System's POV

"I missed you, Sherry!" Erica said as she hugged the young lady, whom she hadn't seen for the past two years. "Look at you. You've grown prettier since the last time I saw you. Also, you've grown in the right places as well!"

As if to make her point more obvious, the mischievous Sorceress gave those places a light squeeze, making Sherry gasp in shock.

"N-No. Don't!" Sherry pleaded helplessly as she was overpowered by the young lady, whom she looked up to as her big sister.

When Derek saw this, he couldn't help but click his tongue and look at his Master with envy.

"Master, can you teach me how to be popular with the ladies?" Derek asked. "I-I don't want to be single anymore!"

"You should ask Vincent that question," Thirteen replied. "He's the expert."

Mildred, who was also close to Sherry, decided to join Erica in teasing the younger girl, making her face turn even redder.

"We have a lot of things to talk about," Erica said after having her fill of teasing one of the ladies, whom she recognized as one of Zion's partners. "Come. You better spill everything or else…"

"Yes, you better!" Mildred, who wanted to have some juicy gossip after spending two years under Kamrusepa's training, helped Erica carry Sherry to the cottage that belonged to Zion.

The two young men watched the women enter the cottage with pitiful looks on their faces.

Clearly, they already knew that Sherry's fate was already sealed in stone, so they no longer decided to prolong her suffering.

In order to change the topic, Derek asked Zion if he heard news about Roland and Joshua. Your next chapter awaits on My Virtual Library Empire

"Any news about the other guys in my party?" Derek asked.

"Roland is on his way back to Pangea," Thirteen replied. "As for Joshua, he's just finishing some tasks, then he'll head directly to the Cygni Continent. Also, it's not yet confirmed, but I think Joshua now has a girlfriend."

"What?!" Derek looked at the teenage boy in disbelief. "Joshua has a girlfriend?! Isn't he in love with Shana?! What happened?!"

"I don't know," Thirteen replied. "Ask him when you see him."

"Master, you didn't tell him that you and Shana are already a couple, right?"

"No."

'Oh, boy… there will be a bloodbath when this news reaches the two of them,' Derek thought. 'No. There will be a crusade if this news reaches the public!'

Shana was the Saintess of the Wanderers, one whom many people held sacred.

If people knew that Zion had already plucked this beautiful flower, the consequences were something the swordsman couldn't imagine.

"Master, will you keep your relationship with Shana a secret?" Derek asked. "I really think you should for your safety."

"I will let Shana decide whether she wants it to be public or not," Thirteen replied.

Thirteen also knew the Saintess' circumstances, so even if Derek hadn't suggested it, he already had every intention to talk to Shana about it.

As he already mentioned, it would be completely up to her whether she wanted others to know about their relationship or not.

While the guys were talking, Sherry was pinned down on the bed by Erica, while Mildred tickled her feet.

"Well, then, little girlie. Are you going to spill the beans?" Erica asked in a teasing tone.

"I will!" Sherry, who knew that there was no way out of her current situation, already prepared herself to tell everything that Erica wanted to know.

"Che!" Mildred reluctantly stopped tickling the young lady, who was now panting for breath.

"Okay, so first question. How many times do you and Zion do it per week?" Erica asked.

"We do it…" Sherry honestly answered the question with a beet-red face, making Erica arch an eyebrow.

Mildred, on the other hand, covered her lips in disbelief because the young lady lying on the bed had a very active nightlife.

"So, is he good at it?" Mildred asked in genuine curiosity. "Also, how big is it? Zion is now older, so it should have grown bigger, right?"

Sherry once again answered, making the Archer blush due to the revelations that the younger girl was telling her.

The two girls continued to ask Sherry questions one after the other until they were satisfied.

In the end, Erica gave the young lady a thumbs up because she managed to do her assignment properly while she was undergoing Paimon's training.

An hour later, the ladies finally emerged from the cottage.

Sherry, who had once again regained her freedom, ran to Zion's arms and buried her head on his chest.

"Did they bully you?" Thirteen asked as he patted the young lady's head.

"They did," Sherry replied.

"There, there," Thirteen continued to pat Sherry's head and hugged her tightly to calm her down.

Mildred, on the other hand, couldn't help but stare at Zion as if seeing him for the first time.

"I really thought you were a vegetarian in the past," Mildred commented. "But it seems like you also like to eat meat."

"I'm very picky with what I eat," Zion replied. "I only eat the best."

Mildred didn't want to pursue the topic further, so she carried out what she had planned to do since completing her training.

"Zion, spar with me!" Mildred said. "If I win, you'll grant my request. If you win, I will grant your request. Deal?"

"What kind of request?" Thirteen asked.

"As long as it doesn't go below our bottom line, and it doesn't harm others in the process, the request should be fulfilled without fail," Mildred answered.

"Me too, Master!" Derek stated. "If I win, you will help me get a girlfriend!"

"… Ask a more realistic request," Thirteen replied. "Finding you a girlfriend seems like a hard task."

"Then, please, give me permission to date Shasha!" Derek shouted.

"What kind of girlfriend would you like to have?" Thirteen asked. "Should we go to those mail-order bride sites that are popular right now?"

The three ladies looked at Derek in disdain, but the swordsman had learned how to become thick-skinned like Camazotz, so their disdainful gazes didn't faze him.

"Let's talk about it Master after you defeated me," Derek said with confidence. "I have grown a lot stronger, you know?"

"Fine," Thirteen replied. "Rocky, bring us out for a bit."

Rocky obeyed Zion's order and headed to the surface for them to have a wider place to fight against each other.

Erica gave the teenage boy a worried look, but Sherry, who was standing beside her, held her hand and shook her head.

"Don't worry," Sherry said. "Zion won't lose."

Her voice was filled with confidence, making Erica's anxiety decrease considerably.

However, her worry didn't disappear completely.

After all, Zion was only a Rookie, and his opponent was now a Master.

A few minutes later, Thirteen and Derek stood fifty meters away from each other.

Even though it was a spar, the teenage boy insisted that Derek fight him using real weapons, so he could accurately check his progress.

Derek, who was confident that he had absolute control of his skills, nodded in agreement.

He would definitely stop attacking if he deemed that Zion couldn't dodge his sword strike, which could potentially lead to serious injuries.

Mildred, who decided to fight Zion after Derek's match, intended to study the teenage boy's fighting style.

Also, she was quite curious about how strong the Swordsman had grown during his two years of training, and this match would let her see if Derek really improved or not.