"Ouch!" Aske cried out in pain, "What are you doing!?"

"I'm leaving the team to restore my kingdom, and that's all the reaction I get from you, so in the team, I'm just a tool, huh?" Thira said, seething with anger.

Normally, she presented herself as calm, composed, and intelligent, rarely displaying such a petulant attitude typical of a young girl. However, for some reason, recalling Aske's indifferent "Oh, I know" earlier, Thira was filled with anger she couldn't vent anywhere.

"How could you be just a tool?" Aske hurriedly said in a placating tone, "You're an important Arcane Mage in our team!"

"That's it?" Thira was even angrier. That's not the answer I wanted to hear!!!

"What else?" Aske asked, perplexed.

The price for this wrong answer was another vicious pinch from Thira.

"Stop pinching, let me think!" Aske said helplessly, so Thira crossed her arms and sulked in silence.

"Uh..." Aske thought for a long time, "Can you give me a hint?"

"Have you forgotten what I told you?" Thira was furious. What kind of memory does this guy have!

"What?" Aske was close to tears. Without any hints, how am I supposed to remember?

"I said, after I restore my kingdom, you're to be my Co-Ruling Emperor!" Thira said angrily.

To be my Co-Ruling Emperor was the Empress's euphemistic way of saying "marry me." Although the original proposal was purely based on a prediction (from Miel) and political considerations (given Aske's own strength), when Thira said it again, she suddenly felt an inexplicable shyness and timidity, and had to turn her head away to hide it.

"Are you serious?" Aske was shocked.

"Yeah." Thira didn't turn around, and said in a low voice.

"Can I ask why?" Aske asked.

Why? Of course, because I like you!

Thira subconsciously thought to herself, and immediately after, she was shockingly startled.

Wait a minute, could it be? Do I, I, I like the Squad Leader? When did this happen?

Then, Thira began to trace back through her past. Naturally, she had a good memory, and she quickly formulated a rough guess.

At first, she only had a slight fondness for Aske, maintaining a relationship between acquainted friends, as he was strong, responsible, and from Constantinople. Thira harbored no dislike toward him.

As for why friendship turned into something more, it probably happened in Solomon City because of Thira's mishandling of the Force Field Shield, which left her and Aske pressed closely together for a long time due to the gravitational binding.

Since then, a vague sense of affection and emotion sprung from the purely friendly feelings, as Thira had never before experienced romance or even long-term interaction with any unrelated young man. However, priding herself on having the bloodline of the East Solomon Empire's Royal Family, she subconsciously buried these vague feelings deep within her heart.

What a joke, right? I'm the Emperor of the East Solomon Empire, how could I fall for a mercenary? Well, the Achilles family is also noble from Constantinople, and in the past, they were not a match for the Royal Family due to their decline. But now the Imperial City has fallen, and the Royal Family's power has diminished significantly, so the status of the two is now comparable, and a match is possible...

She daydreamed in secret for a long time: sometimes she thought with her beauty, she absolutely couldn't be the one to fall for the Squad Leader first—she had to at least wait for him to pursue her actively, and then after a long and reluctant consideration, she might agree; other times she considered that with Aske's formidable strength, once he became her Co-Ruling Emperor, she could securely stay in the Imperial City to handle domestic affairs, while letting him lead the troops into battle, surely achieving victory in every fight and expanding territory by thousands of miles.

Working side by side as a couple like this, they might even be able to restore the glory of the Empire of the Fourth Epoch, hehehehe.

It wasn't until Miel told her, "You and Aske will have a daughter in the future," that Thira firmly latched onto these whimsical thoughts and found a very suitable reason for herself:

Look, it's the Goddess of Destiny who has decreed that I should be with him, it's not like I'm lowering myself to marry him voluntarily!

After such a long period of self-convincing, Thira almost started to see Aske as her future husband, only to suddenly find out now that this "future husband" of hers showed not the slightest attempt to detain her or even a hint of regret over her departure, which was unbearably infuriating.

Ahhhhhh! Thira frantically tousled her hair, her expression turning sour:

"Do you really not know why?" she asked through gritted teeth.

"Uh." Aske read her complexion and knew that if he pressed on, he would definitely get hit, so he could only cautiously venture, "Although it might sound a bit narcissistic, but... could it be that you, to me, have, just a tiny bit of interest?"

"Yes!" Seeing Aske broach the subject, Thira calmed down and asked, "So what's the deal with you? Don't you have any good feelings for me at all? I said I was leaving the team to restore my country, and you just let me go without any reluctance?"

"If I don't let you go back, does it mean you will agree not to?" Aske sighed ironically.

"Well, try it then!" Thira said angrily, "How would I know if you don't say it? Even if I've made up my mind to go back to restore my country, if you got on your knees and clung to my boots begging me, I might reconsider!"

"Wait, why should I kneel down to beg you?" Aske was perplexed.

"Because you have to use your true feelings to change my mind!" Thira said righteously.

So what the heck is this "true feeling"! Aske was beside himself, although he had always known that the little Empress had a rich imagination, he had not expected her to fantasize to this extent.

Seeing him silent with a changing face, Thira felt somewhat embarrassed and anxious. If Aske was to say "Actually, I really don't like you" in a moment, she would have to embarrassingly crash her head against the wall. Therefore, she preemptively threatened:

"Think carefully! If you truly don't care about me, then I'm leaving The Azure Longsword Team right now and going back to Sirius Peninsula to prepare for restoring my kingdom!"

How could that be okay! Aske was alarmed.

Thira's broad-range AOE and strong control skills were a vital part of conquering the Bronze Dragon instance. In the past, when players attempted this instance, a Demigod Rank Gravity Mage was an essential member of the team; otherwise, if they couldn't bind the Bronze Dragon to stop it from flying all over the sky, they wouldn't be able to continue with the instance.

"Of course I care about you!" Aske could only stiffen up and say, "Actually, Theodora, you are very important to me."

"You mean I'm very important to your team and plans, right?" Thira said pointedly.

"Well... of course, it's not just that." Aske said helplessly, "Um, actually, you are quite beautiful."

"Oh, really?" Thira said skeptically, "Am I your type?"

"Um." Aske felt utterly humiliated. Before this, no one in the team had ever used the threat of "leaving the team" against him, leaving him completely unprepared at this moment, and Thira, this little vixen, had seized the opportunity to hold that over him.

"Humph, at least you have good taste," Thira's mood immediately improved.

She was, of course, very aware of her own peerless beauty. Now that the Squad Leader had acknowledged that her looks met his standards, Thira immediately felt a satisfying delight erupt within her, thinking, "Haha, I knew you liked me."

How could there be a man in this world who wouldn't like me, Theodora?

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