Chapter 10 – The Great Hero’s Daughter
“Is it that girl again ……?
“Yes, ……! The military training ground is in a terrible state!”
Clarice turned to me as the soldier told her, breathing unevenly.
“Excuse me, Theodore. Something urgent has come up. The duel will have to wait until another time.”
“That’s fine, but what’s going on?”
“I have a little problem with ……. But don’t worry, it’s nothing to do with you, Mildiana. First of all, get some rest and take care of your body after a long journey.”
That’s all she said, and Clarice ran off at a trot. It was a bit anticlimactic, but what the hell.
When I looked at the other special students, the beastkin girls’ eyes were shining as if they were curious.
“I don’t know what happened, but to cause Clarice to come all the way out there to help, …… there may still be other strong people in this city! I’ll go too!’
“She said Charlotte. She must be a pretty girl! Of course I’ll follow you!”
The decision was made immediately. The beastkin girls ran ahead of me.
“It seems something has happened at the military training ground. But if that’s the case. Normally, General Duras would be contacted directly. I’m a little concerned about ……, so I’ll go with you.”
Keith quickly ran off as well. I stared at Liz.
“To be honest, I’m exhausted from running all day, but I’m definitely curious about what happened, so let’s go.”
“It’s settled.”
Thus, we left the military school’s training ground and went to the nearby military training ground.
A large number of soldiers were already gathered near the training ground, watching the situation unfold.
Some of them were even scared, looking as if they would die if they walked into it.
I gulped as I hurried through the crowd into the grounds of the barracks.
There were many soldiers lying on the ground.
Some with red bruises on their foreheads, some with bruises on their necks, some struggling on their stomachs – it was a picture of hell.
In the midst of all this, there was one person standing alone who was clearly out of place. It was a girl with beautiful blue hair.
She was about 11 or 12 years old. Very slender body. She waved her wooden sword around with one hand and looked at her surroundings before saying.
“It’s disappointing. You’re all too weak.”
The girl who said this in a tone of voice that was still very young suddenly looked back at us.
Clarice, who was at the forefront, held her head after seeing the devastation of the training ground.
“…… Charlotte! I told you that you are not ready to come to this place yet!”
The girl called Charlotte is watching Clarice closely, tilting her head.
Despite the adorable gesture, it felt as if she was measuring the strength of the enemy in front of her.
“Because I’m strong. It’s boring because everyone are weak and no one will fight me.”
“…… Charlotte. It is true that you are the daughter of General Duras. I admit that you are strong. But that’s not what this is about.”
“What’s the difference? If it’s too complicated, I don’t understand.”
“That’s it! You aren’t well-educated yet. No matter how good you are, if you don’t have a good education, you can’t be a soldier. Now, you should be quiet and study hard.”
“All I do is study and study and study. It’s boring every day!”
“Don’t mess up. You’re the only daughter of the prestigious Duke of Duras. Things have an order!”
While Clarice was straight to the point with Charlotte, Roka looked around and then said.
“I’ve got a rough estimate of 50 people down. Did that little girl defeat all of them?”
“She’s …… pretty, but she’s horrible. …… kind of scary.”
“It’s too much… …… What the hell is that girl?”
“It’s an incredible sight. And as far as I can see, none of them are dead. You’re telling me that girl done this against skilled soldiers?”
While Clarice is still lecturing her, Charlotte was boringly holding a wooden sword, her body swaying. The pretty girl was wearing a black and white dress that was appropriate for a daughter of a noble family, and is very out of place here.
She looked at each of the special students in turn, as if she were looking at a stone lying on the roadside.
When her eyes, which had shown no interest in anyone, reflected mine for the first time, the girl’s expression brightened and she came running over to me.
“Hey, hey, hey, there, big brother!”
“…… is that me?”
“Yeah! You have the same blue hair as me! That’s rare!”
“Yeah, uh, yeah, I guess so. …… I hear you don’t see that often.”
Come to think of it, I think Liz told me before that blue-haired people are very rare in Granden. Is it just that this girl is special?
“What’s your name? Oh, I’m Charlotte!”
“I’m Theodore. Nice to meet you, Charlotte.”
“Theodore……Theo, can I call you big brother?”
“You can call me whatever you want.”
She said with a twinkle in her eye.
“Theo, you’re so strong!””
“What?”
“You’re not like the others at all! …… Are you from some noble family?”
“No, I’m just a commoner, nothing special.”
It’s a little hard to handle.
I don’t want these stories to be retold, especially around Liz, but I can feel her …… strong gaze. Uh, it’s hard to do.
“Hmmm ……? Well, okay. Hey, big brother Theo! Let’s have a compete game with me!”
“Out of the blue. …… By the way, are you good at swordsmanship?”
“Yeah! Even the physical skills are pretty good! The magic is ……… hehe, I don’t know, but I don’t care. I’ll just beat them up while they’re chanting.”
I feel like her way of thinking is completely similar to that of a beastkin. There are two people in my immediate vicinity who fit this description.
At that moment, Roka intervened.
“Hello, Charlotte. Looks like you’ve bought quite a bit of Theo, huh?”
“Hmm? Yeah, it’s the strongest, right?”
“Don’t you think anything of it when you see me…… and the others?”
When she pointed that out, Charlotte put her finger on her chin and snorted, then answered quickly.
“Not really. I’m sure you’re stronger than the soldiers, but …… that’s it?”
“Hmm? That’s quite a statement you’ve got there, little girl.”
“Big brother Theo! Let’s play! Let’s play!”
Charlotte quickly lost interest in the fox girl and clung to my clothes.
The way she looks up at me, she’s really just a kid, but…
As I looked into the depths of her eyes, I could see a kind of madness hiding between sanity and reason.
Intuition.
This girl will probably kill any enemy in front of her that must be killed without hesitation.
Even if she didn’t have a sword in her hand at the time, she would always try to kill them regardless of the means.
I don’t know what happened to this little girl.
Clarice told us that she was the daughter of General Duras, but …… she had a look in her eyes that was very unlike that of a great hero’s daughter.
It’s very dangerous.
This girl is so pure and innocent, but at the same time, she has not been able to tame the terrible madness that dwells within her.
If a stranger saw her duality, they would react as if they had seen some kind of monster.
Is this also due to her strength?
No matter how strong you are, there are other strong people here, including Clarice. She must have faced her many times and learned defeat.
In spite of this, she doesn’t seem to be feeling frustrated. I guess I have the capacity to accept the facts as they are, though.
I looked at the people around me who were watching with bated breath, and then turned my gaze to the girl’s blue eyes.
“Sure. You want to play me?”
“Really? Yes!!!”
Clarice panicked.
“Hey, Theodore! Don’t take the liberty of …… doing such a thing!”
I say as I stare at Charlotte.
“However, if I win, you will study properly for a while so that you can be educated without shame as the only daughter of a duke. Is that clear?”
“Yeah, sure! What if I win?”
“I can’t think of anything in particular, but if there’s anything you want me to do, just let me know.”
The girl groaned cutely and looked at me for a while. She beckoned me to come over. Is this a private conversation?
I crouch down to meet her eyes and offer her my ear as requested.
“Tell me about the silver-haired maid behind your brother, Theo?”
I got goosebumps and hurriedly looked behind me.
There is no ……. No, technically, there are. There are, but I can’t see her right now.
When I looked back at her fearfully, Charlotte was still smiling at me. She was shaking the tip of her sword as if she wanted to play a game as soon as possible.
–No way. Why would a little human girl like her be able to see Rena? I can’t feel any magic from her slender body.
If I’m in Majin form, I can see Rena when she disappears.
There’s no point in trying to hide in front of me when I’m still in my original form.
The reason why she is disappearing is due to magic. It made no sense for a Majin not to be able to read the flow of magic, even the best hiding techniques are meaningless.
But this girl in front of me…
“Mmm. Big brother Theo, you still won’t do it?”
“Oh, no, I’m sorry. I’ve been doing some thinking. I was just thinking about how I could beat you.”
“Hmm? Really? Will you come in earnest? If I win, will you tell me?”
“I guess I didn’t quite understand what you meant.”
“…… Oh well, it’s all about winning, right?”
Even Roka hadn’t noticed Rena’s presence, and even Liz hadn’t noticed Rena’s presence.
I could not detect her presence unless it was exposed to me. Then it wasn’t due to her superior five senses. After all, there was something about this girl.
Maybe she has some special power of her own. She was definitely a prophet, as evidenced by the fact that she had defeated the soldiers in the drill hall by herself.
I held up my wooden sword and told Clarice.
“Clarice, could you be the referee?”
“Are you serious?”
“She’s strong. I want to see what she’s capable of …… Don’t worry, I won’t hurt her.”
“Hurt me? I don’t care if you do! I’ll be heal in no time!”
“I understand. Then the game is considered over when one of you surrenders. If I judge it to be dangerous, I will stop it immediately. Then–begin!”
Charlotte jumped out at the same time as the signal to start.
I know this because I’ve been watching it with every ounce of caution. Her initial speed is equal to or greater than Roka’s.
Her stab was aimed at my throat. Should I parry it back? …… No.
Her appearance was on the verge of disappearing.
I knew it was a feint. I caught the blow that was fired from below at high speed with my wooden sword.
Gan! It makes a hard sound and incredible force is applied. Awesome!
It’s terrible amazing…. She’s better than Keith.
At the same time as I passed the wooden sword, Charlotte spun around and said as she held the sword in both hands.
“Wow, ……, you’re really taking it in, aren’t you? It’s amazing. When I do it for the first time, everyone gets stuck. You’re the only one who’s ever taken it.”
“It’s an honor to stand alongside such a great hero.”
“Clarice was stuck twice.”
“Hey, I never got stuck again after that. ……!”
It was an sudden blow that only a petite girl of less than 140 centimeters could deliver. However, it was not something as light as a mosquito’s bite, but looked like the blow of a skilled warrior with the intent to kill.
A direct hit would have been fatal, unless it was a prophet.
The alarmed girl slowly closes the distance between us.
She has no intention of slowing down her attack. But the child’s unique thinking sometimes leads her to do the unthinkable. What to do next?
After staring at each other for a while, she rushed at me again, the sword in both hands clenched at her waist.
It was as if someone who was dying was trying to deliver the final blow.
I jumped back lightly when the blow had almost hit my heart.
But the wooden sword is chasing me as if it had grown straight out of the ground–.
Did she just throws it? I tried to avoid it, but then I came to my senses. I forcefully caught the wooden sword with my left hand.
While many people around us were watching with bated breath, a blue-haired girl sniffed in frustration.
“…… I guess I lost.”
“Throwing a sword is suicide act. It might catch an unwary opponent off guard, but it won’t last.”
“Clarice got stuck once.”
“Kuh! I’m… ! Ah right ……, the winner is, Theodore ……!”
No cheers came from the crowd.
I guess I couldn’t afford to admire the movement of the mysterious girl in front of me.
Well, I didn’t care about that. The reason the girl threw her sword wasn’t that she tried to give me a single blow.
She wasn’t really aiming for me, but for “Rena behind me.”
She declared that she was going to lose, but I guess she just wanted to see how I would do. Yes, I’m sure she didn’t want to have a proper fight from the beginning.
She knows exactly what she’s capable of. There was no way she could win, so she just wanted to see if she could at least see what kind of moves I could make.
With my physical abilities, I could have easily avoided it, and no matter how much I can’t see her, I’m sure Rena could have easily dodged it.
But I couldn’t help but caught it in. I won the mock battle, but I think I may have lost a real battle. The sharpness of the pain I felt when I caught the wooden sword that was thrown at me was quite strong.
I looked at it. I looked over and saw that my left hand was covered in blood.
“Oh, Theo, oh, my God! I’m going to heal you now!”
Liz rushed over to me in a panic and immediately applied a healing technique.
I thanked her and looked over at Charlotte
The girl was looking boredly in the completely wrong direction, but when her gaze met mine, she smiled happily. She looked at me as if to say that I was doing exactly what she wanted. It was as if–
Kind of feeling I’m being told “So she is a figure you want to protect all at costs”
All of the girl’s pretty gestures seemed to be confusing.
It is true that Clarice was incredibly strong. But whether this girl can also be judged on the same level …
“Come on, Charlotte! Theodore has defeated you! You must stay in your mansion and study hard! Is that clear?”
“Tsk. It’s boring.”
“What’s with the tone? That’s unladylike language!”
“Even Clarice screams too much. It’s not ladylike! It’s barbarian!”
“What the heck ……? Anyway, now! I’ll take you to the mansion now!”
Clarice held Charlotte in her arms.
“Hey! I’m not a burden1.”
“You’re no more than a burden here!”
“I can walk by myself!”
Charlotte is struggling and Clarice is desperately trying to keep her at bay.
At that moment, the unique tension of the situation became a little more relaxed.
“What’s this all about?”
Everyone turned to the one who had asked the question in a low, gut-wrenching tone. Standing there was a blond man with a tall body clad in black armor. His statuesque face was expressionless and artificial.
“Oh, it’s Father!”
He is the commander-in-chief of the Granden territory in the west of the Elberia Empire, and the man who was called a great hero in the recent battle against the Zenan Dragon Kingdom.
The military personnel present saluted in unison as General Claude Duras appeared.
荷物じ (Nimotsiji) means burden, luggage, or hand baggage.
