Carla

I decline.

Since the voice was too beautiful, Ria missed hearing the contents.

Firstly, theres no reason to fight with you.

And secondly

I cannot fight you in this area.

Of course, she agreed.

Therefore

If you give a reason, as well as prepare a place to fight, I will be your opponent.

Spontaneously agreeing to take on Ria, she said she would fight.

Thanks.

She rejoined with her comrades and resumed heading to the bath, as though nothing happened.

Seeing what happened, the bodyguards resumed moving before long together with making some noise.

Her female aide asked her. Carla continued looking forward.

That is impossible.

She didnt do that because she resented me.

Moreover, I have a hunch.

Carla didnt usually use such vague words.

Carla spoke with steady eyes, not wavering in the least.

I think that person is the one Ive waited for for a long time.

Inside the crowd, there was a girl.

She was Ferna, part of the leadership of [Black Cat], the self-styled secret society that everyone knew of. Her curiosity was aroused by the situation.

Really now?

Ah, Halt-san

Introducing himself as a peddler, this man with black hair and eyes was Halt. Even though Ferna had met him many times over the course of working with the company, she hadnt been able to grasp his true colors.

Carla the Dragonslayer and Princess Ryuke Riana, the one who defeated the labyrinth huh?

Eh!?

Theres no mistaking it. She perfectly matches to the description given by my subordinates.

This young man said something that even Black Cats leadership didnt know about. For things concerning this continent, he might have an information network that exceeds Black Cats.

(Hasnt he done business with Black Cat too?)

Then, if those two really do fight

Ferna strongly agreed with Halts statement.

With Halt-san?

It wasnt that Halt wasnt confident in his physical strength, it was more that Ferna was known for repeatedly using her large-scale magic.

Thats fine. Ive received help from Halt-san before.

The two exchanged contact information and separated. Ferna continued to think about Halt.

She thought about Halt, the peddler.

She thought about Arisugawa Halt, the ex-hero.

The demon king that didnt have any confidence in his own strength, she could only rack her brains.

Being able to protect yourself was the most important thing.

Moonlight faintly lit the dark night.

Hey you not going to sleep?

Yeah, go ahead and sleep first.

Ria answered flatly. It wasnt her intention to invite her over, but Shizuna felt sad for some reason.

After that, Ria went to the bathroom. She was thinking about something while submersing herself in the bath.

When they returned to the inn, Carlos brought back the queens reply saying that they would have an audience the next day.

Ria didnt hate people that worked so quickly. Carlos made another trip, deciding on the time.

When Ria asked Shizunas impressions of her outfit, she thought that it was like a beautiful woman dressing herself in black themed male clothing.

The next day, when she left for the audience, she was limited in which comrades she could bring with her.

Gig came as the ogre representative, with Maal as the beastkin representative.

Serge, Lulu, and Shizuna were completely commoners and would have to wait in the anteroom.

What are you thinking about?

Yeah, Ive been wondering what I should do to beat that woman.

Shizuna doubted her ears.

A woman that didnt understand a womans heart.

Shizuna put her back to her, sulking.

The royal palace was simple and sturdy. In truth, the interior was rebuilt after having been destroyed by the dragons raid and the queen just hadnt put much effort into it.

A beauty. She really did look like Ria. No, maybe like Valis? She didnt have Rias martial atmosphere.

And behind the queen stood a beautiful knight.

Carla Raparb Uslan.

And she stared back.

It felt like she was being seen through.

The group stopped several steps away from the stairs leading to the throne. The three other than Ria and Irina took a knee.

This is the first time weve met. I am Guinevere, duke of Manesh.

Thank you for your polite greetings, your excellency. I am Ryuke Riana Crystal Casalia. And this is

Daughter of Golden Dragon Clarice-sama and Dark Dragon Valis-sama, Irina-sama.

Guinevere and Carla.

For the daughter of god dragons, this is a laughable place to speak. Shall we change locations?

Please step this way. Ive prepared a much more relaxed area.

If possible I would like to bring my comrades that came with me. There are various things that need to be said.

Signalling with just her eyes, a lady of the court dashed away.

Of course, Ria was about to touch on the main subject.

I would like to have a one on one match against the Dragonslayer Carla-dono.

Oh my~

Carla, what do you think?

The pretty-faced knight answered coolly. However, her eyes spoke for her.

She also desired it.

(But still, calling her Hime-sama despite her being a queen? She does look like a child, though)

Well, lets leave that talk for later. Some minimal preparations are necessary.

With another signal from Guinevere, another court lady was sent running. She didnt understand what preparations were necessary, but Ria felt she had good control over her subordinates.

The group went to the queens private room. The three they were separated from came as well.

The queen, who changed her tone, said so as she heavily sat down on the sofa while taking her shoes off.

Although that was true, this was the first time she saw her being so direct.

Ill introduce everyone. From the right is the prime minister, the minister of state, the foreign minister, the minister of military affairs, and the intelligence chief. Well speak in more details when the chance comes. Also, Carla is my head bodyguard. Though it seems like you already know her well.

Ria introduced her comrades as well. Among them, the queen seemed interested in Irina, as well as Serge.

This is the first time Ive seen a human with even more pure magical power than me.

Serges magical power certainly was high. It was very abnormal, especially when considering his age.

He has various mysterious skills Dark Dragon Valis-samas power? If thats so Id like to see you explore with Carla at some point. If I have the time, Id also like to go though.

Moreover, this queen was very quick witted.

This was the first time that Ria had seen a person with such a high wisdom attribute. At any rate, it was even higher than Rufus. It was obviously higher than Rias, too.

Mother.

Waited on by a maid serving under Guinevere, he was this countrys prince, her only son.

The prince was lifted by his mother and was shown off to Ria.

Ill introduce him to you. This is my son, Shinji.

Geho. Serge started to choke on the tea he was drinking.

With black eyes and hair, he was a charming child. However, the reason Serge choked was due to his name.

Although Serge was talking with a frantically polite tone, he simply had to confirm something.

Ria also turned towards Serge. Though she knew him, she also didnt know what Serge was going to ask.

His highness the princes name, did his father decide it? And perhaps, if would it have been Rei if Shinji was a girl?

You! Do you know where he is right now!?

However, Carlas blue eyes did nothing but stare at Serge.

Hime-sama, any further would be

I have quite a few things I want to ask you.

Then the queen changed subjects once again.

Looking at her with eyes full of childish curiosity, Guinevere asked Ria.

When theres a mountain, you climb it.

Guinevere laughed heartily.