At that very moment, deep within the courtyard of the Silverash Clan estate...
A violent clash raged between Degenbrecher and Blaze. The metallic screech of colliding steel rang louder than a symphonic concert, pierced constantly by the thundering roar of the heavy chainsaw-sword in Blaze's hands.
Surrounding them was a swath of shattered masonry and collapsed timber—the remnants of what had once been a polished stone wall. Both women bore fresh cuts and torn coats, breathing heavily as their eyes remained locked on each other's slightest movements.
What a persistent nuisance... Degenbrecher thought, wiping a smear of blood from her cheek.
She was genuinely taken aback that this Feline operator from Rhodes Island could go toe-to-toe with her for so long. She had expected to wrap up the duel in twenty minutes at most, yet the girl had stubbornly endured for nearly an hour.
Still, Blaze's physical energy was clearly nearing its limit. Five more minutes... no, fifteen minutes, and the bout would be decided.
Degenbrecher shifted her weight slightly, feeling a sharp twinge of pain radiate through her side. The internal injuries Jeanne had inflicted on her previously hadn't fully healed; she still had to restrain her broader, heavier swings.
"You're remarkably tough," Blaze panted, resting the whirring teeth of her chainsaw on the cracked pavement. "So this is the legendary three-time champion of the Major?"
Back at Rhodes Island, Blaze had sparred with Nearl—who had also won the Grand Championship—but there was a distinct, subtle difference in raw pressure between Nearl and the woman standing before her now.
"You aren't half bad yourself," Degenbrecher replied smoothly, taking advantage of the pause to catch her breath. "Are all operators at Rhodes Island built like you?"
"Haha! I'm an Elite Operator," Blaze grinned proudly, puffing out her chest without the slightest hint of modesty. "Naturally, I've got to be a cut above the rest!"
"I see..." Degenbrecher started, but paused as the Terminal at her waist vibrated frantically.
At the same time, Blaze noticed her own device buzzing atop a nearby stone pillar. To prevent her Terminal from getting pulverized in the fray—which would mean paying out of pocket for repairs back at the landship—Blaze had set it aside earlier, leaving it ringing unanswered until now.
Both women answered their respective calls, receiving the exact same update: the crisis on the mountain pass had been resolved without a single drop of war blood shed. The fighting here was officially pointless.
"Well... receiving news like this out of nowhere is certainly unexpected," Blaze muttered, lowering her weapon.
"Indeed," Degenbrecher noted dryly, looking around at the rubble. "From a practical standpoint, it appears we simply demolished several perfectly good buildings for nothing."
An awkward silence fell over the courtyard. Caught up in the heat of combat, both had completely forgotten why they had started swinging at each other in the first place.
"So, what now?" Blaze asked, turning off her chainsaw's engine. "Are you heading out to greet your boss?"
"No. There's little I can do over there anyway," Degenbrecher replied, rolling her shoulders. She looked at Blaze with a spark of lingering excitement in her eyes. "How about... we grab a quick bite, find an open field, and finish what we started?"
Rarely did she encounter an opponent capable of pushing her this far. After her overwhelming defeat at Jeanne's hands, Degenbrecher needed a proper, balanced contest to shake off the lingering shadow in her mind.
She needed to remind herself that Jeanne was an anomaly on this continent—that most formidable warriors still operated within normal limits.
Lately, every time she closed her eyes during training, that terrifying woman's image would surface... Degenbrecher shook her head vigorously, driving the thought away.
"Ha! If you're offering, I'm more than down!" Blaze laughed heartily. "Fighting someone of your caliber is a rare treat!"
"Only someone like you would call it a treat," Degenbrecher shook her head with a faint smile. "Back in Kazimierz , whenever knights saw me step onto the arena floor, their expressions looked like they were about to burst into tears."
She studied Blaze's battle stance for a moment before adding, "Next time, bring out your full strength. You look like someone who relies heavily on Originium Arts, so why held back your Arts earlier?"
"My Arts aren't really built for subtle duels," Blaze explained as they turned to leave. "They don't alter the flow of a fistfight much, so I figured I'd focus purely on physical technique against you..."
Leaving the ruined courtyard behind, the two walked off toward the manor's kitchens, leaving the family accountant staring at the wreckage in absolute despair, frantically calculating the repair costs.
About an hour later, news swept through the valley town: the search parties had safely returned, bringing back the long-missing head of the Silverash Clan.
The official story circulated among the populace was that Enciodes's train had been ambushed by vicious mountain beasts resembling the legendary Tschäggättä, causing an explosion that destroyed the locomotive.
However, as a leader blessed by Kjeragandr, Enciodes and his retainers had survived, eventually encountering the displaced workers in the high passes and guiding them through the blizzard while fending off the beasts.
Earlier today, the combined forces of the Tri-Clan Council, under the guidance of the Saintess, had completely eradicated the Tschäggättä threat, ensuring the monsters would never endanger Kjerag again.
Because many warriors had sustained injuries during the desperate hunt, only a small vanguard had returned first to deliver the joyous news.
With that single narrative, every recent anomaly—from the train explosion to the fire near the Vine-Bear Court—was neatly wrapped up and laid to rest. Kjerag was returning to its steady, familiar rhythm.
Standing before the crowd, Enciodes publicly announced that now that the mountain threat was cleared, the industrial factories would resume operations shortly. His words drew enthusiastic cheers from the gathered laborers, who celebrated the return of their livelihoods.
As for the underlying political maneuvering or the strained, constipated expressions on the faces of returning noble guards, none of the common folk cared. The good news of the day was more than enough to ignite a festive mood.
"And that's how it wrapped up," Jeanne explained, having left the celebratory crowd behind to find Alina waiting near the town square. "The whole crisis was pinned on the Tschäggättä. Now that the 'monsters' are slain, Kjerag goes back to normal."
Alina had been waiting quietly in town. Had Degenbrecher fielded additional forces that Blaze couldn't handle, Alina had been prepared to step in with support. Though she wasn't a front-line fighter, her holy arts provided exceptional defensive utility.
"Is it truly over, then?" Alina asked, watching the crowd of townspeople cheering in blissful ignorance.
She understood the political necessity of the cover story, yet seeing the public celebrate a grand lie left a faint, uncomfortable ache in her heart.
"To cover up a political struggle with a fable... for those who yearned for the raw truth, doesn't it feel a bit cruel?"
"It's true. Deceiving these people feels unfair to those who genuinely seek the truth," Jeanne agreed softly, gazing out the window. "Yet what the common folk of Kjerag truly long for is to see the Tri-Clan Council leading their home forward in harmony. For the people living here today, this compromise really is the best possible outcome."
Jeanne looked at the situation with a calm, accepting mindset. Since the crisis had concluded on a positive note, there was little sense in tearing open old wounds or forcing raw political realities onto people who were not yet ready to process them.
"Still, you certainly never rest," Alina noted, resting her head gently against Jeanne's shoulder as they sat together by the window sill, listening to the soft crackle of firewood burning in the hearth. "You said we were coming out here for a vacation, yet the moment trouble started, you jumped right into the middle of affairs that weren't even yours."
Compared to the boisterous cheers echoing from the town square below, their room felt cozy and still—so peaceful that even the soft rhythm of their breathing was clear and distinct.
"Who knows?" Jeanne chuckled faintly. "I simply don't like seeing unnecessary bloodshed. Especially when both sides were genuinely fighting for the future of their nation—they were merely standing on different peaks, looking at different horizons."
Had this been some despicable scheme hatched by corrupt politicians, Jeanne wouldn't have lifted a single finger to help. But through her interactions with them, she knew that the chiefs of the three great houses—Enciodes, Arctosz, and Ratatos—each held the welfare of Kjerag deep in their hearts.
They had suffered from years of isolation and miscommunication born of clan rivalries. A clash had seemed almost inevitable, which made being able to avert the tragedy feel all the more rewarding.
"You really... when are you going to stop worrying so much about others and care a little more about yourself?" Alina murmured, her fingers gently threading through Jeanne's smooth, platinum-blonde hair with deep tenderness. "You're only one person. Why do you always shoulder so much heavy weight?"
She felt a quiet pang of affection for the girl. Jeanne was always looking out for those around her while completely disregarding her own burdens. Had she been anyone else, carrying on like that would have led to disaster long ago.
"Maybe... because I just can't bear to watch tragic endings unfold," Jeanne replied softly, her eyes reflecting the warm glow of the fire. "Perhaps that's the exact reason why, when I came to this land, a higher calling was placed in my hands once more."
"There you go again," Alina teased gently, her fingers turning Jeanne's face so their eyes met. "You didn't make those choices simply because of some divine calling."
Studying Jeanne's face up close, Alina caught a subtle trace of faint fatigue deep within her eyes—a quiet softness that replaced her usual vibrant energy.
"What are you staring at?" Jeanne asked, her cheeks flushing slightly under Alina's intense, unblinking gaze. She averted her eyes in sudden, flustered embarrassment.
"I'm just looking at you. Nothing more," Alina replied smoothly.
Her tone remained as gentle and quiet as ever, yet today, her words carried a subtle, intimate warmth that made Jeanne's heart skip a beat.
Seeing Jeanne's flustered reaction, Alina tilted her head slightly, admiring the young woman whose appearance hadn't aged a single day over the years. While both she and Talulah were gradually growing into mature adulthood, Jeanne remained frozen, as though time itself had paused for her.
"Could you... stop staring like that?" Jeanne mumbled, "It feels a bit... strange."
"What's strange about it? I don't mind at all," Alina smiled softly.
Instead of drawing back, she brought both hands up to gently frame Jeanne's cheeks. A flicker of quiet hesitation passed through her soft eyes. She warred with herself for a brief second, feeling that what she was about to do might cross a boundary, yet the thought of letting this moment pass filled her with quiet reluctance.
"Jeanne," Alina asked softly, keeping her hands held gently against Jeanne's cheeks, "how do you view... matters of the heart?"
It was a question she had carried deep within her chest for a very long time.
"Matters of the heart...?" Jeanne scratched her head awkwardly, finding herself completely out of her depth. "I've never really thought about romantic things before. You could say I have zero concept of how any of that works."
She could tell Alina was acting differently today, though she couldn't quite pinpoint what had triggered the change.
The vague answer was clearly not what Alina hoped to hear, and a tiny, playful smile appeared on her lips.
"Then... if you were to fall in love with someone, what kind of person would you choose?"
This time, Jeanne fell entirely silent. Even with zero romantic experience to her name, she wasn't so dense as to miss the clear implication behind Alina's words.
"Alina, you..." Jeanne's eyes widened as the realization hit her, her mind racing in surprise. "To be honest... I don't really know. I don't have experience with this. But... I suppose it would have to be someone I feel comfortable being around."
Jeanne's gaze fluttered nervously as a sudden wave of panic washed over her. She had no idea how to handle a situation like this—even her divine instincts offered no guidance, leaving her mind practically frozen in place!
Should she pull back? Yet as she searched her own feelings, she realized she didn't feel any true aversion or disgust—only sudden, overwhelming confusion at how fast things were moving.
Noticing that Jeanne showed no sign of rejection or distaste, the soft smile on Alina's face deepened into genuine warmth. As long as Jeanne didn't dislike her closeness, that was more than enough.
Right now, Jeanne's heart when it came to romance was completely untamed and pure. Since she didn't know how to navigate these emotions, Alina was more than willing to guide her step by step.
A bold, sweet thought began to blossom inside Alina's mind. Originally, she had simply intended to express her long-held feelings and gently lay them to rest. But seeing how receptive Jeanne truly was...
Why shouldn't she take this chance?
Everyone else in town was occupied with the aftermath of the crisis, and no one would come to disturb them for the rest of the day.
The idea fluttered in her chest like a tiny butterfly, until finally, Alina made a bold decision. Leaning forward, her eyes fixed on Jeanne's lips, she closed the remaining distance...
"Mmm—?!"
Jeanne's eyes snapped wide open in total shock at Alina's sudden boldness. She sat completely frozen for several long seconds before finally turning her head away, her face burning a deep, bright crimson.
"Look at you, your face is completely red!" Alina giggled softly, cupping Jeanne's flushed cheeks with both hands, finding her flustered expression endlessly endearing.
"So then..." Alina whispered, her eyes shining with quiet affection as she leaned in close once more, "shall we try stepping into something a bit more adult?"
Having come this far, there was no way Alina was going to let the opportunity slip away.
(Fumina: Rest in peace...Talulah.)