I am Gilgamesh, the King of Heroes.

Angela continued her lesson, while Raymond, sitting next to Ash, began asking Ash about Sylvia, "Hey, Ash. What happened to Her Highness the Princess?"

After all, Sylvia is usually very energetic and attentive in class, so why would she not answer when the teacher calls on her?

Ash sighed and explained, "Ever since she heard the news that the [Iron Valkyrie] was coming to Ansari, she's been looking completely lost. It seems like she's suffered a huge blow..."

Raymond seemed completely bewildered. "[The Iron-Blooded Valkyrie] is the princess's older sister, isn't she? What's there to be upset about?"

"I don't know about that..." Ash shook his head, indicating that he didn't know either.

"Would you like me to help you with your questions?"

Suddenly someone interrupted from the side, startling Ash so much that he bent back.

"Cosette? What are you doing here?"

Jill looked up and glanced at the girl.

Purple hair, purple eyes, and she was wearing a maid's outfit from the royal family of the Loreamon Knights—

She must be Sylvia's maid, right?

Jill raised an eyebrow. "Interesting. You have the air of someone who has worked in intelligence for many years—besides being a maid, you must have also been involved in espionage."

Jill herself had about a year of experience in intelligence work, so she was quite aware of the atmosphere among her "colleagues".

“As expected of Mr. Jill, you saw it right away.” Cosette closed one eye, a playful expression on her face. “Mr. Kevin was right after all.”

"I just think I have a good eye and a good eye for people, that's all." Jill shrugged. "Well then, tell me more. I've only heard Kevin say that the [Iron Valkyrie] was Sylvia's childhood nightmare. What are the specifics?"

"Princess Veronica is a well-known fighter. Her warlike nature led to the princess being captured and subjected to a lot of training when she was still young."

"Will the training be terrible?" Ash asked.

"Actually... it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that she lived a life of misery every day. Back then, not only would the princess be pushed into the lake, but she would also be sent to explore ruins, climb city walls, or be taken to a notorious haunted forest to do wilderness survival training..."

“…It must have been really tough…” Jill remarked.

Ash was stunned. "I think that's bullying..."

Absolutely right, it's blatant bullying...

Jill thought so.

"By the way, the one playing the ghost in the forest was me," Cosette revealed an even more terrifying piece of news.

"Please! How could you be an accomplice too!" Ash almost lost his voice.

Ash thought to himself, "Perhaps the culprit behind Sylvia's cowardice is Veronica (and Cosette)."

"Because of the trauma from her childhood, Princess Veronica became a symbol of terror in the princess's eyes..."

“I see…” Ash nodded.

"I think it's fine..." Jill said noncommittally.

For Jill, if we consider her conscious period as childhood, and exclude the memories of the personality from which she separated from her father, then the first ten years were incredibly difficult.

Fight, fight, protect, protect...

The only time I had any leisure was probably the three years in the middle when I was searching for Enkidu's true form in the world of Seirei Tsukai no Blade Dance.

After that, things didn't stay peaceful for long during Strike the Blood. Something big would happen every month. Looking back now, it was really exhausting...

"What were you doing when you were a kid, Gil?" Raymond asked curiously.

"Do you want to hear the truth or a lie?"

"real."

"Hmm... fighting and protecting, that's all." Jill thought for a moment and summed it up with these two words.

“…Ha…haha…” Raymond chuckled somewhat awkwardly, “It really is…”

“Don’t think I’d lie to you.” Gil glanced at Raymond. “Remember my first sparring session with Sylvia? I told you then that Arthur was able to defeat Lancelot not because Arthur was stronger than Lancelot, but because I was stronger than Sylvia.”

“If you have also been fighting for ten years, then I believe you are definitely no weaker than Sylvia.”

Jill's eyes were deep. "That's it, and that's all."

The atmosphere among the group became somewhat heavy.

"—So, what conditions must dragons of these attributes, such as pterosaurs, earth dragons, and water dragons, meet to become holy dragons?"

Angela's lesson was not interrupted, and she began asking questions again, "Ash, please answer this question."

"What? Me?" Startled by being called on, Ash stood up in a fluster, as if he had been caught playing on his phone during class by the headmaster.

Angela's gaze was as sharp as a scalpel, but being stared at by her felt like lying on an operating table at her mercy.

Ash felt a chill run down his spine and rose nervously from his seat.

"Uh... I don't know." Ash thought for two seconds before giving his answer.

"Correct answer."

"Excuse me... Huh? The correct answer?"

Angela smiled. "That's right. Scholars have many different opinions about the conditions for a dragon to transform into a holy dragon, and the truth has not yet been found."

After Angela closed her textbook, she looked around at the students.

"However, ancient records show that all dragons will eventually naturally become sacred dragons. Although the number of sacred dragons has greatly decreased since the crisis of near extinction, in theory every dragon has the potential to become a sacred dragon."

The students below the stage immediately erupted in an uproar, after all, Angela's statement was simply too shocking.

Ash had never heard this before.

Jill simply raised an eyebrow and chuckled softly.

"So, the existence of dragon breeders is a problem. Why is it that most dragons die before they can become holy dragons after coming to the modern world...? Perhaps the key to whether a dragon can transform into a holy dragon is in the hands of the dragon breeders."

The bell that signaled the end of get out of class rang just then.

Jill shrugged and stood up. "That's how it is. Angela is right. After all, a dragon's transformation into a sacred dragon is inseparable from its dragon breeder..."

Isn't that what bonds are all about?

Speaking of which, I should go see Arthur...

After all, Arthur has changed quite a bit since this evolution...

Chapter 116 Iron-Blooded Valkyrie

Six days until Princess Veronica's visit —

Despite Silvia's fear, the day arrived for the Academy City of Ansari to welcome the First Princess Veronica Loreyamon.

Why did Veronica choose this time to visit Ansari?

The official explanation was that "the trip was to offer condolences to Ansari, the city that was attacked," but Veronica was a representative of the hawkish faction within the royal knightly family.

It's likely that the visit was just a pretext; the real purpose was to personally inspect the situation of the victims in the city and then investigate Gufulin and the mysterious Red Dragon Emperor.

After all, it's not something a normal ruler would do to let a Holy Dragon Knight, who could potentially defeat the Corpse Gray Dragon in one blow, go unchecked.

Moreover, Veronica has experience intervening in ethnic conflicts across the continent and quelling wars.

She was reportedly only twelve years old when she first went on her campaign.

Although Veronica was not chosen as a dragon breeder, she seemed determined to overcome her inherent disadvantages and displayed great bravery and might on the battlefield.

She charged ahead, relentlessly cutting down the enemy one by one.

It is said that every time Veronica swings her sword, three heads fly into the air at the same time.

Wise and resolute, invincible in every battle, and always victorious.

These words, which should have been associated with men, were taken over by a princess.

As Jill stuffed a piece of steak into Arthur's mouth, she glanced at Cosette and asked, "So, are you okay without Sylvia around?"

"After all, I don't think Mr. Kevin will help Her Highness, so I think..."

“That’s easy for you to say. Sylvia and I are just classmates at best. We’re not related, so there’s no need for me to help her,” Jill said, stuffing berries into Arthur’s mouth. “Even Kevin wouldn’t easily ask for my help.”

“Let’s leave it at that…” Jill stood up. “People can’t always live in the shadow of the past. Moving on is the most important thing, you know? Pass this message on to Sylvia. How can you see further if you don’t overcome the past?”

After Jill finished speaking, he gently patted Arthur's head. Arthur gently bit Jill's head and rubbed against his hand before lying down.

Since the last time, it seems that Arthur has undergone another transformation after consuming a large amount of star essence.

After this evolution, Arthur can use very powerful healing magic. Jill personally tested it and found that the effect was not much different from some of her own medicines, which can be said to be very powerful.

Cosette watched Jill leave, sighed softly, and finally decided to tell Sylvia those two sentences.

As for the outcome... well, that's hard to say.

……

The midday bells rang throughout the bright sky.

A welcoming party of more than twenty people, led by the mayor and principal, including important figures from the city council and college board of directors, as well as student council members, lined up at the entrance of the first school building, awaiting Veronica's arrival.

"Princess Veronica has visited the city again... Her last visit was several years ago."

Dr. Angela Conwell, who rarely changes out of her white coat for a formal suit, also appeared in the welcoming group.

Angela, who unexpectedly became a lecturer a few days ago, is actually a national treasure-level research authority.

Although representatives from Ansari State gathered, the scale of the event was extremely small for welcoming a royal princess. In principle, mobilizing all citizens to hold a grand welcoming ceremony would not have been excessive.

However, Veronica's preference for simplicity is well-known. She had been informed beforehand that all the elaborate ceremonies would be omitted, and even school would proceed as scheduled.

The student council was represented by Rebecca, Max, Ash, and Echo.

Moreover, Saint Dragon Guvlin and Saint Dragon Arianrod were also present.

Guflin is Pal of Rebecca, and Saint Dragon Arianrod is Pal of Max; they can be considered representatives of the academy.

Besides these people, there is one more person here.

The white-haired, blue-eyed youth remained calmly seated on a tree, observing the simple welcoming gesture.

“It seems this First Princess is indeed no ordinary person.” On a branch on the other side of the tree, Jill was standing.

"So, why did you come here...? I came to see a student I haven't seen in many years. What are you doing here?" Kevin asked.