The applause dies down as Izetta looks back at the guards. "All of you are amazing as well. I knew that you are an elite unit, that your coordination would be world-class. But I didn't expect to have to use my shield so early on and I was kept on my toes the entire time. Do know that although I won, my respect for the Royal Guard has only grown. I can see the immense amount of planning and training that was done beforehand."

Izetta reaches for the back of her neck. While touching it, she speaks aloud, "Thank you," bringing back her normal clothes. "I have no doubt that Eylstadt will be safe under your protection. Please continue to take care of the Princess and her family," Izetta earnestly requests with a bow.

"And thank you for showing us just how powerful the saviour of the world is," Bianca returns as the guards also bow in respect.

Others cannot see it with her head down, but Izetta blushes at the praise. Seconds later, the two parties rise back up. "I would like to ask for something now though," Izetta interjects, "I would like to spar against you, Bianca. Without magic or weapons, just hand to hand."

The guards around start murmuring to themselves.

"You've been observing me this whole time, no doubt coming up with strategies for the future," Izetta explains. "So how about we go a round? You'll also be able to see how much of a difference magic makes so nobody here should feel weak."

Bianca chuckles. "Alright, colour me intrigued," Bianca replies as they ready their stances. "Only until one of us gets a clean hit."

"Sure, I wouldn't last long against you in a real fight anyway. I've only been training for a few years while you probably have decades under your belt."

They rush each other. As they get close, Izetta readies her right arm for a swing.

'She's opening with her dominant right, just like when she relied on it more often earlier,' Bianca analyses as she shifts to Izetta's left. Bianca takes the opportunity to go in for a jab as well, targeting Izetta's side.

Izetta blocks it with her retracted left palm. Both of them bring a knee up, knocking into each other. Bianca quickly follows with a palm strike using her other hand, which connects with Izetta's head. Izetta lets out a yelp as the force makes her lose her balance, causing her to stumble a step backwards.

Bianca's eyes widen as she realises that she has won. 'I had planned my next moves in advance, but without magic, she really is just a normal girl. A girl that can still fight, but not that beast that reacted immediately to any moves we made with blinding speed.'

Izetta recovers and looks back at Bianca with a smile. "Thank you for the match."

"Thank you as well. How about we go back to the Princess now?"

"Yes, let's." Izetta nods with excitement.

Bianca walks slightly behind Izetta, noticing the spring in her step. "Lady Izetta, do you mind if I ask you something? It's more personal this time."

Izetta turns slightly to face Bianca as they continue walking. "Sure, what is it?"

"Were you always this strong? Or did you perform better than usual because your girlfriend was watching?"

"Huh?!" Izetta nearly trips over herself as she stumbles to a halt. "The Princess isn't my girlfriend!" she blurts out while waving her hands frantically.

Bianca smirks.

"I-I mean, I don't have a girlfriend…" Izetta looks down at her fingers, pressing them together.

"Don't try to deny it, your expressions just now have only confirmed it," Bianca consoles Izetta with a pat on the shoulder. "Well, not like many of us needed confirmation."

Izetta pales. "H-How did all of you know? I told the Princess I wasn't ready for it to become public yet… I don't think she would tell…"

"She didn't," Bianca shakes her head. "But with how the two of you act around each other, somebody would have to be blind to not see it. Actually, blind and deaf to not realize it."

"Uuu…" Izetta's face starts to colour.

"You slept in the same bed as her. Then you moved into the same room and continued to sleep with her. It's clear as day how the two of you act around each other, which the guards and maids have been gossiping about. Especially when we got the two of you out from that stuck elevator. People thought you two were going to kiss right there and there. And that's not even considering what you two have done for each other over the years."

Izetta's face is fully red now as she looks at the floor. "Does… her father know…? I've been thinking on how… to ask for his approval…"

"We don't talk about unrelated manners to him and if he hasn't seen nor heard how the two of you act, it's possible that he still thinks that you two are very close friends. Friends that share a room, and maybe a bed. He has only asked where you are, not what you do."

Izetta lets out a deep sigh as she hangs her head. "I guess we need to prepare to talk to him soon then…"

"Don't worry about it too much," Bianca smiles. "The Princess is his only daughter, I'm sure he won't be against it too much, if at all, if you truly make her happy. He may even silently approve of your relationship already."

"I see… thank you…"

"Now, back to what I actually wanted to know. I know you were already really powerful when you debuted, but from what you showed today, you are inarguably beyond our grasp. Did you get so much stronger already, or chose to let loose as a show for the Princess? Of course, you can choose not to answer."

Izetta rubs the back of her head. "Well, I admit I did agree to this in part to let the Princess see my strength. But it wasn't like I felt I had to win no matter what, I just believed in the abilities I've built over the years. Oh, I did feel a lot better after sleeping for that day or two, but I don't think I did particularly harder training."

"Do you mind telling me what kind of training you did? The Princess brought it up already, but your usual shyness completely vanishes once it comes to your combat prowess."

"Oh… sorry… I didn't mean to brag…" Izetta mumbles as her cheeks tint with red.

"No, you can definitely be proud of yourself. I know magic is this otherworldly power to us normal people, but it's not like you knew how to use it immediately. I saw the reports from the project years ago. You had to work long and hard yourself to grasp and nurture it. Then you left for years and came back stronger than ever. I would really like a glimpse into what happened over those years, especially when you continued to push yourself so hard after your debut. Surely your grandmother would have taught you that resting is as important as working."

"Ah that… I just thought that I needed to rest because I was still in training, that I was still weak. She did tell me on some days to go back and rest when she could see that I was really struggling, but I hated those moments. As for why, it's… personal. But do know that the Princess and everybody else has shown me that I've done enough, so I have been resting more."

"Yes," Bianca nods, "That's why you felt so much better after finally letting your body get the rest it needed. Instead of dragging your body like a brick through the motions like what you were doing before, I believe it felt like your body was flowing smoothly like water, enabling you to unleash your actual full power."

"Hmm… when you put it that way, I think it did feel like that."

"Would you mind still telling me about your training while you were gone? You're decent in a fight without magic and even with it, it's not like you were blowing us away with explosions. Every blow we threw was dodged or blocked deftly and your attacks were swift and precise."

"Ah, maybe I shouldn't have fought you without magic," Izetta scratches her cheek. "I could have then played it off as my magic making my body do all that."

"No, I still wouldn't believe you. When walking, your gait is that of a trained martial artist, not like how the average person walks."

"Wow, you can gather all that just from silently observing me. No wonder you're the head of the Royal Guards. But are you sure you want to hear about it? As you saw just now, without magic I'm not that remarkable. I could just talk about my magic training, but it may be too abstract."

"No, I would like to hear everything from you," Bianca asserts which causes Izetta to look at her directly. "I know of the overwhelming destructive power you possess. You cleared a blockage of trees with your bare hands. Your knifes can cut through steel easily. Any person would be dead if you hit them for real.

"Yet you didn't kill a single person while you were saving the royal children. While there were some serious injuries, there was nothing life threatening. And you just took out the whole Royal Guard without even scratching us. You have an extraordinary level of skill and control of this magic that is due to you, yourself. As they say, fire is a good servant but a bad master and you are definitely an accomplished master of this well cultivated fire."

"W-Wow…" Izetta stammers as she rubs the back of her head. "I wasn't expecting so much praise for me."

"I like to give credit where it is due."

"O-Okay, if you really want to hear it, I'll tell you what I did."

Bianca nods as she puts her arms behind her back.

"When my grandma and I left, a kind village took us in. I would then help them do menial labour around the farms. Since I only focused on drawing out my magic before, I struggled to do the physical work at first. But then I built up my body with guidance from my grandma as she said no magic training until I could at least handle normal work. Eventually, I would meet my grandma in the forest for magic training after I was done for the day.

"Although there are similarities in how we use magic, it manifests in different abilities for us as well. My magic augments my body while my grandma summons dummies that use her magical imprints from her mind to replicate the memories and skills she got it from. As a martial arts enthusiast, she met and learnt from many masters in her youth, making sure to secretly use her magic to make an imprint of them for herself.

"I learnt martial arts from her dummies, allowing me to pick up a lot of different styles. I'm no master, but I learnt a lot about how the human body can move. With magic increasing my reaction speed, I can identify the openings my opponent will have due to their movements before they complete it. Since my grandma was also an assassin, I learnt where the vital areas are and avoid those when using more force, or my knifes."

"Huh…" Bianca interjects as her arms relax. "I saw that you used a few styles but I didn't expect you to learn them to exploit the weaknesses somebody would have. Speaking about your knifes, how natural is it that you can vary their strength so much? If they are purely magic, I expected them to change directions mid-air or something. Yet when you threw them, they flew in a line instead of some physics defying manner."

"Ah," Izetta puts a hand to her chin, thinking of how to explain it. "Actually, you can think of them as crystallised forms of magic. The first time I materialized raw magic, it came out as an orb. When I dropped it, it tore a hole through the ground. From there my grandma coached me on how to give it form as well as control the amount of magic I was accumulating. I practised whenever I could, including picking chores that would allow me to be alone. Instead of using the given tools, I would practice creating knifes and adjusting their sharpness until it felt natural.

"Despite it being termed magic, I don't actually know how to make it magically change directions in mid-air. When I throw it, it is pretty much an actual knife except it vanishes in a few seconds as I've stopped supplying magic to it. So I practised throwing them over a wide range, adjusting my strength so the knife reaches its target without demolishing it."

Izetta smiles, "They were my grandma's trademark. In addition to allowing her to scale practically any wall, her jobs would go extra cleanly because she formed the knifes with magic the same way and investigators would be unable to find the weapon. Although she was too old to physically teach me, she made a dummy that replicated her own memories to help me with forming the blades and how to use them."

"Hang on," Bianca brings up a hand. "You said you practiced using magic while you were doing chores? So you were changing between sets of clothes throughout the day? Isn't that a huge risk in that you could leak that you have magic or something? A villager could walk in, see the sudden change and they would probably freak out."

"Oh, I guess I didn't tell anybody other than the Princess. I only have these two forms now because my magic became too strong. If I exerted too much force while not paying attention to my magic, it would leak out and break what I was touching. It was only then that my grandma taught me how to make an internal barrier, so I could go about my daily life without worry. The clothes changing came way later so when I was still training, I didn't change clothes when using my magic and could secretly use it by covering what I was doing with my body."

"So you're unable to use magic as you are now? Doesn't that bring a big risk as well if you can't reach the back of your neck or can't talk?"

"Well… it's not completely sealed off…" Izetta holds an arm as she continues, "The barrier was built by my emotions at the time, so if I were to become even more emotional than when I made it, it would crack and my magic would be able to come out. Ah, I don't have to be unstable to use it though, I could just think really hard about drawing out my magic and it would break down the barrier as well."

Bianca licks her lips. "Another question, and remember you can choose not to answer if it's too personal. Why did you start doing all that though? Princess Finé gave you complete freedom so you could have lived a normal life. I believe that nobody even came looking for you all those years."

"You're right, but the Princess saved my life. I wanted to repay her, so I asked my grandma to train me. I wanted to make the world a better place for her, even if I didn't know about becoming the White Agent yet. It would also ensure that when the Princess is in trouble, I would be ready to save her. I was supposed to be her special bodyguard if the project proceeded as planned after all. If I knew she was kidnapped years ago, I would have come back immediately." Izetta clenches her hands. "She didn't deserve to suffer so much."

"Don't be so hard on yourself. We had found the fortress at around the same time you came back. Even if you had somehow helped us to find her early with magic, I'd be apprehensive of the methods you would use then. You only came back when you were completely ready, so with how dangerous uncontrolled magic is, you'd probably blast your way in, annihilating the enemy but also endangering the children."

"Maybe. I'll admit that when I saw how beat-up she was, I felt my control slip for a second." Izetta breathes out, remembering when her green magic emitted from her just from seeing the badly bruised Finé. "If I didn't catch myself, I probably would have unleashed raw magic and killed a bunch of people. I remembered that my training was complete, that I could easily take them down without using lethal force."

"Why are you against killing though? Don't get me wrong, getting used to killing others isn't normal, even for us. But you didn't even consider it as an option from the start. Wouldn't you have completed your training earlier if you didn't have to tone down your magic to non-lethal levels? Even when you were face to face with the people that tortured Princess Finé, you managed to keep your cool and refrained from killing them."

Izetta gives a melancholic smile. "Because even somebody like me was given another chance to live. It wouldn't be right for me to rob another person of that same chance."

Bianca opens her mouth to say something, but decides against it. The mood is getting too heavy for her liking in this situation.

Izetta straightens up. "Thank you for talking to me. It really gave me more confidence in how others see me."

"Of course, but don't you know that we all see you as the saviour of the world already?"

"Well… that's more of the White Agent. I just learnt of it this morning, but… the Princess is needlessly worrying over me."

Bianca blinks a few times. "Did you two talk about this?"

"Well, no… But I could see that she thinks that way from how she coddles me although I haven't done anything. If she doesn't recognise how strong I am, wouldn't she keep babying me more and more?"

'That's what she meant by letting the Princess see her strength,' Bianca muses. "I don't think it's as bad as you think it is. You are her girlfriend after all, she's bound to worry about you. I won't interfere in your relationship, but I would suggest that you talk out problems with her."

"Oh…" Izetta slightly flushes. "Okay… I'll try…"

As Finé sees Izetta and Bianca approach the table from the corner of her eye, she puts down the piece of paper she was reading and jumps out of her seat. Grabbing Izetta's hands, she exclaims, "That was absolutely incredible, Izetta! I knew you were powerful, but you completely blew my expectations out of the water! Your immense dedication to your training has certainly paid off, you're so, so strong!"

Izetta feels her heart pound as she looks to the side. With a giant blush on her face, she stammers, "T-Thank you, P-Princess. I-I'm very h-happy you enjoyed i-it."

"You must be tired, so how about you sit down? I have a cake saved for you as well," Finé offers as she gently tugs Izetta towards the table.

'Ah… there she goes again…' Izetta perceives as she looks at Finé. 'Well… I guess I really should talk to her about it…' As she takes a breath to ready herself, neither Izetta nor Finé see that Bianca has grouped up the guards that were watching Finé to talk with them.

"Princess… I, uh, want to talk to you about something…"

"Huh? What is it?" Finé asks in curiosity as she stops in place.

"Uh…" Izetta's hands fall to her sides. "Could you, um, stop worrying about me so much? I… don't need to rest after every little thing."

Finé is taken aback, but the shock keeps her silent as well.

"You just saw and acknowledged how strong I am, right?" Izetta licks her lips, gathering her thoughts. "And as you can see, I'm not out of breath either. I'm sorry that you had to see my weak self days ago and that caused you to worry about me, but I just needed some rest then. I can assure you that I'm as good as new now, and I have a lot to give. So you, uh, don't need to… worry about me…"

"Oh…" Finé's gaze falls to the ground as she rubs her arm with a hand. "I'm sorry, I didn't realize I was making you so uncomfortable…"

"I-I mean… it wasn't that uncomfortable… I just… uh… don't think you need to worry about me so much…"

"No, I get where you're coming from," Finé utters. She looks back up at Izetta, taking in the apprehension in Izetta's eyes. "I guess I got worried after we got into the helicopter last night and you started to behave differently. You got so strong over the years while I did absolutely nothing, so I didn't want you to push yourself again. My anxiety must have flared up although you can take care of any problem yourself. I'm sorry."

"That's… not true…" Izetta mumbles. "And it's not your fault, those horrible people kidnapped and tortured you for years! If I knew where the masterminds were, I'd bring them to justice immediately, and I'm sure the other countries would chip in to help as well."

"I see… Is that what you were thinking about? Did the terrorists from the tower make you think that there's still a lot of hidden evil in the world?"

"Well… not exactly…" Izetta falters as she looks away. "It's just… when I saw how big the incident actually was, I regretted… that I didn't do anything for you. Your country and you were in danger yet all I did was stand there and wait to be rescued. Even if you told me to do that, it gnawed on my mind that I did nothing when I just promised that I would do anything for you…"

"Oh… I see…" Finé taps her fingers together. "But Izetta, I just didn't want you to stress yourself out. I brought you there to enjoy yourself, not to run up and down hundreds of floors. I know you could easily do that, but I don't want you to be so on edge. Just because you can do anything, doesn't mean that you have to do everything. The Royal Guards had everything under control, so I figured that you didn't have to intervene.

"Besides, I also didn't want more clues about your identity leaking out because of the quick response time to incidents near Eylstadt. It didn't cross my mind until later, but Eylstadt also benefitted a lot from the morale boost of having our countrymen resolve the situation so quickly and efficiently. I'm not saying that I don't want you to do anything though. If you want to go on a mission, I won't stop you from doing so. I just don't want you to be unable to relax again because you're always in White Agent mode. I'm sorry I didn't put it into words sooner."

"Princess…" Izetta quavers. "I'm the one who's sorry. I misunderstood your intentions and thought too much about it."

"It's okay, I'm glad that we talked this out," Finé breathes out. "It might have become a bigger problem later on."

'Oh no, I made the mood so heavy,' Izetta panics in her head. 'I should change the topic, but what?' Izetta's eyes shift around, trying to find something that would give her and idea. She spots the paper on the table and her eyes light up slightly. "Princess, what's on that paper? It looks different from the documents on your desk. Is it another hobby of yours?"

"Oh, that," Finé turns to the table, picking the paper up. Izetta follows behind to discreetly take a seat, prompting Finé to do the same. "It's just some mail from my cousin that I printed out so I could read it here without having to see work notifications from my laptop."

"Huh, have I seen her before?"

"Probably not, she's been out of the country for most of her life. Ever since my father succeeded the throne, his brother has been thinking about migrating for a new life experience. Soon after my cousin was born, they decided on where they wanted to go and left on good terms. Although they offered to come back to help when my father fell sick, he turned them down as our ministers are very capable as well. Anyway, my cousin has always been interested in Eylstadt and is talking to me about it. I might have to actually compete with her for the throne if she returns in a few years, but I'll welcome the challenge."

Izetta smiles as she sees Finé get fired up. Then Izetta's smile fades as she remembers the other hurdle they have to clear sooner or later. "Speaking of your father… do you think he knows… about us…?" In a low voice, Izetta reveals, "The guards and maids… know…"

"Ah…" Finé's cheeks colour. "Yeah, the guards here teased me as well… And I guess Bianca talked to you about it." Earning a small nod from a red Izetta, Finé continues, "Sorry, I didn't think we were being that obvious. I know you're not ready for it to be public yet."

"I think we should talk to your father when we get back, even if he doesn't know yet. I should be ready now, especially after… all you've done for me…"

"Okay, I'll see if he's free when we are on the way back. But first," Finé reaches into the mini fridge to take out the cake she saved for Izetta. "How about you calm your nerves with this?"

"S-Sure…" Izetta reaches for a fork as her mouth begins to water.

"Bianca," Finé calls to the retreating figure. "Are you going back already?"

"Yes, Princess," Bianca reports as she turns around. "Sorry to make you take back your words already, but we're having a strategy meeting while our defeat is still fresh on our minds."

Izetta's fork slows down as she sheepishly looks at Bianca from the corner of her eye.

"Oh, don't worry about it. As you said, it's just a learning experience. You just picked the hardest scenario. I still have complete faith in all of you." Finé reaches over to put a hand over Izetta's free one. "After all, I know just how awesome Izetta, or since you all know anyway, my girlfriend is."

"Haha, thank you, we'll keep that in mind. See you lovebirds later then." With that, Bianca leaves the scene.

"Thank you for everything you do again!"

Meanwhile, Izetta's hands and mouth have stopped moving as she feels steam coming out of her ears.

Finé notices and picks up another fork, bringing a morsel close to Izetta. "Here, say ahh…"

"W-Wa-aa?" Izetta sputters. "Princess, that's too embarrassing! And even if they know already, having people watch is… is…"

"I don't see anybody watching."

Izetta spins around. The guards that were stationed to keep watch over Finé are now surrounding the table from a distance and looking outwards, away from the couple. 'Huh? When did they turn away?'

"So? Ahh?" Finé coaxes.

Izetta closes her eyes as her blush deepens. Her mouth opens and Finé slips in the fork slowly. Izetta bites down and Finé pulls the fork out. Izetta chews as her eyes slowly open. Finé smiles as Izetta swallows.

'…It's sweeter than usual…'