It was like watching a movie in slow motion—
Especially through his illusion screen.
Blunt or not—Kade's massive sword came down on Welf, and nothing he had could've stopped it. The blacksmith raised his arms, but the champion aimed straight for his skull.
Konrad could already imagine the outcome.
Two broken hands at the very least, with a split-open head more likely.
He cancelled the last illusion, hoping that Kade might realise he wasn't fighting a zombie.
Well, in case he hadn't figured it out a long time ago.
But with all the momentum behind his strike, it was too little too late.
Konrad squeezed his eyes shut, expecting the terrifying sound of a skull shattering. It was all his fault, too. The life of his best friend in this world was in his hands, and he messed it up.
Even with his forward-thinking and safety features, it took one mistake to end a man's life.
But the moment didn't come. The voice he feared did not sound.
He counted to three, then five, then ten, before finally prying his eyes open, and—
The scene froze.
"Gabrielle?" he muttered, but it couldn't be the angel's doing. She was far away, with no chance to contact her, and there had to be a limit to her powers, too.
If she stopped time, he wouldn't have noticed it in the first place—unless she included him in it.
A moment later, he realised it was another one of his haremettes.
Lily, tiny as she was, stood proud and tall.
She caught Kade's blade mid strike with only two fingers, pinching it like it was a piece of paper.
For all Konrad knew, no spells were cast, she hadn't frozen the champion, nor the time. But the shock sure made everyone stop and hold their breath.
"T-that your healer?" Helena muttered, turning pale.
Yeah, they were looking at the same impossible scene; it wasn't Konrad's imagination.
Once Kade was over his shock, he'd strain his arms, trying to free his blade, but the demoness had none of it. She snapped her fingers—with the sword still between them—and it was gone.
For her, shattering the soft, untempered steel was no more than child's play.
Konrad already knew she had insane powers, but this was far beyond everything he had seen her do so far. Well, not more than killing a dragon with bare hands, but—she was spectacular.
"Game's over," she announced, her sweet voice loud but neutral. "Welf concedes, right?"
The tribesman needed a moment to find his voice.
"Wha—yes, I've lost," he agreed, arms still raised in a desperate defence. "Fuck, that was close."
"Mhm, and so was I," the ginger said, winking at the blacksmith. "You're welcome."
No matter how much she denied being siblings, she didn't hesitate to step in and save Welf's life. And the boulder off Konrad's chest was so heavy, he almost collapsed on the spot, too.
The crowd broke into loud cheers.
They might've had no clue what happened, but they knew the day had a winner now.
Kade Enpe, Count Rolalt's personal champion, was the last man standing in his battle royale.
A knight of Kasserlane, albeit with foreign origins, bested the Blood Moon's ace.
The tiny detail that a petite ginger snapped his sword right before his killing blow? After all the illusions Konrad had fed to them, it didn't even register as an oddity.
"You didn't plan for this, did you?" Helena asked, her face in a confused expression.
Her eyes seemed angry and stern, but with her trembling lips, she was also relieved.
"No. Not at all," Konrad confessed, shaking his head. "You were right. I need better safeguards—"
"Well, you had meow, didn't you?" Lily appeared right beside him.
An impossible feat, considering she was half a mile away one second ago, and he even saw her on his screen in real time. But it was Lily, so he didn't even bat an eye anymore.
Konrad got back on his feet and, following his instincts, he embraced the girl with all his might.
"You're the best," he breathed into her ears. "I don't know what would've happened without you."
A loss of a friend and a powerful ally, a backlash after his odd horror-themed exercise—
"Don't sweat it, sweety," she murmured. She acted nonchalant, but her arms also wrapped around his waist. "He's my, uh, close acquaintance, so of course, I'd save him for ya."
Her brother. Always by her side. And this was still the best she could say about Welf?
Oh well, he was alive only thanks to her, and that was the only thing that mattered.
Until a few seconds later, when Konrad realised they had quite an extensive audience.
"So, care to explain what happened there?" Helena demanded, her face settling on a more stern and authoritative look now. "She's a healer who can shatter steel with a single finger?"
"What?" Lily pulled away, blinking at the princess with big, innocent hazel eyes. "I used two."
The men-at-arms celebrating nearby burst into drunken laughter.
"My point is—"
Helena tried and failed to explain herself, or even speak over the cacophony.
The confused champion and the redhead rescued from the brink of death returned, too. Their comrades surrounded them right away, giving Konrad space and a moment to think as well.
It took them a few minutes to arrive, but Lily was in his embrace for a while now.
They came from the same place, too.
She couldn't pretend to be normal, even if she wanted to.
"What's important is that nobody's hurt," he said to disarm the angry princess. "Now you saw she could heal anyone, anytime. Treat this as a dress rehearsal for your tournament."
"No, I can see that, but—how?!" Helena still wasn't satisfied. "Is she even human?"
As if to answer that question, the little ginger sprouted fluffy cat ears and a tail, raising her eyebrows. Konrad wasn't even sure if the princess had seen her doing that before.
"I am his number one haremette, sweetheart," she scoffed. "And that's all you need to know."
Royalty or not, her mouth fell agape again, this time from the audacity, but she got no comeback for it. After all the excitement and shock, Konrad couldn't help but laugh, too.
"She is everything, and more," he added, still holding onto Lily like she was some treasure.
The cheesy line got her melting into him as well; damned be the crowd around them.
They were busy cheering for Kade and consoling Welf anyway, which reminded him—
"Welf might need someone to cheer him up," Konrad offered. "He came a close second in our little in-house tournament, after all. Aren't you happy that he's safe?"
Because he sure was, wanting to celebrate—but with his sister, and in a different way.
Without the nosy princess or a noisy crowd in their way in his private chamber.
And guessing from Lily's tightening grip, she read his mind, again, and had a similar idea.
"Yeah, he's all yours," she said with a smirk. "No need to thank meow."
Before Helena replied—but her face already blushed—they walked off as if they were never there. Konrad wouldn't let go of Lily's hand, and she even wrapped her tail around his waist.
"But you, good ser," she murmured a moment later. "Better think of a way to reward me."