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The imperial palace of Nirvana, the second biggest player country, was naturally also large. Mira and Alma were walking for around five minutes after leaving the office while heading to the oracle’s room, a distance similar to going to a convenience store.

They took a magic elevator upstairs, passed through a rest area where various guards were taking a break, and went into a corridor from there.

There was a door at the end of the corridor, and past it was the current bodyguard of the oracle, standing in front of her room.

“Noin, thank you for your service.”
“Ohh, so this is where he was. It’s been a while.”

They were in what could be best described as a wide corridor, arranged almost like a lobby, and Mira spotted a familiar person there.

The armor he wore was rather plain, but he still excluded a strong presence, even while hunched over and enjoying a cup of tea while sitting on a sofa. He was tall and lean, with long golden hair that was tied messily behind his back, giving him a certain repulsive hot guy appearance.

Alma greeted him with appreciation, and Mira casually waved at him.

He was the oracle’s current bodyguard and one of the Twelve Apostles, Noin.

“Ah, Alma…and you, could you be an angel? Oh no, don’t tell me…!”

He quickly stood up like a well trained dog when he saw Alma, and then he looked at Mira and beamed a charming smile, which vanished almost instantly as his face contorted with anguish.

“I see you haven’t changed one bit. Acting that way really doesn’t fit you.”
“So it is you! Arghh, I’ll never forgive my heart for throbbing this way…!”

Mira’s reaction and response confirmed Noin’s suspicion, proving the identity of that beautiful silver haired girl. He looked up in despair and regret, then glanced at Mira again, like he was trying to endure something, before looking up again.

“What is this unholy combination…”

Noin muttered that as a fierce conflict played out in his mind. Mira’s appearance ticked every single box for Noin, but her nature was that of a summoner, merciless barbarians who could stretch a fight endlessly, aided by warriors that would come back to life constantly (or at least that was Noin’s impression of summoners from past experiences.)

He had gotten traumatized from previous fights against Danbulf, so much so that the mere memory of those times made his face spasm. And despite that, he could not help but admire her appearance, a reality that continued tearing his mind apart.

(Now this could be fun…)

While Luminaria’s desires were always carnal, Noin was the type who sought a more maternal and caring girl, especially if they only displayed those traits sparingly. Like a delinquent girl who would take care of stray cats, or a woman who was usually cold but would become extremely concerned when someone became sick.

Mira had noticed his internal conflict, which gave her a certain idea. He could become a really entertaining toy.

“Well then, Noin, you’ll be relieved from your post today. Just like I told you yesterday, grandpa here will take over for you, and I’m hoping you can begin your new mission tomorrow?”

Since the oracle had developed a phobia towards men, this was the closest Noin could get to her when guarding her. Now that Alma had replaced him, he looked at Mira with dubious eyes.

“I can do that…but somehow I still can’t quite accept that my replacement is that summoner old fart…”

He had been able to be in the same room as the oracle before her phobia manifested. And as a bodyguard, it made sense that it was best to be as close as possible to her. Now he could only stand outside the room like this, making Mira a more suitable person for the job. On top of that, their previous encounters had already proven that they were on the same skill level, so anyone else privy to the matters agreed that it was the correct decision.

Still, something inside of him refused to accept it. It was true that Mira was a girl, and an achingly beautiful one to booth, but she had not always been that way. From Noin’s point of view, they had gone from a male bodyguard to a loathsome male bodyguard. And yet unlike him, Mira was able to enter the room and do a better job. In short, that was why he could not come to terms with the decision.

“What are you saying? Is there anyone else here who could do a better job than me? Just leave the rest to me!”

Despite not fully realizing everything that Noin was thinking about…just faintly aware of it, Mira rubbed it in with a cheeky grin.

That made Noin frown as he cursed under his breath, glaring at Mira. But then Mira walked up to him, let her hand rest on his shoulder, and said, “I know you did your best,” with a soft voice and a gentle smile, which made his eyes soften instantly.

It almost sounded like he was melting as he just said, “Mhm.”

Even if he logically knew who Mira really was, he could not resist that moment of maternal reassurance.

“Oh Noin…”

Alma could only shake her head seeing that, and Mira commented, “That worked flawlessly…,” realizing that Noin was far easier to manipulate than she anticipated.

A moment later, his mind finally caught up with what had happened, realizing his involuntary response.

“Arghhh! Why is this happeninggg!”

He shouted while pulling his hair back, and then hunched over to pick up his tea cup from the table while mumbling, “it’s just superficial it’s just superficial it’s just superficial…” like some sort of mantra. Once he had calmed down enough, he downed his entire cup of herbal tea in one go.

“Hahh…”

The refreshing scent of herbs had helped his head cool down, and he slowly sat down on the couch again.

And a certain someone decided to approach him.

“Do you want one more cup?”
“Ah yes, thank you very much.”

A devious smile was plastered on Mira’s face as she held up the tea pot, and Noin reflexively held up his cup. The only thought in his mind was that he was lucky that such a beautiful girl was refilling his cup.

“No, that isn’t it!”

Mira’s appearance was so perfect that he constantly had to use all of his willpower to resist the pull of his emotions. But as his very nature sought that maternal warmth, it was taking a physical toll on his body as well.

So in the end, after downing the cup of tea Mira served him, he fell sideways on the couch, looking exhausted.

“Grandpa…I think that’s enough. Don’t forget that despite everything, he’s still one of my most valuable assets…”

Noin’s reactions had been unusually dramatic, so Alma realized that Mira’s appearance was too close to what Noin liked, so she hurried to take hold of Mira’s shoulder and dragged her away.

“Hmm…I guess I have no choice.”

Noin had always seen Danbulf as his nemesis, a summoner that could subject him to neverending hellish suffering. But Mira also saw Noin in a similar way, as his defenses were so tough all she could do was to keep him at bay and stall for time.

That was the main reason why she was subjecting him to mental torture now, until Alma put a stop to it.

“Oh, I need to put this back.”

Mira was still holding onto the tea pot as she was dragged away, so she freed herself to return it to the table, while glancing at Noin.

Their eyes locked soon after. Even if he knew he should not, his body would not listen to him, as he continued to stare at Mira while looking exhausted.

In response, Mira gave him a quick wink. There were many things she resented about her current appearance, but she would take advantage of it to its fullest if she could torment someone else with it. That was how Mira liked to do things.

The effect was immediate, as Noin seemed to melt for an instant, and shortly after shouted in vexation before curling into a ball of despair.

“Stop it grandpa!”