92 – Spectators Love Nothing More Than Women Fighting

“Miss Teresa.”

“Hmm? What is it?”

“If it’s not too much trouble, could you tell me what rank of Divine Princess you actually are?” Wenfu hesitated before finally asking.

“The broadcast made that pretty clear, didn’t it?” Teresa replied without a second thought.

“But... your Divine Authority doesn’t seem to be purely that of a Ranger-rank Divine Princess,” Wenfu voiced her confusion. “It feels more like a Knight-rank.”

Wenfu had been hesitant to ask this question—after all, the effects of one’s Divine Authority were personal secrets. If others knew them, it would be harder to gain an advantage in real battle.

But her curiosity got the better of her. If Teresa’s class wasn’t actually Ranger, or rather, if she leaned more toward the Knight archetype…

Wenfu had already witnessed Teresa’s strength firsthand. In that three-on-one just now, she herself had barely lifted a finger and still rode Teresa’s coattails to victory, all while being protected throughout.

At first, she had only chosen to ally with Teresa out of desperation. Once the tournament ended, she’d planned for them to go their separate ways. But after fighting together, Wenfu’s opinion began to shift.

If Teresa was indeed a Knight Divine Princess, she fit Wenfu’s ideal teammate criteria almost perfectly.

And if that were the case, they could really form a duo and stick together for the rest of their academy years.

Teresa was one of the top freshmen, ranked in the top ten of the Crown Tournament. A well-educated and graceful young lady, and beautiful too. By that logic, they were... “well-matched.”

Wenfu couldn’t shake the image from her mind—Teresa swooping in to rescue her moments earlier.

When she had been carried in Teresa’s arms, her golden lashes as delicate as gossamer wings, her vivid, gem-like emerald eyes, her milk-smooth, luminous skin, and that silky, platinum-blonde hair that flowed like fine satin—her beauty was almost blinding...

Though it had all happened in a fleeting instant, the memory burned itself into Wenfu’s mind, more vivid with each recollection, even enhanced by her imagination into something almost dreamlike.

The act of saving her had come with great risk and no reward—Teresa could’ve easily left her behind. She might have been a burden. And yet, Teresa didn’t hesitate. Just because of a flimsy verbal alliance, she saved someone who, strictly speaking, was still a rival.

No... even in that situation, most teammates might have abandoned her. Just like her own team had.

After her team fell apart, she, a Divine Princess Priestess, had been left behind by her teammates. She’d learned then and there that pretty promises meant nothing when push came to shove.

During team formation, everyone had vowed to protect her with their lives. But when things turned dire, their true natures showed—they only looked out for themselves and ditched her without a second thought.

This was just the Crown Tournament. There was no real threat to their lives. But what if it had been a real battlefield? Would she have died?

Her teammates abandoned her in a moment of crisis. And someone who wasn’t even her teammate had saved her.

Though the Crown Tournament wasn’t a matter of life and death, for Wenfu—a sheltered noble lady—it was her first real taste of the cold and warmth of the world.

She began to understand that fixating on teammates’ stats and rankings was misguided. There was one criterion that mattered even more.

Character.

Teresa knelt on one knee, tuning her bowstring. As per the usual ritual, it was time to “loot the bodies.” She picked through the fallen enemies’ belongings.

The two male Divine Princesses didn’t drop much. The mage, however, had dropped two scroll cases and a pink alchemy potion.

Teresa activated her [Divine Appraisal]. One was a medium-dose Apprentice-level Recovery Potion; the other two were small [Chain Lightning] scrolls. Quite the haul.

She hooked the potion onto her belt, the scroll cases to her side, and slung both longbows onto her back. That just about did it.

She brought everything she could carry, but there was a problem. With all the potions and scrolls on her waist, her load was a bit overcapacity. It might slow her down, but not significantly.

She glanced at the wall of ice blocking the mountain path. It had mostly melted.

“Time to go, Miss Silesse.”

“...Just call me Wenfu.” For some reason, Wenfu’s voice was soft and a bit shy.

“Then... Miss Wenfu?” Whether to use a given name or surname didn’t matter much. Though Teresa generally found surnames more appropriate and polite, it did make things feel a little more distant.

Inside the secret realm, the tournament had entered its grand finale. Outside, the spectators were glued to the screen, not daring to blink.

“She’s so cool... Teresa is seriously amazing. Even with a deadweight in tow, she crushed three enemies with ease.”

“Wow, I didn’t realize the gap between Pre-Awakening and Post-Awakening could be this huge!”

“No wonder she made it into the top ten. Sure, luck plays a part, but this is mostly skill.”

“Hey, who do you think’s stronger—Felicia, Teresa, or Astrid?”

“Felicia’s hard to judge, but I don’t think she can compare to Astrid.”

“Heh, women fighting—especially powerful, beautiful women fighting—that’s the best kind of entertainment!”

Raw strength and stunning beauty were always top-tier traits, and always fan favorites.

Before the Crown Tournament began, plenty of gossip surrounded Teresa—comments about her questionable origins, accusations of being just a pretty face. But now, those voices had vanished.

No one talked about Teresa’s background anymore, let alone criticized her for it. All anyone could do was marvel at her brilliance and her sudden rise.

A single flaw couldn’t obscure her radiance. Her brilliance so vastly outweighed any imperfection that people simply forgot the blemishes existed.

If anyone still dared to bring up her so-called stained lineage, they’d probably get publicly ridiculed:

“And what? You think being a ‘legitimate’ Divine Princess makes you stronger than her?”

“Everyone’s got flaws—what makes you think you’re any different?”

Unbeknownst to Teresa, her reputation had undergone a dramatic shift in just three days.

Earlier, Irene had watched the footage in silence. She had long since realized she wasn’t in the same league as Teresa. And now, her emotions were complicated, to say the least.

Inside the secret realm, Teresa led the way while Wenfu followed. The two continued deeper into the canyon.

The Crownstone was located atop the desolate mountain, but to reach it, they first needed to enter the canyon and find the path up.

Teresa figured that she and Wenfu were likely the farthest team from the peak. She still didn’t know Felicia’s position, but Astrid’s team had already made it to the mountaintop.

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