The demon princess was defeated and captured? Sorry, I acted in it)

She has a warlike heart, and being able to compete with the strong is considered a lucky thing in her life.

"Come on, let's see...what other cards you have!"

"You are very strong." Timani opened her eyes, with a hint of sympathy in them. "I didn't want to use you as a cornerstone to gain glory... nor did I want to hurt others. But... I have been lost for too long, and I have no other choice."

After a moment, the audience in the front row and the back row all looked away or covered their eyes.

Because of the bright and dazzling light, people would feel that their eyes would be hurt if they looked directly at it.

"So... I'm sorry."

The Cormyr Arena in the royal capital welcomed the most powerful magic ever successfully released since its creation.

The domain magic that belongs exclusively to Timani.

--【red】.

...................................

Xue Feiya, who was walking in the forest outside the royal capital, suddenly stopped and looked back in the direction of the arena.

The red light curtain rising into the sky illuminated half of the sky, giving the capital, which was already at night, an appearance of a fiery sunset.

——Even though this place is dozens of miles away from the arena.

"Wow, who set off the fireworks? They're so well done!"

"Is that... the direction of the arena?" Xia, who was traveling with her, felt a little worried. "Sister Siletra and Dimani are competing now, right? What kind of magic is that... why are they fighting so fiercely?!"

"Don't panic, think rationally. If the fireworks were set off by the fire lizard, it wouldn't scare the pervert. If it was set off by the pervert, the fire lizard wouldn't be in any danger. Well... I don't mean to praise that pervert, but your holy sword is quite sensible, isn't it?"

"Uh... Xuefei, how do you know that she is sensible in doing things...?"

"You don't understand. I asked her to help me collect the nets before, and she never missed a single fish. Just for this reason, Siletra is trustworthy. She is a good pervert."

"But that's because you didn't catch many fish in total, Xuefei, so how could you miss any when you pulled in the net..."

"Ahem! The air quality in this place is really bad! Haven't you arrived yet? Look at what has happened!"

"..."

Xue Fei never faced the fact that her fishing skills were poor.

Since Xuefei said it was okay, Xiaya wouldn't worry too much.

Xue Fei's judgment has always been quite accurate, at least much sharper than my own slow-moving brain.

What's more...Xia knew that she and Xuefei had more important things to do on this trip.

He raised his hand to push aside the branches blocking the road and lowered his head to pass through.

The reason why Xuefei didn't need to push away the branches was because her height would not be blocked by the branches, so she could just walk forward normally and have a smooth journey.

When Xia bent down, she saw the envelope in Xuefei's hand again.

Tsk, I really don’t understand what the Pope is thinking.

Can't you just say what you want to say directly? Why do you have to leave such meaningless statements?

——【Would you like to go to Cormier Forest? I would like to invite you here to discuss and decide important matters together.】

Magical light spots similar to "fireflies" flew out of the letter, leading the two people to a certain place, which should be where the Pope is.

Xia's steps were heavy, and she was worried about it.

If it was Xia, the Pope would never lower himself to write such a letter to her.

After all, "Xia Ya" is not a member of the royal family, so how can she "discuss and decide important matters together"?

But since Gustavus VII said so, does that mean...

"Xuefei, does this mean that the Pope has figured out that 'Xia Ya' is 'Xue Fei Ya'? Otherwise, he wouldn't have written the letter in such a negotiating tone?"

"He can't see it."

"Huh... Then still..."

"But you can see the thing behind him."

"!"

So was it discovered after all?

Xue Fei continued to walk forward, spreading her hands carelessly.

She sighed like a little adult, but that couldn't hide her smirk.

"There's nothing we can do. Since Xue Feiya is going to play, Xia Ya has to teleport. Teleporting two times back and forth is hard to say if it's far away, but at such a close distance, if the existence floating behind the Pope can't even see this, then is there any need for us to care about him?"

"That's what you said, but if the Pope knows this, and your identity is exposed... then Xuefei, the peaceful life you want will be in jeopardy..."

"Without this chain of interests, there would be no such possibility."

"Huh? What do you mean?"

That's why I said Shia

You're too slow to react.

But who can blame Xuefei for spoiling her sister?

She stopped, crossed her arms in front of her, leaned against the branch of a tree next to her, and shook the letter in her hand as she explained.

"What benefit would that old man get from exposing my identity? The game between nations is not a child's play. He just wants a promise, such as wanting to start a trade cooperation with the demons, or hoping that the demons will not threaten the territory of the Correa Theocracy. But if he reveals my identity, all I can get in return is that I will bring my army to destroy his lair. What benefit would that bring to him?"

"Is that so... But if that's the case, he doesn't dare to act rashly anyway, so even if we don't go to see him, it won't matter...! Ugh!"

I was hit on the head by Xue Fei's knife while she stood on tiptoe...

It doesn't hurt.

Even though she was "beaten", Xia still carefully helped Xuefei pick off the leaves that were caught on her silver hair when she stood on tiptoe.

Xia actually felt quite aggrieved.

What she thought about the most was that nothing else mattered, the most important thing was to ensure Xue Fei's safety.

She had promised Xuefei that she could play in the competition when she didn't know that the Pope had an unknown hidden card.

Now that things have turned out this way, everything is hard to say, isn't it?

"...I actually know that. We came to this competition just to see what the Pope wants to do...but...but Xue Fei, you didn't say whether the Pope's hidden card would threaten your safety. I'm not a coward, but if I'm not sure, I would rather take you away...hmm!"

I was knocked again!

But this time, the knife was obviously much gentler.

Xue Feiya handed the letter she had just received to Xiaya, turned around and chuckled and continued moving forward.

"I like what a famous writer said - 'I won't fish for fish I can't catch.'"

"Who said that?"

"Shephia Halder."

"Are you a writer?"

“Pfft… It doesn’t matter whether it is or not, Xia, you should carefully consider the meaning of these words!”

Don't catch fish you can't catch.

"But Xuefei, you don't know how to fish!"

"Do you want to fight?! You really do want to fight, don't you?!"

Xue Feiya stomped her feet in frustration and punched Xia's chest with her little fist.

——On the contrary, Xue Fei herself was bounced back a step.

Xue Fei was stunned, put away her fist, and felt a lot of emotion.

Damn it, for your softness’ sake, I won’t fight with you.

"What I mean is that if I can't win, I definitely won't come! Although that thing can't measure strength, it's not that powerful, otherwise the Pope would have revealed his hand long ago. It should have some kind of limitation... But you, Xia...! I told you not to follow me, why are you so stubborn?"

"That's not being stubborn... How can I feel at ease if I don't come over? I know Xue Fei is very strong... But I've said before, this is two different things."

Xia reached out and touched Xuefei's head.

Her petite body swayed left and right as he touched her.

"Didn't Xue Fei tell you before? Even if there is danger, you can rest assured as long as I am here. The Pope has his trump card, and you have yours. Your trump card is me. This is something I am proud of. To be honest... Seeing that Xue Fei is so strong and doesn't need my help at all, I am already very disappointed... Now you are not going to deprive me of even this little bit of pride, are you?"

Xuefei pouted her lips, lowered her head and remained silent.

She shook her head and didn't look very impatient, but the blush on her cheeks revealed that she actually enjoyed Xia's head pat.

A mumbled response followed.

"Well... it doesn't matter. Anyway, the Pope has already seen 'Xia' and the hero sitting together, so there is no point in hiding it. Besides... there is no harm in letting the Pope know that the Demon Princess and the Kingdom's hero are friends. It can warn the Pope that the young man is taking advantage of the Kingdom to rob. I have actually been annoyed by their behavior for a long time..."

"Is it because Xue Fei cares about the people of the kingdom?"

"Surely not...? It's just because you live here, Shia... Tsk, just ignore what I said!"

"Sherfei."

"What are you doing!"

"Let's go back tonight and...um...do it again?"

"!"

Xuefeiya, danger!

What’s the use of being in danger? Don’t we still have to keep going forward?

Xia stared at the strand of hair that kept shaking on Xuefei's head. The more she looked, the more she couldn't conceal the smile that appeared on her beautiful face.

Clearly heading towards the unknown.

But why do I feel like I don’t have to worry about anything as long as I’m with her?

This is really the most wonderful thing in the world~

..............................

The "fireflies" flew all the way to the edge of the forest, then gradually dissipated and disappeared.

And Xue Feixia stepped out of the densely leafed area of ​​the forest together - they could see from afar the gilded cloak engraved with a golden cross, the ruby ​​scepter, and the crown symbolizing the Pope's authority.

Gustana VII stood with his back to the Cormyr Forest, looking up at the mountains around him.

Hearing the noise, the old man turned around.

He placed his palms on his heart and bowed his head slightly. The Pope did this, which was the highest etiquette of the Church to welcome guests.

Seeing this, Xue Fei hurriedly whispered something to Xia Ya.

"Wow... Shia, look at his hat. It's so heavy. How does he keep it from falling off when he lowers his head?"

"Is this what you're focusing on?! The point is... when we got here, wasn't the Pope still sitting on the podium? Why is he here now, over at the Colosseum?"

"It's a puppet, just like the Xia puppet. And his hat doesn't fall off. It must be because he has been wearing it for too long. The shape of the hat adapts to his head. I guess that's definitely the case."

"So the point is not here at all... OK, I think so too."

Xia Ya and Xue Fei whispered to each other for a while before stepping towards the direction of the Pope's real body.

The Pope laid his scepter aside.

He himself seemed to be tired of standing, so he sat down on a big rock.

He nodded again and spoke softly.

"Welcome, Your Highness the Princess of the Demon Tribe, and the brave warrior of Orus. I am deeply pleased that you have accepted the invitation and come here."

35. God?

Wow, look at how good the Pope's mentality is, seeing the two biggest threats to him from the enemy country walking together, not only did he not curse them to death, he even said he welcomed them.

When two forces meet, the most important thing is momentum.

Xue Feiya could tell at a glance that the scepter in the Pope's hand and the crown on his head were not decorations.

——They are all magic items that contain extremely high magical reserves and can release tenth-level magic.

It seems that corresponding to the three secret treasures of the kingdom, the theocracy does have its own heritage...