The next day, as everyone was ready to head out, Liebe was putting on his boots when Licht said, "Good morning, partner."
Liebe said, "Good morning."
As Licht threw a soda can and sat beside Liebe, he said, "You up for it?"
Liebe said, "Up for what? A fun day at the festival again?"
Licht said, "No. Controlling your rage. Yesterday you lost control and ended up using Afterglow without thinking. But since it was just leaks, only I and a few others were able to pick it up. So, what happened?"
Liebe said, "It was Marks."
Licht said, "I see. Well, if it happened yesterday, that was dangerous. If you lose control again—"
Liebe said, "I won't."
Licht said, "I won't force you, but it's best if you skip—at least then you won't have to see it."
Liebe said, "No, I can't ignore reality any longer."
Licht said, "Okay then. But in case you lose control, what should I do?"
Liebe said, "Stop me. No matter what. No matter what, I don't want to use my King's Roar in public."
Licht said, "Okay then."
As Alysa knocked on the door, she said, "Sorry to interrupt your conversation."
Liebe said, "Sure, no problem."
As she sat down beside them, she said, "Well, this really is like the good old times—just us three going on our little adventures and giving Gelda a heart attack."
Liebe said, "Yeah, the good old days. Unfortunately, it's all just ashes in the wind."
Alysa said, "Partly, yeah. But Licht and I will be there for you, no matter what."
Licht said, "Yeah."
Alysa said, "He will be there to stop you whenever you take a wrong turn, and I will be there to show you my boobs whenever you are sad."
Licht said, "That was a bit much."
Liebe said, "Same."
Alysa said, "But it at least killed the depression."
Liebe said, "Got that right."
Alysa said, "Now, my dear fine gentlemen, won't you mind escorting me around the festival?"
Liebe said, "Of course, my lady, it would be my pleasure."
Licht just laughed and said, "Well, that was something."
Liebe also laughed and said, "It really is."
Alysa laughed and said, "What are we even doing?"
Liebe said, "Well, no point in just standing here. Let's get to the festival—we still have work."
Licht said, "Now that's more like it."
Alysa said, "Told you—boobs cure depression."
Liebe said, "Somehow, I can't disagree."
Licht said, "And somehow, I want to rip my ears off."
Liebe said, "Do it."
Alysa said, "Wait, let me record it."
Licht said, "Why are you two like this?"
Liebe said, "Well then, no point in waiting around. Let's go and enjoy the festival."
As they all headed out to enjoy the festival, Liebe and Alysa were enjoying day four of the festival, holding hands, while Licht, Hedin, and Lumos were watching.
Licht said, "Well, Liebe sure is enjoying himself."
Lumos said, "I can clearly see that."
Hedin said, "I'm so jealous right now."
Licht said, "Okay, you need a rope."
Hedin said, "No, but Licht—who do you think Liebe will end up marrying?"
Licht said, "Easy—Alysa."
Lumos said, "You can't be serious. Plus, dating in your team doesn't usually last long. Plus, based on how strong he is right now, Liebe can easily get politically to the monarch of any nation and become king."
Licht said, "That may be true, but Alysa is the only one for Liebe simply because… simply because she was there to witness Liebe's entire journey—from how he went from a mommy's boy to the warrior he is. And I'm sure she will be the one to stand beside him even when he becomes a hero. And that's why she is the one who Liebe will end up marrying in the end."
Lumos said, "I see, then."
Hedin said, "If you are so sure, why not bet on it?"
Licht said, "Of course, why not? I'm betting 100 billion on the fact Alysa and Liebe end up getting married."
Hedin said, "What did you just say?"
Lumos said, "He really said 100 billion. You really are that sure?"
Licht said, "Of course. I'm just that sure."
As they continued the discussion, M arrived and said, "Licht, mind if I have a moment?"
Licht said, "Okay then, excuse me for a sec, guys."
As they went aside, M said, "You felt it too, didn't you?"
Licht said, "Yeah, it was Afterglow, alright."
As M and Licht rushed to the source, they saw an injured Nior.
Licht said, "What is the meaning of this? What are you God-Knights doing here? And what right do you have to attack one of ours?"
Alem said, "It's none of your goddamn business, worm. Get lost."
Licht said, "Till now, that was the plan. Till now. But I can't ignore an attack here."
Alem said, "That weak cat disgusts me. My loyalty is only towards my lady."
Licht said, "Rich words coming from a God-Kin attacking a weakling."
Alem said, "Repeat that again, worm."
Licht said, "What's wrong, cat? You scared to face the truth?"
As Alem threw his spear at Licht, Licht blocked it with his rapier, but he was pushed back 23 centimeters.
Licht said, "You sure are an ugly cat."
Alem said, "You damn shit! I will kill you!"
As Álfrinn appeared next to Alem and stopped him, Álfrinn said, "You disgust me, ugly cat. What makes you think my lady won't condemn you for any of this, you cat? And for you, Licht—get the cat and go. I have no interest in engaging with either of you, especially with my lady being so close."
Licht said, "Okay then. And M—heal Nior."
M said, "Okay."
As M healed Nior and carried her on her shoulder, they went away.
M said, "Why did you stop, Licht? We should have beat the hell out of that cat."
Licht said, "Yeah, we should have engaged, and with both of us there, we could have taken him. But the problem is with Álfrinn. That meant there were two members of Crimson Hearts here, and even if we won, it would be impossible to beat them without putting the civilians in danger. That's the danger we needed to avoid."
As Nior whispered, "Why, brother?"
Licht said, "Looks like the other cat was this one's sibling."
M said, "You sure? The other one had black hair and fur, and this one is brown."
Licht said, "You really did ignore everything in genetics class."
M said, "Pretty much, yeah."
As they reached the festival, Licht found Eosian and said, "Hey, kid, take your cat girl."
Eosian said, "What happened?"
Licht said, "She got lost in the forest, and we found her sleeping. Now take your cat, dumbass, and put a leash on her."
As M put her down on the ground, Eosian said, "That's rich coming from you."
Licht said, "I couldn't care less."
As Licht and M went away, as they were walking, they found Liebe and Alysa.
Liebe said, "Where were you two? We've been looking for you all day."
Licht said, "Well, you know me—sleeping."
Liebe said, "Of course. Okay then, it's almost night time. We need to continue entertaining the children. Fate's tired from playing the piano all day, and Isurugi basically lost his tail after the kids played with it so much. And some of them had to fight Elizabeth's shadow tentacles, just because."
Licht said, "Looks like you had everything covered even without me."
Liebe said, "Guess so."
Licht said, "Great, so I'm gonna go and take a nap."
Liebe said, "You helping, or I will punch you."
Licht said, "Fine."
Meanwhile, inside the forest, Álfrinn said, "How dare you harm your sister during the festival?"
Alem said, "Whatever I do is none of your business."
Álfrinn said, "Frankly, I couldn't care less, but your actions threatened the festival today, and if that happened, I would have killed you myself. How dare you create a nuisance for our lady while she is on a date? I couldn't care less if you or your sister die, but your actions disgust me. As members of the Crimson Hearts, our priority is enjoying the satisfaction of our lady above all."
Alem said, "That may be yours. For me, she must remain the Empress—otherwise, my post has no value."
Álfrinn said, "Shut your crap and do your job. Don't make me come to this nation again to clean up your mess, you filthy cat. You were filthy like the rest of us when Lady Alice found you, yet you still can't get clean."
Alem said, "Mention Lady Alice again, and I will kill you."
Álfrinn said, "It's the truth, you alley cat. Hǫfuðbjǫrn may be a bleeding heart, but I'm not. Hildr, get the portal ready."
As a portal appeared before them, Álfrinn said, "Let's go, Líni."
Líni said, "Coming."
As Alysa and Liebe were enjoying the festival, Iris and Olivia came to join them.
Iris said, "You guys sure take the Knightly Festival seriously."
Liebe said, "Iris, Olivia—you guys are here."
Olivia said, "Yeah, we got bored, so we thought we might as well visit."
Liebe said, "You are welcome to stay as long as you want. I wanted to invite you two but thought you might be busy with the festival in Arc Luatine."
Iris said, "We don't go to this level of overboard, and this year it has been big, but some people aren't fans since Mother lost and all."
Liebe said, "Makes sense."
Iris said, "But why do you guys take this so seriously?"
Liebe said, "Let me answer your question with a question of my own: why do you fight?"
Iris said, "Fight? Because it's my job as a child born under House Solace—nothing else. I'm not even a full-fledged knight like you."
Liebe said, "Exactly. That's why you aren't taking the festival seriously. We do this so that we can see the joy in children's eyes—the hope in their eyes that we will protect their homes, no matter what. That's why they look up to us. Just this year, more than 45 children came to me and knew my title. Remember that: being knights isn't our job—protecting the smiles of others is our oath."
Iris said, "I see. No wonder you are a knight far stronger than us."
Liebe said, "I'm not stronger because it's my job. I'm a knight because I'm thirsty—thirsty to grow stronger, to reach my mother, to stand as an equal to my mother as one of the 25 Princes of Hell, even if the dream is far away. And after I'm done with that, can I truly be satisfied?"
Iris said, "Now I see the difference between us. We are the same age, yet I doubt in my current stage I can even beat Fate or Isurugi from your team, much less compare to you."