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I rested for a couple of days at Odin’s place. Once I was able to move around, I asked Odin to provide us with transportation back home. I also made sure to reward her for taking care of us. I made her c̲u̲m̲ quite a few times last night.

Once we get back I also need to get some gems for Sue. When I first saw my poor slime, she had become a puddle of water, I was scared. But it seems she was just out of mana. Carrying 3 people in her stomach without actually digesting them and making a quick escape left her tired. Sue likes eating gems and crystals so I want to prepare some for her later.

Eventually we arrived back in Falkrum city. I didn’t want the carriage to take us all the way home. I wanted to stretch my legs. So we ended up taking a stroll down the city. As we were moving along, Himeko slightly tugged my wings.

“Hm?”

“This place… home?”

“Yes. This is my city and my land. What do you think of it?”

“Nice place. Happy people. Nothing like vampire land.”

I was happy to hear that Himeko likes it here. After all, I had to put a lot of work with Grace and the others to come up with a law system. To maintain peace, I made a big turn towards the public order force. Patrols could always be seen on the streets. And they actually take their work serious. Since I became the owner, the crime rates went down with almost 70%. And as long as the taxes were fair, the people didn’t complain at all. After all, I provided them with safety and food.

During our stroll I spotted Lorina on the streets. It’s a nice coincidence.

“Oiii! Lorina, over here!”

I shout and waved my hand to signal her. The crowd wasn’t big so she noticed me easily and came over to us.

“Lady Milla, it’s a pleasure to see you again. Do you perhaps have some business with me? I already delivered the prosthetic limbs earlier today. I also made sure to enchant the obsidian with elf runes to make it light but at the same time strong enough to be able to deliver punches and not shatter. It should be also able to deal with any average iron or steel blade.”

Wow. As always, Lorina is awesome! That means I can finally repair Momoyo. Then on to the 2nd matter.

“That’s great! But there’s something else I want. Lorina, take a look at this girl.”

I point towards Himeko. Lorina makes a rather complex expression.

“This girl… is a mixed blood.”

“That’s obvious. But come on, you know what I mean.”

“Lady Milla, I’m not quite sure what you are trying to say…”

I narrowed my eyes.

“Lorina!”

“Okay, okay. This girl has an elven seal placed on her.”

“I knew you were able to see it. So, on to the main question. Can you lift it?”

“Yes. It is a multi layer seal so it will take time, but it’s rather easy for me. But are you sure? Although my elf eyes aren’t as strong as your Demon King eyes, I can tell this girl might be dangerous.”

“It’s alright. I actually want something like that. In fact…”

I paused for a moment. A funny idea ran through my brain.

“Lorina I want to make Himeko my bodyguard. So she needs to be strong. So, if you say that lifting the seal will take time, how about you take her in for a while and teach her swordsmanship.”

A small sweat drop ran across Lorina’s face.

“Lady Milla, I don’t think I am qualified for that. I am a blacksmith after all.”

Normally I would put Tengu in charge of Himeko. But although he is a skilled weapon master, he’s more of a jack-of-all-trades. He can wield any weapon, but doesn’t specialize in any.

“Lorina we both now you’re also a Grand Sword Master.”

Her face twiched and made a ‘crap! Busted’ expression.

“I gave up that life a long time ago. I don’t think I can wield a sword properly anymore. Please reconsider.”

“Hmm… then let’s put it to the test. Lorina, let’s have a little duel.”

We were currently behind Lorina’s forge. She had a decent size back yard. Perfect for a match. Grace was totally against it, since I barely recovered but I said I won’t use magic at all. Just a pure sword duel. Lorina didn’t want to duel either, but I wasn’t asking. I was ordering her. She knew that with one word I can take away her shop as easy as I gave it to her.

We both picked 2 swords from the shop. I picked a classic short sword, while Lorina chose a scimitar type blade.

“Lady Milla, won’t you please reconsider?”

“Nope. Get ready. Show me what you got!”

I took a battle stance. Reluctantly, Lorina exhaled loudly and also took a stance. Good. Let’s see what you can do.

I lunged at Lorina and thrust my blade. Lorina met my strike head on and sparks flew out of our swords. I wanted to test her so I continued. Just like the time when I clashed with Odin. I started to swing my sword around, but Lorina managed to keep up with me. Our blades made after images. A normal Mazoku couldn’t probably follow our exchange. After that brief exchanged, I instantly jumped a few steps back. Lorina remained vigilant.

A scratch appeared on my cheek. She managed to cut me. That was impressive. I thought I followed all her swings but I couldn’t see her blade touch my cheek. Needless to say a small flame run across my face and sealed it instantly.

“You’re actually impressive Lorina. You said that you gave up the sword long ago, but you seem pretty good to me.”

“No. I am nowhere near my old self. But, you’re pretty good yourself, lady Milla. Your swordsmanship has many flaws and is straightforward, but you know how to cover your weak points. Let’s see… try dealing with this.”

Lorina changed her stance. She pointed her sword at me. I had a bad feeling about this.

“Secret Technique. Phantom Strike!”

One step. That’s all I could see. A single step was all that my eyes could process. Before I realized Lorina was in front of me and swinged her blade. I lifted my sword to intercept the blow, but right before they collided, Lorina’s sword vanished like a ghost. Before I knew it the blade that was aiming for my head was gone and another one appeared aiming for my torso.

Lorina’s hands were a blur. For the first time, my eyes failed me. They couldn’t decipher what was going on. There was no way I could shift my sword in time to intercept. Dam it. It will be bad if I get sliced in half now. Although I will survive I don’t want to force my magic circuits just yet. But something ticked within me. I guess it was instinct. I lifted my leg and lowered my arm. I managed to catch the blade between my knee and elbow. Lorina made a surprised faced. I quickly twisted and kicked her in the belly gaining some distance again.

“That’s enough, Lorina.”

I was sweating all over. I’ve been in fights before, but this was the first time I felt like this.

“It’s really been a while since my Phantom Strike was deflected. You have wonderful instincts!”

“You’re scary, you know that. Regardless, this just proves that your an excellent swordsman. I wish I could use that trick.”

“Unfortunately I can’t teach that to you. You’re too small. This move needs a specific body constitution to use. A small body wouldn’t be able to master this move.”

“I see. Still, I want you to take Himeko, lift her seal and train her.”

“I suppose I have no choice. You’re not someone that takes no for an answer. Very well then. Once more, I shall try to live up to your expectations.”

“You hear that Himeko? I order you to train under Lorina. Awaken your true potential and show everyone what your made of.”

“Understood.”

I guess my job here is done. Now it’s time to take care of prez next. But before that, there was one more thing I wanted to do.

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