Kir and Irene
"Well... it's not like the Hero would die just because I targeted him. Instead of killing him with a dagger, I think I'd rather kill him in bed~"
Kir blew me a kiss, then shot a blatant, mocking smirk at Irene.
"What nonsense..."
A sharp gust of wind howled.
As if reacting to Kir's words, the wind blowing around Irene began to swirl, emitting a freezing mist like steam.
Crack, crackle...
The frost radiating from her completely froze the garden trees nearby.
It was as if two wild beasts were flaunting their power to intimidate each other.
Ice Bullets
In that brief instant, ice crystals coalesced around Irene. Hundreds of pea-sized shards of ice materialized and shot straight toward Kir.
Thwip! Thwip! Thwip!
Kir blinked through the air, leaping skyward to dodge the ice flying at her like bullets.
"My, my~ You couldn't even hit me with that? You're clumsier than I thought~ Or is it that being fat makes your magic slow, too?"
"..."
Crack! Crash!
Kir, effortlessly dodging Irene's attacks, provoked her once more.
In response, the temperature plummeted so rapidly that a thick layer of ice began to form around Irene.
"Irene, let me explain. Actually, Kir and I have known each other for a long time. She's been providing information to our party..."
Before Irene could cast an even larger spell, I quickly stepped between them to explain Kir's presence.
Shifting her gaze from Kir to me, Irene glared for a long moment before concentrating mana in her hands once again.
"I don't care anymore whether she's an ally or an enemy."
Creak.
Ice Bullets
Pushing me aside, Irene summoned another barrage of ice shards and launched them at Kir.
Whoosh!
Thud! Clang!
Kir danced through the air, effortlessly evading the relentless hail of ice.
Glacial Block
Boom! Boom! Crash!
Massive chunks of ice the size of boulders materialized around Irene and hurtled toward Kir alongside the ice bullets.
Yet, they only succeeded in demolishing the innocent palace walls; Kir remained completely unscathed.
"Oh dear~ Don't tell me you actually confessed to the Hero with that face?"
"..."
"You didn't? Good for you~ No matter how nice the Hero is, he'd probably be too embarrassed to even be seen with you~"
"..."
Boom! Crash!
The more terrifying Irene's attacks became, the more Kir taunted her while keeping just out of reach.
Irene, who had at least given short retorts at first, fell completely silent.
Blizzard
A sharp gust of wind howled.
Unlike before, a massive amount of mana gathered in Irene's hands. Snow began to drift down from the sky.
It quickly escalated into a heavy snowfall, whipping up a violent blizzard that raged through the garden.
With the wind howling so fiercely that even Kir struggled to keep her footing, and her vision completely obscured, she could no longer slip away as easily.
She focused all her senses on detecting Irene's presence.
Whoosh! Clang!
Moving freely through the whiteout where even I couldn't see a thing, Irene lunged directly at Kir.
Kir tried to dodge with her usual agility, but she was a split second too late and was forced to block the sword with her dagger.
"Ugh..."
With a soft grunt, Kir absorbed the heavy impact and recoiled backward, barely keeping her balance.
Irene readjusted her grip on her sword and pressed the attack.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Unable to move freely within the raging storm, Kir's playful banter died down significantly.
"You're... pretty good."
Clang!
It almost felt as though Irene's strikes grew heavier every time Kir opened her mouth.
"Watch your tongue."
"Why? Did I hit a nerve because I'm right?"
"..."
Irene was genuinely furious.
Yet Kir's provocations showed no signs of stopping.
Crack!
Gritting her teeth, Irene froze the very dagger Kir was using to parry her blade.
Kir quickly discarded the frozen weapon, leaped backward, and drew another dagger from her waist.
"Hey, did you know?"
"..."
"The Hero and I used to live together..."
Clang!
At those words, Irene's grip faltered for a fraction of a second, nearly causing her to drop her sword.
"And we shared the same bed every single night..."
Clang! Clang! Clang!
As if reflecting her inner turmoil, Irene's strikes grew increasingly violent, each blow heavier than the last.
Kir was forced back step by step under the sheer weight of the onslaught.
"I'm pretty sure he's seen me naked more than a few times, too."
"..."
Clang! Clang!
"And he used to carry me princess-style all the time~"
"..."
"Huh?"
For some reason, the raging blizzard began to subside, revealing the two women.
Though their weapons were still locked, Irene's eyes were wide and trembling. The terrifying bloodlust from moments ago had completely vanished.
"Both of you, stop!"
Edwin, who had rushed outside at the sound of the commotion, shouted at the pair.
"What do you think you're doing?!"
At Edwin's furious roar, the two women sheathed their weapons in unison, as if by prior agreement.
Lucia and Clara had also followed Edwin out into the garden.
However, the tense atmosphere Edwin had managed to establish was instantly shattered by Clara's sudden exclamation.
"Wow~ It's snowing!"
The chilling tension from the palace garden soon relocated to my room.
Edwin was seething over the damaged palace, while Kir and Irene did nothing but glare at each other, resentment thick in the air.
"Why on earth were you two fighting? And Carlos, what were you doing instead of stopping them?"
"..."
"..."
"..."
With me getting dragged into the lecture, the room fell into an awkward, suffocating silence.
It remained quiet until Clara and Lucia returned with tea.
"Here, please have some, Carlos. Lucia told me you like this tea."
Clara handed me a cup of lavender tea, purple petals floating gently on the surface.
"You could have had the maids bring it. Why did the Princess..."
"Well, since Kir is here, Lucia and I thought it best to bring it ourselves."
"Ah..."
Since Kir was wearing the Demon King's army uniform and had the distinct skin tone of a dark elf, Clara had personally brought the tea to prevent any rumors from spreading, despite her royal status.
She then set down warm cups of tea for the instigators of the chaos, Irene and Kir.
"I apologize, Your Majesty."
Irene was the first to apologize, as if she had been waiting for the opportunity.
"I did not realize she was an acquaintance of the Hero. I acted rashly upon seeing her black uniform. I sincerely apologize for my lack of discretion."
Faced with such a characteristically polite apology from Irene, Edwin couldn't bring himself to scold her further. Instead, he just glared at me.
"Exactly. It's entirely her fault for attacking blindly without asking questions first."
"..."
Kir just had to keep provoking her.
Irene's brow twitched, though she held her tongue.
"Carlos, do you have nothing to say?"
"Well... I did try to stop them, but they were both too worked up..."
"So the great Hero couldn't even break up a fight between two women?"
"I said I tried..."
"Then it's simple: you take responsibility. I'll just deduct the palace repairs from your pay."
"Wait, they were the ones fighting. Why do I have to pay..."
"Because you're the root cause of all this."
All I did was sleep in my room, talk to Kir on the terrace when she suddenly showed up,
and then get caught in the crossfire when Irene arrived and attacked Kir, resulting in this mess.
No matter how hard I thought about it, I couldn't see how I was at fault.
"No, Your Majesty. I started this, so I will pay for the damages."
At least Irene was insisting on taking responsibility, but...
"It is fine, Commander Irene. Carlos has already agreed to pay."
And just like that, the matter was settled with me taking the fall.
"So, Brother? Is that matter settled then?"
"Yeah. Why?"
"Well... because we still have another matter to discuss."
"??"
Clara glared at Kir, who was casually sipping her tea. Lucia's gaze was also fixed on the dark elf.
"Excuse me... your name is Kir, right?"
"Yes."
"Would you mind having a little chat with us?"
"Pardon?"
I had no idea why Clara, meeting Kir for the first time, was acting like this, but she grabbed Kir's shoulders to prevent her from escaping, smiling even as her eyes flashed.
"I just want to verify the truth of what you said earlier."
"Earlier? What did I say..."
"That... living together with Carlos? Would you care to explain that?"
Irene, who had been quietly listening, slipped over to stand next to Lucia, leaning in to catch every word.
Kir shot me a pleading look, begging for help, but I had absolutely no intention of intervening.
She had dug her own grave. There was no point in asking me for help.
"Did you really live with Carlos?"
"Yes..."
"Where?"
"In his cabin. Um... that gentleman over there came by once, too..."
Kir pointed a finger at Edwin. Instantly, Clara's sharp glare shifted from Kir to her brother.
"Is that true, Brother?"
"Huh? Oh... yeah... Back when you threw a tantrum because I didn't take you with me... I saw her at Carlos's cabin then."
"Oh... is that so? Well then, Brother, you'll need to stay here too."
Clara was practically radiating venom, while Lucia puffed out her cheeks in a cute display of anger.
Caught between them was Irene, sitting with a shell-shocked expression every time the words "living together" were mentioned.
In the end, that night...
no one was allowed to leave my room. We spent the entire night awake as Clara launched a full-scale interrogation of Kir to uncover the absolute truth.