Ars, the capital of Asura.
It was the oldest, largest, most populous, and most prosperous city in human history, standing firm through hundreds upon thousands of years.
Four hundred years ago, Demon God Laplace had led an army of the Demon Race to invade the continent, declaring that he would exterminate all humanity.
Almost every nation on the Central Continent had fallen in that catastrophe. Only the Asura Kingdom had escaped unscathed.
Of course, this was not because Asura was particularly powerful. It had simply benefited from its geographical position.
The Red Dragon Mountains, stretching for tens of thousands of li, formed a natural barrier that encircled the Asura Kingdom.
For outsiders, fighting their way in was as difficult as reaching the heavens, while those within found it no easy task to fight their way out.
Moreover, it lay in the western Central Continent, with fertile land and vast plains. No matter how corrupt the nobles were, the commoners could still fill their bellies, so few ever rebelled.
This was also the fundamental reason the Asura Kingdom had survived to this day.
An enormous silver royal palace towered atop a hill, with noble estates packed closely around the castle and majestic walls enclosing it all.
Beyond the city gates stretched broad, bustling streets.
A towering arena.
An imposing knights' training ground.
A temple of the Holy Millish Church.
And bridges spanning the Altier River, connecting every part of the city-all displayed the royal capital's grandeur.
Water God Style swordsmen could be seen everywhere on the streets.
And the headquarters of the Water God Style was located here.
Crack!
A dull impact rang out inside the dojo as a young red-haired man was sent flying and slammed heavily onto the floor.
Gasping with difficulty, he looked up at the blue-haired girl who had defeated him and smiled wryly. "You really are amazing, Isolte... I lost to you again. In all the years since I joined this dojo, I haven't beaten you once."
"Thank you for the match."
The blue-haired girl's eyes narrowed slightly, her bearing elegant and composed.
Within the dojo at the Water God Style headquarters, almost everyone knew her.
Isolte Cruel.
She was an exceptionally beautiful girl with long blue hair, and the granddaughter of Water God Reida, the current Water God.
Her outstanding talent for swordsmanship from an early age had made her especially well-known among the many disciples. She was the well-behaved type who excelled in both conduct and studies.
From afar, she seemed like an unattainable flower, to be admired but never touched. She had always maintained an impeccable reputation, and there had never been any rumors about her and other men.
Many disciples at the Water God Style dojo came from noble families in the royal capital, and all harbored secret crushes on this unattainable flower.
"Isolte, let me be your next opponent."
Thud.
He went down soon enough.
Then... other disciples in swordsmen's uniforms came up to challenge Isolte, but without exception, every peer who attempted it failed.
Leaving so many disciples far behind... among those her age, Isolte now had no idea what it meant to have a rival.
The sun soon set.
The lingering light of sunset fell upon every disciple in the dojo.
"All right, it's getting late. That's enough practice for today!"
"Dismissed!"
At the middle-aged man's command, the young people in the dojo saw that the Water Emperor had spoken and stopped training.
One after another, they said goodbye to friends they knew. Others chatted and laughed with their friends, heading home together in groups of three or five.
The Water God Style was a particularly unusual school, taking an entirely different approach from the Sword God Style.
If the Sword God Style pursued a one-hit kill and maximum damage output, then the Water God Style focused on defense and counterattacks.
As such, those who studied the Water God Style were not hotheaded or impatient, because people like that were unsuited to learning it.
And Isolte's personality was a perfect fit. She was gentle, elegant, and fairly cheerful.
Incidentally.
Last year, at just twelve years old, Isolte had already been ranked a Water Saint of the Water God Style.
As the dojo's many disciples headed off to their respective homes.
Isolte was also about to leave.
Suddenly, a red-haired noble boy with a bright, sunny appearance called out to her from behind.
"Wait!"
"Hm? Is something the matter?"
Isolte turned around with a warm, gentle smile.
There was something welcoming about her smile, like a spring breeze, but it always gave people the wrong impression. Men who saw it would instinctively wonder whether this girl might like them.
At that moment, the red-haired noble boy suddenly blushed as well.
He offered Isolte the flowers he had been holding behind his back, then gathered his courage and spoke gently.
"May I ask if you're free tonight, Miss Isolte? I booked the most luxurious restaurant in the city in advance. Tonight... we could have dinner together tonight."
"...I'm very sorry. Um, I'm already quite tired today, so I'm planning to go home and rest."
"I see. Sorry to bother you, then. Perhaps another time."
Though the rejection made the noble boy sigh inwardly, he still maintained the etiquette expected of a noble.
He could only watch helplessly as his goddess, that unattainable flower, turned away, her figure receding into the distance.
"This is such a bother."
Where no one could see her, Isolte pressed a hand to her forehead with some helplessness and sighed softly.
Confessions like today's had actually happened more than once, but Isolte had rejected them all.
It was not that Isolte disliked men. On the contrary, she rather liked good-looking men.
In plain terms, she was a sucker for a pretty face.
But although those young noblemen were handsome, every one of them was a playboy with nothing beneath the surface. Apart from their looks, they were worthless.
In fact, every one of those nobles had some embarrassing private proclivities, to a greater or lesser extent.
Isolte was even less interested in men like that.
Still, no matter how often Isolte refused, some things were bound to be unavoidable.
As Water God Reida's granddaughter, and a swordsmanship prodigy in her own right, she was highly favored by royalty and nobility.
Because she was too outstanding, too dazzling.
At one point, Isolte had even found it rather troubling.
As she left the dojo and headed home, she could still hear other passing disciples whispering.
"Look, everyone. That's Isolte."
"She's Lady Water God Reida's granddaughter. She's so beautiful."
"I practiced with her yesterday, and she gave me some pointers on swordsmanship. Our senior really is incredible."
"R-really? I'm so jealous."
"Wow, just what you'd expect of Lady Water God Reida's granddaughter. She'll surely inherit the Water God title someday."
Praise.
The chatter in her ears was nothing but praise upon praise.
The corners of Isolte's mouth could not help lifting slightly. Still... she was already the youngest Water Saint in the Water God Style dojo at thirteen this year, after all.
And so.
Isolte headed home as usual, but as she passed a weapons shop, she suddenly heard a heated argument nearby.
Following her usual principle of sticking her nose into other people's business, Isolte slowly walked over.
She saw a young blond boy who, despite his young age, made her take several extra looks.
At that moment, he was arguing with the weapons shop owner, red in the face.
"Are you kidding me? Fifty large copper coins for a rusty, lousy sword? Why don't you just fucking rob someone?"
"Tch! Buy it or don't. Dressed that shabbily, you must be some penniless country bumpkin, right?"
"Damn it, don't look down on me. Make it cheaper. Ten."
"No. Forty-five."
"Twenty."
"Forty."
"Twenty-five."
"Thirty."
After a heated round of back-and-forth, the two finally reached an agreement, settling on thirty coins.
Just as Isolte thought the blond boy would buy it, the corners of his mouth suddenly lifted into a thoroughly devious grin.
"Hehehe. This young master... isn't buying."
"Nani?!"
The shopkeeper was dumbfounded on the spot.
He had assumed from the boy's manner that he was determined to buy it and had been preparing to fleece an outsider, only for the boy to simply throw in the towel and walk away.
Someone nearby immediately leaned in to rub salt in the wound. "Boss, he's messing with you."
"You little brat!"
"You wasted all that time, then decided you weren't buying? Who do you think you are?! I'll teach you a proper lesson today!"
Once the shopkeeper realized he had been thoroughly played, his embarrassment turned to fury. With a curse, he raised his arm and charged forward to beat the boy.
And the person who had toyed with him was none other than Luo Ge.
He had already been in the Asura Kingdom's capital for quite a few days.
Unfamiliar with the place and its people, he had encountered the owner of this shady shop, who had seen that he was a child from out of town and actually tried to fleece him.
So Luo Ge had played along, simply enjoying the thrill of haggling.
Just as he was about to dust himself off and leave.
A blue figure suddenly stepped in front of him.
Isolte casually took ten large copper coins from her pocket. "Ten large copper coins. I'll take this sword."
"Ten?"
"Who are you? Keep your nose out of this."
The shopkeeper glared angrily at this meddlesome blue-haired woman.
"Isolte Cruel."
"Who the hell is that?"
Just as the shopkeeper was angrily preparing to teach this meddlesome woman a lesson, someone beside him leaned toward his ear and whispered a few words.
In an instant.
The weapons shop owner, who had been so aggressive moments earlier, abruptly paled.
"So... so you're Lady Water God Reida's granddaughter. My apologies, my apologies."
Without indulging his flattery, Isolte spoke gently, but with a certain cold warning in her voice. "By the way... this sword is only worth ten large copper coins at most. If you even cheat children, your business won't last very long."
Hearing her unmistakable warning, the middle-aged shopkeeper broke out in a few beads of sweat.
"W-well, since Lady Isolte has spoken, let's leave it at that today."
"Ten... ten it is."
Like a deflated ball, he did not dare provoke the seemingly gentle, sweet girl before him at all.
Luo Ge had not expected anyone to stand up for him. He had thought that once this girl finished buying the item, she would leave.
What he had not expected was... the blue-haired girl named Isolte not only stayed, but took the initiative to approach him, step by step.
A gentle smile, the kind an older girl next door would wear, appeared on her face.
P.S. Please support me with gifts, or it'll be so hard to keep going. I might possibly leave you all. I'm begging you, my benefactors, please support me. Sob, sob.