While Rei was staying in the Imperial Capital in the Bestir Empire. Far away, in the Mireana Kingdom, in Anesis, the capital of the Kerebel duchy.

Inside a room in the mansion of Duke Kerebel in Anesis, Elena was drinking tea as she leaned her weight against the sofa, thinking about something as turned her gaze to the figure giving small cries beside her.

The figure was a baby dragon, about 20cm in length. It was Yellow, the familiar Elena had created using Dragon Language magic.

It was still small, perhaps because it looked like a child, and it was asleep with its face resting on a cushion.

Of course, this wasn’t that surprising. It was already dark outside and the moon was high in the night sky.

Gazing out the window, towards the brightly shining moon, Elena took another sip of tea.

「……Tea while moon watching, rather than wine while moon watch, is quite tasteful. This tea was brewed quite nicely as well.」

Elena looked away from the moon outside as she looked at the tools for brewing tea on the table instead.

She had originally started practicing brewing tea for Rei, but it had now become a proper hobby for Elena.

As she looked at the tools for brewing tea, Rei’s face suddenly crossed her mind and her beautiful face dyed a sad colour.

Rei was currently in the Bestir Empire. But, what Elena was worried about wasn’t whether Rei would get hurt. Rather, she was worried that Rei might cause unnecessary trouble and hoped that it wouldn’t result in the destruction of the Imperial Capital. That was her main concern.

As for the sad look on her face, that mostly ahd to do with the matter of Vihera, who was with Rei in the Bestir Empire.

Vihera. To be more precise, Vihera Esti Bestir. As her name suggested, she was the Second Princess of the Bestir Empire……and Elena’s rival in love.

Elena herself was known as the General Princess and had been approached by many men up to now. Naturally, she was aware of her own beauty.

But even from her perspective, Vihera was someone extremely attractive.

So much so in fact that the thought of Vihera being with Rei made Elena’s heart ache.

「Seriously, you’re not doing anything strange, are you?」

As she voiced her worried, she brought her cup of tea back to her mouth again.

The tea, which she had previously considered to be of excellent taste, seemed muddier now, as if reflecting Elena’s worries.

「Rei is Rei. Now that he has the Paired Orb, he can contact me more often.」

She glanced towards her own Paired Orb on her desk.

It was a magic item that had received in the Labyrinth City and, as its name suggested, it allowed long distance communication with the person who carried the orb it was paired with, such as the one Elena was looking at.

Because she had wanted this magic item, she had gone to Labyrinth City Exil with Rei……

「As a result, we met Vihera. Thinking about how Rei ended up going to the Bestir Empire, maybe it wasn’t a good thing after all?」

As she muttered out loud, Elena thought to herself that if she hadn’t wanted this kind of magic item, she wouldn’t have made a powerful love rival like Vihera.

Even to Elena, Vihera was an attractive woman. She had beauty, a body that men loved, and a personality best described as free spirited.

Even though Elena held confidence in her own looks, if asked whether she could wear clothes like Vihera’s, thin and semi-translucent……

「……I-If that is what Rei wants……」

As she said those words, her cheeks flushed red, imagining herself in Vihera’s clothes.

She instantly shook her head, side to side.

As she did so, her blonde curls swayed wildly, shimmering under the room’s light. It was a shame that no one was there to see it.

「Impossible, I-I can’t wear such a lewd outfit……」

「Kyu?」

Elena’s movements seem to have been transmitted to Yellow. The previously sleeping Yellow tilted its head and let out a cry, looking at Elena with round eyes.

Elena seemed to come back to her senses at that sound. She gently stroked Yellow’s black, scaly body.

「Kyuu~」

Yellow gave a happy cry at the touch of Elena’s hand.

At that moment, Elena felt the Paired Orb on her desk activate.

「-!?」

She picked up Yellow, whom she had been stroking, and hurriedly headed towards her desk, in front of her Paired Orb.

Soon, a familiar face appeared in the orb.

It was the face that had occupied Elena’s mind until just earlier. The first person she had ever truly desired after being born into this world.

Elena, who was desired by so many people, now desired him.

「Rei.」

『It’s been a while. I thought to contact you since things have calmed down a bit here……is now okay?』

As Rei spoke, he gave a great stretch.

Seeing as Rei seemed to have just woken up, Elena asked curiously.

「Have you just woken up?」

『Yeah. The finals were today. I pushed myself really hard in that match, so I was pretty tired.』

Rei gave a soft yawn, as if he hadn’t slept enough.

Rei usually had a confident attitude, so Elena couldn’t help but stare at his unusual state.

It seemed even imperfections had their charms.

「But still, I didn’t expect Rei to struggle so much to win. What kind of opponent did you fight?」

Elena continued the conversation under the assumption that Rei had won, probably because she knew Rei’s strength. She didn’t think that Rei would lose unless his opponent was incredibly strong. But……

『Hm? Oh, sorry. The truth is, I lost. I wasn’t even able to make my opponent get serious.』

「……What?」

She couldn’t help but look at Rei suspiciously through the orb.

However, when she realised that Rei wasn’t joking, but serious, her gaze grew stern.

It was no longer the face of a maiden in love, but that of the General Princess, feared by the Bestir Empire and surrounding nations.

「Is there anyone who can defeat you with their own strength? Without even trying seriously?」

『Yeah, unfortunately. I know this may sound like I’m a sore loser, but I do want to say that this was on a prepared arena, we couldn’t kill our opponents……and I couldn’t fight with Set.』

「I see. If you’re bound by the rules, I can understand that. But even in that situation, there was someone who could defeat you. What was their name?」

『Noiz. The S rank adventurer, Immovable Noiz.』

When Rei replied, Elena’s eyes widened.

「The Immovable Noiz……in the arena?」

The S rank adventurer, Immovable Noiz. Of course Elena knew the name.

There were only three S rank adventurers in the world and he was one that belonged to the Bestir Empire.

He was definitely not the kind of person who would normally appear in an arena to be a spectacle for others.

「……That was unexpected. But, it’s true that if such a person appeared, it is possible for you to lose.」

As Elena replied, she honestly thought about how troublesome it was going to be.

Until now, Noiz had made a name for himself as an S rank adventurer belonging to the Bestir Empire. But, he rarely appeared in politics.

And yet, such a person had appeared in the arena……in something that would make him a spectacle to fight in front of everyone. With that in mind, it wasn’t unreasonable to be concerned.

『Well, it’s not like I lost without doing anything either. I stole a skill called Overlord’s Armour that Noiz was using.』

「What? What do you mean?」

Elena asked, not understanding what Rei was talking about.

However, Rei just responded with a fearless smile.

『Exactly what I said. I can now use a skill he used. ……Well, I can’t say I’ve mastered it yet.』

「You stole the skill of an S rank adventurer? ……Hehe, you’re still as ridiculous as ever.」

She was stunned for a moment, but then Elena smiled in understanding.

If an ordinary, ignorant person were to say they had stolen the skill of an S rank adventurer, she would doubt their sanity.

But, the person she was talking to in the orb right now was Rei. He was who she considered the most important person in the world and she knew his abilities.

That was why Elena didn’t doubt Rei and just believed him.

「So, may I ask what skill you stole?」

『Sure. Well, you can probably guess from its name, Overlord’s Armour, but it’s something that lets you cover yourself in magic power. It’s something like a suit of magic power armour.』

「……Power armour?」

Elena asked back at the unfamiliar words.

Realising that maybe power armour didn’t make sense, Rei thought for a moment before speaking again.

『Well, it might be easier to understand if you think of it as using magic power to create armour that functions as a magic item that increases your physical abilities.』

At Rei’s explanation, Elena got a general idea of what it was.

It certainly wasn’t that hard to understand when explained like that.

『Even though I said I stole it, it’s still very immature, I need to practice it.』

「That makes sense. If you could steal other people’s skills so easily, it would be a problem.」

As she said that, Elena’s expression changed back from that of the General Princess to a girl in love.

「So, you’re not injured?」

『No. The arena where the tournament was held is a relic of an ancient magical civilisation. Any injuries we receive will heal once we get off the stage. ……I think I told you this before?』

Elena gave a sigh of relief at Rei’s words.

She had definitely heard that from Rei before, but Elena hadn’t seen it with her own eyes.

Even if it was okay, she was still worried about Rei.

「Kyu~?」

Yellow gave a cry as it escaped from Elena’s hand and landed on the desk, in front of the orb, while flapping its wings.

Yellow tilted their head towards Rei, who was reflected in the Paired Orb.

「Kyu~! Kyukyu~!」

The way Yellow cried out seemed to be asking for something. ……Rei suddenly realised what the baby dragon was asking about.

『Sorry. This is an inn, so Set isn’t here.』

「Kyu……」

Yellow gave a sad cry, knowing that they wouldn’t be able to see their like minded friend.

Even Yellow’s tail seemed to droop down sadly.

「There, there, we can meet with Set the next time Rei uses the Paired Orb again, okay?」

Elena gently said that to Yellow as she stroked Yellow’s head. Rei, projected in the orb, nodded as well.

『That’s right. The next time I contact you, I’ll do it when Set is with me.』

「……But, doesn’t that sound like you won’t talk to me again unless Set is there?」

Rei couldn’t help but smile at Elena’s somewhat sulky expression.

He hadn’t thought of it like that at all, but this way of talking really made it feel like he was there in person with Elena.

At the same time, Rei felt that he was the only one who could ever see Elena like this.

Elena seemed to notice Rei’s gaze. Was it embarrassment, shame, or anger? Either way, Elena’s cheeks turned a light shade of red as she spoke to change the subject.

「So, if the finals are over, does that mean that Vihera and Theorem are also done with their task?」

『Yes. I haven’t heard from them yet, but from what I’ve heard elsewhere, they’ve managed to escape the castle and leave the Imperial Capital.』

「……I see.」

Elena couldn’t help but let out a sigh of relief.

Even though she was a love rival……no, because she was a love rival, Elena wanted to prove to Vihera that the place next to Rei belonged to her. To be honest, she would be troubled if Vihera was caught before then.

「In that case, you’ve fulfilled your promise. When will you return to the Mireana Kingdom?」

Of course he’ll be back soon. Elena asked, thinking that, but Rei shook his head in response.

『No, I plan to cooperate with Vihera. I want to increase my own strength through battle so I can master Overlord’s Armour.』

[Previous Chapter] [Table of Contents] [Next Chapter]