Chapter 12: Where to go?
The pink-haired girl wielded a clearly high-grade magic sword, sparks crackling wildly around her.
She effortlessly knocked down a few knights, then shot a teasing glance at the boy who had just broken through the encirclement.
Flo was surprised by the girl’s appearance, yet it felt oddly expected.
He believed that, given her character, she wouldn’t ignore something like this happening in her family’s territory.
What really got to Flo, though, was that he’d already fought his way out, and now she shows up?
Wasn’t that a bit too dramatic?
“Well? Is Pointy-Ears so moved by my arrival that you’re about to cry?”
Flo’s face darkened as he let out a dry laugh.
This girl was shameless!
“Hmph, thanks a lot, Miss Phoenix!”
Flo deliberately raised his voice, not just addressing the pink-haired girl but emphasizing her status as the Phoenix family’s heiress for the knights to hear.
As a top figure in the earl’s domain, Flo didn’t believe the knights would dare disrespect her.
It would save a lot of trouble.
Sure enough, upon hearing her title, the knights instantly became deferential, their earlier arrogance vanishing.
They hurriedly knelt in respect, and the lead knight sheathed his sword, placing a fist over his chest, his attitude nothing short of reverent.
“My apologies, Miss Ifrora. I failed to recognize you. Please allow me to atone for my earlier rudeness.”
“Tucks, who gave you permission to pin the blame on just anyone? Or rather, who’s the one pulling your strings?”
Ifrora dropped her casual demeanor with Flo, adopting the commanding presence of a superior.
Her sword pointed directly at the lead knight, Tucks.
“Miss Ifrora, I don’t understand what you’re implying. But I should remind you, even you cannot slander the Knight Order.”
Though outwardly polite, Tucks’ tone was firm.
“Slander? Do I need to show you the evidence of your collaboration with that evil organization? Do you really think the Phoenix family does nothing? Or that your petty tricks can fool everyone?”
“Name the person behind you, and I might consider leniency.”
Ifrora’s gaze seemed to pierce through Tucks, making him tremble.
Being stared down by a ferocious beast wasn’t pleasant, and Tucks was feeling it keenly.
Flo couldn’t help but marvel inwardly.
As expected of the Phoenix family’s heiress, her intelligence network far surpassed that of a lone-wolf, bottom-tier adventurer like himself.
Maybe he could set aside their past grudges and work with Ifrora—for now.
Just temporarily! Temporarily!
The feud with this pink chick wasn’t over!
Did she know the pain of being cuckolded? By a girl, no less!
Thinking of the romantic prospects he’d lost, Flo felt a surge of anger.
His grudge with this pink chick? Probably irreconcilable in this lifetime…
“I truly don’t understand what you’re talking about, Miss Ifrora. But you seem a bit impulsive. Perhaps my sword will provide answers.”
Tucks’ expression turned sinister, his earlier respect for Ifrora gone.
“The Phoenix family colluding with an evil organization and orchestrating serial disappearances—I’ll report this truthfully to the Church and the Royal Court. As Knight Commander, I have the authority to apprehend suspects!”
With that, he drew his longsword and swung at Ifrora.
But Ifrora easily dodged his attack, countering with a fiery slash.
The gap in strength was clear—Tucks couldn’t react to her counterattack.
A scorched sword mark appeared on his armor, and the force sent him staggering back several meters.
“Stubborn, aren’t you, Knight Commander? Looks like you’re not making my job any easier…”
“What a pity. As repayment, how about you just disappear?”
The girl then glanced back at Flo with a meaningful smile.
“Oh? Is Pointy-Ears planning to slack off? Guess what fun things might happen if I put in a good word with the Adventurer’s Guild~”
Damn, too devious! Using threats like that was low!
Flo despised nothing more than high-and-mighty types using their status to trip up the downtrodden!
But he had no choice.
The two little birds had already eaten the last of his food.
If anything else went wrong, he’d really be done for!
“Yes, yes, Pink Chick’s the best at using dirty tricks to force good folks into submission. I get it.”
“Slandering people isn’t nice, Pointy-Ears.”
“Don’t you know what you’re like? Slander, my foot…”
“So that’s how Pointy-Ears sees me? And here I thought I was a pretty cute girl~”
Ifrora wiped away nonexistent tears, looking heartbroken.
“Pfft, narcissistic much? You’re nowhere near ‘cute’!”
Flo was utterly speechless…
“Hey, enough flirting! You think I’m invisible?”
Tucks, knocked back by a single blow, gritted his teeth and spat.
He felt humiliated and raised his sword to cut down this infuriating pair.
“What are you standing around for? Get them! Seize the suspects!” Tucks roared at his men.
“Yes, sir!”
The knights raised their swords again, determined to take down Flo and Ifrora.
In contrast, Flo and Ifrora exchanged a glance, instantly switching to combat mode.
Ifrora struck first, her sword wreathed in fierce flames, parrying the onslaught like a storm.
Flo kept marking enemies, teleporting behind them to take them out one by one.
The girl swung her sword, unleashing a cross-shaped sword aura that mowed down the knights in droves.
Her efficiency was leagues above Flo’s.
The gap between a magic swordmaster’s crowd control and an assassin’s single-target burst in group battles was stark.
It wasn’t that Flo was weak—okay, maybe a little…
But you can’t expect an assassin to take on a whole group, right?
Sure, Aphrosia could use miracle magic, mostly suited for group battles, but aside from only knowing [Light’s Recall] and [Holy Envoy’s Naming], she couldn’t exactly transform into Aphrosia in front of Pink Chick, could she?
If Pink Chick found out about her current state, who knows what absurd things might happen…
As time passed, the enemy numbers dwindled.
Victory was only a matter of time.
Seeing the tide turn, Tucks tried to slip away.
But he felt someone behind him.
A green mark had appeared on him at some point.
Group battles were Ifrora’s domain, but for chasing down a single enemy? That was Flo’s moment.
“Yo, where ya headed?”