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“Don’t yap so impudently, you caterpillars living on trees.”
“Wh-what did you just say?!”

As if she didn’t expect me to say this, Helia hesitated for a moment before flushing with anger and shouting. Hey, calm down for a second.

No, before that, should I first try to relax this expression?

My fierce face with furrowed brows, even though I had no intention of looking like this. I tried to relax my face somehow, but as if to prove that I was already angry, my face showed no signs of relaxing.

What’s with this crazy correction?! I’m sure I just said, ‘Thanks, I found out something important because of you,’ but why did these words come out?!

I tried to open my mouth to apologize for the mistake I just made instead of my unrelaxing face, but the words that came out when I opened my mouth were enough to drive me even crazier.

“I didn’t block your path; you came to where I was standing. If I’m standing here, insects like you should know to avoid me on your own.”
“What insolence…!”

Her blood pressure must be rising; she’s going to pass out. Goddess Iriel, you crazy woman, what kind of filter did you put on?!

I’m sure I apologized, but why is this body provoking more anger with such arrogant words?

It was truly maddening, but I couldn’t take back the words I had already spoken. Helia seemed to have already become as heated as she could be, and even the elven coachman was glaring at me, apparently quite angry.

If it had been the original me, I would have probably collapsed with my legs giving out from the killing intent piercing me, but this body under correction was dismissing it with a sneer and a nonchalant attitude.

‘I can’t help it… Then should I just run away…?!’

Since it had come to this, and I had already gotten the information I needed, I tried to run away immediately, but before that, an arrow flew from inside the carriage, aiming for the space between my eyebrows.

Oh shit, I’m screwed.

Moonsgard, the sacred land of the elves. Built within a vast forest, there was a princess called a genius.

The third princess, judged to be the most outstanding among the three princesses born to the kingdom.

From a young age, she completed all educational courses by the age of eight with her brilliant mind, and by the age of ten, her archery skills were superior to most of the guards. The name of this princess, who was extraordinary from the start, was ‘Liana Sel Moonsgard’.

And Helia was a knight who admired this Liana.

She had watched her since childhood and had seen her greatness firsthand from afar. Because of this, Helia took pride in her job as a knight protecting her and had a wish to become Liana’s exclusive knight someday and dedicate everything to her.

And after living as a knight of Moonsgard for 15 years, finally, Liana reached the age to study abroad at Lua Academy in the kingdom of humans, which had formed an alliance.

An alliance formed to counter the demon race threatening all races of the continent. And Lua Academy, established in the human kingdom within this alliance, was a place of learning where geniuses from the allied kingdoms gathered.

Therefore, when they reached the age of 15 and became eligible to enter the academy, the children of Moonsgard always set out on a journey to study abroad at the academy.

However, although it was called an alliance, humans were always ugly and dirty beings, so someone was needed to take the filth of these human races on behalf of Liana during her stay until the entrance ceremony after arriving at the human kingdom, and Helia proudly volunteered for this.

She hadn’t wasted the past 15 years. Helia had worked hard to hone her skills to stay by Liana’s side somehow, and she didn’t forget to appeal to Princess Liana from time to time.

And as if Helia’s efforts were sufficiently meaningful, Liana readily granted Helia’s volunteer request to accompany her.

‘Yesss!!!’

How happy she was on the day she was selected as the escorting knight. Helia still couldn’t forget the memory of that day.

Only one escort could accompany on the way to Lua Academy. In other words, the only one who could stay by Liana’s side was Helia herself, so she inwardly vowed.

That she would serve Princess Liana with all her might, no matter what. So that she could stand by Liana’s side forever.

And the opportunity for Helia to prove her worth came faster than expected.

While walking in step with Liana’s carriage, she saw a human woman with light red hair standing in the middle of the road, blocking the way.

This road is the path of Princess Liana’s procession, that is, royalty. So Helia stepped forward confidently and shouted at the human woman.

“You there! You! How dare you block the path of the princess of the elven sanctuary, the Kingdom of Moonsgard! Do you have a death wish?”

Words she had always wanted to say someday. She never thought the day would come when she would actually say these words.

Helia shivered slightly with excitement as she spoke the words she had wished for, feeling that she was truly serving Princess Liana, but she could only freeze at the words that came back from the human woman.

“Don’t yap so impudently, you caterpillars living on trees. I didn’t block your path; you came to where I was standing. If I’m standing here, insects like you should know to avoid me on your own.”

For a moment, Helia doubted her ears, wondering if she had misheard. She had never heard such words in her entire life.

However, seeing the human woman turn to look at her with a sneer, Helia realized that what she had just heard was not an illusion, and she gritted her teeth.

“What insolence…!”

How arrogant could this woman be! To have such an attitude even after hearing about royalty!

Helia couldn’t help but feel anger rising like an active volcano towards the human woman who was glaring at her with narrowed eyes.

If it had been an insult directed at her alone, she might not have been this angry, but the words uttered by the human were mocking the entire elven race, an insult to the species.

Because of this, Helia was about to draw her sword and rush at her, but before that, something cut through the air past Helia’s face, aiming for the space between the human woman’s eyebrows.

And the human woman quickly drew one of the swords at her waist and cut down whatever was flying towards her.

Ting──!

Although it was a sword drawn and swung casually without even taking a proper stance, it accurately and cleanly bisected whatever had been flying towards her, which fell to the ground.

‘Amazing skill… But that was…?’

While she herself couldn’t even properly grasp what had passed by her side, this human woman had drawn her sword and responded simultaneously as something flew at her.

And when the bisected object finally stuck into the ground, only then could Helia realize that it was an arrow.

She herself was a knight who handled swords, and the coachman had no combat ability. If so, there was only one person who could shoot an arrow. And as if affirming this guess, just as Helia finished her deduction, the carriage door opened and a girl walked out.

“Princess Liana?! It’s dangerous! Please leave this to me and go back inside…!”
“Step back, Helia. I would have preferred to stay quietly in the carriage if possible, but as I listened quietly, it seems that a mere human is looking down on our elven race.”

A girl with sky-blue hair so light it was close to pure white, her golden eyes gleaming ominously. Liana Sel Moonsgard.

Liana aimed at the human woman with an arrow nocked to the World Tree Bow, said to be passed down only to the elven royalty for generations.

“My father said that the outside world is full of humans with arrogant attitudes, but I never thought even the first human I meet would be such a creature. However, I am royalty of Moonsgard. Although it’s a disgrace to our race, if you kneel down now and carefully explain your sins to ask for forgiveness, I might bestow my generous mercy just this once…”
“You talk too much.”
“What…”

Although she seemed quite angry, Princess Liana, not forgetting her dignity as royalty, tried to give one more chance as she was educated to do.

Helia was about to shed tears of emotion seeing this, but the words of the human woman interrupting Liana’s speech made those half-formed tears disappear instantly.

How could this crazy human kick away the chance Princess Liana had given her one more time? Helia turned to look at the human woman at this literally insane behavior, and the woman continued speaking as she sheathed the sword she had drawn.

“I was in a good mood for a while, but you’ve ruined it all. You seem to be on your way to the Kingdom of Phara, so if fate allows, we’ll meet again. Though it will be an ill-fated meeting. I’ll let it go this time, but if you irritate me like this again next time, you’d better be prepared.”

Th-that insolent! Who’s saying what to whom now!

Helia felt her head spinning and her temperature rising, but the human woman didn’t pay any attention and really started walking away as if she was going to the Kingdom of Phara.

Of course, not only Helia herself but also Liana, whose anger had risen to her head, immediately shot the arrow she had been aiming at the human woman as she walked away, but unlike earlier when she had deflected it with her sword, this time the woman caught the incoming arrow with her hand without even turning around and broke it.

“What?!”
“Impossible!”

Did she just catch an arrow flying at her with her bare hand without even looking and break it?!

Faced with this scene that defied common sense, Helia and Liana could only be surprised, unable to even speak properly.

However, the person who had created this abnormal scene dropped the broken arrow from her hand to the ground and, unlike the relaxed atmosphere she had exuded just moments ago, only turned her eyes towards them, emanating a murderous intent that was incomparable to Helia’s own.

Kuuuu───

“Ugh…?!”
“Argh…!”

A sensation as if their entire bodies were being pressed down by a giant hand.

No, this is not just killing intent. Killing intent is just the outpouring of the will to kill an enemy according to the user’s skill. But this weight pressing down on them didn’t contain anything like killing intent.

This was simply a difference in class. Just as it’s natural for a rabbit to tremble when thrown in front of a lion, it was just that the emotion of fear was being felt to the extreme.

Is there such a difference between herself and this human woman?

Helia, unwilling to accept this fact, tried to glare back out of stubbornness, but as soon as her eyes met those of the human woman staring directly at her, she had to lower her gaze immediately.

“…If you interfere one more time, I’ll cut you down for real.”

And as Helia lowered her eyes, she heard a chilling voice that seemed to scrape her throat.

However, even though she couldn’t look straight at her, Helia stood in front of Liana, who was trembling with fear just like herself, supporting her body pressed down by the overwhelming pressure.

With the sole determination to protect Princess Liana’s body even if it meant her own death.

However, making Helia’s life-risking decision seem foolish, the human woman apparently had no intention of fighting, as she turned her head back immediately after finishing her words and took a few more steps before disappearing in an instant with one spring of her feet.

The woman who disappeared as if the situation just now had been a lie, as if she had never been there from the beginning.

Only the slightly disturbed dust on the ground indicated that what had just happened was not something like a lie.

“Haa… Cough! Kaha…”
“Princess! Are you alright?!”

And only after some time had passed since the human woman disappeared, Liana took a big breath she didn’t know she had been holding and collapsed face-down on the ground.

Helia approached Liana worriedly at her sudden collapse, but Liana raised one hand to stop her. Then she got up from her place on shaky legs with a smirking smile.

“I’d heard there were strong ones among the human race comparable to our elven heroes, but I never thought there’d be a human like that.”

Liana’s expression looked as if she was recalling a story she had heard sometime before. As royalty, she had studied the history of other races thoroughly, but she had never seen such a powerful individual.

As far as Liana knew, the strongest among the human race was either the Pope of the temple serving Goddess Iriel or the Captain of the Knights of the Kingdom of Phara, but for some reason, she felt that even those two might not compare to the woman just now.

“No, that can’t be possible, right?”

No history book mentioned anyone surpassing those two. Besides, she hadn’t even seen those two humans in person yet.

It was just that she herself was weak now, and that human was just stronger than her. Therefore, Liana quietly bit her gall at the feeling of defeat that was belatedly boiling up.

If the day comes when they meet again, as the woman said, she would surely make her pay for insulting her, the elven race.

“I’ll make you deeply regret giving such humiliation to me, Liana…”

Liana quietly chewed on those words as she got back into the carriage she had gotten out of. She had to enter Lua Academy and increase her learning as soon as possible, even for the sake of the future she had just vowed for.

And it was later that she learned this vow wouldn’t even last three days.