Chapter 69

Just a moment ago, I thought it was just a wolf plushie, how peculiar. But why does it look so cool now?

Even though the carriage was nice, walking was also good. They handed their luggage to the coachman and walked down the street.

They would look at items through the windows and talk about plays.

Diala also mentioned the wolves who were eyeing the mountain strawberries jam.

The café they arrived at was a luxurious place with a glass front.

Lirika sat down, exclaiming in admiration. The atmosphere was completely different from the palace, making it very refreshing.

Partitions appropriately screened the seating areas. Diala ordered coffee and got Lirika an ice cream.

When the drinks arrived, Diala stirred the glass with a straw and said,

"Didn't you say before that we should discuss using fangs?"

"Yeah, I did."

Diala shrugged.

"When I asked Mother, she said I could do as I pleased. I knew she was like that, but it was as expected."

This was the first time Lirika had heard about Diala's parents. Come to think of it, Diala mentioned being born between a wolf and a Sandar.

"What about Father?"

She asked cautiously. Diala smiled wryly.

"Oh, he's even less interested in me."

Diala continued as if it didn't matter.

"Besides, they weren't even married. Mother just had me because she got pregnant."

The straw stirred roughly in the glass.

"But it's okay. I'm fine now."

Whether it was a wolf or a Sandar, it didn't matter.

"We're the mountain strawberry alliance, after all."

Lowering her voice, the princess smiled brightly.

"That's right."

They were so engrossed in the café that they didn't notice the commotion outside.

Puzzled by the murmurs, Lirika turned her head. Diala immediately went into combat mode, her senses on high alert.

Screams!!

Then a sharp, piercing scream rang out. At the same time, there was a commotion.

Diala grabbed Lirika. Just as they had easily pushed through the crowd earlier, Diala ran out of the café before the panicked people could gather at the entrance.

"Monster!"

"Monster!!"

"Run!"

"Save me!!"

Monster!

Lirika recalled the monsters Uba had told her about. So many terrifying monsters!

But not in a flood? In the capital? Monsters?

She took out the pendulum from her pocket. It's better to have your weapon ready in a crisis.

Attil taught her that.

Then a low, rumbling sound echoed. The ground shook.

"Princess!"

Diala tackled Lirika as a tall bell tower began to collapse.

'Ah.'

Feeling Diala's arms tightly around her, Lirika managed to speak.

"Ruba (Stop)!"

At the same moment, the collapsing bell tower froze in mid-air. Diala, who had her eyes tightly shut, somehow sensed the situation and ran with Lirika in her arms, escaping from under the falling tower.

Only then did she turn around and see the bell tower leaning and frozen in mid-air, as if it had been frozen in time.

"Goodness."

"It can't be maintained any longer."

It wasn't a proper spell incantation. The ancient language that blurted out was ridiculously inefficient compared to a refined incantation.

Thinking about whether to release the restraint, Lirika used her last bit of strength. The bell tower slowly descended, as if a giant had picked it up and gently placed it on the ground.

Some people stopped to watch the scene.

It was time to run, but the sight of people being held back was alarming.

Ding dong

Then a cheerful bell sound rang out. Lirika looked up at the sound coming from the air and saw a small, cute unicorn plushie floating there.

"Huh?"

Is that a monster?

A look of confusion appeared on Lirika's face as the small plushie rolled its front hooves again.

Ding dong ding dong

"Princess! Princess, where are you?!"

Diala suddenly screamed. Lirika was startled and turned to look at Diala.

"Diala? Are you okay?! Can't you see me? I'm here!"

Diala pushed her away.

"Monster! Give me back the princess!"

"What? Wait!"

Diala pulled out a dagger from her thigh. Lirika shouted to avoid it.

"Kenta (Steel Shield)!"

Diala's sharp attack was blocked by a milky white shield. But the problem wasn't just Diala. People started screaming, and it seemed they were thinking of each other as monsters.

Ding dong ding dong

'It's because of that sound!'

Lirika was at a loss. She had never cast two spells at the same time.

'What should I do?'

Tears welled up. It was scary that Diala was attacking her. It was also scary to see people hurting each other.

Her legs trembled.

'Pull yourself together! It's because of the sound, so I need to block the sound.'

Lirika remembered the gold coin talisman she had hung inside her collar. Since it had blocked the magic gun, it should be able to block Diala's attack once.

She had devised a spell to block sound when making a noise-canceling ring, so reversing it was easy.

As she released her own shield, Lirika shouted,

"Kansa (Sound Shield)!"

A round, fishbowl-like object was placed over Diala's head. Diala's sword swung down toward her head. Lirika shut her eyes tightly, but there was no pain.

She couldn't hear anything. Opening one eye slightly, she saw Diala looking bewildered and talking.

But she couldn't hear anything.

"What, no, what should I do?"

The Sound Shield seemed to block not only external sounds but also internal ones.

Confused, Diala grabbed Lirika's shoulders and opened her mouth wide.

Speak.