Volume 3, Chapter 54 – Before Departure

Her unwillingness to lose made Fia want to stand up and teach her mischievous little sister a lesson. However, before she could leave her seat, her lap was occupied by another person.

A young girl with her white hair tied in a side ponytail, her body about the same size as Liti’s. Unlike Liti’s vibrant cuteness, although Milu was also petite and cute, she was the type who was cold on the outside and warm on the inside. On the surface, she seemed to lack emotional fluctuation, but in reality, her heart was very dependent on her “master.”

Milu’s way of seeking affection was much more subtle than Liti’s. She sat on Fia’s lap with her back to her, leaving only her smooth nape and the slender, delicate curve of her back visible to Fia, giving the impression of being so light that she could be easily lifted. If Milu were holding a doll, she would have even more of the air of an introverted little girl.

“Milu?”

Interrupted by her, Fia’s thought of teaching Liti a lesson instantly vanished. Her hands hovered in the air, not knowing where to put them.

“I want it too.”

Without turning around, Milu said stubbornly. Not only that, but she also shifted her bottom bit by bit, leaning into Fia’s embrace. If not for the thought that Milu was on the “normal” side, Fia would have thought that she was deliberately moving her body slowly to cover up the scent Liti had left on her—like a kitten that had smelled another person’s scent on its owner.

That being said, this initiative clearly touched upon Milu’s sense of shame. Even though she only showed Fia her back, Fia could see that the base of her ears was bright red.

Don’t force yourself if you can’t do it, Fia sighed in her heart.

Towards this girl, whom she didn’t know whether to treat as a younger sister or a daughter, Fia took a much more lenient attitude than she did with Liti, letting her sit on her lap. Liti was too proactive, always making one feel on guard. But Milu had no such thoughts at all. This child was just getting close to this trustworthy and warm family member. Thinking of this, Fia found it hard to push her away.

Seeing that Fia was not displeased, Milu became bolder, leaning completely against Fia as if to sink into her body. Then, as if calling to Anastasia, she opened her arms towards her.

“Ana too.”

“Eh? Me? I’m fine…”

Suddenly invited by Milu, Anastasia refused, blushing. Liti and Milu were children, so there was no sense of incongruity in them sitting on Fia’s lap. But she was much taller than Fia, and a servant who was older than her. To sit on Fia’s lap like a child, the atmosphere would undoubtedly be filled with an inappropriate pink color. Just imagining it, Anastasia felt it was improper. If an outsider were to find out, the shame would be enough to make her kill herself.

However, Milu did not know what Anastasia was thinking. She just emphasized with a serious expression.

“Master is very generous.”

“Th-this is different…”

Anastasia answered in a low voice, her azure eyes showing both hesitation and refusal.

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Anastasia probably also wishes she could be as close to me as Liti and Milu are, but she’s too embarrassed because she’s older, so she’s refusing. Anastasia’s expression gave Fia that impression.

I should give her a little push . ¹ ???

“If you wish for it, Anastasia, I don’t mind. There’s no one else here, you don’t have to feel embarrassed.”

“Doesn’t it make it even more embarrassing when you say that, Your Highness…”

A hint of a stammer appeared in Anastasia’s voice.

Her girlish reaction made Fia find it amusing.

If one were to become Anastasia’s lover, she would surely be as understanding and full of romantic fantasies as a young girl in love—the one who could become her lover is someone to be truly envied.

“There’s no need to be embarrassed. Even if you want to, it will only be for a little while at most. After all, we’re about to go to the Witch Sanctuary.”

“Uh…”

Reminded that they were about to go to the Witch Sanctuary, Anastasia paused for a moment. She hesitated, then a wistful smile appeared on her face.

“I should leave the spot for Her Highness Liti.”

“Tsk, Sister Ana is as self-deprecating as ever. Sister has already invited you, so hurry up and go.”

Saying this, Liti half-forced Anastasia in front of Fia, while Milu very cooperatively pulled on Anastasia’s clothes, making her sit on Fia’s lap.

“Th-this is too embarrassing… like a child. How can I sit on Your Highness’s lap…”

Extremely unnaturally, almost just brushing against Fia’s knees, Anastasia kept squirming, her smooth golden hair swinging from side to side, like a restless child.

No, no, it would be fine if you just sat still, Anastasia. It’s the constant squirming that makes you look like a child.

Fia complained quietly. Completely different from Liti and Milu, when Anastasia sat down, Fia immediately felt a mass of soft flesh pressing on her lap. Of course, this was not to say that she was fat or too heavy. Anastasia’s figure was quite perfect, at most only slightly inferior to Friede’s. Considering that Friede was overly mature, Anastasia was more in line with what most people would consider “beautiful.”

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If Fia had to evaluate the touch, she would definitely give it high marks for being “exquisite” and “soft.” Not only that, but Anastasia’s reassuring perfume scent also wafted past Milu and into her nose. Coupled with the wonderful touch on her lap, Fia was sure that if Milu were not between them, she would be as restless as Anastasia, and would not even dare to move, feeling embarrassed.

“Sister Ana just needs to think of it as sisterly affection. Sister must also be thinking this way to not feel embarrassed at all.”

At this, Liti’s gaze fell on Milu.

“Guh… Although little Milu is indeed very cute, sister’s attitude towards her and towards me is completely different. You won’t allow me to be so intimate, but when little Milu sat on you, you looked so happy.”

“Slave privilege.”

Milu puffed out her chest proudly, not only not taking her slave status as a disgrace, but even taking pride in it.

“Hey, Milu, don’t stir up trouble.” Seeing the white feathered wings on the sides of Milu’s head fluttering with mockery, Fia quickly covered both sides of her head with her hands, then turned to Liti with a helpless smile. “Didn’t you also sit on me just now?”

“It’s not the same, not at all! That was a sneak attack! If I had slowly sat down like little Milu, you would have definitely stopped me!”

That’s because your motives were not pure from the beginning. Milu is a purely good child.

Fortunately, before Fia could rack her brains for an answer, Liti gave up her difficult questioning. Her gaze fell on Fia’s left cheek.

“But I still won.”

“Hmph.”

This time it was Milu’s turn to pout.

It was probably the strange competitiveness between girls at play, or maybe Milu had misunderstood that she had to express her affection for her in the same way as Liti. In that case, was Liti a bad influence on Milu? But looking at Milu’s expression, it didn’t seem so.

Perhaps the two of them were just naturally incompatible.

For the first time, Fia realized that when these two girls were put together, they would create sparks. Of course, not the sparks of love described by poets, but something with the smell of saltpeter and sulfur.

Her life would surely become very lively in the future.

Fia couldn’t help but picture a beautiful future in her mind.

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“Um, Your Highness, may I get up now? We still have to go to the Witch Sanctuary in a little while…”

Anastasia’s voice entered Fia’s ears. Because she was too embarrassed, her face was already red to the roots of her ears, and her voice was as soft as a mosquito’s, as if she had just been confessed to.

“Yes, alright. If we don’t set off now, it’ll drag on until noon. You get down too, Milu. Liti, put on your clothes.”

“Okay~”

“I’ll stay here and guard the chests.”

“No, you’re coming with us, Anastasia. Just leave the chests here. Re—no one would dare to touch the things here.”

“Sister is a high-ranking magic caster who wiped out hundreds of thousands of monsters and saved Byrne City from peril. No one would dare to have any ideas about her things. Don’t worry, Sister Ana.”

“Yes, Liti is right.”

Fia nodded in agreement. She had almost blurted out that Renee would guard it for her. In Anastasia’s and the others’ eyes, Renee was still from the opposing faction. To say that she would help guard it would undoubtedly cause unnecessary trouble. Renee’s identity as an undercover agent was too sensitive. It would be one thing to tell only Anastasia, but if Liti and Milu also knew, what if they were not careful when talking to her on the road and someone overheard? Renee would be in great danger.

As for the matter of her using [Orbital Beacon Bombardment] in front of everyone, everyone naturally thought the magic was very powerful and wanted to know the details. Unfortunately, when Fia tried to explain to Anastasia and Liti, she found that there was an insurmountable gap in their communication.

—Fia could not find the corresponding words for [Orbital Beacon Bombardment] in the Elf language, the holy language of Milcandis, or the language of the Alfrieg Kingdom. And even when she broke down each word and explained them as “orbit,” “beacon,” and “bombardment,” only “bombardment” had a corresponding word in the various languages, and that usually referred to a magic caster flying into the air and casting a spell at the ground, not a bombing raid in the true sense.

To explain what orbital bombardment was to them, she would have to start from the basic theory that “the planet is round.” Therefore, Fia chose to skip the explanation and instead said, “in short, it’s a powerful forbidden spell that creates a huge explosion and doesn’t distinguish between friend and foe.”

Although there were some episodes when she had just returned from the desert—for example, Anastasia had thought she was about to die—fortunately, there were no major problems in the end.

On the World Tree Continent, forbidden spells were associated with not only great power but also with unimaginable sacrifices. The more powerful the magic, the greater the sacrifice the caster had to make. For a “Ninth Rank attack forbidden spell” like the one Fia had used, paying half one’s life was considered a very good bargain.

Therefore, when Fia had returned to Anastasia’s side, Anastasia had been so worried that tears had streamed down her face, and she had looked at Fia with an expression of both heartache and anger, about to stuff her into the carriage without another word and rush back to Silvar at top speed to take remedial measures.

It wasn’t until Fia had waved her arms and flown around in the air, casting various ordinary spells to show that she was not injured, that Anastasia had finally calmed down. That was also the first time Fia had seen Anastasia get angry at her and completely disobey her commands. She had even been a little crazed, which was scary.

However, Fia was actually happy about this. Such an Anastasia was a complete Anastasia. It showed that she valued her far more than just a servant-master relationship. It was enough to make her happy enough to roll around in bed at night, hugging her pillow and giggling foolishly.

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In fact, even now, when she thought of Anastasia’s appearance that night, the corners of her mouth would uncontrollably curve up. If she were a little younger, only a seven or eight-year-old girl, she would surely cast aside her shame and follow Anastasia around all day like a real child, acting spoiled whenever she wanted.

Children were enviable in all sorts of ways. The former elf princess had been too ignorant of how to use the advantages of being a child.

—She was getting a bit off-topic. In terms of the price, Fia’s explanation to her companions was that “there is a limit to the number of times I can use the forbidden spell.” This way, she could both explain why she was unharmed after using it and give Anastasia a reasonable answer.

Although Anastasia was very puzzled by this and said she had never heard of such a price, with the unharmed Fia right in front of her, she could only accept it, only saying that she hoped Fia would never use that kind of magic again, as it was bad for everyone’s heart. In addition, if Fia had not been able to escape in time and had been hit by her own spell, Anastasia would be buried with her. Since Anastasia’s expression was very serious when she said this, Fia had no doubt that she would really do as she said.

It should be said that Fia did not tell the Witch Hall about the explanation and the price of the forbidden spell. The witches knew more about magic than Anastasia, and this makeshift explanation would very likely be pointed out by them as having discrepancies with reality.

So Fia’s explanation to them was only “it’s a secret that will become ineffective if spoken,” which was then arbitrarily imagined by the witches as, “the Guided One has made a pact with a god. Once the secret is spoken, the forbidden spell will become ineffective, and the Guided One will even be summoned by the heavenly god.”

Therefore, the witches treated it as a jealously guarded secret, not only not asking any questions, but also keeping it strictly confidential.

In short, all the effects had been suppressed to a minimum by Fia. Any more would just be groundless speculations like “the elf princess is the Saint chosen by the Elf God.”

“Does sister prefer white clothes or purple clothes?”

Liti, holding two one-piece dresses, asked.

“Hmm… how about a purplish-white? I’ve seen you wear one before, Liti.”

“That one was just put out to dry yesterday, along with your formal dress, sister.”

“Then the white one.”

“Okay~”

Watching Liti put on the dress with Anastasia’s help, Fia let out a soft breath.

Next, as long as she settled the contract between Milu and Laplace’s Demon, she could set off for Silvar. Laplace’s Demon had said yesterday that everything was ready. If they were fast, they might be able to leave Byrne City tomorrow.

I hope things can be easier from now on, Fia prayed in her heart.