Hurry!
That was Anya’s first impression of her opponent—every movement made in front of Anya was swift as a shadow, completely on a different level than herself.
“You must be Anya Auckland, right?” The blonde girl looked at Anya with great interest, nodding with a smile as she spoke.
“Who are you?” Seeing that the other had put away her offensive stance, Anya also sheathed her Heavy Wooden Practice Sword.
“Oh, look at me, I forgot to introduce myself!”
The blonde girl chuckled, then performed a standard knight’s salute, her tone turning formal: “Let me introduce myself properly. I am Lina Orfei, Holy Knight of the Third Knight Order of the Holy Light Empire, and also, by chance, the head of the Holy Knights—codename, Saintli.”
Holy Knight?
Iris did know that. Holy Knights seemed to be important fighting power within the Holy Light Empire.
If this person claimed to be the head of the knights, then her strength must be among the very best in the entire Empire.
These kinds of things were really not her business. Let little Anya handle the negotiation herself. Iris chose to just laze about for a while longer anyway; she wasn’t fully awake and might as well nap a bit more.
Anya was slightly stunned at these words. The head of the Holy Knights visiting in person—this must be the guest that Teacher Kashan mentioned.
But… her father hadn’t even arrived yet, so why had the guest come first?
With questions in her heart, she still bowed and saluted. “Greetings, Saintli Knight.”
“No need to be so formal, Anya~” Lina scratched her head sheepishly, her smile bright and clear. “I’m only a few years older than you, just call me Sister Lina.”
Saying this, she walked over to Anya in a few strides and patted her on the shoulder, her tone a little apologetic. “Sorry about earlier. When I saw you carrying that heavy sword, I got a bit jumpy and just wanted to spar a bit. Seriously, your swordsmanship is really good for someone so young—who taught you?”
Lina was truly outgoing, and after her barrage of words, Anya was a little at a loss. Steadying herself, she replied politely, “My teacher is Kashan Toronto. You might not have heard of her.”
“Kashan?” Lina lifted a gauntleted hand to tap her lips, pondering for a moment. “Sounds familiar. Wasn’t she the upperclassman a few years ahead of me?”
Just as she finished, she suddenly pouted, a bit dissatisfied. “Anya, I told you to call me Sister Lina. Using honorifics makes me sound so old!”
“All right, Sister Lina.” Anya went along with her. “Then, may I ask, where is my father?”
Only then did Lina nod in satisfaction. “Your father should be arriving soon. I just came in early to check things out.”
Anya was a little surprised. “How did you get in, Sister Lina?”
“As soon as I said I was a Holy Knight, the guards let me through without a word~” Lina said casually.
This Holy Knight really was something else. Anya muttered to herself.
Just then, Karen’s figure appeared at the entrance of the hall.
He swept a glance over Lina inside the hall, not seeming all that surprised.
Walking into the hall, Karen looked at Lina, his tone tinged with helplessness. “Lady Lina, you’ve acted first and reported later once again. You’re really putting me in a tough spot.”
It was Anya’s first time seeing her father act this way towards someone. Even in the Northern Frontier, when dealing with other families, Karen was always stern.
But in front of Lina, he seemed unusually compliant, nothing like the father Anya was familiar with.
“Karen, how many times have I told you!” Lina puffed out her cheeks at his words. “Just call me Miss Lina. I really hate when people use honorifics for me.”
Karen ignored her little tantrum and replied blandly, “As the head of the Holy Knights, Lady Lina, I cannot go against my own code.”
“Hmph, just like those old geezers, all stubborn!” Lina wasn’t actually angry, folding her arms and pouting. “You know, your daughter is much more agreeable than you are.”
Karen, seeing her bring up Anya, glanced at his daughter beside him and asked, “You two have already met?”
He had thought Anya had only just arrived as well, but to his surprise, they’d already crossed paths. Given Lina’s nature, she had probably done something unexpected, right?
“Looks like you’ve done something surprising again. Anya is only at the second rank, is she really worth your attention?” Karen already had a rough idea of what had happened.
“Why wouldn’t she be?” Lina said, giving Karen a little punch, her eyes full of approval. “Anya’s swordsmanship is really something. You taught her well! If she keeps this up, she might even surpass you someday.”
“Her swordsmanship wasn’t taught by me.” Karen sounded a bit helpless. “Lady Lina, you didn’t come all this way just for my daughter, did you? Why not get to the point?”
“What’s the rush.” Lina pouted. “You always put business first. Just look at Anya—she clearly hasn’t received much attention from you. The two of you didn’t even exchange a greeting when you met. You always put affairs of state above everything else.”
Karen was slightly taken aback, meeting Anya’s eyes. After a brief silence, he coughed lightly. “Lady Lina, we can talk about that later. Let’s discuss business first.”
“You’re no fun.” Lina huffed, but didn’t say more.
At this moment, Anya suddenly asked, “Should I leave? It sounds like you’re about to discuss something important.”
Her father seldom came back from the Fortress. Now, even a Holy Knight had come in person, so it must be something significant.
“No need, Anya can stay and listen.” Lina answered immediately, not at all intending to make her leave.
Karen seemed like he wanted to say something, but kept his mouth shut.
He knew he couldn’t persuade Lina.
Lina glanced at the two of them and cleared her throat. “This time I came to the Northern Border—well, it’s not exactly earth-shattering, but it’s not something to be taken lightly either.”
“Lady Lina, you can save this sort of preamble next time.” Karen immediately cut her off.
“Tch, no sense of romance.” Lina frowned, but didn’t dwell on it and got straight to the point. “A while ago, there was a tremor like an earthquake on a Snow Mountain in the Northern Frontier. You must have noticed?”
Karen nodded. “We detected it. But many of the Snow Mountains in the Northern Border used to be Volcanoes. Occasional disturbances aren’t that rare.”
“But this time is different.” Lina shook her head, her tone serious. “If it were an ordinary tremor, those old fossils wouldn’t be so nervous. The key is, there was Magic Power Leakage for a short time that day.”
“Magic Power Leakage?” Karen frowned.
“That’s right.” Lina raised her brow, looking at Karen. “Karen, you’ve been in the Northern Border for so long, you must have heard the Legend, right?”
Karen was visibly shaken. “You can’t mean to say—that story is true?”
Anya was completely lost, subconsciously glancing at Iris, but that one was already sleeping soundly.
She had no choice but to look away and continue listening to the two adults.
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