Chapter: 41. Inference
After hearing Xiya’s question, Miss Shaya had to pause her small hands that were packing snacks.
Instead, she gave Xiya a thumbs-up for encouragement! Then she continued to pack snacks.
“Good question, Xiya. It’s rare for you to ask a question of such caliber. The last time someone asked a question of this level was when you asked whether the big fish should be braised or steamed.”
“The importance of these two questions can’t be compared, right?! No, wait… do I really sound that foolish when I talk?”
“Hehe… not really. It’s better for you to be a bit foolish, your IQ is certainly enough for a normal person, but as a hero, you might lack some judgment.”
“……”
Is my IQ sufficient for a normal person…?
For a moment, Xiya didn’t know whether Xue Fei was complimenting her or scolding her.
Oh, I get it!
In simple terms, it means that under the current circumstances, my IQ is not enough!
Xue Fei: See, I told you, she at least possesses the wisdom of a normal person.
In the distance, the sounds of swords clashing from knight training echoed like the cry of a phoenix. In the open kingdom knight training ground surrounded by red-bricked sculptures, a cool autumn breeze passed by as they sat on the bench in this corridor.
The autumn wind danced with falling leaves, carrying a piece of early autumn foliage, as if it wanted to play with Xue Fei, landing playfully in her flowing black hair and not wanting to leave.
Xiya carefully helped Xue Fei remove the small leaves from her hair.
At the same time, Xue Fei began to respond to the question that Xiya had raised earlier.
“There’s no need to worry about this. Are you afraid the Church State will take any action to bother me?”
“Yes… according to the ‘Shaya’ we’ve created, her abilities can balance the Demon Race to a certain extent, and she holds strategic value. You know that the Church State tried to steal the Holy Sword hundreds of years ago; although they ultimately failed, it indicates that as long as they have their eyes on something valuable in the kingdom, they’re willing to do anything to possess it.”
“The Holy Sword is a thing, but I’m not a thing.”
“……”
Damn it, Xue Fei, this little mouth of yours sometimes criticizes yourself!
She had already realized that this statement seemed inappropriate, but Xue Fei, being stubborn, was not one to get tangled up over words.
With a slight frown, she pretended to brush off the dust from her shin, managing to divert the topic.
“Well… what I mean is, if the Corea Church State wants to steal something from Aulus Kingdom, they have to consider if it’s valuable to them.”
“‘Shaya,’ this being with special magical protection, isn’t that valuable enough?”
“‘Shaya’ is valuable in Aulus Kingdom. In Corea Church State, it may not be of value.”
“?”
I didn’t understand! I didn’t get it!
Xiya had been feeling anxious about her intelligence lately!
Xue Fei knew that this way of saying it was probably hard for her to comprehend.
So, she picked up a fallen leaf that had settled on the hem of her skirt and held it up in front of her.
“In the eyes of the Church State, the Holy Sword Xial is a lifeless object, a source of magical power without independent consciousness. Such a convenient yet threatening item would naturally make them think about stealing it. They believe it’s all just the power of the Human Race, and having the Holy Sword in their hands would make them feel safer. Another important reason is that the magical power of the Holy Sword does not only target the Demon Race; it can also inflict harm on the Church State.”
Throwing away the leaf, Xue Fei’s petite finger pointed at a large red ant that was busily transporting snack bread crumbs on the ground.
“And ‘Shaya’ is alive. In our setting, she is a poor girl born in Aulus Kingdom, living a miserable life, helped by the kingdom and recognized by the king, then saved by the kingdom’s hero. So do you think a girl like that, if forcibly taken to the Church State, would serve them? The biggest difference between living things and lifeless objects is that living things can run away and are hard to control.”
As she spoke, Xue Fei deliberately broke off a piece of the bread crumb and offered it to the large ant. Just as the ant paused, Xue Fei snatched the crumb back and put it in her mouth.
If ants could speak, they’d be swearing up a storm right now.
Listening closely to every word that Xue Fei was saying, Xiya still couldn’t fully relax.
“But the Church State is greedy… what if they don’t want the kingdom to have ‘Shaya’ even if they can’t control her?”
“They don’t have that need. We shouldn’t underestimate the intelligence of that old man, the Pope.”
Intelligence…!
Now, whenever Xiya hears this word, she feels a bit uncomfortable and her head aches!
After chuckling lightly a couple of times, Xue Fei continued.
“The person who can become the highest ruler of a country, if he doesn’t have innate intelligence issues, certainly is not foolish. Just think about it, if ‘Shaya’ can help humans deal with the Demon Race in Aulus Kingdom, she might become useless in the Corea Church State due to emotional issues. Since that is the case, why would the Church State, which also risks being attacked by the Demon Race, take the risk of doing useless work by taking Shaya away? Wouldn’t it be better for her to help in the kingdom against the Demon Race? The Pope isn’t completely lacking in a big-picture perspective!”
The battle between the Human Race and the Demon Race has lasted for a long time; the kingdom has exhausted its resources to barely maintain a standoff with a single sixth-winged demon under the constraints of racial balance.
Now, the situation is becoming increasingly unclear. The Church State is not entirely ignorant of the principle of “the lips perish and the teeth remain.” If it were otherwise, they wouldn’t have supported the kingdom all these years. This shows that even if they have their own thoughts, they are still wary of the Demon Race. If the kingdom truly reaches the brink of collapse, they will definitely intervene, but it’s not that time yet.
Saying all this, Xiya might not understand.
But Xue Fei’s next statement suddenly woke the foolish hero up.
“The key is that, unlike the Holy Sword, ‘Shaya’s’ abilities do not pose a threat to the Church State. Remember, ‘Shaya’s innate ability’ can only target high-tier demons. The resonance with the Holy Sword in the palace was just the magical power of the Holy Sword; the hero could do that too.”
“No, I can’t do that.” Xiya was very honest; she did not believe she could unleash the magical power of the Holy Sword to that extent.
“Ahem! Just tell Xial and you’ll be able to do it! In short, regarding Shaya’s strength, she’s only at the sixth stage, and I bet the Pope, upon hearing this, would wave his hand and say, ‘Ah~~ let her be~~.'”
Xue Fei deliberately imitated the clumsy way an elderly person would speak, not only failing to sound old but also appearing somewhat adorably lively.
Suddenly enlightened, Xiya now completely understood why there was no need to worry.
“…Now that I think about it, it’s true! Did you guess this, Xue Fei, that’s why you said it this way back then…?”
“Oh, no, I didn’t. You mentioned your previous academy’s minimum level was fifth stage; I had to save some face for myself, right? Seventh stage was a bit over the top, fourth stage was unreasonable, so I chose sixth stage to be above everyone else! Yay!”
“But that truly is the most fitting statement.”
“Oh right, and I mentioned the Church State’s wild dogs, hinting at something else, you still remember that, right? That Prime Minister, filled with resentment, will definitely tell the Pope, and upon hearing this, the Pope will be even more convinced that Shaya not only relies on the kingdom but also has a negative impression of the Church State and is uncontrollable.”
“Xue Fei is amazing…! Do you always think so far ahead before doing something?”
“Maybe because before I catch each fish, I think clearly about whether to braise it or steam it, so I end up thinking far.”
“So these two things aren’t related at all…”
Xiya lightly tapped her head, perhaps hoping to gain some intelligence to help Xue Fei.
On another note… she was also feeling increasingly proud of her Xue Fei.
She is truly impressive; it seems like she’s not thinking about anything, but she has actually considered everything thoroughly.
Indeed… with the ongoing war between the kingdom and the Demon Race, the Church State has long seen how strong the Demon Territory is. Now that they have heard about a genius girl appearing on the kingdom’s side, adept at sealing the Demon Race, the Church State naturally wouldn’t pose a threat to her safety.
Just like hundreds of years ago, when they tried to steal the Holy Sword, only to find it unusable later. The Church State neither attempted to destroy it nor threw the sword into the sea; instead, they returned it to the kingdom properly.
Ultimately, interests are interests; thoughts are thoughts. The Pope can sit in his position because he knows what can be done and what cannot be done.
Just as Xiya’s mood was becoming stable…
Xue Fei suddenly directed her gaze towards the knight corps training area and spoke these words.
It made Xiya’s heart jump again!
“By the way… are there several pointed-eared female knights training over there? Are they from the Elf Race? Speaking of this, that race is really strange; although their numbers are not small, it’s hard to find one that looks ugly. Maybe the Elf Forest’s Ainos has good soil and water?”
“Uh, Xue Fei, why are you suddenly saying this… about good looks… could it be that you want to…”
“No, don’t tarnish my innocence; I just want to ask why there are elves training in the Human Race’s knight corps.”
“Really…”
“Or else?”
Xue Fei looked at Xiya, whose attitude had suddenly become strange, tilted her head in confusion, and then it seemed like she suddenly understood something. She leaned forward on the seat and got closer to Xiya!
Showing her small tiger teeth and a mischievous smile appeared on her face.
“Hehe… Xiya, Xiya, you’re not jealous, are you~?”
“I… why would I be jealous?!” Xiya suddenly became nervous upon hearing this.
What is it with Xue Fei… that she saw through the truth?! Is it because of those eyes that see through illusions?! But that shouldn’t have this effect, right?!
However, the following words from Xue Fei seemed to differ slightly from what Xiya was worried about.
“It’s that. When I mentioned that Livra was pretty before, you had the same reaction. I’ve heard about it! This theory says—when you’re an older sister, you don’t want your younger sister to say that other girls are prettier than you. It’s like a bond of recognition between family, right! Don’t worry! You’re not really jealous, it’s just a psychology. Moreover, they aren’t as pretty as you; didn’t I already say that? The girls from the Elf Forest are good-looking on average, but they don’t represent the extreme value. Your extreme value is stronger than theirs, so you should have more confidence! Hahaha!”
“Between family…?”
“Ah? Did I say something wrong?”
“No, you were quite right.”
“I told you! I’m the best at analysis and inference!”
Alright… Xiya might need to rephrase that.
Xue Fei is very smart, and very good at analysis.
But in some aspects, she can also be somewhat slow.
Looking at this carefree, innocent smile in front of her, seemingly celebrating her victory in deduction…
Xiya felt a bit curious about what expression Xue Fei would have when she found out her deduction was completely wrong.
Just wait, Xue Fei.
Whether the sister is really jealous or just pretending will be something you will experience.
“Ah.” After laughing, Xue Fei’s curiosity flared up again, “So why are there elves in the Human Race’s knight corps? That’s strange.”
