Margaret came to her senses, panicking as she searched for the sacred relic.
Then, her amber eyes finally spotted the Holy Grail amid the rubble, most of its blood already spilled.
“My blood!”
She was heartbroken.
Boiling blood flowed out in torrents, and the strange Holy Grail lost its luster.
The soul-deep “suppression” faded with the evaporation of the remaining blood.
For Jon, ever since Ananna had fallen, a bizarre force had been blocking the flow of magic within him, making it extremely difficult to manipulate even a sliver of power.
Though the “sense of blockage” grew lighter, it still made Jon’s body uncomfortable, like a person whose nose suddenly clogs up after a marathon, or a goldfish fished out of water.
In that first instant,his strength dropped to a tenth.
From 1,700 strikes per second to 170.
From a near lightspeed burst to only a tenth of light speed.
Jon shuddered inwardly.
If the Demon King Lia had mastered this kind of “strange field,” the outcome of their fierce battle would’ve been unpredictable.
Margaret saw Jon’s frown and thought he was unused to losing his magic for the first time, filling her with regret.
Damn it… Jon must have been completely magic-sealed, turned into an ordinary human! Even three or five strong men could overpower him by brute force!
Where are the Imperial Guards? Soldiers? A bunch of damn useless fools! What a wasted opportunity!
Margaret cursed inwardly.
Blood from the Holy Grail trickled into the dirt.
The “Prohibition Field” gradually dissipated.
Only then did Lia snap back to reality, realizing she’d lost all sense of magic in that moment! Even her psychic link with the other Pupu was temporarily severed!
Magic-sealing!
The Empire had such a bug-like method?!
A bunch of Mechanism Monsters!
She wondered… between the Empire’s Mechanism Monsters and the Hero’s Stat Monster, who would come out on top…
As she grumbled, Lia sneaked a glance at the Hero but found his face expressionless.
For a moment, she couldn’t tell if he was unaffected or just stunned.
At that moment, Jon looked up, meeting the dazed gaze of Cobirio overhead.
Not wanting to face his teaching master, he grabbed Margaret and ran to the other side of the cave.
In a blink, the Hero was gone.
It took Ananna a long time to recover.
Her panic faded, and she stood up, straightening her skirt.
She picked up the sacred relic from the ground, took out a handkerchief, and carefully wiped the mud from the cup.
“Miss Nanna, what do we do now?”
Cobirio leapt down from the third floor, his expression complicated—part relief, but mostly dread.
“There’s no need to worry about Her Highness’s safety.”
Ananna sighed softly.
“The Hero wouldn’t harm the princess, at most… he’d make her suffer a bit.”
“I know. Jon is a sincere person—only when fighting demons does he get ruthless. I mean, what about us? Should we go to the refugee camp and rescue people?”
Cobirio pressed anxiously.
Ananna replied calmly.
“With the Hero guarding, we definitely can’t rescue anyone. But we should at least show effort. Later, we’ll change into plain clothes and circle the refugee camp—let the princess know we tried…”
“I understand.”
Cobirio’s face was stern, but inside, he breathed a sigh of relief.
A face-saving move.
Looks like I won’t have to fight the Hero desperately or waste all this dragon blood.
Another day of surviving under a willful superior.
Sigh!
—
At the same time.
Margaret was already tied to a horse by Jon, being transported back to Hope Town as spoils of war.
Lia had turned back into a ball, following the Hero’s orders to discipline the princess.
She and another rock Pupu each claimed half of the princess’s elastic Royal Buttocks, bouncing up and down like a trampoline.
Every time Lia nearly hit the ground, she’d use[Harden]to increase her weight.
To Margaret, it felt like two hands were repeatedly slapping her butt, making her grimace in pain.
“Aaah…!”
“J-Jon! You bastard! I already admitted I was wrong! I apologized! Why are you still hitting me?!”
“Ow, it hurts~! It hurts~!”
“Jon! S-save me! I don’t want this anymore!”
Jon led the horse, pretending not to hear.
Meanwhile, Lia’s little mouth kept babbling.
“Hmph! Serves you right! Ate Lili, did you? Bullied Lili, did you? Treated Pupu lives like grass, did you? Deserved! Today I’m smashing your butt flat!”
Back at camp, Yuna stood at the roadside, dumbfounded.
“My God, you really kidnapped Her Highness the princess…”
Margaret saw Yuna and instantly exploded.
She stretched her neck, venting her pent-up anger at Yuna, screaming:
“Wretch! I knew it was you! You encouraged the Hero to do this, didn’t you? That’s why he suddenly turned like this! It must be you!”
Yuna gave a bitter smile.
“Your Highness, you give me too much credit. How could I influence the Hero’s decisions? I always tried to persuade him not to.”
Margaret didn’t believe her at all.
Furious, she glared at Yuna, wanting someone to vent her resentment on.
She didn’t dare provoke the Hero, nor his pets.
The only remaining “punching bag” was the Saintess.
She shouted.
“Liar! Fraud! Who in the Empire’s noble circles doesn’t know your words are mostly lies?! Just wait! When I get back to the Empire, I’ll deal with you!”
Yuna clenched her pink fists in grievance.
“Your Highness…”
“Enough.”
Jon interrupted them, his gaze fixed on the princess.
“Miss Margaret, is apologizing for your actions so hard? Didn’t you just apologize to me?”
Margaret blushed furiously.
“That’s different! You’re the Hero. They… they… are just lowly…”
Lia jumped and crashed down onto Margaret’s waist, making her yelp in pain.
Relieved, Lia’s round body made a “po” sound as it popped out four limbs, pink fluid shifting and reshaping until she returned to her adorable girl form.
She leapt to the horse’s head, then used it as a springboard to Jon’s shoulder.
“Clothes! Lili! Clothes!”
Jon chased after her, trying to put a dress on her.
She dodged a few times but couldn’t escape, finally pouting as Jon dressed her.
For some reason, Margaret felt a pang watching the scene.
She couldn’t help but think: The Hero is so gentle to Pupu, but so cruel to me… does he hate me that much?
—I’m a princess.
Why should he hate me?
Rain drifted in the cold night wind.
Smoke rose in the distance.
“It’s almost dinner. Let’s go inside.”
Jon cut the rope, finally releasing Margaret.
She instantly raised her hand, aiming to hit Pupu, but met Jon’s warning gaze.
She halted abruptly, turned, and instead punched Yuna.
Yuna clutched her reddened cheek, stepping back, tears welling up in her eyes.
Her pitiful gaze shimmered with broken timidity.
But then, she heard Margaret’s mocking scorn.
“Don’t pretend. Jon’s already gone. He doesn’t care enough to look at you.”
Yuna turned in a daze.
Sure enough, the Hero’s figure was already far away, heavy armor making him look even taller and broader, the rain-soaked metal plates reflecting the cold, sharp glow of dusk.
On his shoulder sat a single Pupu… just one.