The Mask Festival was today!

Among the streets of the Market Area, south of Miastary, various open-air stands were lined up on both sides of the pavements.

Big signs were set up on top of each stand to show everyone what they have to offer.

Ranging from food, handicrafts, equipment and clothing, fun and games, and strange things that only attract people with special taste.

Planned by the City Management Guild, the stands were allocated areas within the many streets depending what their specialty was.

This way the streets of the Market Area were divided into different areas with each area dedicated to one of the categories of the stands.

Thus, if someone wanted to grab something to eat, then that person could just head to the streets where only food stands were located. If someone wish to buy some rare items, then that person could browse through the streets where the vendors sell their handicrafts or strange things they traded from traveling merchants.

No way would there be a stand selling clothing in the street dedicated to food and, also, no one would see a vendor preparing frozen slime with ice magic in the middle of the item street.

All this was planned and put to action so people from outside Miastary would not have a hard time finding the place where they wanted to be.

Also, the City Management Guild distributes brochures with the layout of the city and the details of each store. 

A lot of thought have been poured into this festival to make it great because the Mask Festival was one of the biggest festival held by the Yuvian Kingdom in its capital city.

The festival was so famous that not only did it attracted people from other cities but also the people from other Human Kingdoms!

One reason for this festival being so well known was because this festival was originally started by one of the Heroes who was summoned with Ritual of Hero Summoning.

Though it was long in the history of Yuvian but, due to its great success, the festival continued to be held.

With each time, the festival became more and more grand, more and more well-known.

Thus the Mask Festival became the face and pride of Yuvian.

One condition to participate in the festival was that the participant has to wear a mask. To make the festival fun and exciting, people wore strange masks when coming to Miastary.

The stranger the mask the better.

Adding more to the fun, people also turned their attention to their clothing. Green, red, yellow and many bright colored attires of various designs were worn by people moving in the streets of the city.

Thanks to that, the people-filled-streets became even more colourful and livelier.

Since this was a grand festival, it would not make sense if the Market Area was the only lively place in the city.

The liveliness in Adventurer Area, west of Miastary, could compete with the liveliness of the current Market Area.

With the Guild Hall, various guilds and taverns being located there, the Adventurer Area serves as a natural gathering place for the adventurers based in this city.

Which was why this area has almost been the noisiest area in the city.

Now to live up to the Mask Festival – many guild masters, tavern owners and adventurers also do their own things to keep everyone excited.

These 'things' were mainly competitions among the competitors.

Because of the nature of the adventurers, nothing else would suit them better than having competitions.

Contestants could enter various eating competitions and drinking competitions hosted by tavern owners. The theme of the competitions varies from tavern to tavern.

In one tavern, contestants would have to compete to be the fastest eater of a delicious dish whereas in another tavern the contestants competes to be the fastest drinker of a slimy drink that smells like animal droppings!

It all depend on the tavern owners' idea of having fun.

A lot of guilds also hosted many contests of different themes. For instnace, the fighter's guilds and hunter's guilds mostly host competitions which test the strength and speed of the contestants. The mage guilds would focus on the contests that involves the contestants' mind. These contests ranged from brain twisting quizzes to the test that challenges the contestants' control of their magic in making artistic sculptures.

The Guild Hall and the merchant guilds collaborated to host lottery events which allow the participants to win something in a draw-a-number system.

There were various different lottery tickets released which allow the holders to enter different type of lottery events which all have different prizes to be won.

Like the rewards of one of the lottery events were rare objects adventurers found in dungeons and the rewards of some other lottery events focused on secret dishes of various taverns in the Adventurer Area.

Ways of obtaining the lottery tickets were different as well.

Some tickets can be bought from the Guild Hall and some merchant guilds, some could be obtained from buying merchandises from merchant guilds or buying promotion items from the guilds in the Adventurer Area, and other tickets could be obtained from participating the competitions hosted by various guilds and taverns.

*Pang* *Pang*

That was the sound from small explosive item to signal the start of a racing competition.

The onlookers cheered as the contestants all rushed off from the starting line. Among them were adventurers from different guilds, they compete against one another for the fame of their own guilds. The competitors were not just the adventurers from Miastary but also the adventurers from other cities and even other kingdoms.

Mixed in the battle of the guilds, some contestants were adventurers not affiliated with any guild but just wanted to participate for the fame of their adventuring party and some contestants were not even adventurers but participated just to join the fun.

*Bimbo* *Bimbo*

That was the finishing sound of the quiz held by a mage guild at a different corner of the Adventurer Area.

The crowd roared and cheered for the winning team of the quiz battle and they watched the representative of the winning team walked up a platform to receive the reward.

Various competitions were still on-going in the Adventurer Area and more will be held throughout the day to keep the crowd excited.

In contrast to the heated atmosphere in the Market Area and Adventurer Area, the Residential Area was a lot quieter.

The Residential Area, as its name suggests, was an area dedicated for lodging and housing of the residents in Miastary.

Large portion of the area were average houses for people in the average working class. The other small portion of the area contain large, fancy houses specially made for people of higher standard of living or higher rank in political standing.

Since this area was for resting so it was normal for this area to be much quieter than the other two areas.

However, this does not mean the Residential Area was not part of the festival at all.

The streets of the area were decorated by colourful banners and the trees on the pavements have various ornaments hanging down from their branches.

The focus of the area in the festival was more relaxing. 

Among the houses and lodgings, there were also restaurants and tea houses with different vibes. Some of them were indoors, some of them set up their tables outside on the street and some allowed their customers to sit on the balcony.

All depends on what the customers want the atmosphere to be like and what specialties they would want to eat for their meal.

To celebrate the Mask Festival, the restaurants and tea houses have their own way of doing so.

Some restaurants decorated their interior with a particular theme relating to the festival, like 'Heroes VS Demon Army' and 'Strange Masks from around the world'. Some tea houses put their thoughts into their desserts and drinks, either they change the look of a shortcake to look like a mask or made a time limited tea only for this festival.

All to grab the customers' attentions and have the customers to dine with them.

Even though the Residential Area was more relaxing than the other two areas, but in a way, the competitions among the restaurants and tea houses were as heated as the other two areas.

Everyone was having fun in this Mask Festival.

Except for one person.

 “They are late!” Nia stomped the tiled floor repeatedly.

Nia was in her room, glaring at her door angrily as if she wanted to punch a hole through it.

She was waiting for Ul to bring back Myst who has went missing since this morning.

Earlier in the morning, Nia and Ul went to the guest room where Myst sleeps in only to find it empty. They went around the castle, asking the guards and the servants if any of them has seen Myst.

With everyone responding with a no, the two concluded that Myst has gone out of the castle and possibly went to the Mask Festival.

Having known the person for a week, Nia knew Myst could not resist his excitement for such grand festival.

But today was not the day which he could casually stroll the streets of Miastary. They still have a duel this noon that they have to prepare for.

A duel with the Strongest Hero of Yuvian, Shinji!

This was not something they could take on lightly.

Also, Nia's freedom has been waged into this duel!

They cannot afford to lose, even if the probability of winning was slim.

Nia has not given up.

If she was given a chance, and even if it was slim to succeed, Nia would still go all out!

Ul had volunteered himself to find the missing person but…

That was 4 hours ago.

The current time was noon, which was almost the time for the duel. Nia had already changed to her white dress, ready to head to the place where the duel would take place.

But the main person in concern has yet to arrive.

If Ul does not return with Myst any time soon, and if Myst does not show himself by the time of the duel, then they will be disqualified and lose by default.

Which was something Nia could not allow to happen.

The duel was a grand event in this grand festival. One of the biggest highlights of this year's Mask Festival was the duel between Myst and Shinji. Nia knew the importance of this duel was to her and to The King.

This news have been announced to all four human kingdoms, this was the reason why this year's Mask Festival was even livelier than previous years.

Even if Shinji's victory was certain against the no-name opponent, people still came just to see the 'Famous Hero' they heard of in action and The King of Yuvian definitely wanted to show Shinji off.

The King definitely does not want anything to go wrong in this duel.

So if Myst failed to show up for the duel, it would be embarrassing to The King.

Nia was afraid to think about what would happen to her if that was the case.

 Well, only if that is the case.

Even though Myst has gone missing but Nia was sure he will be back.

Myst was the Hero who answered to her plead after-all.

Also, even if the level difference between Myst and Shinji was so high that beating him was almost impossible but Nia will not give up. Nia used the days before the duel to train Myst in fighting better with the weapon of his choice.

At first Nia thought Myst would choose a katana as it was what Summoned Heroes usually choose according to what she has read. But there were some exceptions and Myst happened to be one of them.

Myst chose to use a broadsword that he found in the armory and used that to fight monsters outside the city just to get used to this world.

All because he thought that katana still need to be customly forged by the blacksmith. 

He thought doing so would be too troublesome so he chose the standard broadsword as his weapon.

Luckily, Myst seemed to be familiar with handling and fighting with a sword so he was able to kill monsters very efficiently... It was what Ul told Nia as she could not leave the castle to witness the scene.

However, that was enough to let Nia know that Myst must have been a practitioner of kendo or some sort back in his world, otherwise it would not make sense for someone from that peaceful country to handle a sword.

Though, Nia never asked to check Myst's status card, rather she does not need to.

No matter how many monsters he defeated, he would never be able to reach Lv99 in just a week. 

However, even if the level difference between Myst and Shinji was huge, but that will not stop Nia from coming up with a plan to beat him.

In the past week, Nia have been making magic devices to aid Myst in the duel.

Myst also participated in giving Nia ideas and asked her to make specific magic devices.

The magic devices he asked for were ones that could spread powders and ones that could circulate the powders in a specific area.

He also asked Nia if there were status-afflicting powders in the castle and if she would show him where they were in the castle.

From that, Nia was able to conclude that Myst was thinking of giving Shinji debuffs in the duel.

This was a sign that Myst also has not given up and would even try to take victory from such formidable opponent.

If the Hero she summoned has not given up, then it was even more reason for Nia not give up.

That was why, Nia firmly believed, Myst will definitely come back.

*Knock* *Knock*

The knocking sounds came from the door.

Knowing someone was behind the door, Nia quickly rushed to the door and opened it.

 "You guys are late! Don’t you know what time it is?!"

Nia answered the door because she thought the people behind were Myst and Ul.

But she was wrong...

 "Oh hoh, were you expecting me?" A blond male smirked.

 "S-Simon?" Nia muttered.

The male with neat short blond hair was Simon.

Or rather, his family name was Simon, a big noble family with big influence within Yuvian, and the Simon in front of Nia was the sole child of the current head of the Simon family.

Ever since she returned to the castle, Simon was one of the biggest bullies who discriminated against her, because she was the detested 'Magic Zero'.

Nia has resented this small Simon even till this day.

Nia was surprised at first when small Simon showed up by her door, then the feeling of disgust replaced it.

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 "I apologize for mistaking you for someone." Nia made a quick nod. "I was expecting someone else."

Nia immediately closes the door.

 "Hey, wait! I'm not done with you!" Simon reaches his hand out. "Arghh! It hurts! Stop trying to close the door! You are breaking my hand!"

The small Simon who tried stop the door from closing got his hand caught in between the door.

Nia knew small Simon would try to stop her from closing the door but she did not expect the result. But even if small Simon's hand got caught by the door, it did not stop Nia from attempting to close the door... more-like she even pushed with more force.

 "Arrgghhh! This Wench, she's pushing even harder!" Small Simon screamed. "You two! Quit staring at me! Help me!"

The two nobles small Simon brought with quickly came to help, they managed to stop Nia from closing the door and they pushed it open.

Once the door was opened, the three men entered Nia's room at her displease.

 "As usual, what a mess your room is." Small Simon said while rubbing his painful hand.

 "What do you want? State your business and leave immediately!" Nia exclaimed.

It was against the law of Yuvian for anyone other than the royal family to enter a princess' room without her permission, but Nia did ask how small Simon and his two follower nobles got here. This was because she knew small Simon must have used his family's name to get past the guards.

Also, this wasn't the first time small Simon have forced his way into Nia's room, he has been doing so since they were young. Even if Nia raised a complaint about this but nobody were willing to take action for this, including The King.

This was why Nia can only endure to get by this situation.

 "Why are you so cold, Nia? Don't you remember that our relationship goes way back?" Small Simon said as he tried to wrap Nia around his arm.

 "Keep your hands to yourself!" Nia slapped small Simon's hand away and glared at him. "I do not remember that we are in any kind of relationship. More-like, I detest you! If you have nothing else to say then leave now!"

Straight forward, Nia expressed her feeling to small Simon.

In response to that, small Simon smirked.

 "Are you sure about that? Even though I'm here to offer you my kind suggestion." Small Simon said.

 "Kind, Suggestion?" Nia muttered in disbelief.

 "That's correct! I heard King Magnus has already arranged a marriage for you and the prince of Faramal. So this is my suggestion." Small Simon opened his arms wide. "Why don't you let me marry you instead? Even if you have a marriage arranged for you but with my father's influence we can quickly sort this out!" Small Simon squeezed a gentle smile. "It's better to marry someone you know than getting married off to someone you don't just for political reason, right? See? I am trying to save you from your bitter fate of a princess!"

Hearing that, Nia scoffed:

 "Rather than you are suggesting this to me, I am sure it was your father who came up with this suggestion and let you talk to me into agreement. Look, I can see from your expression that you do not have any feelings for me. The only reason why he would want you to marry me is so the Simon family would have a direct connection with the royal family." Nia sighed. "Seriously, such a transparent and shameless plan."

 "You dare speak ill of my father!" Small Simon grabbed Nia’s collar.

 "Resorting to violence already? Just because I said your father's plan was shameless?" Nia responded coldly, she knew small Simon does not have the gut to hurt her. Nia pointed at the door. "I will not comply with your father's plan, if you have nothing else then leave."

Then, Nia gave an sharp glare at small Simon causing him let go of his grip on Nia's collar.

For a moment, Simon was surprised that a woman two-third of his size could give such threatening stare.

Then, after he was reminded that Nia was just a little girl who only turned 14 a week ago and has no magic capabilities, he quickly regained his posture.

 "Hmph, you can stay on your high-horse as much as you like!" Small Simon said. "I know after this day, you will be begging me on all fours just so I could allow you to accept the kindness I offered you today!"

 "Me, on all fours?! How laughable." Nia chuckled. "What made you think I would do that?"

 "Still pretending to be tough? Do you really think that weak Hero you summoned a week ago would really have a chance against Shinji? Such foolishness!"

 "That is none of your business. Whether Myst can beat Shinji or not, we will show you in the duel today!"

 "Drop the act already, you 'Magic Zero'!" Small Simon roared angrily. "Did you really think I don't know that Hero of yours went missing this morning?! I am sure he ran away with a tail between his legs when he realized he stands no chance against Hero Shinji!"

 "E-Eh…?"

Nia was astonished, her tough posture immediately crumbled.

First, being called Magic Zero reminded her of her helpless childhood in this castle. Then small Simon called out on her that he knew of Myst's absence...

A series of question immediately came into her mind:

How does he know? Does anyone else know about this? Did he tell anyone about this? Does The King know? What will happen if he knew about it? What will happen to her? What should she do? What can she do?

The feeling of nervousness swelled up inside her, cold sweat broke out on her back.

With no way to ease this nervousness, Nia tightly gripped onto her dress.

Nia was lost for words. 

Seeing Nia's reaction, small Simon smirked.

 "Looks like I was right on the money." Small Simon said as he shook his head. "I was told that your servant was running around town looking for someone so I assumed that Hero of yours has had enough with you and ran away from you. Well, that's expected, who would want to be with a 'Magic Zero'!"

 "No..." Nia responded weakly. "He... Myst will be back... I-I am sure...!”

 "Quit lying to yourself, 'Magic Zero'! You think you can convince me with your words if you weren't even sure of it yourself?! How laughable!"

Small Simon actually began to laugh, and his two follower nobles were also laughing with him.

They were laughing at the woman who had just reached adulthood a week ago and still having the thought process of a little girl.

It was obvious to anyone that Hero of hers had fled for his life already.

Challenging Kazehaya Shinji? The strongest Hero of Yuvian?

Nobody in Yuvian would even thought of that, let alone actually doing it.

But that foolish man, that Hero of hers who happpened to also be a 'Magic Zero', actually went and challenged Shinji to a duel.

Even if he was also a Hero who has received the Hero's Blessing but their difference was too much.

Shinji at Lv99 and a Hero who was just summoned a week ago.

The result of the duel was clear as day, and maybe if Shinji was not careful he might even kill that foolish Hero.

Thinking about it made small Simon felt like laughing some more but after seeing Nia who has become unresponsive made him lose interest in doing so.

He thought Nia might have become more stubborn with her belief after she successfully summoned a Hero and would be fun to slowly break her down. But he did not think she would break so easily from just mere words.

 "Such a boring woman." Small Simon spat and stepped out of Nia's room. "I can't believe father actually told me to marry her."

He left leaving these words and his follower Nobles hurried after him.

It was only Nia left standing in her room now.

Only after a short while did Nia noticed that.

She slowly dragged her numbed body towards the door and finally shut it closed.

But she did not move away from door, instead she leaned forward and rest her forehead on it.

For a while she stood there just like that.

…

 "What the... Princess? What are you doing, trying to remember the smell of your door before leaving?"

A familiar voice came from behind Nia.

Nia was surprised, she turned around and saw a white-haired man in black.

Many mixed feelings swelled up from inside her.

 "Woah, what's this?" Myst was surprised to see Nia's expression. "Are you about to cry? Ah, I see, you missed me that much that you wanted to cry, huh... Alright, Com'on!" He opened his arms wide and invited Nia. "Feel free to come into my embrace and cry to your heart's content!"

 "..."

Nia did not say anything.

She knew there was no need to say anything and understood what Myst's invitation meant.

She knew what she wanted to do.

Nia walked towards Myst's embrace and...

*Pah!*

She slapped him.

 "...?!..." Myst held onto to his cheek and looked at Nia with an unbelievable expression.

He did not expect Nia would slap him for showing her his kindness.

Just when Myst was about to say something,

*Pachi*

Another slap connected with his other cheek.

Right before Nia executed another slap, Myst quickly responded and grabbed onto Nia's shoulders.

 "No, wait! What are you doing?" Myst shook Nia to try to get some sense in her. "Why are you slapping me out of the blue? This isn't like you..." Then Myst paused when he made a sudden realization. "No, actually this is like you, but still, why are you slapping me when I'm showing my kindness and warmth?! Is this the custom of this world to say 'thank you'?"

 "ShutUpShutUp SHUT UP!" Nia freed herself out of his grip and started punching his chest. "What kindness?! What Warmth?! Suddenly disappearing without saying anything...!" She grabbed onto his coat. "Do you know how scared I was when I thought you ran away? Do you know how scared I was when I was left alone?!"

She buried her face into his chest.

 "I was scared! I was so scared!! UWAaaaahh!"

Nia began crying...

Myst lagged a little bit behind when he listened to Nia's rant. It was sudden but he knew that it was his fault for this to happen.

 Ah, ah. This time I have done it...

Myst scratched his head.

Right now, there was nothing he could do but sit there on the floor with Nia as she cry to her heart's content.

*****

Finally, Nia have cried out all the feelings swelled up inside her.

Not much of the actual time have past but to Nia it felt as if an hour or two had passed.

Nia stood up and turned her back to Myst.

She does not want to face him.

Nia was a prideful princess who have endured all the discriminations and unfairness that have came at her during her childhood. She does not know what came to her but this was the first time she cried so much in the presence of someone else.

After calming her mind, she realized she has displayed an unsightly side of her.

It was a bit too awkward for her to show her face to him right now. 

When Nia was organizing her feeling and a good reason to turn around, Myst broke the silence:

 "You done crying? You got everything out of your system?" Myst stood up as well. "If not, then feel free to use me again. I am always open for you." He opened his arms and invites Nia. "Here, com'on Princess! COM'ON!"

Nia did a half-roundhouse slap instead.

 "No, when I said 'feel free to use me' I don't mean it this way." Myst rubbed his cheek. "I'm not like your pervert butler who likes being beaten by you."

 "You... You always... even at this time..." Nia glared at Myst and breathed the words out. Then after a short while, "P-Pfft, Bwahaha!" She began laughing. "Hahahaha...!"

From the bottom of her heart, Nia was laughing.

She does not know why and what was funny, but she wanted to laugh.

Nia was surprised she was able to express so much emotions in just one week's time. 

 Maybe it was because of him?

Myst, the Hero she summoned, was not like any other Heroes she has heard or seen.

He was a carefree man, whose actions was not Hero-like, and even though weak but still have strong confidence in his strength.

Also, Myst was surprisingly reliable.

Like the time when he answered Nia's plead during the Hero Summoning Ritual, the time when she was arguing with The King, and now.

Even though the latter two were all his fault, but he still changed the threatening atmosphere with his attitude. 

Now, Myst was back. He did not run away from Shinji's duel.

He was willing to give a shot at this almost impossible-to-win duel, all for Nia's freedom from this castle.

Even if Myst was the weakest Hero ever summoned to Yuvian and does strange things, Nia was glad Myst was the Hero she summoned.

 "Are you ready to leave?" Nia asked Myst just before they take off to duel Shinji.

 "Hah! You asking me that now when I'm in your room already?" Myst laughed. "The reason why I'm here is because everything is ready. I can leave anytime! Instead," He then made a mischievous smile. "Shouldn't you be asking yourself that?"

 "Foolish question." Nia held up one side of her dress and spun around in a full-circle once. "I am more than ready."

 "Alright, then!" Myst nodded. "Let's leave."

 "Yes." Nia lift her dress up and bowed slightly. "Let' us take our leave."

Then they turned around and walked towards the entrance in front of them.

With Nia walking to the door and Myst walking to the window...

 Huh?!

 "wait, wait, WAIT!" Nia grabbed onto Myst. "Just where are you going?"

 "No, I should be asking you the same thing, Princess. Why are you walking towards the door?"

 "Because it is only natural to leave the room using the only entrance installed in this room! A door! Do you even know what a door is?"

 "Aren't you rude, Princess? Of course I do know what a door is and how to even use it." Myst lifted his index finger. "But there's one thing I have to correct you."

 "Correct me?"

 "That's right." Myst nodded. "You are wrong to say that the only entrance in this room was the door." Then he pointed at the window. "That is also an entrance in a sense!"

 "Y-Yes, I agree with you a window may be used as an entrance but..." Nia face-palmed. "We are 30 meters above the ground! We will become a pile of meat puddle if we jumped out of this window!"

 "But look, here I am without using the door. So this means the door wasn't the only entrance! And if you are worried about landing then," Myst took out a magic device out of his pocket. "You made this for something like this right? It was mentioned in your notes that this will create vortex of air to brake any deadly fall!"

 "Why are you taking my stuff without my permission?"

Nia snatched the magic device from his hand. She held the device in her embrace while glaring at Myst as if she was scared Myst might steal it again.

 "This is still a prototype. I have not even tested it yet!"

 "Then isn't this the perfect time to test it?" Myst ran behind Nia. "Come, let's get to the window and let's have you jump down from it!" 

 "I have never seen a Hero so motivated in telling someone to jump off a castle! H-Hey! Can you stop pushing me to the window? Wait, S-Stop!"

 "Why are you resisting so much? Wasn't it written in your diary that you wish to be free one day and fly like a bird in the sky?"

 "I mean it figuratively! Can you not take what people have written word-for-word?!" Nia turned around and buried her face in Myst's chest to hide her red face. "Also, can you not just say the lines from someone's diary out loud? It is embarrassing! Do you not have any delicacy at all?"

 "Delicacy? Hah, that's something I've thrown out the window a long time ago." Myst grinned. "And I am about to do the same to you."

 "Hyaa?!"

Nia let out a squeak when Myst lifted her up and let her sit on the window sill. 

From her position, she can see the same view of Miastary she has always seen from inside her room.

The difference this time was Nia could not feel the reliable support from ground at her feet.

This definitely was not the time for Nia to be enjoying the view.

 "Why are you so insisted to use the window?" Nia could not help but ask. "Can we not just use the door if we are leaving?"

 "Well," Myst made a difficult expression. "The things we are about to do won't allow us to leave via the door. We might be stopped by the guards if they see us."

 "What do you mean by that? Are we not leaving for the duel with Shinji? Why would the guards stop us if we are moving to the built-in Colisseum?"

 "Eh?"

 "Eh?"

Myst suddenly made a surprised face, and in turn, Nia was surprised to see Myst was surprised by her question.

 W-What is the meaning of this?

 "Princess..." Myst looked at Nia with an unbelievalbe expression. "Did... Did none of us tell you about it?"

 "T-Tell me about what? What are you talking about? And who is this 'us'?"

 "By 'us' I meant me and Ul." Myst lift up two of his fingers. "We have planned to screw the rules and escape the city to freedom with you."

 "H-HUH...?!"

Nia was so astonished that she almost fell off the window sill, luckily Myst had supported her so she could regain her balance.

However, her face has not recovered from her state of shock.

 "You guys are planning to... What? ESCAPE?! Why did none of you tell me about this?!"

 "So Ul didn't tell you about this, huh..." Myst clicked his tongue. "Well, it's expected, since I only told him about it some hours ago and he left to do some preparation."

 "So it was basically you who came up with this plan all on your own!! Why are you deciding things on your own? My freedom is at stake here! This is really a big deal!"

 "Your freedom is at stake is precisely why I came up with an escape plan." Myst said in a serious tone.

The sudden change in Myst's atmosphere surprised Nia, she was not able to respond to Myst immediately and before she could, Myst continued:

 "I spent the past week coming with this plan. Comparing my plan with the possible outcomes with the duel against Shinji, I highly believe my plan has a higher chance of granting you the freedom you always wanted. I would like to explain the whole plan to you right now but..." He looked back at the closed door. "Unfortunately, there's an old man coming our way so we don't have much time..."

 An old man? Must be because we have yet shown ourselves in the Colisseum so The King sent someone to take us there.

 "Whether to go along with my plan or to let me duel Shinji..." Myst asked. "Your choice, Princess. What's it going to be?"

Suddenly, Nia was asked to immediately make a choice.

It was her freedom at stake but there were no time left for her to think of the possible outcomes and risks in taking any of the two choices.

Nia can only rely on her instinct to make the choice for her.

Even though she wanted to complain to Myst that he has yet caused another trouble for her but now it was not the time for that.

Thus, Nia made a choice.

 "Fine!" Nia gave Myst her answer with a determined look. "I will go with your plan!"

 "Off you go then." Myst casually pushed Nia off the window.

 "e-Eh...?" Nia was shocked.

Without any warning, she was pushed off.

There were no time for her to react and she was already falling down towards the ground.

 "I-I-IDIOTTTTTttttttt...!!!" 

Nia shouted as she activated the prototype magic device in her hand.

 *****

After pushing Nia off the window, Myst was the only one left in her room.

It was his turn to jump out of the window.

When he got a leg on top of the window sill, he stopped.

He turned his head and took a look at the messy room.

He smirked.

Then, he jumped out of the window as well.

 *****

*Knock Knock Knock*

An old man in butler's suit knocked on Nia's door for the third time already and yet he still received no response from within.

 "Princess Nia." He called. "By the order of The King, I am here to escort you and your Hero to the Colisseum."

Still no response.

Strange, from what he heard from the guards he passed along the way Nia has not left her room the whole morning.

So she should still be inside her room. 

 "There is no use in hiding, I know you are inside!"

Nia's room was located at the top of a tower connected to the castle. The room only has one entrance and there was no other way for Nia to leave the room other than this only entrance.

So it was only logical to conclude that Nia was trying to hide herself inside her room.

 Only now did she know she made a mistake, huh...

The old man sighed.

He believed Nia must have finally regretted to let her Hero challenge Hero Shinji to a duel.

The old man expected this to happen, he knew Nia was a troublesome princess and she has a stubborn personality. She will always go against the masses even though she was just a 'Magic Zero'.

Now, she's also making it troublesome for him as well.

Having been ignored for this long, the old man was at his limit.

 "Fine, if you are not planning come out then...!" He grabbed the handle. "I will go in myself!"

He twisted the handle and opened the door.

 "h...Huh?"

But he was shocked when he entered the room.

 "W-What happened here...?"

The room was empty.

There was no one in this room, no furniture in this room... nothing!

The room that was once messy now has nothing in it.

Except for the tiny pieces of black paper scattered on the tiled floor.

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