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“You have a point there.” Mint casually tossed aside the participant list after losing his interest, then smilingly jogged toward the lavishly dressed girl who stood with her arms folded.

“How will Your Highness deal with those pesky people?” he playfully asked.

Princess Estelle cast an indifferent glance at Mint and coldly replied, “By crushing them without any mercy, of course.”

“Truly captivating, Princess Estelle. How impressive.” Mint gave her a thumbs up with a solemn face.

However, his serious demeanor quickly dissolved, and he playfully added, “But Your Highness, aren’t you afraid of attracting gossip?”

Princess Estelle raised her elegant eyebrows and asked, “What kind of gossip?”

“Hehehe. Something like… being too ruthless, perhaps?”

Princess Estelle had effortlessly dominated the previous five consecutive matches with her sheer strength alone. Her opponents struggled to even slightly impede her progress, and those who participated in the event were far from mediocre. One could only imagine how many participants were left traumatized by Princess Estelle.

Under the relentless and ruthless style of Princess Estelle’s direct and deadly attacks, some spectators outside the arena had begun to criticize her. Although certain comments were only whispered in private, some gossip had found its way into the ears of the other participants.

“Ruthless? Hmph, it is only normal for the strong to crush the weak. The so-called ruthlessness is just the feeble lament of some weaklings.”

Estelle looked at Mint with undisguised coldness, causing Mint to shiver.

“On the contrary, all this so-called gossip is fit for idle ears. It seems you’ve been quite idle lately.”

“No… Your Highness, you’ve misunderstood me… I was just gathering information about other teams… Mutual exchange of information always includes some unnecessary details,” Mint explained with a laugh.

“Then discard all those unnecessary details! Our goal in this tournament is only to win, so you can’t afford to be distracted.”

“Fine, fine, fine, I’ll concentrate, I’ll concentrate…” Mint smirked and rubbed his hands together before continuing, “But I’m also doing this for the sake of winning. There are many ways to win, not necessarily…”

“No, for me…” Princess Estelle cut off Mint and stated firmly, “There’s only one way to win—to crush the opponents… with absolute strength!”

Princess Estelle withdrew her gaze and focused on the pure white expanse in front of her, as if she could peer into the hidden pasts within the depths of time through this void.

Her mother, stripped of power.
Her indifferent father.
Her talented younger sister.
Vanished hope.
The obscured light.
And… the ever dazzling sunlight.

“Esty, you must become strong. Otherwise, we’ll always be bullied by that woman and her daughter, forever living under their shadows.”
“You lost again, Esty. Why are you so weak?”
“Shut up! A weakling is a weakling. They deserve to be bullied by the strong. You’re not qualified to make excuses!”
“If you don’t want to be bullied, you have to become strong and bully others.”

Yes, to avoid being bullied, one must become strong.
I have thought of retaliating and becoming strong.
But the person I have to surpass is too terrifyingly talented.
After all, she is the most talented genius in the last century of the Holy Dragon Empire’s history. Comparing myself to her is like comparing a firefly to the radiant moon.

So…
Failure.
Failure.
Failure.
Failure. Failure. Failure. Failure. Failure. Failure. Failure. Failure.
Disappointment.
Despair.

The overwhelming pressure crushed every inch of her flesh and blood, making breathing properly a luxury.

It was so much that darkness gradually filled her vision, shattering the already weak mental defenses.

Maybe I should just end my life.
That’s the only way to free the pain.

It was at this moment…

“Huh, are you thinking of drowning yourself, little girl?”

Light descended.

That revered existence, standing at the pinnacle of the Holy Dragon Empire and whom she could only see from afar, initiated a conversation with her—a loser on the brink of suicide.

He was like a ray of sunlight flooding into a damp and dim cave.

“The water here is too shallow to drown someone. This creek running through the eastern part of the city would be a better choice. Although it’s not deep, the sludge at the bottom could trap even an adult. A little kid like you jumping in will definitely be able to kill yourself.”

He smiled, the tone of his voice was as warm as the spring breeze.

He was brash and blunt, yet carried with him an elusive wit. The creek at the eastern side of the city had dried up twenty years ago because the river had been diverted.

“Hey, if you really want to die then just jump. I’ll keep an eye out for you. As long as no one comes near, a little girl your size will drown successfully.”

He seemed as rough as a tree bark, yet he was as warm as a cotton-padded jacket. He would even protect the dignity of a little girl he was not acquainted with.

“Wow, impressive. It’s been twenty minutes and you’re still not dead yet, little girl.”

Although he acted without inhibitions and spoke his mind, the countless years he had lived must have brought him endless wisdom.

He left me struggling in the sludge for the entire twenty minutes, presumably to test my determination.
Of course, I wasn’t going to give up.
I persevered until someone arrived and he had to admit that he was testing me.
After that incident, Taylor the Aurora Dragon became my master.
And my destiny was changed forever.

Princess Estelle exhaled lightly, bringing herself back from the distant memories.

Determination filled her eyes.

To avoid being crushed like a bug, one must become strong enough to be the one crushing the bugs—that was what she learned from her mother.

Despite harboring resentment toward that woman, the countless painful experiences of being crushed before meeting Master Taylor spoke the truth of those words.

Now that she had become a strong person, she had to return the pain she had endured at that time to the others.

Once was not enough. She would keep doing it.

She heard that that woman lost to someone at St. Caroline Academy. Since that was the case, she must crush that person too.

But before that…

“Oh dear sister of mine, please don’t let me down.”

Whether it was for her mother, her past, or herself, or for the most important master, she must crush that person like a bug in front of everyone.

Princess Estelle’s cheeks flushed a scarlet red.

If she was able to do that, Master, who had always been strict and rarely interfered with her life or cultivation, would surely praise her, right?

Yes… It would be best if he could give me a pat on the head too.

◆◇◆◇◆◇◆

“Master Lilith, can you pat me on the head?”
“No.”
“Huh, why~?”
“Because it’s embarrassing to do that during a city-wide live broadcast.”
“Embarrassing? I don’t feel that way though. I just feel a strange sense of pleasure instead.”
“That feeling is called embarrassment. Only a perverted m̲a̲s̲o̲c̲h̲i̲s̲t̲ like you see it as a form of excitement!”

Ignoring Luna, who was getting herself all worked up, Lilith once again kicked the huge dice in front of her.

Five points.
Not bad at all.

“Opponent’s score: six points.”
“Opponent gets to choose the arena type.”
“Opponent’s choice: Randomly Generated Arena.”
“Randomly Generated Arena: Underground Labyrinth.”