Chapter 11 “General Claude Duras”
The General with his golden hair and serious face, seems look perfect that it wouldn’t be strange that he could be courted by the women of the world one after another.
But the sharpness of his eyes gave a strong sense of intimidation to those who saw him.
Suddenly, I looked at the people around me.
Keith and Clarice stood upright and saluted, and Roka had a tense look that she wouldn’t normally show, and Shaula seemed worried and restless when she saw her master.
Liz was completely engulfed by the intimidation. She was sweating coldly with a hard expression on her face.
Only Charlotte, who was finally lowered to the ground, was not intimidated by such things.
She hurriedly approached General Duras and hugged his body.
“Father, welcome back!”
“…… Oh.”
General Duras said, patting his daughter’s head as he checked out the training ground.
“Char. Did you do it again?”
“Um, everyone is so weak…. oh, bu, but..”
The blue-haired girl pointed at me and said.
“Only brother Theo was amazing! I thought I couldn’t win. But I asked him to play with me. I lost right away, though.”
“I see. So you’re Theodore….”
When the great hero’s eyes caught mine, the sharpness of his gaze shaken for a moment.
It was hard to describe, but the expression on his face was that of seeing something inexplicable. But it was only for a moment.
General Duras, who immediately returned to his sharp gaze, said again.
“Excuse me. I have heard from Lieutenant General Lambert. I’m glad to see you here. You have done well to come to this land of Granden. I welcome you. And of course, all the other special students.”
“Haha. It is a great pleasure to receive such words directly from General Duras! I was looking forward to being able to study and practice beside you!”
Following Keith’s sincere greeting, Roka said.
“Um. It is a pleasure to meet you, General Duras. I am pleased to be here in front of you again, the great hero. This good fortune is all due to the guidance of our God, the Divine Beast King, Lugal…. Let’s save the offering for later. Come on, Shaula. You say something too…”
“Ah, same to Roka. My master joy also my joy…. I’ll be in your care for a while, Great Hero.
Her demeanor seems to be the same as ever, but she’s far more tense than when she was in front of Principal Ludio.
… It’s no wonder. He is the master of magic. The kingdom of Chiaro Diruna, a magic powerhouse that wields its magic technology to the fullest, is a sworn enemy of the Lugal Kingdom, and beastkin can’t even handle magic.
I guess that’s why she couldn’t help but show her respect honestly.
“Well, I’m not really good at these formal greetings, but I’ll start over. I’m from Tsefte Aria, I and other special students will be in your care. Um, what’s more? Ah, nice to meet you.”
When Clarice heard that, she couldn’t help but giggle, and it was very intense.
I cleared my throat and Liz said, “Sorry, sorry, I’m not good at these things! I apologized.”
Of course, that just adds fuel to the fire, and Clarice turned to Liz.
While she was lecturing her about something, General Duras’s eyes kept on me.
“My name is Theodore, and I’ve always wanted to see the face of the man they call the Great Hero. It is a pleasure to meet you, General Duras.”
“Hey, Theodore! How dare you be so rude to someone like him ……!”
“Theodore, you! Who do you think he is, ……!”
General Duras said as I was being scolded by the two earnest men, Clarice and Keith.
“As Lieutenant General Lambert said, you’re not afraid of anything at all. Clarisse, that’s enough. Back off.”
“Eh, ah ……, yes!”
“There are many people who are picky about discipline. But in this country, competence is what counts. Theodore, if you are going to maintain this attitude, you must remain strong. Inevitably, you will make many enemies, so be prepared for that.”
“That’s pretty much how it was in Mildiana, so I’m fine.”
General Duras nodded as the soldiers around him began to buzz and fuss.
“If so, so be it …… More importantly, my daughter seems to have caused trouble. But now that she has been defeated by someone as talented as you, Charlotte will have to be quiet for a while. I am deeply grateful to you for helping to relieve my daughter’s frustration. I’d like to set up a meeting with you later to thank you and discuss the situation.”
“Sure. Whenever is fine.”
After confirming that I had readily agreed, General Duras turned to Clarice.
“Have you prepared the rooms for Mildiana’s special students?”
“Yes. There were some vacancies in our school’s dormitory, so we used that one. However, it seems that one person hasn’t arrived at Granden yet.”
“…… Indeed, the speed with which they reached this place from Mildiana is remarkable. It should have been about 10 days ahead as planned.”
“Traveling in a carriage is boring. That’s why we’ve been running!”
“It’s been a rough journey ……, but it might not have been so bad if we thought of it as a forced march exercise on the battlefield.”
“To be honest, my feet are really tired. …… I can’t wait to get some rest. I want to rest as soon as possible, but I’m also hungry. I’ve barely eaten or drank in a while.”
Hearing everyone say it so matter-of-factly, Clarice gave me a look as if she saw a strange creature
“I was surprised when the three of them came to me first and said something unintelligible like ‘I’ve been running,’ but I didn’t even imagine that two more like them would be added right after that.”
“Though there is one little dragon who couldn’t keep up.”
“If it is that dragon, it will reach Granden on the scheduled day. I’ve heard that this place specializes in teaching swordsmanship and physical skills, so it may not make much sense for him to come…”
Then, Clarice looked thoughtful for a while.
“No, there are things about magic that you cannot experience in Mildiana, as you, the people of Lugal, may have guessed.”
“……? Oh, are you referring to magic tools made from magic stones?”
“Yes. It’s something that will definitely be needed for Mildiana, who has the most active in magic.”
“Hmmm. Sounds interesting. I’ll have a look around later.”
A magic tool.
The best I know of is Zenan’s airborne mobile fortress. But that’s a different story.
The other is the Grand Guignol that Lumiere uses as a weapon, the holy sword used by Keith can be said to be a magical tool in a broad sense.
I’ve never seen anything like that at the military school in Mildiana.
I don’t have one, so I might be a little curious to see what kind of one there is.
“Hey, Father. Where have you been all this time?”
“You saw that Lindwurm was wandering around the area a few days ago. I had gone to the temple to inspect it as well.”
“Mmm, I wish Father would cut that thing down.”
“The war with that country is over. I understand the anxiety of the people. But I can’t do that. This is even more so in light of the situation with other countries…… Char, you’re going to have to learn how to do that. I’m sure you’ll get a good workout.”
“Mu……”
It seemed that even the quintessential Charlotte could not resist her great father. She’s clearly not happy, but she doesn’t say she doesn’t want to, she just growls.
She looked just like a girl of her age. She looked just like a girl of her age, and the soldiers around her looked at her with smiles.
“I’m sorry. At any rate, the first thing you need is rest and …… food for Liz and Theodore. I’ll make the arrangements for you, and each of you should follow me quietly.”
Clarice clapped her hands, and everyone else followed suit. I was about to follow suit when a voice called out to me from behind.
“Let’s play again sometime, big brother Theo!”
“Uh, yeah, …… another time.”
More than rest and food, I needed something first and foremost.
Night. In my room assigned to me in the dormitory of the military school directly under Granden’s domain. I’ve set up several layers of soundproofing barrier.
…… Good. Now the sound won’t leak out.
“Rena. We need to talk.”
“Yes. …… How can I help you, Lucifer-sama? Today it seems to me that you’ve been thinking a lot…..”
I said, firmly grabbing both shoulders of my beloved wife who was anxiously looking into my face.
“Rena, I have something important to tell you. I need you to take it seriously.”
At first, she was a maid girl with her eyes shining with happiness as usual. But when she looked into my eyes, her expression tightened as if she realized the gravity of the situation.
“Lena. Has anyone ever spotted your hiding technique before?”
“No, no, …… never to anyone other than Lucifer-sama, the royals that rules Tenebrae, and some of Lucifer’s men.”
“Indeed. Even that Gislain couldn’t detect your presence during your internal reconnaissance in Mildiana. Perhaps even Lieutenant General Lambert would not be able to easily notice you.”
I think about it as I comb the girl’s long silver hair and play with her white catsuit.
My mind flickered with thoughts of what might happen. For example, yes. I wondered if General Duras, a man who was also known as a great hero, could be able to see Lena directly through some kind of divine power.
However, the amount of magical power that I could sense from General Duras was less than ordinary.
There is no doubt about it. The tremendous tension that emanated from that man was that of a warrior who had experienced fierce battles.
It’s not like me, who kept my majin form and killed everyone around me just by being there.
It is safe to say that he has no magical qualities.
But it was exactly the same for the girl. The girl who had beaten the soldiers one after another in the training grounds I could only sense the same amount of magic power as General Duras.
…… Why was Charlotte able to see Rena?
“Rena. When I was fighting that girl Charlotte, what did you feel? Tell me the truth.”
“…… Yes, it is. That girl’s power is real. However, I had a strange …… feeling that she was more distracted by something else than her battle with Lucifer-sama. Should I say that?”
“I don’t care. Just say it.”
“I felt like I met her gaze for a moment. I thought it was just my imagination because she immediately averted her gaze.”
“Where were you when I took that girl’s sword with my bare hands?”
“I was right behind Lucifer-sama, watching over you. ……”
It couldn’t be said that it was possible that the girl had been told about Rena by someone in advance and knew about her existence, but Rena’s words negated that possibility. After all, that girl must have aiming at Rena when she attacked.
…… What a monster. She has tremendous power when she grows up. I’m sure she will. But whether this is a good or bad thing is hard to say at this point.
“Let me put it bluntly. That girl Charlotte had a vision of you.”
“What’s ……? Then, it means….?”
“That’s right. The wooden sword that she threw in what it thought was its final blow was aimed at you, not me.”
Rena looks terribly confused.
Aside from the high-ranking majin, if that little girl had detected her presence, it would have been enough to break Rena’s pride.
“I’m sure our gazes met for a moment, but I’m not sure if it was …… or …….
“And you know what? That girl told me before the match that if she won, she would ‘tell me who the silver haired maid behind you is’.”
“……! This is the reason why Lucifer-sama was so upset. …..”
“Yes. I’m sure that the girl is special, but even so, it’s out of the ordinary. Even if she is the daughter of a great hero.”
“But why didn’t you avoid it? I could easily deal with a blow like that…”
I whispered, resting my chin on Rena’s head.
“I’ve decided that a direct hit on you, even if it should happen, would be dangerous. Your body, of course, would be in great danger if people knew that there was an unknown person hiding in plain sight.”
“No matter how much I fell in love with you, Lucifer-sama, I’m still a former hero! I can easily dodge such a random attack!”
“Yeah, I know. I know, but I couldn’t help but caught it. Please forgive me for being so ungrateful, Rena.”
I embrace the body of my beloved wife.
“I, I forgive you…. I’m so glad that Lucifer-sama cared about me! I can even feel the excitement in my heart! It just…..”
I took the lips of the girl who was trying to argue with me.
I kissed her lightly, enjoying the lustrous feel of her silver thread-like hair, rubbed her back and then patted her.
After a long kiss, Rena, her cheeks dyed in red, put her hand to her lips and swooned.
I hugged her tightly again and said.
“It’s a comfortable feeling. I wish I could do this forever.”
“Me… too.”
Rena muttered in a completely debauched tone. I’d like to keep it as intense as usual, but I can’t do that tonight.
“Rena. I had hoped that you would be able to gather information on this city as soon as possible, but unfortunately that is no longer possible.”
“I’m sorry about ……. Due to my inability to ……”
“Don’t worry about it. You have enough power. I will gather the information in this city directly. You may stay in this room for a little while, as well as take a long rest.”
Rena’s dark purple eyes moistened, and she hesitated several times, trying to say something.
I thought she was a worrier, but I dared to ask her.
“What’s the matter? If you have something to say, just say it.”
“…… Oh, are you okay alone?”
“Don’t worry. I’m not going to cross swords with that great hero, though.”
I had a hunch just by looking at it.
In my current form, I would be no match for that man.
I felt the same way when I saw Lieutenant General Lambert.
At that time, most of his power had been blocked by the crystal of the High Magic Court. So she didn’t feel a threat at the time, but this time she can’t say the same.
I don’t think I’ll be fighting that great hero in this city, but I’ll have to be very careful.
“More importantly, Rena. As for you, in case you run into Charlotte. If you do, behave normally.”
“Yes. I understand. I know what she is capable of. She is indeed very strong, but she is still inexperienced. No matter what kind of killing intent she has, I will not lose.”
“Mm, ……I think it’s useless worry because she’ll be quiet in the duke’s house for a while, as promised to me, but just in case.”
I thought about the future as I held Rena’s body close to mine.
First of all, let’s study hard as an ordinary exchange student. It’s probably a boring time, but I’m really worried about the empire’s magic tools.
With that in mind, it would be a good idea to get to know Clarice, the special student here at Granden.
If she is a special student but already a soldier, it is highly likely that she knows something about the temple incident.
…… I remembered the glow of those red stars.
I should expect that something will definitely happen in the near future.
In the land of Mildiana, a swarm of frenzied wings has descended, but it has come to an end.
So what is going to happen in this land of Granden? Does it have something to do with the abnormal situation in the temple?
I knew that whatever was going to happen was just a way to pass the time, but for once, I had to be cautious.
