ALL NOVEL Chapter 59
Chapter Fifty-Eight: Little Home and the Princess’s Gratitude
The remaining matters are not worth mentioning.
Since the battle in the Tapeya Basin, Liliya has led her army on a detour around Lake Lirt, in the process encountering several significant skirmishes with the wolf cavalry legion of the beastmen that had just arrived.
Fortunately, the kingdom’s army retreated in a timely manner and did not fall into the beastmen’s encirclement. After a fierce battle, Her Highness the Princess and the Fiery Blossom led their troops to break through, cutting down hundreds of enemies and shaking off the opposing forces with the superior stamina of unicorns compared to the wolf cavalry.
Later, Liliya engaged in several battles with beastmen converging from various directions and learned that the enemy had already laid a massive trap, intending to eliminate this little mouse that had infiltrated their territory.
However, Liliya had long been prepared, sending General Layton’s son, Rekter, to station a light cavalry unit at the border of the Beast Kingdom. As the beastman forces began to withdraw, Rekter took the opportunity to charge into enemy territory and supported Liliya and her fatigued companions at the scheduled location.
In the end, they broke through the beastmen’s encirclement and returned to Wanku Fortress.
What they were unaware of was that the beastmen had also sent a Bird-Human unit to intercept and monitor from the air. The reason Liliya and the others never encountered this force from beginning to end…
Was that a certain giant dragon and her master, while flying east, accidentally flew over them and crashed into these unfortunate souls.
Vilyric herself had no intention of attacking the army, but due to their mutual high-speed flight, they only noticed each other upon collision.
As is well known, when Little Dragon Daughter is in her true form, she naturally exudes a dragon’s might.
Though it was merely a subconscious action of Xiao Guang, it did not take much effort, but the terrifying aura of a top-tier level 100 giant dragon spread out immediately, causing the Bird-Humans within the range to fall like dumplings, plummeting to the ground…
The remaining ones scattered in fear, like a flock of startled birds.
Until Vilyric and her dragon circled in the air several times, eventually reuniting with Liliya and her party, who had arrived at Lake Lirt at a “leisurely” pace, this unit never appeared again.
Despite this, when a few days later they broke through the weakened points of the beastmen’s border with Rekter’s support and made their way back to Wanku Fortress, the originally over two thousand elite troops had dwindled to just over a thousand.
This is war; even with multiple victories and abundant harvests, the continuous deaths of soldiers cannot be avoided. Even Liliya’s most elite Shadow Guard suffered around a one-fifth loss while fighting against the fox-human assassins.
However, from a strategic standpoint, it was undoubtedly Liliya’s complete victory.
This operation completely severed any support the Beast Kingdom derived from the forces behind the Throne of Immortality, capturing thousands of various magic crystals, slaying over a hundred undead, and defeating more than six thousand beastmen, including lions, tigers, wolves, and leopards, as well as killing four members of a fox-demon assassin group.
The Sixth Throne, Antonio Stevenson, Fourth Throne, Balk, and Baker were confirmed dead, while the Seventh Throne, Plakaka, went missing.
A few days later, at Wanku Fortress.
“Ha… it suddenly feels leisurely.”
Black-haired, white-robed Miss Vilyric leaned against the stone bricks of the west wall, her gem-like clear silver-blue eyes lazily gazing at the azure sky while yawning at the expansive plains below.
“Vilyric, what are you doing?”
Having changed back into her royal attire, Liliya ascended the steps to the castle wall, lightly stepping to sit beside the priestess.
Though the silver armor had already been removed, the sword hanging at her waist would not disappear, for this operation had truly tempered Liliya, who once seemed somewhat immature, through iron and blood.
Ever since Vilyric shielded her and Hua from the Death Star that day, for some reason, Liliya’s way of addressing her had further evolved into casually calling her by name.
This wasn’t a distancing; for a princess well-versed in various rules of etiquette, dropping any honorifics perhaps represented genuine connection and trust with the other party.
“I’m not doing anything… just seeing if there’s any fun… trouble outside. Who knows when those beastmen might have a brain malfunction and come charging back?”
“Pfft…”
Liliya covered her mouth and chuckled. After spending this long together, how could she not know the nature of the person beside her, who seemed to fear chaos? But this time, she would likely be disappointed.
“Unfortunately, I just received scout reports that the beastmen have fully retreated back to the Beast Kingdom, and the other cities have also been relieved.”
“Moreover, without further supplies, the beastmen can’t possibly support a million-strong army for long, so it’s impossible for them to come back for more. The war has ended.”
“Oh dear, I got it, got it, stop lecturing me, teacher!”
“???”
The princess widened her eyes in surprise, and Vilyric paused for a moment before realizing they were in another world. However, she couldn’t explain to Liliya that this “teacher” was not her master but rather something that bloomed from Blue Star…
Both fell silent simultaneously, the atmosphere becoming somewhat strange.
“It feels a little unreal… I thought I was really going to die out there. I didn’t expect to come back alive and even push the beastmen back.”
“It’s the result of Liliya’s hard work.”
The priestess smiled gently.
“No, it was thanks to Vilyric’s help, as well as everyone’s efforts. Many have sacrificed their lives for this; I still have a lot to learn. Now that I think about it, there were many things I could have done better back then.”
The princess paused, slowly voicing her true thoughts hidden deep inside.
“And I always feel like the Beast Kingdom didn’t go all out in this war. It’s like they held back. Whether it was attacking the western front or the beastman units that surrounded us after the battle in the Tapeya Basin, it was all the same.”
“Oh? Does Liliya think they were acting?”
“No, they truly came with intent to kill, but… aside from those fox-human assassins, especially the leader, Mavis, the other beastmen can only be said to have tried their best, not their utmost effort, or else my troops would have suffered even heavier casualties.”
“And, I haven’t seen the beastmen’s air force at all; that’s just illogical. Even some original troops were left in empty spots…”
“Ah this…”
Vilyric awkwardly turned her head aside, hesitating, feeling unable to reveal the truth.
“Well…”
The priestess shrugged her shoulders, “In any case, as long as we’ve succeeded, what does it matter? Liliya just loves to think of things that don’t matter all day long; that’s exhausting.”
“Haha… Is that teacher’s teaching?”
“Who knows~”
The two girls giggled in harmony before stopping simultaneously after moments of silence, with the princess eventually opening up the conversation again.
“Hey, Vilyric.”
Liliya turned her gaze to the distance.
“Mm?”
“Tomorrow, I’m going back, back to the City of Courage.”
“Ah, I heard about it.”
“…”
Silence.
The girls understood each other without needing to say more.
Liliya’s battle in the western front concluded successfully. Not only did she shatter the prince’s conspiracy with the beastmen, but she herself also underwent an astonishing transformation, like a butterfly breaking free from its cocoon.
Having ventured deep into enemy territory and destroying the Beast Kingdom’s supply lines, achieving one victory after another, forcing back a million beastmen troops, and even garnering General Layton’s support from the western front.
Returning to the capital with such glorious achievements, even those unscrupulous wolves would have to reconsider their positions.
However, Liliya’s success also marked the conclusion of her contract with Vilyric.
After all, their agreement was for the priestess to ensure the former’s safe return to the City of Courage.
“…Please don’t go, stay by my side. You’ve helped me so much, and I want to… repay this gratitude as much as possible.”
Liliya’s voice was soft, sounding more like a plea.
Vilyric knew she wasn’t just clinging to her power and protection—perhaps just a little—but that was definitely not the main reason.
The princess’s eyes were bright and clear, void of greed and conspiratorial schemes.
Even if one had raised a small animal for a long time, emotions would develop; how could it be different for living beings?
But…
“…I’m sorry; I can’t agree to that.”
“Why? Have you grown tired of me, Vilyric? I know I’m useless and always dependent on you, but I’ll work hard…”
“Alright, it’s not what you think.”
Vilyric lifted her head, her silky dark hair dancing in the breeze coming from the plains, chuckling lightly.
“I don’t belong here, nor in any place here. So, I should continue to wander and go wherever I desire… Maybe someday, I’ll find a place to settle down, but definitely not now.”
“I see…”
The princess fell silent.
After a pause, she took something out from her ring and handed it to Vilyric.
“Take this. Even though with Vilyric’s strength, it shouldn’t cause you any trouble, there might be times it could be of help.”
It was a small badge, engraved with an exquisite bird design, symbolizing the royal family of the United Kingdom—liberty and the unrestrained bird—its center studded with a precious light blue gemstone in the fifth recess alone.
“?”
Vilyric tilted her head in confusion.
“I thought about it, and it seems the previous contract was too unfair to you. Consider this as additional compensation.”
Liliya displayed a somewhat lonely smile. “I know Vilyric is very capable, and ordinary magical equipment might not even interest you. After much thought, this is the only thing that might have some use. This is a symbol of my identity; showing this within the United Kingdom is akin to Liliya Meikailande’s presence, which should help you resolve some troubles.”
“Additionally.”
The stunning blue-haired girl suddenly turned her head, swiftly pecking the priestess on the cheek before Vilyric could react, then blushingly recoiling.
“Don’t forget me.”
“Ah…”
Vilyric froze.
Though she could grasp what Liliya had intended, the trust built up over time combined with the absence of any hostility from the princess ultimately led the priestess to be successfully ambushed.
Damn…
Counting her past life, this was probably the first time a girl who wasn’t family had kissed her actively. But now that she wasn’t a boy anymore, Liliya’s action shouldn’t carry any deeper meanings.
Just a little stimulating.
Without further pretense, she accepted Liliya’s gift into her embrace, suppressing the emotional surge within while calming herself down, and then smiled.
“Then I’ll graciously accept this. Even when I reach the City of Courage, I won’t return it to you.”
“Of course, since I’ve given it away, I never planned to take it back… huh?”
As she spoke halfway, the princess suddenly lifted her head, her gem-like beautiful pupils filled with astonishment and delight.
“Wait, what did you just say?”
The priestess smiled mischievously, her lips curling.
“I said, I plan to continue my journey and properly explore the United Kingdom, of course; a capital as interesting as this place, how could a traveler possibly miss it?”
“Alright, Vilyric, you did that on purpose, right?!”
“Hahaha! Because the princess’s shy and dejected expression is too cute; I just couldn’t help but tease her. My little apprentice is still so immature; how can this master of hers just leave her be? We’re not heartless.”
The princess was infuriated, recalling the earlier incident, her little head steaming like a kettle.
“Damn it! You made me sad for nothing; go die, die, die!”
Punched in a rain-like manner upon Vilyric’s slightly rising chest, though not strong enough to break through her defenses, the sensation was something the priestess had never experienced before, causing her to feel a little flustered as a beautiful blush crept onto her smooth and fair face.
“How dare you ambush me? Watch my tickle attack!”
“Eep!”
Laughter erupted from the girls as they frolicked on the castle wall.
Even amidst the tumultuous waves, there would be moments of respite now and then.
Volume One: The Arrival and the Tale of the Kingdom, Complete.
Below is a full-body image of the cover, which is also the character design for the female lead, Vilyric. If interested, you can check it out.