“I went outside and looked for the Mirocagon.

“Mirocagon! Where are you?”

Lately, I wandered around the mansion, so I knew Mirocagon would come out if I called.

“I have something to tell you! Come out!”

After calling about five times while wandering around, Mirocagon revealed its appearance.

“Why do you call me, human.”

“I have something to discuss, Mirocagon. Come with me.”

I looked around and led Mirocagon to the back of an empty stable.

“I guess you want to talk here because it’s something others shouldn’t overhear.”

I sighed.

“Ha… You told Floa about me.”

“I didn’t mention you.”

“Don’t lie. Floa heard everything. You said there was someone who came here through dimensional travel. That’s about me.”

“Well, that’s true, but I didn’t mention your name, so I didn’t know it was your story.”

I replied to Mirocagon in frustration.

“Do you think Floa will just sit back and wonder? Do you know what Floa just said? She’ll even threaten to kill you to find out who it is.”

“Then I’ll tell him it’s Stella Nazret, not you. After all, you’re both possessed by the same being.”

Looking at my memories, it seemed that he knew that she was from the same world as me.

“Is that something you should say in front of Stella’s friend?”

“…Sorry. I got scared and blurted it out without thinking I might die. But you and your friend will never talk about being possessed. Anyway, Passabea will come back.”

“He’ll come back?”

“Passabea told you he’s a traveler, right? Travelers eventually return home.”

“That was just something he said…”

I sighed again.

“Until then, I’ll take refuge in the area where monsters appear, so don’t worry, human. Even if it’s a guardian god, it won’t be easy to find me in a place where monsters appear.”

“For some reason, I don’t find that very reassuring…”

“Still, believe me. I’m quite faithful to my promises. I served Hestia for almost 20 years.”

“Loyalty, huh? Alright… I’ll go before Floa comes.”

Mirocagon’s demonic wings gradually grew larger. When not in use, the wings were only half the size of its body, but when used, they expanded to the size of its body.

“Don’t worry about Passabea showing up soon, human. When you meet the empire’s guardians, you’ll understand why I have such confidence. I’ve seen them through my own eyes.”

“What do you mean?”

Mirocagon flapped its wings and lifted into the air.

“Your clan’s guardian might come too, so I’ll leave now.”

“What? Tell me before you go!”

Leaving people curious and just going away, how frustrating…

“See you again.”

Mirocagon didn’t answer my question and flew away.

“Mirocagon is really… doing whatever it wants.”

Well, it’s a monster, so I can’t help it. I sighed, thinking that way.

Just as Mirocagon disappeared from sight, Floa appeared with a poof! It was a close call.

“Did you meet Mirocagon?”

“Well… it ran away.”

I shrugged nonchalantly and smiled.

* * *

As soon as the new week began, I returned to the training grounds. It had been a short month of training, and by the time I returned, there were only three days left until the training was over.

The guardian knights were preparing for today’s training on the field, and as soon as they saw me entering the training grounds, they rushed over to me.

“Lady, are you alright?”

“We heard the news. How can a guardian god try to kill someone… We’re glad you’re safe.”

I put on a bright smile to assure my colleagues that everything was fine.

“I’m fine. Thanks to Lady Iris’ healing magic, my injuries have completely healed.”

“That’s a relief. But what about the days you missed in training?”

“I’ll do separate makeup training after completing the remaining training.”

I assured them, and behind the knights who crowded around me worriedly, I made eye contact with Jed. His expression was subtle.

Is he acting like that because he knows I have officially become the Lady of Flotina?

Whether he knows or not, it’s none of my concern, so I quickly averted my gaze.

“I’ll go unpack my belongings. See you later.”

“Yes, my lady.”

As usual, we did warm-up exercises before starting the actual training. Even though it was tiring to run twenty laps around the field, I still felt exhilarated.

Indeed, moving my body feels good!

After finishing the warm-up exercises, the guardian knights lined up in front of the instructor.

The instructor shouted loudly.

“This training will be a one-on-one swordsmanship duel. You have three minutes to choose your duel partner. Stand in two lines in front of the instructor to decide your opponents. Begin!”

The guardian knights wandered around and paired up in front of the instructor.

Since they knew that I won a bronze medal at the Arcus Tournament and defeated the S-class demon Gliw-gon, nobody seemed eager to partner with me.

Only two people came to me.

“May.”

“May.”

The two men who called my name simultaneously were Diego and Jed. Diego ruffled his hair as if annoyed, and Jed tightened his expression.

Jed spoke first.

“May, let’s do this. It will also help improve your skills.”

Diego also stepped forward vigorously.

“Do it with me. At least you’ll feel more at ease with me.”

I didn’t hesitate and immediately held Diego’s hand. It was because I had absolutely no intention of partnering with Jed.

Diego was confident that I would choose him, but he seemed startled when I held his hand.

“Line up.”

I stood in line with Diego, not even giving Jed a glance. I could feel Jed’s gaze as he stood there, but I simply ignored it.

Since the total number of participants was odd, Jed was left alone.

As guardian knights, this was not a normal swordsmanship duel but a swordsmanship duel using magic.

We infused magic into our swords to enable even stronger sword techniques.

“Since there might be collision accidents if too many people duel at once, we will have three teams duel simultaneously. The teams not dueling will sit in the stands and analyze their teammates’ duels. Now, the first three teams move to the designated duel areas marked on the ground.”

As one of the last in line, Diego and I had to wait in the stands.

Diego naturally sat next to me.

“I think I planned this wrong.”

Though I wasn’t particularly curious about what he said, I asked out of politeness.

“What do you mean?”

“I should have dueled with someone else and won impressively to boost your morale.”

I chuckled lightly.

“Are you saying you’re worried you’ll lose if you duel with me?”

“What nonsense? There’s no one here who can defeat me.”

“You sound confident.”

I tilted my head, not believing him.

“I am.”

“You’ll know for sure if we duel.”

As several teams finished their duels in front of us, it was finally the turn for the last three teams to duel.

“The last three teams, move to the duel area.”

Diego and I walked to the duel area drawn in the center of the training ground.

It seemed like the attention of the guardian knights was focused on our duel.

“I wonder who will win?”

“Probably the Second Prince, right? He’s never lost to anyone before.”

“That’s true, but somehow I feel like Lady will win this time.”

Diego and I stood facing each other, aligned with the marked lines. For some reason, anxiety was evident in Diego’s expression. It seemed like he was worried about hurting each other while fighting.

Beep― The instructor blew the whistle, and the duel officially began. The silver magic bestowed by Iris enveloped our swords as we rushed toward each other.

Clang!

The clash of our sword blades sounded similar to the shattering of glass.

I parried his attack and struck back. Every time I struck, Diego would retreat.

The rule of the duel was that if you step out of the circle, you’re out. Diego couldn’t have been unaware of this rule, but strangely, he kept getting pushed back until he eventually stepped out of the circle.

“Beep- May Flotina, trainee, wins!”

Even though I won, I wasn’t pleased. It felt too easy, and I sensed something odd.

Why did he purposely step out of the circle…?

As Diego returned to the stands, I was about to follow him with a suspicious glance, but the instructor stopped me from doing so.

“May Flotina will duel with Bloche trainee.”

“Me?”

When the instructor called for Jed, he entered the circle.

“There’s no one else to duel with the Bloche trainee but May Flotina.”

Another duel with Jed? And again, I felt less inclined to do so.

At first, I didn’t want to, but I decided to accept the duel to test my skills against him.

“Good luck, May.”

“Sure.”

We each took our positions and prepared for the duel.

Facing Jed, I nervously swallowed my saliva.

‘Jed… As the male lead, I probably can’t win against him. Can I endure for three minutes?’

If he used his full power from the beginning, the duel could be over in 10 seconds.

I tightly held the sword in my hand. I thought I would endure as much as possible.

Soon, the sound of the instructor’s whistle signaling the start echoed.

Beep!

The sound reverberated ominously, and Jed and I dashed toward each other at full speed.