The weapons I forge are absolutely flawless.

For Vena, who already possesses Escudora, only equipment capable of killing demons can be considered precious.

“Since you’ve decided to follow Edel, even if you don’t protect her, you shouldn’t at least hold her back.” Venere’s words struck Sigurd’s heart like a heavy hammer, leaving him speechless.

“I will protect it with my life—uh!” Sigurd’s eyes suddenly widened before he could finish speaking.

A cold sensation pierced his chest. He looked down at the longsword that had pierced his body, his mind blank.

"Nobody cares about your wretched life. Keep it safe until the day Edel rests on the throne."

As Vena pulled the Tenseiga from Sigurd's chest, the blade left the flesh without emitting any bloody scent; instead, it emitted a faint glow.

He casually patted Sigurd on the shoulder, turned and left, as if everything that had just happened was nothing but an illusion.

Sigurd sat there motionless, then looked down and touched his chest.

Apart from a hole in his clothes, there were no other wounds.

He was stunned for a few seconds, then felt a tingling sensation in his long-paralyzed lower limbs.

Everything is different.

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

"Phew—I'll rest for a bit." Venus pushed open the door and let out a long sigh of relief.

Even though it was still dark, he already felt exhausted.

They set off early in the morning, and at one point turned back to fight three apostles.

After discovering Edel's true intentions, he worked at the refinery for a long time.

This day was incredibly fulfilling.

“But then, when will we be able to contact the academy again…” Wiener muttered to himself.

He had just solemnly promised Adele that he would help her get everything back, so naturally he couldn't just leave.

But he couldn't rest easy about the safety of Lisette and the headmistress.

Isn't there a better way to have the best of both worlds?

As Wiener was pondering, a slightly sarcastic voice suddenly rang out from the room.

"I thought someone was completely infatuated with that imperial princess, but it turns out you still remember you're from the academy?"

The voice was all too familiar to Viner.

He looked up abruptly, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes: "Jessica?!"

Chapter 599 Vena: You've all come at the wrong time.

"How did you find it..." Vena wanted to ask Jessica how she found herself in Snowdrift Valley, but she realized as soon as the words left her mouth that the question was completely unnecessary.

Given Jessica's abilities and methods, tracking him down wouldn't be difficult.

"What happened after that? Did the Dean and Lisette leave safely?" He immediately changed his question, his tone becoming somewhat anxious.

“I didn’t retreat with the Holy Knights.” Jessica coldly interrupted him, her gaze piercing Vena like a knife. “More than that, I’m curious why you’re alone? Where’s the teacher?”

She walked step by step up to Venus, her voice filled with suppressed anger: "Don't tell me that after you and your teacher got separated, instead of looking for them, you just lay here playing a hero's game!"

Jessica was initially delighted when she realized that Vina had appeared in Snowdrift Valley.

But when she finally managed to escape the kingdom's pursuers and sneak into Snowdrift Valley, she was filled with mixed emotions when she saw Venus and Edel standing together.

From her perspective, Jessica can't really blame Adele for anything.

After all, both of them were newcomers, and there was no fundamental difference between her and Adele in this respect.

What truly disappointed Jessica was that Vina could remain so relaxed despite Tilissa's whereabouts being unknown.

He seemed to have completely forgotten the academy's anxious waiting and his companions' worries.

When Jessica sneaked into Vina's room, she intended to give him a chance to explain himself—even if it was just a plausible excuse.

But we've been waiting until now.

During this time, she felt it was even more unbearable than when she was fleeing from the kingdom's pursuers.

"Have you even considered how worried we are?" Jessica's voice trembled slightly, filled with anger and barely concealed anxiety. "Why don't you try to contact the academy?"

Faced with her questioning, Viña remained silent for a moment, and finally whispered, "I'm sorry."

He could find many reasons to excuse himself, such as Snowdrift Valley being blocked by Lucien, making it difficult to transmit messages, or that the attack by the demon apostles delayed him.

But when Via saw Jessica's exhausted and haggard appearance after her long journey, he couldn't bring himself to say those words.

“That’s not what I want to hear,” Jessica took a deep breath, suppressing her inner turmoil. “Do you choose to stay here, or come with me to find the teacher?”

"You take a look at this first."

Venus then summoned the Zion of the Holy Ring and handed it to Jessica to reassure her.

Unexpectedly, Jessica didn't give Zhi Dian any attention at all.

She simply raised her hand and slapped the katana to the ground.

"Stop trying to appease me with this. I want you to make a choice right now!"

The jeweled palace fell to the ground with a crisp metallic sound.

Wiener looked at it, seemingly wanting to say something but holding back.

The hesitant look on his face only made Jessica more disgusted.

She grabbed Venus's collar abruptly, her voice trembling with barely suppressed emotion: "You—"

Just then, the fallen Zhōnen Zhōna suddenly emitted a dazzling light, and then transformed into the appearance of Tissa.

She watched the scene with great interest. "What on earth could have made my good disciple so angry?"

"Teacher...!"

Jessica froze, and her hand unconsciously loosened its grip on Vina's.

The anger from before vanished upon hearing that familiar voice.

"That's why I said, don't rush..."

Wiener straightened his collar, which had been pulled and was now somewhat disheveled.

He completely understood Jessica's feelings.

To be honest, if even the Nemesis-dono Zena, forged using the Zero Hour Lost Child as a catalyst, failed to win back Tilisa, then his next weapon will definitely be the Cloud Fang.

No matter how many excuses or reasons the kingdom may have, Vena will make them pay the price, even if it means becoming the second Arios.

Unfortunately, at this moment, Jessica no longer had a place for Vina.

Her entire attention was focused on Tissa, who had just appeared.

"Teacher! I'm so glad you're safe and sound!" Jessica could no longer contain her excitement and hugged Tilisa tightly.

It was this hug that made her realize that her teacher was much lighter than before, and that his body was unusually cold.

"Teacher, you—"

"Now you're trying to please me? When you slapped me to the ground earlier, why didn't you feel any remorse?"

Tilisa lightly flicked Jessica's forehead and casually recounted how she had transformed into a sword spirit.

"So that's how it is." Jessica then realized that she had misunderstood Vina.

"I don't need to tell you what to do next, do I?"

Tissa reached out and gently ruffled her hair, as tenderly as ever.

“...Yes,” Jessica replied softly, as if she had finally made up her mind.

She walked up to Vina and bowed deeply in apology, saying, "I'm sorry, I misunderstood you!"

Seeing the sincerity in her eyes, Viner's heart softened, and he didn't dare to pursue the matter any further. He quickly helped her up.

"It's good that the misunderstanding has been cleared up. But first, you should tell us what happened after we were exiled."

Jessica gathered her thoughts and began to recount: "The situation was like this—"

She started by recounting how Juta plotted against them, then moved on to the kingdom's attempt to detain Rhea, and finally, how Dimir argued his case and sent the academy out of the encirclement.

“As long as the kingdom doesn’t immediately capture the Holy Knights, catching up will be virtually impossible,” Tissa judged.

“Luckily, I chose to break out in the opposite direction from the Holy Knights, which is how I found you in Snowdrift Valley.” Jessica was also somewhat relieved.

She was wanted by the kingdom and it was inconvenient for her to join the Holy Knights, giving the kingdom an opportunity to launch an attack.

Only by escaping to the empire can the kingdom be deterred from interfering at will.

That's how she was able to sense Venus's presence.

"We'll settle this score with them sooner or later." A cold glint flashed in Viner's eyes.

Since the feud between the kingdom and the academy is irreparable, and the kingdom's upper echelons are suspected of being infiltrated by demons.

That would then make it possible to persuade the headmaster to get the academy to side with Edelweiss.

Arios gained so much support because what he said wasn't entirely without merit.

Only a nation that integrates and unifies the continent of Fodor can maximize the strength to fight against the demons.

However, he deliberately chose the fighting style that would result in the greatest casualties.

If someone else were to carry out this task, instead of inciting national or personal grievances, and instead aiming to jointly combat the demon race, at least civilians without combat capabilities would not be dragged into it.

With this in mind, Venere decided to tell Jessica about her and Adele's plan.

I don't want to hear it right now.

As soon as Jessica heard that it was about Adele, she immediately refused.

"Why?" Wiener asked, puzzled.

“You’ve had a good time eating, sleeping and resting at Lafner’s, but what about me? I’ve been on the run all this time and haven’t even had a chance to catch my breath.” Jessica stretched, her tone tinged with exhaustion and dissatisfaction. “Now that I’ve confirmed you’re all safe and sound, I should take a break too.”

As soon as she finished speaking, she walked straight to the bathroom, giving Venus no chance to refuse.

"What are you going to do?" Viner became alert instantly.

"I won't do anything, just take a good shower, get some sleep, and then think about what to do next."

Jessica casually took off her coat and threw it out of the bathroom, followed by her boots, belt... every piece of clothing was scattered on the floor, leaving Venus unsure whether to look at it or not.

“I can have Jim find you a room—”

"Can't wait."

Jessica responded crisply, then slammed the door shut, followed by the sound of running water.

"Can't you control your apprentice?" Vena turned to look at Tilisa, a hint of resentment in her eyes.

"Well, if Vena wants to peek, I can turn a blind eye." Tilissa's lips curled up slightly, clearly intending to stir things up.

"...It was indeed my fault for having placed my hopes on you."

Viner sighed deeply, rubbing his forehead. He should have known sooner; the words "teacher" were never in Tilissa's dictionary.

Just as Viner was about to leave the room, leaving space for Jessica who needed to rest.

Almost at the same time, there was a knock on the door.

"Vina, I heard from Sigurd that you've returned from the smelter. I've just finished organizing what we discussed this morning; may I come in?"

A voice came from outside the door.

"Since little Vina doesn't rely on her sister, then you can leave this to yourself?"

"Wait--"

Before Vena could finish speaking, Tilisa transformed back into Nithana and disappeared into the Holy Ring, leaving him alone to face this awkward situation.

The sounds of knocking and running water rose and fell.

No intention of stopping at all.