In the following days, Kara and Alice behaved as usual, as if the Saturday conversation never took place. On Sunday morning, Kara visited Alice and her grandmother, and after having breakfast, they went to the city market to buy clothes. As usual, when they went shopping for clothes, Kara bought Alice a small gift.

    With the arrival of Monday, Kara and Alice resumed their journeys through the forests to level up. Alice's storage ring with a capacity of 2 cubic meters had always been helpful to them in the past year, as they could easily store valuable parts from the beasts they defeated. To be honest, Kara could afford to buy one for herself, and if she asked her father, he would immediately bring her one as a gift. The problem was that Kara had never been a fan of jewelry, not even magical ones.

   After five days of being together in the forests, Kara and Alice found themselves again on Friday evening. As soon as they returned to the city, Kara and Alice entered the branch of the Trade Guild to sell the items they obtained that day. After delivering the goods and receiving their payment, the two met Klaus as usual at the exit.

   In the past week, Kara had been paying close attention to Alice's behavior, but she didn't notice anything unusual.

   'I wonder if she really doesn't plan on using me to get closer to Klaus'.

   That's what Kara thought about all day.

  "Good evening, ladies. It seems like you've had another fruitful day...", Klaus greeted them.

   "It was so-so...", Kara replied.

   Although Kara treated him indifferently as usual, Klaus, who had gained immunity in the past year, wasn't discouraged and continued to speak.

   "Kara, I'm sure today will be different. I hope you'll agree to a rematch."

   "Unfortunately, I'm not in the mood today. I've beaten you so many times that it has become boring. Go away..."

   "Heh. Today won't be as easy. I've reached level 20, and my class has advanced. I'm now a Knight."

   Kara wasn't surprised to hear this. Klaus was the son of the wealthiest noble in town. Of course, he had the necessary resources.

   "And what does that have to do with me? I'm sure you have someone else to test your new powers with."

   To Kara's expectations, Alice, who hadn't said a word until then, intervened to mediate the conflict.

   "Kara, even though it would be beneficial for you to gain experience from this fight, I think it's too dangerous. Klaus' class is purely combat-oriented. I'm afraid you might get hurt..."

   Alice's words managed to surprise Kara, but these words also helped her realize why Alice had been so calm all week.

   'No wonder Alice has been so calm. She probably found out from Klaus that he's close to evolving his class after last week's fight when I didn't bother to wait for her. She probably came up with a new strategy even before our conversation. Alice knows me well enough. She knows that the limitations of my class always get on my nerves. She knows this and decided to use it against me. Besides, who would want to appear weak in front of their loved one? Relying on my feelings for her, Alice is confident that I'll accept Klaus' challenge if she shows concern that I might lose. Well done, Alice. Nicely played. Let's see if you'll get what you want by the end of the day.'

   "Okay, Klaus. Let's go to the training field."

    ....................

   After reaching the training field, Klaus entered the locker room to equip himself. While Kara did a short warm-up, Alice continued to express her concern for Kara.

   "Kara, you didn't have to accept. What if you get hurt?"

   "Relax. I've beaten him dozens of times before. It'll be a piece of cake."

   After 10 minutes, Klaus emerged from the locker room with an even more dazzling outfit than before.

   'Wow. He looks like a chandelier from the Temple of the Sun God...'.

   Kara never appreciated such pompous attire that makes you stand out from a hundred meters away.

   "I'm ready, Kara. Let's get started."

   "Come on."

   More confident than ever, Klaus rushed towards Kara at high speed. Kara instantly noticed that Klaus had probably acquired some skill to help him accelerate over short distances despite the added weight of his armor.

   Fortunately for Kara, Klaus' attacks were as predictable as ever. After nearly a year of fighting each other weekly, it was impossible for Klaus to surprise Kara with anything, even if he had become faster.

   Realizing that he couldn't gain an advantage in close combat, Klaus decided to use a new skill he obtained with the evolution of his class, Wind Slash.

   He distanced himself from Kara by about 10 meters, and with a swing of his sword, a blade of wind was unleashed toward Kara.

   Fortunately for Kara, she had suspected from the beginning that Klaus had acquired a skill that allowed him to attack from a distance, so as soon as she saw Klaus swinging his sword, she swiftly dropped to the ground.

   Because they were using blunt weapons, a direct strike with a sword would only leave a scratch at most, but Klaus's wind blade was capable of easily cutting off a person's unprotected hand.

   'What a bastard! If I didn't act quickly, I could have been seriously injured. What does this idiot think, that I could have parried the blow? Does he think this 30-centimeter blunt knife is equivalent to his shield?'

   Kara instantly propelled herself towards Klaus before he could launch another wind blade. Klaus raised his shield to block Kara's attack, expecting her to aim for a joint as she usually would in this situation. But Kara had no intention of targeting any weak points in Klaus's armor. If she wanted to win, she would have done it from the beginning when they exchanged blows at close range. Although Klaus had become stronger, the outcome of this fight had always been in Kara's hands. Her goal from the start was to pretend to lose, thus avoiding Klaus's nagging.

   Once beside Klaus, she leaped and forcefully struck his shield with her knee.

   "Boom!"

   "Ah, my knee, my fucking knee..."

   When Klaus moved the shield aside, he was taken aback by the sight. Kara was rolling on the ground, clutching her knee, which was covered in blood, with tears streaming down her face.

   "Ah, you've become too strong. I tried to throw you off balance, but I couldn't move you even an inch. Ouch. I can't go on. You've defeated me."

   Until now, Klaus saw Kara as a rival, an obstacle to his great destiny, but when he saw her injured on the ground, instead of feeling joy, he felt nothing but regret. No matter how capable Kara may be, she was still just a girl. What true knight would bring a girl into such a situation? Remembering the wind blade he sent flying towards Kara, who had nothing on her to defend herself, Klaus felt increasingly ashamed.

   "Kara, I..."

   Before he could say anything, Alice approached the center of the arena with a smile on her face.

   "Klaus, you've won. I told you that you would succeed in the end. Always..."

   "What are you saying? Is that important?" Klaus shouted. "What kind of friend are you? Can't you see that Kara is hurt? Quickly, bring a potion! Uh, forget it. I have one with me.."

   Klaus immediately took a health potion out of his storage ring, and after pouring the potion into Kara's mouth, he bent down and carried her in his arms like a princess, taking her out of the arena.

   Kara, who at this moment seemed more timid than a rabbit and more delicate than a butterfly's wing, allowed Klaus to carry her to a bench, while Alice was following them, looking at them as if they didn't belong to that world.

   Once seated on the bench, Kara tearfully thanked Klaus and asked him to go rent a carriage for her to go home since her leg needed at least a day of rest to recover.

   "Don't worry. I'll take responsibility and take you home in my carriage. Sam! Bring the carriage here!"

   As Klaus often suffered minor injuries after a fight, his butler, Sam, stood nearby with the carriage ready.

   After a few minutes in which the potion had taken effect, Klaus helped Kara into the carriage, and they left together for Kara's house, without even glancing at Alice.

   Alice remained frozen in place. This outcome had sent her into a true hell. When she saw Klaus defeat Kara, Alice believed that he would be grateful for all her support and that their relationship would become closer. At best, maybe he would confide in her. If not, in the future, relying on the fact that Kara wouldn't accept the last fight between her and Klaus as a defeat and would want a rematch, Alice would accompany Kara when she went to fight again and come up with new strategies to capture Klaus's heart.

   But now Alice found herself in the worst possible situation. Klaus shouted at her for Kara's sake. Moreover, the way Klaus behaves with Kara, his eyes... Things for which she worked for a whole year were achieved by Kara in seconds. Kara only needed to shed a few tears to win Klaus over.

   "She did this on purpose. She wanted to punish me. Kara likes girls, doesn't she? It's impossible for her and Klaus..."

   ..................

   [On the terrace near the training ground]

   "Why don't you want to pay, old man? Wasn't it your idea to place a bet with us? Hand over the money if you want to leave in one piece!"