Chapter 275 11

"Somehow, I feel familiar with that power."

The one who said that was Megumi. She subconsciously opened her mouth after sensing the origin of the green light. Megumi is very sensitive to various power sources as a hero with saintess powers. Be it mana, aura, divine power, or spirit power. She could easily distinguish the different types of power once her strength level increased. Because of that, Megumi could recognize the power she had previously felt.

"Kyaaah! What are you doing, Kyouka!?" Megumi suddenly screamed in pain because Kyouka had pinched her waist. She looked at the girl beside her with teary eyes, but Kyouka glared at her. Fortunately, Kyouka had already made a soundproof barrier. So no one in the place heard Megumi's voice.

"Don't say anything further about it. Do you understand?" Kyouka warned Megumi with a severe face. She knew who had fired the large-scale attack. That's why Kyouka had to shut up Megumi's mouth immediately before she said it to anyone else. Princess Iris, Princess Freya, and Princess Aishia also recognized Kalya's power because they had been training together recently.

"Ah, I...I understand!" Megumi answered haltingly under the pressure of Kyouka's words to her. Cold sweat dripped from her forehead as she was scared by her friend's serious face. Megumi felt that Kyouka was a little different from the one she knew.

(I'm sure the one who used that large-scale attack was Miss Kalya. But why did Kyouka want to hide her identity? Does it still have something to do with Ken? Since when did Kyouka become close to him? I also feel that Kyouka hides many secrets from me and often hangs out with the princesses?)

Megumi had many questions in her mind. But she couldn't ask Kyouka directly for fear that Kyouka would be angry with her. Therefore, Megumi preferred to remain silent for now and followed her words.

After getting an answer from Megumi, Kyouka quickly removed her barrier so the people around them wouldn't suspect anything. Only Princess Iris, Princess Freya, and Princess Aishia were aware of Kyouka's actions.

Prince Fritz and the people in the place turned their attention to Megumi. Unfortunately, Megumi's words were already heard by them.

"Do you recognize the person who fired the attack, Megumi?" Prince Fritz asked. Hikaru and the people around him were also waiting for Megumi's answer as they were curious about it.

"Ah, that's..." Megumi broke out in cold sweat under the gazes of Prince Fritz and the people around her. Then she glanced at Kyouka, and the other party still glared at her to warn her. Megumi couldn't help but sigh heavily when she was under pressure from both sides, but she had to keep her word to Kyouka and hide Kalya's identity.

"I'm sorry, but I don't know. I think I misrecognized the owner of that power." Megumi said apologetically. She felt guilty for lying to them. Prince Fritz, Hikaru, and the others looked disappointed after hearing her answer. In contrast, Kyouka and the three princesses sighed in relief that Megumi didn't say anything about Kalya.

On the other hand, Princess Cordelia frowned upon hearing Megumi's answer. She felt that Megumi was hiding something from them, but she decided to keep quiet and not force her if she didn't want to say it. Princess Cordelia was sure that Megumi had her reasons for doing so. After that, she turned her eyes to Kyouka and the three Princesses behind Megumi. But her gaze only briefly paused on them and quickly turned her attention back to the bell tower.

Princess Cordelia was grateful that that person had helped them overcome the crisis. Even though she vaguely recognized the owner of that power, she didn't think much of it because she didn't care. Princess Cordelia didn't want to discover that person's identity and repeated the mistake she had made to Ziel.

"Alright. We better go back to our respective places. For this matter, let the kings settle it." Prince Fritz said to the people around him. Then he walked out of place and returned to his table to continue his lunch.

Prince Albert and the others followed Prince Fritz. One by one, they returned to their respective places. Only Kyouka and the three princesses were left there. They seemed to be talking about something in whispers. Megumi and Princess Cordelia noticed their actions.

Princess Cordelia and Megumi guessed that they were having a secret conversation. As a woman, both must feel curious and want to eavesdrop. But it would not be polite if they talked about something important and private. Therefore, the two reluctantly returned to their table and left the four girls there.

"Hmm... I didn't expect her to be able to exterminate thousands of magical beasts in just one hit. But I've never seen her use that attack before. Could it be her new skill?" Princess Iris said to the three girls beside her.

"Yeah, I thought so too since it was my first time seeing it. That attack has a vast and terrifying destructive power." Princess Aishia nodded in agreement.

"But this way, she takes all the stage just for her. She does not allow us to show off and try the strength of our hard training." Princess Freya pursed her lips and looked somewhat disappointed. Not only she but also the other three girls felt the same way.

Recently Princess Freya and the girls were only focused on training to increase their power level. The girls sometimes spar around themselves to test how far their strength had grown. But it's still not enough to know how much they have improved.

Kyouka and the girls needed a real opponent who would attack them with the intent to kill, and the opportunity came before them. The girls were confident with their current strength that they would easily defeat the high-level magical beasts. But just as Princess Freya and the girls prepared to face the monsters, a green laser beam blew their chance.

"Haa... is it possible that Clara and Lilith also recognize her?" Kyouka suddenly remembered the two other girls who had also been training with them and Kalya recently.

Clara and Lilith weren't in the same room as them. The two of them were in a particular room for noble sons and daughters right next to the hall they were currently in.

"I think they must have recognized it since we've been training together lately and recognized each other's power characteristics." Princess Iris answered confidently. Although Clara may be the weakest among them, she is pretty sensitive to the atmosphere around her. Especially after they've been spending time practicing together lately. She could definitely guess who was behind the attack on the magical beast horde.

"But... after considering her demeanor, she shouldn't be the type of woman to bother firing a large-scale attack that drains her energy to eradicate the monsters that didn't do anything to her. She would normally leave that to the soldiers of the Aurelia Kingdom and would only retaliate if the beasts attacked her first. Unless..." Princess Freya felt that there was something odd about Kalya's actions.

Although they didn't know each other for long, Princess Freya knew Kalya's character very well because their relationship became close after they both agreed to share the man they loved.

"Unless... she is with Ziel right now, and what Miss Kalya has done is because of Ziel. Is that what you wanted to say?" Princess Iris guessed Princess Freya's thoughts. She was also thinking the same thing as her. Not only the two Princesses but also Kyouka and Princess Aishia felt that Ziel was the reason Kalya attacked the monsters.

"Doesn't that mean they're currently dating in the city?" Princess Aishia said with a sullen face. Then the four girls looked at each other and sighed simultaneously.

***

In the room next to the hall where the main participants of the Five Kingdoms Conference had lunch, Clara and Lilith sat together at one table and faced their food without appetite. Their faces clouded after knowing that Ziel was on a date with Kalya in the city.

Clara and Lilith also found out that the one who fired the large-scale attack earlier was Kalya, and they also had the exact guess as Princess Freya and the girls in the next room.

"So... they're currently dating in the city? They must have walked hand in hand with zero distance, and their skin touched each other. Moreover, Miss Kalya will keep looking for opportunities to make out throughout their date!" Clara said irritably and tore the meat on her plate with a fork.

"Hmm... I think so." Lilith answered curtly, and it seemed she wasn't in a good mood either.

Clara had initially intended to help Duke Hazell in the conference and make connections with the sons and daughters of other nobles. But after some time in that place, she felt very bored and regretted making that decision.

The noble sons and daughters that Clara meets are unpleasant to talk to, and most have ulterior motives regarding relationships. Luckily there was Lilith with her, and it eased her boredom.

When the bell rang, and they got a report that a horde of magical beasts attacked Oriana city, the sons and daughters of the nobles there could only scream in panic. Some of them could remain calm, although they couldn't hide the worry on their faces.

Only Clara and Lilith responded differently. Clara looked enthusiastic because she wanted to try the power of her hard training, while Lilith completely ignored it. She did not regard the thousands of high-level magical beasts in her eyes. But when they saw all the beasts disappear in the green light, Clara became sullen.

Clara immediately recognized the owner of that power, and various conjectures appeared in her mind. All her thoughts concluded that Ziel and Kalya were currently dating. After realizing that, Clara became even more regretful for having come to that place.

If Clara could turn back time, she would never have volunteered to help her father and come to that place. She was probably the one Ziel was dating at the time. Clara's face became even more cloudy after thinking about that. She could only sigh and lament her boredom there while imagining the intimacy between Kalya and Ziel right now. Just thinking about it made her grit her teeth in jealousy.

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In Clara and Lilith's minds, they just wanted to get out of there and head to the city to catch up with Ziel. But they knew the conference would end in the evening and could only hold out until then.

***

King Leonida and the other four kings flew towards the bell tower in the center of Oriana city. Even if Kalya helped them exterminate the horde of monsters, they had to check her identity to prevent untoward events during the Five Kingdoms Conference. If King Leonida didn't find that person, he would feel like he had a ticking time bomb in Oriana city that could explode at any moment.

Once the kings arrived at the bell tower, they quickly inspected the entire area. But they found nothing there.

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"Are you sure the attack came from this tower? That magic circle is big enough to cover the entire Oriana city, and it's possible that person could be anywhere within this area." King Gustave asked King Leonida. He felt they had come to the wrong place after finding no one within hundreds of meters of the tower.

"I believe in what I feel. The attack had indeed come from this tower. I can feel it clearly, even if it's just a glimpse." King Leonida replied confidently.

"I feel it too. It's faint, but I'm sure that person fired that attack from this tower." King Jonathan confirmed King Leonida's statement.

"Hmm... if what you say is true. Then there is only one explanation for this. That person was gone before we got to this place." King Gustave said in a slightly regretful tone. He thought they could meet that person if they had come sooner to the tower.

"I have locked all movement of living beings in every corner of Oriana city, especially around the tower right after the large-scale attack ended. But I don't feel any movement from this place. So, they may be using special means to get away from this tower or are hiding around here." King Elrick expressed his opinion. He was the strongest mage in the Argaint Kingdom, and his words made a lot of sense to the other kings.

"I think we'd better head back to the castle and continue the conference. We will put this matter aside for the time being. Whatever the reason, that person has helped us, so we should think positively about this and not continue investigating her." King Raghnall felt they would find nothing and would only be wasting their time in vain if they lingered in that place.

King Leonida and the other three kings looked at each other and nodded in agreement with King Raghnall's words. Then the five kings flew back to the castle to continue the Five Kingdoms Conference.