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Ophelia’s handing over of Commander Galerius was a foreseen sequence of events.

Galerius unknowingly committed five mistakes.

The first mistake occurred during the imprisonment.

“Everyone, drop your weapons.”

“All of them?”

“Yes, all of them.”

….

“What is this?”

“Um… this is my cherished branch. It’s like a talisman.”

“Hmph. You’re carrying around a mere branch? Your mental strength is pathetic.”

He failed to recognize the value of the Branch of the World Tree in the confiscation process and thus did not seize it.

“Hey, you there. Come out for interrogation.”

“…me alone?”

The second mistake was calling only Ophelia for interrogation.

“Yes. Ophelia Meredein. I’m talking about you.”

“Hey. Did you just call me Meredein?”

“Shut up and come out.”

The third mistake was addressing Ophelia with her last name.

“Um… can’t I accompany Ophelia during her interrogation?”

“Shut it. She does it alone.”

And the fourth mistake was abruptly rejecting even the request of Hero Elliot.

Finally, after calling Ophelia to the interrogation room…

“Bring in the military chaplain.”

“What?”

“Do you have a problem? First, show me your mark.”

…he brought in the military chaplain.

“Ooh, that mark is the mark of the Celestial God. You have received the grace of the Almighty God. You are definitely the Saint Lady.”

“…hmm. It seems she really is the Saintess.”

“Ah, I’ve finally seen the Celestial God’s mark with my own eyes. Saint Lady, it’s an honor. Please share with me a divine revelation…”

“Hey.”

“What? If you have something bothering you…”

“You idiot.”

In a way, it was remarkable that Ophelia had been able to endure it until now.

Eventually, Ophelia’s patience ran out, igniting her temper.

And it was a very large flame.

*

In the basement jail of the residence.

Inside the iron bars.

At that moment, a tremendous roaring sound echoed above, dust trickling down from the ceiling.

Kwah-kwaang!

“…doesn’t it seem messed up?”

“Certainly.”

While I was in conversation with Albrecht, the surroundings suddenly fell silent.

“It’s over.”

“It seems so.”

Azar let out a deep sigh while wiping his face.

Ophelia couldn’t possibly lose to mere soldiers. Even if other artifacts were confiscated, with the Star of Dawn Ring and the Branch of the World Tree, ordinary knights would be utterly outmatched.

Moreover, Ophelia was a caster who used Divine Power before being a warrior. In other words, she was an all-around saintess.

“…so, have you thought about how to manage this?”

“Well, I guess we have to use the authority of the Hero.”

No matter how much chaos was caused, the Ice Palace had no authority to punish a Hero. Only the Emperor of the Empire might have such power.

But what about Ophelia? I wasn’t sure if they could manage the chaos caused in the Ice Palace commander’s residence.

It seemed like I should even think of some legal tricks. While I was pondering, I heard the sound of someone descending the basement stairs.

Naturally, I thought it was Ophelia, but it wasn’t her at the entrance. Instead, it was a woman carrying a limp Ophelia.

With silver hair glimmering with a blue tint and golden eyes.

Fortunately, she was a familiar face, as were Albrecht and Azar.

“Isn’t that Lady Cecilia?”

“…Sword Saint, Golden Lion. Indeed, you’ve been here.”

One of the named members of the Ice Palace, the Ice Warrior Cecilia Ethelgarand, looked at us sitting dazed in the jail with a perplexed expression.

Then she patted the back of the Ophelia she was carrying.

“…w-what exactly happened?”

“Is Ophelia safe?”

I answered her question with a question. It mattered more to me if Ophelia was unharmed.

“Hero….”

Cecilia narrowed her eyes and continued speaking.

“The Saint Lady is safe. I’ve only pricked her blood to put her to sleep for a moment.”

“…did you fight?”

“No. I just countered.”

Cecilia said with a wry smile.

Only then did I roughly understand the situation.

Ophelia, with her personality, would smash everything in sight once ignited. At that moment, Cecilia must have looked like an expensive armored golden goblin.

I cautiously asked Cecilia.

“…did Ophelia challenge you to a duel?”

“That is correct.”

“…damn.”

I hung my head at the expected answer.

Even I, not involved, felt embarrassed.

*

Still, the current unrest did not escalate into a major incident thanks to Cecilia’s timely arrival.

Commander Galerius’s overstepping was thoroughly punished by Cecilia. Although he must have been beaten up severely by Ophelia beforehand, it seemed his punishment was only a few weeks of confinement.

For reference, Ophelia regained consciousness a few minutes later.

Even after regaining her senses, she trembled in fear while gazing at Cecilia’s back.

It must have been quite the shock to have her pride hurt by being soundly defeated after boldly challenging.

“Then why did you challenge her?”

“I-I thought she was just easy prey…”

“Lady Cecilia ranks among the top warriors in the continent along with Albrecht and Azar. Please don’t act like a hotshot just because you’ve gotten a bit stronger. The world isn’t some random place to throw a fit over.”

“…damn, I lost.”

“What’s wrong with that?”

“You always charge in headfirst when bored! I learned it from you!”

“If you have a problem, just get stronger than me.”

“…”

Cecilia, who had been silently watching our conversation, pursed her lips before shaking her head.

She must have many questions.

Why did this commotion happen? Are you really the Hero and the Saintess?

Such questions.

“Cecilia, how did you end up here then?”

I tried to lighten the mood by asking, and after some contemplation, Cecilia replied.

“I received a report from the messenger. It was somewhat absurd, but upon coming here, I found it to be true.”

“Report? What report?”

“You brought a dragon, didn’t you? A Black Dragon, no less.”

Hearing Cecilia’s sigh-laden response made me realize I had forgotten something.

Ophelia must have remembered at that moment and clapped her hands.

“Blackie!”

We rushed to the stable, but…

“I am so sorry… really, I sincerely apologize.”

All that was there was the ceiling of the stable with holes in it and the stableman bowing his head to us.

“…has it… escaped?”

“It certainly seems so.”

“….”

Ophelia looked up at the sky with a hopeless expression.

The clear northern sky without a single dark cloud caught her eyes.

As she lowered her gaze again, Ophelia’s shoulders were trembling.

After all, even that fierce Black Dragon was a pet she had raised for the first time and grown attached to. Losing such an animal must be a heavy blow. I placed my hand on her shoulder to console her.

“Ophelia, Blackie has gone to find its freedom…”

“That little brat! I fed it and cared for it, and it still ran away?!”

“….”

“That ungrateful little lizard! Just like that Laila! I’ll beat it up thoroughly when I see it next time!”

Yes. This is Ophelia.

I sighed and said to her.

“One day, you’ll definitely get to meet Blackie again.”

By then, I might have to hunt Blackie down.

A Black Dragon raid, huh.

I wonder if that’s possible.

“Forget it. That ungrateful brat, I don’t need it.”

“Are you really sure you don’t need it?”

“Why do you even ask that?”

Ophelia gave me a crescent-eyed look.

I chuckled and placed my hand on top of her head.

“I thought, with Ophelia, you’d say that while still being hurt inside.”

“Idiot.”

Ophelia pouted her lips and snuggled into me as if to seek comfort.

“Just don’t say it out loud.”

“Haha.”

I forced a smile and patted Ophelia’s head.

“You seem very tired.”

“I’m so damn tired. It’s because of the seasickness.”

“…how about taking a short break?”

“Yeah.”

With that, Ophelia buried her face into my coat.

After suffering from seasickness for over a month, suddenly being imprisoned right after stepping onto land must have exhausted her deeply.

Though Ophelia has a fiery temper, her stamina isn’t that great. She must be worn out to the point of collapsing right now.

I wanted to carry her, but that would surely ignite her rage, so I just wrapped my arm around her shoulders.

“…um.”

Perhaps unable to hold back, Cecilia finally spoke up.

Her face was strangely flushed.

“What is the relationship between the Hero and the Saint Lady?”

I chuckled and ruffled Ophelia’s silver hair.

“Well… let’s say we’re more than friends, but not quite lovers.”

At that, Ophelia’s head jerked up in surprise.

“…uh, um.”

Meanwhile, steam was coming out of the top of Cecilia’s head.

“Ah, I see. Okay, I understand.”

She didn’t look like she understood at all.

 

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