"Let's catch up as a family for the first time in a while."
At Phoebe's words, Saul snapped his fingers at the woman sitting next to him.
The woman, sensing the atmosphere, picked up her clothes and left the room.
"So, what brings you here?"
Phoebe playfully tapped Gorgan's palm.
"Gorgan said he needed someone to correct Saul's habits. So, I came to ask if you'd like to have a match with me after a long time."
Then, Saul snorted and sneered.
"Then you should ask politely, right? No matter what, I'm not so weak as to lose to someone who's become an old lady."
"Saul."
"I used to call you sister back then. You don't even look like a sister now. Are you still scared after strangling that third prince brat?"
"..."
Gorgan sighed.
Saul had been getting more and more out of control since becoming a knight of the empire.
In fact, Gorgan had a hard time when sparring with him as he learned about his abilities.
Gorgan glanced at Phoebe.
She looked up at Gorgan with a smile.
"Gorgan."
"Hmm?"
"I'm sorry, but I think I'll have to break something during the process. You won't blame me, right?"
Phoebe asked with a calm face.
Gorgan nodded.
"Fine, I won't hold you responsible if you break—."
Gorgan couldn't finish his sentence.
As soon as the permission was granted, Phoebe's body disappeared.
"Huh?"
She reappeared in front of Saul.
Her right hand slapped Saul's head.
Crash!
Saul flew straight through the wall and landed precisely in the middle of the training ground.
Saul shook his head and got up.
Phoebe aimed at his temple.
If he were a human, even a knight, he would have died from the bold strike.
"This... This damn... Suddenly hitting and going crazy...!"
Saul couldn't even finish his sentence as Phoebe slammed his head into the ground again.
"Ugh!"
He tried to resist with his hands, but Phoebe pressed his neck with her knee and twisted his shoulders with both hands to block his strength.
Complete suppression.
Saul, with his balance broken, had no means to resist.
"Do I still look slow to you? Do I look like an old lady?"
"Phoebe..."
"Do I look like an old lady?"
Phoebe asked obsessively and fiercely about the word "old lady."
It was only after being suppressed that Saul realized.
Why Gorgan still showed respect to her.
Realizing that was always after the incident had occurred.
In other words, it was already too late.
"Our soft Saul, you've been rotting my insides since the old days. Do you remember? You haven't forgotten how I dealt with you back then, have you?"
"That..."
"I hit you. Although it was gentle with the permission of the owner, I still hit you."
"You were beaten. Although the master allowed it, I hit you very gently."
At the scene where Phoebe used violence, blood was shed, and the people watching were scared by the terrifying punches.
"..."
Gorgan sighed.
Saul had been consistently the same ever since he became a knight of the empire.
He had to be hit to regain his senses.
Thud.
The threatening sound that came out when Phoebe clenched her fist.
She grinned like a grim reaper that came out in broad daylight.
"Experience once again what kind of person I was."
That day, a sandstorm erupted in the middle of the training ground.
***
"Thanks for letting me use the bath, Gorgan~."
Phoebe drank the tea Gorgan had prepared with a gentle expression.
Her entire body was covered in sand due to the chaotic battle.
She washed her clothes and wore the spare clothes she had prepared.
"Phoebe."
"Yes?"
"…Your face seems to be glowing."
"Oh, is that so? Is it because I took a shower?"
It wasn't the shower.
She felt refreshed as if she had shed a hundred-year-old dirt.
For her, who had lived without using violence, the battle with Saul must have been a salvation like an oasis in the desert.
'No. Could that have been considered a fight?'
The fight with Saul was almost one-sided.
First, it was a surprise attack.
And secondly, by completely dominating, she won overwhelmingly.
'She's indeed the leader.'
Her style was always like that.
She always launched psychological warfare to suppress her opponent in one go by striking at their weaknesses from unknown places.
Although she was far from the type to confront fairly, she could be considered a true warrior as she could do anything for victory.
Saul was carried back to his hole-ridden room on a stretcher.
Nobody worried about his well-being, even though his joints were broken and twisted like a broken puppet to the point that it wouldn't be strange if he died.
The blood flowing in Saul's body boasted an enormous vitality of a Corpse Dragon.
Everyone knew that he would recover in just one day.
"…Will you also fight me like that?"
"No. I'm asking for Gorgan's help, so I shouldn't be rude."
Phoebe's style of fighting was different with Gorgan, as she knew her boundaries and didn't want to be disrespectful to him.
"Thank you."
That meant at least while drinking tea now, he was safe. [T/N: Lol, just how terrifying was she during her leader days!]
Gorgan finally took a sip of tea with a relaxed heart.
"You seem to be still in good shape if you can suppress Saul. Aren't you worrying too much?"
She had suppressed Saul in one go, making him unable to use his skills, but he was also originally a formidable force of the empire.
Phoebe's victory was possible because of her outstanding skills.
Phoebe herself knew that fact very well.
"I guess so. It seems my worries have transferred to the tower master."
Phoebe touched her chest and smiled awkwardly.
"As much as the tower master worries about the young lady, I'm also worried about the tower master."
"Is it because you think you can't protect him?"
"Yes. I've already failed once."
"That man won't die easily. The owner has gone in vain, but that man will be fine."
"..."
Phoebe closed her eyes slightly and recalled that day.
A pain like a sword piercing her heart came up.
The collapsing mansion.
The last sight of the owner was covered in blood from being attacked by someone.
There was no memory after that.
Her reason disappeared, and she was busy destroying everything.
"I won't let that happen this time."
She would protect him.
She would definitely protect the man who became her second light.
"Is that the end of your feelings?"
"Yes?"
"Is it the end of thinking about your tower master like you think of the owner?"
At Gorgan's question, Phoebe asked herself inwardly.
"Is thinking about your Tower Master like you think about the Master the end?"
At Gorgan's question, Phoebe asked herself inwardly.
How do I think of the Tower Master?
The answer did not come easily.
No, it did.
She just wants to deny it.
The more she thinks about it, the more her heart aches.
She just wants to let it go.
But she can't let it go.
The more she hides it, the bigger it grows.
That's because it's the human heart.
