Part 1, Chapter 10, 23

At that moment, at the Royal Palace in London, England.

As Phoenix lit the mint chocolate candle.

An unexpected mint chocolate craze was sweeping through the royal kitchen as well.

“Is it not ready yet?”

The blonde girl who had taken over the kitchen stomped her feet, urging the chefs. Seven tubs of mint chocolate, hastily airlifted from US Robbins, had already disappeared.

“I’m still hungry for mint chocolate!”

“……We apologize. It’s a dish we made too long ago.”

The head chef apologized readily. He had even received a peerage for his culinary skills alone, but his opponent was one of the royal family’s most influential figures, the very ones who bestowed such titles. If she ordered it, he had to make it.

“Princess-nim. Please, your dignity…”

The maid accompanying the blonde girl scanned the kitchen with a troubled expression. While the blonde girl usually tended to act on a whim, the current behavior of the princess was a bit excessive.

“Her Majesty the Queen might worry. If you eat too many desserts, at the evening meal later…”

“It’s not like I’m the only one eating, is it? All these desserts are for…”

The princess stroked the back of a black cat that was on the table, its head buried in a bowl.

“This child is eating them.”

Meow.

The cat cried out, lifting its head in response. It was eating so happily that its whiskers were covered in melted mint chocolate.

“Oh dear. Let me wipe it for you.”

The princess took out a handkerchief and tried to wipe the ice cream from its whiskers. But the cat’s green eyes sparkled, and its tongue flickered out.

Lick.

In an instant, the cat licked off the ice cream from its face with its tongue. The princess chuckled and stroked the cat’s head.

“I’ve truly lived long enough to see everything. For a cat to be so affectionate towards a person.”

“…….”

The maid seriously debated whether to speak or not. There were no cats in the world that could eat chocolate, she thought.

But it had already been twenty years since the princess picked up this cat in Northern Europe. The old cat, which was nearly a hundred years old in human terms, stuck by the princess like a bodyguard.

“Ahem. So, when will Sir Gawain arrive?”

The princess asked about the Knight of the Round Table in a dignified voice.

Sending a member of the Round Table and a hero of the nation on an errand just to buy mint chocolate ice cream was close to tyranny, but the person who had gladly accepted the order and left had not yet appeared.

“He should arrive soon. Princess-nim, so please go back to your room and…”

Ding.

An alarm rang from the smartwatch on the princess’s wrist. The princess’s eyes widened, and she looked around, then answered the call against a plain wall as much as possible.

“……Yes, Your Majesty the Queen.”

[Ariel? Your Majesty the Queen? Aren’t you in your room right now?]

“……Yes, Mother.”

Princess Ariel clenched and unclenched her hands on her lap, uttering the cringeworthy words. Everyone around her held their breath.

[That’s right. When others aren’t around, you can speak comfortably. Understood?]

“Yes….”

Even though others were holding their breath and snickering beside her, Ariel couldn’t bring herself to reveal her location. If the story of her raiding the kitchen because she craved mint chocolate too much reached her mother’s ears, she would surely be punished.

[Even as a member of the royal family, there are times when you must set aside your tiara. ……But Princess. The kitchen doesn’t seem like the place for that, does it?]

“…….”

Ariel squeezed her eyes shut. And then she readily admitted.

“……I apologize, Your Majesty, Mother.”

[You have chocolate on your mouth. And this is an urgent situation, so quickly tidy yourself up and return to your post.]

“My post…?”

[The SS-rank Villain from Korea, , is committing an outrageous atrocity.]
Meow?
The cat, with a mouthful of mint chocolate, lifted its head. Ariel was startled by the broadcast video her mother sent her.
“Th-this is unbelievable…!”
In the video.
A monstrous human in black armor was setting fire to mint chocolate ice cream, burning it.
“Th-this is-”
“It seems like he’s a fellow who will only come to his senses if he’s killed.”
“???”
A voice she had never heard before rang out. Princess Ariel scanned the chefs in the kitchen, but none of them had made that sound.
“Ah, Sir Cait Sith?!”
The black cat leaped out the window, which had been opened for ventilation. Princess Ariel was startled and tried to follow, but first, she had to return to where she was supposed to be.
[Princess. Return to your post immediately.]
“Understood, Your Majesty, Mother.”
[What should I say now?]
“……Yes, Your Majesty.”
Ariel sighed inwardly at her mother’s unpredictable words and actions, and rose from her seat.
“Ariel Elizabeth Mary, Esquire to Sir Gawain of the Round Table. ……I will return as .”
Below the screen, the princess’s hands were white as she clutched the hem of her skirt.
* * *
[It’s already a mess. A total mess.]
I looked down at the people gathered below the square and lifted the ice cream tub higher. The people in the square were filled with shock and fear at the smoke rising from the burning mint chocolate.
[Just like England, wouldn’t you say?]
Just in case anyone didn’t know what the contents were, I kindly conjured blue flames on both sides of Big Ben.
Due to the time difference, the sun hadn’t fully set yet, but a large message made of blue flames hung in the London sky, where the evening sun was setting.
I HATE THIS MINT
[It’s not like I really hate it.]
But I had no choice if I wanted to lure out the guy who couldn’t resist mint chocolate. I didn’t know where Fenrir of the Gale, the wind spirit, was right now.
[Should I have just gone around the Scandinavian Peninsula first?]
For the city where I would burn the mint chocolate candle, I first came to the most familiar country. This was where the (original) strongest member of the Round Table lived, along with another heroine.
[I never imagined Gawain would be doing that down there.]
I looked down at Gawain, who had climbed onto the building’s rooftop, calming the chaos in the square. He shouted at me like a negotiator dealing with a terrorist.
“I don’t know what you’re thinking, but come down right now! That’s not a place for you to stand!”
[I just came looking for a high place. Now that I’m here, it’s not even that high.]
I also raised my voice and muttered towards the ground. My will, conveyed with mana, was enough to provoke the anger of the people gathered in London.
“Are you disrespecting Big Ben?!”
“It was built 150 years ago, so of course I am!!”
Perhaps because their pride was touched, people began to get furiously angry. And among them, there were a few who, while watching others, muttered to themselves in agreement with me.
“How awful must mint chocolate be for someone to come all the way to England to protest…?”
“Who is it, really? Who’s the scoundrel who gifted that person mint chocolate?”
As expected, the public was misunderstanding my protest, just as I planned.
– Phoenix, a Villain who received mint chocolate as a gift, flew all the way to Europe to burn mint chocolate as a sign of dissatisfaction.
I had only come to England, a city I had visited several times in the original story, as the first city. My plan was to travel through various cities, burning mint chocolate to draw out Fenrir.
[The mint chocolate is melting away nicely.]
The mint chocolate, melting and burning away, scattered into the air and flew on the wind. If he was sleeping, he would wake up smelling it mixed in the wind, and if he was watching me from somewhere, he would rush at me with fire in his eyes and attack me.
[I’ll keep doing this until he shows up. I have plenty of time anyway.]
If Fenrir didn’t reveal himself, I would just keep protesting until all the mint chocolate in the world melted. I ignored Gawain, who was loudly chattering below, and checked the amount of ice cream burning away.
[Oh, has half of it burned already?]
Even though I intended to melt it slowly by keeping the flame’s temperature as low as possible, it started melting faster than expected. I scanned the ground for a place to resupply mint chocolate.
Fortunately, a US Robbins that hadn’t closed yet caught my eye.
[If I run out, I’ll have to go down and buy another one-]
Suddenly.
The wind of the smoke shifted.
[……Heh.]
I couldn’t help but laugh at the enemy’s appearance, which was faster than I expected. Indeed, one should never procrastinate.
[Come on, bring it!]
I threw the mint chocolate high into the sky and burned the entire tub. Around me, a fierce biting wind, filled with murderous intent, was already raging.
Click.
Exactly 6 o’clock, with the hour and minute hands aligned.
A biting wind began to swirl upwards from the clock tower’s spire.
* * *
Ariel, the Princess of England and a Hero, , rushed to the square. Sir Gawain was already evacuating the citizens there.
“Sir Gawain!”
“Princess-nim!”
Gawain’s face was more tense than ever, and he had drawn his sword. He looked anxious, worried that Big Ben might collapse from the aftermath of the battle.
“What happened?!”

“……I don’t know.”
Gawain genuinely wanted to know the Phoenix’s intentions. There was no prophecy whatsoever about Phoenix occupying the top of Big Ben and causing a mint chocolate terror attack.
“I truly don’t know. Surely he wouldn’t commit such an act of terror just because he dislikes mint chocolate, would he?”
If that were the case, Gawain might have to reconsider his relationship with Phoenix and the Azure Syndicate.
It wasn’t out of hatred for mint chocolate, but causing fear and anxiety among citizens for such a trivial reason was an act of terror and evil that harmed peace.
“Then, Sir Gawain.”
Ariel’s hand pointed to another monstrous human charging towards Phoenix.
“In this situation, where he’s fighting someone who clearly seems to be an ally, do you have any idea what’s going on?”
“……None at all.”
Gawain genuinely wanted to ask.
“Why did they fly halfway across the world to fight in the sky like this…!”
Gawain felt unfairly treated. Even he, once called the strongest man in humanity, could not exert any power over the two fighting in the air.
Ultimately, all Gawain could do was evacuate the people.
“Wow, aerial UFC!”
“Where did another superpowered individual like that come from…?”
“This is no time to watch! Everyone, evacuate!! Please!!”
…It seemed the evacuation would be delayed a bit. Because everyone was watching the showdown between two SS-rank Villains.
***
No one could intervene. Phoenix glided through the air, flapping its fiery wings, and the monstrous human who attacked Phoenix kicked off the air, chasing after Phoenix.
[Where do you think you’re going!]
Phoenix shot a fireball at the monstrous human chasing after it. The house-sized fireball was large enough to swallow the monstrous human, and it shot downwards faster than the monstrous human’s running speed.
Bang!
Just before the fireball hit, the monstrous human slightly tilted its foot and kicked the air. The fireball grazed the monstrous human and fell downwards.
[As expected, this speed isn’t enough.]
Phoenix spread its arms out to its sides. Its fiery wings spread as if to cover the sky. The monstrous human, who had been charging up from below Phoenix, who stood against the sunset, subtly slowed down.
[Then I have no choice but to speed up too.]
Phoenix brought its raised hand down forcefully. At the same time, blue feathers began to flutter from its wings into the air. The fluttering feathers ignited, becoming eagles of blue flame.
[Do you like bullet hell?]
Phoenix flicked its downward-pointing finger. Simultaneously, hundreds of eagles flapped their wings and flew towards the monstrous human.
The monstrous human, stopped in mid-air, stomped its foot forcefully on the air.
Whoosh–!!
A massive dragon vortex surged from the monstrous human. The eagles of flame flying towards the monstrous human at the forefront were torn apart by the biting winds and disintegrated.
[But what about the sides?]
Phoenix waved its fingers, spreading the eagles to the left and right. The flock of fiery eagles, scattering left and right in an arc, quickly reached close to the monstrous human.
Fwoosh.
Each eagle’s body began to seethe, and the eagles became bombs in the shape of eagles. The monstrous human scanned the effects of the explosions blocking its left and right with its eyes.
Creak.
The monstrous human kicked forcefully forward and retreated significantly. Sparks of fire, thrown up by the explosion, covered the monstrous human, but it continuously kicked forward, generating wind.
Crash! Boom!
The monstrous human, who had kicked away even the last exploding eagle, stopped in mid-air with a backflip. Phoenix, with small wings spread behind its back, calmly descended vertically and met the monstrous human’s gaze.
[I just came to say hello, but the welcome is quite intense.]
[There’s no reason to welcome someone who visits my territory without permission.]
The monstrous human raised its hand and clenched its fist. A powerful green mana wind, swirling from its fist, enveloped the surrounding area.
The two monstrous humans faced each other within the barrier of biting winds. After glaring at each other in their monster forms for a long time, Phoenix was the first to release its transformation.
“…The eternal, unchanging sun hanging in the blue sky. The head of the Dark Legion, Azure Flame Phoenix.”
[Hmm… Was it my imagination that I felt a strange aura?]
A light green wind surged from the monstrous human’s body. The monstrous human, like Phoenix, took on a human form.
“The God-Slaying Wolf of biting winds that tears the world apart, a member of the Dark Legion, Fenrir of the Gale.”
The green-haired, green-eyed girl, who introduced herself as Fenrir of the Gale, perked up her cat ears and grabbed the hem of her maid dress.
“It’s been 20 years, meow!”
“…….”
Phoenix’s expression soured.