“What… what!?” The stunned silence was first shattered by a nobleman’s incredulous gasp.
Following his outburst, an increasing number of noble merchants rose to their feet, each eager to voice their disapproval of Leya’s abrupt entrance.
“Who is this upstart? Do they not know who I am?”
“Indeed! Get down from there at once! I haven’t come here to waste my precious time!”
“Damn it! I earn millions every minute; do you truly believe you can afford to waste my time?”
“Such utter insolence, such rampant arrogance! Do they not know that I, Fitch, am present?!”
The crowd erupted into a cacophony of indignant chatter.
****
“Tsk, tsk, this is quite something…”
From the VIP section, the blonde youth observed the unfolding chaos below with an amused glint in his eyes. “Cyborn,” he inquired, “what is your assessment?”
Cyborn merely cast a disdainful glance, then spoke with a clear edge of sarcasm in his voice:
“Hmph, they’re nothing more than a flock of blind fools, utterly incapable of discerning the true state of affairs.”
“Oh? That Blonde Sword Princess… is she truly so formidable?”
Even the youth, despite his composure, felt a slight tremor run through the hand clutching his cup.
For Cyborn to offer such a commendation, her strength must surely surpass Level 3, at the very least.
“Your Highness,” Cyborn began, “do you recall the incident yesterday involving Harvey’s humiliation?”
Instead of directly answering the youth, Cyborn introduced a seemingly unrelated topic. “According to the soldiers’ reports,” he elaborated, “blonde hair, blue robes, white armor, and a treasured sword in hand. Does Your Highness not find her remarkably similar to the woman before us?”
“Are you suggesting…”
“Precisely!”
Upon hearing this, the youth leaned back into the sofa, falling silent for a long moment as he steadily refilled his cup with wine.
A person of such immense power! If only she could be brought under his command…
Within his mind, the youth tirelessly plotted his own intricate schemes, his gaze burning with increasing intensity as he fixed upon Leya’s figure at the center of the stage.
****
In the heart of the main hall.
Given the complete lack of cooperation from the crowd, Leya found herself utterly exasperated.
In the end, she could only sigh with a resigned air. “What a collection of conceited fools,” she muttered.
“Le… Leya, elder sister?”
As Leya pondered how best to intimidate the unruly crowd, a voice, both familiar and unexpectedly fragile, drifted from behind her.
Leya’s heart instantly constricted.
A sharp *snap* echoed.
Without a moment’s hesitation, Leya severed the cage’s steel cable with a single, decisive stroke of her sword.
“Leya, elder sister… I-I knew it! I knew you’d come back to save me… hehe…”
“…………Mm.”
Leya’s expression was a mask of complex emotions, leaving her uncertain how best to face Erica in that moment.
“Could you… could you hug me, Leya, elder sister?”
“…………”
“If not, then it’s fine. I… I understand. Leya, elder sister, doesn’t really like me. Just having your help makes Erica incredibly happy!”
With crystalline tears shimmering at the corners of her eyes, Erica forced a trembling smile, desperately trying to suppress the sorrow swelling within her.
“Erica…”
“Hmph, you audacious fiend! How dare you stir up trouble on the very grounds of our Guild of Roseland?!”
“Uh…” Leya stared, somewhat taken aback, at the figures in guard uniforms who had suddenly materialized around her.
This was clearly a delightful, emotionally charged moment of genuine affection—no, *expression* of genuine affection—and they had simply cut it short!
‘Damn it, you wretched lot!’
“Heh heh, well now, if you’re willing to kneel before everyone, apologize, and compensate for the damages, then our Guild of Roseland might just be persuaded to forgive you!”
Leya: “…………”
‘These fools… are they truly this idiotic?’
“Leya, elder sister…” Seeing the situation, Erica instinctively pulled her head back, quickly retreating behind Leya, her body trembling uncontrollably.
“Don’t worry, Erica. I’m here; you’re safe… everything will be alright!”
‘Hmph—’
‘What an utterly bizarre sensation!’
Leya finally realized something was amiss with her own behavior!
This tone, this overwhelming sense of justice, this entire demeanor so utterly unlike her usual self! This wasn’t *her* at all! It felt as though she was damn well transforming into someone else entirely!
Nevertheless, given the immediate circumstances, Leya had little time for further introspection.
“No words? Heh heh, excellent! Truly excellent!” The pot-bellied Guild of Roseland council member, leading the group, fixed Leya with a dark gaze and an unsettling, eerie smile.
“I assure you, you are utterly ruined! Where are your family members? Oh, no matter; the Guild will uncover them, rest assured, heh heh.
Just wait; you will most certainly pay the price for this, and your family will suffer the same fate! They will all, because of your sheer idiocy…”
A swift *whoosh* cut through the air.
“Y-you… you, you, you…”
His face, a canvas of utter terror, the council member’s voice hitched as he stared at the sword now held mere inches from his throat. “Are you… are you threatening me!?” he shrieked.
A resounding *thud*.
A sudden, crushing blow landed, making the council member feel as though Mount Tai itself had descended upon his shoulder. Unable to control his body, he collapsed with a resounding *thud*, kneeling before Leya.
“Damn it! You *dare* strike me?!”
‘How utterly amusing,’ Leya thought, barely suppressing a laugh.
‘I’ve already struck you, and you question if I *dare*? Are you completely daft?’
To thoroughly convince him of her audacity, Leya paused, then decided to bestow upon him a well-deserved kick.
A powerful *boom* reverberated.
It was like a bullet.
With a single, explosive kick, Leya launched the corpulent council member, a man easily exceeding 150 kilograms, as though he were nothing more than a toy ball.
He soared through the air for more than twenty meters before finally colliding with the auction hall’s far wall, where he crumpled to a halt.
The crowd: “…………”
‘What just happened…?’
‘What on earth just transpired…?’
‘Why was this individual so utterly domineering, striking people with such casual brutality? And the force behind that blow… *hiss*—’
“Damn it! You are openly defying our illustrious Guild of Roseland! You shall pay dearly for this!—”
With a flicker of displeasure, Leya turned her gaze towards the source of the indignant shouts.
The individual now approaching was none other than the Lord President of the Volantis Branch of the Guild of Roseland, the very man who had made a brief appearance at the auction’s opening!
Unfortunately for him, Leya hadn’t even arrived when he made his grand entrance, so she had no idea who he was. Even if she had, she wouldn’t have bothered to commit it to memory.
“Provocation?” Leya echoed, her gaze sweeping over the President with undisguised disdain. “Indeed, I am provoking you. And what’s more, I intend to strike you next. I am quite curious to see what ‘price’ I shall pay for that!”
“You…” The layers of flesh on the President’s face quivered violently, a testament to his extreme fury. He glanced at the security personnel, who stood frozen in place, seemingly bewildered, and nearly choked on his own blood.
“You imbeciles! Attack! Go, I say! Am I paying you to stand there and gawk at a spectacle?!”
Jolted by the harsh reprimand, the security personnel finally snapped out of their stupor and reacted.
Yet, they merely exchanged hesitant glances, a silent standoff playing out among them. Not a single security guard dared to advance.
‘Are they serious? That blink-and-you-miss-it speed, like instantaneous teleportation, is beyond any ordinary human’s capability, isn’t it? Our group, at best, has a few Level 2s. How could we possibly fight against her?’
‘If we charge in now, we’d be nothing but cannon fodder! You can go if you wish, but I certainly won’t!’
“Worthless! Imbeciles! Dozens of you are afraid of *one woman*?! Look to your left! There’s a sprite over there, seize her!”
The guards: “…………”
Secretly marveling at the President’s ‘brilliant wisdom,’ the guards instantly surged forward as if injected with a potent stimulant. They roared and charged towards Erica, shouting: “Charge! Charge! Charge!—”
“Leya, elder sister!—”
“You…” A crimson gleam flashed in Leya’s eyes as she prepared to rush back, but her words were cut short…
“How dare you! Lay a hand on the Sixth Prince’s friend?! Do you all have a death wish?!—”
A powerful *boom*.
It was him! The man who seemed afflicted with gigantism, standing two and a half meters tall, covered in thick muscle, and whose true strength she found so difficult to discern!
Leya merely smiled, a flicker of excitement igniting within her. After all, he was the very first person in this world who had managed to pique her interest!
‘If only… I could give him a good beating!’