When a Mage Got Up Close...

The one who landed was naturally the unlucky Ruben. Dragon seemed to still be holding a grudge over what the red-haired big sister had said, and vindictively slammed him down hard—enough not to injure him, but certainly enough to make him suffer.

Once Ruben came to his senses, he examined the girl before him. First was her light green hair, a green so pale that any lighter and it probably could not be called green anymore. Her strangely colored hair was tied into a practical ponytail that hung behind her head, while the occasional strands falling before her eyes were secured with a plain hairpin.

Even more eye-catching than her hair was the armor she wore. The breastplate made of refined iron concealed her figure completely. She wore a pair of very short black safety shorts below, while her long, slender calves were also encased in armor that extended down to protect her knees. Her arms were covered as well, with armor running from her elbows to the backs of her hands. Fully armed like that, she looked as though she were ready to head into battle at any moment.

"Sorry to disturb you."

Ruben could not help taking a few extra looks at the strangely dressed girl. Once the pain in his body had eased a little, he climbed up from the ground and prepared to leave.

"Wait. Imperial Capital regulations prohibit anyone from flying in the air. I am now placing you under arrest for violating Article 26 of the third traffic regulation."

The girl grabbed Ruben by the shoulder and yanked him back. Her little face, still streaked with tears, was full of seriousness. She showed no reaction at all to Ruben having seen her cry.

"I can't fly. I was thrown down here."

Ruben felt an immense force seize his shoulder. He was dragged over before he even had a chance to resist. He could not help wondering just how this woman trained herself—her well-proportioned arms did not look muscular in the slightest.

"Really?"

"Take a look. I don't even have magic power, so how could I fly?"

"Y-you really don't have any magic power. Sorry, I misunderstood you."

The girl checked him over from head to toe and discovered that Ruben truly was a human with no magic power. She readily apologized for her mistake.

"Though I don't know why you were crying, emotions can easily affect the body. Try to be more optimistic."

Ruben took out his handkerchief and wiped away the tears that had yet to dry on the girl's face. He had also realized that her job was probably similar to that of a police officer maintaining public order, so he offered her a perfunctory word of concern.

"My only friend passed away. I know I don't have much time to grieve, but..."

"..."

Ruben had no idea how he had become a listener. Of course he wanted to leave, but the girl's hand gripped his shoulder like an iron clamp. With his strength, there was no way he could break free.

"I didn't spend much time with Nana. Because of my work, I couldn't always go see her. But every time we met, she would hang me from a tree trunk with plant magic, drench me from head to toe with water magic, or petrify me for an entire day."

Sorrow and remembrance were reflected in the girl's slightly gray eyes. Whenever she remembered the times she had played around with her friend, she would be incomparably happy. Now, those scenes had become her most precious memories.

"Does that even count as friendship?"

Ruben's head was full of question marks. This did not even sound like friendship anymore. It felt like this green-haired girl simply enjoyed being abused.

"Maybe it looks strange to others, but I really, really liked her. In the end, she even asked someone else to pass a message on to me, apologizing to me. I believe she must have considered me a friend too."

"Ruben, why did you run off here? Hurry and come back with me. His Holiness the Pope has already agreed to guarantee you."

Mayuna descended from the sky and landed beside Ruben, casually removing the magical mark on him. This mark allowed her to locate Ruben at any time, but she also understood the importance of respecting personal privacy and generally would not use this skill.

"N-Nana!"

Mayuna was used to disregarding everyone around her. Just now, aside from Ruben, she had only seen a blurry figure. But by the time she realized what it was, that figure had already rushed at her with speed beyond what an ordinary person could achieve. She was so fast that the Archmage girl did not even have time to cast a spell before being swept into her arms.

Strong, powerful arms tightly crushed Mayuna's slender body. The Archmage girl's cheek pressed against cold armor, her bones groaning as the air in her lungs was ruthlessly squeezed out. Before long, her eyes rolled back and she passed out, only having time to think, It's that idiot Tinasha! in the instant before losing consciousness.

Mayuna had a dream. She dreamed that Ruben had made a dish called a hamburger for her. This food, made of two slices of bread, could be filled with all sorts of ingredients to create all kinds of flavors. But the hamburger in front of Mayuna had no filling, and it was enormous—larger than Mayuna herself.

Just as Mayuna was wondering about it, the hamburger suddenly opened its two slices of bread and bit down on her, wrapping her tightly inside and squeezing harder and harder.

"Don't! Don't eat me!"

Mayuna struggled upright from the bed, wiped away the cold sweat left by her nightmare, and looked around. The room was spacious, and its decorations all appeared extremely high-class. She then picked up the blanket covering her and sniffed it.

"It smells like Tinasha."

Ruben had settled down as well, sitting face-to-face with Tinasha and drinking the beverage she had provided. After Mayuna passed out, the green-haired girl had panicked and carried her back to her residence. Ruben had been brought along for no apparent reason and taken into this palace. Yes, a palace. He had never expected to enter the two most prestigious buildings in the Imperial Capital within a single day.

While Mayuna was unconscious, the two had exchanged information after spending several minutes staring at one another. Tinasha learned that Ruben was Mayuna's lifesaver, while Ruben learned Tinasha's identity: one of Mayuna's few friends—at least according to herself—the Holy Empire's only imperial princess, and the emperor's third child.

Who had ever seen an imperial princess who did not stay in the palace drinking tea and picking flowers, but instead put on such heavy armor to maintain public order? Compared to believing she was an imperial princess, Ruben would rather have believed she was an imperial guard. But the facts were right before him, leaving him no choice but to believe it.

Tinasha also explained to Ruben the monstrous strength that had made the Archmage girl pass out from a single hug: [Strength of the Beast], an innate talent she had possessed from birth. Just as its name implied, even without training, her body could possess strength as powerful as a beast's. It was an exceptionally rare talent.

If she had been born in the neighboring Blackstone Empire, it would have been the perfect talent, because that country revered battle mages who combined magic power with physical combat. But being born in the Holy Empire was rather awkward. Most people here were orthodox mages, while even the Holy Knights of the Church only knew the basics of physical combat. After giving it some thought, the emperor decided it was nothing much and let his daughter become an ordinary person without magical talent.

However, this troublesome daughter did not fulfill her father's wishes. Since she was mediocre in magical talent, she simply spent every day training her body alongside the Holy Knights.

"Nana will be all right, won't she?"

Tinasha kept anxiously asking Ruben. She deeply regretted getting so excited upon seeing Mayuna that she had failed to control her strength and squeezed her unconscious. If Mayuna had not died to the curse but instead died in her arms, that would have been truly ridiculous. She might even earn some strange achievement.

"She just couldn't catch her breath. What could possibly happen?"

"Divine Art [Greater Blessing]. Support Magic [Muscle Enhancement]. Petrification Spell [Partial Petrification]."

Mayuna suddenly appeared behind Tinasha and applied three buffs to herself in quick succession. Knowing that she was not very strong, she first used Muscle Enhancement to increase her explosive strength dozens of times over. Then, to prevent herself from straining her muscles, she firmly protected them with Greater Blessing. At the same time, she partially petrified her lower leg so she would not feel pain after kicking.

Once the buffs took effect, the Archmage girl raised her leg and kicked.

Boom!

Tinasha had no chance to react before Mayuna kicked her flying. The palace's building materials were naturally of the highest grade, and defensive buffs had been applied after its construction. Yet even such a wall was smashed open by Tinasha's head, leaving her wedged helplessly in the hole she had created.

P.S. Please bookmark and recommend.

P.S. Thanks to Lord Meowmeow for the 30,000 donation. Here's the bonus chapter update (1/3). What? You want my thoughts? The author can't use profanity, so I have nothing to say.

Mo Aotian: Why are you flashy bitches trying to steal from me... urgh. (His soul drifted out of his mouth.)

Tinasha obtained the title: God-Ripper with Bare Hands.

P.S. Thanks to reader Kerou Sloppy for the 1,000 donation, reader Building Audi for the 500 donation, and readers AN232323 and Azure Meteor Shower for the 100 donations.