Leon watched Fio on the field, deep in thought.

What was Fio plotting?

From what he’d seen of her day to day, Leon had always thought Fio was a rather silly girl.

But in truth, she was the ruler of the Ten-Thousand-Year Snow Mountain, the Ice Dragon Clan’s queen—a supreme being beyond humanity.

Maybe he’d… underestimated Fio.

Perhaps she was just pretending to be something she wasn’t?

“Your Excellency, Sword Saint, what do you think about our cooperation…?”

Seeing the Great Sage’s puzzled gaze, Leon decided to help Fio’s plan along. He put on a practiced smile.

“It’s nothing, Your Excellency, Great Sage. I look forward to working with you.”

“Oh, wonderful! I couldn’t ask for more.”

The wrinkles on the Great Sage’s old face softened as he smiled.

Just then, a mage walked in from outside the testing grounds and went over to the Great Sage.

“Your Excellency, Great Sage, I have something to report…”

He whispered something in the Great Sage’s ear. The Great Sage’s expression shifted slightly. He nodded, then sent the mage away.

“What is it?” Leon asked.

“The king has returned to the City of Sunrise and will receive envoys from other countries today,” the Great Sage explained. “My subordinate was just informing me.”

“Oh.”

Leon pretended not to care and turned his gaze back to the testing grounds, but inside, his thoughts churned. This was very important news.

The king the Great Sage had mentioned was the same person the dragon-slaying squad had talked about: the ruler of the Donghui Kingdom, Emperor of Eastern Radiance.

He ruled the country with an iron fist, crushing every force that dared to resist him with overwhelming power. Cold, arrogant, and impossible to read, he was also the mastermind behind the dragon-slaying plan.

Leon had a feeling that, for Fio’s sake, he’d eventually have to face Emperor of Eastern Radiance. And when that day came, he’d probably…

While Leon was lost in thought, the crowd erupted with excitement. The testing grounds had reached the final stage: the practical test. And the two facing off were none other than its biggest points of interest—Fio and Loran.

……

In the final practical test, Fio unexpectedly drew Loran as her opponent.

Due to etiquette requirements, the two opponents had to shake hands as a gesture of goodwill. Facing Fio’s hostile glare, Loran averted his gaze and stepped forward to stand before her.

“P-please… go easy on me…”

Fio held out her hand and spoke stiffly. She wasn’t used to dealing with strangers.

“……”

“That hurts!”

The moment their hands clasped, Fio grimaced and instinctively pulled back.

Loran had used an electric spell during the handshake, despite knowing it was against the rules. In a strange, subtle way, she’d jolted Fio and left her palm numb for a moment.

“Y-you! What are you doing?!”

Loran knew full well that she’d broken the rules, but she still pushed up her glasses and smiled maliciously.

“You little **! How dare you try to seduce Lord Leon? Have you no shame?”

“Little **? Seduce?”

Fio was stunned. She could hardly believe that a girl who looked so demure could say something like that.

“Hmph… Still playing the pitiful little innocent? Disgusting. Just because you’re cute, you think you can do whatever you want? I’ve sealed part of your magic. Let’s see how you fight me now.”

“That’s so underhanded!”

“So what if it’s underhanded? As long as I beat you and show Lord Leon that I’m the only one who belongs at his side, that’s all that matters.”

Loran put her polite smile back on and nodded at Fio, putting on a show for everyone else. Then she returned to her starting position.

“…Leon’s really unlucky to have a girl like that take an interest in him.”

With Dragon King blood in her veins, Loran’s spell had no real effect on Fio. She recovered at once.

The silver-haired girl returned to her starting position, a little annoyed. She’d planned to put on a show and lose, more or less. Now she’d have to use a little of her strength to teach this girl a lesson.

“The practical test begins now!”

The staff member announced the start.

Even so, with everyone’s eyes fixed on her, Fio felt as though steel cables had wrapped around her from head to toe, restricting her movements.

She spotted Leon in the crowd. Their eyes met, and he seemed to realize something. Suddenly, he started making hand signals.

【Leon: Hold back.】

“Huh? Huh? What does that mean? Hold back—?”

Fio tried to figure out what Leon meant, then replied with hand signals of her own.

【Fio: Are you sure?】

【Leon: I’m sure! You have to hold back!】

Fio understood what he meant. At the same time, she noticed the Great Sage beside Leon smiling at her in a mysterious way. Something was definitely off.

W-what’s going on here?

Fio was struggling to make sense of all these strange signals. Her head was about to turn to mush. The audience, the staff, even Loran—it was as if they were all in on some plan. Everyone seemed to know what was going on.

She alone seemed to be on the outside, and for a moment, Fio didn’t know what to make of it.

“Hmph. I’ll take you out in one hit, you little **.”

Loran began to chant. Her distinctive opening gesture and the familiar pulse of magic sent a cold sweat down Fio’s back.

—That was a terrifying, world-ending spell: Meteor Catastrophe!

Fio had seen it before, and the spell’s opening gesture had left a deep impression on her. Her mother had told her about legendary spells, and their opening gesture was exactly the same.

A strong sense of wrongness crept over her. Fio thought back to the very first thing Leon had said. His “part of the plan” remark had jolted her awake, and suddenly everything became clear, like mist lifting away—

I get it!

Fio clutched her forehead, utterly stunned.

Because she’d frozen Leon’s ○○ earlier, he was holding a grudge! He’d deliberately lured Fio to this testing ground, teamed up with the Great Sage and Loran, and planned to teach her a lesson.

The Great Sage had rigged the draw so she’d face Loran. Loran acted like she was an Over-Limit, letting Fio lower her guard. Then Leon had specifically told her to hold back, so Loran could unleash an incredibly powerful spell and make her lose.

No wonder Leon had been so evasive about the plan, whispered with Loran when they met, and suddenly seemed so close to the Great Sage.

Oh, oh, is that how it is? You think you can outwit me? Too bad—I, the Ice Dragon King, saw right through you!

“Succumb to my ultimate spell! An Over-Limit spell—Meltflame—”

Loran’s chant was cut off halfway through. Fear washed over her. The girl who’d seemed so fragile just moments ago was now radiating a terrifying pressure.

“Heh heh heh… Ho ho ho… Hahahaha!!!”

Fio let out an exaggerated three-part laugh, each note rising higher than the last.

“You worthless rabble think you can murder me? Absolute Zero Cage, Ten-Thousand-Year Ice Coffin, Ice Dragon King’s Shackles!”

Thanks to her bloodline, Fio cut down the time needed to chant, compressing the spell’s effect to make it activate faster. A storm of snow swept across the arena. Ice coffins burst from the ground, and frozen chains bound them together, trapping Loran inside.

“Witness my ultimate spell: Judgment of the Ice Dragon King.”

Fio chanted rapidly in the Dragon language under her breath, releasing an astonishing amount of magic.

Someone suddenly noticed something and shouted.

“The sky! What is that up there—?!”

Everyone looked up. One by one, they froze in shock.

A black speck appeared in the sky and slowly grew larger. The shadow of the falling object spread over the capital of the entire country.

It was a massive iceberg she’d summoned. If it fell straight down, it would destroy the entire royal capital.

Fio leaped onto the ice coffin and closed her eyes against the pressure of everyone’s gaze. Then, striking a cool pose, she recited one of the hundred imposing lines she’d memorized earlier.

“Shh. You have to be serious during a judgment.”