“Spiritual crit? You really did a good job, Aya.”

On the high tower terrace, the princess laid back in the lounge chair, pulled the large parasol to her side, sipped on a cold drink nervously watching the encounter between Aya and Mimi.

"Tsk, it's just that the game rules are too harsh and Mimi had to seek help from outsiders that I had to resort to these means," Aya responded somewhat sulkily in the contract, her gaze never leaving Mimi.

"Wait, Chirp! Don't agree with that guy! I'm only doing this to protect Lord Tiran's chastity!"

Mimi seemed a bit lost, her red eyes flickering uncertainly between red and blue.

"Uhm, Chirp likes Mimi sister very much, but likes mommy more?" Chirp's innocent and naive gaze dealt another blow to Mimi.

"You cheating cat... No, A-Aya, can you..."

With a face full of reluctance, Mimi lowered her head quietly towards Aya.

"Uh-huh, uh-huh, as long as you stop bothering me, of course it's fine." Aya revealed a smug smile, hoping it could be easily resolved this way. Without Mimi, the pressure from all aspects would be significantly reduced.

"Also, don't ever bully me again, speak to me with respect, address me like a maid calls her master~ I'm Holy Rank now, so there should be some basic etiquette..."

As Aya spoke, she suddenly felt a little guilty.

Mimi didn't answer immediately, but fell into silence, her eyes rapidly switching between red and blue.

Hmm, this reaction didn't seem good...

The whistling of blades breaking through the air.

"Hey hey? Why another sudden attack!" Aya dodged sideways the whip that struck like a venomous snake, unable to resist the urge to question loudly.

"Too noisy! Anyway, I'll teach you a lesson first and then apologize to Chirp! How could I respectfully treat someone like you who took Lord away from my side!"

In Flame Demon state, Mimi, emitting a burning aura, shook her silver whip like a fiery dragon.

"Gah... Mimi, were you so persistent towards me?"

The princess at the other end of the contract couldn't help but shudder.

"You didn't just realize that today, did you?" Aya smirked, "It's not so easy, but at least it delayed us quite a bit of time. As long as I can slip away without Mimi, the pressure from any aspect will be greatly reduced."

"And, don't expect to get away easily!"

Stomping on the ground, the hard stone bricks cracked open, dozens of ground fissures emitting a magma-like red glow extending rapidly towards Aya, the high temperature being felt even from a distance.

This attack wasn't aimed to just touch Aya and win according to the "if the attack touches Aya, it's a victory" rule – it was definitely a move capable of causing severe injury or death!

It wasn't easy for Aya, who was restricted from using Magic and Chi due to the rules, to withstand it.

Fortunately, no one was forcing him to engage head-on. The scales of qi that had been storing up during the conversation were now ready to be unleashed.

"Freed Qi Scales, Dragon's Breath Blow!"

Aya stood with his left hand held out in front of his chest, right fist at his waist, legs apart, a stance resembling a starting move of an ancient martial art from the East. He then fiercely swung his fist, unleashing a compressed cyclone of air pressure towards Mimi, knocking down tiles within a radius of over ten meters behind her.

"Despicable!"

A ball of magical flames burst out from her hand to generate an exploding counter pressure to withstand Aya's Dragon Breath Fist, but the flames were violently shaking in the wind as if they could extinguish anytime.

In this way, there was no way to catch up.

This idea crossed Mimi's mind. When the winds subsided, Aya had already disappeared with Chirp.

Combining Dragon's physical abilities with the threefold speed of the released Qi Scales, it was almost impossible for herself to quickly catch up.

However...

A triumphant smile appeared on Mimi's face. As long as the escape happened within the castle, the places for hiding and fleeing were limited, not to mention...

...

"Should this place be fine?"

Behind the castle was a hillside planned to resemble a garden, filled with lush vegetation, boasting a pleasant environment. Further behind was a cliff leading directly to the coast, and Aya had run to a small grove only a few hundred meters away from the cliff.

If all the maids in the castle were as helpful as Ellie had been to Mimi, then there really was no way to hide within the castle; anyone she met could potentially be Mimi's spy.

"This Mimi... she's cheating."

Aya sighed looking up.

"Indeed, the rules don't specify these things... And where do you get the audacity to blame Mimi with your all-map vision?" The princess lightly smacked Aya.

"Let me complain a bit, and speaking of full-map vision, where is Mimi located, Miss Tiran."

Aya chuckled mischievously, eagerly waiting for an answer.

"Of course you would..." Tiran felt a bit helpless, but there was nothing to be done; she had fallen for such a silly dragon.

"So, where is she... Let me see... Huh? Still in the same place?"

Although not much time had passed since Aya's escape run, given Mimi's level of activeness, she should have moved some distance. Why was she still in the same place?

Could it be...

Tiran, observing Mimi, suddenly realized something was amiss.

"Um, Aya, I suggest you don't harbor any illusions, Mimi seems to have found your location."

As soon as Tiran finished speaking, Mimi opened her eyes without hesitation and sprinted straight towards the direction of the back mountain.

"Why! I didn't encounter anyone just now... Ah!"

Slapping her own head hard, Aya finally realized the foolish mistake she had made.

Indeed, she hadn't exposed her whereabouts to anyone she met just now, because the person who made Mimi aware of her position was right beside her!

Glancing at Chirp curiously observing a bunch of blooming hydrangeas, Aya didn't know what expression to make at this moment. How could she have forgotten about Chirp? As a "Yuan" with a massive reserve of magic power, Chirp unconsciously emitted spiritual fluctuations just like any high-temperature object radiates heat. Although ordinary creatures couldn't sense it, Mimi, being a magic-using species, would definitely detect it. But due to the enormous amount of magic reserves Chirp possessed, the range of her spiritual fluctuations was vast, even covering anyone near her who tried to probe through spiritual means. Hence, when hiding in the castle earlier, Mimi didn't locate Aya and Chirp because of their close proximity. Now that Aya had distanced herself voluntarily, it made it even easier for her.

"Is it because I was supposed to not use magic that I didn't even think about this aspect?!" Recalling the time Mimi proposed that Chirp join with this particular requirement, Aya felt exceptionally disheartened by her lack of awareness about the head maid's cunning nature.

"Indeed... You're quite something, Aya."

Tiran, on the other hand, was not surprised and mercilessly mocked Aya.