It’s morning on the streets where people were moving around.
On the neatly arranged streets, there were carriages carrying goods moving around.
The streets had many buildings that were completely different from Roland’s on both sides.
The Nelpha Imperial’s capital—Elarun was filled with life.
In this country that had an exotic feel to it, Ryner,
“Haa…I’m tired. I can’t do this anymore. My stomach is empty. I feel like sleeping…it feels like I’ve been walking all this time recently…and speaking of which, I’m sick and tired of hearing ‘peaceful journey’ and ‘peaceful’! I’m this kind of person anyway! I’m really amazing for being able to hang on up till now. I’m awesome! But I can’t take this anymore! Let’s go find an inn! An inn! Alright, if this keeps up, I’ve decided to sleep for the next ten days!!”
He was completely emotional, and there was no trace of delicacy on him.
As for Ferris, she had no sense of sentimentality to these foreign streets as she said with the usual emotionless expression,
“Fmm…looking for an inn when it’s merely morning…I see, so that’s how you lure women into an inn, and continue to do things to her for the next 10 days…the king is definitely right. You’re really a sex maniac.”
“…What in the world are you saying?”
Ryner couldn’t help but ask back, and Ferris shook her head with a ‘you don’t have to understand this’ expression,
“I read similar books before, which said that when a man invites a lady to the inn, he will definitely say something like ‘I’ll definitely not do anything, just a little tired here, so I’m getting some sleep’. Once they reach the inn, the man will immediately change into a beast and run rampant.”
“Why…did you just say it so clearly and realistically…NOT! WAIT, ARE YOU MISTAKEN SOMEWHERE!? HOW CAN I POSSIBLY DO SUCH A THING!?”
Ferris remained silent for a moment, and then glanced at Ryner,
“Nn, that’s true. A super master-class pervert like you who would lure women of young and old before attacking them violently will definitely not go about doing this in such a roundabout way.”
“…MA, MASTER-CLASS PERVERT…IS THAT SOMETHING THAT KING TAUGHT YOU TOO!?”
“No, that’s just a bad impression I have of you after going around with you for a long time.”
“AH? I SAY, I’VE NEVER DONE ANYTHING LIKE THAT BEFORE!!!”
Ferris ignored Ryner’s yells as she continued to walk forward,
“Nn, well, playtime is over. Let’s go and find the library before we look for the inn.”
On hearing that, Ryner immediately felt limp,
“Play…playtime…were you fooling around? Just now?”
“Fufu.”
As he watched Ferris walk far off, Ryner felt even more lethargic,
“I’ve been played…”
He muttered like a fool and again followed behind her slowly…
The library was at the center of the city.
It was a rather large building, escorted by several men who looked like guards. It’s rumored that there was a lot of important information inside the library as well. On seeing that, Ryner’s eyes immediately sparkled,
“Oh, this is amazing. There should be a lot of information I want to find.”
Ferris nodded,
“Nn, let’s hurry up and go in to start the investigations.”
Ryner said in response to such a cold tone,
“I say…what you mean is that I have to investigate the large number of books here one by one, right? It’s tiring! Say something that will encourage me. You look like a beauty anyway…un, let me think, how about a ‘do your best!’ or I’m looking forward ♥’ or something like that? Anyway, I hate to be forced to do something…”
Fm, as Ferris was nodding away,
Kiin!!
The sharp sound of a blade being drawn could be heard.
Immediately, Ryner’s neck felt Ferris’ sword…
Ryner tried to raise his voice and said,
“Ah…er…ah…I suddenly feel that I may be very motivated here…uu…so, you do have some intent of moving that sword slightly further away, right?”
Ferris nodded in a satisfied manner and sheathed her sword,
“Your head will fly off the next time. How about that? Do you have any motivation now?”
“……I’ll definitely be killed by you one day…”
The two of them who obviously looked like they’re having an improving relationship encouraged each other as they moved forward to the library.
Just when both of them were about to enter the library…
Suddenly,
“Oi, you two, hold it there!”
“Naa?”
Several guards and a snowy-white bearded old man called them. Ryner looked back.
The old man looked at Ryner, and then looked at Ferris,
“Who, who exactly are you people? This place isn’t one that barbarians like you can enter!”
On hearing that, Ryner tilted his head,
“Ah? Barbarians? What are you saying?”
For some reason, Ferris, who was standing beside him, just nodded away as if it was to be expected,
“Fm, I see, so that must be it. How you’ve been attacking women walking every night and abducting them had been exposed…”
“THAT’S ENOUGH, SHUT UP! Haa…what’s with these people…never mind. Anyway…uncle. Why are we barbarians who can’t enter the library?”
The old man gave an ‘are you an idiot’ look at Ryner,
“Fuun. You don’t know what’s this about? As expected of you barbarians! This library we’re protecting is the source of sacred knowledge! It’s absolutely ridiculous!”
That’s what I have to say. On hearing these words, Ryner looked at his equipment…
Ryner looked at his unique battle armor that had a white armor plate and a rope. As it’s made from rope, it could still be passable…but Ferris’ longsword at her waist and the leather armor were clearly ‘weapons’. Ryner reluctantly said,
“Well, it’s true that it doesn’t match the attire to enter a library…”
Ferris nodded as well,
“It’s true that it’ll be even more dangerous if a sex maniac is equipped with weapons.”
“I say, I feel that your attire is a lot more problematic than mine.”
Ferris didn’t seem to understand what he said as she shook her head…
“A beautiful person may wear whatever she wants without a problem.”
And she actually said that…
“…”
Ryner was speechless, and the guards and the old men were speechless as well…
For some reason, Ferris, who herself said such a thing, started to blush,
“Tha, that was a joke…”
Immediately, the old man clenched his fists and said,
“You pass! You pass! You’re a beauty and extremely cute! This old man here admits defeat! Like you say, anything you wear fits a beauty like you. Forget about that. Do you have any interest to be this old man’s grandson’s wife…no, my wife!?”
The guard behind grabbed the old man suddenly,
“Oi oi, don’t go wild, old man! Ca, can you be my lover!?”
“Wait a second! It’s better to date me than such a person, right!?”
Ferris entered the library while such a conversation continued,
“What the heck is this…”
As he said this, Ryner kept his eyes half-opened and wanted to follow her in from behind. At this moment,
The old man suddenly kicked Ryner away,
“Didn’t I say that barbarians can’t enter the library!”
“AH!? I SAY, WHY IS IT THAT I CAN’T YET FERRIS CAN!”
“YOU IDIOT. THAT’S WHY I SAID THAT IT’S IMPOSSIBLE TO TALK THROUGH TO BARBARIANS LIKE YOU! HAVEN’T YOU HEARD OF HOW BEAUTIES CAN BE FORGIVEN FOR DOING ANYTHING!!?”
“OF COURSE NOT! AH, I SEE! YOU GUYS STILL DON’T KNOW ABOUT THAT WOMAN’S SAVAGE NATURE. THAT’S WHY YOU’RE SAYING THIS. DON’T BLAME ME WHEN YOU REGRET THIS!”
Ferris said with an emotionless expression,
“Nn. That’s the revenge of someone who was dumped, was it? You’re a sad man for saying bad things about your ex.”
“FORGET ABOUT WHETHER I WAS DUMPED OR NOT, I’VE NEVER BEEN DATING YOU!!”
Let’s ignore the low level conversation that’s going on at the library…
At this moment, suddenly, there were voices,
“WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU’RE DOING, YOU BRATS!? WATCH ME KILL YOU!!!”
“KYAAAAAAAAAHHH!!!”
Angry shouts and cries rang…
“What is it?”
“Nn.”
Ryner and Ferris stopped arguing as well as they turned their heads in that direction.
There were several savage looking men in the middle of the road.
Right in front of them was a 5, 6 year old kid and a little girl who was carrying a large book and looking back at the pale-looking kid,
And also, there was a youth who was standing in front of the men to protect the two kids.
“What are you trying to do?”
The stern voice came from a brown haired youth who was staring at those men with a forceful expression. He looked kind, but for some reason, showed a presence of nobility on his face. Looking at the situation, it’s definitely impossible for him to take on so many savages alone, but even so, the youth continued with an adamant voice,
“Ibel is still a kid. Don’t kick him.”
The men stared at this youth.
“Ahh? Who do you think you are? The older brother of these brats? What do you intend to do? Those brats kicked my foot?”
The youth just shook his head,
“The way I look at things here, it looked like you were deliberately aiming to hit Ibel.”
“WHAT DID YOU SAY, YOU PUNK!? MY CLOTHES ARE ALL DIRTIED BECAUSE OF THIS DIRTY KID! ARE YOU GOING TO PAY ME BACK!?”
“…I see. So you’ve been trying to do this right from the beginning. But I can’t succumb to evil-doing in front of my siblings. That’ll be teaching them the wrong thing.”
“HAH!? YOU WANT TO BE BEATEN UP HERE!?”
The girl and the boy who got up looked at the youth worriedly,
“To, Toale nii-chan. Are you alright?”
“Can you win?”
However, the youth called Toale suddenly changed from his old peaceful expression into a sharp smile,
“Impossible. But you definitely can’t let them do anything to you. So you better run away while I hold them off!”
““Eh!?””
The boy and the girl cried out at the same time.
After that, the youth started fighting against the 5 men.
As he hit one, he got hit back by another, and he would then be kicked when he gasped.
“Alright! Hurry up and run, Ibel, Telua!”
“Bu, but…”
Such a scene.
Ryner and company were staring in a seemingly dazed manner,
“What do you think?”
“Um, seems like there’s someone like you there. That guy called Toale or something seems rather honest.”
“…No, I’m not referring to that…well, you’re not going to save them?”
Ferris remained unmoved by these words and said weakly,
“Nn? Have you eyed that girl this time? As long as I’m around, I won’t allow such an evil person to exist.”
Ferris said to Ryner with a wry expression,
“…Ahh, why is it always me? Now I’m starting to understand your feelings when you interact with others…more than that, the bad guys should be them and not me, right? Really, what are you thinking, capturing a good guy like me? Alright, go help them.”
“Too troublesome. I’m not going.”
“Me too.”
“…”
Just like that, Ryner and Ferris glared at each other.
“I say, you’re really a cold person!”
“I don’t want to hear that from a woman attacker.”
And started on their meaningless argument while ignoring the fact that they had to save someone.
In the end, these two still seemed to be a long distance away from being on good terms with each other…
Leaving this aside,
While they’re arguing back and forth, Toale was captured by the men and had his neck grabbed.
“What a waste of time. Not a bad image you have there. Do you want to die like that? HAH!?”
“Guu…damn it…”
The boy who hadn’t run away yet continued to grab the man who was grabbing Toale’s neck.
“Don, don’t bully onii-chan…ukywa!?”
He got kicked easily by the man. The girl then raised the book in her hands.
“O, onii-chan! I’ll go save you now!!”
And rushed forward.
“Uu…don’t come over! Run away!”
This scene could make anyone weep…
The man launched a punch the girl…and this time, it was really a hit to the girl’s face…
Ryner watched it,
“Ahhh…”
Suddenly, he showed a serious expression, and then immediately showed a serious look,
“No way! Damn it!”
He rushed over.
Immediately,
Ryner’s body slid at a high speed, unlike the lifeless and unmotivated look he gave before and immediately got between the girl and the man,
“Alright.”
He grabbed the girl, and was faster than the fist the man swung out,
“Hoi!”
He kicked the man’s face and sent him facing away,
The man fell onto the floor and passed out,
After seeing that, Ryner put the girl down and heaved a sigh,
“Fuu, that was dangerous…”
The girl continued to show a terrified look, and then said with a soft voice,
“Tha, thank you…”
At this moment, Ryner took the book in the girl’s hands,
“This is a book I want to investigate on. It’s an old book, and it’ll be bad if you ruin it by using it to hit…that was close…”
The girl widened her eyes at Ryner,
As for the other men,
“WH, WHO THE HELL ARE YOU, YOU BASTARD!?”
Ryner looked at the men who were really annoying,
“This is bad…my body instinctively moved on its own…really, didn’t I just save them in the end…? That means I ended up teaching you guys a lesson because you dared to disturb us?...uaa, how troublesome…”
He continued to show a lifeless and lethargic look even in this situation…
That’s to be expected.
“WHAT’S WITH YOU!? APPEARING OUT OF A SUDDEN AND KICKING SOMEONE AWAY? THAT’S TOO DESPICABLE!!”
“LOOKS LIKE YOU GUYS NEED TO BE TAUGHT A LESSON AS WELL?”
Ryner sighed in the face of the raging men,
“…Even if you guys say that I’m despicable…ah! That’s right!”
He clapped his hands as if he just thought of something in his mind,
“Actually, I didn’t kick you guys, you know? It was just a coincidence as that guy hit my sole…didn’t you say something like this happened? It’s the same as that, so let’s just let bygones be bygones…”
“HOW WAS THAT POSSIBLE!?”
The men roared and started to attack.
Ryner continued to remain relaxed,
“Ahh, I’m already so tired from the trip. I don’t really want to move my body…”
And continued to turn his back on the enemy,
“Then, Missy, can you please hold this book for a while?”
“Eh? Ah…o, okay. Wah, danger!”
The girl cried out.
At the same time, Ryner moved his body slightly, and the man’s fist missed.
Ryner continued to slowly grab his wrist, trip the feet and caused him to flip.
Just when Ryner was doing this lethargic motion, the man spun around at an unbelievable speed…
“WAH!?”
And slammed hard into the ground with tremendous impact before being unable to move,
There were three left,
“Wha, WHAT WAS THAT!?”
“DON’T YOU DARE LOOK DOWN ON US!!”
“DIE!!”
The men all charged forward,
Ryner didn’t strike a pose at all as he continued to face them with a tired look…
He deflected the first man’s fist and kicked him in the chest with one leg…or rather, seemed to press on him gently with the toes of his foot. The man behind raised a fist and charged forward.
The next moment, with a painful sounding echo, the man’s fist hit the first man.
“Ah, IT HURTS, IT HURTS…STOP IT!!”
And this man’s body just rolled away easily.
Also, the other man who wanted to rush over forgot to attack as he was dumbstruck due to such an incident, and walked over…
“Ah, ah, ah…”
And showed a terrified expression on his face,
“Okay, that’s that…”
He used a karate chop on the neck…
And the man fainted.
5 men were taken down onto the ground in an instant…
Toale, the boy and the girl were all looking over in a dumbstruck manner,
But to the person Ryner himself, this wasn’t anything much…
Besides, he was raised in an abnormal environment where people were all treated as fighting machines and taught all sorts of things…
Also…
(There’s a woman who’s standing there and not thinking of anything about this…)
On thinking about this, Ryner started to grumble unhappily.
“I say, why must I do such a tough job? Couldn’t you have done it, Ferris? Those guys would definitely have been defeated in an instant. Besides, my main skills are magic spells, you know? I can’t just let people from Nelpha see Roland’s magic, so you should be doing this, Ferris. Un, that’s right. I’m definitely right here. That person’s personality is rotten to the core…”
He grumbled as he walked over to the little girl…
But at this moment,
The unexpectedly sharp attack suddenly appeared right in front of Ryner’s eyes,
“WHAT!?”
Ryner tried his best to dodge it,
But that attack was way too fast—
He couldn’t dodge this at all!
To Ryner, who was able to easily dodge those men’s attacks, he couldn’t even react to this attack at all, which showed that the enemy attacking him now was so terrifying…
Ryner got hit in the face…
“Ah.”
And collapsed on the ground…
Then—
That terrifying enemy started to kick Ryner…
“Nn, now all the bad guys are taken out. The girl over there, that was dangerous…this guy is a serial culprit of abducting young girls. If I wasn’t around…”
Ferris was making an expression that showed that it was too horrifying for her to continue as she shook her head reluctantly…with that, Ryner…
“I~say, what are you trying to do…WAH!?”
Ryner’s words were interrupted as Ferris stamped on his back viciously.
Ferris continued to stop on Ryner and said,
“Whose personality is rotten to the core?”
“GYAAAAHHH!!? YOU HEARD THAT!? I SAY, IT, IT HURTS! SORRY!”
“Nn.”
Toale, the boy and the girl continued to stare at this couple, not knowing what’s going on between the two of them up till now…
Toale tentatively,
“We, well…thank you for saving us.”
Said that out.
Ryner, who was on the ground, and Ferris, who was stomping on Ryner, looked over at him at the same time,
“Ahh~…if you really feel grateful, help me find a way to get this devil…uKYAAAHHH!!?”
“Nn, that’s right. It’s better to execute a devil who abducts young girls now.”
What in the world were they saying…?
Well, such a thing was commonplace, and they would continue until they got sick and tired of it…
Ryner was finally released, and stood up.
At this moment, the boy and the girl were cuddled up with Toale and relieved that they were fine.
Ryner looked at them with a sleepy expression.
“Ahh, then, what do we do? It’ll be meaningless if I can’t go into the library either way? Anyway, let’s try and keep the armor somewhere and buy some clothes.”
Ferris nodded.
“Nn, but let’s leave that for now. Don’t you want the book in that girl’s hands.”
For a moment, Ryner didn’t understand what that mean, and once he did, his face blushed red,
“…Ah, ahh that’s right! Yes, that’s it! If it’s not like that, I wouldn’t be doing such a troublesome thing. Yes.”
Ryner started to rattle away.
Ferris continued to stare at Ryner with her emotionless eyes, and nodded,
“I see, so you do have some wild thoughts on that little girl…”
“I SAY, WHY ARE YOU THINKING OF SUCH A THING NOW!? BESIDES, DIDN’T YOU JUST REMAIN THERE STANDING WITHOUT DOING ANYTHING!?”
“Nn. That’s because I’m not just a beauty. I have a pure heart that’s full of love like an angel.”
Ferris’ words caused Ryner to imagine angels like her with otherworldly beauty and devilish hearts roaming the heavens…
“…I, guess, it’s alright to go to hell now…”
“What are you saying?”
“No…please don’t mind me…”
Toale walked towards the duo who were continuing their conversation that was without worth.
And smiled at the two of them.
“Thank you for saving my siblings here. Please allow me to repay your kindness…”
Ryner looked back at Toale and showed a complete lack of enthusiasm,
“Ah—don’t mind. It’ll be troublesome…let’s go then, Ferris.”
“Alright.”
Both of them walked away.
Toale spaced out in silence for a moment, and then chased after them immediately,
“Eh, well…I, I can’t allow this. I can’t let you walk away without repaying your graciousness. I won’t be able to set a good example for my siblings here. Please, just let me help out in some way…”
However, even after hearing it, Ryner and Ferris never looked back,
“Ah~I’m so tired today…isn’t that right, Ferris? Let’s forget about everything else and go find an inn to stay at as soon as possible.”
“…Are you thinking of…”
“ABSOLUTELY NOT!”
Both of them continued to walk further away…
Toale could only give up…
A depressed voice could be heard from behind Ryner’s group,
“Can’t be helped then. Ibel, telua. Go return the book to grandpa Ganiel at the library. Big brother here will buy ingredients for dinner.”
“Okay~”
Immediately.
In response to Toale’s words…
Ryner and Ferris stared at each other, and then immediately turned around—
Ryner said,
“Ahh—now that I think about it, it’s better to let you repay us.”
“Nn. We can’t reject other people’s kind intentions.”
Toale showed a bothered look in regards to Ryner’s group’s sudden change in attitude, but immediately smiled.
“That’s great. If I can’t repay the ones who saved me, I won’t know how to continue on. Then, let’s come over to my house to talk…”
But Ryner immediately refused,
“No, can you help us get into the library instead? The uncle over there hates us and doesn’t want us to enter.”
Ryner looked at the entrance of the library.
At the entrance, the old man and the guards were hidden behind the pillars and watching Ryner’s group, who had just beaten the punks.
Once they noticed Ryner’s stare, the old man poked his head out,
“No, no way! A violent barbarian like you looks way too suspicious. I won’t let you pass as long as my eyes are still black!”
Though he was saying that with a rather forceful voice, the old man’s entire body was hidden behind the pillar…
Ryner shrugged and looked lethargically at Toale.
“See? You look like you know the library uncle very well. See if you can convince him? There’s a lot of information that we have to investigate about no matter what.”
I see. Toale nodded and said to the old man with an adamant voice,
“Oi, grandpa Ganiel, these people helped me out here, you know? Aren’t you going to let them in?”
The old man’s attitude changed completely as he stuttered and answered,
“Th, that…I didn’t see them help you, Toale-sama…but I have a duty I have to fulfill…there’s too much important information in this library…”
Toale’s tone became heavier.
“I suppose your duty didn’t include protecting me as you were hiding over there the entire time.”
“We, well…”
“I’ll say it again. These two people saved me, so I want to repay them. It’s just right that I repay the ones who helped me, right? You’ll let them through, I suppose?”
“U…I, I understand. It can’t be helped…since Toale-sama said so…”
In response to this conversation, Ryner and Ferris looked at each other…
It’s now time for a change in location inside the library.
As expected of the tight security (even so, the guards were somewhat gutless) protecting it, the facilities inside the library were pretty sufficient.
The books of all ages hidden inside were neatly arranged, leaving no gaps in between.
Also, this library wasn’t open to civilians, but only to outstanding students who were specially chosen, nobles and people of high status.
That was the one reason Ryner’s group was turned away by the guards.
In other words…
Right now, since they were allowed into the library just like this…and that person, Toale, convinced the old man Ganiel who was so against Ryner’s group from entering, Toale would either be an outstanding student or someone of the higher class…
“Uwaa—amazing. Then, Toale, Ibel, Telua, please get that and that and also that book over there. That one too. Ahh, Ferris, get that…ahh, just kidding, just kidding, you don’t have to do anything, sorry! So please at least sheath your sword in the library…really…erm next…ah, uncle, help me get paper and pen. Alright, let’s start…”
Ryner’s sparkling eyes looked at the books around him as he sat at the seat prepared for him before directing everyone.
Toale and the rest nodded and started running around the library according to his orders…
On seeing this, the old man Ganiel’s face was flushed red as he roared at Ryner,
“YOU, YOU Itsuki! LET ALONE BARKING ORDERS AT ME, EVEN IF YOU SAVED TOALE-SAMA, DON’T GET TOO COCKY!! DON’T FORGET ABOUT THE BACKGROUND OF OUR LORD!!”
Ryner was obviously uninterested with regards to these words,
“Really? Who is he? What nobility is he from?”
The old man suddenly straightened his chest,
“Fufu. Don’t be surprised when you hear this. I tell you, Toale-sama is the royal grandson of the emperor of Nelpha Imperial, Gread Nelphi-sama!!”
The old man said these words proudly,
However—
Ryner merely said,
“Heh—I see. That’s really great. Ah, Toale, not that book, the big one beside it.”
“Ah, sorry, this book?”
“Yes, that one. Help me get that over here.”
“Understood.”
At this moment, a voice echoed in the library,
“YOU DON’T UNDERSTAND ANYTHING AT AAALLLLL!!!!!”
A very loud voice.
Such a loud voice echoed in the library, causing Ryner and Toale to turn to look at him…
“Oi, uncle. Your face is flushed. Are you dyi…”
“OF COURSE NOT! NOT THAT! YOU Itsuki, WERE YOU EVEN LISTENING TO ME!!? THAT LORD IS THE ROYAL GRANDSON OF EMPEROR NELPHA!!”
On hearing that, Ryner looked sleepy as he tilted his head,
“I heard that. Didn’t I say that it’s great? Is that something to be shocked over? Is there a problem…”
“THERE’RE A LOT OF PROBLEMS!!? YOU CONTINUED TO TELL TOALE-SAMA TO DO THIS AND THAT EVEN AFTER HEARING THOSE WORDS. WHAT ARE YOU DOING!!?”
“Well, since you asked me what am I doing…isn’t it troublesome for me to get the book myself?”
“Trouble…some, you say?...I’M GOING TO KILL YOU!! UNFORGIVABLE!! I’LL USE THESE HANDS OF MINE TO…”
The old man rolled up his sleeves and raised his fist…
“Don’t be like that, grandpa Ganiel.”
Holding several books with one hand, Toale showed a troubled expression.
The old man panicked and took the book from his hands.
“To, Toale-sama, really, what are you thinking? Listening to a stranger commanding you…the name of the Nelpha Imperial will be weeping!!”
But Toale frowned and shook his head.
"I feel that Nelpha’s name will be crying if I don’t repay this kindness…also, I was a kid born from a woman my father picked up from the wayside, so I’m just like dumped goods. Someone like me can’t act great all of a sudden.”
On hearing these words, Ryner showed some interest for the first time. He looked at Toale’s sister Telua who was reading with Ferris,
“I see. So it’s because of that that you’re different from other nobles and don’t have quite the twisted personality, huh? Sure does feel like the king…”
Before he even finished, Ryner stopped…
The reason was because Ferris, who would never show a change in expression no matter how great the crisis, suddenly blushed…
And the girl who was reading enthusiastically with Ferris,
“Right? It’s amazing, isn’t it? This is a book I would often read secretly when Toale nii-chan goes shopping, but you must hide it from everyone else, okay? Well, to put it…it’s top secret, I guess? Ah, that’s it.”
Ferris nodded. “I understand…but…Nelpha’s education has already reached such a low age limit…this is a great threat to Roland.”
She said as she flipped the next page…
“Wha!? This…is really unbelievable…”
Ryner stared at the book that caused emotions to appear on the normally stoic Ferris,
And that book’s name was ‘Busty Mature Woman’s…
“HEY!!! WHAT ARE YOU TWO READING!!!”
He rushed over to snatch the book. Ferris then regained her usual emotionless expression,
“Nn. This girl’s really showing me the top secret information of Nelpha Imperial…”
“I say…don’t you feel that it’s bad for a kid’s education to be reading such things at such a young age…”
“That’s true. I only read the prologue…but I feel that those who read this book will become an adult like you…”
“I’ve never read such a book before…but it feels like I can’t do my research properly with you around…”
At this moment, the old man suddenly,
“Oh, it’s about time for the library to close. Okay, everyone, time to go home for today.”
“Ah!? Wait, what’s this? I finally managed to gather the information, you know? I’m already planning on researching through now…”
The old man’s lips curl up slightly, showing a mischievous smirk.
“Nope. You only requested Toale-sama to let you into this library only, right? That means the gratitude had been repaid, isn’t it? That means it’s over. Alright, time to go.”
“I say…no way. We just came in just, and I haven’t even researched anything yet.”
But the old man’s face was showing a much happier expression,
“Fufu. I don’t know about this though. You can only blame yourselves for being too late.”
Also, Ferris nodded in agreement seriously this time,
“The old one’s right, Ryner. It’s because you read such a dirty book with a name like <<Busty Mature Woman’s Journey Diary 4>> that caused this situation.”
“THAT WAS YOU WASN’T IT!? OR RATHER…ahh, I’m really tired…”
Ryner sighed hard,
This time, Toale chuckled kindly,
“That’s right. The sun is setting today. How about we borrow the books back and carry out research at my home? Ryner-san, Ferris-san?”
“What!? To, Toale-sama…even if you say so…you’re still Emperor Nelpha’s…”
But Toale shook his head,
“Grandpa Ganiel, don’t make me repeat this again. He’s my savior here, you know? I have to repay him. And to the people in this country, I…no, we aren’t important. I’m definitely that man’s…Nelpha Imperial’s prince’s son…but that’s all. My mom was a commoner, so we were all dumped into a house. It’s because of that man’s foolhardiness now that he kept getting one child after another, and the siblings in our house continued to increase. However, there is no one to breastfeed the kids in that house! My mom was forced away when we were still kids…I’m the only one who can be considered a guardian.”
As he said that, Toale pulled Ibel and Telua over, patting them on the head,
“Do you think that someone who grew up under such an environment can appear on stage?”
“We, well…but, we, no, the people in the country really respect you for being able to raise children alone and say hello to us so kindly. Also, your studies were really outstanding when you were with prince Starnel, Toale-sama…”
And Toale could only smile wryly,
“That’s just your worries, grandpa Ganiel.”
But Ganiel looked serious,
“No, the people who really worry about the country can tell. Right now, a lot of officials rely on your ability and view you as a window to the people’s voices and would often talk to you. And also, ever since you became this window, this capital…no, this country had been gradually becoming rich…this is something every citizen in this country knows. There’re a lot of nobles and officials who support you too…so, if possible, please guide this country…”
But Toale stuck his tongue out,
“No~way, I like this life that is easygoing and without burden. If possible…I hope to take care of my siblings without letting them touch any filth…besides, if anyone else hears your words, grandpa Ganiel, they’ll arrest me, you know? It’s because my grades were outstanding that I was chased out by that man’s legitimate children. The officials were the same…they were secretly talking to me to prevent the princes from finding out…it’s because I wasn’t officially accepted by them? Me being a king like this? No way, I don’t have such a right. Then, Ryner-san.”
Toale turned around and smiled,
“What books do you need? You can carry them all if you can. I don’t know if my cooking suits your tastes, but allow me to serve you.”
The kids then followed up,
“Toale nii-chan’s dishes are really good!! I’m really looking forward to it! Right, Telua?”
“Un!”
Ryner couldn’t help but moan as he saw Toale and the rest,
“Ahh~…now I finally know why Toale can handle the expectations of the people. He has a similar background to the king…but has a completely different personality from that rotten king. Always spreading baseless rumors that I like older women…”
Ferris nodded in agreement,
“…That king actually said that he would destroy the dango shop…that’s really something only the devil will do…”
Both of them continued chatting since he wasn’t around.
Toale carried the pile of books that he himself didn’t look like he could carry right in front of them,
“Okay, let’s go. We still have a lot of kids at home. It might be a little noisy, but I hope to introduce my savior to them.”
Ibel then shouted,
“HURRY UP!”
Telua then grabbed Ferris’ hand and walked out of the library,
“Onee-chan, I have some more amazing books at home!”
On seeing this, the old man showed an anguished expression,
“Damn it…how pitiful…those kids, leaving aside their status, they don’t even have relatives…can, can anything be done…”
But on hearing his words, Ryner narrowed his eyes,
“Low status, no relatives, pitiful? That’s not right. That’s called happiness, uncle. Besides, those kids all…”
But Ryner didn’t finish his words,
“SUCH IRRESPONSIBLE WORDS! WHAT DO YOU KNOW!?”
The old man glared at Ryner angrily,
That stare…
Ryner took that stare that had some sadness in the usual lethargic-looking eyes…
“…You’re the one who doesn’t understand.”
The library was already far behind him.
And for a change in scenery, it’s now back to the Roland Empire.
The wooden sword let out a sharp trajectory as it swung over, and the girl finally managed to use the wooden sword in her own hands to block the attack…
“Au!?”
However, the attack that wasn’t completely blocked hit her head mercilessly.
Fresh blood splattered in the air.
The girl fell onto the ground viciously, but she continued to struggle and get into position as she raised the wooden sword in her hands, looking very nervous.
She was a girl with cute hair,
Her flaxen-colored hair was tied in a ponytail and she looked like she was about to cry. However, not one single tear dropped from those large red eyes.
She was about 15, 16 years old.
The mouth on her nice looking face was bleeding due to the impact just now…
Even so, the girl shook her head to keep herself conscious and stared at the men in front of her.
The two swordsmen were wielding wooden swords, all looking rather strong.
No matter how it looked, she couldn’t win. One could just understand by feeling the atmosphere. The five of them were really strong…the girl frowned and looked afar at the middle-aged man who was staring at her with stern eyes…
At this moment, the man spoke,
“Go.”
Immediately, three swordsmen wielding wooden swords all attacked.
The girl was already aware that she couldn’t take on three people at once and immediately threw her wooden sword away.
She then moved her hands in the air and drew a magic array.
It was the magic activation method Roland had,
“What I seek is thunder>>>…eh!?”
But before the girl could even complete the magic array, one of the swordsmen threw a wooden sword right at the girl and hit her straight in the chest. The sharp pain prevented the magic array from being drawn—
The other swordsmen used this opening to attack the girl’s neck with the wooden swords…
Will I be wiped out here?
Immediately, the girl subconsciously closed her eyes.
However…
The impact didn’t come as expected.
She opened her eyes slowly, and found that the wooden sword stopped right at her neck…
The swordsman looked at the middle-aged man she’s been looking at and asked in a respectable manner,
“Then…the victor’s decided…what should we do, Callaud-sama?”
But the half-white haired gentleman who was called Callaud stared at the girl with icy cold eyes,
“Why must you stop? Continue to swing at Milk with the wooden sword.”
“WHAT!? If, if I do that…ojou-sama’s life will likely be in danger…”
The swordsman raised his voice in shock.
However, the man didn’t let the swordsman continue as he continued with a calm tone,
“If she died, she’s just like that. I’ll buy another new child. If that girl is still a member of the Callaud family, she will be able to handle such a situation. If not, I don’t need such a child.”
Such cold words.
Of course, the swordsman continued to show hesitation as he didn’t swing the wooden sword,
“DO IT!!”
As Callaud roared, he could only turn to look at this girl called Milk,
“Sorry!”
He swung down the sword in his hands.
An unbelievable impact spread from the neck.
“Kuu…”
The other swordsmen then swung their wooden swords,
“Ugh…ah!?...AHHH…”
Milk felt pain spreading all over her body as her consciousness gradually faded.
If she continued to get hit like this, she would, most probably, die.
That’s how it seemed.
She felt pain, she felt like crying. It was an area of despair for her.
Milk, who collapsed on the ground, saw the man standing there.
Her father.
The father who bought her.
Yes, Milk was the puppet of this man.
A puppet who was bought.
In the Roland Empire, though it couldn’t be revealed openly, the accursed style was common knowledge during the ex-king’s era.
They were puppets treated as substitutes for their own children, a way to increase their accomplishments in the army…
Milk was such a puppet who was bred by the great noble family Callaud…
Useless puppets were unwanted.
Useless puppets were thrown away…
It was such a life.
She had been going through what can be viewed as an abnormal military training…
Her tears were flowing out.
Such a daily life…
If I continued, I might as well be dead…
She thought of this many times.
She continued to be beaten by the wooden swords…
The pain gradually subsided, and her consciousness faded away…
However—
Her mind suddenly remembered those words.
The one who spoke was a black haired boy.
The face of that boy who was lacking in presence, always looking tired, extremely unmotivated, but had a kind look.
He said,
“You really like to cry. Don’t say that you’ll die. If it’s you, you can definitely do it because you’re strong. I don’t have any intention to die, so…”
So…
Milk opened her eyes and stopped her crying.
She continued to try and move the wrists that were in so much pain that they had no strength in them,
“So, don’t die…don’t die…don’t die…”
She continued to repeat the boy’s words softly, again, and again.
She moved her hands behind her and drew a magic array of light in a place the opponents didn’t notice.
And then…
“What I seek is water mist>>> Misumi.”
Immediately, the magic array Milk drew from behind gathered a compressed fluid before turning into an exploding torrent that released itself to the ground.
Milk’s body was thrown into the air by the compressed water as the pressure rushed at the swordsmen.
“Uwa!?”
“What!?”
The swordsmen all lost their balance due to the sudden attack surprising them as they were washed away by the water.
Milk saw this, and drew a magic array in the air again.
She flipped in the air and jumped towards a place without water. At the same time…
“What I seek is thunder>>>…”
She raised the hand in front of her…
And let out a weak voice due to the pain,
“Everyone, don’t move. If you move, I’ll send the electricity to the center of the water. If that happens, you, who were drenched in water, will all be electrocuted, and the victory will be decided.”
As she said this…Milk looked at Callaud.
The swordsmen all look over at Callaud as well.
The man nodded,
“Very well. It’ll end here. We’ll have lunch an hour later, and the next training will be another two hours after that. Milk, don’t be late.”
There were no compliments at all.
No, there’s no need to say what’s obvious…
Once there were results, they would move on to the next training.
The next one, next one and next one.
He would continue to aim higher until she became useless.
Milk watched Callaud leave, and wearily collapsed as she sat on the ground.
“……Yes.”
She answered softly.
Soon after,
(Do your best, Milk! It’s alright, you can do it! Yes! Don’t let out any sounds. Your etiquette must be proper, your mannerisms must be elegant. It’s alright, just ignore the bad…ahh…it hurts…but you must do your best!)
Milk continued to encourage herself deep inside her heart as she continued to drink the soup.
Her entire body was feeling the pain of being hit by wooden swords and she felt that she couldn’t hold the spoon or that she would collapse at any moment…
“Nn…aa”
A slight nudge from her body caused every part of her to be in pain. But even so…
(If I don’t eat well now…my body will not be able to take this! Drink up, Milk! Hurry!)
Right now, the place where Milk was undergoing her struggle was the dining table lit by candle light. The Callaud family was gathered around the table.
Milk’s foster parents were there, and so were her sisters of similar age.
In stark contrast to Milk, all of them were happily chatting with each other and enjoying the delicious dinner.
One of Milk’s sisters, who was older than Milk by a year, said cheerily,
“Mother, Anna-sama invited me to go travelling with her the next time there’s school vacation. Is that okay?”
“Eh? Anna-sama, as in the princess of Count Egiluna? Where did she invite you to?”
“She said that we can go to the beaches of Cornel for a while, mother, and that we can enjoy some seawater bath.”
At this moment, the girl who was of the same age as Milk answered,
“Eh—onee-sama is really sneaky. I want to go to!”
“It can’t be helped. Anna is a good friend of mine, right, Mother? Can I go?”
Her mother looked slightly troubled as she turned her head towards the master at this dining table,
“This child’s father, what do you say? Since Nalua had spoken, we might as well let the whole family go on a trip.”
“Um, that’s right.”
Callaud nodded slightly, and the children cheered.
However, Callaud immediately turned to Milk,
“As for you, you obviously know what to do, right?”
“Eh?”
Milk let out a puzzled sound as she basically didn’t hear any of what was discussed. She could only stop the hand that was fighting with the soup and lifted her head to look around…
“Ah, yes. I understand. I still have military training to go through.”
The moment the battered Milk said that, her sisters looked at her unhappily.
Milk realized this and hurriedly showed a smile,
“Ah, Eimi nee-sama, Nalua-sama. That’s really great. Please enjoy yourselves.”
“U, un.”
And the two girls showed grimmer expressions.
Milk’s foster mother looked at her as if she saw something dirty.
Callaud continued to tuck in silently with a stern expression.
It was a daily meal…
Milk smiled and tried to continue eating as she didn’t want the girls to mind…however,
“Ah…”
Milk moaned,
The pain she endured up till now suddenly struck her body.
Immediately, she instinctively let go of the spoon…
The spoon knocked into the utensils, letting out a loud sound that echoed throughout the entire dining table.
“……Uu.”
Milk frowned as she held onto her hand,
“So, sorry.”
And spoke.
But Callaud stood up, walked towards Milk and swung his fist.
Milk could only watch silently. The brutal training everyday caused her body’s abilities and reflexes to far exceed a normal human's…
However, Milk didn’t dodge it. It was pointless to dodge. If she dodged, she would continue to get hit and get chased out of the house. If she got chased out of the house, she would have no place to go to…
She watched the incoming fist flying at her with a forsaken look…
Milk’s petite body was hit far out from the chair.
“KYAAHH!?”
Her sisters cried out.
Milk collapsed onto the floor like she was a puppet with her strings cut…
“Kaha…aau…”
Her mouth got cut again as blood flowed out…
Callaud stared down at Milk from behind with an emotionless expression,
“It seems that you still haven’t understood the weight of the Callaud family’s name. You must be better than anyone else and have an elegance that will not shame the Callaud family. That’s why I bought you, because I thought that you had such a value…”
Milk slowly stood up.
“I, I understand. I’m really sorry.”
She nodded.
Yes, that’s the reason she was here, how she was always taught.
Ever since she was bought over at the age of 5, Milk had always, always lived for such a reason.
Every day, every day, every day, the blood had been coming out from her. No, in a certain sense, she had been going through military training that came with death. Her life was easily dangled. Everything would be over if she died. If she couldn’t live, she wouldn’t be able to enter the army and bear the name of the Callaud family…
Every single day passed on like this.
She was loved by no one, not noticed by anyone…
But one day, she finally realized this.
The promise she made in the past, her dreams were all unable to be fulfilled. She finally realized this.
She despaired.
She had nothing left.
The meaning of her survival, her hope was all gone.
But she never gave up, never willing to die.
She couldn’t lose here.
She promised the boy.
She promised him that she would do her best.
That’s why…
She tried her best to let everyone else see her smile.
So as not to shame the Callaud’s name.
So as not to let that boy laugh at her.
Using her bloodied face—
Elegantly.
The young men’s calls,
The exploding sounds of magic,
It’s the practice field of the Roland Empire’s Officer Academy.
This was the place where noble children who wanted to enter the army were gathered, an Officer academy for the elites.
Sion watched the young students train from the monitoring room that had a large window. He watched them train for a while, and then looked at the thick stack of information in his hands.
This was the investigated report Fiole compiled detailing the names of all the talented people.
The report included all sorts of details of each person, abilities, character, whether they were of nobility, whether they would serve Sion…
In other words…
They were not children of nobility, but children bought by nobles, and these children hated the nobles…also, there were also records of how the children were raised in the noble’s family…Sion looked at this report.
“Ahh~ really, Fiole left on his own while leaving such a thick document…”
He grumbled sadly.
Recently, Sion had been coming over to the Officer Academy to pick out outstanding talents based on this report to solidify his position. Fiole was supposed to be the one doing this…
But now that Fiole was no longer around…
And—Claugh, who was behind, was acting as the guard,
“And, who’s the one that caught your eyes today?”
Sion moved his eyes away from the information and smiled,
“I specially chose a girl for your sake today, Claugh.”
Claugh’s expression immediately went from uninterested to sparkling.
“Oh, really? I already had a feeling when I got up from bed this morning that I shouldn’t request Calne to escort you today, Sion…it felt like fate.”
Sion gave a slightly wry look on his face as he lifted his head to look at his subordinate who was older than him.
“You already felt that this is fate although you haven’t even met that girl?”
“Fufufu, don’t look at me this way, Sion. I can feel fate from all the girls in the world.”
“Hoh, that’s impressive.”
Sion shrugged and lifted his hands.
Claugh suddenly showed a reliable attitude.
“It’s really my honor that you would praise me like this, Your Majesty…just joking. What kind of talent is she?”
Sion nodded,
“Un, very outstanding.”
He looked at the information.
The person he spotted had outstanding grades, and one could tell from the skill in magic constructing, theory, combat skills and all sorts of battle skills that she had quite the high aptitude.
But these weren’t the amazing points that caught his attention, but the girls grades in the subject…
Outstanding grades in tactics and strategy.
And when there were mock battles, the squads she commanded had never lost before…
This result was really shocking.
But it’s different from working hard and raising ability in spells and combat skills. This required a certain sort of talent.
Opportunity and popularity.
Opportunity would refer to digesting whatever tactic or strategy one learnt and use it to deal with all sorts of situations or create a brand new tactic when necessary.
And popularity—
This was the hardest part. How much the subordinates believe in oneself when one lead the army could cause the battle strength to increase.
Anyway, this report showed that this person had outstanding ability that was higher than many others.
And all at a very young 16 years of age.
This was already enough for Sion to qualify her as a talent he wanted…
However—what Sion was noticing this time wasn’t these abilities of hers…
“Never mind. You’ll know when you see it.”
As he said this, Sion handed the information over to Claugh. He received it…
And suddenly showed an enthusiastic expression.
“Nn…aah? What’s this? The daughter of that famed Callaud family…I’m not looking forward to it then. Besides, she’s most definitely some haughty noble family’s child or something…why do you want such a person as your ally?”
Sion smiled.
“What now? Weren’t you always trying to talk up some noble girls? Now you don’t want nobles as your allies?”
“This and that are two different issues altogether. As for me…”
Claugh’s voice went deeper as his expression was completely different from the usual frivolous look, regaining the usual sharp expression he had.
“I’m really infuriated by what happened to Fiole. I really can’t forgive those nobles who never thought of the pain people had and played those dirty tricks. I don’t want those noble children who become our allies to backstab us.”
“…I agree.”
Sion nodded.
“But Claugh, not all nobles are enemies. There are some amongst the nobles who are very unhappy about the current situation, and there are people who understand the people other people have.”
“You’re right there…”
“Right now, the people I want to recruit are all chosen by Fiole. I trust in his vision, and this kid I want to see was bought by a noble.”
Claugh’s eyebrows tensed up as he frowned…
“Ahh I see…but, buying people…huh? Sounds really disgusting. I really can’t get along with nobles.”
“I feel the same.”
Claugh’s expression immediately brightened up the moment he heard this,
“Of course, I’ll take over this 16 year old girl who’s been played by the nobles!!”
“O, oi oi…that won’t do. This kid this time has been already reserved.”
“Haa? Reserved? What does that mean?”
Sion chuckled confidently.
This was the real reason why she was chosen…
The information regarding her was researched on down to every specific detail. Amongst the information, there was the name of the Roland Special Institute number 307.
Roland Special Institute number 307.
One of the darkest secrets in the history of the Roland Empire.
That place was most suited to the term ‘Hell’.
On the surface, it looked like a kind facility that housed orphans who lost their parents in the long wars and nurtured them to survive…
But in fact, that wasn’t the case. Talented orphans were gathered here and ingrained with thorough military training. Once a child was deemed to be of low aptitude, the child would be immediately executed. The remaining few children who could survive would either be bought by the nobles for high prices or sent into war at a very young age…
She was one of the few survivors.
And also, part of ‘his’ past…
At this moment—
The door to the room was knocked on.
“I’m Milk Callaud.”
A cute voice,
Sion and Claugh glanced at each other.
“Come in.”
Sion said.
The moment he finished, the petite body immediately moved, and the beautiful—or rather, cute girl walked in, remaining still in front of Sion’s group, looking really nervous…
“Yo, your majesty, I heard that you’re looking for…OUCH!”
The more she spoke, the more unclear she seemed to be. She suddenly bent down…
And, using her cute voice,
“…I bit my tongue…it hurts…uu…but but, I can’t back away here! Do your best, Milk! Okay, try it again, eieio~!”
She muttered to herself…
Sion’s group looked at Milk speechlessly…
Milk, who lifted her face again, showed tears as her face was flushed red,
“…We, well, I’m sorry, I’m sorry. Erm, erm, that…I heard that Your Majesty was looking for me, right? I heard that you wanted me to take some form of test?”
She stared at Sion’s group with her round and large innocent eyes, and finally managed to say out what she wanted to say clearly.
There was no sense of the uneasiness the nobles would have in her eyes,
Or rather, the impression she gave was just like some kindergarten kid who wasn’t just all dirty…
Seeing Milk like this, Sion and Claugh couldn’t help but look at each other—
Claugh’s expression was painfully trying to endure his laughter as he whispered beside Sion,
“I say, Sion, are you really going to use this person? This is really funny. I like such an interesting Missy.”
Sion chuckled as well as he pretended to cough a few times and looked at Milk.
The cute face, the extremely large round eyes, the flaxen-colored ponytail, the petite body,
She really looked…unreliable…
It was really impossible to tell that she was someone who had outstanding grades and was undefeated when she lead her forces in tactics and strategy lessons…
Even if she was once ‘his’…
“…”
Sion stared at Milk, who had been standing still nervously for a while, and then gave a look to Claugh. Claugh nodded…and his hand suddenly moved quickly.
Immediately, he threw out a pen from his hand right at Milk.
That pen flew straight at Milk’s immature-looking face…
Milk’s eyes continued to stare at Sion as she didn’t seem to notice the pen all all.
It’ll hit. Sion thought.
That report was just baseless after all…
However—
Milk raised her hand towards the pen without even looking at it.
However, Milk’s hand actually grabbed onto the pen…
And then, she looked at the pen she grabbed onto for the first time…
And suddenly panicked.
“Aa? Ho, how did you know that I forgot to bring my pencil case? Well…I’m sorry. I won’t make the same mistake again…then, can you lend me this pen? Where do I take the test?”
She continued to talk, and didn’t seem to realize that catching the pen was something really amazing…Claugh really looked happy.
“This kid is the real deal.”
“But, well…looking at her like this, it’s really hard to imagine her having some leadership ability…”
Sion looked at Milk again seriously.
She tilted her head and looked over, and she really looked like a pet everyone loved…Sion smiled wryly and whispered,
“She doesn’t look like a reliable kid on first glance…will the subordinates follow her? What do you think, Claugh?”
Claugh smiled,
“You really don’t understand, Sion. It’s because she looks unreliable that her subordinates would fight hard, you know? Especially when the leader’s a girl.”
“Heh~…is that so?”
“That’s how it is. However, you might want to assign her a squad first. That’ll show it.”
“How domineering you are. How about she become your superior?”
“AH!? Wa, wait, why must she be my superior!?”
“Nn? Not happy about it?”
“No…I can’t say I’m unhappy…”
Claugh looked at Milk. “To put it, well, I prefer women who are slightly more mature, but not old women like those Calne likes. Or rather, to describe them, those who are normally very reserved, but at night…”
Sion watched Claugh describe his ideal woman so passionately to himself and sighed long and hard,
“Okay okay, I got it. But I never thought of letting her work with you in the first place. I’ve already decided where she would go.”
“Hou? Where?”
Claugh asked in a rather interested manner. Sion chuckled mischievously and called out Milk, who was giving them an incredulous look while they had their conversation.
“Milk Callaud.”
“Ye, yes!”
The moment she was called up, Milk’s face tensed up again.
And then, Sion glanced at her,
“From now forth, you are promoted to lieutenant.”
“……Heh? Wait, EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEHHHHHHHHHHH!!!?”
Milk raised her voice in disbelief as her eyes widened,
“Er, Erm…I haven’t even graduated from Officer Academy yet? And…let alone a Second Lieutenant, being promoted to lieutenant in one go is…”
Sion smiled,
“I feel that this rank is rather suitable for you given your grades.”
“Really…but…”
“Are you unhappy?”
“No, I have no intention of that at all? But more than that, there should be someone else more suitable than me! It’s a little too much for me to be a lieutenant before those graduates with outstanding grades…”
Seeing that Milk was being quite polite, Sion and Claugh grimaced. Normally, people wouldn’t say such a thing.
Even with such a good chance of promotion dropped right in front of her, one would normally gobble it up.
But Milk was really hesitating…
Is that…a rebellion against the nobles who bought me? If I become outstanding in the army, will it go as what the Callaud family wants, or am I going against it…?
Sion glared sharply at Milk,
“What are you hesitating about? Is the rank of lieutenant too much of a responsibility to you? Is this going against the Callaud family?”
“Eh?”
On hearing that, Milk looked at Sion seriously and pondered deeply,
“…Your Majesty, do you already know about it?”
“Yeah. My subordinates are all very outstanding. I have all sorts of information about you ever since you were born. Even about Roland Special Institute Number 307…”
The moment Sion said this, Milk’s body jerked, but he continued,
“What do you intend to do? What are you hesitating about? Do you hate to serve me?”
On hearing this question, Milk could only lower her head as she seemed to be thinking about something…and remained silent as if she recalled something…
“I…don’t hate the Callauds. They were deadly strict…but they raised me up…I feel I should repay them if I can. My foster parents don’t like me…but Eimi nee-sama and Nalua-sama are very kind…
And about the Roland Special Institute Number 307 incident…I don’t hate it at all.
That’s because over there, I…”
Sion’s group couldn’t hear the voice after that—
But Sion could imagine it,
As for why, that’s because ‘he’ was there…
And—
Milk lifted her head and showed a strong expression unlike before,
And also had a trace of elegance in her smile.
“I understand. I’ll gladly accept this rank.”
Sion was very satisfied with this answer,
“Then, Lieutenant Milk Callaud, you may report this to the Callaud family. I will inform you of where you will be assigned later on. In the meantime, rest well at home.”
“Yes! Thank you very much!”
Milk lowered her head and walked out of the room.
Sion and Claugh watched the door close—
Claugh said,
“Such a good kid…I want a daughter like her.”
“Nn? Then you have considered settling down already, right? You can have as many partners as you want, Claugh.”
“I’LL DEFINITELY BE KILLED IF THAT HAPPENS!”
“Of course, because you’ve been dating with quite a number of them every single time.”
“I’m one with a fair heart.”
“And you dare to say that.”
“Leaving that aside, that kid…she’s called Milk, right? Where do you intend to send her to?”
Sion simply answered,
“The ‘Taboo Breaker’ Pursuit Squad.”
Claugh couldn’t help but widen his eyes,
“Ahh? Why must you send her to such a place…”
It’s to be expected why he would be so shocked.
The ‘Taboo Breaker’ Pursuit Squad.
That was one of the most hated squads.
They were to capture or kill the ‘Taboo Breakers’ who had escaped the country on their own—their past comrades. The squad that was in charge of such a mission would be one of the toughest ones in this era without a war.
Also, they would be working in other lands, dangerous when considering that they wouldn’t have the assistance of the Roland Empire. Also, they would have those who were called ‘Taboo Breakers’ as opponents, those who learned the powerful magics of the Roland Empire.
Also…
The squad that often partook in death…the ‘Taboo Breaker’ Pursuit Squad was often looked down on by the other squads, and derogatorily called ‘Ally Killers’…
That was why the children of nobles would definitely never be assigned to that place.
Those gathered over there were orphans who had ability but had no one to rely on…
That was why Claugh was shocked,
“Sion, what are you thinking?”
Sion shrugged his shoulders.
“Fufu. It’s a secret. Anyway, I’ll hand her over to Miller and Luke.”
Now Claugh was even more surprised…
“Luke? Wait…why is he still in the ‘Taboo Breaker’ Pursuit Squad? Why? Didn’t you pull him out during the revolution?”
“Haha. About him, it seemed that he wanted to work under Miller, and had no interest in being outstanding.”
“No, even so…Miller-sempai can be even more outstanding as well…”
“Same goes for Miller as well. He didn’t want anyone else to do the job of the ‘Taboo Breaker’ Pursuit Squad that handles the lives of people. Even when I offered him the position of Lieutenant General, he refused it. He said that he would keep the rank of Major so that it would be easier for him to do many things.”
“…”
On hearing that, Claugh gave a frustrated look,
“I, Is that guy an idiot? Staying in that hated department…”
Sion chuckled happily,
“It’s because such a guy is around that this country can remain safe. Besides, there’s a king like me around too.”
“I see.”
“DON’T JUST AGREE LIKE THAT!”
Sion argued against Claugh, and then closed up the information in his hands,
“Alright, our work is done for today. Let’s go.”
“Alright.”
Both of them intended to walk out of the room,
And at this moment,
Sion and Claugh felt an overwhelming killing intent from outside the room…
That killing intent rushed into through the door without restraint.
Claugh immediately got into position to protect Sion,
“What was that!?”
“I don’t know…but…”
Sion stared at the door sharply.
It was undoubtedly something dangerous,
And there wasn’t just one person there.
There were many…
Claugh groaned,
“Have the nobles decided to kill you without caring about their own image, Sion…?”
And—
The door slowly opened.
They saw—
A man standing there. Unexpectedly, there was no one else there.
Sion stared at this man in a mystified manner.
He had nice long black hair, about the same height as Claugh, but a lot skinnier than him.
Also, he had a very beautiful looking face…but not a lot of people could realize that. That was because of the icy cold green eyes in the center of the face…the icy cold eyes that seemed to look down on everyone were scattered a dark presence…
He was slightly older than Sion, and looked to be about 22, 23 years old.
Claugh couldn’t help but grumble,
“Who is this guy…?”
And stared back at him with the contrasting crimson red eyes that were filled with life.
The man played dumb as he raised his hands,
“I seemed to have shocked you people, Major General Claugh, and Your Majesty.”
He walked into the room with slow steps and then stood in front of Sion’s group. He touched his chest with the mysterious black ring on the finger and cautiously lowered his head,
“I’m Miran Froaude, son of the Marquis Karlal Froaude, and I currently have the rank of the Lieutenant Colonel in the Roland Imperial Army.”
On hearing this introduction, Claugh looked really unhappy.
“Oh, the son of such a great noble. What are you doing here?”
Froaude lifted his head slightly,
“No, I heard that His Majesty came here to gather people to fight against the nobles who would escape from time to time.”
“WHAT!? YOU!!”
Claugh roared, however,
“Back down, Claugh.”
Sion stopped him and faced Froaude, staring at him with the golden icy stare that looked like it could freeze anyone.
“Lieutenant Colonel Miran Froaude. I know of you. A talented man who became a lieutenant at a very young age of 17, and carried out several suppressing works during the civil war several times and quickly rose to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. Even though you’re the son of Marquis Karlal Froaude…in fact, you were bought. You were an orphan yourself, am I right?”
And then, on hearing Sion’s words, Frouade showed a slight smile on his face.
“As expected of you, Sion Astal-sama. Shouldn’t you have added— ‘you would do anything and everything to complete the mission, even if it means carrying out despicable means. Loyal to Marquis Froaude, but has difficulty working with allies’—the report of the deceased Fiole Folkal should have something like this, am I right?”
Frouade said these words without any restraint.
Sion was the only one who should have the report Fiole Folkal left behind, and nobody else should be able to access it…
But Sion merely remained silent about this.
“And then, what do you want from me?”
Froaude glanced at Claugh, and then back at Sion,
“…If possible…”
He merely said this.
Sion’s face showed a slight smile as he nodded gently.
“Sure. Oi Claugh. Do you mind going out for a while? It seemed that Lieutenant Colonel Miran Froaude doesn’t want anyone other than me to hear what he has to say.”
Claugh panicked.
“Oi oi oi oi, hold it there, Sion. That won’t do. I came here to protect you. Besides, you don’t want me to know what this guy has to say?”
On hearing that, Sion smiled wryly,
“No, it’s not that I can’t let you hear it, but that this Lieutenant Colonel here won’t speak up if you are here. However, I want all kinds of information here. You know my personality.”
Claugh clutched his head and answered reluctantly,
“…Ahh, I got it…so that means, since you decided on this, my suggestion will definitely not reach you…really, if Calne knows about this, he’ll nag me again and say something like this sempai is useless or something.”
“Haha. Well there’s always a way when it comes.”
“Nn. However…”
Claugh lifted his head to stare at Froaude…
“Be careful.”
“Ahh.”
Sion nodded, and Claugh left the room unwillingly. Sion watched him leave, and turned to look at Froaude.
“And then? Let me ask this again? What do you want from me?”
Froaude stared right at Sion and immediately went straight to the topic at hand.
“About this…I suppose you should understand? I came here to visit you because you definitely need me.”
“Un? I don’t understand what are you talking about here…”
But Froaude interrupted Sion’s words,
“You should have realized this. Major General Claugh Klom is a radiant person as his appearance indicates. Fiole Folkal’s the same as well, and the same goes for that Milk Callaud. You, who are always walking on the stage, will always gather people who are chasing after the light. But these aren’t enough for what you really desire, am I right?
Or rather, you will bear the darkness alone? That’s impossible. You had been able to do so up till now, but now you're the king, the man radiating light in this country. Then, someone will definitely have to replace you and bear the darkness. I want to be that person. I want to get that thing you really want.”
Froaude said with an attitude that seemed to indicate that he had read Sion’s inner heart, and looked at him,
“…Bear my darkness, huh? That’s quite an arrogant tone. Then, do you know what I want?”
And then,
“Of course I do. It exists inside you.”
Froaude’s expression didn’t show any changes at all as he answered without hesitation.
“Hou?”
Sion answered happily with a smile.
“Then, try and say it out then.”
Froaude took a short breath, closed his eyes, and simply answered,
“Yes…right now, this Roland Empire is just a country in the Menoris Continent…but I want to help you fulfill your wish to conquer the entire continent and become the king of the Great Roland Empire.”
Sion frowned.
“……So, do you think that’s my dream? Haha, that’s really an amazing dream. But I haven’t thought of things to such a grand level, you know? What I want is just a country without war, one where the people can smile and live.”
But Froaude’s face showed a satisfied and icy cold smile, and lowered his head respectfully,
“Of course, Your Majesty. No matter what you think, a king has to say things like that. And then, I’ll handle the remaining darkness. For this sake, I am already prepared to abandon my foster parents without hesitation.”
Sion watched Froaude lower his head and swear his loyalty.
Froaude then spoke again,
“Please allow me to be with you.”
“…”
A really enigmatic man.
Sion thought that this man had icy eyes and a cold heart.
This man didn’t care about what was said just now at all.
To conquer the Menoris Continent, to become the king of the Great Roland Empire, that was what he wanted to make Sion into.
Even if this would cause this Menoris Continent to be involved in a large war, he would not hesitate over it…
This man thought that this was Sion’s dream…
Saying that I hope for this…
I…
Sion narrowed his eyes. It’s true that Lucile himself had said it of his once before.
What I really want is to be the King of Roland, and what happens after that…
However, the moment he thought of this, Sion shook it off deep inside his heart. This is stupid. What I wish is what my mother wished for me, what Kiefer wished, what everyone wished, what he wished…
An ordinary peaceful world without war.
Sion again looked at Froaude.
“What you’re saying is really weird, Miran Froaude. Do you intend to kill your foster father first?”
Froaude lifted his head, and for an instant, showed a shock,
“Ha, haha, if that’s what you wish…”
He showed a heinous smile that was like a dead person's.
A deep darkness.
Sion started to ponder.
This man is dangerous'.'
However, he was a necessary talent as well. He had a calm mind, and was a talent who could do what he, Claugh, Fiole and the rest couldn’t do.
This man had the same smell as Lucile. No, he wasn’t of a monstrous level like Lucile who looked protected by the spirits…however, it felt that there was a more human darkness from him compared to Lucile…
Can I control him?
Sion pondered…but immediately laughed at himself for being so weak.
“……Alright. I’ll let you work under me.”
Froaude lowered his head again.
“I'm extremely grateful.”
Several days later, Froaude was promoted to Colonel, and was transferred to work under Sion.
His work was disgustingly perfect.
He took on the undercover role alone, which Sion had never given Fiole before, and completed them all perfectly one after another.
Right now, Sion is reading through one of the documents Fiole left behind—the Cleado village leaders not collecting taxes because of their conflict with the nobles. He used his icy cold expression that didn’t show any thought as he read the compilation report of the leaders.
“Let’s leave this aside for now.”
Sion lifted his head up from the table,
“But this problem is because of the high taxes charged in Cleado village, right? I can’t just ignore the pain of the people…”
However, Froaude didn’t even glance at Sion,
“Your Majesty, as compared to the people who have a weak voice, we should first focus on the nobles. Right now, your verbal authority amongst the nobles isn’t very strong, Astal-sama. Besides, Cleado Village is under the jurisdiction of that Count Stearead’s group, and unfortunately, we don’t have the power to fight them. Right now, we can only use the leaders of Cleado village as a seed of dissatisfaction against the anti-king faction. I feel that’s the best strategy.”
Yes, Froaude said it. I’ll harvest the people in pain…
Sion’s face frowned slightly.
“Even if this is the best strategy, I can’t do it. I’ll be just like the old king…”
But Froaude interrupted his words,
“Then please hurry and control the country in your hands. Do you intend to use your false kindness as priority to let the people in the country sink into crisis…or will you endure for now and walk down your rule...?”
“…”
Froaude’s words were right. If he continued to take on the anti-king nobles, the ones who would be most hurt would be the people in this country. Froaude’s strategy was a way to weaken the authority of these nobles and increase Sion’s power. It was necessary…
However…
“That won’t do. Send the people at Hillread to assist.” Froaude seemed to look disappointed as he narrowed his eyes and watched Sion,
“Assist…is it?”
But Sion laughed coldly,
“Yes, assist, but not in my name. Yes, use a merchant’s name or something else to help them. Of course—”
Froaude showed an understanding look,
“I see. Spread rumors that the merchant’s a believer of Your Majesty and extend help to show his appreciation for you…okay, I’ll do so this time. But we can’t use such a strategy all the time…”
“…Yes I understand. I understand….so I’ll leave the rest to you.”
“…I understand.”
Once he finished, Froaude retreated from the room. Claugh and Calne walked by him and entered the office.
Claugh looked back at Froaude, who was leaving the room, and walked towards Sion,
“So you made that guy one of our allies?”
He gave a very frustrated look, but in turn Sion smiled,
“Yeah, he’s very outstanding. He really helped out a lot just now.”
Calne looked at Sion and Claugh, and then turned to look at Froaude as he left the room,
“Eh? I say, who are you talking about? Are you talking about that new guy?”
Claugh nodded,
“He was someone Sion scouted and pulled over to our side when I was guarding Sion in your state?”
“Heh? Scou…? Eh? Eh? But sempai, didn’t you say that there was only a cute girl you guys were aiming for as a talented person?”
“Ahhn? Don’t always worry about the specifics. My policy is not to talk about guy things normally.”
“What kind of principle is that…if that’s the case, I can’t let you carry out the mission next time, Claugh-sempai.”
“Hou…since when are you so great that I can let you take over? Have you mistaken it for those jobs I entrusted you?”
“What are you saying? You didn’t hand over the jobs to me, but forced them onto me. All the troublesome jobs were thrown at me…ahh really, forget about that…speaking of which, who’s that guy? The new guy…”
Sion answered,
“Froaude. Miran Froaude.”
Claugh frowned,
“An annoying guy…I say, Sion. I guess he isn’t thinking for your sake…it’s not just that I’m saying that he’s hard to handle, but also…that guy’s eyes are really unnerving…it’s like they’re frozen, irritating eyes…he’s definitely someone different from us.”
Calne tilted his head,
“It’s rare for you to hate someone so much, sempai.”
“Really? My principle is that I hate all men.”
“Well, I like women too…but that’s not what I mean…”
Sion gave a wry smile as he watched the two of them,
“Froaude is the son of a noble, Calne.”
“Ahh, sempai hates nobles but still goes out with noble girls…”
Calne grumbled, but Claugh ignored his grumbling and looked at Sion,
“I think you won’t be changing your decision now. Do you think that by recruiting him as an ally, you can control him?”
Claugh looked rather serious as he stared at Sion with serious eyes as if they’re taking on Sion’s thoughts directly, contrasting starkly from Froaude, and Sion took this expression seriously.
“Someone able to control a person like him is what a king has to be.”
“…”
Claugh smiled.
“Okay, if that’s what you decided.”
Calne added on,
“Of course, Sion is different from sempai. Up till now, he has never made a mistake when it comes to making decisions.”
“Ahh? Do you mean that I’ve made mistakes in my decisions before?”
“Haa? Why must I apologize to you because of things regarding women, sempai?”
“YOU BRAT! YOU WANT TO FIGHT HERE!?”
“Impossible, I’ve never seen anyone who could beat you in a fight, sempai. But if we’re playing cards like usual, whoever loses will have to treat, you know?”
“Oh, you have guts there. I’m different from usual today.”
“That’s what you say all the time, sempai.”
“Shut up! I’ll take revenge for this!”
“You wouldn’t pay every time you lost anyway…never mind, let’s go again.”
And then, Claugh threw the file at Sion with momentum,
“And that’s why this guy would treat me to lunch. I’ll be going off then. Ah, that’s right. Here’s the report from the last investigation mission.”
As he said that, Claugh walked out of the room carefreely. Calne also put down his document.
“I’ll hand in my report…”
“Oi, Calne! Hurry up!”
“Ah, ah, then Sion-san, I’m going off then.”
And, as he watched the two of them leave the room…
“I say, you better work hard…”
Sion sighed long and hard.
On the other hand, after the two of them left the room…
“Then, sempai, what are we playing today? Poker? Clock? Fist?”
“…”
But Claugh didn’t answer, and Calne tilted his head,
“I say, sempai?”
“Ahh?”
“We’re not playing cards?”
“How can I be playing cards when we’re working?”
“!?”
Immediately, Calne showed the horrified look of a kid who seemed to have seen some shocking development and took two, three steps back…
“Se, se, se, se, sempai, you’re saying something proper for once!?”
“…What kind of person do you think I am? But that doesn’t matter. More than this, about Froaude?”
“Froaude? That new guy? You’re that mindful about him?”
Claugh’s expression was really serious.
“Ahh, I just have a feeling that that guy is going to be troublesome.”
“Ge, sempai’s using his own instincts again. This is bad, your instincts are often sharp, sempai, just like a beast…”
“Not just instinct. You’ll understand one day…anyway, what’s our mission?”
“Ah? Mission…? Ah, to protect Sion, right?”
“Yes. I feel that this country finally got saved because Sion became the king of this country.”
“I’m the same as well. If it’s Sion, he can definitely lead this country to a positive direction, which is why we followed him.”
“He’s different from us. This country needs him, so, protecting that guy…”
“Is our job.”
Calne showed a serious expression as well.
“And then, we’re going to investigate Frouade’s background…”
Claugh chuckled, and Calne grabbed his blond hair so much it got messy,
“Really, what a troublesome king…”
“…To me, I think you’re the one who’s more troublesome, sempai…we’ve already agreed…”
Both of them continued as they walked down the long corridor,
On the way, they went past Frouade, but never greeted him.
It’s morning on the streets where people were moving around.
On the neatly arranged streets, there were carriages carrying goods moving around.
The streets had many buildings that were completely different from Roland’s on both sides.
The Nelpha Imperial’s capital—Elarun was filled with life.
In this country that had an exotic feel to it, Ryner,
“Haa…I’m tired. I can’t do this anymore. My stomach is empty. I feel like sleeping…it feels like I’ve been walking all this time recently…and speaking of which, I’m sick and tired of hearing ‘peaceful journey’ and ‘peaceful’! I’m this kind of person anyway! I’m really amazing for being able to hang on up till now. I’m awesome! But I can’t take this anymore! Let’s go find an inn! An inn! Alright, if this keeps up, I’ve decided to sleep for the next ten days!!”
He was completely emotional, and there was no trace of delicacy on him.
As for Ferris, she had no sense of sentimentality to these foreign streets as she said with the usual emotionless expression,
“Fmm…looking for an inn when it’s merely morning…I see, so that’s how you lure women into an inn, and continue to do things to her for the next 10 days…the king is definitely right. You’re really a sex maniac.”
“…What in the world are you saying?”
Ryner couldn’t help but ask back, and Ferris shook her head with a ‘you don’t have to understand this’ expression,
“I read similar books before, which said that when a man invites a lady to the inn, he will definitely say something like ‘I’ll definitely not do anything, just a little tired here, so I’m getting some sleep’. Once they reach the inn, the man will immediately change into a beast and run rampant.”
“Why…did you just say it so clearly and realistically…NOT! WAIT, ARE YOU MISTAKEN SOMEWHERE!? HOW CAN I POSSIBLY DO SUCH A THING!?”
Ferris remained silent for a moment, and then glanced at Ryner,
“Nn, that’s true. A super master-class pervert like you who would lure women of young and old before attacking them violently will definitely not go about doing this in such a roundabout way.”
“…MA, MASTER-CLASS PERVERT…IS THAT SOMETHING THAT KING TAUGHT YOU TOO!?”
“No, that’s just a bad impression I have of you after going around with you for a long time.”
“AH? I SAY, I’VE NEVER DONE ANYTHING LIKE THAT BEFORE!!!”
Ferris ignored Ryner’s yells as she continued to walk forward,
“Nn, well, playtime is over. Let’s go and find the library before we look for the inn.”
On hearing that, Ryner immediately felt limp,
“Play…playtime…were you fooling around? Just now?”
“Fufu.”
As he watched Ferris walk far off, Ryner felt even more lethargic,
“I’ve been played…”
He muttered like a fool and again followed behind her slowly…
The library was at the center of the city.
It was a rather large building, escorted by several men who looked like guards. It’s rumored that there was a lot of important information inside the library as well. On seeing that, Ryner’s eyes immediately sparkled,
“Oh, this is amazing. There should be a lot of information I want to find.”
Ferris nodded,
“Nn, let’s hurry up and go in to start the investigations.”
Ryner said in response to such a cold tone,
“I say…what you mean is that I have to investigate the large number of books here one by one, right? It’s tiring! Say something that will encourage me. You look like a beauty anyway…un, let me think, how about a ‘do your best!’ or I’m looking forward ♥’ or something like that? Anyway, I hate to be forced to do something…”
Fm, as Ferris was nodding away,
Kiin!!
The sharp sound of a blade being drawn could be heard.
Immediately, Ryner’s neck felt Ferris’ sword…
Ryner tried to raise his voice and said,
“Ah…er…ah…I suddenly feel that I may be very motivated here…uu…so, you do have some intent of moving that sword slightly further away, right?”
Ferris nodded in a satisfied manner and sheathed her sword,
“Your head will fly off the next time. How about that? Do you have any motivation now?”
“……I’ll definitely be killed by you one day…”
The two of them who obviously looked like they’re having an improving relationship encouraged each other as they moved forward to the library.
Just when both of them were about to enter the library…
Suddenly,
“Oi, you two, hold it there!”
“Naa?”
Several guards and a snowy-white bearded old man called them. Ryner looked back.
The old man looked at Ryner, and then looked at Ferris,
“Who, who exactly are you people? This place isn’t one that barbarians like you can enter!”
On hearing that, Ryner tilted his head,
“Ah? Barbarians? What are you saying?”
For some reason, Ferris, who was standing beside him, just nodded away as if it was to be expected,
“Fm, I see, so that must be it. How you’ve been attacking women walking every night and abducting them had been exposed…”
“THAT’S ENOUGH, SHUT UP! Haa…what’s with these people…never mind. Anyway…uncle. Why are we barbarians who can’t enter the library?”
The old man gave an ‘are you an idiot’ look at Ryner,
“Fuun. You don’t know what’s this about? As expected of you barbarians! This library we’re protecting is the source of sacred knowledge! It’s absolutely ridiculous!”
That’s what I have to say. On hearing these words, Ryner looked at his equipment…
Ryner looked at his unique battle armor that had a white armor plate and a rope. As it’s made from rope, it could still be passable…but Ferris’ longsword at her waist and the leather armor were clearly ‘weapons’. Ryner reluctantly said,
“Well, it’s true that it doesn’t match the attire to enter a library…”
Ferris nodded as well,
“It’s true that it’ll be even more dangerous if a sex maniac is equipped with weapons.”
“I say, I feel that your attire is a lot more problematic than mine.”
Ferris didn’t seem to understand what he said as she shook her head…
“A beautiful person may wear whatever she wants without a problem.”
And she actually said that…
“…”
Ryner was speechless, and the guards and the old men were speechless as well…
For some reason, Ferris, who herself said such a thing, started to blush,
“Tha, that was a joke…”
Immediately, the old man clenched his fists and said,
“You pass! You pass! You’re a beauty and extremely cute! This old man here admits defeat! Like you say, anything you wear fits a beauty like you. Forget about that. Do you have any interest to be this old man’s grandson’s wife…no, my wife!?”
The guard behind grabbed the old man suddenly,
“Oi oi, don’t go wild, old man! Ca, can you be my lover!?”
“Wait a second! It’s better to date me than such a person, right!?”
Ferris entered the library while such a conversation continued,
“What the heck is this…”
As he said this, Ryner kept his eyes half-opened and wanted to follow her in from behind. At this moment,
The old man suddenly kicked Ryner away,
“Didn’t I say that barbarians can’t enter the library!”
“AH!? I SAY, WHY IS IT THAT I CAN’T YET FERRIS CAN!”
“YOU IDIOT. THAT’S WHY I SAID THAT IT’S IMPOSSIBLE TO TALK THROUGH TO BARBARIANS LIKE YOU! HAVEN’T YOU HEARD OF HOW BEAUTIES CAN BE FORGIVEN FOR DOING ANYTHING!!?”
“OF COURSE NOT! AH, I SEE! YOU GUYS STILL DON’T KNOW ABOUT THAT WOMAN’S SAVAGE NATURE. THAT’S WHY YOU’RE SAYING THIS. DON’T BLAME ME WHEN YOU REGRET THIS!”
Ferris said with an emotionless expression,
“Nn. That’s the revenge of someone who was dumped, was it? You’re a sad man for saying bad things about your ex.”
“FORGET ABOUT WHETHER I WAS DUMPED OR NOT, I’VE NEVER BEEN DATING YOU!!”
Let’s ignore the low level conversation that’s going on at the library…
At this moment, suddenly, there were voices,
“WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU’RE DOING, YOU BRATS!? WATCH ME KILL YOU!!!”
“KYAAAAAAAAAHHH!!!”
Angry shouts and cries rang…
“What is it?”
“Nn.”
Ryner and Ferris stopped arguing as well as they turned their heads in that direction.
There were several savage looking men in the middle of the road.
Right in front of them was a 5, 6 year old kid and a little girl who was carrying a large book and looking back at the pale-looking kid,
And also, there was a youth who was standing in front of the men to protect the two kids.
“What are you trying to do?”
The stern voice came from a brown haired youth who was staring at those men with a forceful expression. He looked kind, but for some reason, showed a presence of nobility on his face. Looking at the situation, it’s definitely impossible for him to take on so many savages alone, but even so, the youth continued with an adamant voice,
“Ibel is still a kid. Don’t kick him.”
The men stared at this youth.
“Ahh? Who do you think you are? The older brother of these brats? What do you intend to do? Those brats kicked my foot?”
The youth just shook his head,
“The way I look at things here, it looked like you were deliberately aiming to hit Ibel.”
“WHAT DID YOU SAY, YOU PUNK!? MY CLOTHES ARE ALL DIRTIED BECAUSE OF THIS DIRTY KID! ARE YOU GOING TO PAY ME BACK!?”
“…I see. So you’ve been trying to do this right from the beginning. But I can’t succumb to evil-doing in front of my siblings. That’ll be teaching them the wrong thing.”
“HAH!? YOU WANT TO BE BEATEN UP HERE!?”
The girl and the boy who got up looked at the youth worriedly,
“To, Toale nii-chan. Are you alright?”
“Can you win?”
However, the youth called Toale suddenly changed from his old peaceful expression into a sharp smile,
“Impossible. But you definitely can’t let them do anything to you. So you better run away while I hold them off!”
““Eh!?””
The boy and the girl cried out at the same time.
After that, the youth started fighting against the 5 men.
As he hit one, he got hit back by another, and he would then be kicked when he gasped.
“Alright! Hurry up and run, Ibel, Telua!”
“Bu, but…”
Such a scene.
Ryner and company were staring in a seemingly dazed manner,
“What do you think?”
“Um, seems like there’s someone like you there. That guy called Toale or something seems rather honest.”
“…No, I’m not referring to that…well, you’re not going to save them?”
Ferris remained unmoved by these words and said weakly,
“Nn? Have you eyed that girl this time? As long as I’m around, I won’t allow such an evil person to exist.”
Ferris said to Ryner with a wry expression,
“…Ahh, why is it always me? Now I’m starting to understand your feelings when you interact with others…more than that, the bad guys should be them and not me, right? Really, what are you thinking, capturing a good guy like me? Alright, go help them.”
“Too troublesome. I’m not going.”
“Me too.”
“…”
Just like that, Ryner and Ferris glared at each other.
“I say, you’re really a cold person!”
“I don’t want to hear that from a woman attacker.”
And started on their meaningless argument while ignoring the fact that they had to save someone.
In the end, these two still seemed to be a long distance away from being on good terms with each other…
Leaving this aside,
While they’re arguing back and forth, Toale was captured by the men and had his neck grabbed.
“What a waste of time. Not a bad image you have there. Do you want to die like that? HAH!?”
“Guu…damn it…”
The boy who hadn’t run away yet continued to grab the man who was grabbing Toale’s neck.
“Don, don’t bully onii-chan…ukywa!?”
He got kicked easily by the man. The girl then raised the book in her hands.
“O, onii-chan! I’ll go save you now!!”
And rushed forward.
“Uu…don’t come over! Run away!”
This scene could make anyone weep…
The man launched a punch the girl…and this time, it was really a hit to the girl’s face…
Ryner watched it,
“Ahhh…”
Suddenly, he showed a serious expression, and then immediately showed a serious look,
“No way! Damn it!”
He rushed over.
Immediately,
Ryner’s body slid at a high speed, unlike the lifeless and unmotivated look he gave before and immediately got between the girl and the man,
“Alright.”
He grabbed the girl, and was faster than the fist the man swung out,
“Hoi!”
He kicked the man’s face and sent him facing away,
The man fell onto the floor and passed out,
After seeing that, Ryner put the girl down and heaved a sigh,
“Fuu, that was dangerous…”
The girl continued to show a terrified look, and then said with a soft voice,
“Tha, thank you…”
At this moment, Ryner took the book in the girl’s hands,
“This is a book I want to investigate on. It’s an old book, and it’ll be bad if you ruin it by using it to hit…that was close…”
The girl widened her eyes at Ryner,
As for the other men,
“WH, WHO THE HELL ARE YOU, YOU BASTARD!?”
Ryner looked at the men who were really annoying,
“This is bad…my body instinctively moved on its own…really, didn’t I just save them in the end…? That means I ended up teaching you guys a lesson because you dared to disturb us?...uaa, how troublesome…”
He continued to show a lifeless and lethargic look even in this situation…
That’s to be expected.
“WHAT’S WITH YOU!? APPEARING OUT OF A SUDDEN AND KICKING SOMEONE AWAY? THAT’S TOO DESPICABLE!!”
“LOOKS LIKE YOU GUYS NEED TO BE TAUGHT A LESSON AS WELL?”
Ryner sighed in the face of the raging men,
“…Even if you guys say that I’m despicable…ah! That’s right!”
He clapped his hands as if he just thought of something in his mind,
“Actually, I didn’t kick you guys, you know? It was just a coincidence as that guy hit my sole…didn’t you say something like this happened? It’s the same as that, so let’s just let bygones be bygones…”
“HOW WAS THAT POSSIBLE!?”
The men roared and started to attack.
Ryner continued to remain relaxed,
“Ahh, I’m already so tired from the trip. I don’t really want to move my body…”
And continued to turn his back on the enemy,
“Then, Missy, can you please hold this book for a while?”
“Eh? Ah…o, okay. Wah, danger!”
The girl cried out.
At the same time, Ryner moved his body slightly, and the man’s fist missed.
Ryner continued to slowly grab his wrist, trip the feet and caused him to flip.
Just when Ryner was doing this lethargic motion, the man spun around at an unbelievable speed…
“WAH!?”
And slammed hard into the ground with tremendous impact before being unable to move,
There were three left,
“Wha, WHAT WAS THAT!?”
“DON’T YOU DARE LOOK DOWN ON US!!”
“DIE!!”
The men all charged forward,
Ryner didn’t strike a pose at all as he continued to face them with a tired look…
He deflected the first man’s fist and kicked him in the chest with one leg…or rather, seemed to press on him gently with the toes of his foot. The man behind raised a fist and charged forward.
The next moment, with a painful sounding echo, the man’s fist hit the first man.
“Ah, IT HURTS, IT HURTS…STOP IT!!”
And this man’s body just rolled away easily.
Also, the other man who wanted to rush over forgot to attack as he was dumbstruck due to such an incident, and walked over…
“Ah, ah, ah…”
And showed a terrified expression on his face,
“Okay, that’s that…”
He used a karate chop on the neck…
And the man fainted.
5 men were taken down onto the ground in an instant…
Toale, the boy and the girl were all looking over in a dumbstruck manner,
But to the person Ryner himself, this wasn’t anything much…
Besides, he was raised in an abnormal environment where people were all treated as fighting machines and taught all sorts of things…
Also…
(There’s a woman who’s standing there and not thinking of anything about this…)
On thinking about this, Ryner started to grumble unhappily.
“I say, why must I do such a tough job? Couldn’t you have done it, Ferris? Those guys would definitely have been defeated in an instant. Besides, my main skills are magic spells, you know? I can’t just let people from Nelpha see Roland’s magic, so you should be doing this, Ferris. Un, that’s right. I’m definitely right here. That person’s personality is rotten to the core…”
He grumbled as he walked over to the little girl…
But at this moment,
The unexpectedly sharp attack suddenly appeared right in front of Ryner’s eyes,
“WHAT!?”
Ryner tried his best to dodge it,
But that attack was way too fast—
He couldn’t dodge this at all!
To Ryner, who was able to easily dodge those men’s attacks, he couldn’t even react to this attack at all, which showed that the enemy attacking him now was so terrifying…
Ryner got hit in the face…
“Ah.”
And collapsed on the ground…
Then—
That terrifying enemy started to kick Ryner…
“Nn, now all the bad guys are taken out. The girl over there, that was dangerous…this guy is a serial culprit of abducting young girls. If I wasn’t around…”
Ferris was making an expression that showed that it was too horrifying for her to continue as she shook her head reluctantly…with that, Ryner…
“I~say, what are you trying to do…WAH!?”
Ryner’s words were interrupted as Ferris stamped on his back viciously.
Ferris continued to stop on Ryner and said,
“Whose personality is rotten to the core?”
“GYAAAAHHH!!? YOU HEARD THAT!? I SAY, IT, IT HURTS! SORRY!”
“Nn.”
Toale, the boy and the girl continued to stare at this couple, not knowing what’s going on between the two of them up till now…
Toale tentatively,
“We, well…thank you for saving us.”
Said that out.
Ryner, who was on the ground, and Ferris, who was stomping on Ryner, looked over at him at the same time,
“Ahh~…if you really feel grateful, help me find a way to get this devil…uKYAAAHHH!!?”
“Nn, that’s right. It’s better to execute a devil who abducts young girls now.”
What in the world were they saying…?
Well, such a thing was commonplace, and they would continue until they got sick and tired of it…
Ryner was finally released, and stood up.
At this moment, the boy and the girl were cuddled up with Toale and relieved that they were fine.
Ryner looked at them with a sleepy expression.
“Ahh, then, what do we do? It’ll be meaningless if I can’t go into the library either way? Anyway, let’s try and keep the armor somewhere and buy some clothes.”
Ferris nodded.
“Nn, but let’s leave that for now. Don’t you want the book in that girl’s hands.”
For a moment, Ryner didn’t understand what that mean, and once he did, his face blushed red,
“…Ah, ahh that’s right! Yes, that’s it! If it’s not like that, I wouldn’t be doing such a troublesome thing. Yes.”
Ryner started to rattle away.
Ferris continued to stare at Ryner with her emotionless eyes, and nodded,
“I see, so you do have some wild thoughts on that little girl…”
“I SAY, WHY ARE YOU THINKING OF SUCH A THING NOW!? BESIDES, DIDN’T YOU JUST REMAIN THERE STANDING WITHOUT DOING ANYTHING!?”
“Nn. That’s because I’m not just a beauty. I have a pure heart that’s full of love like an angel.”
Ferris’ words caused Ryner to imagine angels like her with otherworldly beauty and devilish hearts roaming the heavens…
“…I, guess, it’s alright to go to hell now…”
“What are you saying?”
“No…please don’t mind me…”
Toale walked towards the duo who were continuing their conversation that was without worth.
And smiled at the two of them.
“Thank you for saving my siblings here. Please allow me to repay your kindness…”
Ryner looked back at Toale and showed a complete lack of enthusiasm,
“Ah—don’t mind. It’ll be troublesome…let’s go then, Ferris.”
“Alright.”
Both of them walked away.
Toale spaced out in silence for a moment, and then chased after them immediately,
“Eh, well…I, I can’t allow this. I can’t let you walk away without repaying your graciousness. I won’t be able to set a good example for my siblings here. Please, just let me help out in some way…”
However, even after hearing it, Ryner and Ferris never looked back,
“Ah~I’m so tired today…isn’t that right, Ferris? Let’s forget about everything else and go find an inn to stay at as soon as possible.”
“…Are you thinking of…”
“ABSOLUTELY NOT!”
Both of them continued to walk further away…
Toale could only give up…
A depressed voice could be heard from behind Ryner’s group,
“Can’t be helped then. Ibel, telua. Go return the book to grandpa Ganiel at the library. Big brother here will buy ingredients for dinner.”
“Okay~”
Immediately.
In response to Toale’s words…
Ryner and Ferris stared at each other, and then immediately turned around—
Ryner said,
“Ahh—now that I think about it, it’s better to let you repay us.”
“Nn. We can’t reject other people’s kind intentions.”
Toale showed a bothered look in regards to Ryner’s group’s sudden change in attitude, but immediately smiled.
“That’s great. If I can’t repay the ones who saved me, I won’t know how to continue on. Then, let’s come over to my house to talk…”
But Ryner immediately refused,
“No, can you help us get into the library instead? The uncle over there hates us and doesn’t want us to enter.”
Ryner looked at the entrance of the library.
At the entrance, the old man and the guards were hidden behind the pillars and watching Ryner’s group, who had just beaten the punks.
Once they noticed Ryner’s stare, the old man poked his head out,
“No, no way! A violent barbarian like you looks way too suspicious. I won’t let you pass as long as my eyes are still black!”
Though he was saying that with a rather forceful voice, the old man’s entire body was hidden behind the pillar…
Ryner shrugged and looked lethargically at Toale.
“See? You look like you know the library uncle very well. See if you can convince him? There’s a lot of information that we have to investigate about no matter what.”
I see. Toale nodded and said to the old man with an adamant voice,
“Oi, grandpa Ganiel, these people helped me out here, you know? Aren’t you going to let them in?”
The old man’s attitude changed completely as he stuttered and answered,
“Th, that…I didn’t see them help you, Toale-sama…but I have a duty I have to fulfill…there’s too much important information in this library…”
Toale’s tone became heavier.
“I suppose your duty didn’t include protecting me as you were hiding over there the entire time.”
“We, well…”
“I’ll say it again. These two people saved me, so I want to repay them. It’s just right that I repay the ones who helped me, right? You’ll let them through, I suppose?”
“U…I, I understand. It can’t be helped…since Toale-sama said so…”
In response to this conversation, Ryner and Ferris looked at each other…
It’s now time for a change in location inside the library.
As expected of the tight security (even so, the guards were somewhat gutless) protecting it, the facilities inside the library were pretty sufficient.
The books of all ages hidden inside were neatly arranged, leaving no gaps in between.
Also, this library wasn’t open to civilians, but only to outstanding students who were specially chosen, nobles and people of high status.
That was the one reason Ryner’s group was turned away by the guards.
In other words…
Right now, since they were allowed into the library just like this…and that person, Toale, convinced the old man Ganiel who was so against Ryner’s group from entering, Toale would either be an outstanding student or someone of the higher class…
“Uwaa—amazing. Then, Toale, Ibel, Telua, please get that and that and also that book over there. That one too. Ahh, Ferris, get that…ahh, just kidding, just kidding, you don’t have to do anything, sorry! So please at least sheath your sword in the library…really…erm next…ah, uncle, help me get paper and pen. Alright, let’s start…”
Ryner’s sparkling eyes looked at the books around him as he sat at the seat prepared for him before directing everyone.
Toale and the rest nodded and started running around the library according to his orders…
On seeing this, the old man Ganiel’s face was flushed red as he roared at Ryner,
“YOU, YOU Itsuki! LET ALONE BARKING ORDERS AT ME, EVEN IF YOU SAVED TOALE-SAMA, DON’T GET TOO COCKY!! DON’T FORGET ABOUT THE BACKGROUND OF OUR LORD!!”
Ryner was obviously uninterested with regards to these words,
“Really? Who is he? What nobility is he from?”
The old man suddenly straightened his chest,
“Fufu. Don’t be surprised when you hear this. I tell you, Toale-sama is the royal grandson of the emperor of Nelpha Imperial, Gread Nelphi-sama!!”
The old man said these words proudly,
However—
Ryner merely said,
“Heh—I see. That’s really great. Ah, Toale, not that book, the big one beside it.”
“Ah, sorry, this book?”
“Yes, that one. Help me get that over here.”
“Understood.”
At this moment, a voice echoed in the library,
“YOU DON’T UNDERSTAND ANYTHING AT AAALLLLL!!!!!”
A very loud voice.
Such a loud voice echoed in the library, causing Ryner and Toale to turn to look at him…
“Oi, uncle. Your face is flushed. Are you dyi…”
“OF COURSE NOT! NOT THAT! YOU Itsuki, WERE YOU EVEN LISTENING TO ME!!? THAT LORD IS THE ROYAL GRANDSON OF EMPEROR NELPHA!!”
On hearing that, Ryner looked sleepy as he tilted his head,
“I heard that. Didn’t I say that it’s great? Is that something to be shocked over? Is there a problem…”
“THERE’RE A LOT OF PROBLEMS!!? YOU CONTINUED TO TELL TOALE-SAMA TO DO THIS AND THAT EVEN AFTER HEARING THOSE WORDS. WHAT ARE YOU DOING!!?”
“Well, since you asked me what am I doing…isn’t it troublesome for me to get the book myself?”
“Trouble…some, you say?...I’M GOING TO KILL YOU!! UNFORGIVABLE!! I’LL USE THESE HANDS OF MINE TO…”
The old man rolled up his sleeves and raised his fist…
“Don’t be like that, grandpa Ganiel.”
Holding several books with one hand, Toale showed a troubled expression.
The old man panicked and took the book from his hands.
“To, Toale-sama, really, what are you thinking? Listening to a stranger commanding you…the name of the Nelpha Imperial will be weeping!!”
But Toale frowned and shook his head.
"I feel that Nelpha’s name will be crying if I don’t repay this kindness…also, I was a kid born from a woman my father picked up from the wayside, so I’m just like dumped goods. Someone like me can’t act great all of a sudden.”
On hearing these words, Ryner showed some interest for the first time. He looked at Toale’s sister Telua who was reading with Ferris,
“I see. So it’s because of that that you’re different from other nobles and don’t have quite the twisted personality, huh? Sure does feel like the king…”
Before he even finished, Ryner stopped…
The reason was because Ferris, who would never show a change in expression no matter how great the crisis, suddenly blushed…
And the girl who was reading enthusiastically with Ferris,
“Right? It’s amazing, isn’t it? This is a book I would often read secretly when Toale nii-chan goes shopping, but you must hide it from everyone else, okay? Well, to put it…it’s top secret, I guess? Ah, that’s it.”
Ferris nodded. “I understand…but…Nelpha’s education has already reached such a low age limit…this is a great threat to Roland.”
She said as she flipped the next page…
“Wha!? This…is really unbelievable…”
Ryner stared at the book that caused emotions to appear on the normally stoic Ferris,
And that book’s name was ‘Busty Mature Woman’s…
“HEY!!! WHAT ARE YOU TWO READING!!!”
He rushed over to snatch the book. Ferris then regained her usual emotionless expression,
“Nn. This girl’s really showing me the top secret information of Nelpha Imperial…”
“I say…don’t you feel that it’s bad for a kid’s education to be reading such things at such a young age…”
“That’s true. I only read the prologue…but I feel that those who read this book will become an adult like you…”
“I’ve never read such a book before…but it feels like I can’t do my research properly with you around…”
At this moment, the old man suddenly,
“Oh, it’s about time for the library to close. Okay, everyone, time to go home for today.”
“Ah!? Wait, what’s this? I finally managed to gather the information, you know? I’m already planning on researching through now…”
The old man’s lips curl up slightly, showing a mischievous smirk.
“Nope. You only requested Toale-sama to let you into this library only, right? That means the gratitude had been repaid, isn’t it? That means it’s over. Alright, time to go.”
“I say…no way. We just came in just, and I haven’t even researched anything yet.”
But the old man’s face was showing a much happier expression,
“Fufu. I don’t know about this though. You can only blame yourselves for being too late.”
Also, Ferris nodded in agreement seriously this time,
“The old one’s right, Ryner. It’s because you read such a dirty book with a name like <<Busty Mature Woman’s Journey Diary 4>> that caused this situation.”
“THAT WAS YOU WASN’T IT!? OR RATHER…ahh, I’m really tired…”
Ryner sighed hard,
This time, Toale chuckled kindly,
“That’s right. The sun is setting today. How about we borrow the books back and carry out research at my home? Ryner-san, Ferris-san?”
“What!? To, Toale-sama…even if you say so…you’re still Emperor Nelpha’s…”
But Toale shook his head,
“Grandpa Ganiel, don’t make me repeat this again. He’s my savior here, you know? I have to repay him. And to the people in this country, I…no, we aren’t important. I’m definitely that man’s…Nelpha Imperial’s prince’s son…but that’s all. My mom was a commoner, so we were all dumped into a house. It’s because of that man’s foolhardiness now that he kept getting one child after another, and the siblings in our house continued to increase. However, there is no one to breastfeed the kids in that house! My mom was forced away when we were still kids…I’m the only one who can be considered a guardian.”
As he said that, Toale pulled Ibel and Telua over, patting them on the head,
“Do you think that someone who grew up under such an environment can appear on stage?”
“We, well…but, we, no, the people in the country really respect you for being able to raise children alone and say hello to us so kindly. Also, your studies were really outstanding when you were with prince Starnel, Toale-sama…”
And Toale could only smile wryly,
“That’s just your worries, grandpa Ganiel.”
But Ganiel looked serious,
“No, the people who really worry about the country can tell. Right now, a lot of officials rely on your ability and view you as a window to the people’s voices and would often talk to you. And also, ever since you became this window, this capital…no, this country had been gradually becoming rich…this is something every citizen in this country knows. There’re a lot of nobles and officials who support you too…so, if possible, please guide this country…”
But Toale stuck his tongue out,
“No~way, I like this life that is easygoing and without burden. If possible…I hope to take care of my siblings without letting them touch any filth…besides, if anyone else hears your words, grandpa Ganiel, they’ll arrest me, you know? It’s because my grades were outstanding that I was chased out by that man’s legitimate children. The officials were the same…they were secretly talking to me to prevent the princes from finding out…it’s because I wasn’t officially accepted by them? Me being a king like this? No way, I don’t have such a right. Then, Ryner-san.”
Toale turned around and smiled,
“What books do you need? You can carry them all if you can. I don’t know if my cooking suits your tastes, but allow me to serve you.”
The kids then followed up,
“Toale nii-chan’s dishes are really good!! I’m really looking forward to it! Right, Telua?”
“Un!”
Ryner couldn’t help but moan as he saw Toale and the rest,
“Ahh~…now I finally know why Toale can handle the expectations of the people. He has a similar background to the king…but has a completely different personality from that rotten king. Always spreading baseless rumors that I like older women…”
Ferris nodded in agreement,
“…That king actually said that he would destroy the dango shop…that’s really something only the devil will do…”
Both of them continued chatting since he wasn’t around.
Toale carried the pile of books that he himself didn’t look like he could carry right in front of them,
“Okay, let’s go. We still have a lot of kids at home. It might be a little noisy, but I hope to introduce my savior to them.”
Ibel then shouted,
“HURRY UP!”
Telua then grabbed Ferris’ hand and walked out of the library,
“Onee-chan, I have some more amazing books at home!”
On seeing this, the old man showed an anguished expression,
“Damn it…how pitiful…those kids, leaving aside their status, they don’t even have relatives…can, can anything be done…”
But on hearing his words, Ryner narrowed his eyes,
“Low status, no relatives, pitiful? That’s not right. That’s called happiness, uncle. Besides, those kids all…”
But Ryner didn’t finish his words,
“SUCH IRRESPONSIBLE WORDS! WHAT DO YOU KNOW!?”
The old man glared at Ryner angrily,
That stare…
Ryner took that stare that had some sadness in the usual lethargic-looking eyes…
“…You’re the one who doesn’t understand.”
The library was already far behind him.
And for a change in scenery, it’s now back to the Roland Empire.
The wooden sword let out a sharp trajectory as it swung over, and the girl finally managed to use the wooden sword in her own hands to block the attack…
“Au!?”
However, the attack that wasn’t completely blocked hit her head mercilessly.
Fresh blood splattered in the air.
The girl fell onto the ground viciously, but she continued to struggle and get into position as she raised the wooden sword in her hands, looking very nervous.
She was a girl with cute hair,
Her flaxen-colored hair was tied in a ponytail and she looked like she was about to cry. However, not one single tear dropped from those large red eyes.
She was about 15, 16 years old.
The mouth on her nice looking face was bleeding due to the impact just now…
Even so, the girl shook her head to keep herself conscious and stared at the men in front of her.
The two swordsmen were wielding wooden swords, all looking rather strong.
No matter how it looked, she couldn’t win. One could just understand by feeling the atmosphere. The five of them were really strong…the girl frowned and looked afar at the middle-aged man who was staring at her with stern eyes…
At this moment, the man spoke,
“Go.”
Immediately, three swordsmen wielding wooden swords all attacked.
The girl was already aware that she couldn’t take on three people at once and immediately threw her wooden sword away.
She then moved her hands in the air and drew a magic array.
It was the magic activation method Roland had,
“What I seek is thunder>>>…eh!?”
But before the girl could even complete the magic array, one of the swordsmen threw a wooden sword right at the girl and hit her straight in the chest. The sharp pain prevented the magic array from being drawn—
The other swordsmen used this opening to attack the girl’s neck with the wooden swords…
Will I be wiped out here?
Immediately, the girl subconsciously closed her eyes.
However…
The impact didn’t come as expected.
She opened her eyes slowly, and found that the wooden sword stopped right at her neck…
The swordsman looked at the middle-aged man she’s been looking at and asked in a respectable manner,
“Then…the victor’s decided…what should we do, Callaud-sama?”
But the half-white haired gentleman who was called Callaud stared at the girl with icy cold eyes,
“Why must you stop? Continue to swing at Milk with the wooden sword.”
“WHAT!? If, if I do that…ojou-sama’s life will likely be in danger…”
The swordsman raised his voice in shock.
However, the man didn’t let the swordsman continue as he continued with a calm tone,
“If she died, she’s just like that. I’ll buy another new child. If that girl is still a member of the Callaud family, she will be able to handle such a situation. If not, I don’t need such a child.”
Such cold words.
Of course, the swordsman continued to show hesitation as he didn’t swing the wooden sword,
“DO IT!!”
As Callaud roared, he could only turn to look at this girl called Milk,
“Sorry!”
He swung down the sword in his hands.
An unbelievable impact spread from the neck.
“Kuu…”
The other swordsmen then swung their wooden swords,
“Ugh…ah!?...AHHH…”
Milk felt pain spreading all over her body as her consciousness gradually faded.
If she continued to get hit like this, she would, most probably, die.
That’s how it seemed.
She felt pain, she felt like crying. It was an area of despair for her.
Milk, who collapsed on the ground, saw the man standing there.
Her father.
The father who bought her.
Yes, Milk was the puppet of this man.
A puppet who was bought.
In the Roland Empire, though it couldn’t be revealed openly, the accursed style was common knowledge during the ex-king’s era.
They were puppets treated as substitutes for their own children, a way to increase their accomplishments in the army…
Milk was such a puppet who was bred by the great noble family Callaud…
Useless puppets were unwanted.
Useless puppets were thrown away…
It was such a life.
She had been going through what can be viewed as an abnormal military training…
Her tears were flowing out.
Such a daily life…
If I continued, I might as well be dead…
She thought of this many times.
She continued to be beaten by the wooden swords…
The pain gradually subsided, and her consciousness faded away…
However—
Her mind suddenly remembered those words.
The one who spoke was a black haired boy.
The face of that boy who was lacking in presence, always looking tired, extremely unmotivated, but had a kind look.
He said,
“You really like to cry. Don’t say that you’ll die. If it’s you, you can definitely do it because you’re strong. I don’t have any intention to die, so…”
So…
Milk opened her eyes and stopped her crying.
She continued to try and move the wrists that were in so much pain that they had no strength in them,
“So, don’t die…don’t die…don’t die…”
She continued to repeat the boy’s words softly, again, and again.
She moved her hands behind her and drew a magic array of light in a place the opponents didn’t notice.
And then…
“What I seek is water mist>>> Misumi.”
Immediately, the magic array Milk drew from behind gathered a compressed fluid before turning into an exploding torrent that released itself to the ground.
Milk’s body was thrown into the air by the compressed water as the pressure rushed at the swordsmen.
“Uwa!?”
“What!?”
The swordsmen all lost their balance due to the sudden attack surprising them as they were washed away by the water.
Milk saw this, and drew a magic array in the air again.
She flipped in the air and jumped towards a place without water. At the same time…
“What I seek is thunder>>>…”
She raised the hand in front of her…
And let out a weak voice due to the pain,
“Everyone, don’t move. If you move, I’ll send the electricity to the center of the water. If that happens, you, who were drenched in water, will all be electrocuted, and the victory will be decided.”
As she said this…Milk looked at Callaud.
The swordsmen all look over at Callaud as well.
The man nodded,
“Very well. It’ll end here. We’ll have lunch an hour later, and the next training will be another two hours after that. Milk, don’t be late.”
There were no compliments at all.
No, there’s no need to say what’s obvious…
Once there were results, they would move on to the next training.
The next one, next one and next one.
He would continue to aim higher until she became useless.
Milk watched Callaud leave, and wearily collapsed as she sat on the ground.
“……Yes.”
She answered softly.
Soon after,
(Do your best, Milk! It’s alright, you can do it! Yes! Don’t let out any sounds. Your etiquette must be proper, your mannerisms must be elegant. It’s alright, just ignore the bad…ahh…it hurts…but you must do your best!)
Milk continued to encourage herself deep inside her heart as she continued to drink the soup.
Her entire body was feeling the pain of being hit by wooden swords and she felt that she couldn’t hold the spoon or that she would collapse at any moment…
“Nn…aa”
A slight nudge from her body caused every part of her to be in pain. But even so…
(If I don’t eat well now…my body will not be able to take this! Drink up, Milk! Hurry!)
Right now, the place where Milk was undergoing her struggle was the dining table lit by candle light. The Callaud family was gathered around the table.
Milk’s foster parents were there, and so were her sisters of similar age.
In stark contrast to Milk, all of them were happily chatting with each other and enjoying the delicious dinner.
One of Milk’s sisters, who was older than Milk by a year, said cheerily,
“Mother, Anna-sama invited me to go travelling with her the next time there’s school vacation. Is that okay?”
“Eh? Anna-sama, as in the princess of Count Egiluna? Where did she invite you to?”
“She said that we can go to the beaches of Cornel for a while, mother, and that we can enjoy some seawater bath.”
At this moment, the girl who was of the same age as Milk answered,
“Eh—onee-sama is really sneaky. I want to go to!”
“It can’t be helped. Anna is a good friend of mine, right, Mother? Can I go?”
Her mother looked slightly troubled as she turned her head towards the master at this dining table,
“This child’s father, what do you say? Since Nalua had spoken, we might as well let the whole family go on a trip.”
“Um, that’s right.”
Callaud nodded slightly, and the children cheered.
However, Callaud immediately turned to Milk,
“As for you, you obviously know what to do, right?”
“Eh?”
Milk let out a puzzled sound as she basically didn’t hear any of what was discussed. She could only stop the hand that was fighting with the soup and lifted her head to look around…
“Ah, yes. I understand. I still have military training to go through.”
The moment the battered Milk said that, her sisters looked at her unhappily.
Milk realized this and hurriedly showed a smile,
“Ah, Eimi nee-sama, Nalua-sama. That’s really great. Please enjoy yourselves.”
“U, un.”
And the two girls showed grimmer expressions.
Milk’s foster mother looked at her as if she saw something dirty.
Callaud continued to tuck in silently with a stern expression.
It was a daily meal…
Milk smiled and tried to continue eating as she didn’t want the girls to mind…however,
“Ah…”
Milk moaned,
The pain she endured up till now suddenly struck her body.
Immediately, she instinctively let go of the spoon…
The spoon knocked into the utensils, letting out a loud sound that echoed throughout the entire dining table.
“……Uu.”
Milk frowned as she held onto her hand,
“So, sorry.”
And spoke.
But Callaud stood up, walked towards Milk and swung his fist.
Milk could only watch silently. The brutal training everyday caused her body’s abilities and reflexes to far exceed a normal human's…
However, Milk didn’t dodge it. It was pointless to dodge. If she dodged, she would continue to get hit and get chased out of the house. If she got chased out of the house, she would have no place to go to…
She watched the incoming fist flying at her with a forsaken look…
Milk’s petite body was hit far out from the chair.
“KYAAHH!?”
Her sisters cried out.
Milk collapsed onto the floor like she was a puppet with her strings cut…
“Kaha…aau…”
Her mouth got cut again as blood flowed out…
Callaud stared down at Milk from behind with an emotionless expression,
“It seems that you still haven’t understood the weight of the Callaud family’s name. You must be better than anyone else and have an elegance that will not shame the Callaud family. That’s why I bought you, because I thought that you had such a value…”
Milk slowly stood up.
“I, I understand. I’m really sorry.”
She nodded.
Yes, that’s the reason she was here, how she was always taught.
Ever since she was bought over at the age of 5, Milk had always, always lived for such a reason.
Every day, every day, every day, the blood had been coming out from her. No, in a certain sense, she had been going through military training that came with death. Her life was easily dangled. Everything would be over if she died. If she couldn’t live, she wouldn’t be able to enter the army and bear the name of the Callaud family…
Every single day passed on like this.
She was loved by no one, not noticed by anyone…
But one day, she finally realized this.
The promise she made in the past, her dreams were all unable to be fulfilled. She finally realized this.
She despaired.
She had nothing left.
The meaning of her survival, her hope was all gone.
But she never gave up, never willing to die.
She couldn’t lose here.
She promised the boy.
She promised him that she would do her best.
That’s why…
She tried her best to let everyone else see her smile.
So as not to shame the Callaud’s name.
So as not to let that boy laugh at her.
Using her bloodied face—
Elegantly.
The young men’s calls,
The exploding sounds of magic,
It’s the practice field of the Roland Empire’s Officer Academy.
This was the place where noble children who wanted to enter the army were gathered, an Officer academy for the elites.
Sion watched the young students train from the monitoring room that had a large window. He watched them train for a while, and then looked at the thick stack of information in his hands.
This was the investigated report Fiole compiled detailing the names of all the talented people.
The report included all sorts of details of each person, abilities, character, whether they were of nobility, whether they would serve Sion…
In other words…
They were not children of nobility, but children bought by nobles, and these children hated the nobles…also, there were also records of how the children were raised in the noble’s family…Sion looked at this report.
“Ahh~ really, Fiole left on his own while leaving such a thick document…”
He grumbled sadly.
Recently, Sion had been coming over to the Officer Academy to pick out outstanding talents based on this report to solidify his position. Fiole was supposed to be the one doing this…
But now that Fiole was no longer around…
And—Claugh, who was behind, was acting as the guard,
“And, who’s the one that caught your eyes today?”
Sion moved his eyes away from the information and smiled,
“I specially chose a girl for your sake today, Claugh.”
Claugh’s expression immediately went from uninterested to sparkling.
“Oh, really? I already had a feeling when I got up from bed this morning that I shouldn’t request Calne to escort you today, Sion…it felt like fate.”
Sion gave a slightly wry look on his face as he lifted his head to look at his subordinate who was older than him.
“You already felt that this is fate although you haven’t even met that girl?”
“Fufufu, don’t look at me this way, Sion. I can feel fate from all the girls in the world.”
“Hoh, that’s impressive.”
Sion shrugged and lifted his hands.
Claugh suddenly showed a reliable attitude.
“It’s really my honor that you would praise me like this, Your Majesty…just joking. What kind of talent is she?”
Sion nodded,
“Un, very outstanding.”
He looked at the information.
The person he spotted had outstanding grades, and one could tell from the skill in magic constructing, theory, combat skills and all sorts of battle skills that she had quite the high aptitude.
But these weren’t the amazing points that caught his attention, but the girls grades in the subject…
Outstanding grades in tactics and strategy.
And when there were mock battles, the squads she commanded had never lost before…
This result was really shocking.
But it’s different from working hard and raising ability in spells and combat skills. This required a certain sort of talent.
Opportunity and popularity.
Opportunity would refer to digesting whatever tactic or strategy one learnt and use it to deal with all sorts of situations or create a brand new tactic when necessary.
And popularity—
This was the hardest part. How much the subordinates believe in oneself when one lead the army could cause the battle strength to increase.
Anyway, this report showed that this person had outstanding ability that was higher than many others.
And all at a very young 16 years of age.
This was already enough for Sion to qualify her as a talent he wanted…
However—what Sion was noticing this time wasn’t these abilities of hers…
“Never mind. You’ll know when you see it.”
As he said this, Sion handed the information over to Claugh. He received it…
And suddenly showed an enthusiastic expression.
“Nn…aah? What’s this? The daughter of that famed Callaud family…I’m not looking forward to it then. Besides, she’s most definitely some haughty noble family’s child or something…why do you want such a person as your ally?”
Sion smiled.
“What now? Weren’t you always trying to talk up some noble girls? Now you don’t want nobles as your allies?”
“This and that are two different issues altogether. As for me…”
Claugh’s voice went deeper as his expression was completely different from the usual frivolous look, regaining the usual sharp expression he had.
“I’m really infuriated by what happened to Fiole. I really can’t forgive those nobles who never thought of the pain people had and played those dirty tricks. I don’t want those noble children who become our allies to backstab us.”
“…I agree.”
Sion nodded.
“But Claugh, not all nobles are enemies. There are some amongst the nobles who are very unhappy about the current situation, and there are people who understand the people other people have.”
“You’re right there…”
“Right now, the people I want to recruit are all chosen by Fiole. I trust in his vision, and this kid I want to see was bought by a noble.”
Claugh’s eyebrows tensed up as he frowned…
“Ahh I see…but, buying people…huh? Sounds really disgusting. I really can’t get along with nobles.”
“I feel the same.”
Claugh’s expression immediately brightened up the moment he heard this,
“Of course, I’ll take over this 16 year old girl who’s been played by the nobles!!”
“O, oi oi…that won’t do. This kid this time has been already reserved.”
“Haa? Reserved? What does that mean?”
Sion chuckled confidently.
This was the real reason why she was chosen…
The information regarding her was researched on down to every specific detail. Amongst the information, there was the name of the Roland Special Institute number 307.
Roland Special Institute number 307.
One of the darkest secrets in the history of the Roland Empire.
That place was most suited to the term ‘Hell’.
On the surface, it looked like a kind facility that housed orphans who lost their parents in the long wars and nurtured them to survive…
But in fact, that wasn’t the case. Talented orphans were gathered here and ingrained with thorough military training. Once a child was deemed to be of low aptitude, the child would be immediately executed. The remaining few children who could survive would either be bought by the nobles for high prices or sent into war at a very young age…
She was one of the few survivors.
And also, part of ‘his’ past…
At this moment—
The door to the room was knocked on.
“I’m Milk Callaud.”
A cute voice,
Sion and Claugh glanced at each other.
“Come in.”
Sion said.
The moment he finished, the petite body immediately moved, and the beautiful—or rather, cute girl walked in, remaining still in front of Sion’s group, looking really nervous…
“Yo, your majesty, I heard that you’re looking for…OUCH!”
The more she spoke, the more unclear she seemed to be. She suddenly bent down…
And, using her cute voice,
“…I bit my tongue…it hurts…uu…but but, I can’t back away here! Do your best, Milk! Okay, try it again, eieio~!”
She muttered to herself…
Sion’s group looked at Milk speechlessly…
Milk, who lifted her face again, showed tears as her face was flushed red,
“…We, well, I’m sorry, I’m sorry. Erm, erm, that…I heard that Your Majesty was looking for me, right? I heard that you wanted me to take some form of test?”
She stared at Sion’s group with her round and large innocent eyes, and finally managed to say out what she wanted to say clearly.
There was no sense of the uneasiness the nobles would have in her eyes,
Or rather, the impression she gave was just like some kindergarten kid who wasn’t just all dirty…
Seeing Milk like this, Sion and Claugh couldn’t help but look at each other—
Claugh’s expression was painfully trying to endure his laughter as he whispered beside Sion,
“I say, Sion, are you really going to use this person? This is really funny. I like such an interesting Missy.”
Sion chuckled as well as he pretended to cough a few times and looked at Milk.
The cute face, the extremely large round eyes, the flaxen-colored ponytail, the petite body,
She really looked…unreliable…
It was really impossible to tell that she was someone who had outstanding grades and was undefeated when she lead her forces in tactics and strategy lessons…
Even if she was once ‘his’…
“…”
Sion stared at Milk, who had been standing still nervously for a while, and then gave a look to Claugh. Claugh nodded…and his hand suddenly moved quickly.
Immediately, he threw out a pen from his hand right at Milk.
That pen flew straight at Milk’s immature-looking face…
Milk’s eyes continued to stare at Sion as she didn’t seem to notice the pen all all.
It’ll hit. Sion thought.
That report was just baseless after all…
However—
Milk raised her hand towards the pen without even looking at it.
However, Milk’s hand actually grabbed onto the pen…
And then, she looked at the pen she grabbed onto for the first time…
And suddenly panicked.
“Aa? Ho, how did you know that I forgot to bring my pencil case? Well…I’m sorry. I won’t make the same mistake again…then, can you lend me this pen? Where do I take the test?”
She continued to talk, and didn’t seem to realize that catching the pen was something really amazing…Claugh really looked happy.
“This kid is the real deal.”
“But, well…looking at her like this, it’s really hard to imagine her having some leadership ability…”
Sion looked at Milk again seriously.
She tilted her head and looked over, and she really looked like a pet everyone loved…Sion smiled wryly and whispered,
“She doesn’t look like a reliable kid on first glance…will the subordinates follow her? What do you think, Claugh?”
Claugh smiled,
“You really don’t understand, Sion. It’s because she looks unreliable that her subordinates would fight hard, you know? Especially when the leader’s a girl.”
“Heh~…is that so?”
“That’s how it is. However, you might want to assign her a squad first. That’ll show it.”
“How domineering you are. How about she become your superior?”
“AH!? Wa, wait, why must she be my superior!?”
“Nn? Not happy about it?”
“No…I can’t say I’m unhappy…”
Claugh looked at Milk. “To put it, well, I prefer women who are slightly more mature, but not old women like those Calne likes. Or rather, to describe them, those who are normally very reserved, but at night…”
Sion watched Claugh describe his ideal woman so passionately to himself and sighed long and hard,
“Okay okay, I got it. But I never thought of letting her work with you in the first place. I’ve already decided where she would go.”
“Hou? Where?”
Claugh asked in a rather interested manner. Sion chuckled mischievously and called out Milk, who was giving them an incredulous look while they had their conversation.
“Milk Callaud.”
“Ye, yes!”
The moment she was called up, Milk’s face tensed up again.
And then, Sion glanced at her,
“From now forth, you are promoted to lieutenant.”
“……Heh? Wait, EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEHHHHHHHHHHH!!!?”
Milk raised her voice in disbelief as her eyes widened,
“Er, Erm…I haven’t even graduated from Officer Academy yet? And…let alone a Second Lieutenant, being promoted to lieutenant in one go is…”
Sion smiled,
“I feel that this rank is rather suitable for you given your grades.”
“Really…but…”
“Are you unhappy?”
“No, I have no intention of that at all? But more than that, there should be someone else more suitable than me! It’s a little too much for me to be a lieutenant before those graduates with outstanding grades…”
Seeing that Milk was being quite polite, Sion and Claugh grimaced. Normally, people wouldn’t say such a thing.
Even with such a good chance of promotion dropped right in front of her, one would normally gobble it up.
But Milk was really hesitating…
Is that…a rebellion against the nobles who bought me? If I become outstanding in the army, will it go as what the Callaud family wants, or am I going against it…?
Sion glared sharply at Milk,
“What are you hesitating about? Is the rank of lieutenant too much of a responsibility to you? Is this going against the Callaud family?”
“Eh?”
On hearing that, Milk looked at Sion seriously and pondered deeply,
“…Your Majesty, do you already know about it?”
“Yeah. My subordinates are all very outstanding. I have all sorts of information about you ever since you were born. Even about Roland Special Institute Number 307…”
The moment Sion said this, Milk’s body jerked, but he continued,
“What do you intend to do? What are you hesitating about? Do you hate to serve me?”
On hearing this question, Milk could only lower her head as she seemed to be thinking about something…and remained silent as if she recalled something…
“I…don’t hate the Callauds. They were deadly strict…but they raised me up…I feel I should repay them if I can. My foster parents don’t like me…but Eimi nee-sama and Nalua-sama are very kind…
And about the Roland Special Institute Number 307 incident…I don’t hate it at all.
That’s because over there, I…”
Sion’s group couldn’t hear the voice after that—
But Sion could imagine it,
As for why, that’s because ‘he’ was there…
And—
Milk lifted her head and showed a strong expression unlike before,
And also had a trace of elegance in her smile.
“I understand. I’ll gladly accept this rank.”
Sion was very satisfied with this answer,
“Then, Lieutenant Milk Callaud, you may report this to the Callaud family. I will inform you of where you will be assigned later on. In the meantime, rest well at home.”
“Yes! Thank you very much!”
Milk lowered her head and walked out of the room.
Sion and Claugh watched the door close—
Claugh said,
“Such a good kid…I want a daughter like her.”
“Nn? Then you have considered settling down already, right? You can have as many partners as you want, Claugh.”
“I’LL DEFINITELY BE KILLED IF THAT HAPPENS!”
“Of course, because you’ve been dating with quite a number of them every single time.”
“I’m one with a fair heart.”
“And you dare to say that.”
“Leaving that aside, that kid…she’s called Milk, right? Where do you intend to send her to?”
Sion simply answered,
“The ‘Taboo Breaker’ Pursuit Squad.”
Claugh couldn’t help but widen his eyes,
“Ahh? Why must you send her to such a place…”
It’s to be expected why he would be so shocked.
The ‘Taboo Breaker’ Pursuit Squad.
That was one of the most hated squads.
They were to capture or kill the ‘Taboo Breakers’ who had escaped the country on their own—their past comrades. The squad that was in charge of such a mission would be one of the toughest ones in this era without a war.
Also, they would be working in other lands, dangerous when considering that they wouldn’t have the assistance of the Roland Empire. Also, they would have those who were called ‘Taboo Breakers’ as opponents, those who learned the powerful magics of the Roland Empire.
Also…
The squad that often partook in death…the ‘Taboo Breaker’ Pursuit Squad was often looked down on by the other squads, and derogatorily called ‘Ally Killers’…
That was why the children of nobles would definitely never be assigned to that place.
Those gathered over there were orphans who had ability but had no one to rely on…
That was why Claugh was shocked,
“Sion, what are you thinking?”
Sion shrugged his shoulders.
“Fufu. It’s a secret. Anyway, I’ll hand her over to Miller and Luke.”
Now Claugh was even more surprised…
“Luke? Wait…why is he still in the ‘Taboo Breaker’ Pursuit Squad? Why? Didn’t you pull him out during the revolution?”
“Haha. About him, it seemed that he wanted to work under Miller, and had no interest in being outstanding.”
“No, even so…Miller-sempai can be even more outstanding as well…”
“Same goes for Miller as well. He didn’t want anyone else to do the job of the ‘Taboo Breaker’ Pursuit Squad that handles the lives of people. Even when I offered him the position of Lieutenant General, he refused it. He said that he would keep the rank of Major so that it would be easier for him to do many things.”
“…”
On hearing that, Claugh gave a frustrated look,
“I, Is that guy an idiot? Staying in that hated department…”
Sion chuckled happily,
“It’s because such a guy is around that this country can remain safe. Besides, there’s a king like me around too.”
“I see.”
“DON’T JUST AGREE LIKE THAT!”
Sion argued against Claugh, and then closed up the information in his hands,
“Alright, our work is done for today. Let’s go.”
“Alright.”
Both of them intended to walk out of the room,
And at this moment,
Sion and Claugh felt an overwhelming killing intent from outside the room…
That killing intent rushed into through the door without restraint.
Claugh immediately got into position to protect Sion,
“What was that!?”
“I don’t know…but…”
Sion stared at the door sharply.
It was undoubtedly something dangerous,
And there wasn’t just one person there.
There were many…
Claugh groaned,
“Have the nobles decided to kill you without caring about their own image, Sion…?”
And—
The door slowly opened.
They saw—
A man standing there. Unexpectedly, there was no one else there.
Sion stared at this man in a mystified manner.
He had nice long black hair, about the same height as Claugh, but a lot skinnier than him.
Also, he had a very beautiful looking face…but not a lot of people could realize that. That was because of the icy cold green eyes in the center of the face…the icy cold eyes that seemed to look down on everyone were scattered a dark presence…
He was slightly older than Sion, and looked to be about 22, 23 years old.
Claugh couldn’t help but grumble,
“Who is this guy…?”
And stared back at him with the contrasting crimson red eyes that were filled with life.
The man played dumb as he raised his hands,
“I seemed to have shocked you people, Major General Claugh, and Your Majesty.”
He walked into the room with slow steps and then stood in front of Sion’s group. He touched his chest with the mysterious black ring on the finger and cautiously lowered his head,
“I’m Miran Froaude, son of the Marquis Karlal Froaude, and I currently have the rank of the Lieutenant Colonel in the Roland Imperial Army.”
On hearing this introduction, Claugh looked really unhappy.
“Oh, the son of such a great noble. What are you doing here?”
Froaude lifted his head slightly,
“No, I heard that His Majesty came here to gather people to fight against the nobles who would escape from time to time.”
“WHAT!? YOU!!”
Claugh roared, however,
“Back down, Claugh.”
Sion stopped him and faced Froaude, staring at him with the golden icy stare that looked like it could freeze anyone.
“Lieutenant Colonel Miran Froaude. I know of you. A talented man who became a lieutenant at a very young age of 17, and carried out several suppressing works during the civil war several times and quickly rose to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. Even though you’re the son of Marquis Karlal Froaude…in fact, you were bought. You were an orphan yourself, am I right?”
And then, on hearing Sion’s words, Frouade showed a slight smile on his face.
“As expected of you, Sion Astal-sama. Shouldn’t you have added— ‘you would do anything and everything to complete the mission, even if it means carrying out despicable means. Loyal to Marquis Froaude, but has difficulty working with allies’—the report of the deceased Fiole Folkal should have something like this, am I right?”
Frouade said these words without any restraint.
Sion was the only one who should have the report Fiole Folkal left behind, and nobody else should be able to access it…
But Sion merely remained silent about this.
“And then, what do you want from me?”
Froaude glanced at Claugh, and then back at Sion,
“…If possible…”
He merely said this.
Sion’s face showed a slight smile as he nodded gently.
“Sure. Oi Claugh. Do you mind going out for a while? It seemed that Lieutenant Colonel Miran Froaude doesn’t want anyone other than me to hear what he has to say.”
Claugh panicked.
“Oi oi oi oi, hold it there, Sion. That won’t do. I came here to protect you. Besides, you don’t want me to know what this guy has to say?”
On hearing that, Sion smiled wryly,
“No, it’s not that I can’t let you hear it, but that this Lieutenant Colonel here won’t speak up if you are here. However, I want all kinds of information here. You know my personality.”
Claugh clutched his head and answered reluctantly,
“…Ahh, I got it…so that means, since you decided on this, my suggestion will definitely not reach you…really, if Calne knows about this, he’ll nag me again and say something like this sempai is useless or something.”
“Haha. Well there’s always a way when it comes.”
“Nn. However…”
Claugh lifted his head to stare at Froaude…
“Be careful.”
“Ahh.”
Sion nodded, and Claugh left the room unwillingly. Sion watched him leave, and turned to look at Froaude.
“And then? Let me ask this again? What do you want from me?”
Froaude stared right at Sion and immediately went straight to the topic at hand.
“About this…I suppose you should understand? I came here to visit you because you definitely need me.”
“Un? I don’t understand what are you talking about here…”
But Froaude interrupted Sion’s words,
“You should have realized this. Major General Claugh Klom is a radiant person as his appearance indicates. Fiole Folkal’s the same as well, and the same goes for that Milk Callaud. You, who are always walking on the stage, will always gather people who are chasing after the light. But these aren’t enough for what you really desire, am I right?
Or rather, you will bear the darkness alone? That’s impossible. You had been able to do so up till now, but now you're the king, the man radiating light in this country. Then, someone will definitely have to replace you and bear the darkness. I want to be that person. I want to get that thing you really want.”
Froaude said with an attitude that seemed to indicate that he had read Sion’s inner heart, and looked at him,
“…Bear my darkness, huh? That’s quite an arrogant tone. Then, do you know what I want?”
And then,
“Of course I do. It exists inside you.”
Froaude’s expression didn’t show any changes at all as he answered without hesitation.
“Hou?”
Sion answered happily with a smile.
“Then, try and say it out then.”
Froaude took a short breath, closed his eyes, and simply answered,
“Yes…right now, this Roland Empire is just a country in the Menoris Continent…but I want to help you fulfill your wish to conquer the entire continent and become the king of the Great Roland Empire.”
Sion frowned.
“……So, do you think that’s my dream? Haha, that’s really an amazing dream. But I haven’t thought of things to such a grand level, you know? What I want is just a country without war, one where the people can smile and live.”
But Froaude’s face showed a satisfied and icy cold smile, and lowered his head respectfully,
“Of course, Your Majesty. No matter what you think, a king has to say things like that. And then, I’ll handle the remaining darkness. For this sake, I am already prepared to abandon my foster parents without hesitation.”
Sion watched Froaude lower his head and swear his loyalty.
Froaude then spoke again,
“Please allow me to be with you.”
“…”
A really enigmatic man.
Sion thought that this man had icy eyes and a cold heart.
This man didn’t care about what was said just now at all.
To conquer the Menoris Continent, to become the king of the Great Roland Empire, that was what he wanted to make Sion into.
Even if this would cause this Menoris Continent to be involved in a large war, he would not hesitate over it…
This man thought that this was Sion’s dream…
Saying that I hope for this…
I…
Sion narrowed his eyes. It’s true that Lucile himself had said it of his once before.
What I really want is to be the King of Roland, and what happens after that…
However, the moment he thought of this, Sion shook it off deep inside his heart. This is stupid. What I wish is what my mother wished for me, what Kiefer wished, what everyone wished, what he wished…
An ordinary peaceful world without war.
Sion again looked at Froaude.
“What you’re saying is really weird, Miran Froaude. Do you intend to kill your foster father first?”
Froaude lifted his head, and for an instant, showed a shock,
“Ha, haha, if that’s what you wish…”
He showed a heinous smile that was like a dead person's.
A deep darkness.
Sion started to ponder.
This man is dangerous'.'
However, he was a necessary talent as well. He had a calm mind, and was a talent who could do what he, Claugh, Fiole and the rest couldn’t do.
This man had the same smell as Lucile. No, he wasn’t of a monstrous level like Lucile who looked protected by the spirits…however, it felt that there was a more human darkness from him compared to Lucile…
Can I control him?
Sion pondered…but immediately laughed at himself for being so weak.
“……Alright. I’ll let you work under me.”
Froaude lowered his head again.
“I'm extremely grateful.”
Several days later, Froaude was promoted to Colonel, and was transferred to work under Sion.
His work was disgustingly perfect.
He took on the undercover role alone, which Sion had never given Fiole before, and completed them all perfectly one after another.
Right now, Sion is reading through one of the documents Fiole left behind—the Cleado village leaders not collecting taxes because of their conflict with the nobles. He used his icy cold expression that didn’t show any thought as he read the compilation report of the leaders.
“Let’s leave this aside for now.”
Sion lifted his head up from the table,
“But this problem is because of the high taxes charged in Cleado village, right? I can’t just ignore the pain of the people…”
However, Froaude didn’t even glance at Sion,
“Your Majesty, as compared to the people who have a weak voice, we should first focus on the nobles. Right now, your verbal authority amongst the nobles isn’t very strong, Astal-sama. Besides, Cleado Village is under the jurisdiction of that Count Stearead’s group, and unfortunately, we don’t have the power to fight them. Right now, we can only use the leaders of Cleado village as a seed of dissatisfaction against the anti-king faction. I feel that’s the best strategy.”
Yes, Froaude said it. I’ll harvest the people in pain…
Sion’s face frowned slightly.
“Even if this is the best strategy, I can’t do it. I’ll be just like the old king…”
But Froaude interrupted his words,
“Then please hurry and control the country in your hands. Do you intend to use your false kindness as priority to let the people in the country sink into crisis…or will you endure for now and walk down your rule...?”
“…”
Froaude’s words were right. If he continued to take on the anti-king nobles, the ones who would be most hurt would be the people in this country. Froaude’s strategy was a way to weaken the authority of these nobles and increase Sion’s power. It was necessary…
However…
“That won’t do. Send the people at Hillread to assist.” Froaude seemed to look disappointed as he narrowed his eyes and watched Sion,
“Assist…is it?”
But Sion laughed coldly,
“Yes, assist, but not in my name. Yes, use a merchant’s name or something else to help them. Of course—”
Froaude showed an understanding look,
“I see. Spread rumors that the merchant’s a believer of Your Majesty and extend help to show his appreciation for you…okay, I’ll do so this time. But we can’t use such a strategy all the time…”
“…Yes I understand. I understand….so I’ll leave the rest to you.”
“…I understand.”
Once he finished, Froaude retreated from the room. Claugh and Calne walked by him and entered the office.
Claugh looked back at Froaude, who was leaving the room, and walked towards Sion,
“So you made that guy one of our allies?”
He gave a very frustrated look, but in turn Sion smiled,
“Yeah, he’s very outstanding. He really helped out a lot just now.”
Calne looked at Sion and Claugh, and then turned to look at Froaude as he left the room,
“Eh? I say, who are you talking about? Are you talking about that new guy?”
Claugh nodded,
“He was someone Sion scouted and pulled over to our side when I was guarding Sion in your state?”
“Heh? Scou…? Eh? Eh? But sempai, didn’t you say that there was only a cute girl you guys were aiming for as a talented person?”
“Ahhn? Don’t always worry about the specifics. My policy is not to talk about guy things normally.”
“What kind of principle is that…if that’s the case, I can’t let you carry out the mission next time, Claugh-sempai.”
“Hou…since when are you so great that I can let you take over? Have you mistaken it for those jobs I entrusted you?”
“What are you saying? You didn’t hand over the jobs to me, but forced them onto me. All the troublesome jobs were thrown at me…ahh really, forget about that…speaking of which, who’s that guy? The new guy…”
Sion answered,
“Froaude. Miran Froaude.”
Claugh frowned,
“An annoying guy…I say, Sion. I guess he isn’t thinking for your sake…it’s not just that I’m saying that he’s hard to handle, but also…that guy’s eyes are really unnerving…it’s like they’re frozen, irritating eyes…he’s definitely someone different from us.”
Calne tilted his head,
“It’s rare for you to hate someone so much, sempai.”
“Really? My principle is that I hate all men.”
“Well, I like women too…but that’s not what I mean…”
Sion gave a wry smile as he watched the two of them,
“Froaude is the son of a noble, Calne.”
“Ahh, sempai hates nobles but still goes out with noble girls…”
Calne grumbled, but Claugh ignored his grumbling and looked at Sion,
“I think you won’t be changing your decision now. Do you think that by recruiting him as an ally, you can control him?”
Claugh looked rather serious as he stared at Sion with serious eyes as if they’re taking on Sion’s thoughts directly, contrasting starkly from Froaude, and Sion took this expression seriously.
“Someone able to control a person like him is what a king has to be.”
“…”
Claugh smiled.
“Okay, if that’s what you decided.”
Calne added on,
“Of course, Sion is different from sempai. Up till now, he has never made a mistake when it comes to making decisions.”
“Ahh? Do you mean that I’ve made mistakes in my decisions before?”
“Haa? Why must I apologize to you because of things regarding women, sempai?”
“YOU BRAT! YOU WANT TO FIGHT HERE!?”
“Impossible, I’ve never seen anyone who could beat you in a fight, sempai. But if we’re playing cards like usual, whoever loses will have to treat, you know?”
“Oh, you have guts there. I’m different from usual today.”
“That’s what you say all the time, sempai.”
“Shut up! I’ll take revenge for this!”
“You wouldn’t pay every time you lost anyway…never mind, let’s go again.”
And then, Claugh threw the file at Sion with momentum,
“And that’s why this guy would treat me to lunch. I’ll be going off then. Ah, that’s right. Here’s the report from the last investigation mission.”
As he said that, Claugh walked out of the room carefreely. Calne also put down his document.
“I’ll hand in my report…”
“Oi, Calne! Hurry up!”
“Ah, ah, then Sion-san, I’m going off then.”
And, as he watched the two of them leave the room…
“I say, you better work hard…”
Sion sighed long and hard.
On the other hand, after the two of them left the room…
“Then, sempai, what are we playing today? Poker? Clock? Fist?”
“…”
But Claugh didn’t answer, and Calne tilted his head,
“I say, sempai?”
“Ahh?”
“We’re not playing cards?”
“How can I be playing cards when we’re working?”
“!?”
Immediately, Calne showed the horrified look of a kid who seemed to have seen some shocking development and took two, three steps back…
“Se, se, se, se, sempai, you’re saying something proper for once!?”
“…What kind of person do you think I am? But that doesn’t matter. More than this, about Froaude?”
“Froaude? That new guy? You’re that mindful about him?”
Claugh’s expression was really serious.
“Ahh, I just have a feeling that that guy is going to be troublesome.”
“Ge, sempai’s using his own instincts again. This is bad, your instincts are often sharp, sempai, just like a beast…”
“Not just instinct. You’ll understand one day…anyway, what’s our mission?”
“Ah? Mission…? Ah, to protect Sion, right?”
“Yes. I feel that this country finally got saved because Sion became the king of this country.”
“I’m the same as well. If it’s Sion, he can definitely lead this country to a positive direction, which is why we followed him.”
“He’s different from us. This country needs him, so, protecting that guy…”
“Is our job.”
Calne showed a serious expression as well.
“And then, we’re going to investigate Frouade’s background…”
Claugh chuckled, and Calne grabbed his blond hair so much it got messy,
“Really, what a troublesome king…”
“…To me, I think you’re the one who’s more troublesome, sempai…we’ve already agreed…”
Both of them continued as they walked down the long corridor,
On the way, they went past Frouade, but never greeted him.
