Under the dim lighting of the Dancing Butterfly Manor, a faint blush could be seen forming on Charlotte’s beautiful face. She softly placed her dainty hands on Roel’s chest and used her fingers to measure the breadth of Roel’s chest.

  Roel felt awkward at the situation. The two of them were so close that all it took was a step forward to embrace her soft body. He could feel Charlotte’s warm breath tickling his neck, and it sent a shudder to run through his body.

  “Ah. Did I tickle you by accident?” asked Charlotte.

  “No, it’s fine.”


  Roel turned his head away and refuted her question. Charlotte stared at him intently for a while when realization suddenly struck her. Her lips curled upward. Instead of taking a step back, she took another step forward.

  “Is that so? I’ll continue then,” said Charlotte with a teasing note to her voice.

  She placed her finger on Roel’s chest once more and resumed her measurement of his chest, but her focus wasn’t on the measurement this time around. She kept fidgeting during her measurement, causing her body to constantly lean in and bump into Roel’s.

  The softness that occasionally pressed against him sent Roel’s heartbeat racing. He quickly turned his head back, only to be met with Charlotte’s innocent expression. She looked back at him with her clear emerald eyes and asked in confusion.

  “Is there something wrong, darling?”


  “… It’s nothing.”


  Not knowing how to approach this embarrassing subject, Roel was left with no choice but to avert his gaze once more. However, Charlotte’s warm breath once again tickled his neck.

  She’s sticking too close!

  Roel mentally retorted as he tried his best to keep his composure.

  On the other hand, Charlotte was getting more and more absorbed in her teasing, especially when she noticed the gradual reddening of Roel’s cheeks. It took her all she had to hold back her laughter, but it still didn’t take long for him to catch onto her prank.

  Under the dim lighting, Roel turned to look at her and suddenly asked a question.

  “Charlotte, are you sure that you can measure my chest like this?”


  “Of course. I can’t say the same for amateur designers, but I am a professional. Darling, you have to trust me.”


  Seeing the earnest look on Charlotte’s face, Roel nodded understandingly before adding on.

  “I see, I see… Is that the reason why you have been measuring my chest to and fro for over ten times now?”


  “!”


  Charlotte’s movement froze to a halt. She realized that she had gotten too engrossed in her teasing that she forgot to change her movements. Her emerald eyes widened as she took a step back and attempted to explain herself, but it was all too late.

  Roel took a step forward in response to her movement and hooked his arm around Charlotte’s waist, not allowing her to escape. Before she could even react, he leaned in and exhaled lightly on her delicate ears.

  The effects were immediate.

  “Ah!”


  The unexpected assault brought out a shocked exclamation from Charlotte, but Roel didn’t halt his attack just because of that. She tried her best to endure it, but in the end, she was still left with no choice but to beg for mercy.

  “Wait. No, not there. I’m sensitive over there! Stop!”


  “I-I was wrong. I shouldn’t have teased you. Forgive me, alright…”


  “Ah! I-I really am going to collapse at this rate! Stop it!”


  Charlotte tried to make peace, but Roel wasn’t buying into it. She had teased him for so long that he was determined to get his revenge. Under his tickling, her body slowly grew limp, her face reddened, and her breathing hastened.

  All of a sudden, a series of knocks echoed from the door.

  Tok tok tok!

  “!”


  The sudden knocks alarmed the duo who were practically embracing each other, prompting them to part at lightning speed. At the same time, the Rosaian student outside the door voiced her concern.

  “Lord Charlotte, did something happen?”


  “N-not at all! Pay no heed to it!”


  “Understood.”


  Both Roel and Charlotte heaved sighs of relief. They looked at each other quietly for a moment before bursting into laughter.

  After a short moment of fooling around, Charlotte felt much better than before, and Roel was relieved to see that she was in a better mood. Charlotte proceeded to properly take Roel’s measurements before reluctantly seeing him off.

  “You still have battles to fight. All the best, darling.”


  “I will.”


  Roel left the Dancing Butterfly Manor with the blessings from the fair maiden.

  …


  “Challengers, step onto the field.”


  Several days later, the semifinals of the Challenger Cup commenced in the colosseum.

  Roel and Teresa stood on both ends of the field, their fans cheering loudly from the spectator stand.

  Roel’s victory over Kurt had compelled fans of the giant to defect to his side. He could spot banners containing Grandar’s name held high all around the colosseum. Practically everyone from the Theocracy and Rosa was cheering for him, especially those from the Goldenrose, Redrose, and Bluerose Factions.

  As for Teresa, her fan base was more diverse. Most were from the Austine Empire and the Knight Kingdom, but she had plenty of fans from Brolne and the other smaller countries too.

  If the concept of ‘eye candy’ existed on the Sia Continent, Teresa definitely fitted under that category, though the same could be said about Roel too.

  Over the course of the tournament, Roel had gained a disproportionately huge number of female fans. He had been a looker ever since he was a child, and he had never lost in a battle of appearance to those of the same gender before.

  Before the battle even began, the fans were already screaming their voices out to boost the morale of the two challengers. It was under such an atmosphere that the organizing committee stepped forward and proceeded with the usual routine.

  “Selecting the Battlefield.”


  “21st Field, Skerry Sea.”


  There was a huge commotion following the selection of the terrain.

  Roel quickly recalled the traits of Skerry Sea.

  As the name suggested, Skerry Sea was a coastal region filled with sea stacks, but what was unusual about these sea stacks was how they were peeking above the water surfaces like little islands. The larger ones were huge enough for a small village to live on, whereas the smaller ones could be hard for even a person to stand on.

  It was not an easy terrain to maneuver in due to the inconsistent pathing, and the demonic beasts lurking inside the waters made it a risk to travel from sea stack to sea stack. Most spellcasters would opt to launch long-range attacks at their opponent and destroy their footing.