"Life isn't just doing things for yourself. It's possible to live in such a way that other people's happiness, makes you happy too."— Asuna Yuuki, Sword Art Online

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  "Yes, they've departed," Freya Grandol firmed, stepping out from the wall and approag Greyworth's desk.

  "I don't uand. Is that Demon King really that powerful? All he's do the academy is chase girls," she ented, uo hide her skepticism.

  "You wouldn't uand unless you experie yourself," Greyworth replied calmly. "Even the Elemental Lords bow before him."

  Freya fell silent. She khe power of the Elemental Lords.

  They ruled this world.

  "You said the Demon King has been busy with girls tely?"

  "Well, it's not surprising. He has so many girls around him, and they're all quite strong." Greyworth sighed.

  Evehe stro Elementalist on the ti, felt weak pared to the girls in Roy's ente.

  'As expected of a Maou,' she thought.

  "Freya-sensei, you're young aiful. Perhaps you should try your luck. You might be able to win his favreyworth suggested with a pyful grin.

  Freya blushed at her teasing but quickly retorted, "Headmaster, you're a beauty yourself! And the stro Elementalist on the ti. Why don't you try? Perhaps that way, you won't have to worry about your cursed seal anymore."

  Greyworth paused, sidering the possibility.

  With Roy's mysterious powers, removing her cursed seal shouldn't be a problem for him.

  But she chuckled and dismissed the idea. "I'm too old for that. I 't pete with you young girls."

  "Headmaster, you won't know unless you try. Even I'm envious of your beauty," Freya insisted.

  Freya was right. Although Greyworth was quite old, she wouldn't age due to the wish she had made to the Elemental Lords.

  And only she khat although the Phoenix Tears had healed her injuries, the cursed seal on her heart remained.

  It would eventually e her.

  'Perhaps I should give it a try,' Greyworth mused.

  <><><><>

  Astral Zero - Elemental Spirit World

  The airship glided through the ether-filled clouds, heading towards its destination.

  Their destination was the floating isnd, a sanctuary within the Elemental Spirit World.

  This was where the Bde Dance would be held.

  Normally, only the Princess Shrine Maidens from the Diviual Institute were allowed to ehis sacred ground.

  But during the Bde Da en to the public.

  "This airship is amazing!" Cire excimed, looking down at the vast sea of clouds with a hint of dizziness.

  It was her first time on an airship.

  The other noble dies, however, seemed aced to such luxury.

  They unpacked their luggage and gathered in their assigned lounge, rexing on the plush sofas.

  The walls were adorned with polished marble tiles and decorated with beautiful tapestries.

  The room was well-stocked with high-quality amenities.

  "It's not shaking at all," Ellis ented in surprise.

  As a noble from a remion, she rarely had the opportunity to ride airships.

  "This is the test model. If everything goes smoothly, we should arrive around noon," Cire replied, sprawled on the sofa.

  Her skirt had ridden up, but she didn't seem to notice.

  "By the way, there will be an opening ceremony at the castle tonight. Did y any dresses?" Fianna asked.

  "Of course! I wouldn't miss su importa," Ri decred, twirling her golden hair.

  Fianna had alsht a dress.

  But...

  "I didn't bring one. I don't usually wear dresses," Ellis admitted with a hint ret.

  "Don't worry, I have plenty of Rias's dresses. You borrow one if you'd like," Roy offered with a smile.

  "Thank you," Ellis replied gratefully.

  "Ri, what are you doing?" Fianna asked, watg as Ri set up a tea set oable.

  "I'm preparing tea. Would you like to join me for afternoon tea?" Ri asked with a graceful smile.

  "Yes, please! I've heard that the tea from the Laurenfrion is exquisite," Fianna replied eagerly.

  "Indeed. We should rex a bit before the Bde Dance," Ellis agreed.

  It seemed that enjoying afternoon tea was a ritual for noble dies, regardless of the time or pce.

  Ri poured the tea with elegant movements.

  The aroma of citrus filled the room.

  It was different from the tea Akeno usually made, but both were delicious in their own way.

  "Thank you. It smells wonderful!" Cire said with a straightforward pliment.

  "This is a special citrus tea from the Laurenfrion," Ri expined proudly.

  "It's delicious, my dy," Carol chimed in with a smile.

  "But shouldn't making tea be the maid's job?" Cire couldn't resist teasing.

  "What are you saying?! If my precious Carol burned herself, could you afford to repce her?" Ri retorted.

  Carol was sidered property of the Laurenfrost family.

  In other words, she was Ri's personal belonging, which was why she was allowed to apany them to the sanctuary.

  But Ri didn't seem happy about Carol being treated as an object.

  "Roy, how many sugars would you like?" Ri asked, looking at him curiously.

  "Just one, please," Roy replied.

  'Her way of making tea is different from Akeno's,' he thought.

  "Cire, you take twht?" Rihen asked Cire.

  "Hey, how do you remember my preferences?" Cire asked, surprised.

  "I-I didn't remember! I just happeo guess!" Ri retorted, blushing.

  "My dy and Cire-sama were very close when they were young. They pyed together all the time," Carol whispered to Roy.

  "Oh? Is that so?" Roy chuckled.

  "Yes, Cire-sama used to be very attached to my dy."

  "Wait a minute! What are you talking about?!" Cire excimed, her face flushed.

  "B-But we're rivals!" Ri protested, turning away.

  "I'll take my tea without sugar, please."

  "As expected of a princess. You know how to appreciate tea properly," Ri said with a pleased nod.

  <><><><>

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  "Ahem." Ellis cleared her throat.

  "I-I'll take my tea with lots of sugar... and milk."

  Her voice was filled with embarrassment.

  "Okay, okay, milk tea it is."

  "And... also..." Ellis hesitated.

  "Hmm?" Ri looked at her questioningly.

  "If possible, could you add some whipped cream and honey? And some marshmallows on top?" Ellis blurted out.

  "What kind of request is that?!" Ri's eye twitched.

  "You're desecrating the tea!"

  "B-But that's how I always drink it! To ehe harsh swordsmanship training, I o e a lot of sugar," Ellis expined, blushing.

  "Holy, the Fahrengart family, known for their warriors..."

  "The Knight Captain is surprisingly childish. She doesn't even know how to appreciate the delicate fvor of tea."

  "Shut up! Sweet things are better!" Ellis retorted, tears welling up in her eyes as Cire looked at her with pity.

  Roy sighed, watg their bickering.

  Ri could argue with anyone.

  Despite her harsh words, she still prepared the tea acc to Ellis's request.

  "I 't believe you actually added honey..." Cire stared at Ellis's milk tea in disbelief.

  "I-I like it this way! If you have so many pints, try it!" Ellis retorted, pushing her cup towards Cire.

  "Hmph, such a sweet drink 't possibly be good... eh?" Cire took a sip and her eyes widened slightly.

  "How is it?"

  "...It's not bad. It has a gentle fvor."

  "See?"

  "But it ruins the taste of the fiea. It's just a child's drink."

  "W-Well, that's true..."

  <><><><>

  Although they often bickered, Cire and Ellis were actually good friends.

  Roy enjoyed watg their pyful banter.

  "Your fire cat spirit is so cute," Ellis suddenly said, reag out to pet Scarlet, who was curled up on the sofa.

  She pyed with Scarlet's fluffy tail and poked her paws.

  "Hey, hey, hey! Scarlet is my tracted spirit! Don't touch her!" Cire protested, feeling like her beloved pet was being stolen.

  "Just a little bit... It's okay, right?" Ellis pleaded, hugging Scarlet tightly.

  It seemed the usually stern Knight Captain had a weakness for cute things.

  Roy chuckled inwardly.

  He remembered seeing stuffed animals in Ellis's room.

  "Meow!" Scarlet squirmed unfortably, seeking help from Cire.

  "I told you to let her go! Don't you have your own tracted spirit?" Cire demanded.

  "But Simh isn't very cute..." Ellis mumbled.

  If her tracted spirit heard that, it would probably run away from home.

  "Ellis!"

  "Just a little longer, please! Let me py with her for a bit longer," Ellis pleaded, refusing to let go of Scarlet.

  "Meow! Meow!"

  Scarlet escaped from Ellis's grasp and leaped into Roy's arms.

  "Mmm..." Ellis pouted, disappointed.

  Roy petted Scarlet, amused by the se.

  "By the way, the representatives from other tries are also on this airship, right?" he suddenly asked.

  The partits in the Bde Dance were all elite Elementalists from various academies.

  If he could capture them all and make them his servants...

  The thought excited him.

  "Yes, we picked up several teams along the way," Cire replied.

  Roy set down his teacup. "Is the stro Bde Dahe 'Crimson Princess,' also on this ship?" he asked casually.

  "...?!" The atmosphere in the room instantly tensed.

  There was an underlying pressure in Roy's voice.

  Unlike in the inal story, the winner of the Bde Dahree years ago was a girl known as the Crimson Princess.

  However, no one knew her true appearahey only knew she had crimson hair.

  This was because she had worn a red mask during the tour.

  Roy suspected that this Crimson Princess was actually Cire's sister, Rubia Elstein.

  After all, in the inal story, Rubia Elstein was the leader of the Inferno, known as the Crimson Lord.

  "No, she's not on this ship," Cire replied calmly. "She's representing Alphas Theocracy, so even if she's taking an airship, it would be a different one."

  "I see." Roy nodded. He uood the general plot but wasn't familiar with all the details.

  After chatting with the girls for a while, Roy stood up.

  "You guys rest for a bit. I'm going to take a walk outside."

  He left the lounge.

  Cire, Ellis, Ri, and Fianna exged gnces.

  "We should follow Roy. It's too 'dangerous' out there," Ri suggested.

  They all uood what she meant by "dangerous."

  "I agree. I'm not tired anyway," Cire said.

  "Me too," Fianna added.

  She had wao follow him earlier.

  "Is that... really okay?" Ellis hesitated.

  "Then you stay here a," Cire replied nontly.

  The three girls were about to leave when Ellis stopped them.

  "Wait, I'll e too!"

  ????

  Meanwhile, at an altitude of four thousaers...

  A small fighter airship appeared beh the airship carrying the Bde Dance partits.

  It had been lurking in the forest, waiting for its prey.

  The metal hatch opened, and a young girl with dark gray pigtails emerged.

  "I've found you, Male Elementalist," she said with a sly smile, then began ting an intation.

  The ring on her middle finger glowed red.

  "Alright, go wild! Destroyer Spirit, 'Ungoliant'!"

  A massive bck monster emerged from a rift in space.

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