"Excuse me, are you Miss Tia and Miss Aerin?"

We were sipping tea at the guild hall when a girl from the spectator stand called out to us.

"Yes~~ It’s us! What’s up??"

Aerin turned to face the girl.

"Wow~~~ It’s really them! In person!!"

The girl on the stand was so excited she nearly fainted.

"Don’t get worked up~ You came to say something, right?"

Another girl behind her quickly steadied her.

"W-well… yesterday we received a notice from the Azurewing Knights at the palace. The king wants to meet you immediately."

The girl handed us a formal-looking letter.

"Let me see~ Let me see~"

Aerin snatched the letter and started reading right away.

"To dear Miss Aerin and Miss Tia:

By royal decree, His Majesty requests an urgent audience with the conquerors of the labyrinth. Apologies for the haste.

Sincerely,

Azurewing Knights"

"This is indeed the Azurewing Knights’ seal and wax."

Tia stepped over to inspect the wax seal on the envelope.

"Why would the king summon you so urgently???"

If it were just rewards, he wouldn’t rush like this.

"It must be to praise us!!"

Aerin eagerly tried to tuck the letter away.

"What are you so excited about! You didn’t even do anything!"

I snatched the envelope from Aerin’s hand.

"Husband, what do you think??"

"Hmm… if the king summons you, refusing would cause big trouble later."

I reread the letter carefully. Simple words, but it felt urgent.

"If it’s praise, we can ask him to cancel your engagement with the Empire."

That would free Tia from her worries. Honestly, I’d lost all faith in this damn labyrinth anyway.

"Really? You’re so thoughtful, husband."

We didn’t want anything else anyway.

"Then what are you waiting for~~ Let’s go now~~"

Aerin dashed to the guild hall entrance.

"Let’s go~~ Phyllis~ Stop eating!"

I dragged Phyllis, who refused to drop her utensils, toward the door.

"No!! Let me finish this bite!! Please!"

Phyllis, the Darkblade, seemed unnaturally obsessed with food.

Later, we spent the afternoon packing and planned to leave for the capital the next day.

To make travel easier, we bought a carriage. After paying and loading our luggage, I faced a practical problem.

"Uh… who knows how to drive this carriage???"

I held the reins. I’d never touched one before.

"At home, Buster always drove the carriage. I don’t know how."

"Don’t! Don’t look at me!! I definitely can’t!"

Phyllis shook her head frantically.

"Hmph~~~ Now it’s my turn to shine~~~"

Aerin puffed up her chest, arms crossed confidently.

"Huh? You actually can??"

"Hmph~~ Ever since I met you, I’ve felt useless! But now I’ll regain my confidence!!! Watch me show off skills from bronze to silver rank! Driving carriages, plowing fields—I’ve mastered all these daily quests!!"

"Why does that sound kinda pitiful…"

"Hmm… it feels strangely tragic."

"Did he max out all his life skills, bro…"

She kept talking about avenging her parents, but what had she been doing lately?

"Why are you all looking at me like that!!! Get in and let’s go!!"

Aerin jumped to the front of the carriage.

The carriage swayed as we traveled. Phyllis munched on dried rations, Tia read a magic tome, and I admired the otherworldly scenery up front.

"Hey, Aerin~ I’ve been wondering. Did you ever formally learn spear techniques??"

Bored of the view, I turned to her.

"Hmm… I wanted to, but no one taught me."

"Why? Weren’t your parents famous adventurers? Didn’t they train you?"

"No! My father hated me learning combat. He’d say girls should act this way or that. He never let me touch weapons. Even when I hung out with friends, he’d watch me like a hawk—zero freedom."

= =! Strict parenting backfired. She didn’t seem ladylike at all now.

"But even that annoying father… I cried my eyes out when he left."

A trace of tears glistened in Aerin’s eyes as she spoke.

"Sorry, I brought up something sad."

"It’s fine. That’s all in the past. I should work harder now."

Her eyes regained their spark.

"Kid! You know all sorts of tricks. You must have some spear moves to teach her."

The ancient perverted armor ring on Aerin’s finger suddenly spoke.

"Spear techniques… even if I swung a spear, I doubt I could teach anyone."

To me, it was just a skill.

"Try sometime~~ Teaching’s better than nothing."

"If you know how, please teach me. After all… you’re my…"

Aerin’s face flushed crimson.

"Then let’s try later when we have time~~~"

I cut her off before she finished.

"Mmm…"

Aerin replied softly.

"By the way!! A spear fighter needs inner and outer strength! Without Battle Aura, you’ll struggle—like that slime last time. With Battle Aura, it’d be like slicing tofu."

"Huh?? But how do I train Battle Aura! I don’t know!!"

"Easy. I’ll teach you. First, calm your mind. Breathe in, gather the air in your lower abdomen. Then, when attacking, channel it outward to your weapon’s edge."

This sounded like wuxia inner energy—gather breath in the dantian, focus in the palms.

"Huh? That simple??"

Aerin shouted in surprise.

"Don’t joke! This takes endless training and battles to master."

The armor’s tone turned stern, like a strict teacher.

"Anyway, I’ll try. Breathe into my belly, then push it out."

Aerin steered the carriage while focusing—but nothing happened.

"You lied!! Nothing happened!!!"

She yelled at the ring.

"If it worked instantly, Battle Aura would be everywhere! I said it needs endless training and battles!"

I didn’t fully grasp what the armor meant, but it felt like inner energy—chakra in Naruto, reiatsu in Bleach, ki in Dragon Ball, or Conqueror’s Haki in One Piece. I took a breath, gathered it in my lower abdomen, and slowly released it…

"WAIT!!! Such intense Battle Aura out of nowhere!! Kid, what are you doing!!!!!!"

As the perverted armor yelled, the carriage horses panicked and bolted forward.

The sudden jolt made me stop channeling.

"Ahhhhhhhhhh stop it!!!!!"

Aerin yanked the reins, screaming.

"Ugh… I suddenly feel so sick!!!"

Can armor even get motion sickness?!

"Ugh~~~~"

I was about to vomit too…

"Ugh, this feels awful~~~~~"

Aerin’s wail faded as the speeding carriage vanished down the highway.