Round Two Ends; Round Three, an Even Fiercer and More Spectacular Clash Among the Gods, Begins at Once! (Continued)

The Grand Tutor's gaze wandered. Though she knew there were things she absolutely shouldn't pry into, and that she had to maintain her poise and dignity before the future Empress,

but...

The Grand Tutor still couldn't help herself. In a faint, timid voice, she asked:

"Um... Was it really that pleasurable with Rhine Hyun? I... was just curious..."

...Huh?

Alice froze.

The Grand Tutor, her eyes brimming with affection and her expression shy.

It left her...

Utterly stunned!

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Thanks to Autumn Fairy Tale for the generous donation! You're the best!

2. Losing Her Purpose and Becoming a Demigod Slacker

Imperial Capital of Hain.

Two days had passed since the battle against Obadiah.

Hela lay amid piles of treasure and divine equipment in the underground vault of the manor, staring blankly into space like a salted fish.

Two days...

Those three dolls and Prince Rhine still hadn't returned to the Imperial Capital.

Obviously,

a kiss as a reward couldn't have lasted two days and two nights.9

As for what those four had been doing at the seaside villa... Hela couldn't be bothered to think about it.11

In the battle against Obadiah, Hela had gotten tons of treasure, along with the entire corpse of an Ancient Dragon.

As a high-ranking Ancient Dragon who had been qualified to challenge the Ancient Dragon Princess, the quantity and quality of Obadiah's hoard had been astonishing, even among his own kind.

And that went without saying in a mortal nation...

Hela had probably become the wealthiest person in all of Hain.

Hundreds of pieces of golden equipment, along with a large number of ancient relics whose quality couldn't be measured by Silver White Crystals.

Hela had three demigod dolls, so she also had to outfit them with three extra sets of equipment. Her greatest dream had always been to keep collecting powerful gear to arm herself and her dolls.2

And now, Hela had gotten her hands on an entire Ancient Dragon's hoard... Every kind of golden equipment was there, and the quality was frighteningly high.

She had even gotten a fresh Ancient Dragon corpse, so she could forge the equipment she needed herself!

Without a doubt,

after this battle, Hela had achieved her lifelong dream.

But after her dream came true and she reached her ultimate goal...

all that awaited her was endless emptiness.3

Hela had become a salted fish.

Now that her boundless desires had, at long last, been completely satisfied,

she no longer knew... what she had to live for.10

And honestly...

Hela felt she didn't deserve any of this treasure.

After all, the one who'd performed the worst in the entire battle against the Ancient Dragon was her!

At first, Hela had thought His Highness Prince Rhine had invited her to fight the Ancient Dragon to win her over and curry favor with her.

Hela knew that was only natural.

After all, as one of the Imperial Guards, Hela was the most powerful and prestigious being in the mortal world.3

Even the occupants of Hain's Crystal Throne could change every day, but the Imperial Guards' status could never be shaken.

But later, Hela realized she'd been wrong.

Rhine had only gone to Hela because he wanted a reliable fighter to help him kill Obadiah and get a new piece of equipment for his beloved Constance.

And now,

Hela realized she was still wrong.

Because even the reliable fighter His Highness had been looking for wasn't her!

It was her dolls!

Somehow, after receiving a blessing from the Evil Dragon, His Highness Prince Rhine had become even more skilled at controlling dolls than Hela!3

He had even been able to elevate Histia Hela into the true Histia!8

If the Grand Tutor in White Light hadn't interfered,

His Highness and Histia would probably have taken Obadiah down together right then and there!

But Hela?

Sorry, it actually wouldn't have made much difference whether she'd been there or not.

Thinking it over...

Back then, Hela had told Rhine he was useless and shouldn't join the fight... That had been downright laughable!

In the end...

Hela herself had been the real clown.2

And yet, even so, Hela had gotten the biggest share of the treasure.7

Hela's feelings were complicated.

No wonder His Highness Prince Rhine had been so cold toward her throughout the entire operation, deliberately keeping his distance.

In his eyes,

Hela's existence was completely insignificant.

She was just an accessory to the dolls, a tool he used to get on good terms with them.8

Thinking about it didn't make Hela angry or ashamed. She just felt... terribly dejected.

Rhine wanted to give Constance a gift, Constance wanted to protect Rhine, and the dolls wanted to earn rewards from Rhine...

Of everyone, it seemed she was the only one interested in these vulgar treasures.

"Ha..."

Hela felt lost.

Why had things turned out this way?

Why, even after getting more divine equipment than she could use in a lifetime, wasn't she happy at all?9

Hela gazed into the distance, feeling bereft. "That guy... didn't he say he'd give me a kiss too..."3

Just then.

A spatial rift suddenly opened in the manor.

The dolls were back.!

Hela hurried to her feet and went upstairs.

There, she saw the dolls returning from their seaside vacation.

They wore sexy swimsuits, their faces glowing with happiness as they chatted and laughed, radiant with joy. They took all kinds of high-quality ingredients out of the house, preparing to pack them up and take them away.

"Oh, Hela."3

The dolls waved at Hela with cheerful smiles. "We're back to grab some food. Don't mind us. We'll be leaving again in a bit."14

Faced with this scene, Hela didn't know what to say. At last, she managed to squeeze out a slightly resentful, "...Did you have a good time?"

The dolls laughed, their faces glowing with happiness [self-censored]:8

"To earn more rewards from His Highness, we'll have to keep being good, useful children from now on—well, we're off! Bye~"6

Just like that, a spatial rift opened, and the dolls left.

Hela was left standing there alone, dejected.9

It felt like...1

the lonely ache of being forgotten and abandoned.21

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Thanks to Xiyang for the blade! You're the best!!1

3. Backroom Deals Between the Imperial Guards

"Your Highness Edgeworth, shall we set off now?"1

"...All right. Let's go."

In the Prince's residence, Lilia Hain, an Imperial Guard, tore open a portal for the Prince.3

The Prince's expression was grave as he stepped into the rift, his heart tense.

He was going to take part in a negotiation.

A negotiation that would change his fate.

Come on,

let's go talk things over with those Dwarves.

Everything before him dissolved into nothingness and chaos. Guided by Lilia, the Prince passed through the bizarre spatial passage and arrived in a sealed stone chamber.

"Welcome to the Golden Land."1

The Golden Land's representative had been waiting there to receive the Prince.

But the moment the Prince emerged from the portal, he was completely dumbfounded.

The Prince stared at everything before him in shock and disbelief.

"Surprised?"

The Golden Land's representative rubbed his hands together and smiled.

"Is this Your Highness the Prince's first visit to the Golden Land's headquarters? The Golden Land is named after the legendary holy land of the Dwarves. It really is located here, but the rumors that all our buildings are made of gold are just that—rumors."

"No... I'm not surprised by your building..."

The Prince's mouth twitched as he pointed at the representative and snapped, "I'm surprised by you!"

The Golden Land's representative greeting this esteemed guest wasn't some high-ranking Dwarf or lord,

but! a! Goblin!8

"Ah, you mean me. It's true that the Golden Land presents itself to the outside world as a financial organization made up of Golden Dwarves."

The Goblin smiled and explained calmly, "And, of course, that's also true. It's just that our dear Dwarf shareholders also recruit clever Goblins to help them run their businesses."2

The Goblin's smile was warm and friendly:2

"You may find this hard to believe, but I'm actually a fairly influential employee here at the Golden Land. And the shareholders unanimously agreed that I'm the best person to assist you in this crisis. Your Highness the Prince, does that explanation satisfy you?"1

"..."

To be honest, the Prince wasn't satisfied.

He thought he'd read in some classified document from Hain that the Golden Land was actually controlled by a group of Goblins.4

But that wasn't the point,