"Pwah..."

After a brief, probing exchange, Liya could not quite hold out and retreated for the moment.

Her eyes narrowed. Even in defeat, she looked blissful and satisfied.

"Muen, I think you got better..."

"Did I?"

Muen gripped Liya’s pert little backside and said smugly,

"People have to grow, don’t they?"

"Hmph. It’s not just you, Muen. I’ve grown too!"

Liya shot back, refusing to lose.

"Oh?"

Muen dragged out the sound, his tone turning wicked.

"And where exactly has our Miss Liya grown?"

"You guess." Liya blinked at him playfully.

"My guess... here?"

"Nope... bad boy."

"Here, then?"

"Not there either."

"Then it must be here..."

"Oh, come on. That didn’t get bigger. It actually got slimmer. I haven’t even been eating much cake lately..."

"In that case..."

A gleam flashed through Muen’s eyes. He suddenly lowered his head and buried himself recklessly between those towering peaks.

"Then it has to be here!"

"Heehee... that tickles so much."

Liya pouted in mock complaint, but she cradled Muen’s head and let him delve even deeper into that lush hidden path.

After all that playful wrestling, Liya really did end up "losing everything" before she even noticed. Her skin, smooth and pale as cream, shone under the magic-lamp glow, beautiful enough to make anyone linger and forget to leave.

And so, with both of them stripped of every last defense, their second round began in the most primitive, most direct clash imaginable...

"Wait!"

A furious voice suddenly rang out, cutting straight through the start of that second round.

"Ariel?"

Liya, who had only just confiscated half the weapons on the opposing side, turned at the sound, her expression changing.

"How did you..."

"How did I break free? Is that what you were about to ask?"

Ariel was panting hard. Her little face, flushed from all the struggling and fighting just now, was red as if it had ripened completely. Damp, disheveled strands of hair clung to her forehead and temples with sweat. And yet her expression remained resolute, the wet "Holy Sword" clutched in her hand like a trophy, her whole bearing that of a victor.

"Did you really think something like this could keep me down?" Ariel bared her teeth in a scornful laugh.

Yes, she had been humiliatingly pathetic at first. First Muen had bullied her, then Liya had bullied her too.

She had looked utterly helpless, collapsing at every turn. Even that fake "Holy Sword" had once driven her into full retreat.

But temporary defeat was not the same thing as always losing. She was Ariel Bugaard. Failure only sharpened her fighting spirit. It made her sum up the lesson, think harder, push forward, and grow even stronger in the end.

It had only been half an hour, but she had already become stronger!

Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river. And now...

"My turn!"

Ariel lunged at Liya in a flash, just as Liya had done to her earlier.

But unlike Liya’s earlier attack, which had relied on taking advantage of Ariel while she was vulnerable, Ariel was now fueled by humiliation and fury, and her combat strength was on an entirely different level. At such close range, Liya had no time to cast Holy Light. Ariel closed the distance with her nimble martial skill and slammed her down onto the bed in one motion.

"Still acting all arrogant, you shameless little slut?"

Ariel snapped at her, though a flicker of excitement flashed in her eyes.

After being called that so many times, she could finally say those words to someone else!

"I... I am not... I’m a Saintess."

Of course Liya struggled fiercely, but the difference in raw physical ability between the two was like heaven and earth. A sneak attack with Holy Light was one thing, but once it became a head-on clash, she was completely suppressed within a few moves.

"What Saintess? Look at yourself right now. Do you look anything like one?"

Humming ✪ Nоvеlіgһt ✪ (Official version) smugly, Ariel pinned Liya’s wrists tightly and held them above her head.

"The Silver Sword Saintess!"

"Mmph... I am not..."

At that moment, Liya’s eyes were wet, her face flushed like sunset. Even the breath leaving her lips seemed to carry feverish heat. As her waist twisted, those mischievous little rabbits bounced at once, glaring furiously at Ariel.

"I’m the Pure Saintess..."

"What Pure Saintess? You—"

Ariel, who had meant to properly teach this Silver Sword Saintess a lesson, suddenly froze.

Watching from the side had been one thing. Only at a distance this close could she fully feel just how captivating the girl before her really was.

It was not only the halo that came with her title, but that flawless pretty face, that perfect figure, the adorably puffed cheeks when she got angry, and the way she tried to look fierce when she was embarrassed.

And none of that charm was new to Ariel.

She was Liya’s childhood friend, the companion who had spent years by her side since they were little.

More than anyone, she had every chance to know all of this. And the truth was, she had known for a very long time already.

After all, ever since the firelit courtyard that day, Liya had been the first beam of light to shine into Ariel’s world. That was why, from so very long ago, Ariel had already been heating the water, patiently preparing to boil the frog bit by bit, hoping to keep that light forever.

Sadly, the frog never got boiled...

And that yellow-haired bastard got there first.

"Damn it..."

The more Ariel thought about it, the more grief and outrage rose in her. That little Liya who should have become hers had been stolen away by some yellow-haired bastard who had only been digging at the wall for a few months...

Even now, she still found it hard to accept.

And yet, at this very moment, a strange feeling began spreading through Ariel’s heart...

Liya had not gone far. Liya was right here in her arms. Not only Liya, but other beautiful girls too, all closer than ever before... In a way, hadn’t she achieved her goal after all?

"Liya... Liya... my Liya..."

Thinking that, Ariel lowered her head without realizing it, wanting to do the thing she had wanted to do for the past ten years and never managed.

"Nope."

Liya suddenly tilted her head and giggled.

"I’m not letting Ariel kiss me."

Then she tipped her head back on her own.

And only then did Ariel abruptly realize that an even hotter breath had crept close at some point and was now pressed against her from behind.

Liya tilted her little face up and, right over Ariel’s shoulder, kissed Muen.

"Wha—"

Ariel’s eyes flew wide open. That strange emotion in her chest began churning again, like a cocktail with something unknowable mixed into it, to the point that even she no longer knew what it was supposed to taste like.

"Mmph... I’m not giving Ariel a kiss. I belong to Muen..." Liya murmured lovingly.

"What do you mean, Muen? I was here first!"

Ariel burst out furiously.

But before she could do anything, smack.

Muen brought his hand down hard on her little backside.

"What do you mean, you were here first? You shameless little slut. Don’t tell me that even in a situation like this, you’re still eyeing my woman?"

"N-no..."

Ariel instantly wilted.

"No? Hmph. Who knows whether a stubborn liar like you is telling the truth or not."

Muen let out a cold laugh.

"Looks like your punishment still wasn’t severe enough. Since you’re in such a hurry, we’ll start with you."

"W-what?"

Ariel went pale with shock. Instinctively, she tried to pull away, but Muen had already wrapped his arms around her from behind, while Liya grabbed hold of her from the front as well.

At first, she had only wanted to take revenge on that hateful Liya...

Yet somehow, she was the one who had ended up trapped between enemies on both sides. The scorching heat closed in on her more and more until it swallowed her whole.

On one side were her childhood friend and the person she liked, tangling with each other right in front of her. From the front came deliberate torment, and from behind came fierce, relentless attack. Before long, Ariel was completely dizzy and utterly defeated.

"Who are you?" Muen asked on purpose, even though Ariel probably could not even tell one from two or three from four anymore.

"Ariel..."

"And who does Ariel belong to?"

"I... I... I don’t..."

"Say it."

"Eek..."

Ariel let out a shy little whimper and said,

"Ariel... belongs to Muen..."

...

...

"Haa..."

An stepped out of the bath and let out a long, refreshed breath.

She had always been strict with herself. Never before had she indulged in wasting this much time in the bath. But after unwinding just now, she suddenly felt that doing this once in a while was actually rather nice.

And besides, it was not as if she had been slacking off. After last night, she had understood that if she wanted to monopolize Young Master, then she first had to thoroughly crush that pest. Recovering as much physical strength as possible was only necessary.

Fortunately, judging from how things had gone last night, crushing that pest was not some impossible dream.

"Tonight, the winner will be decided."

An walked in a familiar direction.

"Mmh... ah..."

But before she even reached Young Master’s room, those blush-inducing sounds reached her ears.

She frowned slightly.

"So it already started?"

Just as expected of that pest. Truly impatient.

Still, it did not matter.

"I’ll let you enjoy yourself for a little while first."

Standing outside the room, An let out a cold laugh.

"A mere pest. Tonight I’ll— hm?"

The door opened easily under her hand.

Young Master and the pest were both inside, doing exactly what she had expected. Only, compared to last night, the pest looked even more disgraceful, clearly stripped of all armor and thoroughly routed.

But the only problem was that tonight, the reason the pest looked so miserable did not seem to be weakness...

"Pests... there are two of them?"

An’s mind buzzed. For a moment, she thought she was hallucinating.

What was going on? Did pests breed by themselves like cockroaches if she ignored them for too long?

But for a new one to have appeared after only a single night was absurdly fast. It could not be that in a few months the entire ducal estate would be swarming with pests drawn in by Young Master.

And these were clearly not the pest empress and the little wildcat pest either, but a brand-new pest she did not even know!

"It looks like I have no choice but to do some cleaning tonight."

An’s face turned cold. She calmed down quickly. No matter where the pests had come from, eliminating them was the top priority.

And so, forgetting the promise she had made Young Master last night, An flicked out a hand. Steel rang, and murderous intent flooded the room.

"!"

The three tangled together inside the room were finally jolted awake by that killing intent.

"W-who is this now?" Liya asked in shock.

"It’s... it’s that hateful maid at Muen’s side!"

"Oh, right. The personal maid!"

Liya remembered at once.

"So she’s one too... Muen, exactly how many lovers do you have?"

"Ahem... not that many. At the very least, there still aren’t enough to fill a whole week..." Muen coughed awkwardly.

"That’s still not many? Do you actually want one for every day of the week, all different?" Liya puffed up angrily.

"D-don’t worry about that right now! She’s attacking! Liya, quick, defend!"

Ariel cried out in alarm. She knew better than anyone that this maid named An was not merely trying to scare people. She really would kill.

"Holy Light Barrier!"

Liya hurriedly raised a wall of Holy Light.

"What about my Heavenly Flame? Where’s my Heavenly Flame... damn it, it’s in the ring. Then I’ll just have to use this Holy Sword!"

With no proper weapon at hand, Ariel grabbed the very "Holy Sword" that had tormented her so badly just moments earlier.

Ridiculous as it was, she somehow felt this thing would actually work better against An.

"Come on! Let’s settle yesterday’s score together with tonight’s!"

"Pests... die!"

"Wait, don’t fight!"

Muen hurriedly tried to stop them, but by then, nobody was listening to him anymore...

...

Three hours later.

Muen looked up at the huge hole in the ceiling, yet his heart was full of relief.

Thank goodness. At least the house had not been torn down.

An bursting in like that had definitely startled him, but unexpectedly, with Ariel and Liya working together in perfect sync, even An had ended up being neatly suppressed.

And with a little effort from him as well, An had finally calmed down completely.

As expected, triangles really were stable. With three people, they could keep each other in check. It was a lot easier to handle things than when there were only two.

Muen lowered his head and looked down.

Both Ariel and Liya had been completely exhausted, both from the earlier fight and from the other fight afterward. Now they lay there like scattered jade, asleep in each other’s arms.

Liya had used up almost all of her own Holy Light and was in no state to draw on the Saintess’s authority again. Ariel looked even more pitiful. Every time, she had been the one caught in the middle, and in the end she still never got to show off the growth she had proudly proclaimed with her whole "thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river."

As for An...

"No matter whether there are two, three, or even more... from now on, get along properly, all right?"

Muen gently brushed his fingers through An’s hair and warned her again.

At that moment, the "Holy Sword" was still ravaging An’s body. Her eyes were half-lidded, and it was impossible to tell whether she had heard him or not.

"All right?"

Only after a long while, under Muen’s relentless insistence, did An finally let out the other Holy Sword and give the faintest nod.

"Mmm..."