"Oh, you really prepared it with care!" In the quiet mountain top pavilion, Tiran's eyes lit up as she stared at the lavish feast on the round table, expressing pleasant surprise. Although Bailey Fioria’s daily focus was on how to eat the princess, their relationship was actually quite good. Knowing that Tiran did not like banquet settings, they decided to have dinner in their own estate outside the city.

Stir-fried three delicacies, twice-cooked pork, stuffed tofu, roasted goose with deep well sauce, and water spinach in broth... All the dishes were traditional Eastern cuisine. Although there were no rare delicacies, it was obvious that they were cooked quite skillfully. The dishes glistened under the radiance of the magic lighting fixtures and there was even an elegantly shaped porcelain wine jug on the table.

"Because I know you like Eastern cuisine, I had someone specially prepare it since it's rare to see you." Bailey Fioria, dressed in a red gown, gently waved a folding fan and smiled as she picked up her wine glass.

After a light toast, both of them stopped the wine glass by their mouths and didn't drink it for a while.

"..."

"I, I mean, Tiran, why aren't you drinking?" Bailey Fioria forced a smile.

"Shouldn't I be asking you that? Honestly, confess. Did you add something strange to the wine again?"

"No, of course not... Hmm?!" Tiran reached out and forcefully pried open Bailey Fioria's mouth, pouring the entire glass of wine into her mouth.

Three seconds later, with a thud, the red-haired beauty fell asleep on the table.

Aya watched this scene in shock, unable to say anything.

"Haha, still trying to scheme against me?" Tiran triumphantly pointed to a nearby chair, but also let out a sigh of relief, beckoning Aya, "Alright, you can come over and eat now."

"Who exactly is this Bailey Fioria to you?" Aya wiped the cold sweat off his forehead - actually, he didn't sweat, but he just wanted to do something to relieve his complex emotions.

In fact, it wasn't that complicated. In short, it was "What the hell is this damn thing?"

"This girl, childhood friends, she's two years older than me, so she's always acted like a big sister." Tiran stared at the peaceful sleeping Bailey Fioria, with a hint of regret on her face. "She was quite cute when we were kids, but inexplicably turned into a yuri. She always thinks about how she can conquer me every day. Maybe she hit her head and damaged her brain when she fell from a tree."

"Is she really that scary?"

"Yeah!" Tiran nodded seriously. "And when I was fifteen, she almost succeeded! I didn't know at that time that she was into girls, so I agreed to take a bath together. As a result..."

"Wait, don't say it!" Aya quickly covered his nose. This was not good, not good at all. The description had yet to be completed, but the images in his mind were already forming, and the scale was slightly offside!

"Let's not mention that. Are you seriously considering spending the night with her?" Remembering this disastrous incident, Aya shivered.

"Oh, of course I am. As the personal maid to this princess, it's only normal for me to endure abnormal situations for her," Tiran confidently replied.

"That's not normal at all! What kind of story plot is this? And it's yuri as well! Besides, I'm a boy! Isn't she a yuri? If she finds out about me, I'm definitely dead."

"No, she won't find out. I think, considering her level of abnormality, it's only a matter of time before she moves on to liking cute cross-dressing girls with swords. If it really doesn't work out, you can consider it as a small contribution to correcting her sexual orientation."

"...Just kill me with a sword."

Although a large dose of anesthesia was added to the wine, the meal was still fine. After Aya tested it for poison (Aya: Hey, hey?!), Tiran happily enjoyed her meal. These carefully prepared Eastern dishes by the chefs suited her taste.

Struggling to hold two utensils called "chopsticks" in an awkward manner, Aya painstakingly picked up a piece of twice-cooked pork, tremblingly brought it to his mouth. Unfortunately, just as it was about to reach his mouth, the pork fell off the chopsticks onto the table, leaving a greasy mark.

Damn it! I'm not eating that!

"What is this thing? It's too difficult to use! Does anyone really use these things to eat? It must have been designed as a joke, right...?!" Aya was angry enough to flip the table, but just as he was about to fully vent his anger, he saw Tiran skillfully using the chopsticks to pick up various dishes and put them in her bowl."By the way, aren't you Princess Milaneya? Why are you so proficient with Eastern utensils?"

"Well," Tiran said, shaking the chopsticks in her hand, "it's a bit complicated to explain, so why don't you guess slowly?"

Aya was annoyed and wanted to comment, but suddenly caught sight of something suspicious in her line of vision.

"Hey, Tiran, I don't know if I'm mistaken, but it seems like something's happening down the hill." Aya tugged on Tiran's sleeve and carefully surveyed the area below.

The Hesse family's estate outside the city was quite large, encompassing this small hill where they were currently situated. Although it was just a small slope with an elevation of about a hundred meters, the view from above allowed for a clear sight of some unfriendly figures amidst the swaying shadows at the foot of the mountain.

"You're not mistaken. There are indeed troublemakers coming." Tiran wiped her mouth and stood up.

Dozens of figures cloaked in black emerged from the groves, advancing towards the mountaintop.

Almost at the same time Tiran and Aya noticed these unwelcome guests, the estate's alarm bells rang urgently, and a semi-transparent, luminous white barrier lit up in the sky, enveloping the entire estate.

It was an automatic monitoring alarm and defensive barrier. The fact that infiltrators could sneak in without being detected meant that they were fully capable of avoiding triggering the alarm. Their current purpose in intentionally activating the barrier was to trap their targets within the estate.

"Your Highness! What's happening?"

Mimi's voice came from behind the steps. In the next moment, a figure with shoulder-length pink hair gracefully landed in front of Tiran.

"Mimi? What are you doing here?" Tiran was a little surprised.

"I was originally attending the welcome banquet in the city, but when I heard that Your Highness was here, I immediately rushed over. It's my duty as a close attendant maid." Mimi bowed to Tiran and then turned to look at the black-clad individuals who had reached halfway up the mountain, the cold moonlight reflecting in her azure eyes. "But I didn't expect to arrive at just the right time."

"This is not good. I have a feeling that these people came prepared," Aya interjected. "I think we are too conspicuous here and it's not very safe. We should retreat first."

Suddenly, a dazzling light illuminated the trees at the foot of the mountain.

...

Buzz—

Amidst slight vibrations, the enormous metal cannon completed its charge, and a massive pale blue ball of light shot out from the cannon, accurately hitting the pavilion at the top of the hill after gracefully traversing a parabolic trajectory in the air.

Upon hearing the explosion at the mountaintop reverberating across the open space, the cannon operator excitedly swung his fist and turned to the burly man beside him. "Boss Bainrich! Hit!"

"I saw it," the man laughed, revealing a twisted scar crossing his left cheek through his smile. "Well done. Refill the magic crystal, and your bounty will be doubled when we return."

"No problem, Boss Bainrich!" The cannon operator ecstatically adjusted the cannon once more. "But our employer is quite generous this time. That's 200,000 gold coins, and they even provided such a great weapon. After completing this job, we can retire without worries, right?"

"You have no ambition," the man scolded, patting his head. "Is that all the Snow Wolf Mercenary Group is capable of?"

Though he said that, Bainrich's face also carried a hint of pride.

Mercenaries were a profession that operated within gray areas. There were official mercenary groups registered with guilds that specifically undertook missions such as escorting and exterminating monsters, and there were also illegal mercenary groups that privately accepted missions involving assassination and smuggling. The Snow Wolf group was among the elite in the latter category.

But even for top-tier mercenary groups, 200,000 gold coins was not a small amount. After all, the earnings from defeating a siege beast-level monster were only around 100,000 gold coins, not to mention the loss of lives and equipment. Accounting for various expenses and compensations, the net income would probably be around 40,000 to 50,000.

In comparison, this mission simply involved causing a disturbance in a noble's territory, and the employer even provided the valuable magic cannon. It was incredibly easy.

"With this thing in hand, I dare to create some trouble even for the Hesse family, one of the Four Pillars!" Bainrich's rough right hand stroked the icy and smooth barrel of the magic cannon. "Second shot, fire!"

...

On the halfway up the mountain, the three people had different expressions.

"The power is so strong. Is this the Rasengan..." Tiran looked at the dissipating pavilion and the table of delicacies with a hint of heartache."I don't have much else to say, but why am I the one holding her?" Aya complained, holding Baileyferia in a princess carry while her face was filled with resentment.

"It's a magic cannon. They even brought out something like this, it seems like trouble is coming. To dare to attack a member of the royal family, they have some nerve," Mimi's expression turned serious, a hint of killing intent flickering in her deep blue eyes. "Your Highness, please take Miss Baileyferia away first. Leave the intruders to me."

Before Tielan could respond, Mimi swiftly tore off a few parts of her maid dress - the maid dresses in the castle had been redesigned by Mimi, who made them light and easy to move in after tearing off a few pieces of fabric, without hindering their movements during battle.

After completing all this, Mimi lifted the hem of her skirt, taking out a long whip from a holster strapped to her thigh, and charged towards the approaching shadows that had already circled around from the side of the hill.

"Hey, wait, is it okay for Mimi to go like this? Those guys over there still seem quite formidable," Aya worried about Mimi a little. Although she was often afraid of Mimi, she didn't really know much about Mimi's fighting abilities and couldn't help but worry.

"Just hold onto that person in your arms and don't ask too many questions. She might not be Dragon level, but in terms of combat abilities, Mimi is formidable among the various races," Tielan said calmly, turning around and walking down the stairs.

"Huh? What do you mean? Isn't Mimi human?" Aya suddenly realized, taking a few steps to catch up.

"Of course not, it's rare to find someone with pink hair among humans. She is..."

Boom!

There was a sudden explosion of flames from the fighting position on the mountainside, blowing away the two closest men in black, and those who were at a safe distance were forced to release their Chi to resist the heat wave.

"It's a Fire Demon."