The sky was clear and the sun shone brightly; today in Caesania was, as always, a beautiful day.
The bustling streets were still crowded, with people busy going about their lives, seemingly completely unaware of the danger lurking beneath their feet.
To them, even though the City Council had issued a martial law order, it just meant more patrolling knights and no going out for fun at night.
No matter what happened, Caesania had Christine—possessor of the overwhelmingly powerful “Black Sword” that struck fear into the hearts of all who dared profane it.
If even she was helpless, then there was no point in thinking any further.
However, compared to ordinary citizens, the witch miss’s mood was as grim as the streetlamp poles plastered with flyers.
As the chieftain’s daughter, even if due to Loki she might never graduate—destined almost certainly to become a disgraceful witch recorded in history—that didn’t mean she was a soft target anyone could easily crush.
Everyone knew this was purely because Ina’s graduation standard was set impossibly high.
The man who had once deployed nearly the entire tribe without losing a single hair had become the graduation assignment for the chieftain’s daughter… rather than making things difficult, it was more like a direct death sentence.
And this order had come directly from the current chieftain—Ina’s own mother.
To outsiders, this seemed like a harsh, merciless form of maternal love.
But Ina was no fool; how could she not know what her mother’s intentions were?
The two of them were somewhat on the same wavelength.
Still…
“…I mean, the two of you really have no need to pretend to be a couple, right?”
The secret passage exit from Christine’s room was located in a cemetery on the outskirts of the central district.
Since it wasn’t a season for memorials, there was almost no life around besides some birds. After a long trek, the three finally returned to the streets.
Though called a secret passage, there was an ancient device midway that allowed for short-distance teleportation… judging by its appearance, it could even be called an artifact.
Ina wondered if the divine artifact Christine possessed, which could briefly teleport to any location, was connected to this device.
After passing two rounds of inspections by the Knight Order and the City Defense Forces, confirming that the deputy captain harbored no ill intentions, the three followed their plan and headed toward the location of the Inquisition.
As a disguise for the inspection, Loki and Silulu became Ina’s servants and took the shape-shifting potion provided by the witch.
Now, they looked like ordinary middle-aged man and woman.
Ina herself needed no extra pretense.
Thanks to her connection to Selene, she naturally held a special permit—though her original status alone was enough to roam Caesania freely. After hearing Loki’s brief explanation of the current situation, she decided to keep a low profile.
For someone whose life was a monotonous cycle of eating, stalking Loki, sleeping, and frequent 0721 with the witch, this was quite a shock.
However, recalling books she had seen in the academy that recorded the history of the empire or humanity’s struggles against profaners and the corruption of the Soul Sea, which always involved messy factions clashing in the same region, she felt that the situation in Caesania wasn’t that serious after all.
Of course, more than worrying whether Caesania would turn into a nest of profaners, Ina was more concerned about what was happening right under her nose.
The man she revered as a paragon, sacred and inviolable, was now being groped like a handrail on a bus by some random wild saintess—
Even after witnessing this once with her own eyes, she couldn’t help but clench her fists tightly, those seemingly powerless fists trembling with uncontrollable anger.
“There really is no need for that.”
Silulu enjoyed Ina’s hostile glare filled with reluctant resentment, thinking, “I wonder if Christine gets to enjoy this expression often,” as she continued to clutch Loki’s arm tightly.
“After all, our relationship on the documents is husband and wife.”
You really are making life hard for me, Lochern.
Only after checking the paperwork did Loki realize that someone who loved stirring up trouble had probably planted a trap here on purpose.
It seemed no matter which world, middle-aged people always tried to figure out how to make a young couple have kids whenever they saw them standing together.
Ironically, if it was their own children, they would never egg them on like this.
“That’s just a fake identity!”
Ina protested.
“You shameless creature, clinging onto him even though you have no special relationship… Have you no shame?”
“Hmph, that’s just temporarily not there. Besides, how do you know he doesn’t like me doing this? Didn’t you see that Loki never refused me?”
…Could I refuse?
Loki twitched the corner of his mouth.
He had tried before, but Silulu, besides that annoyingly adorable smile, was exceptional at looking pitiful with tears welling up, instantly reminding Loki of that little girl in the underground prison.
That was his weak spot.
So all his refusals had always been lip service and superficial; in truth, whatever Silulu wanted to do, Loki would comply unconditionally.
…Of course, there were limits.
After all, hugging and cuddling were just physical contacts—aren’t there parents and children, brothers and sisters close enough to do that?
The real problem lies with those who imagine all kinds of weird things.
Still, Ina’s words caused a fleeting look of unwillingness to flash across Silulu’s face.
“But putting that aside, this really has nothing to do with you, right? Why are you so worked up? Don’t say it’s ‘for my own good’ or anything like that… We’re all adults here; if there’s something to say, just say it. Don’t keep hiding things, coward.”
Ina felt a flush rising to her cheeks.
She wasn’t exactly skilled at social interaction, but she wasn’t so bad that she would turn mute or into a wild viper the moment she opened her mouth.
That indifferent expression was just a facade to hide her true self; otherwise, how could she have stalked Loki all these years without ever summoning the courage to speak a single word?
Like a middle-aged driver who randomly parks, the black-haired witch cleared her slightly reddened throat and said,
“How could it be unrelated? Loki is my—”
“Yours?”
Silulu narrowed her eyes like a coiled snake rising to strike.
If Ina said anything that Silulu couldn’t accept, she probably wouldn’t hesitate to bite her neck.
“Mine—archenemy…”
In the end, the witch deflated.
Ina averted her gaze guiltily.
She hadn’t been overwhelmed by Silulu’s momentum, but by herself.
Silulu was momentarily stunned, then as if seeing through everything, she smiled the victorious smile of a conqueror.
“Oh—archenemy, huh? I thought it was some kind of extraordinary relationship~”