Before that person could finish speaking, curses could be heard.

"Shut up! That is forbidden knowledge, a secret that only the head of the family is qualified to know, not something we should be considering."

"Yeah, but the Second Miss does have talent, compared to the Miss..."

"Keep quiet! It wouldn't be good if the Miss were to hear about this."

"Yeah... you're right."

"But what you said does make sense. Currently, the only potential heirs to the family are the Miss and the Second Miss. If it were up to me to choose between the two, I think the position of the head should be inherited by the Second Miss."

"Well, I think the same, no matter how you look at it."

The crowd happily discussed.

Although she hadn't seen it with her own eyes, the little girl believed what they said to be true.

After all, she should know better than anyone else about the fact that her younger sister was stronger than her...

And...

Hearing others comparing her sister to the First Generation, the little girl felt a strange and indescribable emotion.

Although she didn't know anything about the First Generation either, the little girl had heard the legend. Even though nobody knew if the legend was true, the little girl firmly believed in it. Despite the lack of evidence, she never doubted it from the moment she first heard about it...

She must have been yearning for it, the person who was known as the strongest in the family throughout the generations.

Beautiful, powerful, and just like herself, a Sword Sorcerer. Even though she didn't know if such a person truly existed, in fact, that person had long existed in the little girl's heart.

Along with her longing, the little girl wondered if she could get closer...closer to the target in her heart?

Perhaps this was one of the reasons why the little girl had always wanted to become the head.

But...

When others mentioned that person, they were talking about her sister, not herself...

Although she felt a bit saddened and regretful, the fact was, she was very clear that what they said was not a lie.

Her sister was stronger than her, that was not a lie. Her sister was closer to the legendary strongest Sword Sorcerer, that was also not a lie. And...

Compared to herself, her sister was more suited to be the head, and that was absolutely correct.

Faced with these unquestionable facts, the little girl had no room for rebuttal or excuses. At the same time, she had no intention of arguing.

With these thoughts, it seemed like the little girl had forgotten the purpose of her visit and quietly left without attracting the attention of others.

In the next moment, the scene before her suddenly broke, and the surroundings returned to their original state, darkness.

However, Hiyori seemed oblivious to this change. The reason was that before the scene broke, Hiyori had already closed her eyes. She had long forgotten where she was,

The pain of having her eyes tightly closed, constantly questioning herself in her heart, she had long forgotten where she was, and just let her body drift with the flow.

Yes, she was always behind her younger sister. She wasn't a genius like her sister, no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't catch up. That was the difference between an ordinary person and a genius, and she was well aware of it.

So, after that, whenever I faced my younger sister, it always felt like I was avoiding her, deliberately staying away without saying much even when we met.

Deep down, I knew it was my problem, and my sister did nothing wrong.

But even with that knowledge, I didn't know what to do, and before I knew it...

I had become distant from my sister, and once this distance formed, it was hard to change. That's what I used to think.

But...

That person said something to me.

Hard work will never betray you.

Those were the gentle words that person said to me, and I also promised.

To face my own weakness, even if I'm weak, there are things I can do, I will fulfill my duty as a protector, and most importantly, I made a promise.

I will definitely come back safely.

I said that before, and...

Protectors who sacrifice themselves for the sake of others don't exist.

That person also said that to me.

So, to do what I can and return safely, that's my duty as a protector, or else...

Lord Ryuto would be angry, wouldn't he?

That's what I thought.

My vision regained focus, and I saw someone walking towards me. It seemed like I had lost consciousness for a few seconds.

"Can't go on anymore? The Sword Sorcerer of the Far East, at least hold on a little longer."

Saying that, Bloodbath approached and delivered a powerful kick to the downed Hiyori.

Almost simultaneously, Hiyori managed to roll her body to avoid the attack, and took the opportunity to stand up again, albeit unsteadily. No, her body was actually shaking, but she managed to stand up.

Bloodbath's face immediately showed excitement upon seeing this.

"Yes! That's more like it, that's worthy of being my opponent."

And so, the battle in the darkness continued.