“As I told you already, I fought those monsters and killed them.” Faela did nothing to hide the exasperation from her voice. “How many times do I have to tell you that, Sergio?”

“Until I’m satisfied!” the captain of the city guard said back, doing his best to not shout. “It doesn’t add up! How can you defeated all those monsters when it takes at least ten soldiers to bring down one!”

“Maybe I’m worth eleven soldiers. Did you think of that?” Faela didn’t skim on her sarcasm.

Camila, the soldier who was writing down the report, sniggered under her superior’s anger. Tetsuko did the same, laughing as Sergio’s face became red with rage.

The man tried to ignore them and slammed his fist on the table. “Tell me the truth! This is about the city’s security and all the citizens’ lives!”

“I don’t know what you want me to tell you.”

Sergio swallowed his anger as he pressed his temples. “I know you’re hiding something from me.” His eyes narrowed and went down to the swordswoman’s waist. “The soldiers said it looked as if you were talking to someone… Someone who wasn’t there… And then you managed to cut those monsters with much ease…”

“Ease? You weren’t there, Sergio. I wouldn’t call that ease. At least from where I normally fight,” she said, crossing her arms.

The captain understood what she meant behind her words. Unlike Faela, who still outranked him in terms of military and went to the frontlines, he always stayed behind, in the middle of the troops where it was safe. Even Tetsuko, who hadn’t been in the city for over a day had overheard some of the soldiers mentioning that.

“It wasn’t only that. One of the citizens you saved said you cut a wood beam as if butter…” He pressed both hands on the table and leaned closer, trying to intimidate Faela. “You can say all you want, but you’re not getting out of here until I find out what you’re hiding from me.”

Instead of scared, that only made the woman snort and roll her eyes. “Yeah, like you could do that because of a simple report. And I already told you what happened. You just want some strange explanation to satisfy yourself.”

“I have some ideas,” Sergio said as if he hadn’t heard Faela. “Either you have something special, something that could help us fight these monsters and save many lives…”

“Or?” Faela mocked, raising an eyebrow.

“Or you became a worshiper,” he said in a low voice, staring the swordswoman in the eyes. “That’d explain how you fought those beasts. You became a worshiper yourself.”

All the mocking vanished from Faela’s face. Even though the accusation was grave, she managed to keep her calm. “You’re too desperate, Sergio. Making up blatant nonsense like that just because you can’t do your job right.”

“It’s not blatant, Faela. I hear the rumors. Leave us,” he ordered Camila, who put the quill and paper down and left the room. “I know those demon worshipers gained some kind of monstrous strength lately. And I know their blood can make a person mad. And just like poison, it can infect and turned anyone into one of them, even if they don’t accept their demon.”

“Where did you hear that?” Faela narrowed her eyes. “The court decided to hide the truth to end this matter for good.”

“Yes, they did. But I got friends in good places,” Sergio said, flashing a cocky smile.

Lucky Chaos, Tetsuko thought. Though Faela didn’t look at her, she knew her wielder was thinking the same. It was a good idea to hide the truth from him.

After they had helped rescue all those affected by the fight, Faela knew Sergio would take her in for questioning. Even if she outranked him, he still had that right in order to make the report for the Lord. So the sword and swordswoman decided it was best to hide the true identity of the weapon in case the captain informed Lucky Chaos. If he insisted, they would say Tetsuko was one of the new weapons Balthasar had made for the expedition.

As they stared at each other, Sergio flashed a victory smile. “Come back!” he shouted and a moment later, Camila came back.

Faela took a deep breath and recollected her calm.

“Say all you want Sergio, but I know you know the simplest way to find out who’s a worshiper. Is that your way to see my chest?” she asked, mocking him again. “Are you still upset because I rejected you all those years? Let it go, man.”

Camila had barely picked up the quill when she sniggered again. When Sergio looked at her, she stopped and focused on the paper, though she was still smiling.

“This has nothing to do with that!” the captain, the vein popping on his forehead again. He tried to compose himself by coughing before speaking in a cold voice. “I’m not asking because of a simple report, Faela. I’m asking because this concerns more than just this city’s safety.”

“What in the world are you talking about?”

“I’m talking about a high-level commander being a worshiper or not.”

His words echoed in the air for a while.

“I’ve sacrificed a lot for this kingdom.”

“Yes, you have. But you also have reasons to hate it. It’s not strange if you became a traitor,” he whispered, savoring the word.

Faela’s face twisted in rage. When she spoke, however, she managed to keep it out of her voice. “My brother has nothing to do with this. And I’d advise you to stop talking about him.” Unlike his, the swordswoman’s voice contained a real threat.

Sergio’s face grew pale as he leaned back on his chair. “E-even so, I-I still need to check… I-it’s for the safety of the kingdom…”

Faela put both hands on the table slowly. Though she made no noise, Sergio still flinched. As she stood up and walked around the table, he leaned back so much his chair was almost falling backward.

Looking in his eyes, she untucked her shirt and grabbed the hem. Sergio gulped, his gaze lowering to the woman’s chest, the corner of his lips trembling into a nervous smile.

Then Faela turned around and raised her shirt, showing her chest to Camila. The soldier blushed but couldn’t stop staring. Even after Faela had put her clothes down and fixed them, she was still staring at the swordswoman’s chest.

“Is there anything strange?” Faela asked, turning to Sergio, who was frozen.

“No… Nothing but a lovely bosom,” Camila said, her face still red.

“There, captain. Are you satisfied?”

Sergio blinked and seemed to awaken from his trance. “F-fine. But we’re still not done. I still need to know how you defeated all those monsters by yourself.”

Faela grabbed her scabbard and took it from her waist. Sergio moved back so fast he fell. When he stood up, he backed away until he hit the wall. All the swordswoman did was bring the sword to his eye level and draw so he could see a bit of the blade.

Even though she had gone through a fight, and was used as a tool for cutting rubble, Tetsuko still reflected the man’s terrifying expression.

“This sword was made by the Gran-blacksmith from the Land of Iron, Balthasar. It’s a wonderful weapon and it was thanks to her that I could fight,” she said, her voice cold. Sergio was mesmerized by the blade and reached out to touch, but Faela sheathed Tetsuko before he could. “Before you ask, if you want one, you need to request Lady Celia. Now we’re done.”

She put the sword back on her waist and walked to the door. Before she left, however, she looked at the soldier. “I want a copy of that report, please.”

“Y-yes,” Camila answered, blushing again.