The Sekirei’s Covenant

"Sora, goodbye! You must come to play with Alice again next time!"

Waving her small hand, Princess Alice smiled brightly at Sora on the helicopter.

"Still want to play? Got it, got it. Goodbye!"

Also waving at the girl, Sora forced a stiff smile and hurriedly urged the pilot.

With a face full of disbelief, recalling the recent scenes, this so-called princess had made him play hide-and-seek, tag, and throw stones…

Alright, Sora admitted his intelligence had plummeted because of this princess. He secretly vowed never to play these childish games again!

Well, Sora was a fool born into fortune, not realizing how lucky he was. Many people in the world would love to play with Princess Alice but never get the chance, yet he complained!

Besides, probably only he could see this noble and elegant princess's childish side.

Watching Sora disappear into the sky, a trace of reluctance flashed in Princess Alice's eyes, but a sly smile curved her lips. Her spirit form instantly dissolved into Countless specks of light and vanished.

…

Meanwhile, in the Duke's mansion—

"Princess, can you explain what exactly happened?"

Standing before Princess Alice was a woman in her thirties, hair tied up, wearing thin-framed glasses. Despite being adored by many, she now looked angry and questioning.

Patricia Ericson, responsible for the princess's daily life and also handling diplomacy and communication—essentially the governess and tutor.

"Oh dear, teacher, what are you talking about? I don't understand a bit."

Though worried, the princess put on a playful act, sipping her coffee elegantly as she replied.

"Hehe, Princess, are you still not telling the truth? Have you forgotten that every corner of the house is monitored by the world's most advanced surveillance equipment?"

A cold sneer escaped. If the princess had only occasionally acted out in the past, Patricia might have let it slide. But this time, she simply could not indulge her any longer—secretly letting a strange man in? What if something dangerous happened?!

"Oh, right. I completely forgot."

She looked as if she had just remembered, but there was no trace of panic on the princess's face. She calmly continued to enjoy her delicious coffee at a leisurely pace.

How long had it been now? Sitting in this courtyard with her own body, savoring the rich taste on her lips while feeling the gentle breeze…

"Princess, you…"

Seeing the princess showing no sign of guilt, Patricia was furious and about to say something, but suddenly stopped. Her eyes widened as if she had discovered something incredible, her face full of astonishment.

"Hehehe, teacher, you finally noticed, huh? This isn't a spirit anymore, but the real Alice! How is it? Pretty amazing, right?"

Standing up, Alice grabbed Miss Patricia's hands and spun her around with a playful smile, as if she had been waiting for this surprised reaction all along.

"Impossible… Could it be that Your Highness's body has recovered? Your body is really healed?"

Her hands trembling, Patricia tightly grasped the princess's shoulders, repeatedly asking. The overwhelming excitement made her almost incoherent.

"Mm, it was thanks to Sora's help. He's quite a miraculous guy, and also very interesting. Next time, I'll introduce him to you, teacher."

Looking at Patricia, who had tirelessly cared for her all these years, the princess gave a sweet smile and planned to introduce Sora to her next time.

"That's wonderful! That's wonderful! Princess, please don't run off. I'll go find the doctor to check you immediately. Please don't run away!"

Filled with endless joy and excitement, Patricia no longer cared about Sora or anything else. All she wanted was to quickly bring the doctor to examine the princess and confirm that this was not a dream. She had already forgotten her previous purpose, gave the princess a quick instruction, and hurried off to contact the princess's personal doctor.

Seeing Patricia leave, the princess did not stop her and gracefully sat back down in her chair, continuing to enjoy her delicious coffee.

"Sora is very sensitive to both magical and mental energy. If we used the previous method, he would definitely detect it. But Alice has already thought of a good idea."

A sly, fox-like smile tugged at the corner of her lips. Princess Alice pulled out a small remote control from somewhere and pressed a button. Instantly, a light screen projected out.

On the screen, a boy was sound asleep, leaning against the window inside a helicopter…

…

"Mr. Sora, Sardinia Island has been reached. Please prepare to disembark."

Above Sardinia Island, the pilot spoke through the headset to the still sleeping Sora.

"Ah? Already here? That was pretty fast!"

"Thanks, uncle!"

Rubbing his eyes and looking outside, Sora realized he was already above a small island town, which should be his destination, Sardinia Island. After thanking the middle-aged pilot, Sora slung his long sword and the Prometheus' Grimoire on his back and jumped out.

The middle-aged pilot was stunned, his face turning pale. "That kid, that kid! I told you to prepare to get off, not to jump out right now!"

A few seconds later, when he saw the kid waving at him from the top of a tall building below, the pilot's expression relaxed and he let out a long sigh.

He thought to himself, "No wonder he's a friend of Princess Alice. Mr. Sora is indeed a powerful magician." Filled with admiration and amazement, the pilot turned the helicopter back toward London…

…

"Lucretia Zola… Lucretia Zola…"

Walking down the streets of Sardinia Island town, Sora kept repeating the name of the person the old man had told him to find.

Looking at the crooked, unfamiliar characters around him and listening to the incomprehensible chatter nearby, Sora suddenly realized a frustrating and hopeless fact: he had no idea where this Lucretia Zola was!

"Hey, kid, is this yours?"

Just as Sora was worrying about how to find this Zola person in a place where he couldn't understand the language or writing, a voice came from behind him, startling him. He quickly turned around.

"When did you get here?!"

Even usually calm Sora showed a hint of surprise. A boy with a strange mark on his forehead, dressed in ancient robes, had appeared behind him.

Moreover, the boy was holding the Prometheus' Grimoire stone tablet that the old man had entrusted Sora to return to someone else!

To silently approach Sora and take something from him—Sora wasn't bragging, but very few people in the world could do that! At least, until now, no one except this suddenly appearing boy had managed it!

What made Sora even more serious was that although the boy was standing right there, Sora could not sense any aura from him. This was not because the boy was weak, but because his power far exceeded Sora's!

"I sensed my power for a moment just now and came to check it out. I didn't expect it to be the 'White Horse' sealed by that man's power. Interesting, very interesting…"

Rubbing his chin and examining the worn stone tablet, the boy looked no older than eleven or twelve, but his tone was unusually mature and worldly, even speaking in an archaic manner.

"This is mine. Please return it to me."

Although knowing the boy was likely a formidable being, Sora was only slightly surprised. He quickly regained his composure and spoke in his usual tone.

The boy was slightly stunned, then looked up at Sora with a strange expression.

The next moment, the boy suddenly laughed loudly:

"Ha ha ha… Interesting, interesting. You are a fine warrior. This thief actually said that!"

"Very well, I shall grant it to you, boy."

Speaking nonsense, the robed boy tossed the Prometheus' Grimoire to Sora.

Just as Sora was about to put the stone tablet away and distance himself from this somewhat eccentric kid, something unexpected happened…