Volume 8, Chapter 25 – A Fated and Inevitable Coincidence

“You!” Flames of anger were practically shooting out of her turquoise eyes. Cynthia unceremoniously grabbed Yisi’s wrist. “Again!”

“No. Didn’t we agree beforehand? If I agreed to your spar, you’re not allowed to challenge me again.”

“But you didn’t even use your full strength.”

“You didn’t use magic either, did you? Besides, it’s not like I didn’t use magic at all. If it weren’t for magical assistance, I would have fallen into your traps long ago. For example, when you deliberately exposed your back at the beginning, you were actually trying to get me to touch you and then drain my magic power.”

To make Cynthia believe her, Yisi explained with a serious expression and an exceptionally formal tone.

Cynthia, who had been about to say more, froze. Yisi was absolutely right. In their initial exchange, it had seemed as though she was going for a surprise attack, but she had actually been deliberately exposing an opening to lure Yisi in. With her long weapon, Yisi couldn’t possibly have turned her spear around to attack in such a short time. And once Yisi used her fists or palms as weapons, she would immediately be at a disadvantage.

Under her white dress, she had hidden a magic item that could instantly absorb 10 points of magic power from anyone who touched it and reduce their movement speed. Although it couldn’t directly incapacitate Yisi, it could still catch an opponent off guard in battle, making them afraid to directly touch her with their limbs again.

Anyone fighting her for the first time, as long as the skill gap wasn’t too large, could basically be defeated because of this magic item. Cynthia was certain she had never told Yisi about it, and since Yisi had just arrived at the Warriors’ Association and hadn’t spoken to anyone here, the only way she could have known about it was, as she had said, by detecting its presence through magic.

In other words, it wasn’t that Yisi hadn’t used magic, but that the magic she used was too subtle for her to notice.

But even so, Cynthia still found it hard to accept. When she had struck Yisi’s chest with her elbow at the end, she had felt almost no impact. Although she was very tired and couldn’t be sure how much force she had used, Cynthia still had a nagging feeling that it was Yisi who had voluntarily stepped out of the arena, not because of the impact of her elbow.

As Cynthia frowned heavily, Alice came over from the side with a cup of water for her, interrupting her thoughts.

“Sister, here.”

“Ah, thanks, Alice.”

Cynthia lifted her eyes and scanned the surrounding crowd. Although she couldn’t hear clearly, she could tell from the snippets of conversation that all the spectators were marveling at the brilliance of the fight just now. Some warriors were even imitating her and Yisi’s offensive and defensive moves on the side.

From the perspective of the Warriors’ Association’s development, this was a good thing. But she was still annoyed. Gulping down the warm water, Cynthia clicked her tongue and waved reluctantly at the referee.

“Alright, you can go. You’re not needed here anymore. Get me some wine.”

Wine?

Noticing Yisi’s confusion, Cynthia sighed in resignation.

“Although you deliberately losing to me makes me want to pull you back for another round, a promise is a promise—no, thinking back on it now, the reason you made that promise with me in the first place was because you had already planned to deliberately show an opening, wasn’t it? Tsk, should I be glad you didn’t just concede from the start?”

I’m sorry. If so many people hadn’t gathered around, I really was planning to concede from the start.

Yisi silently apologized in her heart.

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“Besides, I really enjoyed the fight just now, and I don’t have the strength for another round with you. You looked like you were using your full strength too,” not looking at Yisi at all, Cynthia continued on her own, “If you had insisted on fighting to the end, I might have been the one to lose. I acknowledge your strength, so let’s go have a drink first.”

“I’m not of drinking age yet.”

Although she was the founder of the Margaret tavern, she didn’t drink much of its wine herself. Compared to the strong, spicy spirits, she preferred low-alcohol types like rice wine and fruit wine—fruit juice would be even better. Adding a little of Mary’s blood to fruit juice would turn it into something like a carbonated drink in her and Pepe’s mouths. But because she was worried about Mary’s health, Yisi strictly limited the amount of blood she took from her companions, on average only once a month, and a very small amount each time.

Cynthia frowned.

“In our kingdom, even children can drink. Age is not an excuse.”

The manager at the side chimed in.

“That’s right, that’s right. Only those who are acknowledged by Big Sis get the chance to drink with her. So many people want to drink with her, but she doesn’t even give them the time of day.”

Feeling a little unnatural under the envious gazes of the surrounding people, Yisi thought for a moment.

If she refused Cynthia in front of so many people, it would be like disrespecting her. Anyway, she could secretly stuff the wine into her storage and pretend to drink it. Agreeing wouldn’t cause her any trouble.

Yisi nodded with a wry smile.

“Alright, but I can’t guarantee how much I can drink. Also, you absolutely cannot let Mary touch any wine.”

“It’s a deal.”

Her furrowed brows relaxed, and a smile appeared on Cynthia’s gentle face. It was a pure sight, like a blooming snow lotus. In just an instant, all the noise in the training ground disappeared. Commoners, minor nobles, and the bare-chested warriors all held their breath at this moment, as if Cynthia were the only one in the entire training ground.

Should I say, as expected of the Flower of the Kingdom?

Yisi, who had become part of the background, sighed to herself. The reason these people were so captivated by Cynthia was because she happened to possess the qualities that attracted them—beauty and strength. There was no other young woman in the kingdom as skilled in swordplay as Cynthia. Coupled with her noble status and straightforward personality, it was only natural that she would attract the people of the Warriors’ Association.

“Miss Cynthia is so beautiful…”

Mary, waiting by Yisi’s side, looked up at Cynthia with a look of admiration.

Yisi gently pinched Mary’s cheek, leaned down, and whispered in her ear.

“Mary is even cuter than Cynthia. When you grow up, you’ll definitely become the beautiful girl of everyone’s dreams. Maybe the line of people coming to profess their love to you every day will stretch all the way from Margaret to the Royal Capital. Good grief, just thinking about being chased away by those suitors when I come to see you in the future makes me a little sad.”

“Master doesn’t want me anymore…” With a pleading look as if she were about to cry, Mary looked up at Yisi from below, her hands gripping Yisi’s wrists as if afraid she would run away. “I’ll eat less from now on to reduce expenses…”

I was trying to joke around, but it seems to have had the opposite effect.

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Yisi awkwardly averted her gaze from Mary and patted her on the head.

“Mary is so cute, how could I ever abandon you? Sleeping while hugging you is definitely a treat,” that alone didn’t seem to reassure Mary. After thinking for a moment, a light bulb suddenly went on above Yisi’s head. “That’s right! There’s also our promise from before. Mary is going to be my bride in the future. How could I bear to let you go?”

Mary would probably become flustered, but that would snap her out of her gloom.

As Yisi had imagined, Mary did indeed snap out of her gloom, but in a different way. Her lovely, large purple eyes were filled with worry and indecision.

“But… but if Miss Camilla finds out… Miss Camilla will strip me naked and throw me onto the street…”

Does Mary still remember what happened when we first met?

But in her memory, Mary’s answer at the time was that as long as her dinner was guaranteed, she wouldn’t mind being stripped naked and thrown onto the street by Camilla.

It seems Mary has emerged from the shadow of starvation and has even developed a proper sense of shame.

Realizing this, Yisi couldn’t help but feel a little proud. This was definitely a sign of growth.

“Excuse me, excuse me.”

Just as Cynthia turned around to ask what Yisi and Mary were doing, another female voice suddenly came from the crowd. Soon, three women—one with red hair, one with purple hair, and one with black hair—appeared. The black-haired girl was completely shrouded in a black veil, and the long scythe on her back subconsciously made one think of the words “Grim Reaper” and “bride.” Just standing there, she gave off an ominous feeling.

Cynthia frowned and took a step to the side, blocking Yisi, Mary, and Alice. At the same time, the warriors who were very familiar with Cynthia also formed a human wall, separating her from the three girls.

The well-developed purple-haired woman stepped forward, her smiling expression full of friendliness.

“Don’t be nervous. We’re here to see the Flower of the Kingdom, Miss Cynthia Wozwahl.”

“Big Sis doesn’t have time to talk to you right now. Come back tomorrow.”

“But isn’t she right behind you?”

Roughly interrupting the venue’s manager, the red-haired girl standing next to the black-haired girl spoke. Just from the atmosphere of her words, one could tell that this red-haired girl did not like to mince words.

“She doesn’t have time, means she doesn’t have time. You—”

Before the manager could finish, the red-haired girl stepped forward and pushed away the warrior closest to her. Although it didn’t look like she had used much force, the pushed warrior sat down on the ground with a thud.

With the red-haired girl being the first to use force, the entire training ground, like a startled school of sardines, quickly fell into chaos.

“Get them out of here!”

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“Bring it on.”

Faced with the manager’s shout, the red-haired girl instead smashed her fist into her palm, her eyes full of anticipation, as if she could take on everyone in the venue by herself.

“Wait.”

“Big Sis?”

“Don’t make a move. You’re no match for them,” Cynthia walked out of the crowd and faced the three girls directly. “Who are you? Why do you want to see me?”

“Is this the Flower of the Kingdom, Miss Cynthia Wozwahl?” a more sensual, purple-haired woman took over the conversation, having the red-haired girl step aside. “I’ve heard that you have been searching for highly skilled warriors. We have prepared the best wine in this country. Would you like to try it?”

As she spoke, the purple-haired woman placed a two-year-old bottle of Margaret in front of everyone. But what people cared about was not the wine, but her words—Cynthia only drank with those whose skills she acknowledged. For the other party to take out wine from the very beginning, the confidence in her words needed no further explanation.

It must be said that most people would take this confidence as a form of contempt for the other party. However, for someone of Cynthia’s skill level, who found it difficult to find a worthy opponent, the above statement was simply a challenge, which would only arouse her stronger fighting spirit.

As the purple-haired woman had expected, a hint of anticipation appeared in Cynthia’s turquoise eyes. However, just when the purple-haired woman thought her plan had succeeded, Cynthia chuckled and shook her head.

“Thank you for the invitation. If you had come a little earlier, I might have accepted. But as you can see, I already have an appointment.”

“An appointment?”

Following Cynthia’s gesture, the purple-haired woman turned her gaze. When she saw Yisi, who was mostly hidden by Cynthia’s body, her expression gradually turned into a complex mixture of various emotions—surprise, panic, disbelief, and a trace of imperceptible suspicion and hostility.

“It’s you again…”

“What did you say?”

Faced with Cynthia’s question, the purple-haired woman shook her head.

“No, it’s nothing. We have no intention of making things difficult for you, Miss Cynthia. In that case, we will come to see you again in the future. We hope you will save a spot for us then. All three of us here can be your opponents.”

“As long as you understand. Also, I hope that the next time you come, you won’t use force against the people here. Otherwise—” the pleasant expression from just now vanished in an instant. Cynthia narrowed her eyes, and the dangerous feeling she emitted was as sharp as a blade. But this atmosphere only lasted for a moment before she returned to her previous state. “I look forward to our next meeting.”

“I apologize for my companion’s rudeness, Miss Cynthia. We are forever your supporters, your friends. This is for the medical expenses.”

To compensate for the warrior who had been pushed down by the red-haired girl, the purple-haired woman placed five gold coins on the ground. But in reality, that warrior had not been injured at all, just sat on the ground. Compared to medical expenses, this was more like an apology.

“We’ll know that after we’ve fought.”

Leaving this remark, Cynthia ignored the three uninvited girls and led Yisi’s group away, passing by them.

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Thank goodness it ended just like that.

With Cynthia’s strength, she definitely couldn’t beat Lin, who is a hero.

Yisi breathed a sigh of relief.

“Tartaros.”

As Yisi passed by the black-haired girl, a very faint female voice, just barely audible, suddenly reached her ear.

Hm?

Subconsciously, Yisi looked up at the three girls who were passing by. But besides the black-haired girl hidden under the veil and fox mask, neither of the other two showed any sign of speaking. And the people around her, even Mary who was closest to her, seemed not to have heard the voice just now.

“Did you forget something?”

Noticing that Yisi had stopped, Cynthia turned around and asked with a puzzled expression.

Yisi shook her head.

“No, it’s nothing.”

“Then let’s go.”

“Mm.”

Pushing the doubt to the back of her mind, Yisi followed Cynthia.

…

A moment later.

Gazing at Yisi’s retreating back, the purple-haired woman sighed in resignation.

“Beaten to it again. Lin, what should we do? According to the Pope’s interpretation, making contact with Cynthia is the most important step. It’ll be bad if we delay too long.”

“Go back.”

“Yes, yes, we’ll do as you say. I hope it won’t be too much trouble.”

The purple-haired woman shrugged and left the Warriors’ Association with the other two.