"Oh ho, it seems the King lacks a knight by his side. A knight to protect him in his moment of weakness."
A light, pleasant, sweet laugh sounded, and a beautiful golden-haired figure interposed herself between Yusei and Yuri.
She had an angelic face, but an extremely voluptuous figure. Her beautiful golden hair signified her origins… a European.
At this moment, a smile graced her face as she looked at Yuri, who was holding the stone. She spoke with a laugh.
"When the lion is weak, there are always other lions who want to challenge its throne. I think... this overestimating lion isn't you, is it?"
Yuri was momentarily stunned, stopping in her tracks, unsure of what to do.
Especially looking at this golden-haired girl holding a sword, she felt afraid.
She wasn't a warrior, while the other clearly was. In that case... wasn't it a hopeless situation for her? She tried to persuade the golden-haired girl before her.
"I don't know who you are, but please believe me. He... he is an evil person. He attacks others for no reason, wants to kill, and doesn't care about the safety of the people at all."
She had seen plenty of news over the past few days. Although no one died, there were injured, seriously wounded, and those who lost their hearing because of that incident.
Whenever she saw the numbers, she felt some regret. What if, from the very beginning, she hadn't led Yusei there?
And just now, she had tried asking Yusei, but his answer was 'impossible to give up', which solidified her resolve to 'eliminate the scourge for the people'.
The golden-haired girl burst out laughing upon hearing this, looking at Yuri with great interest.
"You're quite amusing. The things you say seem very reasonable. But what does that have to do with me?"
"Moreover, you people from the History Compilation Committee, watching a little girl spout such ridiculous things here... are you planning to wait for her to die?"
The golden-haired girl's eyes turned towards a spot behind a large tree nearby.
There, a tall, thin young man clapped his hands, smiling as he walked out.
"I believe Mariya Yuri-san is acting out of righteousness. Isn't protecting the people exactly what we should do?"
The golden-haired girl shrugged noncommittally, "Is that so? But if you came alone, it seems your people are still on the way. But thinking about it, they should be here soon, right? Then I should take the newly ascended King and leave this place."
A red magic circle materialized around her feet. But at that moment, a dense array of incantations appeared in the air around her.
Touma narrowed his eyes and smiled.
"This person is our Japanese King. Please release him, Erica Blandelli-san."
"You say he's Japan's, so he's Japan's?" Erica sneered, though she wasn't surprised the other party knew her.
There were only so many major organizations in the world. Intelligence gathering was fundamental, and it was impossible not to know the opposing side's combatants.
The Western longsword in Erica's hand shattered the ritual trapping her.
Using her long boots for leverage, she hoisted Yusei onto her back and vanished into the mountain forest with a leap.
Touma watched the escaping Yusei and rubbed his temples in frustration.
Even his usually constant 'smiling eyes' were now forced open.
'So troublesome. A hostile Campione is about the worst scenario possible.'
He looked thoughtfully in the direction Erica had left.
"Mariya Yuri-san, what is your opinion of this newly ascended King?"
"Enjoys conflict, disregards public safety, pursues power?"
Yuri tentatively listed a few of her understandings.
Touma nodded, a smile reappearing on his face.
"It's fine. These are common traits among Kings. That's why they need Queens to correct their mistakes and help them rule their kingdom properly."
"Mariya Yuri-san. What do you think? Would you be willing to accept this great task?"
Yuri. "…"
When Yusei opened his eyes again, the moon was bright and the stars sparse.
The first thing he did upon opening his eyes was sense Futsu no Mitama within his body. Finding it still in an 'untriggered' state, he breathed a sigh of relief.
His wounds still ached, but the injuries had been stabilized. The previously terrifying-looking wounds were now bandaged.
Just as Yusei was looking at the bandages on his body, a clear, pleasant voice reached his ears...
"Finally awake. May I ask if you are satisfied with my bandaging skills?"
Yusei was momentarily stunned, then looked towards the source of the voice. There sat a girl in a white dress… a pristine noble-style gown, fair skin coupled with lovely features, every part was exquisite.
Especially that voluptuous figure, which gave a sinful temptation.
Paired with the symbolizing purity white dress and white stockings, it made it hard for anyone to look away.
However, Yusei had seen too many exceptionally beautiful girls. He hadn't reached the point of being unable to tear his eyes away.
He glanced calmly at the golden-haired girl and spoke, "Passable. But since I'm awake, these things are no longer needed."
As he spoke, his eyes transformed into snowflake-patterned Mangekyo, spinning rapidly.
[Healing Spell]
Then, under the girl's stunned gaze, his wounds began to heal at a visible rate. The pain in his body also rapidly subsided.
Soon, Yusei removed all the bandages.
"This is truly incredible power. But this shouldn't be Takemikazuchi's Authority, should it?" The golden-haired girl looked at Yusei with great interest.
Yusei glanced at her and let out a light laugh, "Don't you already have the answer in your heart? Otherwise, how did you find me?"
"You... know me?"
"No, I don't. But you probably received intelligence about my battle with Susanoo and came running from some mysterious organization, right?"
"As expected, the King is wise. In that case, I won't stand on ceremony. May I ask if His Majesty the Devil King has any plans to recruit a knight? Of course... this knight might not only protect you, but could also perform some of the duties befitting a Queen."
As she spoke, her watery eyes shimmered as she looked at Yusei, as if trying to seduce one's soul away.
In a sense, this was a natural talent. With just her eyes, she could make people infatuated with her.
However, Yusei was not among their number. He looked playfully at the alluring golden-haired girl before him.
"Oh? Such a great sacrifice? What if I need it right now?"