Floyd, who had snapped the necks of two goblins following the ogre, one in each hand, strode towards Roxiana. The widely flickering flames gradually diminished as they approached Roxiana.

“I don’t want to see the princess here.”

Floyd was smiling, but his eyes were full of dissatisfaction and worry.

“It’s fine. Robert is here.”

“Woof!”

Lion barked loudly as if to say he was there too.

At that moment, no one noticed the nearby monsters flinch.

“I’m not disregarding Lord Chenare, but dealing with monsters is different,”

“It seems so.”

“I’m glad it seems that way. I was worried you might have gone blind from not thinking about distancing yourself.”

Floyd turned to Robert with a gentle smile. It was an elegant smile, but it contained a rebuke of ‘Why are you still here?’

“Words won’t break your stubbornness, so I might have to use my body, but I’m at a loss, Your Highness, as I can’t carry you on my shoulders like when you were young.”

Carry on his shoulders.

Roxiana blushed, recalling when she was caught by Robert while trying to climb over the palace walls as a child.

“I don’t particularly find it troublesome.”

Floyd looked down at Roxiana with a meaningful gaze. It was a look that said he could carry her on his shoulders and take her far away right now if he wanted to.

Realizing that if she persisted here any longer, he might actually do so, Roxiana quickly spoke.

“Your Highness. I have a request.”

“If I grant it?”

“I’ll retreat to the rear.”

“Let’s hear it.”

“Can you capture a monster alive?”

“Capture alive.”

Floyd glanced back.

The monsters were gradually being dealt with, and the knights were fighting well even without Floyd. Though it looked more challenging than when he was there.

“I could pluck stars for the princess, but capturing monsters is difficult.”

Pluck stars.

Only Robert was surprised by the casually uttered romantic statement. Neither Floyd who said it nor Roxiana who was the subject showed any reaction as if there was no problem.

So Robert doubted his own ears, wondering if he had misheard.

“Magic corrupts and erodes everything.”

Even ordinary armor and weapons corroded when exposed to magic for a long time.

“Blessed items hold up quite well, but even they’re not perfect. When in contact with a monster’s body, they can’t withstand the high concentration of magic and break. That’s why neither the magic tower nor the temple can properly research monsters.”

“A small monster will do. With this rope.”

Roxiana held out the rope she had prepared. It looked ordinary, but it was a rope blessed by Roxiana.

“Please tie it up. I don’t think this rope will break.”

Floyd looked down at the rope with a displeased expression and muttered.

“It seems dangerous.”

“If it looks like the rope won’t hold, just kill it. Oh, and don’t overdo it.”

Floyd chuckled.

“Overdo? Catching and tying it up is no big deal. Alright, I understand. Though I don’t know what you’re planning.”

Floyd took the bundle of rope and tossed it lightly in the air before catching it.

“I’ll catch a fresh monster for the princess.”

+++

It was the next morning when the area of the forest completely decayed by magic was cleared. The knights who had been in battle for a full day collapsed exhausted on the spot.

“I didn’t know there would be this many monsters while I was away.”

Adrian groaned lying down, then looked at Floyd passing by his side.

“My lord, what’s that?”

“A gift for the princess.”

Adrian and Hexten frowned.

“Why would you give something like that as a gift?”

“My lord, that’s not right. Although the princess raises a giant wolf that looks like a monster, she wouldn’t want to raise something like that. It’s… ugly, isn’t it?”

Floyd was dragging a goblin tightly bound with the rope Roxiana had given him. Even though Floyd wasn’t breathing fire, the goblin was screaming in agony.

Watching the small and hideous monster struggling to escape, Arsen, who was checking the condition of his sword, said in a voice mixed with a sigh.

“My lord, it’s not appropriate as a gift for a lady. Rather, over there…”

Arsen was about to suggest picking some wildflowers nearby, but nothing was growing in the magic-polluted land.

“The princess wanted it. She seems to be trying something, anyone want to watch together?”

“Me!”

Adrian sprang up. Cain and Hexten also slowly got up, and Arsen put his sword back in its sheath before following.

Roxiana was in the rear where the influence of magic was weak and grass and trees still remained. The knights and hired hands in the rear, noticing the diminishing roars indicating the subjugation was gradually ending, had set up a campsite. Kirshan was tending to the wounded, while Roxiana was making juice with the help of several hired hands.

Knights lying down and people wearing aprons making juice. In that peaceful scene, Floyd and the knight commanders momentarily forgot this was a battlefield.

Roxiana, rolling up her sleeves and cutting fruit, smiled brightly at Floyd and the knight commanders.

“You’re here?”

Floyd, who had been staring blankly at Roxiana’s smile, belatedly came to his senses and lifted the rope. The goblin groaned squeakily.

“A gift for you.”

“My goodness. Such a precious thing…”

Even the knights groaning from their injuries were dumbfounded to see Roxiana rejoicing as if she had received a large diamond ring.

‘So this was our princess’s taste…’

Floyd said.

“It’s true. This rope, though not particularly thick, doesn’t break.”

“Yes, that’s right. And it’s in pain. Oh, please drink this first.”

Roxiana distributed the juice she had prepared in advance to everyone. The juice made from fruit blessed by her didn’t heal wounds but relieved accumulated fatigue.

While the knights were drinking the juice and marveling, Roxiana quietly examined the goblin.

She had heard that some monsters could speak human language, but this one didn’t seem able to. That was fortunate. If it could speak, it would have been harder to kill.

‘But where is it looking?’

The goblin was sending fearful glances not at Roxiana in front of it, but over her shoulder. Following the goblin’s gaze, she saw the giant wolf sitting quietly.

Lion, who had been silently glaring at the goblin, realized Roxiana was looking at him and pretended to be scratching his neck with his hind leg, feigning innocence.

‘Do goblins fear giant wolves too? There’s no way a beast could defeat a monster…’

Though Roxiana found it strange, she focused on the goblin for now.

“I know the princess has tamed that fierce and giant wolf well… but I’d like to oppose raising a monster.”

As Kirshan cautiously opened his mouth, Adrian quickly agreed.

“That’s right, princess. I usually want to let you do whatever you want, but monsters are… Well, first of all, that thing is too ugly. At least that fierce one is fluffy. This one doesn’t even have fur.”

The other knights nodded seriously, but Roxiana spoke calmly without taking her eyes off the goblin.

“Your Highness’s flames are calm, but this goblin is still in pain. And look here.”

Everyone looked where Roxiana’s finger was pointing. It was the skin touched by the rope.

“It’s melting a little, isn’t it?”

Roxiana straightened her back and held out her hand. As she moved her fingers slightly, wind gathered in her hand.

“I put a blessing on that rope.”

The knights watched in awe as Roxiana’s hair fluttered, caught in the whirling wind at her fingertips.

“My power too.”

The gathered wind flew precisely towards the goblin.

“Keeaaaaaaaaah!”

The goblin enveloped in wind screamed as if tearing the sky. Its skin was torn to shreds and blood flowed. Roxiana wanted to turn her eyes away from the horrific sight, but she continued to pour out her power with her hand extended forward.

Eventually, the goblin that had been writhing in agony all over its body stopped screaming and collapsed with a thud. Everyone silently stared at the fallen goblin.

It took longer than Floyd’s flames, but Roxiana’s wind had definitely killed the monster.

Roxiana lowered her hand and said in a refreshing voice.

“I can kill monsters.”

Roxiana looked around at the stunned knights and Floyd and smiled brightly.

“What do you think, everyone? Isn’t my power quite a good asset?”

+++

Because an important issue remained, Roxiana had to conserve her power. So what she used during battle was the power of lower elementals.

The wind spirits, sylphs, became Roxiana’s wind and swept through the battlefield. Monsters touched by the wind containing spirits screamed in pain as their skin melted or tore.

It wasn’t difficult to deal with monsters panicking and floundering from the mysterious power. Monsters that received irreparable damage were helplessly torn apart by the knights’ swords.

A method that couldn’t be attempted with Floyd’s flames because they would burn humans too. Thanks to this, injuries decreased and the subjugation speed increased.

A week faster than the original goal, Floyd’s knights cleared the monsters in that area.

“Now we just need to purify the pollution in this area and we’re done.”

Adrian poured a bucket of water blessed by Roxiana over his head. The clean and virtuous water washed away the magic clinging to Adrian’s body.

Other knights were also wiping off magic.

Arsen wiped his wet face and turned towards Roxiana, who was preparing juice. This time, Floyd was also helping Roxiana.

Roxiana handing over fruit and Floyd cutting it suitable for juicing. It was such an affectionate scene that it didn’t seem like a battlefield strewn with monster corpses.