24. I am, after all, Her Majesty, the Queen of the Great Yng Empire!
When I finally spoke up, it was just a moment too late. After all, Kefir, who had just gained the upper hand, certainly wouldn’t ignore Ludwig, who had been sent flying. Both Kefir and I surely hoped to “capture a live one” and then question Ludwig about everything that had happened tonight.
But that was absolutely not an option! Because the script had just revealed to me an extremely dangerous fact, making it clear why Kefir, despite her current overwhelming prowess, was still facing a scenario where she could be “injured”!
Ninth-tier Saint, that was… something even Kefir’s overbearing father, Uncle Zerola, had never achieved, a mere legend whispered among people, and yet now… it had appeared right here!
In the next moment, Ludwig, who should have fallen to accept punishment, leaped toward Kefir as if nothing had happened! No longer wielding the cumbersome great sword that was difficult to even drag, she now held two gleaming, twisted great swords! It was as if her original weapon had been “disassembled” into dual blades, transforming this white-haired elf into someone entirely different in speed, momentum, and even attitude!
She had become… incredibly dangerous!
“!”
Reacting to my warning, Kefir immediately defended herself, but even so, the relentless impact of the dual swords was too much for her to bear, forcing her to retreat again and again! And it wasn’t over yet!
“Fairy power, magical enhancement, and… the inheritance of bloodlines!”
Ludwig, with her transformed weapons, bore no trace of the clumsy and lazy demeanor she had at the start. Now, she resembled a fierce beast awakened from slumber, hungrily eyeing Kefir as her next prey to “hunt”!
“Oh, young human, after a long wait, finally, you are the one who can bring me joy!”
The speed of the dual blades, unchanged from before, shattered the solid ice created by the Arsalith around Kefir. Even the flickering lightning could not keep up with the speed of Ludwig’s swords, and the result was all too clear to me: the script had already indicated【Kefir is injured!】
Then…【Capture of the fairy failed!】
After all, the current script felt like a verdict, telling me!
【Fairy Ludwig, Ninth-tier Sword Saint of the Great Yng Empire, known to only a few due to her service to her master.】
Tsk!
“Kefir, don’t think too much! If you can run, just run!”
I was indifferent; I had plenty of ways to deal with things, or none at all! But Kefir absolutely could not face an enemy in this scenario who had no chance of winning according to the script!
“Run away? How… is that… possible!”
Kefir, who always maintained a sense of “fairness,” even resorted to magic, yet the defensive ice magic did little to ease her plight, her voice still strained.
【Kefir doesn’t want to abandon Oujili!】
I knew it! Big shot, your overbearing script shouldn’t involve any emotional drama related to me!
However, just as I was helplessly relying on the script, Ludwig, who had just appeared like a bloodthirsty beast, suddenly halted her movements.
【Ludwig received an order to leave!】
The script was clear, and I could learn no more, but… the Ludwig who had just been so ferocious let out a “tch” and immediately reverted to her original lazy and unenthusiastic demeanor as a “fairy maid.”
“Ah… being urged to go back, how troublesome.”
She stepped back from Kefir, crossing her dual swords as if sending them into the “void.” While yawning and going about her business, her gaze lingered on the already panting Kefir, still filled with a glimmer of “desire.”
“When fighting for your life, don’t always think about men, Kefir; swords can become dull. Though I have no right to say that, as I’m also eager to return… Next time, I hope we can meet in a situation where we don’t have to worry at all, oh genius of the Great Yng Empire~”
“……”
This time, Kephiel couldn’t even muster the strength to shout “Wait!” Instead, with a face full of reluctance, she could only watch as the sprite transformed from its initial clumsiness into a swift beast, leaping and vanishing into the vast night. This time, we were truly “safe.”
【Ludwig has left!】
With the crisis averted, I suddenly felt as if my entire body was falling apart, aching all over. It was likely the pain that had accumulated after being struck by that sprite and crashing into a tree, finally erupting now.
However, I didn’t have time to comfort the visibly unwilling Kephiel. Accompanied by a distant sound that was gradually approaching, it seemed the queen and her patrol, likely chasing after Kephiel, had finally arrived!
Upon seeing me resting against a tree and Kephiel standing silently, the queen immediately brushed past Professor Moriarty and rushed over! The panic and forced smile on her face intertwined, creating a strange expression that didn’t quite suit the queen’s beautiful features.
“Wha… what happened? Kephiel, why did you suddenly rush out? And you, Euclid, why are you here? Weren’t you at the truck? Could it be that you really wanted to meet Kephiel secretly, so you arranged to meet here?”
“……”
I… didn’t know how to respond. The series of events that had unfolded tonight seemed almost like the queen’s covert instructions. Even the timing of her appearance—Ludwig leaving, the queen showing up—could be a coincidence, but of course… it could also be intentional.
Kephiel, however, wouldn’t remain silent like me. The recent defeat, combined with her unwillingness and her own suspicions about the queen, meant that this time, Kephiel was not merely acting; she genuinely harbored hostility and doubt towards the queen.
She took a step back, her magic sword still unsheathed, coldly staring at the queen.
“What happened here? Don’t you know, sister?”
“!”
Such a question already represented Kephiel’s stance, and the same content had appeared in my script!
【Kephiel questions Louis IV’s intentions towards Euclid!】
Tsk, this is troublesome; Kephiel is too impulsive! The queen’s recent actions indeed hinted at something strange, but we can’t just conclude that “I encountered a planned attack on the way back because the queen called us” and pin the blame on her!
Kephiel must have deduced that the attacker was the sprite maid serving the queen, but… even if the evidence seems so “conclusive,” I still felt something was off!
“Wait, Kephiel, don’t be so sure…”
I immediately suppressed the feeling of my body falling apart, wanting to grab Kephiel, but a stumble drew both her and the queen’s attention.
Kephiel rushed over, worried about me, but… sorry, Kephiel, what I noticed at that moment was only the queen’s confusion and fear. Is this the expression a queen of the Great Yng Empire should have?
Moreover, until now, I still hadn’t received any script from the queen indicating she wanted to kill me! Is she truly an enemy? Or a friend!?
This question, in the next moment, was completely confirmed by the queen’s words!
“Euclid, Kephiel isn’t wrong, you know~”
Just as Kephiel helped me up, and I looked back at the queen with her support…
That innocent, idol-like yet dangerously cheerful smile reappeared on the queen’s face.
“If your power cannot be properly utilized by us, then for the Great Yng Empire… it would be completely meaningless, you know~”
“Tonight, you are truly lucky★~”
The queen… tonight’s crisis is definitely not your doing.
And I absolutely won’t leave you alone!
【Louis IV is lying!】