The weapons I forge are absolutely flawless.

Edel took the hot tea from Anna and walked straight toward Vina.

"Uh, that..."

"Oh right, thank you for preparing the tea, Miss Anna."

Adele waved and then took a small sip.

Anna had no choice but to pour herself another glass.

"My senior clearly came here for me, why did she have to pretend it was a chance encounter?"

"I thought the junior liked this."

"I chose this meeting place simply because it's convenient."

Vina accepted the tea Anna brought her and thanked her, but then said something that infuriated Anna: "Anna, could you please leave for a moment? And please close the door behind you."

"what?"

This was the most rude request Anna had ever heard in her life.

You two are having a secret rendezvous here, and you want her to go out and keep watch at the door?

“I have some important things to discuss with my classmate Wiener, and I would appreciate it if Miss Anna could do me a favor.”

Even Adele gave the same answer.

"...I will temporarily put up a 'Closed' sign to prevent others from coming in and disturbing you two."

Anna suppressed her dissatisfaction and walked straight out of the store.

“Alright, let’s get to the point.” Vena turned to Edel and said a little faster, “The investigation into the Armor of Calamity has been completed. It was forged by a demonic master blacksmith.”

"It's probably not that simple that the equipment forged by the demons ended up in Sigurd's hands."

Adele made a show of listening attentively, waiting for Venere to continue explaining.

"When we tracked down that demon apostle, we found Rogurd with it."

"Rogurd..."

Rogurd Taiwo, a name familiar to Adele, is a rising star in the kingdom who has only recently been promoted to the rank of Earl.

They were border nobles, just like the Lafner family.

Unlike the Lafner family, who rose to hereditary earldom through military achievements, the Taivo family's promotion was shrouded in mystery, likely due to Rogurd.

"So, the kingdom was behind this?"

“That’s what my senior said, I didn’t say that,” Viner quickly clarified. “Once I get out of this door, I’ll have to forget everything that happened today.”

"I hope you'll be lenient with your words, senior. I don't want to be arrested and locked up by the academy's secret operations team for spreading rumors and causing trouble," Viner pleaded, clasping her hands together.

"Judging from your tone, it sounds like you've really been put in solitary confinement?" Adele teased.

"..."

"Sigh, such a large St. Freya Academy, yet it treats such an enthusiastic student like my junior so unfairly." Adele sighed softly, a hint of sympathy flashing in her eyes. "Don't worry, if this happens again, I will definitely come and rescue my junior."

"Senior, I'm begging you, please don't make such a terrifying joke. If this gets out, I'll definitely be punished by Teacher Tilissa."

"hehe."

Adele smiled slightly, though it was unclear how serious she was.

"Furthermore—not only in the kingdom, but also within the empire, there are traces of demonic infiltration."

Wiener quickly moved on to the next topic.

"Oh."

Upon hearing this news, Adele remained remarkably calm.

"You don't seem surprised at all, senior?"

"It's nothing special, why should I be surprised?"

"I asked her in return," Edel asked.

Chapter 377 Edel's External and Internal Reconciliation

"That heartless bastard."

"What do you take this place for?!"

"From now on, your tea will always expire, and you'll have to pay double the price when you buy things!"

Anna, who had been driven outside, could only vent her anger on the pebbles at her feet. With just one kick, she kicked a hole in the ground.

Anna looked around and, after confirming that no one had noticed, quickly stomped on the hole a few more times to fill it in.

"Calm down. We're out in public; we can't ruin our image."

Anna patted her cheeks lightly, took a deep breath, and forced herself not to think about those infuriating things.

"Dingling bell~"

"Thank you for your help again, Miss Anna."

Edel pushed open the door and stepped out.

"No, that's not true. It's an honor for our shop to have Your Highness Edelweiss patronize our store."

Anna quickly put on a professional smile.

Even if I didn't buy anything?

"Your Highness is being too polite."

"Alright, I do have important business to attend to this time. I'll make up for my rudeness next time."

Adele waved and left.

Watching the other person hurriedly leave, Anna suddenly felt relieved.

"Maybe they really are talking about serious business?"

That being said, I still need to settle the score with someone for the humiliation of being kicked out of my home.

"I didn't expect Wiener to be so fast!"

Anna, who has returned, speaks with a hint of resentment and sarcasm.

"The thought of Miss Anna still standing outside in the cold wind made me want to get rid of her as soon as possible. Here, the tea is still warm."

Wiener offered the poured tea with both hands as an apology.

Seeing that the other party had offered her a way out, Anna accepted the tea and took a sip.

"What exactly is going on that's so mysterious?" Anna asked curiously.

"Of course you can know, but it's best not to let Adele know what you know."

Stop with the tongue twisters and just say it!

"The aftermath of the Armor of Calamity ends here. The Valentin Merchant Guild has been completely cleared of suspicion, and Edel will hold the kingdom accountable for this." Venerer stated the conclusion directly.

This is rare good news for the Chamber of Commerce.

"What exactly did you and Jessica do?" Anna couldn't help but ask.

"I just killed a demon apostle on the side."

"Can you elaborate?"

"Then I need to have a serious talk with you."

Under Anna's watchful eye, Vener recounted in detail how he and Jessica had followed the clues of the Armor of Calamity and uncovered the trail of the Apostle Titan.

-----------------

Black Eagles Class.

Edel rushed back to her prefect's office.

Schuster had been waiting for a long time.

"Your Highness."

"Has the blueprint for the Staff of Tyr's arrived?"

"Already arrived."

As close attendants to the royal family, the Berbert family also inherited a legacy of heroism.

Although the original was destroyed by the demon hundreds of years ago, the blueprints were preserved intact.

Although this item is precious, Schuster would offer it to Edel without hesitation if she asked.

“However, Your Highness, I do not doubt Vena’s forging skills, but there is still a considerable gap between weapons and magical artifacts,” Schuster reminded him.

He wasn't afraid of wasting the blueprints, but he didn't want his lord's expectations to be disappointed.

“I don’t need Vener to forge the complete Staff of Tyrhunth,” Edel said, looking at Schuster. “I just want him to extract half of it from the blueprints… or even just one effect.”

"You mean?" Schuster suddenly realized.

“Yes, I need to detect the effects of the demons,” Edel said decisively.

The heroic legacies forged by Tauronio share a common characteristic: they are specifically designed to counter demons.

However, the effect varies from handle to handle.

The Staff of Tyr's Hunt is a staff capable of detecting signs of nearby demons over a wide area.

Edel knew very well that Vener was the holder of the Silver Wolf Badge, so his attitude largely represented the attitude of the Academy.

On the other hand, can she truly represent the empire completely?

The academy's seemingly double-dealing move was actually a reminder to her that the empire was not a monolithic entity.

Whether or not the academy discloses Rogurd's collusion with the demons does not represent the academy's position.

The academy's stance has always been to help whoever fights the demons.

The empire is strong while the kingdoms are weak. As long as the empire itself does not have problems, the kingdoms cannot shake the foundation of the empire.

On the contrary, if they rashly launch a counterattack against the kingdom under the influence of hatred and public opinion, the entire empire will be in danger of splitting up again once the battle lines are stretched out and the attack is blocked.

Edel was not yet fully established, and her control over the empire was far less than that of Isnia IX.

"What I need is not a Tyrhuns Staff, but a magical tool that can be mass-produced to detect traces of demons."

"This way I can figure out where the demons are plotting their schemes and who is secretly colluding with them."

Adele's eyes and brows were icy cold.

“But this might provoke a backlash from the nobles, who would feel that His Highness doesn’t trust them. Besides, we don’t have enough power to deal with the demons and their apostles.”

If Edelweiss were the Empress, this approach, though under pressure, could still be pushed through.

But she is only the first heir, and such overstepping her bounds would probably make even His Majesty suspicious.

"We are only responsible for investigation; verification and execution are left to the academy and the heroes."

Before fighting the outside world, you must first make peace with the inside.

Edel planned to take advantage of the momentum and the influence of St. Freya Academy.

After a moment's thought, Schuster realized that Edel's proposal was entirely feasible.

The academy will never refuse an opportunity to eliminate demons and demon apostles.

Using the power of the academy to eliminate internal threats to the empire is a blatant and overt scheme.

Although he was already certain that Adele was a wise ruler for whom he would give everything, Schuster couldn't help but exclaim, "Your Highness is wise!"

“Alright, there’s no need for this kind of talk between us. Take the things to Vena… to the Valentine Merchant Guild. If Vena isn’t here, have Miss Anna give them to Vena.” Edel instructed.

"Yes, Your Highness."

Schuster accepted the order and left.

-----------------