Volume 5, Chapter 5 – An Acquaintance of Claire’s?

“As for skinning them alive…”

Fia couldn’t help but find Liti’s words amusing, but on second thought, Yelido did seem like that kind of person.

“His Majesty only decided to accept the peace talks with the Milcandis Holy Kingdom the day before yesterday, and today there’s another declaration of war. Although the battle with the Alfrieg Kingdom is unlikely to be intense, he’s bound to be busy for a while. Does Your Highness have any plans?”

“Use sister’s magic to blow all those undiscerning humans sky-high!”

“There’s no need to go that far, is there…?”

The Alfrieg Kingdom was not a small country; a direct confrontation between the two sides would involve at least ten thousand people. She was more than happy to use orbital bombardment on the undead and monsters, but using it on intelligent humans with no means to fight back was a line she found difficult to cross.

This world had not yet evolved nationalism, so ordinary people rarely had the idea of sacrificing themselves for their country and the greater good. Therefore, their will to fight was not strong. They were either fighting for military pay to make a living, or they were conscripted farmers. So rather than attacking them, it would be better to openly infiltrate the enemy cities and kill the group of people who made the decision for war and supported it. This would solve the problem and effectively deter others with malicious intent.

Of course, that was assuming she would be the one to do it.

Anastasia had a wry smile. Unlike the others, even while soaking in the bath, Anastasia maintained her maid outfit—a cool, swimsuit-like maid outfit. This way, Anastasia didn’t have to use a hand to hold up a bath towel and could serve Fia with both hands.

“With the precedent of the Milcandis Holy Kingdom, I don’t think His Majesty will send Your Highness to the front lines to fight the Alfrieg Kingdom again. Without the concern of Queen Veronica, His Majesty will surely go himself. The task that will ultimately fall to Your Highness will, at most, be dealing with the Cold Night Kingdom’s army. In recent years, the Cold Night Kingdom has experienced the Lionfolk’s usurpation of power and an invasion by the Milcandis Holy Kingdom. Coupled with their inherent weakness as a mere alliance of tribes, dealing with them won’t be dangerous.”

“This declaration of war was probably just one tribe acting on its own and allying with the Alfrieg Kingdom, and now that tribe is being treated as the representative of the entire Cold Night Kingdom. This kind of thing happens easily in small countries. The beastfolk have never been very bright.”

Following Anastasia’s words, Erin Slate advised with a solemn expression.

“But they recently produced a Holy Son from the Fire Cat Tribe. I hear he is considerably powerful and the magic he uses is extremely strange. Your Highness must be careful.”

“It’s fine. As long as he knows his place, if he doesn’t bother me, I won’t bother him.” Leaning against the edge of the pool, Fia waved her hand with a relaxed expression. She had even dealt with the Elf God; a mere Holy Son was no big deal. “I’m more concerned about the whereabouts of the Polar Night Goddess and the White Night Goddess. If he really falls into my hands, I’ll definitely ask him where his god is.”

Everyone knew that the Alfrieg Kingdom and the Cold Night Kingdom were no match for Silvar, so no one, including Fia, was nervous about the sudden joint declaration of war.

If countries were people, Silvar would be a muscular, sturdy-bodied man who had trained for years, while the Alfrieg Kingdom and the Cold Night Kingdom would be a frail, skinny old man and a prepubescent child, respectively. They weren’t worth worrying about.

Speaking of which, since returning to Silvar, I’ve had to shelve my plans to learn forging magic because of various matters. Now that I finally have some free time, I should get started on that.

This world had no radio, making communication extraordinarily inconvenient. It also lacked weapons that ordinary people could easily use. Even magic crystals with sealed spells required magic to be activated, meaning the prerequisite for using them was to have magic power in the first place. If she could create a lethal weapon that required no lengthy training and could be used by those without magic, it would undoubtedly reduce the cost of war, and the nature of warfare would soon change.

What Fia had in mind was, of course, the firearm. Although firearms were antiques among antiques to her, they were undoubtedly suitable as an initial substitute. It should also be noted that she had no intention of recreating ordinary firearms, because Laplace’s Demon’s experiments had proven that the fundamental laws of this world were not the same as those of the Human Alliance.

Take the most basic black powder, for example. Laplace’s Demon had the witches find materials with properties similar to saltpeter, sulfur, and charcoal and mix them in proportion, but the result could not be ignited no matter what. This meant that either these three materials only looked similar but were actually different substances, or the laws of this world prevented these three materials from burning violently when mixed together.

In other words, she couldn’t naively assume that recreating things from the Human Alliance would be easy.

Under these circumstances, it was better to take the existing things of this world and combine them with the concepts of the Human Alliance to create something entirely new. As for how to implement it, that would only be known once she actually tried.

“Claire?”

Reaԁ on ΚαtReαԁingCаfе

While Fia’s group was chatting about the Polar Night and White Night Goddesses, a nearby Milu tilted her head in confusion and looked at Claire, whose expression had been clouded with worry for some time, as if she were thinking about and worrying over something.

Realizing she had unintentionally let her inner thoughts show on her face, Claire immediately reverted to her usual gentle expression. She gently stroked Milu’s damp, white hair.

“Don’t worry, I was just thinking about some things from the past.”

“Is it about the Fire Cat Tribe’s Holy Son?”

“More or less.”

With one arm across her chest, Claire smiled and nodded. Because Milu was even shorter than Fia, when they both stood in the pool, the top of Milu’s head could only just reach below Claire’s chest, which looked rather comical.

“I was reminded of a friend of mine.”

“Is it that child who was helped by you in the past, Claire?”

Catching the conversation between Claire and Milu, Fia immediately became interested. She had actually been paying attention to Claire the whole time. Although Claire’s figure was not as buxom as Anastasia’s or Erin Slate’s, her S-shaped curves and her skin, which seemed to glow with a faint silver light under the lamps, gave Claire a unique temperament, reminiscent of the elegance of a moon goddess. Coupled with the fact that Claire was only draped in a single bath towel, the contrast with her usual conservative dress and sense of sanctity was full of allure, making one’s heart race with improper thoughts. Maybe next time we should choose an empty bathhouse?

“You still remember her, Fia? I’m sure I only mentioned it shortly after we first met.”

Faced with Claire’s surprise, Fia puffed out her chest proudly.

“Of course. I remember everything about you, Claire. That child was on the verge of death when you saved her. Although she was afraid of you at first, as you spent more time together, the curse’s effect slowly weakened, and you later became good friends. But then she ran off to get revenge, and because she was away from you for too long, she forgot you because of the forgetting curse. She even treated you as her enemy when you went looking for her later, right?”

“Yes, that’s her.” Claire nodded lightly. “She is a child of the Fire Cat Tribe. By the time I found her, she had already become a well-known powerhouse among her people.”

“Using your magic, Claire?”

“Mm.”

When Claire found the Fire Cat girl, the latter was a young slave who knew nothing, so Claire had taught her everything, from common sense to magical knowledge.

Beside them, Liti leaned closer to Fia in the water and said resentfully.

“How heartless. Not only did she forget her savior and teacher, but she also treated Sister Claire as an enemy. She needs to be taught a good lesson.”

Claire’s clear, emerald eyes gazed at the water’s surface, her beautiful eyes filled with loneliness.

“It’s not that she intentionally forgot me. I think if she had a choice, she wouldn’t want to forget that past either. Her power wasn’t enough to be exempt from the curse on me, which is why things turned out this way.”

At this, Claire’s gaze fell on Fia, a hint of a smile in her eyes.

“That’s all in the past now. Although it was because of my curse that things ended up like this, she had promised me she would never forget me. This counts as her breaking the contract. She forgot me, so I will forget her. We don’t owe each other anything.”

“How can you not owe each other anything? She still owes Sister Claire for saving her life!” Liti argued stubbornly, her face a mask of righteous indignation.

Rеαԁ οո КatRеaⅾіոgСαfе

It would be more convincing if you weren’t rubbing your barely-there chest against my arm through a wet towel.

Fia grabbed the back of Liti’s towel to pull her away while asking with concern.

“Then when we go to the Cold Night Kingdom, should we ask around for news of her? She and you are friends, right, Claire?”

In truth, Fia wanted to ask if the other person was a friend who loved Claire as she did, but in this setting, she couldn’t bring herself to ask—even though her heart was itching with curiosity like a kitten’s claws, she was incredibly concerned.

Claire shook her head gently, her swaying silver hair making a soft splashing sound in the water.

“There’s no need. From the moment I met her, her heart was filled with nothing but revenge. That’s why I didn’t stop her when she left. I knew from the beginning that she and I would have to part ways one day.”

“I see…”

Fia murmured in a low voice, but in reality, she was holding back many words.

Claire could naturally see that Fia’s face was full of worries. She smiled and took a step forward, her towel-draped, soft chest brushing against Fia’s face.

“What’s wrong? You look so worried. Are you worried that she and I did something intimate? Like kissing or sleeping together?”

It’s impossible not to care, right?

Fia answered in her heart.

Claire first stroked Fia’s damp white hair, then pinched her cheek.

“Don’t worry, nothing happened between us. I only thought of her as a niece I picked up. Only little Fia is special.”

“Mmph…”

Not knowing how to respond, Fia made an inarticulate sound in her throat. She was relieved, yet she also felt embarrassed and guilty for her suspicions. She had already felt it when they did that—Claire was only pretending to be experienced, but was actually very green.

…What on earth am I thinking?

Forcefully shaking the embarrassing images from her mind, Fia looked up and coughed pointedly with her right fist to her mouth.

“Ahem! Then when we go to the Cold Night Kingdom, we can investigate and look for her whereabouts on the side. If we explain the forgetting curse on Claire in detail, she might accept the reality.”

“And then make her kneel at Sister Claire’s feet and repent tearfully to her!”

“Yes, repent.”

In a rare display, even Milu nodded in approval.

This scene made Claire smile wryly, but she didn’t deny it. No one liked the feeling of having a promise forgotten, even if they knew it couldn’t be helped.

Read оո ΚαtRеаԁіnɡCαfе

“Um… Your Highness, when do you plan to depart? If you’re going to the Cold Night Kingdom at a time like this, you will surely have to go with the army.”

The relaxed conversation had made Erin Slate a bit bolder. She carefully extended a rounded and alluring leg, tentatively stepping into the pool. Even so, she only sat on the steps of the pool and didn’t stand in the water like the others. Erin Slate was someone who adhered strictly to protocol; in her eyes, bathing with royalty was something only royalty could do.

The question was clearly directed at Fia. Fia pressed a finger to her chin and thought for a while before answering.

“Let’s try to depart before the end of the year, so in a little over a week. The Holy Tree’s stability has been confirmed. Apart from not having its divine protection, the new Holy Tree is even grander than the old one. The Witch Sanctuary has also stabilized. Besides not having visited the Elf Tower, there’s nothing left for me to do. The sooner I can resolve the curse on Claire, the sooner I can rest easy. As for the Elf Tower, I never had any official apprentices, so I don’t need to teach anyone and won’t need to spend much time there. With teleportation magic, I can just pop back occasionally to check in.”

The Elf Tower was, in the end, an extension of the Holy Tree’s roots. Since she had created the Holy Tree herself, the Elf Tower was no longer essential.

Erin Slate frowned and looked down thoughtfully.

“A week from now… Has Lady Claire met Consort Yulisha yet? Although Consort Yulisha is not your birth mother, you seem to hold her in high regard. Taking Lady Claire away from Silvar just like that might make Consort Yulisha feel uneasy.”

By uneasy, she meant feeling that Fia was distancing herself.

“Uh…”

Fia’s expression immediately stiffened.

She hadn’t forgotten about it; she just hadn’t done it because she didn’t know how. Was she introducing a wife to her mother, or a husband? It was hard to know how to put it.

Neither she nor Claire cared about this, but from the feelers she had put out, her mother Yulisha felt it was very important. If it were a husband, he would have to come with a proper betrothal gift. If it were a wife, she would have to demonstrate skills worthy of Mother Yulisha’s approval, such as being virtuous and knowing noble etiquette. Fia didn’t know how to bring this up with Yulisha.

Especially since Claire hadn’t gone to see Yulisha immediately upon her return, it would surely make her mother feel insulted. Yulisha was known as the Iron-Blooded Consort; Fia had never seen her angry and had no desire to find out what that was like.

She hesitated for a long time before answering.

“Mm… I plan to take Claire to see Mother Yulisha in a couple of days…”

“Then we must prepare a gift for Lady Claire to present to Consort Yulisha. Consort Yulisha enjoys collecting all sorts of magic weapons. If you can bring a rare magic weapon to her, she will surely be delighted. If Your Highness doesn’t mind, I can begin preparations on your behalf.”

“You can? You’ll help, Erin Slate?”

Fia’s eyes widened in surprise. To outsiders, she and Erin Slate were good friends, for whom giving gifts was reasonable, but not necessarily such a precious one.

Erin Slate placed her right hand on her impressive chest, her golden eyes full of smiles. She had other plans. Although she was grinding her teeth over Claire beating her to the punch, what was done was done. It was better to use this opportunity with Claire to show off her abilities to Fia. At the very least, she couldn’t let Colita have the chance.

“Of course. It would be my honor to assist you. Besides, I believe that compared to Lady Claire herself, the weapon is of no importance. As soon as Consort Yulisha sees Lady Claire’s exquisite and charming body, she will surely agree to this marriage without a second thought.”

Why?

I’m the one marrying a wife, not my mother. What does it have to do with her body?

Fia’s question was written all over her face.

Read оո КatRеαⅾiոgСαfe

However, the expressions of both Erin Slate and Anastasia became strange. Anastasia’s face, in particular, was tinged with a faint blush.

“Sister doesn’t know because she lost her memories, so let me tell you why! It’s because we elves are naturally good-looking, so parents, especially the mother’s side, care more about whether a daughter in law’s butt and breasts are big. Big means she can bear more children and will have more milk, so she’ll be an excellent mother. That’s why big is popular.”

As if for demonstration, Liti happily circled behind Claire and Anastasia, then passed between them, brazenly wrapping an arm around each of their waists.

“So, big sisters with figures like Sister Claire and Sister Ana just have to stand in front of Mother Yulisha, and she’ll gladly agree~ Ooh, as expected of mature women. Damn it, why are they so soft? No wonder my sister can’t take her eyes off them. If only Sister Ana would share half with me.”

“Her Highness Liti, where are you touching?!”

At the end, Liti moved behind Anastasia and placed her hands from behind on the protruding towel covering Anastasia’s chest, her hands wandering mischievously.

Damn it! Not only does she get to have them both, but she can also enjoy Anastasia like that! Is this the privilege of being a child?!

How dare this little brat do something even I wouldn’t dare to do!

Watching Anastasia squat down in the water, covering her chest with her hands, Fia’s heart was filled with envy and jealousy. And as if sensing Fia’s thoughts, Liti, who had already let go of Anastasia, had a strange expression on her face.

“…I feel like I can see a dark and viscous desire swirling around sister. If you get locked out of the room by Sister Claire tonight, you can come to my room~ But you have to be gentle… just a little gentle…”

Ignoring Liti’s coy shrinking, Fia made a motion of rolling up her sleeves.

“You little rascal, taking advantage of Claire! Watch me teach you a good lesson!”

“Waaah! Sister’s coming! Little Milu, save me! Your reward will be, when sister comes to my room, I’ll call you to come too!”

“Caught.”

As Liti tried to flee, Milu stuck out her foot and tripped her, causing her to fall face-first towards the water. However, as a warrior, Milu’s reactions and movements were swift. Before Liti could hit the water, she grabbed Liti’s shoulders, catching her just as her towel fell into the water from her escape attempt, and twisted her around to present her to Fia.

“Little Milu, how could you! And my towel, my towel fell off!”

Seemingly ashamed of her unsubstantial figure being seen, Liti kicked at the water and shouted loudly, but her only response was Milu’s slightly triumphant smile.

“If I give you to Master, I can have her all to myself.”

“You’ve betrayed our Flat-Chested Church!”

“You’d better worry about yourself.”

Stared down at by Fia’s mischievous red eyes, Liti, with her long, light-purple hair, showed the frightened look of a small animal, her expression immediately becoming pitiful.

“Sister, you… you’re into this kind of play… Hahahahaha, it tickles! I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry! Let me go, hahahaha! Sister Claire, Sister Claire, help me, hahaha!!”

With the help of [Telekinesis], Fia quickly subjected Liti to an all-out tickle torture, touching her all over, until Liti was left limply draped over the edge of the bath, too weak to move, drooling with a blank look in her eyes.