Ars decided to wait outside the temple as I got myself a change of clothes. I earned weird looks from anyone that was fortunate enough to see me at my current state, but I managed to get back to my room without anyone stopping me for an interrogation. Thankfully, Frida was kind enough to give me some spare robes, so I could change right away without asking for a new set of clothes.

Oh, by the way, she was off somewhere, thankfully enough, so I didn't have to explain why I abandoned my chore.

Once back outside, I let him take the lead. We crossed the bridge, pushed the gate open, as you only needed a key to get inside the order and we made our way to the second shrine. As expected, the brat lived in it as well, just like me.

Once we arrived, he made sure to ask permission first from the Champion in charge before going to the dorms. It seemed back then, when I first arrived here, Frida was just taking his morning shift as his presence was required elsewhere. Makes sense. For a guy who's not even a member of the Order to stroll into a girl's room, yeah, really quite easy for a misunderstanding to occur here.

Speaking of that, by how cordially the Champion addressed him by name, it was clear he was a regular. He actually sent more glares towards my direction. Understandable, since I was the person responsible for the current state of mind of his star pupil.

When we reached the brat's private room, as all experts and above have, Ars ordered me to be the one to knock.

"Alright, if you say so. Don't blame me if she isn't answering though," I replied with a smirk.

I walked forward, knocking on the wood loudly and shouting, "Hey, Sara! It's me! The girl who trashed you the other day!"

A rush of steps immediately erupted from behind the door, before flinging the door open, revealing hers truly behind it, in all her pajama-clad glory.

"So you came all the way over here to rub it in, didn’t you? Just so you know, you only won back then because you're lucky! I wasn't taking you seriously enough, that's all!"

Wow, this girl is loud. She's yelling right in front of my face.

"Oh?" My smirk grew. "Does this mean you want a rematch?"

"Yes! I want a rematch! Right now! In front of everyone! Do you know how much grief you’ve caused me because I lost to you?” She pointed her index finger at me.

“Well, it’s not the losing that’s the bad part, I presume. It’s the ‘losing your consciousness then wetting yourself’ part.”

“Y-you! How dare you?” Her face turned red in a flash. “That’s it! When I am through with you, I’ll not only beat you up to a pulp, but I’ll also make you beg for mercy! Not only will I make you wet yourself as well, but I’ll also strip you bare in front of everyone!”

“Feel free to do so. If you can, that is.”

Watching her like this, I can’t help but feel the urge to tease her more and more. It’s like watching a really angry puppy. No amount of barks and growls can make it not cute and adorable.

“Alright, that’s enough. Fiora, you promised that you'd apologize to her, right? Don’t taunt her like this.”

The boyfriend finally decided to step in, producing a yelp from Sara who had not noticed his presence in the slightest.

“A-Ars? W-why are you here?”

“I was the one who fetched her here, Sara,” he explained with a frown. “I’ve made her promise to ask for your forgiveness. So apologize.” He threw a cold glare at my direction. “You’ve promised, remember?”

“Alright, alright. If the boyfriend says so—” I shrugged.

“H-he’s not my boyfriend, you idiot!”

Her face now got even redder.

Ah, I see what's going on here.

"Well then." I gave a deep bow towards the girl. "Apologies for humiliating you back then, Sara. I just had to make a name for myself, you know. The people here… they won't accept me if I don't demonstrate my strength to them. And so you just so happened to be the perfect punching bag, and for that, I apologize."

"P-punching bag? HOW DARE YOU?"

Her hand went forward to grab me on the collar.

Too bad I was ready with a counter.

By simply dodging to the side and using my left foot to trip her, causing her to fall down face first to the floor with her buttocks up in the air.

Naturally, in response to the laws of nature, her pajama dress flipped down.

Revealing the fact that she wasn't wearing any undergarments whatsoever.

Oh my… how lewd~

To think that my first time seeing another girl's flower is from a brat like her... Fate sure works in strange ways.

Hmm, I wonder how he reacts to this sight.

I turned my head to the side and saw him bashfully looking away with blood trickling out of his nose. His face was beet red and as I looked downwards, I could see the tent that had formed in his pants.

Hmph, he actually reacted. That's annoying. He reacted to her but not to me. What, a princess' panty-clad figure isn't good enough for him?

Though this confirms one thing. He most likely does have some attraction to the brat.

Aah, what a shame. I suppose I can't seduce him to be my knight, like I did with that perverted mage brat.

Sara quickly recovered, with her expression now being an extreme mixture of embarrassment and anger.

"Y-You! You did it again! You humiliated me again!"

"Hey, it's not my fault you decided to go commando today."

"I-I didn't! I just forgot to wear them, that's all!"

"Oh? Truly?" A grin grew on my face. "Perhaps you just wanted to seduce your boyfriend by forgoing to wear them? I understand. When I'm around my boyfriend, I like to tease him as well. Give little treats here and there~"

"Shut up! I've had enough of you and your smug little face! Just you wait! I'll hone my skill and I'll reach Champion-rank in no time! And then, I'll challenge you again!"

She then ran back inside her room and slammed the door behind her.

"Ah, there she goes." I folded my arms under my chest, still smirking. "And she just said she's going to challenge me now. I guess not." I turned to face Ars. "This will be enough, right? She should now stop moping around and go back to her old self."

He replied with a sigh. "Fine. Let's go back. I guess you’re the type that can never apologize in earnest.”

“Hmm, perhaps. I don’t think I’ve ever really apologized seriously, with all the crying and stuff. I never have any regrets in all the things I did after all.”

“You’re quite the selfish girl, aren’t you?”

“Of course. You have to be one to be a future empress. Or else you’ll let your subjects rule over you instead of you ruling over them.”

And with that, our short visit to the brat ended. We made our way back to the diamond forest, where we resumed the tasks we each had.

Ars didn’t speak much afterward. I asked him why he hadn’t become a swordsman with all his strength, but he just evaded the question. I asked him how he got so strong but he basically replied that he had been that strong his entire life naturally, which I didn’t really buy for one second. I then jokingly asked why he hadn’t asked Sara out yet but he just replied with a cough and a blush. Ha! He should already be at least sixteen years old but he’s still this naive in the matters of romance! I’m half tempted to be his matchmaker, just for the heck of it!

Only later on, once I returned to the shrine and met up with Frida, that I finally got a clear explanation on his identity.

“Oh, so you’ve met him. And you actually fought him too.” She shook her head. “How reckless.”

She then explained how he was indeed just an ordinary woodcutter. The Order had allowed him to cut down the Diamond Trees for his living. He lived at the base of the mountain, along with his mother and grandmother.

“Just who is he, really? Is he really just a woodcutter?”

“Yes, as far as I know, no one ever taught him how to wield a sword. Or an axe for that matter. He’s just that strong naturally.” A smile then appeared at her face. “Tell me, my pupil. How much do you know about the Legendary Hero? How he started, to be exact?”

“His beginnings?” I raised my eyebrows. “As far as I know from the tales, he’s just some no-name villager before he received the revelation to take arms against the Demon God.”

“So, does the Hero have anyone that taught him swordplay?”

“...No, you can’t be implying—”

“Oh yes, I’m implying exactly that.” Her grin widened.  “That young man, Ars, he’s one of those anomalies. Throughout the ages, there have always been people who held exceptional, almost miraculous talents in many subjects. A great mage who can cast powerful spells at a young age, just like Mira. A powerful swordsman who can beat veteran gladiators without a single day of training, like Arthur, when he first made his way to the capital. Such personages are extremely rare, but nonetheless, they always appeared at every beat of history without fail, bringing great change to the world every time they did. And Ars, he might just be such a personage.”

“...Hmph. “I huffed with disgust. “And yet, he refuses to take the sword. I wonder why. Is he simply such a dull man that he refuses to take the greatness that has been offered to his plate? Or does he have another reason that compels him to desire to stay becoming an ordinary woodcutter for the rest of his days?”

"Well…" The swordmaster took a deep sigh. "Perhaps it's because of his father. He… was murdered by a member of our Order."

I raised my eyebrows.

"A group of drunken swordsmen, our swordsmen, had assaulted his wife one night on her way back home at night. In anger, he tried to retaliate on his own, only to be a target practice for the sharp end of their swords. Of course, we took action once we learned the truth, with Lady Solis ordering their execution, along with some reparative payments to their family. But the wound naturally never healed. And he grew up believing we were no different than them."

The swordmaster turned around, showing her back to me as she gazed upon the rising moon, in quite the melancholic fashion, I might add.

"Ah, that explains it. But how about Sara? How did he meet her?"

"It was a complete accident." Her head turned to face me with a smile. "When she was five, she got herself lost in the village, separated from her father. He found her and ever since then, they have been good friends."

Ah, the classic damsel in distress trope. And that is enough for her to fall for him. How simple.

"Oh, by the way.” The swordmaster folded her arms under her chest with a smirk. “Sara's father is the head of Gazelle school, so you might want to be nicer to her."

"Oh?" I looked up. "Truly? I'm surprised I haven't been visited by him then."

"Well," the swordmaster smiled grimly. "He's not the type to do so. He'd rather have her learn from the experience and grow strong enough to beat you from experience."

"I see." I smirked. "I am quite fortunate then."

"Well, enough of standing around talking! Let's have dinner, shall we?"

And so the day ended, with me learning of the strange and curious existence of a young man named Ars. A bile of jealousy rose from my stomach when I thought how he got so strong without any training, but I had to endure years of harsh training just to get to where I was now. But I chastised myself. He may have a talent rivaling the Legendary Hero himself but if he doesn't have the drive to use it, then it just becomes a worthless gift. I should be happy I was blessed with a strong and stubborn will, or I wouldn't have gotten this far.

Still, as I laid down on my bed, my mind played back the fight between us. And when it came to a close with him undressing me…

Haah, why am I getting turned on by it?

If only it was him instead… he would have ravaged me with those perverted eyes…

My right hand slid down between my legs. I began pressing into my panty-clad girlhood, using two fingers to rub it back and forth.

Haah… aahhmmm…

And just like that, I began pleasuring myself, imagining him ripping off my clothes over and over with his spells in various situations: in the middle of a fight, while I was relaying orders in front of my servants, in the eve of a ballroom, and even when I was making a public speech in front of my subjects.

I believe this is what they call exhibitionism. Thanks to him, I have awakened to this hobby.

I rubbed my labia faster, moving my hip up and down in the process.

A girl needs her relief after all, and ever since I met him, it seems a lot of my fantasies ended up involving him one way or the other. How curious.

I soon finished with a muffled sigh, feeling the wet stickiness spreading into my underwear and fingers.

I sat up to inspect the damage. Hmph, there's a wet spot on the front of my robe now.

And so I opted to not change out of my wardrobe. Instead, I went for round two, this time while massaging my chest as well.

I continued the process until I fell asleep with soiled clothes. Oh well, we were responsible for our own laundry, so there was no problem with me just washing them up the next morning.

----------

A year has passed since then.

First of all, in just six months, Sara actually managed to climb up to Champion-rank. That resulted in her demanding rematches over and over, only to find that she was defeated every single time. After all, I was growing as well, as a swordswoman, and as a woman as well. Still, the gap between us was actually closing, which quite concerned me if I have to be honest. She too trained day and night, still keeping her resolve to beat me, whom she had declared to be her rival.

As for Ars, he’s still playing the woodcutter. No matter what I said to rouse his spirit, he wouldn’t budge, even when I promised him wealth and fame if he were to become my knight and train himself properly in the way of the sword. Such a stubborn man.

Every month, I was granted leave to visit the village at the base of the mountain. And there, I witnessed the progress of Helen and her swordsmanship.

Or that’s what I thought, until she told us that she had opted to hone her skill in daggers instead. Better for her to continue what she already knew instead of learning a new martial art skill entirely.

And from who she would learn it, you might ask? Why, from the Order itself. It actually had a branch school of sorts that was dedicated to non-sword fighting, That included the art of daggers. However, since it wasn’t focused on the way of the sword, it didn’t have a place in the so-called holy mountain, so they had to build their shrine at the village. The irony is that Galahad himself used to be a bard before taking up the sword. That's why the Four Shrines were named such, even though we weren't learning any musical instruments there.

Discrimination born out of foolish tradition? Perhaps. But I don’t really care where you learn, as long as you still have a competent teacher. As her teacher was this fighting bard whose nicknames was the Bard of A Thousand Instruments. Not just musical instruments, mind you, but weaponry as well, including bows, chakrams, daggers, etc. They even said he could kill with just his lyre, though I had no idea how he could accomplish such a feat, other than playing a tune that was so bad it just killed his enemies. Well, I guess bashing someone’s had in with a blunt object works quite well as well. 

As for Nicole, well, she had left a long time ago to resume her pilgrimage. I just hope she remembers everything Helen had told her. The road can be dangerous, especially to a kind and pure girl like her.

There was one thing I wasn’t pleased about, however.

It was when my old master decided to come all the way here and pay me a visit.

-------------

It happened around the first couple months from when I was accepted into the Order.

When I was in the middle of my training with Frida, at the middle of the Peacock pagoda, she walked in without any fanfare, wearing her full set of silver armor as she always did.

I first thought I was hallucinating. But when the other students all fell silent and went into whispers at her presence, followed by Frida walking up to her and starting a conversation, I knew she was real. The sound of her heavy armor was unmistakable. I’ve heard that clanking of steel so many times before.

Frida glanced towards me, before gesturing towards me to come. I kept my eyes on my old mentor, however, since I had a pretty good idea why she was here.

“What do you want?” I said to her once we got close. “Came here by their order, don’t you?”

“You are right,” she answered without a pause. As blunt as always. Her blank expression didn’t even change a bit. “I am here to bring you back to the Royal Palace.”

“Well, no, I’m not going to. If I go back there, you know what would happen to me, sooner or later, don’t you? How cruel, asking for your own pupil to die. But then again, that’s what you knights do, don’t you, just doing whatever your master bids you to do.”  I sneered at the older woman.

“...I see. Then, I suppose I would have to bring you back by force.”

The moment she finished uttering those words, two events simultaneously happened.

I immediately backed off, putting as much distance between us as I could.

And Frida—she drew her blade faster than one could blink, pressing the cold steel right at the woman’s neck.

“I’m sorry, Gloria, but she belongs to the Order now. The Empire does not have authority over the Order, in case you don’t remember.”

“Frida,” the imperial knight replied, not the slightest look of fear drawn on her face. “Does your mistress believe it is wise to harbor her amongst your midst?”

“Of course. We have no interest in your little power struggle. Anyone who has a love for the sword will be accepted here, even an Imperial Princess.”

“...Very well. Then I shall merely leave you this message, written by Lady Rhea herself."

She took out a sealed letter from the small pouch she had on her waist. She then gave it to Frida, who promptly put it into her pocket.

"Goodbye, Fiora."

And just like that, she left, with her white cloak and long golden hair billowing in the wind.

What's inside the letter, you may ask? Why, just Rhea telling me that she misses me very much and that she wants me to return back home. It was written in such a sickeningly sweet way that it could only be one big ironic joke from her.

...Ha, I get it. She herself was the actual message, that if the Order were to stand with me, they would not hesitate to crush it with the full might of the Imperial Knights.

Too bad I have endeared myself enough with Frida that she won’t hesitate to defend me like that.

--------------

Oh, right, it's time for me to meet them.

Since a year has passed, it was time for me to meet up with those assassins. I wonder what news of the world they have in store for me.

I made my way all the way back to the bridge—the one we had our fight in. It was now fixed, thankfully enough, since merchants and travelers needed to use it to enter the Order's territory. As promised, I went to the other side where they should be waiting. It was exactly one year since I decided to spare them, and around the same hour as well, judging by the sun.

The moment I stepped on the other side, a familiar figure jumped out from behind the large rock to the side of the road. The blue-haired catfolk promptly kneeled though without lowering his head, as he flashed me a sight of his slightly yellowed teeth.

And then, he began his report. First things first. To summarize, there were no significant changes in the Empire’s political condition. My brother and sister—they were still locked in a stalemate of a sort, unable to really move against each other in any meaningful way. And it seemed they had abandoned the idea of assassinating me, at least for the moment. They knew they didn’t want to anger the Order.

The next important thing was, of course, him. To my surprise, he had made a mess out of himself in such a manner that defied belief. He had foolishly painted himself a big, fat target on his back by rescuing a necromancer from the clutches of the Church’s inquisitors.

“I see. Was the necromancer a male or a female?”

“A female?”

“Was she pretty?”

“Very. She’s well-known in the court for flirting her way into the position of a court mage. And she always wore outfits that emphasized her ample breasts and long, smooth legs.”

“...Ah, that explains it then.”

I groaned. Oh, Hugo, you said you’re going to be faithful to that girlfriend of yours, and now you’re throwing your life away to save some random necromancer girl? I know you’re a pervert, but I don’t think you’re a reckless idiot as well.

This is going to make it much more difficult if I were to have you as my knight in the future. I need the Church’s approval to gain the throne after all. How would I get them to forgive you after you killed a bunch of their elite inquisitors?

...Well, one thing comes to mind. If you, say, slay a Demon Lord, that might work. Ha! That means it’s killing two birds with one stone then! I just have to make sure everyone knows it was us who killed them!

Other than that, he had gained the nickname the “Divine Tempest”, after he defeated a dragon and its horde on his own, saving an entire adventuring clan in the process. Well done! You’ve gotten even stronger, didn’t you, Hugo?

“And his current whereabouts?”

“We haven’t been able to ascertain that, regrettably. But since there are no rumors about the Church capturing him, you can rest assured that he’s still alive somewhere.”

“Good. Sent one of your men to the Demon Continent to keep an ear on him and his shenanigans. He should already be there if he’s smart.”

“Of course, Milady.”

After that, the topic moved to the general situation of the various kingdoms and nations that existed in the Holy Continent. Just the usual politics stuff a future empress like me had to pay attention to.

We finished our talk a couple of hours later. The assassin-turned-informant then excused himself, promising that he would return the next year at the same place, day and hour.

“Hold on.” I stopped him before he could leave. “You’re not going to ask me for payment or anything?”

“You can do that later, Milady,” he replied with a grin. “As long as you keep your promise, we are happy to serve you without pay. And besides, working as a spy has been far more interesting than we all expected.”

“Good,” I smirked. “Then, you know your orders.”

The assassin left, leaving me alone with my own thoughts.

Hmph, a necromancer, huh? Do you have to go after the weird ones? Not to mention how old she is compared to you.

The catman said she had a good reputation among the people, how she cured a plague and gave out medicinal potions for free. Perhaps that's why you decided to save her? You were charmed by her kindness? Or did you fall for her seduction? Perhaps even to the point of losing your virginity to her? Just after I told you not to give it to some random girl you met on the road too… I'll be upset if you did, since this means I simply didn't seduce you hard enough, out of respect for that girlfriend of yours.

Still, killing a dragon, eh? I should do that too. Not sure if I'm strong enough for it though. Are there even any dragons around this region?

With a smirk on my face, and a renewed spring on my steps, I made my way back to the mountain, sprinting all the way there as fast as I could.

No time to stand around here. I have to continue refining myself.

When we meet again, I shall be like a diamond, shining so brilliantly over any other jewels that he won't be able to resist devoting his life to my service.

And then, together, the Empire shall be ours.