— Mmph…”
The reason I made that sound was because Lian Qi had stuffed her thumb into my mouth.
I didn’t know if she was deliberately teasing me or just shutting me up to stop me from explaining. It was shameful beyond words.
Her thumb stirred against my tongue while she also stroked my cheek. This “finger-sucking” without any foreplay gave me a sense of forced shame.
“Does it taste any different?” she stopped and asked me.
“Different? It’s a little rough, but other than that— that’s not the problem right now!” I said, my face beet red. “What I meant was, when you think back on how you used to bully me, now do you feel a sense of accomplishment, mmmph—!”
There it was again, stuffed right back in.
She wasn’t letting me speak at all!
“Fei’er, your shy expression while sucking my finger is so cute.” She smiled slyly. “You secretly like this, don’t you? Otherwise, you’d have resisted with your hammer by now.”
Uwaah… You can’t use verbal attacks like that…!
I could feel my legs pressed against the bed frame, the feeling of my thigh-highs rubbing against the bedsheets.
Once my body was teased by her to the point of feeling… strange… my legs would get too weak to stand. At that point… if I sat down, would she take the opportunity to sit on my lap?
D-Don’t misunderstand—! It’s not like I’m having any indecent thoughts. It’s purely… combat prediction. That’s right. Even I can predict an opponent’s next move.
Anyway, if it ended up in that kind of position, it would be far too dangerous for me, who has a secret under my skirt.
“You’re clearly so strong, so why do you willingly let me bully you?” she whispered, stroking my cheek and ravaging my tongue at the same time.
“Could it be… you’re the same as Qifeng?”
“N-No, I’m not—!” I said in a small voice. It felt so shameful to talk with something stuffed in my mouth—
“I’m not an M…”
“Then why do you willingly let me bully you?”
“…I don’t know…”
Her other hand came to rest on my chest. I originally thought, shamefully, that she was going to grope me, but I suddenly felt the high-energy reaction of explosion magic about to erupt from my chest.
“Eh? Eh? Eh???” I spat out her finger in surprise.
“Relax, I can control it very precisely now. Last time, Qifeng stopped me, but this time…”
“Don’t— Lian Qi! No—”
“You can resist, you know.”
…
With a riiip, my school uniform top exploded!?
My face turned so red it felt like it was smoking! A-And today, of all days, I was wearing a pink bra… Being seen by Lian Qi like this was too shameful!
“Pink, huh? It really matches your scarlet-red face.”
I bashfully covered my chest as tightly as I could. On one hand, the pink was too embarrassing; on the other, I didn’t want Lian Qi to see that my chest was, in fact, so small it was non-existent.
“I’m bullying you. Aren’t you going to resist?”
Mmph… What is Lian Qi’s mindset? This has to be another one of her shameful games, right?
I stared at her, but I just stammered, unable to speak. In Lian Qi’s eyes, I must look extremely aggrieved, right?
Just as Lian Qi said, I didn’t resist. The person doing it was her. I couldn’t possibly summon the Holy Light hammer and actually resist, could I?
“You’re so strong. You smashed a fourth-tier mage’s full-power attack with one swing of your hammer. But now, here you are, standing before me all ashamed, letting me bully you. It really is… quite thrilling, isn’t it?”
“D-Don’t… say such shameful things…” I said through gritted teeth.
“What’s wrong? Can’t handle this heaven-and-earth contrast yourself?”
…I silently looked at her, too ashamed to answer.
It had always been like this. As the Saintess, from the moment I became her maid and called her “Master,” this huge psychological drop from my accustomed high status left me feeling ashamed of myself.
The greater the drop, the more shameful it feels, right? Right now, I was enduring the dual humiliation of that psychological drop and my state of undress… I couldn’t really resist, and I couldn’t be too loud and let Qifeng hear, mmph…
“Weren’t you just denying that you were implying I could bully you? Why are you so willing to be bullied by me now?”
“I… Even though I’m not resisting, it doesn’t mean I get… excited from being bullied by you.”
“I know. You just get ashamed.”
Her hand moved to my skirt.
“Next, I’m blowing up your skirt.”
“The skirt!? The skirt is really not okay—!”
“Your mouth says no, but your body isn’t moving, is it? You can resist, remember?”
I watched, mortified, as my skirt was torn to shreds by Lian Qi’s explosion magic—!
My secret… under the skirt…
My boy’s body…
It’s hanging by a thread—!
My mind was in complete chaos. I never thought Lian Qi would actually blow up my skirt. I instinctively used both hands to cover the last small piece of fabric as tightly as I could.
“Eh? Fei’er, this is the first time I’ve seen you wearing only your underwear.”
My face bright red, I glared at her with teary eyes.
Mmph… so mean!
Right now, I was enduring the triple humiliation of the psychological drop, being nearly naked, and the fear of my boy’s identity being discovered! A sense of shame overwhelmed me. I felt my legs go weak, and I could only clamp my knees together in a pigeon-toed stance, while at the same time, using both hands to cover my pan…
Lian Qi… she… she won’t find out, right?
But isn’t this posture a little too weird? If a normal girl was seen nearly naked, would she cover her underwear and clamp her legs together like this?
I didn’t just regret not wearing safety pants today; I also regretted wearing thigh-highs instead of pantyhose. Otherwise, I could at least cover up my shame a little.
Good grief! I’m a boy wearing women’s clothes, so why am I not more careful about keeping things secret under my skirt? Why am I wearing absolute territory of all things—?
“Why do you keep covering your crotch?? It’s not like you have a mysterious bulge or anything.”
Lian Qi’s words struck me like a bolt of lightning, leaving me charred inside and out.
The problem is…
…I’m sorry, Lian Qi. I really do…
If Lian Qi forcibly pulled my hands away at this moment… No, no… absolutely not—!
My brain short-circuited. Overcome with shyness, I lunged at Lian Qi.
She let out a surprised “Eh?” before I tackled her onto the bed. When I came to my senses, I was looking down at her, pinned beneath me, and I felt inexplicably nervous.
We stared into each other’s eyes. The long-lost feeling of pushing her down… had returned.
I remembered how I had accidentally fallen and pushed her down twice before. But unlike those times, I could feel her heart beating exceptionally fast.
Our gazes simultaneously shifted to the Holy Light hammer.
…I hadn’t just pushed her down; I had also pinned her chest with the Holy Light hammer. It was possible my body’s self-preservation instincts had automatically triggered and summoned it.
After an awkward silence, she looked up at me, blushing and annoyed.
“G-Get off me…”
I heard a trace of panic in Lian Qi’s voice.
Chapter 22: It really is… quite the accomplishment~ (Part 2)
22 “G-Get off me.”
Lian Qi was pinned beneath me, looking somewhat angry and embarrassed.
I didn’t know why her voice was panicking. Could it be that she was always the one bullying me, so suddenly being pinned by me in reverse was a bit… psychologically hard to adjust to?
“Ah, I’m sorry.”
I was about to sit up off of her, but I suddenly realized—I couldn’t. My heart was pounding nervously. I was only wearing underwear right now! If I sat up, Lian Qi would see…
“Why… why aren’t you letting me go?”
“W-Wait!”
I looked down and saw my knee was pinning her skirt… In the past, when I was treated to this position, I would always feel so, so ashamed. I wonder if it’s the same for Lian Qi…
She really is blushing hard.
I’ve noticed that ever since she started wearing women’s clothes again, the frequency of her blushing has subtly increased.
“This is the third time, isn’t it? This time, you’re definitely doing it on purpose!” she said to me huffily, though it didn’t have much intimidating force since she was pinned beneath me.
“You remembered? But you’ve pushed me down way more than three times, okay?”
I carefully moved my left leg, bringing it between her two legs as well. The gap wasn’t big enough, so I had to use my leg to pry her leg open a little.
“…What do you think you’re doing?”
Was it my imagination? I felt like her face got even redder, and her voice sounded even more panicked.
I looked bewildered. “I’m just trying to get into a more comfortable…”
“…A more comfortable…!”
“…sitting position.”
I settled into a duck-sit, my hands covering my crotch, and gave her a weak smile.
“D-Don’t just… spread my legs without saying anything,” she stammered, swallowing nervously.
But… although Lian Qi wasn’t tall, her proportions were very good. Wearing a skirt made her legs look quite long. I’d never noticed that before when she wore pants.
“I already let you go.”
“…I’m not talking about you! I’m talking about your hammer! Hurry up and get it off of me!”
Oh, right. My Holy Light hammer was still pressing on her. Well, not really pressing. It was just lying on the bed, and the hammer’s long, thin handle was resting horizontally across her chest, bracing against her.
All in all, Lian Qi looked like she was pinned by a barbell.
“Tsk. You really summoned it to use against me?”
“N-No, I didn’t. This situation is probably the same as that time with Qifeng, right?”
I scratched my cheek and gave a weak laugh. So it’s true… if you get overly ashamed, your magic really does go out of control.
Lian Qi gripped the hammer’s handle tightly with both hands, trying to lift it like a barbell. But even with her body wreathed in fourth-tier magic, she couldn’t budge it.
“H-How… How is it so heavy?” She finally realized her struggle was futile and suddenly deflated, giving up resistance.
“I told you a long time ago. The weight of this hammer when it’s in my hands and when it’s… ‘hammering’ someone… is completely different,” I said with a weak laugh.
I didn’t know the specific principle, either. I just remembered that the great demon who taught me how to play whack-a-mole said it was because the hammer was forged from Holy Light and thus possessed the “merit” of Holy Light. Merit is immeasurable, or something.
“…There’s that smirk again.”
I saw Lian Qi’s expression, a mix of shame and annoyance.
“Hurry up and move the hammer! It’s pressing on me so hard I can barely breathe!”
I blinked, bewildered.
“It’s not pressing on you at all. If it were Qifeng, she would definitely be pressed by the hammer’s handle…”
My gaze fell on her chest. There was clearly still a gap.
Lian Qi must have sensed my gaze was focused on her chest and instantly understood what my words implied. She blushed and exploded in embarrassment—
“What did you say! Say that again—!”
Unfortunately, with the “barbell” pinning her, her struggle was pointless. A waste of effort.
I gave a weak smile.
The more she yelled at me like this, the less I dared to let her go.
In any case, I should probably get dressed first.
“Wait, let me go— Where are you going???”
Her voice sounded even more panicked now?
I scooted backward off the bed. I saw her actually try to wriggle out from under the “barbell,” only to get her chin stuck. She was completely helpless.
I never thought Lian Qi would do something so adorkable in a moment of panic.
“Don’t worry, just let me get dressed first.” I turned my back to her and opened the wardrobe. It was a little embarrassing for her to see my back… but whatever. I’d already received the “your butt is really perky” evaluation from her anyway.
“You’re definitely doing this on purpose.”
She said huffily, starting to talk to herself.
“Are you trying to get revenge?”
“It’s useless. Even if you do this to me… I won’t feel ashamed…!”
“And I definitely won’t get excited…!” she emphasized again.
I silently got dressed. I had already cleared out this wardrobe for her clothes. Inside, apart from the clothes she wore from her world, there was her magic academy uniform and a few sets of underwear with unicorn patterns. There wasn’t a single piece of men’s clothing.
She really did want to go back to being a girl, from the bottom of her heart.
Anyway, we were about the same height, so wearing her school uniform was just like wearing my own.
“Did you think I’m as vengeful as you? I accidentally pushed you down twice, and you just kept pushing me down over and over.”
I turned around and was surprised to see her expression looked a little… aggrieved.
“Let me go, okay?”
…
I was genuinely worried I was going to make her cry if this continued. I quickly lifted the Holy Light hammer off of her.
For me, it really was light.
Anyway, I was dressed now, so I didn’t have to worry about my boy’s identity being exposed.
I braced myself, fully prepared for her to immediately sit up and launch a counter-attack against me. But, unexpectedly, she just lay there, unmoving.
…She just glared at me, annoyed and embarrassed, looking like she wanted to say something but was holding it back. Then, she just rolled over and changed positions, lying face down on the bed.
“Lian-shen… She’s not… angry, is she?” I asked weakly.
Ever since my strength was exposed at Lord Man’s house, I had been trying to appease her. How did it end up like this, with her getting even angrier after all that?
But looking at her, she didn’t seem that angry. After all, the expression she’d just glared at me with had a few traces of coyness.
”…”
Lian Qi ignored me. She just lay there, grabbing the bedsheets, and I didn’t know what she was doing or thinking.
“What’s wrong?” I asked weakly.
“It’s nothing. I want to be alone.”
She continued to pick at the bedsheets with her hands, her tone very flat.
“You want to be alone… okay. Then… I’ll go wash up first. You’ll come out in a bit, okay?”
Still no response. The atmosphere was so awkward. If I stayed any longer, I felt like not just me, but Lian Qi too, would feel very awkward. So, I had no choice but to retreat from the bedroom first.
The moment I gently closed the door, the image of Lian Qi’s surprised, slightly coy expression when I pinned her down flashed in my mind.
“I walked out of the bedroom, I couldn’t help but think… ”
“That’s right, huh? Since you’re this strong… ‘conquering’ you really would be… quite the accomplishment?” —It seems Lian Qi’s words made a lot of sense.
The usual Lian Qi is so assertive; the feeling of pinning her down… really is quite the accomplishment~