Who are you calling a stable boy?!

"Thirdly! The referee's judgment was absolutely fair and excellent!"

With each sentence he spoke, Zheng Jing would raise a thumbs-up with one hand.

"I'm Zheng Jing, a ten-year veteran of the 'Love and Protection War' campaign!"

Finally, he raised his thumb with his last hand, and then pointed all four thumbs at himself.

"I, Zheng Jing, will be the one to resolve this battle to protect your love!"

Kenneth stood there, eyes wide.

It's unclear whether he was stunned by Zheng Jing's self-righteous demeanor or simply lost his mind.

"Judging by the time, it should be time."

Ignoring Kenneth's reaction, Zheng Jing glanced at the clock in the room.

Is it time?

Who should be here by now?

Just as Kenneth was wondering, the evil spirits patrolling the workshop gave him the answer to his question.

"Lancer, I—"

Sora, who had just entered the room, saw that there were many people standing or sitting, and that there was far more than just Diarmuid. His smile froze, and he couldn't finish his sentence.

"Kenneth? And..."

Sora glanced at Zheng Jing, then at Rin, whom she was meeting for the first time, and hesitated for a moment.

"I'm sorry, perhaps I've come at the wrong time?"

"Do not."

Zheng Jing reached out his hand to Sola.

"You've come at just the right time!"

Chapter 117: A Love Story Between Human and Ghost

There are three sofas around the glass coffee table.

Kenneth was sitting on the left, Sora on the right, and Diarmuid was naturally sitting in the middle.

Zheng Jing?

He and Rin stood in front of the three of them.

"Let's get straight to the point. I, Old Zheng, will just give you the result."

Zheng Jing pointed to Sola.

"She wasn't fooled by Xiao Di's beauty mark under her eye."

"Big brother!"

Upon hearing Zheng Jing's opening statement, Dirumdo hurriedly called out to him.

"Xiao Di, some things really need to be said out loud."

"..."

"Indeed, her magic power isn't strong. If she were to rely solely on herself, even if Demiurge's beauty mark was only C-rank, she could still be affected. But she is, after all, a young lady from a prestigious magic family. Even if she's not the eldest son and can't inherit the magic crest, she wouldn't be completely without any self-defense items."

"Young lady, is this how it is?"

Sora did not answer.

But her hand silently gripped the gold button on her crimson bow tie.

Zheng Jingyi turned around and looked at Kenneth.

“Kenneth, as the monarch of the Mineral Department and a first-level lecturer in the Spirit Conjuring Department, how could you not see what this protective and amulet she wears can do?”

He bent down and leaned closer to Kenneth, his eyes slightly narrowed.

"Hmph, you know perfectly well that with Sora's own magic, plus this object, she couldn't possibly be controlled by Demiurge's beauty mark. But rather than believing that Sora truly fell in love with Demiurge at first sight, you'd rather assume she was bewitched by the beauty mark and blame this fabricated trouble on Demiurge—"

Zheng Jing grabbed Kenneth's wrist and glared at him.

"To say yes or no!"

"This, you, you—"

Standing up, Dirumdo came up and took Zheng Jing's hand, his face earnest.

"Brother! Please release my lord, what's going on here..."

"—Diarmuid O Audina!"

As soon as he came up, Kenneth was like a wasp that had found a window.

"You made a pact with me back then, promising to help me win the Holy Grail War and seize the Holy Grail, but what have you been doing all this time? You—"

"enough!"

Sora suddenly shouted.

Under everyone's gaze, she stood up.

“...Kenneth, Berserker is right.”

Looking directly into Kenneth's eyes, clearly seeing the emotions contained within, this ice-cold beauty with fiery red hair unusually called him Kenneth instead of addressing him as Lord El-Melloi.

Even less common was the delicate expression on her face.

"I fell in love with Diarmuid at first sight."

"Because of you, I've never dared to fully express my feelings to him. But now, neither you nor the Holy Grail War can hinder me from continuing to conceal these feelings..."

She turned her head and looked at Dirumdo.

"Diarmuid, do you understand now? I didn't fall in love with you because of that beauty mark under my eye, this love is definitely not from a curse—"

"I, Sora Nazelle Sofiari, fell in love with you by my own will!"

Dirum remained silent.

He didn't even dare to meet Sora's loving and expectant gaze. He shifted his feet, using Zheng Jing's tall figure to avoid Sora's gaze.

"Why......"

Sora was about to walk toward Diarmuid when Zheng Jing raised his hand to stop her.

"I'm telling you, both you and Kenneth, do you really think that Little Dee doesn't know what's going on?"

Zheng Jing glanced at Sora, then at Kenneth, and sneered.

"Big brother..."

Dirumdo tugged at Zheng Jing.

But Zheng Jing seemed oblivious, and continued, "Whether it's this beauty mark or not, the moment Xiao Di sensed the love in your eyes, she knew that this could only be attributed to his beauty mark—"

"Big brother!"

Dirumdo shouted.

That sound seemed to have used up all his strength.

"Please...stop talking..."

Zheng Jing shook his head and said nothing more.

The room suddenly fell silent.

A moment later, Kenneth slowly stood up.

"Sola".

He lowered his eyes and spoke softly.

"Thank you for your honesty."

As soon as he finished speaking, he raised his eyebrows, put his hands behind his back, and turned around.

"Excuse me for being rude, Berserker, but I have some private matters to discuss with Lancer. Please make yourself at home until I return."

"Oh?"

Zheng Jing chuckled.

"Of course, of course!"

As he responded, he patted Diarmuid on the shoulder and shoved him toward Kenneth.

"My lord, I..."

"Come with me."

Watching Kenneth leave the room with Diarmuid, Rin, carrying a bucket of popcorn that seemed to have appeared out of nowhere, put down the handful she was about to put in her mouth and tugged at Zheng Jing's pants with her sweet-smelling hand.

"Is this considered resolved? I think they've completely fallen out."

"Alas, what is love in this world? It makes people willing to die for each other."

Zheng Jing shook his head, looking at Tom with an expression that suggested he was about to lie down on the train tracks.

"Relax, I think that lemon-head guy is quite a character. He can handle this hurdle and let it go, so he's already helped Xiao Di get through it."

"Something about what you're saying sounds a bit strange..."

Rin glanced furtively at Sora, who was slumped on the sofa, then tugged at Zheng Jing's pants before whispering something in his ear.

"And what about her? It feels like she was abandoned by two men at the same time."

Zheng Jing scratched his cheek.

He walked up to Sora and knelt down.

"Girl, humans and ghosts are destined to be apart, and a good outcome is unlikely. Even if Xiao Di truly accepts you, it will only be a fleeting dream. How can you possibly keep him?"

"...Are you saying that I was wrong from the very beginning?"

Upon hearing this, Zheng Jing chuckled.

"When did I, Lao Zheng, ever say that it was wrong for you to fall in love with Xiao Di?"

"That......"

"Love is never wrong; right and wrong lie with the people involved."

Zheng Jing touched Sora's brow with his fingertip and shook his head with a smile.

Life is too short to be so attached.

Looking at Zheng Jing's smile, Sora slowly closed her eyes.

Two lines of clear tears silently streamed down her face.

"master......"

-

"This time, we really owe it all to our elder brother."

After seeing Zheng Jing and Lin off at the hotel, Diarmuid couldn't help but sigh.

Seeing how energetic he looked, Zheng Jing patted him on the shoulder.

Although Zheng Jing didn't eavesdrop on their conversation, he could roughly imagine what Kenneth and Diarmuid had said in those ten minutes.

Kenneth is a very interesting person.

He is undoubtedly a genius, even setting aside his talent in magic.

Since birth, he has not encountered many setbacks. With his innate talent, the strength of his family, and his own hard work, it is not surprising that he became one of the twelve monarchs of the Clock Tower at a young age.

Therefore, Kenneth never learned a single skill.

That is, to face failure squarely.

But Kenneth is indeed a talented person in many ways.

He also possesses a certain talent for learning to face failure squarely.

This experience will likely help him achieve even greater success in the future.