"That brat!!" Master Wisch was still muttering to himself after Her Highness Elizabeth left.
Gazef was quite helpless. He had originally come today to spar with his master, whom he hadn't seen in a long time, and to check on the old man.
He hadn't expected to… run into Her Highness Elizabeth, and for such a thing to happen. Given his master's personality, he must have said something unpleasant to Her Highness Elizabeth to make her angry.
Even so, Gazef was still a bit curious. With Master Wisch's temper, someone as incredibly strong as Her Highness Elizabeth should have been forcibly taken as a disciple, just like how he was treated before!
Recalling those years, after his previous martial arts competition, as soon as he stepped down from the arena, Master Wisch forcibly dragged him away, completely disregarding his wishes, and without a word, put him through hellish training. However, thanks to Master Wisch's guidance, he now possessed such skills.
"Master Wisch, why didn't you treat Her Highness Elizabeth the way you used to treat me?" Gazef asked.
"Her Highness? It seems that brat has quite a background… But that's none of my business! Gazef, didn't you notice?" Wisch snorted coldly, replying with considerable displeasure.
"Uh… I really didn't notice anything." Gazef recalled the battle just now and shook his head.
From what he observed during the battle, Her Highness Elizabeth's last step backward suggested that her stamina and focus couldn't keep up with Master's speed, and she wanted to retreat to catch her breath and adjust.
Moreover, such obvious fatigue was evident on her face. No matter what… she was still a child, and a magic caster at that, so it was normal for her stamina to be inferior to Master's.
"Gazef… are your eyes blind! That girl is a monster! And a very cunning one at that." Master Wisch said with a gloomy expression.
"What do you mean by that, Master Wisch?" Gazef didn't understand why he was calling Her Highness Elizabeth a monster.
Indeed, during their conversation in the capital, she had admitted to being a non-human alien race, but calling her a monster was a bit excessive.
"Hmph! That brat took a step back at the end, didn't she? That was intentional! She deliberately exposed a weakness to make me attack her further. If I had fallen for it then, I probably would have lost half my old life there. She took so many blows earlier without even blushing or panting, then suddenly collapsed. Does she really think I'm an idiot?!" Master Wisch snorted.
"That shouldn't be the case! Her Highness Elizabeth is quite kind." Gazef didn't believe that Her Highness Elizabeth, who had expressed her unwillingness to see too much slaughter in front of His Majesty the King, would brutally attack his master.
"It seems you know her very well, Gazef?" Master Wisch glanced at Gazef, saying in surprise.
"This is only the second time we've met. The first time was just a greeting, so I can't say I know her well!" Gazef could only answer truthfully.
"Hmph… I don't care what your relationship with that brat is, as long as you're not enemies, that's fine. That brat is not someone you can handle!" Master Wisch left after throwing out this statement.
Enemies?
Gazef was torn between laughter and tears.
To be precise, Her Highness Elizabeth was indeed an enemy, an enemy of the Yestijia Kingdom.
Although he didn't want to, he would sooner or later encounter her or her father, Lord Cong, on the battlefield!
Regardless of who it was, he didn't want to see them on the battlefield. But for His Majesty the King, who had shown him great kindness, he would fight with all his might against any enemy.
Facing Lord Cong, with his unfathomable power, he was certain to face certain death.
Even if death was his destiny, Gazef, whose will had been forged like steel, remained unperturbed.
Not only was Lord Cong as powerful as a god, but his daughter was also so formidable!
Despite her young age and small body, she possessed such strength that even her teacher was no match.
Lord Cong is a magic caster, so the one who taught Her Highness Elizabeth martial arts must be someone else!
To be able to teach Her Highness Elizabeth so exceptionally, although he hadn't met her, Gazef felt that Her Highness Elizabeth's master was ten times stronger than his own Master Wisch.
Why did such an absurd thing seem so logical?
What kind of place was Nazarick, after all?
Facing the impending war, Gazef saw even less hope.
He had wanted to beg Master Wisch to come out and help, but one ant or two ants made no difference to Lord Cong.
It was better to let Master Wisch enjoy his later years!
Gazef bowed to the departing Master Wisch, giving his final farewell, and then turned and left the dojo.
…
"Her Highness Elizabeth, that was intentional just now, wasn't it?" Arshe asked, following Iri and looking at the cheerful Iri.
"Hmm? Intentional what? I wasn't intentional, I was deliberate. And I already told you, just call me Iri when there are no outsiders. There's no need to be so formal." Iri admitted it directly.
She didn't manage to completely annoy that old man just now, but at least she made him angry. So what if he was a former Steel Rank Adventurer! So arrogant!
"Then… Lady Iri." Arshe recalled what Shalltear had said earlier and didn't dare to call Iri by her first name directly.
Well… never mind. As long as you're happy, Lady Arshe. Iri didn't want to fuss too much about titles. Let her call her whatever she likes, hmph hmph! Feeling cheerful.
"Lady Iri, about what happened just now… thank you very much." Arshe remembered that the reason Iri had stormed into that dojo earlier, and even fought with the dojo master, was because she hadn't noticed the person who flew out. Otherwise, Iri wouldn't have stood up for her.
"It's nothing! Anyway, I had a lot of fun, and I even saw Lord Gazef." Iri replied with a smile.
Fun… It really was just for fun! Arshe was a bit unclear about Iri's temper. She would get angry for others almost running into her, and then be happy about taking a small advantage where the other person couldn't retaliate.
Recalling… before:
Iri's confident expression when facing her terrifyingly powerful father.
Her calm and composed demeanor when facing the Emperor of the Empire.
Her serious and earnest expression when discussing war with His Majesty the King.
Her relieved smile when she returned from fighting the Black Scripture of Theocracy alone and saw that everyone was safe.
It was hard to connect that with the little sister currently in front of her, sporting a smug smile. Despite bearing so much, she could still smile so brightly.
She truly admired her for this, if only she didn't have that peculiar liking for girls, but then again, no one is perfect!
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