Chapter 147. The Story of the Princess Escaping the Demon King’s Castle to Save the Hero (3)
Tap, tap-.
The white piece and the black piece switched places effortlessly.
Fritz and Yulia.
The young sages of the Sing family continued their exchange of moves with slightly disinterested expressions.
The silence stretched on as everyone around them quietly observed their chess game.
It was then that Yulia spoke up.
“You’re really annoying. Is it that fun to tease your little sister? Did you join this time just to mock me?”
Despite her words, her hands continued to move the pieces without pause.
Fritz moved his piece as well and responded.
“Oh, absolutely. It’s fun, really fun.”
“If you have time to tease your sister, why not help the Bluebird?”
“I don’t have that much time. Besides, I’m not here just to mess around. I’m here on official business.”
“You’re playing a Demon Army minion in this quest?”
“A minion? You’ve got no eye for these things. Do you really think I’d take on such a minor role?”
“Nope, it totally looks like you’re just a Demon Army minion.”
“I’m not a minion; I’m playing the role of the Demon King’s right hand.”
Tap, tap, tap-.
As they exchanged their rapid moves, the spectators shook their heads at the incredible speed at which the siblings played.
To them, though, this was just another ordinary day, as they continued their conversation nonchalantly.
“Alright then, Mr. Demon King’s right hand, Fritz? So, did you design this quest?”
“What are you talking about?”
“Do you think I wouldn’t know? Among the fifth-year completion tasks, there’s one where you have to design a quest yourself, right?”
“Yeah, there is. Though it’s not a required task.”
“That’s why I’m asking. Did you design this ‘Save the Princess’ quest?”
“Who knows?”
“No, it’s fine. You don’t need to answer. If you had designed it, it wouldn’t be this sloppy. You must be helping someone else with it.”
“Haha, sloppy? That friend of mine would be hurt if they heard that.”
Fritz didn’t directly confirm Yulia’s guess but hinted at it.
Tap, tap, tap-.
“So, how much did you help?”
“Hey, you dimwit, since when did our family start begging for answers first? It’s one thing to solve the problem and ask me to check it, but…”
It was his way of saying she shouldn’t look to him for answers and should submit her own solution first.
Yulia pouted slightly and then offered her own response.
“If I had to guess, your friend did the overall design, and you just fine-tuned a few details, right?”
“Really? How do you think I fine-tuned it?”
Fritz shrugged playfully.
Recalling Fritz’s arrival and the things he had said, Yulia responded.
“A trial… I bet you created a trial aligned with some odd setting. This first stage tests those who think with their heads, right?”
“Does it? Well, let’s say so. But if it’s the first stage, it means you think there’s more, huh? What do you think the next stage is?”
“Isn’t it obvious? It has to be something physical, right?”
It was like they were confirming the right answer, or perhaps avoiding giving a direct answer.
Even as their odd conversation continued, they kept questioning each other.
“A trial that tests physical skills… It could be that, or it might not be. So who do you think is in charge of the next trial?”
“That’s obvious, too. Your friend who planned this weird quest, who else?”
“My friend? Which one?”
Fritz asked as he swiftly moved his rook.
Tap-.
Fritz’s rook knocked over Yulia’s pawn.
Yulia, who had been quietly watching, picked up her white knight with a calm expression.
She captured the black rook and answered.
“Vangelis Aniston.”
Tap-.
“…What should we do?”
Jerry rolled his eyes and asked.
He was also well aware of the rumors surrounding Vangelis Aniston, who stood before him.
The Aniston family, known for its matriarchal tradition.
Vangelis was the second daughter of the head of the family and was renowned for her talent and skill, so much so that she was seen as a threat to the position of the eldest daughter.
As if to prove this, she had never once lost the top spot among the 46th class.
It was only natural for Jerry to feel flustered with someone like Vangelis blocking their way.
On the other hand, Theresia calmly asked.
“What does it mean that we have to play with you if we want to pass?”
Vangelis smiled and replied.
“It’s simple. If someone steps up and exchanges one blow with me, I’ll let one person through for each blow.”
“Does that mean the person who exchanges blows can only challenge once?”
“No, you can try as many times as you want, as long as you can handle it.”
Vangelis wore a relaxed smile.
Seeing that smile, Theresia stepped forward without hesitation.
“I’ll take it, Senior’s attack. Honestly, I’ve been wanting to fight you at least once.”
A powerful aura rose from Theresia’s poised figure.
Vangelis smirked at the provocative energy from her junior.
“Is that so?”
Sensing the atmosphere between the two, Jerry quickly stepped aside, and Vangelis’s energy grew even more intense.
“What a coincidence. I’ve been wanting to have a proper bout with my junior, too. I’ve been curious about the Winchester family’s spear technique that’s so renowned.”
The Winchester family had dedicated itself solely to spear techniques.
In contrast, the Aniston family’s spear technique was just one among many of their main skills.
Because of this, public opinion was that the Aniston family’s spear techniques lagged behind those of the Winchesters.
Vangelis didn’t like this general view.
She didn’t think Aniston’s spear techniques were inferior to Winchester’s.
In fact, she was confident they were superior.
‘A person who digs many wells can’t dig as deep as someone who digs only one, but they can get much more water.’
Just digging deep doesn’t necessarily yield more water.
To obtain more water, you have to dig many wells to the depth where water can be found.
‘Our spear techniques may lack the depth of Winchester’s, but….’
A fierce light flickered in Vangelis’s eyes.
She strongly pushed off the ground and surged toward Theresia.
‘…We are never inferior when it comes to strength!’
Boom!
A tremendous crash echoed.
In an instant, Vangelis reached Theresia’s front.
The spear, half-resting on Vangelis’s shoulder, swung like lightning.
Whoosh-.
With her charging speed and formidable strength, Vangelis’s spear cut through the air, rushing toward Theresia.
From above to below.
Seeing the spear descend perfectly vertically, Theresia’s eyes widened.
‘This is…?!’
What came at her was not the spearhead but the spear shaft.
Of course, using a spear didn’t always mean attacking with the spearhead alone.
Attacks utilizing the spear shaft were also common.
However, Theresia felt something distinctly different in Vangelis’s spear technique.
It felt as if the spear flying towards her was not a spear but a massive sword.
Theresia wanted to delve deeper into analyzing that strange sensation, but the rapidly approaching attack carried an overwhelming power that couldn’t be ignored.
In the moment she sensed danger, Theresia’s mana surged violently like a torrent, coursing powerfully through her mana road.
Then.
Whoosh-.
Vangelis’s spear swept through the space where Theresia had just stood.
But there was no sound of impact.
Theresia’s figure wavered like a mirage.
Soon, she reappeared as a silhouette of a shadow, springing up from an empty spot to her right.
At that moment, Vangelis’s spear, which had been descending vertically, stopped precisely one centimeter above the ground.
Bang!
A powerful shockwave erupted from the point where the spear halted.
Crack-.
The ground where Theresia had stood moments ago caved in.
It was merely the shockwave that caused a portion of the ground to collapse.
It was an incredible display of power.
“Hmm…”
Vangelis watched with interest as Theresia easily escaped her attack without much difficulty, her eyes sparkling with intrigue.
“Is that the famous Winchesters’ Spear Mirage?”
Slightly impressed, Vangelis withdrew her spear and gestured behind her.
“You’ve fought well enough, so I’ll let one person pass. Who’s going?”
Seeing Vangelis’s confident expression, Theresia instinctively realized something.
If that previous strike wasn’t Vangelis’s full strength, and if she were to get faster and stronger…
Then among the 49th class that followed, there would be no one who could withstand a single exchange with Vangelis.
So Theresia spoke to Jerry.
“I’ll stay.”
“What are you planning to do?”
“If you need to withstand a strike to pass, none of the cadets coming after us will make it through.”
“…So?”
“I’ll stay here and make sure the others following us get through.”
It was Theresia’s way of saying she would take responsibility for this trial herself.
Much like Yulia was playing chess against Fritz in the first trial, allowing others to advance.
Theresia’s eyes were filled with determination.
“Maybe Yulia anticipated something like this, which is why she sent us ahead even though she could have sent many at once from the first trial.”
Jerry nodded, agreeing that if it were Yulia Sing, that possibility was likely.
“Maybe… it could be.”
“Then this is where I’m meant to be.”
“……”
“So go on ahead. I’ll get the others through and catch up later.”
Hearing Theresia’s firm voice, Jerry nodded reluctantly and began making his way up the path that the Black Sword Corps had cleared.
With Jerry gone, Vangelis, having heard their conversation, looked at the now solitary Theresia and brightened.
“This is great! It means I get to keep fighting you, doesn’t it?”
“……”
“You must have sensed it, but that was just a light greeting. Now that the introductions are over, shall we get serious? Can you handle this alone?”
Seeing Vangelis’s deepening smile, Theresia’s lips curled slightly.
“The best fun is always enjoyed alone.”
Theresia’s smile, strangely enough, bore a strong resemblance to Yuri’s.
After passing through the second trial, Jerry ran alone through the forest path with a slightly troubled expression.
His face looked a bit conflicted, as if he was grappling with some inner dilemma.
Yet, he didn’t stop running.
Continuing steadily up the path, he eventually came to a halt when confronted by two signs.
“What… What is this…?!”
Jerry’s eyes widened as if there was an earthquake, trembling as he read the words on the signs.
Jerry and Theresia.
Even though not much time had passed since the two forerunners set off, the number of people remaining in the clearing had significantly dwindled.
Yulia had continued sending black pieces forward.
As a result, several white and black pieces were missing from the sides of the chessboard.
Ten black pieces.
Eight white pieces.
Despite being behind in the count of captured pieces, Fritz remained composed.
Tap-.
“Not bad. You’ve really improved, haven’t you?”
It could have been a compliment on her chess skills.
Or perhaps a praise for Yulia’s precise understanding of the current quest.
Holding up a black bishop, Fritz asked.
“Well, so as you said, if there’s a trial for the mind and one for the body, how many do you think will actually make it through and reach the Demon King’s castle?”
Tap-.
Fritz placed the bishop diagonally in front of the white king.
Check.
Yulia looked at the bishop threatening her king with an exasperated expression.
“Wow, look at you being all sly.”
“Sly? Me? Where would you find someone as pure as me in this world?”
“You’re shameless. Like I’ve only fallen for it once or twice? No matter how sloppy the quest is, since you’ve meddled with it, are there really just two trials? I bet there’s one more.”
“Oh? What do you think it might be?”
“If the previous trials tested the mind and the body… the next one is obvious.”
Yulia lightly lifted the white king.
“A trial that tests the heart.”
Tap-.
The white king moved one square over, easily escaping the bishop’s check.