"Who are you?!"
Frowning deeply, Liliana crossed her longsword in front of her body and shouted at the girl.
"Are you the one who invited us here and threatened to duel us? Hehehe, interesting!"
Unlike Liliana, whose thoughts were plainly written on her face, Erica was the type who smiled even more brightly when angry.
Clearly, neither Liliana nor Erica was pleased with the girl's way of greeting them!
With a leap, the girl jumped down from the pole, landing lightly on the ground.
"Hello, two young ladies of the Knights' Order. I am Seishuuin Ena. Nice to meet you."
Polite yet graceful, Ena bowed to the two. Just as she had told Lady Kaoru before, to avoid bringing shame to her family, she behaved very ladylike in front of others!
Well, if you don't count the fact that she had just lured the two here and mercilessly attacked them…
"Hehehe… We don't dare to take lessons from you!"
With a tone laced with sarcasm, Erica continued:
"Seishuuin… one of the Four Great Families? We don't seem to have anything to do with you."
"Speak! What is your real purpose in bringing us here?"
Squinting slightly, Erica's cyan eyes flashed with sharp light. After what just happened, she didn't think the other party was here just to chat.
Liliana remained silent, staring fixedly at the girl. Erica was far better at negotiations like this, so she left it to her. But if it came to a fight, Liliana would be the first to charge!
"Ah, ah, Ena is just going through the motions. You really take it seriously? Ena doesn't want your lessons!"
With a carefree expression that made Erica's teeth itch with irritation, the girl continued:
"As for Ena's purpose, naturally it's something very, very important!"
"Erica Blandelli, Liliana Kranjcar, do you want to duel Ena? Or will you obediently return the King to Ena and go back to your own country?"
Her big watery eyes stared at the two, Ena smiling brightly as she asked…
"Return the King to you? Are you talking about our King? Although I still don't understand what you mean, your tone is really arrogant!"
Slightly stunned, Erica snapped back with a sarcastic laugh, furious.
What was this girl's deal? She lured Erica and Liliana here, attacked them without saying a word, and now talks about sending them away from the King?
Even a clay doll would have some fire left, let alone the proud and arrogant Erica and Liliana. Their anger flared instantly, and their gazes began to flash with a strange cold light.
"I, Liliana Kranjcar, have sworn a knight's oath to the King. If you want me to leave the King, it's impossible unless you kill me!"
Originally planning to stay silent and let Erica negotiate, Liliana stepped forward and said in an unyielding tone. For her, Sora was the most important person in her life now, and no one could make her leave her King!
"A knight's oath? Hmph! That should belong to Ena! You impostors!"
Seemingly recalling something, Ena's smile faded, her tone grew low, and her gaze toward the two became hostile.
"Impostors? Hehehe… What are you talking about? We are knights who have solemnly sworn a contract with the King."
"Where did you come from? I've never heard of you in the Four Great Families. I think you're the real 'impostors'!"
Seeing the other's anger, Erica felt a surge of satisfaction and retorted with a bright smile, unreservedly provoking her.
Though Ena usually appeared very confident when with her close friends, she didn't have such bravado in front of others. Hearing Erica's words, her expression darkened further, and a towering aura burst from her body.
"So, you're unwilling to leave on your own?"
With her eyes slightly narrowed, Ena—who was never known for a good temper—issued an ultimatum to the two women.
"If you want to leave, then leave by yourself. We're not stopping you!"
Unfazed by Ena's overwhelming aura, Erica wore a sarcastic smile, shrugged her shoulders, and acted as if it was none of their business.
Since she had no goodwill toward this woman anyway, Erica was completely unreserved, fully using her social skills to provoke her opponent mercilessly.
Knowing that a fierce battle was probably inevitable, Liliana's expression turned serious as she fixed her gaze on Ena. The moment Ena made a move, she would charge forward!
"Since you're unwilling to leave, then Ena will use force to make you leave. The king only needs Ena as his knight!"
"But don't worry, Ena won't kill you, because that would make Sora angry. Ena would never do anything to upset Sora."
A beast-like, bloodthirsty curve appeared at the corner of Ena's mouth as she took out her weapon from a cloth bag—the divine artifact "Ame no Murakumo no Tsurugi Sword" that she had inherited from her grandfather.
These two were renowned super-genius girls in the entire magical world, and their reputation was well-deserved. Ena knew that if she fought them, she would have to give it her all!
"That weapon…"
The moment Ena drew the Ame no Murakumo no Tsurugi Sword, Erica and Liliana immediately noticed something unusual about the sword and both wore serious expressions.
It was a tachi sword with a blade length of about 3 feet 3.5 inches, a simple single-edged straight blade with no curve. The blade's gleam resembled sunlight descending from the sky—a weapon worthy of being called a king's treasure.
"Hmph, do you think you can defeat me and Lily with just a strange sword? How arrogant!"
Although she sensed the sword was unusual and might even be a legendary divine weapon, Erica showed no fear, her face cold and sarcastic.
Together, Erica and Lily were nearly unbeatable among humans, and both were blessed by the king, able to wield the king's divine power. They could even fight gods and demon kings!
"I will win! Even against both of you, Ena will show you victory!"
Wearing a confident smile, Ena admitted these two were strong but still had absolute confidence in her own strength.
"Erica Blandelli, Liliana Kranjcar, I stake my identity as the king's knight—let's duel! The loser leaves the king's side!"
Without any courtesy, Ena pointed her long sword at the two women and formally declared the start of the battle.
"Lily, this one is not simple. Be careful."
Erica was never one to shy away from battle; on the contrary, she was a battle enthusiast. Magic power surged around her, and a slight curve appeared at the corner of her mouth as she warned Liliana.
"Ah, you too."
Though they often teased and competed with each other since childhood, there was no doubt they considered each other true partners. In front of an enemy, their hearts were united.
Without hesitation, both women pushed off the ground simultaneously, turning into afterimages as they charged at Ena.
Their beautiful eyes sparkled with brilliance. Facing two world-renowned genius girls, Ena felt unprecedented excitement as she swung the Ame no Murakumo no Tsurugi Sword to meet them head-on…
…
Not the sound of swords clashing as expected. Suddenly, three bolts of lightning tore through the air, striking each of the three women's beloved swords. The tremendous recoil almost made them drop their weapons, and all three staggered back, separating from each other.
"Who's there?!"
Just as the battle was about to begin, they were suddenly interrupted. The three women, holding back their anger, steadied themselves and glared fiercely toward the direction of the lightning.
Stomp stomp stomp…
Footsteps sounded on the ground. Under the three women's watchful eyes, a figure finally emerged from an alley at the end of the street—it was Sora, who had been following Erica and Liliana all the way here, holding little Athena.
"Erica, Liliana, is this how you go out shopping?"
Looking at the two women who seemed stunned and clearly hadn't expected Sora to appear, Sora wore a teasing half-smile.
"Your Majesty, we… we…"
Snapping back to reality, the two women felt embarrassed, their cheeks flushing faintly as they looked helpless.
Sora wasn't really blaming them. Honestly, Sora hadn't expected these two girls to come out looking for a fight, especially against his old friend, Seishuuin Ena!
If Sora hadn't followed and stopped them in time, who knew how badly these three girls would have fought today?!
Sora was about to turn and greet Ena when suddenly a figure lunged at him.
"Hahaha… It's Sora! Really Sora! Ena missed you so much!"
Without any ladylike demeanor, Ena clung to Sora, rubbing her head against him with a joyful smile.
Well, that's Ena—always carefree and doing whatever she wants!
Erica and Liliana were dumbfounded. They never expected that the woman who just wanted to fight them would actually know their king and act so intimately with him!
Snapping back to reality, the two women were furious. "You despicable woman, get your filthy hands off the king!"
Besides Erica and Liliana, Athena, who was squeezed between Sora and Ena, was also embarrassed and annoyed. "Damn witch, your two things are suffocating me!"
"Get down right now! You're ruining the Seishuuin family's image. Act like a lady!"
Sora patted the girl's delicate rear with a helpless expression.
"Hehehe… Ena doesn't need to be a lady. That's so tiring!"
With a carefree smile, Ena finally got down from Sora.
Compared to over a year ago, the girl had become more mature and beautiful, her aura greatly changed. She was full of heroic spirit, holding a gleaming divine sword like a true Valkyrie.
Of course, to Sora, the change was only external; her inner personality remained the same!
"Is this little girl the legendary goddess Athena? Amazing! Sora, you're amazing for actually capturing and raising Athena! Ena wants one too!"
Looking at Athena, held in Sora's arms, Ena's eyes sparkled. Despite her wild personality, she was still a girl and naturally couldn't resist cute things.
"Witch, don't touch me!"
Seeing Ena reaching out to grab her face, Athena's eyes narrowed coldly.
As a noble goddess, being teased and fondled by the annoying Sora was one thing, but no one else was allowed to treat her like that!
"Tch, the goddess is so petty!"
Feeling Athena's strong divine aura, Ena sheepishly withdrew her hands and muttered with a pout.
"Your Majesty, who exactly is this person…?"
At this moment, Liliana and Erica ran over from the side, both wearing wary expressions as they looked at Ena, then cast questioning, confused glances at Sora.
"Hah… This matter is complicated. Let's go back and talk about it later. Ena, you come too."
Sora shook his head speechlessly. He roughly guessed the reason why Ena suddenly returned here. But this girl immediately got into a fight with his two knights upon arrival, so there must be something he didn't know about.
"Sure, sure! Ena has wanted to visit Sora's home for a long time!"
With a happy expression, Ena agreed without hesitation.
Liliana and Erica glared fiercely at this seemingly eccentric girl, realizing that this fight was not going to happen. But now, they didn't care much about that. What concerned them more was who this woman named Ena really was, and what kind of relationship she had with their king…