“Hoh-hoh-hoh-hoh! I am grateful for the invitation today!”
“Miss Evelyn, I’m glad you could come!”
Last time, when we headed to the Meat Dungeon, Lady Evelyn proposed the idea, so we had a tea party at her mansion under the guise of a discussion.
However, this time it was our proposal, and we were the ones seeking guidance. It would be impolite not to invite them, apparently.
The Young Lady wrote letter after letter, making mistakes and rewriting them. In the end, Lady Martha did her best.
And today, Lady Martha is here as the Young Lady’s attendant. She’s more motivated than usual, fearing any discourtesy towards the Marquis’s daughter.
“Cladfield-kun. Thank you for today.”
“Lady Kalinka, your dress looks lovely on you.”
“Thank you, but you don’t have to use ‘sama,’ okay? Just ‘san’ is fine.”
“Is that so?”
Since we were asking for advice as senior adventurers, we invited Ms. Kalinka as well, and she showed up all dolled up.
I had heard about this beforehand. So, the Young Lady was in charge of greeting Lady Evelyn, and I was in charge of greeting Ms. Kalinka.
I don’t understand why the Young Lady can just greet her normally since they’re both women, but I have to escort Ms. Kalinka.
“It’s a little embarrassing.”
“It really is…”
I practiced with the Young Lady, Lady Martha, and Shirley, but escorting a dressed-up woman is still difficult.
“Hey, stop staring at each other and let’s go.”
“Indeed. We shouldn’t keep them waiting, you know?”
The two of them, unaware of our struggles, teased us instead.
Suppressing the facial muscles that were about to form a troubled expression, I guided Ms. Kalinka.
Once the guidance is over, the main topic will be between the Young Ladies. Patience, patience.
Lady Evelyn knew more about the surrounding Monster distribution than I expected. Apparently, she came to the Royal Capital a year before the academy started, and she had been active as an Adventurer for two months before the academy started.
“Miss Evelyn is very active! And already at Rank 9, that’s amazing!”
“Hoh-hoh-hoh-hoh! Lady Arianna will be able to rise quickly too!”
“That’s right. Cladfield-kun, who is stronger than me, is here too.”
I was treated as a strong person because I had experience rescuing the two of them.
“Indeed. Barrier Magic of the non-attribute, plus shock, and telekinesis to launch those stones he picked up as projectiles. His offense and defense integrated magic is not to be underestimated.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes, it is. Didn’t you know?”
“In my mind, Cladfield is a Swordsman.”
Ah, now that you mention it, I’ve only fought with a Sword during training with the Young Lady. I only supported her with Barrier Magic when she pointed her Sword at Master.
And I did protect her with a Barrier during class. Certainly, the image of a Sword might be stronger than the image of magic.
“A Swordsman, you say. Ah, but you two do go at it fiercely during Sword class, don’t you?”
“Now that you mention it, that’s right. He was Lady Arianna’s sparring partner.”
“Yes. He is my Sword master now.”
“I haven’t taught you anything though?”
I’m just swinging my Sword to match the Young Lady’s training.
“…Come to think of it, you haven’t taught me, have you? No, but you do give me advice.”
“That’s only natural during training.”
The quality of the stepping, the compactness of the Sword swing. Conversely, when she swings too stiffly, or when there’s too much strain on her elbow or wrist.
The Young Lady wields a Rapier. Unlike a normal Sword, you can’t just defeat your opponent with strength alone.
The Young Lady, who originally had plenty of skill, has become even sharper and stronger with her Sword recently. If she could make up for her lack of stamina, she would become even stronger.
Her Sword swing is very compatible with the Magic Blade SB Lance.
“When I incorporate what you casually say, I often learn a lot unexpectedly?”
“There are various Sword movements. Perhaps there are ideas in my style that aren’t in the Young Lady’s style? Although mine isn’t a proper style.”
“Is that so?”
“I learned it from Dad.”
Should I call it the Sunrakka Village style? Aniki also learned from Dad, but apparently, it’s not good for all the relatives to swing the same Sword, so it’s quite different.
“My Sword is for protecting myself, and it’s not that aggressive… no, but… hmm?”
Considering the characteristics of our village, isn’t it a Sword specialized for fighting Monsters? There are no names for the techniques, but the large swinging style feels like it’s designed to slash the necks of large Monsters.
The parts other than the attack are centered on not receiving attacks from the opponent, deflecting, and evading. It feels like it’s designed to fight opponents with strength that is incomparable to humans.
“Which is it?”
“I might not know.”
“What is that?”
Because there are no names for the individual techniques.
“Ah, but it might be compatible with the Young Lady’s Sword.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes. My Sword also emphasizes not receiving, deflecting, and evading.”
Avoiding or deflecting attacks from the enemy is a major premise. Where to deflect to counterattack reliably, how to counterattack to easily target vital points, and how to deflect efficiently. That’s the kind of Sword it is.
“I see! So that’s why there are overlapping parts in body movements and footwork.”
“I’m glad if I’m being helpful.”
I’ve also switched back to Nata and am redoing my swings. As expected, compared to a dagger, the weight causes my shoulders to open and be swept away sometimes.
“Young Ladies, excuse me.”
“Volks?”
“What’s wrong?”
Regarding the discussion about Adventurer activities, the Young Ladies started to chat about when to go to the Meat Dungeon next.
Well, Lady Evelyn was talking about which Monster meat was delicious, and the Young Lady was reacting with “I want to eat that,” which might not be a very ladylike conversation.
While they were having such a conversation, Volks-san, the leader of our guards, and the person who seemed to be the team leader on the other side, entered the tea room.
“What’s wrong?”
“…Are we not supposed to accompany you on your adventures?”
“Well… even if I told you not to come, you wouldn’t not come, would you? I think you have that much sense.”
“Oh? Is that alright with Lady Arianna?”
“Huh?”
“Lady Arianna, my name is Carlos, and I am Lady Evelyn’s guard. Normally, when the Princess is active as an Adventurer, I keep a close but not too close distance to guard her. Although not completely.”
The one who greeted us was a Knight who was considerably older than Mr. Volks.
“Is that even possible?”
“Yes, I don’t want to get in the way of the Princess’s adventures as much as possible.”
“That’s a nice way to put it.”
“Hoh-hoh-hoh-hoh.”
I’m sure they had a fight.
“That’s why Kalinka’s training is strict. So, I talked to Mr. Volks here about guarding, but he said that he wouldn’t be able to handle things in an emergency unless he was guarding the Princesses. I would like to take this opportunity to reconsider the guard…”
“Don’t you dare? You’re just trying to take advantage of this and stick with us, aren’t you?”
“I alone will not be able to handle anything that happens. If something happens to the Princess, Kalinka will risk her life to stop the enemy, and I will move to deal with it in the meantime. This is the biggest concession I can make. Therefore, I have given Kalinka inappropriate equipment and strengthened her as much as possible, but that is not possible when the child of another noble is involved.”
“I have no problem with it.”
“Lady Arianna, I’m sorry, but there are only problems. If something happens to the Princess, the Cybarossa House will be asked for some kind of compensation, not just Lady Arianna.”
Lady Evelyn is the daughter of a Marquis. If something happens to her, someone has to take responsibility. Not only the guards, but in this case, there is a person from the ‘Baron House’ with a weak position nearby.
They are someone who can be held responsible.
“And if something happens to Lady Arianna, the Cybarossa House will have no choice but to act. That will worsen the Princess’s position.”
Lady Evelyn’s expression worsened at Mr. Carlos’s words.
I don’t know what kind of position she’s in, but she might not be in a very good environment.
“Please reconsider.”
Mr. Volks bowed his head along with Mr. Carlos’s words.
As a guard, it’s best to be able to protect them up close. They want to take this opportunity to strengthen the guard system. I think I should do the same.
“There is no problem.”
“Princess!”
“Cladfield is here. Isn’t he better than Kalinka when it comes to defense?”
“Indeed. There’s no problem if Cladfield is here.”
“Even Lady Arianna?”
Not only Carlos-san, but also Volks-san raises his voice.
“Certainly, you have a track record of saving the Princess once. I’ll admit that.”
“…Thank you.”
“But only once, and you only defeated a Monster of C or D level! Do you dare to say that with such skill, you can protect our Princess!”
“No, I didn’t say anything like that.”
Rather, I completely agree with Carlos-san and Volks-san regarding the escort.
“There’s no way we can entrust the Princess to such a frail child!”
“Did you just call our Cladfield frail? Old man, you’re saying something interesting.”
“It’s okay, don’t take the bait. Besides, I’m the Young Lady’s guard, so if anything happens, I’ll prioritize the Young Lady over Lady Evelyn, okay?”
“You dare to neglect our Princess! Get outside, brat!”
“Fine by me! You can savor Cladfield’s power!”
No, that’s why I’m on Carlos-san’s side!
“Shouldn’t we lose this?”
“There’s no way that’s okay, right?”
“Yes, crush Carlos completely.”
“Huh? But I’m also on the escort side, so what about…”
“What was that?”
“Something wrong?”
Ugh…
“I’ll do my best.”
I change into the Knight Uniform of the Cybarossa House and take up a wooden Sword.
“If you defeat this guy, will you reconsider?”
“Of course.”
“In return, if Cladfield wins, the escort will remain as it is, from a distance, okay?”
“Understood! Brat! No need to hold back!”
“Haa…”
I take a stance with the Sword as told. Yeah, he’s strong after all.
“Haa!”
“Tch!”
Carlos-san closes the distance in an instant! While choosing to evade, I deflect Carlos-san’s Sword with my wooden Sword.
“Hoo!”
“Hmph!”
I swing the Sword back with a returning blade. It was stopped head-on.
“Nu? It’s heavy!”
It’s also due to the influence of Overweight Magic, but the way I’m swinging the Sword now is no different from Nata’s way. It’s become a Sword that cuts down with weight rather than being swung normally, so that also has an effect.
“It’s not just the way you swing it, is it? What kind of mechanism is it?”
Ah, he noticed the magic too. He’s the first person outside the village to notice it with just one move.
“Well, whatever. But don’t think you can beat me with such tricks!”
“It’s not really something you could call a trick, though.”
And the sword flashes unfold. The sword strikes are returned. This person is stronger than I expected! In terms of receiving techniques, or rather, defensive techniques alone, he’s better than Aniki!
“Stone Bullet.”
“Hmph.”
Magic is allowed too, huh! And without chanting! While deflecting the stone bullets flying with telekinesis, I move forward.
“You’re coming forward here! You’re young!”
“I’m still in my teens, after all!”
If anything, I’m in my early teens. Of course, I’m young!
While thinking about such things, I don’t let up. We exchange sword strikes and magic.
Carlos-san’s magic starts flying from above, to the left and right, and even from the ground.
It’s extremely difficult to release magic from places other than the supporting parts like hands and staffs. This is true in any era. Even when I belonged to the Space Unified Army, only those from special forces specializing in counter-terrorism or competitors in integrated magic arts were decent users.
The fact that he can do it so easily shows that this man Carlos’s skill is considerable.
Rather than as a Knight, his experience in combat is extraordinary.
“…Why am I fighting so seriously?”
How to break through this defense, or something.
How is his reaction to my attacks, or something.
I’m starting to have a little fun, or something.
He might have trump cards other than earth magic, or something.
“What am I thinking?”
“Hmph, what’s wrong, brat? Are you giving up?”
Ah, that’s right. Is giving up an option?
“Ah, yes. I give up.”
“Eh!?”
When I answered Carlos-san’s question with “I give up,” the Young Ladies raised voices of surprise.
“I’m the Young Lady’s guard, you know? Of course, I want a more robust security system. Honestly, I’m not very much in favor of her acting as an Adventurer either.”
“If you’re a proper guard, that’s how it should be, right?”
Kalinka-san is also nodding.
“…Brat, you can protect the Princess, right?”
“It depends on the situation. And as I said earlier, our Young Lady takes priority.”
“Even so, it doesn’t matter…. More than that, let’s train that one over there.”
“M-Me!?”
Volks-san was the one who got nominated.
“Sensing presence and judging the situation while maintaining a certain distance. More than anything, the mobility to rush there. We must have him learn various things so as not to trouble the Princess. However, the guard system can remain as it is. This guy seems to have strength that I don’t have.”
I don’t know why, but Carlos-san seems to be convinced.
“It seems like my burden will be huge, though.”
“Kalinka will also train.”
“Even if you say that so easily…”
“Are you dissatisfied with my great-grandchild?”
“My apologies!”
There was a blood relationship! And it’s not a grandchild, but a great-grandchild!