Fked up.
Honestly, I don’t mind most things, but I promised not to use violence. Yet here I am, in such a desperate situation, my hand went up before I knew it. Damn it.
I quickly checked my surroundings. Maybe they didn’t see? But unfortunately, everyone was watching me. It’s a battle right now; how did they see that?
No, no, I have to move cautiously here. Regardless of how things turned out, using violence against my own allies is wrong. Especially in a knight’s order…
Our job is to fight with weapons at the front lines. In such a situation, if bad feelings get involved, I could be fragged, you know? Damn it.
Of course, in situations like this, fragging doesn’t happen that much. The Royal Knights are completely broken, and everyone is low on confidence.
But still, I can’t just act recklessly. What if they suddenly retaliate and attack? I was desperately racking my brain. How can I explain this?
“Sorry, Commander. I didn’t think it through.”
In the brief moment I got flustered, Ruby was the first to apologize. Thanks to that, I nodded absentmindedly. Wait, I was the one in the wrong.
Just before I could say something, or rather when I was just about to organize my words, Ruby dashed forward without looking back. No hesitation whatsoever.
Please, at least hesitate a bit before running off!! I was alarmed and tried to follow her. But I couldn’t. Why? Because Time Stop was on cooldown!
So, I hurried to chase her, but ultimately couldn’t catch up. Meanwhile, Ruby, who closed the distance in an instant, swung her hammer.
Her hammer struck like a bolt from the clear sky with a KIEEHEEEEK!!!
It emitted a sound so unpleasant, like a monster’s screech, flapping its wings. From a distance, the wings didn’t look that fast, but Ruby didn’t dodge it.
Damn, do I have to save her again? At that exact moment, someone blocked my path. It was Commander Yuren. I shouted at Yuren.
“What are you doing?”
“Calm down, Commander. I understand your concern.”
“Then move aside.”
“Didn’t you show it yourself, Commander? Trust your members.”
“?”
Well, that’s true, but it’s obvious they’re going to die. I’m not just going to stand by and watch from a distance! I wanted to say that strongly, especially since this time it could be fatal.
That was until I witnessed Ruby pushing Balak back herself. Ruby’s hammer struck Balak’s head, tremendously staggering his huge body.
“Huh?”
“Looks like you’re starting to loosen up a bit.”
“Loosen up?”
“Ruby and Clara are definitely members of the Royal Knights. Even if they’re low-ranked…”
“…?”
“I accepted them because I see potential in their growth, even if they might be a bit lacking in skill.”
Commander Yuren was proudly crossing her arms. But the problem was, I didn’t know the situation well back then, so I just quietly watched.
Ruby was fighting much better than I imagined. Especially, the scariest thing about Balak was that he had an invisible presence, making it incredibly hard to predict his attacks.
Ruby was effortlessly blocking Balak’s strikes. Is that even possible? Or has she realized something while fighting? Regardless, this was turning out to be very advantageous for me.
Right when I was thinking it wasn’t bad. This time, a tail shot up from the ground. As I began to react, it seemed like it had hidden and then launched a surprise attack.
But Ruby easily blocked that attack too. In fact, her hammer crushed Balak’s tail completely. Balak screamed out in pain.
How can she fight so well? I had a slight doubt. But soon, I could see it—flames enveloping Ruby’s body as if protecting her. I tilted my head.
“What’s that…?”
“Looks like you knew, Commander.”
“Eh?”
“Ruby has not been able to fully harness her power until now.”
“???”
Commander Yuren suddenly began talking on her own. But since I had no clue, I quietly listened to Yuren’s story. She said,
“Perhaps it’s more about her heart. Her past memories were weighing her down.”
“Is it trauma?”
“Yes, but now Ruby is trying to overcome it.”
Hmm, I see. I didn’t understand a single word.
*
Ruby only has one family member. That’s her mother. However, there was a time when her father was also considered family. Back then, despite being busy, they didn’t play often together.
Still, she thought it was for her family, for their house. Ironically, Ruby didn’t really like her mother back then. It was mainly because her mother’s way of speaking was very odd.
“Ruby! Where have you been?!”
“Ugh, can’t you change that way of speaking?!”
“I-I’m sorry.”
Even young Ruby found her mother’s way of speaking odd. In reality, her mother was a little… no, quite ill. Not physically sick, but she had some mental issues.
To make matters worse, her mother had been mimicking the way Ruby’s childhood friends spoke and didn’t even realize it was wrong. So, her mother kept using that childlike tone.
Ruby hated that. It embarrassed her when others were surprised hearing her mother talk. So, she always nagged against her mother. And that turned into a regret that stuck with her till now.
That day was just like any other day when she was sleeping. Suddenly, someone woke Ruby up. As she tried to gather her senses, she realized it was her mother.
“Ruby, Ruby. You need to wake up quickly.”
“What’s the sudden urgency…?”
“You need to escape this place right now!”
Looking back on it now, Ruby’s mother could have escaped. If she had abandoned her rude daughter, maybe she would have survived. But she didn’t.
Ruby herself was puzzled by that. Wasn’t she just the daughter of a trashy individual? But why does she risk her life to save her? That question lingered in her mind.
To cut to the chase, the desperate escape that Ruby’s mother had planned got discovered. And not because of some other issue, but because of Ruby herself. When they were hiding to avoid patrols,
Ruby and her mother hid in a warehouse. Suddenly, a loud crash rang out, and startled, Ruby let out a scream without realizing it. That got them caught.
Since Ruby was still young, she was subdued with brute strength. However, her mother, surprisingly, pushed all the knights away with an unexpected well of strength.
Up until that point, she could have escaped. If only one of the knights hadn’t taken Ruby as a hostage. Thus, she easily gave up resisting. She got tied up like that.
“Ruby, you must live. You have to survive, no matter what.”
“Mom? Why? Where are you going?”
“I’ll be back. I’m just going to see your father. It’s nothing.”
That was the last image Ruby saw. The moment she got untied, she witnessed the trashy son of a person she thought of as a human marveling at the sword she made.
Was it due to her dwarf senses? Or because she was her mother’s daughter? Ruby instinctively sensed it. Her mother had become that trashy individual holding the sword. She had passed away.
Death. She had never felt the weight of that word so strongly. The chance to meet again, to hear that voice, was gone forever. At such a young age, Ruby realized the heaviness of death.
Only then did Ruby realize how much she loved her mother. She wished to hear her voice at least once more. That longing gradually turned into profound hatred.
From that day on, she thought of only one thing. Killing that person known as her father, that trash. She solely focused on that and came this far. But… Is that all? Just killing him and it ends?
…No.
At least, she wanted to hear the reason. Why did he go so far? To him, were they nothing at all? Was that it? Perhaps that’s why Ruby found herself mimicking her mother’s speech.
It didn’t matter if others thought she was ridiculous. She felt that if she didn’t do this, her mother’s memory would fade away, and that couldn’t happen. To not forget her mother, Ruby chose this path.
Soon, flames erupted from Ruby’s hammer.
As if responding to her rekindled will.
Hot. Very hot.
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