Seeing that Rosily showed no reaction, and noticing that Elqi seemed to be trying to persuade Rosily not to agree to their request, Pangzi immediately withdrew the hypocritical smile from his round face.
He stood tall and proud, speaking with an air of righteous indignation.
“Lady Rosily, are you really going to disregard the glory of the Crimson Academy? Are you going to let those outsiders run wild on our territory and then just walk away completely unscathed?”
“Everyone who could fight has already stepped up! To protect our glory and our dignity, they gave their all on the arena stage against those fellows from Moonview City, yet they still suffered a crushing defeat! Are you just going to watch them live the rest of their lives in depression? Are you going to let those people from Moonview City say that our Crimson Academy has no one left?”
Pangzi spoke with increasing passion and indignation, as if he were using every ounce of moral high ground he knew.
The atmosphere among the crowd behind him also changed instantly.
Originally, they were desperately hoping Rosily would help “extinguish the fire”—to save the situation from collapsing and support the falling building.
But now, it felt more like they were saying that if she didn’t step up, she was being disloyal.
This Pangzi had the talent of a true instigator; he was excellent at fanning the flames.
Would Rosily agree?
Of course not!
Rosily swept her gaze over them.
She had absolutely no interest in these people or the things they were talking about… glory? Dignity? She didn’t care at all.
Watching Pangzi finish his statement, she let out a slight yawn with a lazy expression on her face.
She was just a step away from stretching right in front of everyone.
This behavior left the crowd dazed because it was quite different from the scenario they had imagined.
At a time like this, shouldn’t her blood be boiling, leading her to represent the academy and teach those outsiders a lesson?
Rosily pulled Elqi along and walked toward Pangzi.
She held her head slightly high, looking down on this fellow who dared to talk nonsense in front of her. Without a hint of emotion, she spoke.
“Get lost.”
Pangzi froze for a moment.
The consequence of his hesitation was that, in a kshana, a silver-white Sword Qi left a thin bloody mark on his round face as a warning for blocking the way.
Pangzi’s face turned pale.
He hadn’t expected Rosily to actually strike him.
Moreover, he hadn’t even seen how she moved just now. He hadn’t realized Rosily had already reached such a level.
After he hurriedly scrambled out of the way, the people behind him—who had only been brought along to bolster the numbers—were nothing more than a disorganized rabble.
Seeing Pangzi dodge, they scattered like startled birds. Every one of them was afraid of getting in her way.
“Hmph.”
Rosily let out a cold snort and prepared to leave, still holding Elqi’s hand.
The wall of people parted, gradually forming a path.
However, it was also like a curtain being pulled back, revealing the actors hidden behind it as the performance entered its second stage.
After the rabble retreated, a stunning young girl with pink hair appeared on the stage at some unknown point.
“Oh? Why so sudden?”
Susia blinked her peach-blossom eyes, looking at the crowd that had suddenly opened a path. A look of being unprepared appeared on her face.
Her appearance stunned Pangzi and his group.
Setting aside the pink-haired girl herself, the petite loli with crimson-colored hair held in her arms was already incredibly eye-catching.
The combination of the two was no less striking than the sister duo of Rosily and Estelle.
“Who… who are these two women?” Pangzi widened his eyes and asked the person next to him.
But how could they know?
This sudden change caused Pangzi’s mind to race, considering all the possible identities of Susia and Lilith, but he couldn’t come up with anything even if he racked his brain.
It wasn’t just him; among everyone present, only one person knew who they were, and that person was Estelle.
However, given Estelle’s personality, she naturally wouldn’t introduce the two of them to the crowd.
Her eyes narrowed as she looked at Susia and Lilith, a flash of doubt crossing her gaze. ‘How did they end up together?’
Susia put Lilith down, grabbed the hem of her long dress, and elegantly introduced herself to the crowd without any haste.
“Good afternoon, everyone. My name is Susia, and this little sister’s name is Lilith. It’s a pleasure to meet you all.”
As she spoke, her gaze was locked onto Estelle. After finishing, she walked with light steps past Rosily and stood in front of Estelle.
Susia grabbed Estelle’s hand, her exquisite and pretty face filled with the joy of a long-awaited reunion.
“Estelle, it really has been a long time since we last met~”
“…”
Estelle felt somewhat confused.
She had met Susia before, but her impression of Susia was just that—a face she had seen.
They had only met twice and had never spoken a single word. How could she say “long time no see” given such a relationship?
It was baffling…
Elqi looked at Rosily beside her. After confirming Rosily had no expression, she turned her head to glance at the abruptly appearing Susia.
She hadn’t noticed such a girl approaching at all. It seemed the other party’s ability to hide her presence was very strong!
Just as Elqi was peeking, Susia’s gaze shifted over, and their eyes met for a kshana.
In just that single moment, Elqi felt as if her Soul had fallen into a whirlpool, being constantly drawn toward Susia.
This was a sensation she could only experience when facing a powerhouse whose Order of Magic was much higher than her own.
This undoubtedly proved that Susia’s strength was at least much greater than Elqi’s.
After Elqi avoided Susia’s gaze, she searched her mind for the meaning of the name “Susia,” but it was clear she had no data regarding that name.
‘Who is she?’
This question filled Elqi’s mind.
Seeing how Susia and Estelle seemed to have a particularly good relationship, she wondered what their specific connection was…
While Elqi was lost in thought, Susia withdrew her gaze from Rosily and Elqi and looked at Estelle.
“Does Estelle miss her Aunt?”
“No.”
Estelle shook her head.
As her Mother’s sister, Susia was indeed her Aunt, but she truly hadn’t missed her at all. So, she answered Susia quite bluntly.
Susia grabbed Estelle’s arm with an unhappy expression, speaking to her niece with a face full of resentment.
“Sigh~ How can you be like this? You didn’t miss your Aunt even a little bit? Oh, it’s all your mom’s fault for not letting me come play with you.”
As she spoke, Susia put on a look of sorrow and grief.
The amount of information in those words was massive, shocking the surrounding crowd of onlookers. Even Rosily was slightly taken aback.
Aunt? Niece?
Rosily turned around and carefully observed this pink-haired woman of considerable strength. A strange sense of Curiosity rose in her heart. She wanted to know who had actually given birth to Estelle.
Susia also turned her head to look back at Rosily. When they had passed each other earlier, there had been a brief moment of testing.
Susia had made the first move, using a high-level “Attraction” against a lower level.
However, compared to the attraction she used on Elqi—which had made the girl feel a clear sense of crisis—she felt no feedback from the impact on Rosily.
This was very strange. It indicated that there was a core hidden within Rosily that was much more powerful than she appeared on the surface, though it seemed even Rosily herself hadn’t noticed it.
Rosily, on the other hand, had merely engaged in a tug-of-war of presence with Susia. The result was a draw.
At this moment, their eyes met. In Rosily’s eyes, there was a burning battle intent, a Desire to challenge the strong, and an unusually intense Curiosity.
Susia, meanwhile, was mostly studying Rosily’s appearance.
‘So similar. Too similar. She looks exactly like Estelle. If they don’t share the same mother’s genes, I won’t believe it.’
So, she was very curious.
Estelle was the result of her Sister and Sister Enya, but who was the father of this blonde, shoulder-length-haired girl?
A trace of hidden resentment flashed deep in Susia’s eyes, but she concealed it the moment it appeared.
She turned her gaze toward Lilith, who had remained in place watching the drama unfold.
Susia waved her hand and said, “Lilith, come here.”
“…”
The corners of Lilith’s mouth twitched. She felt like she was being treated like a dog. Why did these two princess sisters have the same black heart?
She stayed put, but Susia wasn’t going to let her stay out of it so easily as a pure spectator.
“Come here quickly, Lilith~”
When Susia said her name, she used a heavy tone. Anyone with a brain could hear the threat behind it.
“…Fine.”
Lilith hesitated for a moment but eventually walked to Susia’s side.
Susia placed her hand on Lilith’s head and roughly rubbed the Blood Elf’s soft red hair, then let out a soft snort.
‘Heh, you want to hide? Not a chance!’
Elqi’s eyes widened slightly as she looked at Lilith. She had seen Lilith’s back from a distance before while she was with Rosily, but this was her first time seeing her up close.
Crimson-colored hair was very iconic within Red Pine City; it was the characteristic wine-red hair of the Asades Family.
However, this little girl’s hair was an even more vibrant crimson.
Furthermore, between the strands of hair, a pair of long ears belonging to an Elf were visible.
It made one incredibly curious whether this cute little thing was one of the Elf race from beyond the Northern Mountains—as mentioned in storybooks—or some other race entirely.
Regardless, she definitely wasn’t a Human. Humans didn’t have ears like that.
Pangzi was watching from the side, completely stunned.
Originally, they had wanted to pressure Rosily into helping them crush the arrogance of the Moonview City group. How did this turn into a family reunion?
That woman named Susia was Estelle’s Aunt. Estelle was Rosily’s sister…
In other words, Susia was also Rosily’s Aunt? And what was the deal with this girl named Lilith? Where did this demi-human come from?
“Hey, I heard a rumor recently. They say that in the Academy Library, a crimson-colored Elf girl occasionally appears. But she doesn’t like being disturbed and doesn’t really pay attention to anyone.”
“Could it be her?”