Chapter 215
Chapter 215. A Gift of True Heart
――The story goes back a few days.
“Umm…”
The room was filled with luxurious jewels, flamboyant paintings in ornate frames, and rugged weapons like spears and armor, creating a space reminiscent of a fire dragon’s lair—Prince Rubyphia’s private chamber.
Seated on the sofa, Rubyphia crossed her arms and groaned with a serious expression.
In front of her, on the coffee table, was a gift wrapped in red ribbon, charmingly decorated.
――Yes, indeed, it was a present from her younger brother, Diagias.
“…Alright.”
Resolutely, she untied the ribbon and checked the contents—custom-made Bon-Des style for Rubyphia.
“This is… kinda thin, isn’t it?”
The fiery crimson leather matched Rubyphia’s hair color. It had a shiny, smooth texture, a slim fit… or rather, this was practically just a string…
Without needing to think too hard, it was clear that it left little to the imagination.
“…How can I walk around wearing this!!!!”
With a loud bang, Rubyphia slammed the obscene leather string down onto the floor. No matter how much she trained her body or was confident in her physical beauty, there was no way she could walk around in such shameless attire!!
“It’s even more embarrassing than being naked!!”
Her face turning red, she yelled, ready to incinerate it with fire magic. But then, she noticed the message card that had fallen to the floor.
‘To my beloved sister—’
In Diagias’ neat handwriting, which was annoyingly beautiful.
‘—This is the top-tier Bon-Des style dubbed “Patos.” Not only is it the ultimate in texture, but it also has as many enhancements as possible. Featuring the finest temperature control specialized for fire resistance, size adjustments for a perfect fit, morale boost, arrow evasion, and poison resistance—’
“Whoa…”
Rubyphia was taken aback by the long list of enchantments. Such high-end items were lacking even in her own weapon collection. Considering it was made by a Dwarf artisan… how much did he pay for this…
Cautiously, she picked up the leather string off the floor, feeling the concealed magical power within while comparing it to the message card.
‘And as a final touch, I’ve poured all my power into this and included a lightning evasion blessing. …Of course, my utmost love as well! ♡’
――At the end of the letter, there was a kiss mark.
With a silent thud, Rubyphia slammed the leather string and the message card back onto the table.
“……Ugh…”
However, the enchantments on this Bon-Des style—the fire resistance notably considered Rubyphia’s combat style that heavily relied on flames—were certainly not to be overlooked.
While her own magical fire posed no problem, she sometimes found herself at risk of burns from the spreading regular fires or nearly swooning from heatwaves. The fire resistance feature was likely a thoughtful addition.
Furthermore, the arrow and poison resistance blessings were also quite valuable. Although they might not be as top-tier as the fire resistance, even a slight difference could determine life and death.
But most importantly—an enchantment to ward off lightning.
The fact that Diagias, representing Rubyphia’s faction, gifted her something equipped with a lightning protection enchantment, indicative of their family’s affinity for lightning, was a testament to his loyalty.
“Grrr…!”
Rubyphia growled, looking frustrated.
This unbelievably obscene leather string… was something she couldn’t take lightly.
Ah, it was certainly something she couldn’t just dismiss.
“……Hah.”
After staring at the leather string on the table for a while, Rubyphia eventually slumped her shoulders and sighed.
…She had no choice but to admit it. While this was undeniably a string barely fit for clothing, on the flip side, it wouldn’t be nearly as bothersome as regular underwear, making it worth wearing as magical armor beneath her actual armor.
“I guess I’ll store it away…”
With a disgruntled look, Rubyphia picked up the leather string and opened the closet, tossing it inside.
Since it was a present her brother had eagerly delivered, she had a rough idea of what to expect…
“It’s giving me a headache.”
Diagias Gigamunt. While he was an incredibly reliable little brother as a combat asset, he was also completely untrustworthy in terms of continuously targeting Rubyphia’s chastity.
Though he respected Rubyphia as the boss of their faction, he was zealously training himself, constantly seeking to enhance his magical power and hoping to catch up to Rubyphia and maybe even surpass her.
…The way he double-focused on his development directly correlated to romance was certainly awkward…
But he was genuine about it. He was earnestly intending to surpass Rubyphia and claim her as his own. On top of that, he was aiming to become the Demon Lord. Becoming a Demon Lord was secondary to his real goal. It truly made no sense.
“I absolutely will not lose…!!”
To someone like him.
Rubyphia was aiming to become the Demon Lord because she couldn’t stand not being number one.
And the Demon Lord represented the ultimate embodiment of power, leaving Rubyphia without a reason not to aim for the title.
Even now, her raw magical power was nearly equal to that of the First Demon Prince Aiogias, and she confidently regarded herself as one of the strongest in the nation (excluding the Demon Lord) in terms of battlefield annihilation and breakthrough power.
However, when it came to a spear combat involving magic, she wasn’t entirely sure she’d be able to defeat Aiogias.
She needed more power… she was lacking. To become the next Demon Lord!!
“And yet, there’s no way I can let that guy catch up to me!!”
Rubyphia spoke to herself.
The frustrating thing was that while her magical power was stagnating unless she achieved flamboyant results on the battlefield, Diagias was able to steadily grow his magic power simply by engaging whenever and wherever he could.
“I have to get back to the battlefield soon…”
Recently—Diagias’ growth was remarkable.
If he somehow caught up like this… it would be bad!
There’s a saying that those being chased suffer, but is there anyone else experiencing such a sense of crisis?!
“I’ll never lose to that pervert!”
Resolutely reaffirming herself, Rubyphia thought.
Setting that aside…
“I need to order something a little more decent.”
Muttering to herself while glaring at the closet door.
At the next dinner party, it’s likely that both the Demon Lord and Aiogias would show up in high spirits wearing their own Bon-Des styles. Or maybe even her other siblings would…
She couldn’t just show up in an old-fashioned dress!
She absolutely couldn’t afford to fall behind like this…!
“Alright.”
With her mind set, Rubyphia left her private chamber.
――To the Dwarf workshop, to order a more suitable Bon-Des style from that artisan called Kusemon.
