"Miss Shirakawa! Miss Kushida! Do you have some time?"
After the Holy Magic class ended, Anna asked the two of us.
"What is it, Ms Anna?"
"I'd like to invite you both to a tea party with the princess. Would you like to come?"
A tea party, huh... Since there was nothing else to do, I guess it's fine to join, and it seemed Kushida-san didn't mind either.
"Well, I don't mind."
"Me neither."
Hearing our answer, Anna nodded and led us to the garden.
There, a table and chairs had already been neatly arranged. The princess and several maids were already there.
"What about Miss Agatha, Princess?"
"I already invited her, but she refused. She said she wanted to research a magic spell, so she went to Master Magnus."
After answering Ms Anna's question, she invited us to sit down.
"Haa... This tea is really delicious."
Back then, instead of tea, I usually drank coffee to stay awake when working on missions at night.
So I never really paid attention to the taste of tea back then.
But relaxing while sipping tea... isn't bad at all.
"This is tea from the East, said to be the finest tea on the continent."
"Seriously? No wonder it tastes so good."
Starting with a conversation about tea, the four of us began talking about many things—daily life, fashion, entertainment, and other little things.
"Girls gathering like this and chatting about little things isn't bad either."
I nodded at Kushida-san's words.
"Kushida-san is right. Too bad Agatha-san didn't come."
"I did try to persuade her, but from her reaction, it seems her research this time is really important. I even told her there would be delicious food, but she still refused."
Princess Adelia looked disappointed as she said that.
Even tempting her with food didn't work!!
After knowing her for a few weeks, we had learned that Agatha was a food lover. But she said her love for food only appeared a few weeks ago, and she was worried about her appetite.
She wasn't someone who liked exercise, so that was more concerning. Let's pray Agatha-san doesn't become a pig in the future.
We continued our conversation until finally, Kushida-san left the event first.
She said she had certain matters to attend to, so she excused herself and left the three of us behind.
A short while later, I noticed Flitz-san watching us from a distance.
I immediately stood up and ran over to him. I asked how he was and invited him to our tea party, but unfortunately, he refused.
My heart shattered when he declined my invitation. Was I bothering him?
But then, he promised to invite me tomorrow. At that moment, my sadness vanished and was replaced with hope for tomorrow.
Watching him leave, I turned back to the gathering. Only then did I realize this meeting was just for women, so perhaps Flitz-san noticed that and declined my invitation earlier.
I apologized to Princess Adelia and Ms Anna for suddenly trying to invite someone. Luckily, Flitz-san refused.
The princess responded to my apology with a smile, but I didn't hear a reply from Ms Anna. When I looked at her, her gaze was fixed in the direction Flitz-san had left.
"Ms Anna?"
"Ah!! What is it, Miss Shirakawa?"
"What were you looking at? You seemed absentminded."
Hearing my question, she replied casually.
"It's nothing serious, I was just watching Flitz leave."
I immediately narrowed my eyes and looked at her suspiciously.
Does she have feelings for Flitz-san?
Sensing my stare, Ms Anna quickly explained as if she understood what I was thinking.
"Aah!!! It's not what you think, he just reminded me of someone I know."
Hmm... Is that so?
Seeing that I still didn't believe her, she suddenly asked me a shocking question.
"Trust me!!! More than that, since when did you start liking Flitz?"
"L-liking him? I-I've never thought about that."
Hearing my answer, the two of them looked at me with blank expressions.
"Do you think we're stupid?"
Please don't look at me like that.
Do I look that obviously like I like Flitz-san?
"I-I like him... S-since the first time we met."
My face burned as I said that challenge, this is really embarrassing!!!
""Love at first sight!""
After that, the two of them bombarded me with countless questions.
**********
"Aagh, this is really exhausting."
I lay face down on my bed, worn out from their enthusiasm. They even kept attacking me during dinner. But remembering Flitz-san's promise made my fatigue vanish.
"Hehe, Flitz-saaan!"
Before I knew it, I fell asleep while thinking about what we'd do tomorrow.
A few hours later, I woke up to a commotion outside.
"What's going on...!!!"
I focused my hearing and realized that a battle seemed to be happening outside.
I left my room and walked around. That's when I saw several knights fighting against something.
I sneaked around, keeping out of their sight. Once I felt safe, I ran to Flitz-san's room and knocked on the door.
"Flitz-san! Are you in there? It's me, Haru, are you inside?"
Not getting any response, I pushed the door open but found no one inside. Did he leave?
As I checked other rooms nearby, I found a maid lying on the ground.
I quickly examined her—thank goodness she was fine. I placed her in a safe position and returned to Flitz-san's room.
For some reason, I had a bad feeling. With my experience as a hitman, I carefully examined the room in detail.
At that moment, I noticed a small mark of damage on the floor. I looked closely and saw that it wasn't just one.
After observing carefully, it looked like a trail marker. Was this left by Flitz-san?
I followed the markers until I eventually reached a door. Grabbing the handle, I took a deep breath.
When I opened it, from the outside it looked like an ordinary room. I stepped carefully inside, but something strange happened.
I suddenly found myself in the middle of a forest. Looking around, all I saw were trees.
"Where am I?"
I walked around searching for clues, hoping Flitz-san might be nearby.
A while later, I suddenly heard an explosion in the distance. I used Aura and sprinted toward the source.
When I arrived not far from the explosion, I could see Flitz-san leaning against a tree. I also saw Mel, Flitz-san's personal maid, walking toward him.
"Heee, you're really persistent. I thought that kick earlier would've knocked you out. Enough playing around, let's hurry and go see my master."
So that bitch wants to take Flitz-san away. I was furious now, how dare she lay her hands on Flitz-san!!!
I released my mana and focused it into my palm.
My attributes were light and fire, and the spell I'd use was light, strengthened by combining it with holy magic.
As I concentrated to prepare my spell, I saw Mel glance my way.
But just then, Flitz-san launched an attack at her. She dodged it, and an explosion lit up the sky.
As Mel said something to Flitz-san, I unleashed my spell.
[Holy Magic: Light Shot]
"Tch."
Even though I emphasized speed, she still managed to dodge my attack.
I ran toward Flitz-san, and as I thought, he looked surprised when he saw me.
"Are you all right, Flitz-san?"
I checked his condition—he was badly beaten, and I could see several wounds on his body.
My anger flared seeing Flitz-san in such a state.
"HOW DARE YOUUUU!!!"
I'll kill her, I'll really kill that bitch!!
I released my mana, ready to face her.
"Well, well, how perfect. I'll hand you over to the cult, and I'll take Flitz to my master. Killing two birds with one stone, this is my lucky day..."
Damn, she's seriously underestimating me.
"Hohoho, sorry young lady, but I don't think today is your lucky day!"
At that moment, I saw the arrival of Master Magnus.
**********
With Master Magnus's arrival, the situation was resolved. That bitch Mel fled.
When we returned to the capital, we were greeted by our friends. Agatha-san hugged me, tears streaming down her face with worry.
After this incident, I truly realized how dangerous this world was. I must become stronger—at least strong enough to kick that bitch's ass.