Chapter 192: The Island Loved by the Stars (3)
The southern part of the Empire is characterized by its warm sunshine and gentle prairie winds that blow year-round.
In contrast, the north is cold and barren.
The west, heavily influenced by trade, carries the scent of the sea or perhaps the sting of human sweat, and shares a border with the City Alliance, creating a strange tension.
The east is sparsely populated by Imperial citizens due to the presence of the Great Wall, the limit of human expansion, and the Reminiscence grasslands, home to Eastern nomads.
Finally, the central region, where the Imperial capital is located, is the most quintessentially Imperial, without a doubt.
As such, the south boasts numerous tourist destinations that Imperial citizens aspire to visit at least once in their lifetime.
One can frequently spot massive airships gracing the skies above the southern region.
The airship business is often cited by the Imperial economists as a prime example of demand creating supply.
While airships are capable of taking off and landing anywhere, the flow of money, particularly from people, is rarely that straightforward.
Airship terminals were strategically constructed in locations guaranteed to attract a large number of passengers.
Märchen is one such location.
Although not a tourist destination itself, Märchen is connected by air routes due to the influx of students from various noble families across the Empire.
Therefore, an airship terminal was established on the outskirts of Märchen.
A vast and sturdy airship terminal built to accommodate the take-off and landing of colossal airships.
Kwa-ga-ga-ga-ga-geuk—!
The ground of the expansive terminal trembles as Cain and Elena’s fists collide.
Morning, who had been observing their fight with an indifferent expression, glanced at her pocket watch.
“Five minutes have passed.”
“Yes!”
Elena responded with excitement, her heart pounding from the adrenaline and the chilling presence of life and death hanging in the balance.
Cain, facing off against the monster of steel, smiled wryly.
‘It’s already difficult to subdue her without killing her.’
No matter how realistically he tried, how could he possibly kill Princess Elena?
Before this fight began, Cain’s objective was to simply render Elena unconscious.
Kwooong—
The problem was Elena being excessively tough, even for her own good.
Cain’s fist landed squarely on her jaw. Her jaw, connected by ligaments and muscles relatively weaker compared to her physique, should have been dislocated.
However, Elena…
“I’m refreshed!”
She exclaimed, grabbing her dislocated jaw with her hand and snapping it back into place.
[‘Winter’ is at a loss for words.]
She was called the Iron-Blood Princess not just for her temperament, but also for her physique and talent that mirrored Iron.
[‘Summer’ clicks his tongue, wondering if she’s just a berserker with clear eyes.]
Cain chuckled wryly and resumed his stance.
Sweeek—
He angled his toes outward.
Simultaneously, Elena’s body tilted in the opposite direction of Cain’s foot.
Even though she hadn’t received proper fistfighting training, her reactions rivaled those of a seasoned knight. Too refined to be mere instinct, yet too raw to be considered technique.
It seemed Cain wasn’t the only one who noticed this. Lourens leaned closer to Administrative Duke Morning and whispered.
“That’s definitely……”
“Shut your mouth.”
Morning glanced at Wiseman, who was engrossed in the fight between the two.
“A high-ranking wizard’s senses would easily pick up our conversation.”
Lourens also turned his gaze towards Wiseman.
However, contrary to Morning’s concerns, he saw her clenching her fists with sweat dripping down her palms as she watched Elena. He chuckled wryly and shook his head.
“I don’t think that’s the case.”
“Still, we can’t be too careful.”
Even though Wiseman might be considered careless in other aspects of life due to her obsession with magic, Morning, accustomed to caution, couldn’t help but silence Lourens.
However, the level of martial prowess Elena was displaying was beyond even her expectations.
“One thing’s for sure, Princess Elena needs to be placed in the single-digit rankings through a reassessment.”
Morning’s eyes narrowed.
She had heard about Cain overwhelming 150 Märchen Academy students in five minutes and forty seconds.
—No weapons allowed.
Everyone agreed that it was excessive to use a holy sword against a single princess.
However, there was a slight concern that Cain might go easy on Elena out of consideration.
Naturally, that was an unfounded worry.
He had targeted her calf with a kick the moment the fight began, aiming to break her knee.
And Elena, with a grin, had simply used the momentum to slam her knee back into place, exploiting the opening Cain’s attack created.
Shhhheeeeet—
And so the fight had continued relentlessly until now.
“They’re both incredibly skilled.”
Anje, dressed in her maid uniform, commented as she watched the two fight.
Even Lourens, who would normally reprimand her for her informal language, simply nodded in agreement.
There were no words more fitting than those.
Whooong—!
Cain’s left fist shot upwards, aiming for Elena’s jaw from below.
Elena’s eyes flickered.
Dodge Cain’s attack, or block it?
In that split second of decision.
Kwooong—
Elena stomped her left foot onto the ground.
And like a bolt of lightning, she charged straight into Cain’s chest. Following closely behind was her clenched right fist.
Cain and Elena locked eyes.
Seeing their own reflections in each other’s eyes, both of them smiled.
Blood and fists.
As they received the bond that felt stronger than anything else, both of them threw their fists.
Kooo-ook—
Cain received Elena’s punch with his elbow.
‘Damn it.’
He had changed his plan to block the punch the moment he saw her charging, but her strength was beyond his expectations.
[‘Summer’ says he’ll watch as he was told earlier.]
Normally, with this level of injury, ‘Summer’s Passive would activate and try to heal him.
However, Cain had asked him not to interfere before fighting Elena.
Her ability to injure him was also part of her skill, and he wanted to fight her at her full potential!
‘But she’s still weak.’
Cain smirked, tilting one corner of his lips upwards.
Her left fist, like a loaded bullet, approached half a beat faster.
Thump.
Even if it was half a beat faster, what was closer was always quicker.
Enduring the pain in his now broken arm, Cain slammed his fist downwards, striking Elena’s right arm.
Kwaaak—
Seizing the opportunity as she staggered from his blow, he grabbed her upper arm, forcefully disrupting her balance.
Elena stumbled back a step, losing her footing from Cain’s strength, and the fist that was about to strike him lost its momentum.
Cain then stomped on Elena’s foot, pinning her to the ground and preventing her from creating distance.
And then, his fist erupted!
Elena, already off-balance from Cain’s previous attack, stared straight at the fist that was approaching her head like a meteor from afar.
She grinned.
A thrilling sense of danger, so intense it sent shivers down her spine, washed over her.
If she were still the beast hiding amongst a flock of sheep, she would never have experienced such a sensation.
That’s why Elena, with the heart of someone pushing open a tightly shut window…
Hooo-ooong—
Ignoring the pain of her ankle being crushed and her foot dislocating, she thrust her head forward.
A crazy idea to meet Cain’s fist midway with her forehead and break its momentum!
“It must be unbearable for you.”
“Let’s just see if I can take it.”
Their smiles widened.
For what blossoms from a battle of steel blood is camaraderie.
At that moment.
“Five minutes and forty-one seconds. Time’s up.”
Morning’s slightly emotional voice echoed throughout the airship terminal.
Whooosh—
Cain’s fist was a hair’s breadth away from Elena’s forehead.
“Princess Elena was hiding her true strength.”
As Morning approached, Wiseman, Lourens, and Anje followed behind her. Cain and Elena, both feeling a tinge of regret, separated.
Crackle, crackle—
Elena, like a doll twisting its own head back into place, began to realign her dislocated and broken bones with sheer force.
Sounds that made one question if they could originate from a human body continued to echo.
Morning and the other three stared at Elena with bewildered expressions.
“That hero fellow is a real brute, beating a woman, a young lady at that, to a pulp.”
At Morning’s sarcastic remark, Cain simply shrugged, biting his lower lip.
“No one cares about that on the battlefield. Whether you die by a sword or not, it all ends the same.”
“Even so, a princess deserves some respect……”
Morning massaged her forehead, shaking her head in disbelief. Who in the Empire would dare treat a princess with such brutality?
And what kind of princess would retaliate with equal ferocity?
“I’ll keep that in mind next time.”
Cain readily agreed.
Morning realized that his uncharacteristic submissiveness only fueled her annoyance, and she shook her head again.
She had never imagined that the hero, the earthly agent of ‘light,’ would be this kind of person.
However, deep down, Morning couldn’t help but smile.
It was precisely because Cain was so practical and battle-hardened that she felt certain he wouldn’t be handed over to the Holy See under the pretense of being the hero.
He wasn’t some naive child who would fall for simple tricks.
He was a worthy opponent, someone she could negotiate with as equals across the table.
“You know, you’re a rather charming brat in your own way.”
Unable to contain her amusement, Morning grinned at Cain.
[‘Winter’ says that the princess seems to be crazy, and that she suddenly changed her mind, saying that the empire’s children are a bit strange.]
Cain instinctively took a step back from Morning’s reaction.
“Suddenly?”
“Hehe. I like you.”
“……It’s a bit unnerving to hear that after I just beat up the princess.”
Morning chuckled and pointed at the towering structure that served as the boarding platform for the airships.
“I’m curious to see how you’ll fare in the neutral zone. I’ve reserved an entire airship…”
clack, clack—!
A deafening roar, as if the air itself was being torn apart, began to approach.
Cain saw it too.
An airship twice the size of the others was entering the terminal.
It was only natural that the Administrative Duke of the Empire would have a private airship prepared for the journey to the Mytilene auction. She would have temporarily blocked access for other airships as well.
But now.
A pure white airship appeared, pushing aside the massive vessel.
“W, What is that?”
Morning stammered in astonishment.
What kind of airship in the Empire could disregard the Administrative Duke’s authority and move so freely?
The two airships, generating an earsplitting cacophony as if they were about to collide, entered the same terminal simultaneously.
Morning frantically dashed towards the boarding platform.
“All things are by the light.”
A lone woman emerged from the pristine white airship.
Adorned in the sacred vestments worn only by the eight cardinals of the Holy See, the woman made the sign of the cross towards Morning, who was panting heavily as she arrived.
“It is a pleasure to meet you, Administrative Duke.”
Morning, clutching her knees and gasping for breath, paused as she saw the woman’s face.
She whipped her head around—
And looked at Lourens.
Lourens, immediately recognizing the woman, was taken aback and answered in Morning’s stead.
“We haven’t received any notice of Cardinal Bonn’s personal visit to the Empire.”
“How can mere paper hold any weight when the light itself resides here?”
Morning, finally catching her breath, retorted with a huff.
“Are you saying you’re going to barge in here as you please, disregarding the peace treaty and everything else?!”
Aurelia Bonn.
Officially, she was the chief librarian of the Holy See’s archives, but her true duties remained shrouded in secrecy.
With her long, black hair neatly tied back and a stern expression softened by a forced smile, Aurelia approached.
“And did the Empire, harboring the hero, ever intend to honor the peace treaty?”
“Oh ho, so that’s how you want to play this?”
Morning stepped forward, placing her fists on her hips.
Cardinal Aurelia, with her smooth skin and slightly chubby cheeks that made her look like a young girl despite her position, also stepped forward.
“We all originated from the light. Therefore, no paper can dictate its path.”
“That’s for you to decide arbitrarily. We have our own territories, and for a cardinal to trespass……”
Aurelia cut off Morning’s rapid-fire words, taking another step closer.
And then.
“Because it is the light’s will, you undying fiend.”
With a chilling smile, she hurled insults directly at Morning.
Translator’s Blog
Blog
- Anime With Good Plot, But One Thing Makes It Unwatchable: My ‘Black Clover’ Criticism
- Is Your Friend Turning into a World-Class Shut-in? How to Help Your NEET Buddy See the Sunlight Again (Without Becoming Their Personal Sun)
- Study Guide: Lofi or Punk Emo? The Soundtrack to Smashing Your Next Exam (Like a Boss)
- Kakashi Hatake: The Ultimate Husbando? A Deep Dive into the Sharingan of Our Desires
- My Gacha Gaming Habit is Bleeding My Bank Account Dry: How to Stop Before You Go Broke
Leave a Reply