After drinking mana potions to recover their MPs, Sako and Chelsea flew over the battlefield. The blackhole had disappeared because of the magic outage, so that problem was fixed. Now Sako was following Chelsea as she searched for the princess while holding the girl from earlier in her arms. They still didn’t know where that loud ding had come from.

Some remaining soldiers surprisingly still had the resolve and energy: they were locked in weak scuffles with their injuries and fatigue, tripping and stumbling over one another. In a nearby tower, wizards sipped potions, getting their MPs back up before shooting from their safe spots again. They resumed firing projectiles across the field at unsuspecting enemy troops.

Sako and Chelsea landed next to Princess Vanescka on the field once they spotted her and her attendant… who probably needed a doctor, since she was lying face down on the grass. She wasn’t moving. Luckily, they were far away from the battles.

“What happened?!” Chelsea gawked at the princess’ attendant.

“She just had a bit too much milk. She’ll be fine.” Princess Vanescka waved her hand dismissively.

Chelsea looked unconvinced but moved on anyway. “Your father wants you back at the palace.”

“Yeah, I’m bored out here anyway, and Enya isn’t exactly helping. She’s pretty useless right now.”

Chelsea stared at the princess quizzically.

“She… forced me to drink too much… cold…” Enya mumbled from the ground and couldn’t even lift her head.

Chelsea’s stare changed to an accusatory one.

“What?” Princess Vanescka shrugged. “Milk’s good for you.”

“But… she made me fetch more… from… kitchen… A lot more…”

“Well, duh. I wanted different flavors to taste.” Princess Vanescka looked down at Enya at her feet.

Chelsea raised her brow. “Did you make her drink all that milk?”

“Of course not! I drank some.” Princess Vanescka folded her arms in defiance.

“You mean… barely half a mouthful from each glass,” Enya weakly corrected her with a mumble.

“I… just changed my mind and got tired of the rest… and yeah…” Princess Vanescka tried to find the right words to counter.

Chelsea spotted a tray not too far away on the grass with at least 10 empty glasses on it.

Shock hit Sako’s stomach once she saw them too. Whoa, that’s a lot.

Chelsea sighed, unsurprised. “Let’s go.” Chelsea knew better than to waste time arguing. She seemed quite used to this.

“I have a single-use teleporter if you want,” Sako handed Chelsea a teleporter—courtesy of Kiyomi.

Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.

“Are you sure?” Chelsea asked.

“Yeah, I can get around just fine. It’s better if you take it, especially since Enya can’t move.”

“Thank you.” She smiled. “I’ll take custody of that girl if you’re okay with that.”

“Of course.” Sako handed the girl over to Chelsea.

Chelsea put her over one side of her shoulder.

Sako hadn’t bothered using a Recovery Potion on the girl in her arms for fear of waking her because if she woke, she would be trouble.

Chelsea crushed the Teleport Gem in her hand.

A magic circle appeared under their feet.

“Thanks for helping,” Chelsea said. “I have a feeling Le Francia’s at the capital trying to wrap it up. See if you can catch up with her and stop her from doing anything rash.”

“Thanks, will do!” Sako replied.

“See ya, girlie. Drop by sometime. You would be useful to me.” Princess Vanescka had her hands on her hips as if she were a boss. She had a cool but still authoritative aura despite being the smallest. Sunglasses would suit her.

Sako waved.

The four of them, along with the tray, teleported away in a flash of light.

She opened her interface and pulled up her map to find the capital. She had one Stamina Potion left, so she could afford to sprint all the way there.

~~~

Kingdom of Lamentine, the Capital, North of the Town Square, the Palace Gates

As Le Francia neared to the gates, a voice called from behind her.

“You there! Let’s see your ID!” Footsteps came at her.

The four armored guards at the gate in front noticed the approaching guards behind her. That fact alone warranted their suspicions. They drew their swords. Two scattered. The six behind her spaced out evenly and blocked her exit, completing the circle to lock her in.

She wasn’t surprised as she hadn’t made any effort to conceal her abnormal magical presence.

“ID!”

A portal appeared. Rather than stopping, she stepped into the portal before her and stepped out of another portal on the opposite side of the gates, heading to the large double doors.

“QUICKLY! ALERT THE ELITES!”

“RIGHT!”

Beyond the gates behind her, some guards fled the scene to fetch reinforcements; the rest swung open the gates and stormed in, heading for the intruder.

Le Francia took hold of her floating sword with one hand. VROOSH! One poke at the doors was all it took for them to vanish along with a huge chunk of the wall that had supported them. Her sword had sent the missing chunk to another dimension.

In the hall were a few frozen and alarmed maids. The footsteps behind gradually became louder as the guards gave chase.

She turned to face her pursuers. It would be wise to subdue these guards before the reinforcements arrived. Once she pointed her sword skywards, a dark portal appeared above the guards. They screamed while the portal sucked them up into the air and swallowed them then shut.

Le Francia turned back to the palace again and stepped inside. She looked at a nearby trembling maid. “Where is the king?”

“W-what business have you with His M-Majesty?” Her eyes were wide as she shook like a leaf in the wind.

She aimed her sword at the maid. “You will show me the way.”

The maid squeaked and hurried across the room. “Right this way!”

The rest of the maids in the room dared not to move as Le Francia traversed the room.

The maid guided her through a few rooms before she reached a set of double doors.

“Leave now.” Le Francia was satisfied. “Tell no one of this.”

The maid bowed and scurried off down the hall.

With mental effort, the doors caved in under an invisible pressure and collapsed in pieces on the floor. And what lay beyond the entrance on the throne across the room was her despicable adversary.