Chapter 115.1

By now, the battle at the Extreme Northern Great Barrier must have been in full swing.

The magical communication device blinked incessantly, relaying reports of the battle situation.

Arina, Arad, and even the employees, each in their own way, sent their heartfelt support toward the Barrier.

“Seems like you’re quite worried about the situation at the Barrier?”

“Well…”

“I understand how you feel. But it’s times like this when we must trust—Her Majesty and the warriors of Renslet.”

“Yes…”

As Arad said this, he gently placed a hand on Mary’s shoulder and gave it a reassuring pat.

“!!”

Feeling Arad’s touch on her shoulder, Arina’s heart—disguised as Mary—began to race.

Thanks to that, the unsettling worries that had been tormenting Arina moments ago vanished completely.

“Ahem!”@@novelbin@@

Realizing the awkward atmosphere a little too late, Arad quickly withdrew his hand from Mary’s shoulder.

“Her Majesty is safe inside the inner keep of the High Tower, correct?”

He spoke up to shift the mood.

“That’s correct.”

“Well… Even if he were at the Barrier, he’d be safe. The three superhumans of the North are all there, after all.”

“Not to mention, Her Majesty is clad in the magical armor crafted and presented to him by the President, isn’t he?”

“Then he’s definitely at the Barrier. It’s a good thing we didn’t make a sword for him.”

Arina habitually stroked the pure white magic sword at her waist, “Cry of the Snowfields.”

“Hahaha… Still, the morale of the soldiers and knights fighting at the Barrier must have soared.”

Arina, picturing her own illusionary image at the Barrier, mixed truth and falsehood skillfully in her response.

“Let’s head in. It’s cold outside.”

“Yes.”

Arad smiled faintly and walked ahead.

Watching Arad’s back, Arina lowered her gaze and checked her transformation necklace.

-I think I’ve figured out why the romantic progress between you and Sir Arad isn’t going anywhere. It’s probably… the mental magic enchanted into this necklace. That magic seems to be causing some side effects. I’ll need to research it further… 𝙧𝖆Ꞑ𝙤βË𐌔

That’s what Isabelle had said. According to her, the reason Arad hadn’t shown any romantic interest in Mary until now was likely because of the necklace.

The mental interference magic enchanted into it to conceal the fact that Mary was actually Arina seemed to have caused an unusual side effect.

-It’ll take some time to adjust the mana circuits.

Repairs to the transformation necklace couldn’t be done quickly.

This was partly because mental enchantments were notoriously difficult, but also because Isabelle herself was incredibly busy.

-It’s fine, old lady. Don’t worry about it.

-What?

To make matters worse, Arina’s stubbornness came into play.

-If I win his heart in this state, wouldn’t it be even more certain?

-Is that… even possible?

-I’ll try.

-??

Despite Arina’s determination and confidence…

The reality was that Arina, utterly inexperienced in romance, hadn’t made much progress with Arad while disguised as Mary.

“I did work hard, though. Really hard.”

Looking back, it felt like all she had done was work tirelessly like a beast of burden.

To Arad, she was nothing more than a diligent and competent employee—no more, no less.

On top of that, he found Mary peculiar and often portrayed her in odd ways.

“That’s definitely how it was…”

Yet, at some point, Arad began to change.

“Something’s different now.”

The way Arad, who had shown no trace of romantic interest before, looked at her had shifted.

For instance, he would steal glances at Mary, then quickly avert his gaze when their eyes met. Or he would carefully touch her shoulder or hand. When they talked, his face would flush, his heartbeat seemed faster, and his flustered state was palpable.

Above all, his obvious discomfort whenever she was with another man was striking.

“It matches the signs of a man in love that the old lady and the witches described!”

Even Arina, a novice in matters of love, couldn’t help but notice the unusual reactions.

Those changes had started appearing in Arad out of nowhere one day.

“Why, though?”

No matter how much she thought about it, there hadn’t been any special trigger.

She had simply continued working hard, as always.

“Diligence and perseverance. Could that be the answer?”

Arina felt an odd sense of pride.

She assumed that her persistence and sincerity had overcome the curse(?) of the necklace and created love.

Though her assumption was entirely incorrect, what did it matter? The result was what counted.

“So, when is he going to confess?”

Although she thoroughly enjoyed Arad’s newfound attitude, the love wasn’t complete yet.

There was one step left—his confession.

“At the very least, he could subtly hint at it, like Chief Teo did with his artisan gifts. Or seize the moment like Mrs. Shapiro said…”

Gulp.

Arina swallowed hard.

Quickening her steps, she caught up with Arad, who was walking ahead.

“President.”

“Hm?”

“Let’s walk together.”

“Oh? Uh… Sure…”

Matching his stride, she took a deep breath and walked alongside him.

The distance between the two was no greater than the size of a coin.

Thump, thump, thump, thump.

At the same time, her own heart raced just as fast.

The fluttering, joyous sensation spread through her, and Arina couldn’t hide the smile blooming on her lips.

Ding-ding-ding-ding-ding!!

The sound of bells signaling the arrival of an enemy engulfed the Guild immediately afterward.

***

A Force of Fifty

Only fifty.

A detached unit consisting of fifty individuals—an equal mix of orcs and druids—had appeared.

“Their armor and pale skin color…”

“Hunster! It’s the Orc Lord Hunster!”

The knights guarding the Guild tensed up at once.

“Everyone, prepare yourselves! Two of them are near-master level, and the rest are equivalent to senior knights!”

Quality over quantity.

There couldn’t have been a better phrase to describe this group.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

The various barriers and totems installed around the Guild flared to life.

From the gas that had troubled the Sigma agents before, to blinding flashes, collapsing ground to impede movement, and more…

Every possible countermeasure to stop the monsters charging like a cavalry unit was activated.

Kwooooaaaarrr!!

But these weren’t ordinary humans.

When noxious gas filled the air, they simply held their breath with monstrous lung capacity.

When flashes burst, they closed their eyes and relied on transcendental senses to continue running.

When the ground collapsed, they leaped over the gaps with overwhelming agility.

Even electrical, fire, or ice-based attack magic was blocked by their tough hides or evaded entirely.

And if that weren’t enough—

Pop! Pop! Pop!

Magical tools issued from the Devil’s Den shielded the orcs and druids.

The devices mounted on their bodies weakened or outright nullified the Guild’s magical attacks and barriers.

“…!”

The knights and staff members of the Guild swallowed hard, their throats dry with tension.

“Impressive. They’d make fascinating chimeras.”