「Alright… time to explain…」
I turned to face everyone and called for Croco.
「First, the reason I accepted is because Amilia has high combat ability. Also, I can stay hidden in the shadows with Croco.」
Croco’s ability is perfect for infiltration. With the security magic tools and teleportation, there should be no problem.
「Besides, he will probably start talking nonstop anyway. I also want to use Croco’s ability for this.」
I took out a magic tool for voice amplification. The plan was to make my voice reach the entire royal capital.
「I see… that is quite effective…」
「Making the citizens hear it would be effective, but will he actually talk?」
「That depends on Amilia. If she provokes him well, he’ll probably get worked up and spill everything. But don’t push too hard. That kind of tactic can easily backfire.」
Things like the assassination attempt, trapping the bishop, or trying to kill the Saintess. If she brings those up, he’ll probably start shouting right away.
「However, I have never seen Amilia-sama’s true strength…」
Natalia-san looked anxious. No matter how strong someone says they are, it is natural to worry.
「In that case… why don’t we have her spar with my husband?」
「Eh!?」
Natalia-san spoke with a bright smile while Ulberick-san looked shocked.
「Amilia, what do you think?」
「I’m fine with it.」
Amilia grinned. Ulberick-san panicked.
「B-But! I may not look it, but I’m actually pretty strong, you know?」
「It’s alright. I am quite strong myself.」
「Demon King-sama wouldn’t want to see his wife get hurt, right!?」
Ulberick-san looked at me with pleading eyes. I smiled gently in return.
「I don’t want to see her get hurt, but I value her independence more. Besides, I can heal a missing arm or two right away.」
「N-No way…」
Ulberick-san’s wish was completely crushed.
◇◆◇◆
「S-So, you’re really okay with going all out?」
In the open space inside the camp, Amilia and Ulberick-san faced each other. Coincidentally, their stances looked quite similar.
「Their stances are very alike.」
Selene voiced the same thought I had.
「Yes. My husband’s stance was developed by imitating and refining the sword techniques of the 『Sword Saintess』 that his ancestor witnessed.」
「So that means he was influenced by watching Amilia fight?」
「Eh?」
「Huh? Didn’t you say it earlier? She is the 【Sword Saintess】.」
「Wait… wasn’t that just a cover story for the soldiers?」
「No, no. It’s the truth. About two thousand years ago, during the battle to reclaim this country’s royal capital, she was the one who led them to victory.」
「Eeeeeeeeeeeehhhhh!?」
Surprised beyond words, Ulberick-san collapsed right there on the spot. I thought I had already explained it…
「I-I did something like that to the Saintess who saved the country…」
「L-Look, it’s starting!」
The two, who had been standing still, suddenly stepped forward and clashed. One strike, two strikes.
「Haa!」
「Hah!」
――Hyun!――Gakin! ――Hyuhyun!――Gakin!
Heavy sounds rang out as their swords met, scattering sparks.
「Not bad at all! It’s been a while since I’ve gone all out like this!」
「Thank you. But I will also show my true strength now!」
「Eh? Wait!? True strength!?」
Amilia strengthened her body reinforcement. Overflowing magic power rose around her like an aura.
――Hyun!――Gagan! ――Hyun!――Gagagagan!
Her sword speed increased dramatically. Ulberick-san was forced entirely onto the defensive. Gradually, he could no longer block everything, and cuts began to appear on his body.
「Wait! I surrender! I surrreeeender!!」
In the end, Amilia used her sword to wrap around his blade and fling it away. The moment it stabbed into the ground, the match was decided.
◇◆◇◆
「Well then, Amilia, I’m counting on you tomorrow.」
「Yes, leave it to me.」
I returned Amilia’s repaired sword. Natalia-san then approached.
「Um, Amilia-sama, about earlier…」
It seemed she wanted to apologize for her earlier provocative words. While she did that, I repaired Ulberick-san’s sword and other equipment.
「You’re amazing, Demon King-sama…」
「Ahaha, not really.」
From the corner of my eye, I saw Natalia-san had been apologizing nonstop to Amilia for a while now. It looked like it would take a bit longer.
「How was she, Amilia?」
「Wow… her strength was way beyond what I expected… At first I thought I could just go easy and end it quickly, but… she was too strong…」
Ulberick-san muttered, clearly disappointed in himself. Well, when Amilia goes all out, even Liliana and Selene together would have a hard time handling her.
(I think her battle sense might even rival Haruka’s…)
「Well, she is the 【Sword Saintess】 after all.」
「Wait, that was really true? You said it earlier, but…」
「Yes, it is the truth.」
I explained various things to Ulberick-san. As I spoke, his face gradually stiffened.
「So I got to fight the person my ancestor admired… I have to tell my ancestor later. 『The one you aimed for is on a much higher level now.』」
Ulberick-san laughed as he said that.
(Well, Amilia has grown even stronger since she returned here, far surpassing the height her ancestor once aimed for…)
「Anyway, Ulberick-san. Amilia looks completely overwhelmed right now, so let’s go help her.」
She seemed quite troubled. For a while now, Amilia had been glancing at me repeatedly, asking for rescue with her eyes.
「Yeah, we should stop this soon.」
「Right.」
The two of us headed toward Amilia with wry smiles.
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