The Rebirth of Evelyn Knox

The green-haired girl puffed up, as if the one being praised was herself.

"Of course, Princess Arial, whom I have served my entire life, believes that war is not a game. She believes that though we may need to pick up arms when the time comes, and we must surely be ready at that time, but now is not the time. Of course, as soon as Princess Arial spoke her mind to the Empress, the previous debate became moot."

Evelyn pretended to be confused, frowning pitifully.

"I don't really get it… Aren't the Aquans still a part of the Earthbound Alliance?"

Eula sighed. "Of course. But since the alliance is made up of three major powers, can they force us to go to a war they started when we don't need to?"

'She sure knows a lot! I'm guessing even the top echelons may only know so much. That princess of hers must really trust her quite a bit.'

The pink-haired girl scratched her head, still 'confused'.

"Hm… but if you disagree with it, don't you have to leave the alliance then?"

Eula turned her head around to ensure no other students were nearby before leaning in closer to the little girl.

"Well, I'll admit even I don't know all the details, but I can ask the princess later. Anyway, what I do know is that Lumenzarha supported Terrazyme in their decision to go to war against Lavinian Empire, and by extension, the Thunderstep Alliance."

Evelyn nodded. She had already guessed that much.

"As the majority vote wins, the alliance's decision was made in favour of the war. But since Aquavahn voted against it, we are not required to directly participate in any battle.

Anyway, even they should know we'll just leave the alliance if they force it, and although it will incur losses, they lose more than us. Can they afford it right as they are about to go to war? Of course not. So we're in the war only in name. In a way, we remained neutral."

The pink-haired girl looked 'enlightened' as she smiled. "Alright, I think I get it now. So basically, the King must have known about how much the Empress dotes on her daughter, and thought that if he had her married to his son, she would change her decision?"

Eula scoffed. "I have absolutely no idea what that papa toad thought, but his idea was absolutely trash. To begin with, our princess does not like men. And even if she liked men, she would not like that toad!"

Evelyn blinked. 'Wow… wouldn't the princess be mad if she knew Eula is spreading that around? Or does everyone already know this?'

If it was already well known, then the Terran King was more of an idiot than she thought.

Evelyn continued probing the green-haired prefect for more details regarding her empire as well as the nearby regions, but she made sure not to dig in too deep anymore.

Although Eula was quite naïve, she didn't want to attract her suspicion for no reason, especially considering she had no intention of harming the girl. Why lose a friend?

After a while, she moved on from the serious topics. "So, what's the story behind the 'toad' thing?"

Eula chuckled, as if just remembering it brought her delight. "Heh, so, basically that bastard Craig kept pestering princess Ariel, and she finally had enough. So she challenged him to a duel where he would be barred from ever entering the Aquan Imperial Palace again if he lost."

The pink-haired girl blinked. 'I wonder if they'll still count that wager if Craig becomes the King. Wouldn't it be absurd to stop him from entering an allied country's main palace?'

The green-haired girl giggled as she continued her story.

"That moron was stupid enough to agree without discussing any terms, so the princess took him to our underwater arena where his stupid toadlike jumping ability is severely hampered."

Evelyn blinked curiously. "Toadlike jumping ability?"

"Ahh, I guess not many people know. Basically, he has the really strange skill which allows him to jump insanely fast through the air, like a frog. But he can only do it from solid ground, and he's much slower under water too. Still, it's easy to get caught off guard."

The green-haired girl shook her head. "No, sorry, let me correct that. It's more like, it's very difficult to guard against. He's got a grudge against you, so maybe one day in the future you may have to fight him, so don't be an idiot at that time. Even if you somehow manage to catch up to his level, he's still very, very strong!"

The pink-haired girl nodded. "Don't worry, Eula. I'll remember it."

It was an unexpected harvest to get to know one of Craig's stronger skills, sure, but just knowing about it did little to change the vast difference in their levels.

Even if she knew where a punch was coming from, it wouldn't make a difference if it was too fast for her to dodge and too strong for her to block. She would still get hit just the same.

This is why she had to do everything she could to get stronger as soon as possible. Improving her base stats and level meant that her plans would become more reliable, and her skills would become far more valuable.

Eula smiled. "Right, back to the story! So, that bastard got tricked like a moron that he is. But of course, even if he fought fairly, I believe our princess wouldn't lose."

Evelyn could guess what happened next, and as expected, Eula went on an almost ten minute tirade recounting all manners of beatdowns and humiliations that Prince Craig suffered that day.

It had to be said that Princess Arial was a total cheater and a bully. Not only did she arrange the arena in her favour, she also used her three spirit beasts as well as the national array to completely crush Prince Craig.

And although she could have just completely suppressed him to claim her win, she toyed around with him instead, not even letting him surrender until she got bored of kicking him around.

"That idiot had probably never suffered such a humiliating defeat in his life. And to end things with a fanfare, our princess used her transmutation curse as always. So just like all the other opponents she has defeated, he was also turned into a real, genuine toad for seven days and nights."

No wonder he hated her so much! Even if Eula didn't provoke him, she would still become his target just by being a close friend of princess Arial.

But Evelyn had to admit, she wanted to meet this princess Arial herself. Not on bad terms, of course, but that shouldn't be difficult, considering that Eula was already more or less on her side.

Right?