“Whoa! That’s dirtyyyYYYYY!”
The lightning ball struck Kanon’s sword, sending electricity through the blade and into Kanon’s body. All the while, the previously repelled spells hit the enemy army behind them.
“Oh my, that wasn’t half bad. How about this!?” She deployed her wall once again and jumped toward Feena, prepared to attack.
“Nh! You almost got me!”
She barely managed to avoid Cecilia’s Bind. Maybe this was all just a clever diversion on Cecilia’s part, as she touched an attacking Imperial soldier after just missing Feena’s arm.
“Graaah!” Terror struck the soldiers as they watched their comrade writhe in pain. Al was curious about the details of that Bind, but he was too afraid to ask.
“Ahaha! Very scary!”
Kanon unleashed a flurry of attacks on the petrified soldiers while shooting a remark toward Cecilia. Al wondered for a second if she really was androphobic, but his mind was pulled back to reality upon witnessing the new hellscape being created around him.
“How did this happen!? All I wanted from her was to bring Sharon back!”
“Why? Do you need me for something?” A familiar voice interrupted his complaints from behind. He turned around to see Sharon, holding an Imperial soldier by the shoulder.
“He’s the enemy general. Jamka’s ambush was successful too; he should be back soon.”
Sharon slammed the enemy general into the ground. A short, skinny Altherian soldier who couldn’t have been older than fifteen walked up to them and tied the general’s hands with a rope.
“Huh? I don’t remember giving you any troops.”
“Don’t ask me, he just started following me around on his own!”
She took a troubled glance at the boy, and so did Al, who immediately understood everything from the boy’s longing stare. Sharon was not only an all-powerful Diva, but she was beautiful to boot—as long as her mouth was closed. Watching such a beauty gracefully dance across the battlefield would certainly make any young boy fall for her.
“What’s your name?”
“...”
Did you really just ignore me!? I’m your king, you know!
“Come on, tell us your name.”
“Lady Sharon, my name is Kotton!”
Yeah, okay, and you just spill everything to her.
The boy—and the smug look on Sharon’s face—was testing his patience.
“Lady Sharon, you saved me during the battle with Eshantel! I will forever be indebted to you!”
“I don’t remember saving you...” Sharon pressed a finger to her lips and began shuffling through her memories, but regardless of her answer, it was clear that Kotton was already enthralled by her.
“Well, whatever. Kotton, keep an eye on our luggage. We’ll be handing him to Cecilia later.”
“Wait, don’t you mean Jamka?” Jamka was the general of Althos’s army, so it made sense to Al that he could use the luggage as a bargaining chip.
“Of course not! If I give her an enemy leader, she’ll make me cookies!”
“Are you a child!?”
Al started to develop a serious headache as he watched Kotton pull the general into the tent. He couldn’t imagine being an accomplished general in the largest military power on the continent, only to be captured and be traded in for desserts.
“Anyway, Al! I know you’re the commander in chief, but don’t go out to the battlefield! You’re as weak as a kitten!” Sharon began berating him out of nowhere.
“Ugh! I wouldn’t have had to go out if you’d listened to my orders!” Even though Sharon’s words cut deep, he managed to squeeze out a comeback. Now, he just had to find a way out of this chaos. His dead-tired brain came up with a nefarious plan.
Wait! This could be the perfect chance to launch a counterattack! Don’t think you can always keep me down with your sharp tongue!
Feeling cheeky, Al gave Sharon a serious look.
“Wh-What!? I caught the enemy general, what else do you want from me?” Sharon’s instincts immediately sounded warning bells.
“Sharon. I have a way to stop this stupid fight in mere minutes, but... You know what? Never mind. You could never pull this off.” He elevated his act by furrowing his brow and shaking his head in apparent despair. Then, he peeked at Sharon.
“What!? Do you really think there’s something I can’t do? Come on, tell me your plan!”
She totally fell for it. Al raised his head and hid his grin with his hand.
“I don’t know. In all honesty, I don’t want to make you do this.”
Al looked away for a second to further fuel Sharon’s curiosity.
“There’s nothing I can’t do!”
Sharon was full of confidence. This was his chance. Al erased his smile and looked Sharon deep in the eyes.
“You’d have to... do Heavenly Surge with me and use that power to stifle this brawl!” he said with a grave tone.
I won! I can already see you running away in shame! Don’t worry, I won’t laugh. Who am I kidding, of course I will!
Al was even prepared to take a slap from Sharon, in which case he’d have threatened to fondle her. It was truly a nefarious plan. He shook off the small pang of guilt he felt and looked at her. She was looking down in front of her, biting her lip with flushed cheeks. Al was certain of his victory...
“All right.”
“Huh?”
He hoped he’d misheard her, because if there was one outcome he wasn’t prepared for, it was this. But he had to realize that he brought this on himself, even though his original intentions lay elsewhere.
“I-It’s embarrassing, but if that’s what it takes to end this, I have to do what I have to do.”
Why do you have to be so reasonable today of all days!? How did I get into this mess!?
His heart skipped a beat as Sharon bashfully stole a glance at him. While Al was wrestling with his feelings, Sharon slowly walked closer to him like a flustered, lovestruck girl, but her eyes were filled with determination.
Wait, are we going to do it right here? Right now?
His thoughts were interrupted by the gentle stroke of Sharon’s warm breath on his cheek. Her sweet, lady-like fragrance climbed its way up his nostrils and wrapped around his brain.
“Sharon...”
Sharon’s hug was gentle, like landing in a pillow fort. Yet for some reason, Al found it impossible to fight off the urge to stiffen his body. Feeling the tension in Al, Sharon gave in and relaxed her own body to let him take the lead. Her innocent yet sweet demeanor brought his thoughts to a complete standstill. He was drawn to her lips as if under a spell...
“Oh my, what are you two doing?”
And just like that, the spell broke. Al’s sight was filled with his sister’s twitching smile, making him feel like he’d awoken from a sweet dream only to find himself in a nightmare.
“Greedy. Am I not enough for you?” Next to her stood the fuming Feena, cheeks redder than Sharon’s hair.
“That’s right! You promised me first!” Despite her smile, Kanon kept a hand on her sword.
“Ah... I-I’m going home!” Sharon was probably overcome with shame, so she rushed away. Al wanted to explain himself, but he couldn’t find anything that could calm the three sharp stares piercing him.
“Haah... I’m beat!”
Instead, he just gave up.