Olivia needed Syria’s help desperately to meet Pector.
As she was about to persuade Syria subtly, Syria spoke first.
“Why is Yuria so stupid? I thought scribes were supposed to be smart, but it turns out she’s just acting like that because she sees me as a rival for you, Olivia.”
“She’s worse than you in that regard.”
“Comparing me to someone so incompetent is harsh, don’t you think?”
‘Coming from you, that feels out of place.’
“You react the same way, don’t you?”
“But I only do it for your sake, Olivia.”
‘And that gives you the right to criticize me?’
For now, Olivia decided to communicate with Syria using a notebook.
***
[Syria: Do we really have to wait for the fight between the Light Sword and Pector?]
[Olivia: That’s just a pretense.]
[Syria: A pretense? What do you mean?]
[Olivia: Think about it. Who does Pector really want to face? Me, not the Light Sword.]
“Exactly! That makes sense.”
“The Light Sword might be skilled and, with luck, might land a decisive blow against Pector. But in the end, Pector wants me. If the Light Sword goes, who knows what will happen to the Crown Prince?”
“A fight between the Light Sword and Pector is only possible if the Crown Prince isn’t a hostage.”
“Had he not been captured, Olivia would have let the Light Sword fight Pector first and then intervened afterward, depending on the outcome.”
“What should we do, then?”
“For now, we’ll have to mislead everyone.”
“It would be problematic if people found out Olivia had intervened herself.”
“You’re not planning to fight alone, are you?”
“Have you ever seen me die?”
“Ah, yes. You already prepared to die against the Demon King, didn’t you?”
‘That was a mistake,’ Olivia thought.
She hadn’t expected the Demon King to be so strong.
The only reason she had even landed a critical blow on him was because of the elaborate plan she had prepared beforehand.
“That was a fluke. Anyway, you get the idea, right?”
“That you don’t want anyone to notice Olivia’s disappearance?”
“Exactly. I could just call Pector for a duel, but too many people would start scrutinizing my abilities.”
***
The place was crawling with observers.
Ashtar’s knights and mages, the Hero’s party, and even Rivelte were there.
If Olivia engaged in a one-on-one duel with Pector in the central square, it would be tantamount to revealing her identity as Noah.
She absolutely didn’t want the Hero finding out.
“Didn’t you say you liked being treated as a great mage?”
“Not right now. Think about it—how suspicious would it be for a noblewoman to suddenly use sword magic and meteor spells?”
People might admire her strength, but they’d also start questioning her.
The naive Hero might even insist on recruiting her into the Hero’s party immediately.
She found that thought unbearable.
“You’re planning to use magic, right?”
“Sword magic, in particular, is unique to our people.”
“Is it impossible to win without sword magic?”
It was.
“No way. When I first faced him, it was thanks to sword magic that I held him off long enough to prepare my spells. If I had relied on regular magic or swordsmanship, it would’ve been a struggle.”
If that had been challenging, what chance did she stand now? Olivia wasn’t sure her current body, with its different reflexes and experience, could endure such a fight.
“I understand. I’ll disguise Teddy as you, Olivia.”
“Please. Don’t get caught.”
She didn’t want to deal with the hassle if the deception was exposed.
***
Karchem Underground Prison
The Crown Prince, Raileur, and Sharial were confined under the watchful eyes of demons.
Not long ago, strange noises had drawn Raileur and Sharial to peek outside through a small hole at the far end of their cell.
“Your Highness,” Raileur called.
“Raileur, did you find out anything?”
“Something was happening outside.”
It might even be their chance to escape.
“The Ashtar army has surrounded Karchem. Judging by the presence of their mages and knights, they mean business,” Sharial replied.
As expected of someone skilled in clairvoyance through her spirits.
“The Ashtar army? Then Olivia must be here too.”
“Yes.”
The Crown Prince’s face turned pale.
And rightly so.
Olivia was here, leading Ashtar’s elite troops to rescue him.
The problem was that his current predicament was entirely his own fault.
Ignoring Olivia’s repeated warnings, he had listened to his new fiancée, Yuria, and ended up captured.
Had he avoided capture, his highly capable ex-fiancée would have pinpointed Pector’s location and mobilized Ashtar’s forces to strike him directly.
The Crown Prince chuckled bitterly.
He had craved public approval and made a show of his royal tour, only for it to backfire disastrously.
Greed, as they say, brings misfortune.
Once all this was over, Olivia would surely reprimand him thoroughly.
Not to mention that some of Ashtar’s knights who had been guarding him had lost their lives.
If a war broke out with Pector, it would cause significant losses for Ashtar as well.
Pector’s invading army was rumored to number in the tens of thousands.
To face that, Ashtar would need to rally every available soldier, and even then, heavy casualties were inevitable.
“We should consider ourselves lucky that Yuria managed to escape. But we can’t stay idle here either.”
“What do you mean, Your Highness?”
“Ashtar’s army can’t act freely while I’m held captive. They wouldn’t risk my life.”
“The Crown Prince’s survival tied Ashtar’s hands. Olivia would be reluctant to make a move with his life on the line.”
“That makes sense. We need to escape quickly.”
“But is it even possible?”
“For some reason, Pector hasn’t secured us too tightly.”
The prison was so poorly secured that they might be able to escape if they were lucky.
“But if we act carelessly, it could be dangerous. We need to wait for the right opportunity.”
“Wait a moment. The demons are leaving.”
Sharial, using her clairvoyance, noticed the demons retreating.
‘What’s happening out there?’ they wondered.
“What’s going on?”
“Something unusual seems to be happening.”
“If that’s the case, we can escape now. Sharial, can you help us?”
As an elf, Sharial could use the power of spirits.
“I can use the spirits to briefly hide us. I’m naturally skilled at scouting.”
“Let’s give it a try.”
Starting with Aslan, then Raileur and Sharial, they freed their tied arms.
Raileur grabbed the rusty bars of the cell with both hands and yanked them apart.
Crash!
“The humans are escaping!”
“Kill all the demons!”
The small group of demons guarding the prison clashed with the Crown Prince’s party.
With Raileur leading the attack and Sharial supporting with arrows from behind, the group managed to kill more than ten demons.
“No matter what, we’re not so weak that we’d lose to mere grunts.”
“Now’s our chance. Let’s get out of here!”
After overcoming several hurdles, they finally reached the prison door.
Freedom was within reach.
“Well, well. You’re more resourceful than I expected.”
Unfortunately, Pector stood in their way.
Blocking their path, Pector grinned coldly.
‘Was this all part of his plan?’ they thought.
“Pector! Did you withdraw your soldiers just to lower our guard?”
“You’re mistaken. I sent them to deal with the Light Sword.”
Pector clicked his tongue and shook his head.
This was a bit troublesome.
He had been expecting Noah, but instead, the Light Sword had shown up.
Dealing with the Light Sword was inconvenient but manageable. However, if the Imperial Seven Stars were to gather, Noah would refuse to act.
Even for Pector, fighting the Seven Stars would require mobilizing his entire army.
“The Light Sword?”
Hearing this, the Crown Prince’s party reacted with faint hope, but Pector sneered.
The arrival of the Light Sword gave them false confidence.
“Noah didn’t show up, but killing the Light Sword would still be advantageous for the Demon King’s army.”
That was a bombshell announcement.
The Light Sword was a famous figure in the Empire, unmatched in swordsmanship, with a significant portion of the military under his command.
Killing someone like that? Even Aslan, who admired the Light Sword, was taken aback.
“What can the Demon King’s army do without the Demon King?”
Suppressing his anger, Aslan taunted Pector.
Pector found the Crown Prince’s provocation somewhat amusing.
Of course, if he were like the other Four Heavenly Kings who blindly followed the Demon King, such taunts might have angered him.
But Pector had always been pragmatic, obeying the Demon King without excessive zeal.
Taunts were meaningless, but breaking their spirits was necessary.
“The Demon King always revives in history. Our army is merely weakening your strength to prepare for that day.”
Pector unsheathed his sword.
A chilling aura emanated from it, filled with despair.
Approaching the Crown Prince’s party, he said, “Now then. One is the first in line to the throne, Crown Prince Aslan. Another is from the renowned Plant family of knights. And the last is an elf of noble blood from the Great Forest. Killing you all here would be convenient. The Light Sword might complicate things, so I’ll eliminate you first.”
It wouldn’t have been an issue to let them live.
Ordinary humans, unless they were heroes or Seven Stars, were all the same.
Especially the Crown Prince.
By all accounts, he was a political failure, unable to defeat even the Imperial Saintess.
The elf? Likely uninterested in helping the Empire, preferring to remain hidden in the Great Forest.
“Do you think we’ll just die quietly?”
“I may have fallen into your trap, but I am Aslan von Armenia! The imperial bloodline does not bow to demons!”
Aslan drew his sword, a gift from his mother, the Empress, forged by the finest imperial blacksmiths.
“I will stand by the Crown Prince!” Raileur declared.
“I just want to survive…” muttered Sharial.
Despite her reluctance, she readied her bow, and Raileur raised her sword.
Their determination impressed Pector, though he still saw them as children.
He smiled, pleased by their resolve.
‘Too bad. If they had bowed quietly, I might have spared them.’
Pector raised his sword, thinking, ‘Noah would understand. Eliminating them here signals a declaration of war against the Empire.’
Swinging his sword, Pector aimed to kill.
Crackle!
But someone blocked the strike.
“The Light Sword?”
At first, Pector thought it was the Light Sword.
The Light Sword could hold its own against him for a while.
But this was different.
A blue blade formed of pure mana clashed against his sword of despair.
‘There’s only one person who can do this,’ he thought.
“This isn’t the Light Sword. The Light Sword is outside.”
Though the voice was different, the presence was unmistakable.
“Long time no see, Pector,” said the figure.
Pector felt a shiver run through his body.
This sensation, this presence—there was only one person who could cause it.
“Yes… It’s been a while, Noah.”
At last, despair reunited with the mage.