Diane could not believe her own eyes. One of her family mbers was alive right in front of her. Her sister, no less, but Tanya’s cold expression left no room for a warm family reunion.
"Was there no more dramatic way to make that revelation?" Tanya’s boss asked.
The girl turned to him and simply said, "I did not say it with the intention of sounding dramatic."
"Tanya, you’re alive..." Diane said, her hands slowly reaching towards the girl with dyed hair, as if she would only believe it if she touched her and Tanya did not dissolve into smoke.
But before Diane could graze her, her younger sister suddenly slapped Diane’s hand away.
"Please do not touch , big sis," Tanya said in an emotionless voice. "As you can see, I am very much alive."
Diane looked annoyed as she rubbed the hand that had just been slapped.
"Yeah, I noticed," she retorted to Tanya.
"I truly was surprised to see you around here, so far from the Capital," Tanya said to her, without the slightest remorse for the slap.
I was surprised by what the girl said. "So you know where Diane works?"
"mber of the Royal Guard and Princess Alicia’s number one bodyguard. Yes, I know that very well."
I could not contain the anxiety growing in my chest. If she knew that, it ant she probably knew the blonde girl was in the city. Vulcan had his eye closed and a serious expression as he listened to everything that was happening, but he did not seem to want to get involved in what was going on inside his tent, and Falco followed his boss’s example.
"What do you want?" I asked Diane’s sister.
"I thought Vulcan had already told you." Tanya tilted her head to the side. "I want to turn Diane into my slave."
Diane’s confused gaze was replaced by a frown as she looked at the woman before her, staring at her for a while.
Now that the truth had been brought to light, I could see similarities in their figures, aside from the artificial color of their hair and the fact that the older sister had more curves on her body. The emotionless way they spoke and their fair, flawless skin that looked soft to the touch really were quite similar.
"I see. This is because I ran away with the man who attacked our village and beca his servant," Diane said, assuming the reason behind her sister’s desire to punish her. "It is only natural that you would see that as betrayal and want revenge on for it."
"Diane," I said to her, "the way you are talking makes it sound like you are prepared to accept the punishnt."
"Of course not," my Valkyrie retorted. "Just because I understand the reason does not an I intend to do as she wants."
"What are you talking about, sister?" Tanya asked the white-haired girl.
"Eh?" Diane was surprised by Tanya’s reaction. "What do you an?"
"I think you are too hasty, jumping to conclusions like that. As expected of the heir of the Stollen clan, a true know-it-all."
Tanya’s voice was as emotionless as a machine, but her words were as venomous as a serpent. She certainly had sothing against her sister.
"Diane, I never liked you. Actually, I kind of despise you." Tanya had a smile on her face. "This has nothing to do with the Stollens. I fight for myself. My problem with you is personal, Diane. And now it seems the gods have given the opportunity to settle the score with you."
Diane fell silent, looking down while her younger sister said what was on her mind about her. Tanya seed very pleased with herself for saying such terrible things to her sister.
"It was a huge pain, not only being born into our clan, but also being your sister. And I want Diane to feel the pain I felt. For that, I am going to turn you into my pet."
"Are you joking?" I asked in the face of the absurdity she was spouting.
"Why would I joke about sothing like this?" Tanya asked, as if I had lost my mind for asking such a question.
At this point, I would rather try my luck fighting them so Diane would not have to go through sothing like that. Finally, Vulcan decided to break his silence.
"So, what do you think of our offer?" he asked . After so much shit from Tanya, my patience with them was at its limit.
"Your offer stinks!" I said to him bluntly.
"Sorry about that, but the second I told my second-in-command about her sister, I had to make you guys listen to her wish. I owe her a lot, y’know?" Vulcan said to us while taking out a new cigar.
He lit his cigar and casually sank back into his chair. It was clear that he did not really care what happened to us. As long as he was satisfied with the results, nothing else mattered.
"Let give you a third alternative, Mr. Forster. You see, I may be a businessman today, but my forr life was that of a combat rcenary. I am proud to say that I have never lost a single fight to this day."
’Is that so? I thought those muscles were only for intimidation during negotiations,’ I thought, but kept that thought to myself.
I could already imagine what he was going to say to .
"I am curious. You defeated a Hobgoblin, so perhaps a fight against you would be interesting. If you win a fight against , I will agree to do business with you without any loss on your side. I will not tell anyone that you or one of the girls accompanying you passed through these parts. If you lose, well, you must already understand what you stand to lose."
"Yes, I understand perfectly well." He did not even need to tell .
They knew about Diane. They knew about Alicia. And they wanted . If I lost my fight, I would lose everything. If I was going to face him, I would have to bet everything.
I had already been planning to fight them, with no guarantee that I would win, just so Diane could try to escape. I could not deny that Vulcan’s offer was better than my escape plan.
"Mr. Vulcan," Tanya said, "I cannot accept that."
"Why, Jasmine?" Vulcan asked, using his subordinate’s false na.
"If you let them get away with only that, I will not get my revenge against Diane," Tanya said with an annoyed expression on her face.
Vulcan sighed as if all of that were a huge pain in the ass. "I really want to face this young man, but do you have any additional requests to make things fair for you?"
"I want to face my sister too. And both of them have to win, otherwise they will not be able to leave here." Tanya spoke as if that were a reasonable request.
"Hmm, sounds good," Vulcan said. "That will be your challenge."
The difficulty had increased and our chances had been reduced. But there was nothing we could do except kick their butts.
I looked at Diane, and she nodded to with determination in her eyes. That filled with the will to face those rcenaries.
"We accept your challenge!" I said to them.
"Great!" Vulcan said with a smile on his face.
"Rember, if I win this fight, I will strip Diane of all her clothes, and she will be my little pet forever," Tanya said to .
"Strip her?!" I was startled to hear that comnt.
"Of course. She will be my pet, so it is only natural that she walk around naked, isn’t it?"
"Wait a mont," I said, still processing what she was saying. "When you say pet, you really an with a collar and everything."
"Exactly," she said to as if it were obvious.
That girl might be as beautiful as her sister, but there was sothing ssed up in her head. She had already irritated far too much in a single night, and if I were her opponent, I would not be rciful to her in the slightest.
But there was nothing I could do about that nutcase. Diane was her opponent, and the most I could do was hope that she gave her sister a good beating.
I turned to Vulcan, who was looking at with his one remaining eye. His firepower was not active, but his eye seed to glow like a living fla, stirred by the fury of battle.
"Then it is decided," he said to . "Let us just discuss a few rules. I am undefeated, so I intend to give you a small advantage. I do not want the fight to end too quickly and beco too boring."
"How nice of you," I said to him jokingly. "I only have one demand."
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