Volume 4 Chapter 19

Volume 4 + Chapter 19: Darkness Before Her Eyes

Liberate!

Liberate!

Liberate, aaaaahhhh!!

No matter how desperately Xia Yi shouted in her heart, the Holy Sword still refused to release—remaining exactly the same as always.

Originally, as the wielder of the Holy Sword, she intended to use its Released Form to overwhelm Xia Lulu and turn the tables in one decisive strike.

But now, that entire plan had gone completely up in smoke.

Which made the entire situation unbearably awkward.

It was like a final battle between protagonist and villain reaching its climax—the hero loudly declaring their resolve, beginning a grand transformation into their ultimate form, the villain professionally halting their attack to politely watch the transformation sequence, the spectators all cheering and sending the atmosphere soaring to its peak—

Only for half a day to pass, the transformation failing entirely, plunging the whole audience into dead silence.

There was probably nothing in the world more awkward than this. Xia Yi wanted to dig a hole and bury herself in it; her face was so red it could bleed.

“Your Highness, have you been reading too many manga lately?” Serra laughed at her side. “You’re just too cute.”

“N-No!! That’s not it!! Serra, you have to believe me!!” Xia Yi protested. “I really can use the Holy Sword’s Release! It boosts my power tremendously—this is my strongest trump card! It’s not what you think! I didn’t just make this up in my head—I’m not chūni!!”

“Daughter, I’m getting a little tired of waiting. Are you releasing it or not?” Xia Lulu asked helplessly.

“I—I… ugh!!”

Xia Yi puffed up like an angry pufferfish and slammed the Holy Sword onto the ground.

“You stupid useless sword!!”

The little princess just wanted to vent a bit—but she didn’t expect the Holy Sword to be even more dramatic than she was.

It vanished on the spot.

Xia Yi panicked. Her weapon had abandoned her.

“W-Wait?! Hey!!”

“It’s over, daughter.”

Xia Lulu lifted her hand and made a downward gesture. In response, the ice swords suspended in the sky fell like torrential rain.

“Holy Sword!! Holy Sword!! Come out already!!”

Xia Yi desperately rubbed the Holy Sword’s crest on her hand, trying to summon her old companion—but the Holy Sword refused to answer.

“Th-This is—”

The rain of ice swords was already upon her. In her panic, she chant-suppressed a spell and instantly cast fire magic, hurling a massive fireball upward.

But in an instant, the flames were extinguished by the icy chill.

The ice blades crashed onto Xia Yi’s body.

Fortunately, Xia Lulu had shown mercy. She hadn’t used her full force. Under her control, the power of the ice swords was greatly reduced—more like giant hailstones.

“Uwaaahhh! Waaahhh!!”

Xia Yi clutched her head and ran all over the place.

“Old friend, I was wrong! I was wrong!! I shouldn’t have thrown you—please come out and help me!! Uwaaahhh!!!”

Not watching her footing, she tripped and fell. The little dragon girl lay sprawled on the ground, pelted by the icy rain until her eyes filled with tears. Her big tail thrashed around in pain—

And finally, she fainted.

…

…

“……”

“Xia Yi.”

“……”

“Xia Yi, open your eyes. I am the Silver Dragon Queen.”

“Eh…?”

In her muddled state, Xia Yi heard Xia Lulu’s voice and slowly opened her eyes.

A familiar ceiling.

This was… her own room?

She sat up and realized she had been lying on her bed. Xia Lulu was seated right beside her.

“W-What happened to me…?”

She tried to recall the events just now—she had challenged Xia Lulu, lost, and had been knocked unconscious by magic.

“Remember now, daughter?” Xia Lulu smiled. “You lost.”

“Ugh… damn it! That was just an accident! The Holy Sword malfunctioned and didn’t enter Release! Otherwise, there’s no way the fight would’ve ended like that…”

Xia Yi was extremely dissatisfied, but reality was reality.

She had failed once again in her challenge against the Silver Dragon Queen.

“Fine then, Xia Lulu! This time, let’s say you win! But don’t get too pleased with yourself—this kind of defeat can’t crush my unbreakable spirit!”

Xia Lulu didn’t tease her daughter about the loss as she usually did. Instead, she focused on something else.

“In the battle earlier, you said you faced one of the Beasts of Legend. Was that true?”

“It’s true. I wasn’t exaggerating,” Xia Yi nodded. “It was the Beast of Wrath—Samael.”

“The Beast of Wrath, Samael? Can you tell me what happened?”

“Oh, you want to know? Fine! Then I’ll let you hear how I achieved the Holy Sword’s Release!”

Xia Yi recounted the calamity caused by the witch at Laurel Academy, her adventure with Tia in a subspace, and the battle against Samael.

When Xia Lulu learned that Xia Yi even had a fiancée, she was not surprised.

After all, the relationship between the human Sword Saint and the Knight Princess was well known across the human world. Lucia had likely learned of it through the Lawrence family long ago.

“I see… you came into contact with a Beast of Legend again and still survived. Perhaps that means the Beast’s gaze has already…” Xia Lulu murmured, thinking about something.

“Anyway, everything I said is true! I can definitely Release the Holy Sword!” Xia Yi emphasized.

“Very well~ then I’ll consider today’s battle an accident,” Xia Lulu replied.

However, Xia Yi also knew that regardless of the details, she had lost. And according to their agreement… the Bitter Gourd Act—

“Xia Lulu… are you really going to enforce the Bitter Gourd Act?” Xia Yi whispered.

“No,” Xia Lulu said. “It was just to scare you. It won’t actually be enacted in the Dragon Kingdom.”

“Thank goodness…”

Xia Yi let out a huge sigh of relief.

Maybe Xia Lulu was actually rather considerate. Maybe she wasn’t so petty or so bad after all.

“All right, rest well, daughter.”

After saying that, Xia Lulu left the room.

A moment later, the door opened again—this time it was Serra entering.

“Your Highness, you’re awake?”

“Mm. Nothing serious,” Xia Yi said.

“Would you like dinner? It’s already prepared.”

“Yes! After fighting, I’m starving—let’s go now!”

Xia Yi hopped out of bed. The moment she heard she could eat, she instantly revived.

She and Serra went to the royal dining hall and enjoyed dinner together.

This time, Xia Lulu didn’t punish her at all—Xia Yi genuinely felt her view of the Queen improving.

She thought so to herself.

Dinner ended… and then Serra carried over a cup of—

A devilishly green beverage!!

“S-Serra, what is THAT?!” Xia Yi pointed at the drink in horror.

“Your Highness, this is freshly squeezed bitter gourd juice.”

“I KNOW that! I’m asking why you brought this out!!” Xia Yi demanded.

“Because Her Majesty has decided that starting today, the Bitter Gourd Act will be implemented upon you. She wants you to experience the consequences of enforcing a policy without possessing the strength to uphold it.”

Serra produced a document—the detailed Bitter Gourd Act, complete with the Silver Dragon Queen’s signature and official seal.

“Th-This…!?”

Xia Yi was dumbfounded.

“From today onward, Your Highness’s afternoon tea time will be canceled. Additionally, you must drink a full cup of bitter gourd juice with dinner. If you fail to do so…”

Serra smiled sweetly.

“There will be punishment.”

Xia Yi’s vision went dark.

That hateful Silver Dragon Queen—don’t think this means you’ve won!

You and I are mortal enemies, Xia Lulu!

Just you wait—I will make you pay!!