The Belligerent Aila

Roughly thirty minutes later, the trio finished their meal, and Aila produced a handkerchief, gently wiping Fú Nī Yà’s mouth.

Fú Nī Yà sat silently, tears welling in the corners of her eyes, allowing Aila to fuss over her as if she had suffered an immense grievance.

‘How could I not feel wronged!?’

‘As a man, I was actually fed by a beautiful girl!’

‘And had my mouth wiped after eating!?’

‘Moreover, I couldn’t resist!’

Each time she struggled, Fú Nī Yà felt as though she were grappling with a prehistoric behemoth; all her strength proved utterly ineffectual.

‘Damn it, my masculine dignity!’

“So, then, little Nī Yà, is there anywhere you’d like to go next?”

After meticulously wiping Fú Nī Yà’s lips clean, Aila posed the question.

‘Is this going to continue!?’

‘Are they even going to let me live!?’

Fú Nī Yà’s pupils contracted. Just as she was about to declare her wish to return to the academy for classes, the tavern’s door abruptly swung open.

Two figures entered, their voices sounding remarkably familiar.

“Jo, where do you think Sister Aila ran off to…?”

“I do not know, Your Highness. However, the Imperial Princess’s guard has already arrived in Saint Mir City, so it’s impossible for Her Highness to still be outside. She is likely sightseeing within the city now.”

“Of course I know that…”

Albert scratched his head in exasperation.

He was, of course, aware that Aila had reached Saint Mir.

What he truly wished to know was his sister’s exact whereabouts within the city.

Abandoning her guard, she had inexplicably run off with her adjutant, vanishing without a trace. Even their father had been utterly stunned upon hearing the news, sitting in silence for a long while… Did she possess no sense of responsibility as an Imperial Princess?

He had personally led a search party, yet after an entire morning, there had been no news. It was only then that they had sought respite in a nearby tavern.

“Albert!”

Albert’s brow quirked. He could have sworn he’d just heard Fú Nī Yà’s voice.

But wasn’t she supposed to be studying with Master Valentin?

‘Speaking of Fú Nī Yà, he had truly lost out this time. He’d spent a hundred thousand gold coins on a half-elf maid, only for her to serve him for a single day. For the better part of the following month, she had simply been freeloading off him.’

‘Is that how a maid behaves?’

‘Her days are more comfortable than mine, her master.’

‘For the past few days, he had been burning the midnight oil, recalling and documenting events from his previous life, all while drafting a detailed plan to implement once they reached the North.’

‘Yet, she went to bed at nine every night and rose at five in the morning, enjoying an exceptionally high quality of life. What kind of situation was this!?’

Albert thought, a touch of envy lacing his mind.

‘Once we go North, I’ll make sure she calls me ‘master’ every single day! And then I’ll assign her a mountain of tasks!’

Just then, Fú Nī Yà’s voice rang out once more.

“Look here, Albert!”

‘Hm?’

This time, there was no mistaking it. Albert looked towards the source of the voice, only to see Fú Nī Yà seated at a dining table, and beside her, a black-haired woman Albert knew exceedingly well.

“Sister Aila?”

Albert’s eyes widened in disbelief.

How could she possibly be with Fú Nī Yà?

“Good afternoon, little Albert~” Aila waved, greeting Albert.

Albert promptly moved to stand before her.

“What are you doing here? And with Fú Nī Yà, no less?”

“Oh, well~ I was just so curious~ I wanted to see what kind of girl little Albert spent a hundred thousand gold coins to buy.”

“So, have you seen enough?” Albert raised an eyebrow.

“Yes, I have.”

“And how do you feel about her?”

“Oh, I’m absolutely delighted, of course~ So small~ So plump~”

As she spoke, Aila happily stroked Fú Nī Yà’s cheek. However, the very next second, her expression turned remarkably serious: “Little Albert, do you know? The news of you purchasing little Nī Yà has spread throughout our circle…”

“Do you disapprove?”

Albert frowned.

“How could I? What do other people’s gossip matter to me? Besides, little Nī Yà is so adorable; not buying her would have been a huge loss.” Aila laughed as she stood, rising onto her tiptoes to pat Albert’s head. “People should have the right to make their own choices, you know. I went North precisely to pursue that freedom. So, I support all of little Albert’s decisions.”

Albert breathed a sigh of relief at her words. As his closest relative in this world, Aila’s support was quite significant to him.

Nevertheless, despite his relief, he maintained a stern expression as he addressed Aila.

“I’m not a child anymore. Could you please take your hand down?”

“But in my eyes, little brother…”

“Objective laws do not shift due to subjective perception. Even if I appear as an infant in your eyes, I cannot truly become seventeen years younger in an instant.”

“Waaah… little Nī Yà, little Albert has grown up and learned to talk back to his sister…”

Tears welled in Aila’s eyes as she hugged Fú Nī Yà tightly, wailing her complaint.

‘So you’re coming to bully me, the one who won’t talk back, is that it?’

‘And didn’t you just say people should have the right to make their own choices?’

‘Could you let me choose too?’

‘I want to go back to the Mage Tower right now.’

Fú Nī Yà couldn’t help but roll her eyes.

Witnessing his sister’s perpetually childish demeanor, Albert could only sigh in resignation.

“It’s getting late, and Fú Nī Yà needs to return to the academy to study with Master Valentin. Even if you’re particularly fond of Fú Nī Yà, Sister Aila, there will be plenty of time to spend together in the future; there’s no need to rush now.”

“Eh~ Alright then…” Aila released Fú Nī Yà from her embrace. “Let’s head back to the academy first… It’s been years since I graduated, and it would be nice to visit~”

And so, the five of them set off towards the academy.

Along the way, Fú Nī Yà, recalling Aila’s earlier words, asked curiously.

“Sister Aila, did you also attend the Imperial Grand Academy?”

“Of course. According to regulations, all royal children attend school there after coming of age.”

Aila’s reply filled Fú Nī Yà with a wave of envy.

‘Such educational resources are simply too good, aren’t they!?’

‘Isn’t this like certain people in Zhendan (TL Note: A historical name for China) in my previous life being directly admitted to Shuimu Yanjing (TL Note: Referring to prestigious universities like Tsinghua and Peking University)… Eh, it was like this in my previous life, wasn’t it? Then never mind.’

‘Ah, New Rome is like this too? Then it’s even more fine.’

‘After all, one must cross the river by feeling the stones, like New Rome. We must learn from the good, and learn from the bad; only then can we truly be considered well-rounded, right?’

Even she, at this very moment, was only able to become Master Valentin’s student by basking in Albert’s reflected glory.

Fú Nī Yà couldn’t help but sigh. Albert, noticing Fú Nī Yà’s sudden melancholic expression, felt a pang of curiosity but refrained from asking further.

He had grown accustomed to Fú Nī Yà’s intermittent melancholy, much as he had to her periodic bouts of madness.

Soon, the group arrived back at the academy.

Gazing upon the familiar architecture before her, Aila’s face softened with a nostalgic expression.

After reminiscing for a moment, she suddenly spoke to Albert.

“Little Albert, you’ve reached the seventh tier now, haven’t you?”

“Yes, I just achieved it a short while ago.”

“In that case, why don’t we head to the training grounds for a friendly spar?”

“Huh? A spar?”

Albert instinctively froze, taken aback.

Then Aila extended her right hand, seizing Albert’s arm. Before Albert could even react, Aila forcibly dragged him away, rushing towards the training grounds.

‘…’

Witnessing this familiar scene, Fú Nī Yà felt both relief and sympathy. Relieved that it wasn’t her being dragged away this time, and sympathetic towards Albert, who was.

Turning to look at Mitchell and Jo behind her, both wore expressions of resignation, clearly long accustomed to such occurrences.

Fú Nī Yà, however, felt a flicker of curiosity. Albert was already a seventh-tier practitioner, so what tier must Sister Aila be to confidently challenge him to a spar?

‘Eighth tier or ninth tier?’

Come to think of it, while Fú Nī Yà was now intimately familiar with magic, she had never actually witnessed anyone fighting with battle qi. This was an opportune moment to discover its intricacies.

With that thought in mind, Fú Nī Yà made her way towards the training grounds.

‘As for this afternoon’s class? Skipped~’

‘Surely Master Valentin wouldn’t mind… probably?’

Seeing this, Mitchell and Jo, who were behind Fú Nī Yà, merely shrugged and followed.

****

By the time Fú Nī Yà arrived at the training grounds, Albert and Aila were already poised for battle.

Albert held a two-meter-long Highland broadsword in both hands, while Aila was even more extravagant, wielding a three-meter-long glaive that she pointed directly at Albert.

The glaive resembled the ‘Cold Beauty Blade’ (TL Note: A famous polearm wielded by Guan Yu, a legendary general from the Three Kingdoms period of Chinese history) of a certain Guan from the Three Kingdoms era. A one-meter-long greatsword was mounted atop a two-meter-long shaft, glinting with a sharp, cold light under the sun. Its violent beauty made Fú Nī Yà gasp in awe.

‘No wonder Sister Aila could easily drag her around. With her small frame, I wondered if my weight even amounted to a fraction of the glaive in Aila’s hands.’

‘Indeed, magic truly suits me best~’

She glanced at her battle qi level, which remained at Tier 1 on the system, then at her own height, just over 1.5 meters, and finally patted her ample chest—which seemed somewhat disproportionate to her stature—with a sigh.

A civilized person like her, hailing from an era of firearms, ought to fight with the elegance of magic. Engaging in close-quarters combat with cold weapons felt far too barbaric.

‘That settles it. This battle qi level thing can stay at Tier 1 forever!’

Meanwhile, in other corners of the training grounds, though it was just past lunchtime, certain ‘roll kings’ (TL Note: A Chinese slang term, ‘juǎnwáng,’ referring to individuals who are extremely competitive and work excessively hard, often to the detriment of others or themselves, in pursuit of academic or professional success) were already toiling away.

Most of them were commoners specially recruited due to their exceptional talent, hoping to bridge the gap in their family backgrounds through sheer effort. Lacking connections and insight, they did not recognize the two royal members sharing the training grounds with them, nor did they comprehend their true strength.

Even if they noticed the pair, they would simply assume them to be two ordinary students engaged in a friendly spar.

Thus, when Albert and Aila unleashed their battle qi, almost everyone on the training grounds felt their hearts skip a beat, startled by the sheer aura.

“What kind of power is this!?”

They looked towards the two, witnessing dark purple battle qi erupting from Aila, a wildly exhilarated smile gracing her face, her eyes fixed intently on Albert.

“Here I come, little Albert.”

“Come on, Sister Aila.”

Albert said with a helpless sigh, gripping his broadsword tightly and holding it upright before his chest, while an ethereal blue battle qi coiled around his entire body.

“What’s wrong with Sister Aila?”

Fú Nī Yà, watching from the sidelines, instinctively clenched her hands, murmuring with a tense expression.

Sister Aila’s condition was clearly abnormal, yet Albert showed not the slightest hint of surprise.

“Don’t worry, Aila’s battle qi attribute is quite unique, so this reaction is perfectly normal…”

A familiar voice reached her ears. Fú Nī Yà turned her head to find Master Valentin standing beside her, having appeared at some unknown moment.

“Battle qi attribute?”

Hearing a new term, Fú Nī Yà uttered a puzzled sound, while Master Valentin, with his hands clasped behind his back, replied.

“Her battle qi attribute stimulates a person into a berserk state, fully unleashing one’s combat instincts. However, this trait does not negatively impact Aila’s health; it’s beneficial, not harmful. Because of this, when she used to study here, the other students even gave her a nickname.”

“What was it?”

Fú Nī Yà tilted her head curiously.

“Aila the Belligerent.”