Chapter 376: Stubborn Princess

Early in the morning, Eman and the others departed for the Lushao Estate.

The carriage was unlike any ordinary carriage.

Instead of wheels rolling across the road, it floated several meters above the ground, carried through the sky by Sphin. The enormous magical beast moved with surprising grace despite its size. Six passengers sat comfortably inside the carriage while Sphin pulled them effortlessly through the morning clouds.

It was one of Sphin’s abilities, Zero Gravity. It could levitate any object around, turning them weightless.

The view from above was breathtaking. The Imperial Capital gradually became smaller behind them. The tall buildings, enormous walls, busy streets, and countless people looked almost like toys from their current height. Beyond the city stretched vast green fields, forests, rivers, and distant mountains covered by a thin layer of morning mist.

For most of the group, however, the scenery was not what caught their attention.

Their eyes were fixed on the creature pulling their carriage.

"Bro, what kind of monster is this?"

Sitting in front of him, Rolando, the young man with an apple-like haircut, pressed his face against the carriage window and stared at Sphin in disbelief.

He had already encountered many monsters since arriving in this world. Some had been terrifying, while others had been surprisingly cute. After seeing so many strange creatures, Rolando thought he had become somewhat immune to surprises.

But it looks like he had been wrong.

Sphin was simply too extraordinary.

Even by the standards of this world, where magical beasts were common, Sphin was far from ordinary.

Its body resembled a magnificent lion, but its proportions were far more imposing than those of any normal beast. Its silver fur shimmered under the morning sunlight, while its enormous wings stretched outward whenever it changed direction.

But its most unusual feature was its face. Instead of the head of an ordinary beast, Sphin possessed a distinctly human-like face.

At first glance, it was somewhat creepy. Rolando had almost jumped backward when Eman summoned it.

Yet the longer he looked, the more majestic Sphin appeared.

A mysterious emerald glow surrounded its body, particularly around its eyes, mane, and the strange mark covering its forehead. Every movement seemed to carry an almost ethereal quality.

It looked less like an ordinary magical beast and more like a creature that belonged in an ancient legend.

And it was huge.

Sphin was large enough to pull the carriage containing six people without showing any sign of exhaustion.

More astonishingly, it was not traveling along the road.

It was flying.

"Seriously, Bro," Rolando said, still staring outside. "Where did you even find something like that?"

"Bro, is this really a magical beast?"

Before Eman could say something, Mina, who was sitting beside Eman, glanced at him and said, "I have never seen anything like that."

Princess Liya’s eyes sparkled.

"Hey, Big Bro, will you sell it to me?"

Everyone immediately turned toward her.

Eman slowly looked at the princess.

"Big bro?"

For a moment, he wondered if he had heard her correctly.

Princess Liya simply smiled innocently.

"What?"

"Why are you suddenly calling me Big Bro?"

"Because I’m calling Big sis Mina Big Sis."

Hearing the princess, Mina’s face immediately turned hot.

"P-Princess Liya!"

"That’s not important. Just let me buy it," Princess Liya, who was sitting beside Mina, immediately ignored her and insisted on buying Sphin.

"It’s not for sale."

Liya puffed out her cheeks.

"Please, Big Bro."

Eman stared at her for several seconds before sighing.

"No."

"Then let me touch it later."

Eman nodded in resignation upon seeing her stubbornness.

The princess was certainly unpredictable. He also had to admit that he admired her ability to hide her secrets.

If not for the System, Eman would never have discovered that Princess Liya was the same assassin he had encountered before.

On the surface, she was a cheerful and somewhat mischievous princess who enjoyed teasing people. Yet behind that innocent appearance was someone capable of fighting like a trained assassin.

Eman still did not understand why she had become involved with the assassins in the first place.

Was she working for someone? Was she investigating something? Or did she have another reason entirely?

He had no intention of asking her directly. As long as she did not attack him again, he would not expose her secret. However, that did not mean he had lowered his guard. Eman had learned long ago that appearances could be deceiving.

Eman said calmly. "I’m just lucky to find it when I was on a special mission issued by His Majesty.

"I’m jealous. Please sell it to me?" Princess Liya asked once again.

"No."

Her smile disappeared.

"Why?"

"Because it’s priceless."

"But I’ll give you a very good trade."

"Still no."

"I can give you something even more valuable."

"Is it something from the Imperial Treasury?"

"No. I can give you Big Sis Mina."

"..."

Eman didn’t take Princess Liya’s words seriously. However, it was different for Mina. With a red face, she summoned a long sash and bound the princess like a mummy.

"Mhmn mhmmn!" The princess’ muffled voice was hard to understand so they ignored her completely.

On the other hand, the three heroes looked dumbfounded. It was the first time they saw the Princess act and be treated this way. There’s no question that these two stunningly beautiful ladies treated each other as more than sisters.

Surprisingly, Eman’s calmness around these two was also admirable.

Princess Liya wriggled fiercely and she managed to get loose the part of sash that bound her mouth.

"Big sis, you’re mean. And Big bro, I’ll make you change your mind someday."

Eman smiled.

"You can try. But it don’t like noisy people. Right?"

Sphin suddenly released a low growl from outside the carriage.

The sound was not threatening, but it was powerful enough to make the carriage vibrate slightly.

Rolando immediately became excited.

"Did it understand what we were saying?"

"Probably," Eman replied.

"Then that’s even more amazing!"

Rolando leaned closer to the window again.

"Hey!"

Sphin’s head turned slightly.

Rolando froze.

The magical beast’s emerald eyes glanced behind, directly glancing at him.

"Uh..."

Rolando slowly moved away from the window.

"Never mind."

The others burst into laughter.

After the laughter settled, Mina looked toward Eman again.

"So, where did you find it?"

"I found it when I was on a special mission with the elite soldiers."

"Which mission?"

Rolando was the fastest to react.

His curiosity was impossible to suppress.

Eline, who was sitting between Rolando and Emily, immediately turned toward him.

"Rolan, that’s not appropriate."

"Eh? Really?"

Rolando scratched his head.

"S-sorry, bro."

Eline shook her head.

"It’s a special mission. That means he probably isn’t allowed to reveal anything about it."

She looked at Eman.

"Am I right, Mr. Eman?"

Eman nodded with a wry smile."

"Yeah. There are some things I can’t talk about."

"See?"

Eline turned toward Rolando.

"That’s why you shouldn’t ask."

"Understood."

Rolando nodded seriously.

Then, after a few seconds, he whispered.

"But I’m still curious."

Eline sighed.

Eman chuckled.

"Also, just drop the formality."

Eline blinked.

"Excuse me?"

"You keep calling me Mr. Eman. We are about the same age."

Eline hesitated for a moment before smiling.

"Alright, Eman."

"That’s better."

The simple exchange made Eline smile a little more. She was usually careful around people she did not know well. Yet Eman had gradually become someone she could speak to without feeling uncomfortable.

The atmosphere inside the carriage became more relaxed.

Then, unexpectedly, a quiet voice came from the corner.

"B-by the way..."

Everyone turned toward the speaker.

Emily, who had been sitting quietly until then, looked slightly nervous under everyone’s attention.

"W-what do you call it?"

She pointed toward Sphin.

Eman looked outside.

"It’s Sphin."

Emily’s eyes widened.

"Eh?"

For some reason, she looked genuinely shocked.

Eline noticed her reaction.

"Emily?"

"U-uh..."

Emily quickly shook her head.

"It’s nothing."

"You looked surprised."

"I just thought it was kind of a coincidence."

"Coincidence?"

Emily nodded.

"I-I mean, the mythical Sphinx on Earth."

The moment she mentioned it, several people looked toward her.

"Oh."

Eline looked outside again.

"Now that you mention it, Sphin really does look similar."

"Wait."

Rolando turned toward Emily.

"There’s a creature like that on Earth?"

"Not exactly like Sphin," Emily explained. "The Sphinx is a mythical creature from ancient stories. It has a lion’s body and a human head."

Rolando’s expression became complicated.

"So you’re telling me that our worlds have something similar?"

"Apparently."

Princess Liya, who had finally freed herself from the binding sash, suddenly leaned forward.

"Wait! So your world also has magical beasts?"

Her face immediately filled with excitement.

"Well..."

Emily looked uncertain.

"Not real ones."

Princess Liya looked a little disappointed.

"Then what kind of monsters do you have?"

The conversation immediately shifted toward Earth. The princess’s curiosity seemed endless. She asked question after question about Earth. Did people really have no magic? How did they travel without magical beasts? How did their cities function? What were their weapons like? How did people communicate over long distances? Did Earth really have enormous buildings? What was the ocean like?

Eline occasionally answered while Emily and Rolando contributed what they knew. Eman remained silent.

The princess listened with sparkling eyes.

Eman looked toward Sphin. The creature’s emerald eyes glowed beneath the morning sun.

For some reason, Emily’s words remained in his mind.

The Sphinx.

A mythical creature from Earth that happened to resemble a magical beast from this world.

Elder Dark Priest is truly magnificent. To recreate such a creature was truly very surprising.

...

Meanwhile, back at the Imperial Palace, an hour after Eman and the others had departed, another group finally arrived.

The palace guards immediately recognized them. Leading the group was Hero Reena. Beside her was Kanna. Several others followed behind them, all looking somewhat tired after their journey.

The moment Kanna heard about Eman’s visit, she almost jumped in excitement.

"Where is he?"

One of the attendants hesitated.

"Miss Kanna, Lord Eman has already left."

Kanna froze.

"He left?"

"Yes."

"When?"

"Approximately one hour ago."

Her expression immediately collapsed.

"What?"

Kanna’s voice rose.

"Where did he go?"

"He departed for the Lushao Estate."

Kanna stared blankly at the attendant. For several seconds, she did not respond. Then she placed a hand against her forehead.

"I missed him..."

She almost collapsed from frustration.

The journey to the Imperial Palace had already taken longer than expected. Kanna had been looking forward to seeing Eman again.

She had even thought about what she would say when they met. But now, the person she wanted to meet most was already heading in the opposite direction.

Hero Reena noticed Kanna’s expression.

"Don’t worry."

Kanna looked at her.

"How can I not worry?"

Reena smiled.

"He’s going to the Lushao Estate. He isn’t disappearing from the Empire."

"But that’s far away."

"Then wait until he returns."

Kanna sighed.

"That’s all I can do, I guess."

Still, she could not hide her disappointment. She looked toward the palace entrance. Somewhere beyond those enormous doors was the road Eman had taken.

For a brief moment, she considered following him. Then she remembered that she had only just arrived and her body was truly exhausted. On top of that, they needed to report to His Majesty.