Chapter 2: Knight School, Year Two

Alma and I made it to our second year of knight school in the spring. We were even in the same class! Yay! Nick was with us too, and our teacher Kodak moved up with us.

Unfortunately, there were no girls in the incoming class. That made me and Alma the only girls in the school.

I gazed at the gold ring on my left pinky finger. It was a token of friendship between us four girls in knight school.

Before Elise and Sasara graduated, Alma brought in a lump of gold and asked for the Granzeus family’s help. She had apparently been searching for an ore that was easy to manipulate during her guild commission work on her days off.

“This is a bit embarrassing, but...I want to use this gold to make something that connects the four of us. I just don’t know anybody who can do that...”

I was so moved that I teared up. It was clear how much Alma treasured the friendship between the four of us. I could be sure now that it wasn’t just me who felt that way.

Gold was valuable, even in this world. We could have sold this lump for ten million gold coins. Alma had chosen our friendship over money.

I gladly asked for my father’s help, and he introduced me to a goldsmith. I then had four dainty rings made, engraved with an ivy pattern resembling the vines that surrounded the knight school. They were to be worn on the pinky finger of the non-dominant hand so they wouldn’t interfere with combat.

When I got them from the goldsmith, I secretly cast a new kind of magic on them. It would detect when one of the other three was on the verge of death and release an electric shock toward the culprit. At first, I considered making it notify me in times of crisis so I could come running, but then I realized that I wouldn’t necessarily be alive by then.

On the morning of the graduation ceremony, Elise and Sasara hugged me and Alma, wearing their rings. I prayed that the rings would protect the first close friends I ever made, even if I were no longer around.

And then, there was my other new accessory—though it was too serious to call it that—Gillain’s plate.

Every time I touched it or looked at it, I remembered that magical snowy night, and I either turned red, turned white, went into the fetal position, or made a strange squeak from the sheer embarrassment.

“Ah, to be young...”

“You know, Asu, some kids these days take the ‘o’ out to be hip.”

“For real? That’s wild.”

“Quit fooling around, you two! I’m done putting up with your attitude! And Gillain deserves to grow a stupid little mustache for making me feel this way!”

“Sere! My bad! That’s not funny when you say it! Quit using magic in your words!”

“Sere! Don’t bring Gillain into this! He’ll make me the scapegoat! It’s your beast that’s getting carried away!”

Though he sent Asu over from time to time, Gillain was respecting my wish to keep trying in my current situation for a while longer.

Could I become strong enough to stand at Gillain’s side in just two years? Would Gillain even need me in two years? And if, after I turned seventeen in three years, the day came where I was convicted...could I still be loved by somebody?

All right, time for lunch. Sitting at our table was me, Alma, Lou, and...Cecil. He was in our class this year.

“I’m honored that I get to eat lunch with the great Serephione! Somebody kick me so I know if I’m dreaming!”

Alma glared at her blood-related brother with a look of scorn that had grown even more polished since going into her second year.

Lou glanced at Cecil and then let out a sad sigh from my shoulder. He wasn’t being very talkative today.

“Cecil, give me the report I asked for! Accurately and concisely!” I ordered.

“Yes! Per your orders, I attended the flower-viewing party at the royal palace!”

Cecil was becoming my obedient dog—but not because I steered him in that direction! This perv was just too much for me to handle!

“All high-ranking nobles and people in important positions were invited. I didn’t see Count Granzeus in attendance.”

Of course my papa wouldn’t go. He might fall under Maribelle’s spell.

“Oh, and Prince Schneider made a rare appearance. He was there for about fifteen minutes. The queen seemed somewhat tense while he was there. He appeared to be in good health.”

Well, his illness is a cover story, after all...

“I received an invitation as a friend of Prince Gardner’s.”

I nodded as I brought a forkful of salad to my mouth.

“Other than me, Prince Gardner invited Isabella, of course, and Maribelle as well.”

“How was the drill lady? Was she doing well?” Alma asked as she wolfed down her bread. She seemed to care about Isabella as a fellow noble lady.

“Isabella came in an elegant, unassuming pink dress. She was quietly looking at the flowers outside the circle, but in the next moment, she was surrounded by ladies telling her how nice her outfit looked on her.”

I designed it, after all!

“As for Maribelle, who Serephione was interested in, she stuck by the prince’s side the whole time and chatted with him and some of the boys from the academy.”

“Who were those other boys?” I asked.

“Cain, the second son of Marquis Duel, and Harry, the oldest son of Viscount Wentz.”

Those two were the prime minister’s son and his dog. That seemed like a small friend group to me, but it made sense since my brother, the magician, and Cecil, the macho man, were missing from their clique.

“And what about the mission I assigned you?”

“I completed all three steps, of course. Firstly, I went in my knight school uniform to say hello to Maribelle and have a polite conversation with her. Secondly, I put some distance between us and stared at her for three minutes per your instructions. Thirdly, I went up to her again at the end of the party, shook her hand, and told her that she’s as beautiful as a wild rose.”

“Good job. What was Maribelle like?”

“She said to me, ‘You could be a military commander as soon as you graduate with your skill. Would you protect me with your lance?’ I’m long past the times where I rode on horseback and took down my foes with a lance, though... I haven’t picked up anything besides a bow and arrow since I started school. Of course, the reason I chose archery was to have more time with you... He he.”

Alma, Lou, and I had nothing to say in response.

“I asked her, ‘If you’re an advanced magician, why would I need to protect you?’ She said, ‘My magic isn’t for hurting people, so I need a strong knight to protect me.’”

“Huh... So what did you say then?”

“I told her, ‘Knights do not protect the strong. The people I protect are those with no magic or power.’”

“Cecil said something sensible!” Alma opened her eyes wide.

“What did Maribelle say?”

“Something like, ‘That’s weird, it isn’t working.’”

“I see... So, what did you think of Maribelle by the end? Do you think she’s queen material?”

“She’s just average, apart from her advanced magic level. She always brought up the same stuff about me being a military commander, so I think she might not be all that bright. It also put me off how casually she spoke with a man she’s only met a couple times. Her handshake was weak; if somebody were going to hit me, I’d rather it be someone with a callused hand from sword fighting, like you or Alma. I imagine the position of queen is difficult, so I think someone like Isabella, who is taking her regal studies seriously, would be better for the security of our kingdom.”

“But she’s cute, right? Enough so that the prince is interested in her. You didn’t want her badly enough to push the prince aside?”

“I don’t have the same tastes as the prince. I admire strong girls more than cute girls.” Cecil looked at us with his head tilted down and blushed.

Don’t act like a shy maiden when you’re thirty centimeters taller than me!

“Makes sense. Good work, Cecil. Have this as thanks!” I handed him my vanilla ice cream.

“Ah, Serephione! I’ll never forget this day as long as I live!”

“Why did you give him ice cream as a reward, Serephi?” Alma asked.

“I don’t want to give Cecil anything that will be around for long.”

“Makes sense.”

Cecil ate his ice cream cheerfully, putting a hand to his cheek with tears of joy in his eyes.

One ice cream was a small price to pay for Cecil to happily work for me. The way Cecil treated me violently in the novel was burned into my mind, but now, I could use him as somebody in Prince Gardner’s inner circle.

He could potentially become my enemy again in the future, but I honestly didn’t care. If he betrayed me, I’d just crush him with my full power. So long as he didn’t turn on me, I didn’t plan to regard him as an enemy. He was my sweetheart Alma’s twin brother, after all.

He had spoken with Maribelle at close range. He had looked at her, and he had touched her, but Cecil’s feelings toward Maribelle hadn’t shifted a bit. Cecil was...in the clear, for now.

“That concludes the experiment. Lou...prepare yourself.”

Lou said nothing.

And so, on a lovely spring day off at the Granzeus mansion...I kicked my beloved Lou and papa in their heads...

◇ ◇ ◇

“If you can’t take this job, I can pass it on to one of the other guilds we’re partnered with,” Ms. Lara informed me.

“Hmm. Well, it shouldn’t be a problem if I can get permission to take time off school...”

The guild had summoned me for what turned out to be a job request.

A-rank adventurers received all kinds of privileges by virtue of their ability to take on difficult jobs. In return, they were obligated to accept work whenever the kingdom or local government requested them to.

This request was specifically for a female adventurer of at least A-rank, which was a strict condition. There were women A-rank and above, but they were seldom able to take on work at a moment’s notice. Firstly, many had families—it would be difficult to do overnight jobs if you had children. Also, many high-ranking women were active in society and couldn’t leave their jobs normally. My grandmother and the female bodyguards of important people were good examples.

“Why does it have to be a woman?”

“Well, the job is to escort the princess of Marsche to the magic academy. It would start from the border and take about three days to get there. Her escort would have to stay with her even in the bedroom and bathroom, so that’s why.”

“Why can’t she take a skilled female servant? Letting an adventurer into a princess’s bedroom is a bit out of the ordinary... I think it would be better to ask the kingdom of Judore to assign her a female knight.”

“I imagine she doesn’t want to owe anything to another kingdom. If she hires an adventurer, all she has to do is pay their wage.”

“Why is she going to the academy?”

“She’s going on exchange. The princess is eleven years old. I assume they’ll let her enroll as a special exception.”

A foreign exchange student—it reminded me of Gillain. But still...it was the magic academy, my weakness.

“Sere, you can’t go to the academy,” Lou said sternly.

But I was always asking unreasonable favors from the guild, and even if they did have scary faces, they were kind to Nick and Alma. And if we were dealing with the head of a kingdom, they probably had a good amount of money to drop on the guild.

“Ms. Lara, I can’t go to the magic academy, even with good reason. I can escort her, but only from the border to the capital. Also, they can’t leak any of my information. I’d like to be a woman of many secrets.”

“Ahh, how lovely of you, Serephi! Okay! I’ll tell the client.”

◇ ◇ ◇

I—or rather, Lou and I—met the people we would be escorting at a town near the border. There was one coachman, two guards, and the princess. I knelt down.

“Nice to meet you. My name is Serephione. I belong to Trundle Guild of the Kingdom of Judore. I will do my utmost to protect you on our short trip together.”

The princess was bigger than me...even though she was three years younger! Darn it! She widened her eyes and exchanged a glance with the large man standing next to her who had long black hair tied back at his collar.

He drew his sword and slashed at me from above. I lightly jumped out of the way and kicked his wrist with my left foot, knocking his sword out of his hand. Then I put my knife to the left side of his neck.

“Gh...” The man cowered. This had only taken a few seconds. I supposed it was a test of my abilities.

“Um... Are you dissatisfied with me?”

The princess snapped back to normal and shook her head from side to side. “Oh, certainly not! Thank you for coming, Serephione. My name is Tomoe. I apologize for putting you through that.”

“It seems like you have...reasons, so I won’t ask. If you don’t mind, though, could you tell me what kind of danger to expect?”

I had planned to guard the carriage from horseback, but she really hadn’t brought any female servants, so I rode in the carriage with her. We set off with the two guards at our front and rear. If everything went as planned, we would only have to stay one night at a town along the way before we made it to the capital the next night. Someone from the academy would pick her up once we got to the capital.

“Um... Are you really fourteen, Serephione?” As I was thinking about what route to take, Tomoe spoke up nervously.

Between Tomoe’s hip-length black hair, her brown eyes, and her name, she resembled what I was familiar with in my past life in an endearing way. She looked like an older elementary schooler. The people of Marsche almost all had black hair, so I felt a certain kinship with them.

“Yes. I may be small, but I’m fourteen.”

“How old were you when you became an adventurer?”

“I joined my guild at eleven.”

“Even though you’re a noble lady?”

It hadn’t even been a day, but it seemed she’d looked into my background. She’d even found out that I was a noble.

“I can’t know for sure how long I can stay a noble lady.”

“Oh... By the way, your clothes look like the ones from my country.”

I was in my gray ninja outfit so I could be ready for anything.

“Oh, yes, my brother referenced Marschean clothes when he made them. Apparently, there was an exchange student from Marsche when he attended the magic academy.”

“Ah... That must have been Kenji.” A look of pain flashed across Tomoe’s eyes. “Kenji is...not with us anymore. My favorite serving woman killed him. Our kingdom is in great turmoil. I wish I didn’t have to come on this exchange, but it’s customary...”

Whoa, a heavy topic! I don’t want to hear any more...but I suppose I have to. Sniffle.

“That means you’ll be targeted during this trip.”

Tomoe nodded.

“Who exactly is targeting you?”

It’s not Galé, is it? Are they planning to take over Marsche before invading Judore?

“The prime minister. My brother, the Fourth Prince, was born three years ago to the prime minister’s daughter, which makes him the prime minister’s grandson.”

“Oh, a typical family feud.”

So it’s not the emperor... Sorry to doubt you, Gillain.

“How have you been targeted so far?”

“Mainly poison.”

My grandmother’s concern was spot on...

“Also...they set up accidents on the road to kill me.”

Hm? On the road? Like...the one we’re traveling on right now? I heard the sound of four, no, five horses approaching.

“Sere,” warned Lou.

“Yeah,” I responded. “Your Majesty, what would you like me to do with your enemies? Take them alive? Or would you rather I kill them?”

“Huh?”

“I will act according to your request. They’re coming. Answer me in three seconds! One, two...”

“D-Don’t kill them!”

“Understood. Don’t move from this spot.”

I cast a defensive spell utilizing ultrasonic waves on myself, Tomoe, and Lou. I was acting in an abundance of caution since I didn’t know how strong our opponents were. I opened the door of the carriage and jumped onto the roof.

“Wh-What?!” The guards were startled.

I spotted the enemy. “Enemies approaching from the front. You’re in the way. Move to the side!”

“Y-Yes!”

Saved by Tomoe’s decision not to kill them... Me, that is. Not the enemies. I hadn’t expected my life to be in danger on this job, so I hadn’t even considered the possibility that I would have to kill somebody. The reason A-rank requests and above were so lucrative was because they got your hands dirty. I’d been foolish to not prepare for that.

“Need my help?” asked Lou.

“Stand by.”

I used my right hand to invoke wind and lightning magic, and I dropped it right in front of the assailants as soon as they came within a hundred meters of the carriage.

Whoosh! Zap-zap-zap!

The cutting wind and strikes of lightning split open the earth. The people who had been struck fell deep into the rift along with their horses.

I looked into the crack. It was about twenty meters deep, with five men and their horses collapsed at the bottom.

“Your Majesty, shall we put them on trial in Judore or take them to Marsche?”

“...Try them under Judore’s laws.”

“Understood.”

I sent a magic transmission to the guild asking for them to take the bandits and send information on the inner workings of Marsche. My transmission magic took the form of a light blue butterfly, out of respect for my beloved Enrique.

“You can even use magic, Serephione...”

“Women are made of secrets, you know.”

I changed our route to the capital multiple times after that, but every time, an assassin would come for us. I had no intention of showing off all of the techniques at my disposal, so I dropped them into the earth every time.

It was strange. Did Marsche have tracking magic? I hadn’t thought of it before now. I’d have to create it when I had the time.

I shot a glance at Princess Tomoe. I didn’t feel any trace of magic other than mine. But not just that... I didn’t feel any magic at all.

That aside...this meant there had to be a traitor among us. Who could it be, out of the two guards and the coachman?

And another thing, leaving enemy assassins and pawns alive would only create more potential danger in the future. Did Tomoe want me to spare them just because she was a kind princess?

“This is all too suspicious,” commented Lou.

“Yeah... What a pain.”

Eventually, near midnight, we reached a town that was only half a day’s ride away from the royal capital and took lodging. We had booked accommodations in all possible towns through the guild so we could rest without any problems.

We had separate rooms by gender, so Tomoe and I went into a small twin room. I smiled and said goodnight to the two guards—Sakaki, the older one who had slashed at me that morning, and Yamada, the younger one—before shutting the door. Sakaki and Yamada took turns staying awake to guard. The coachman had already gone to bed in preparation for the next day.

I cast soundproofing and perception-disruption magic on the room. A hot meal was laid out on the table.

I stopped Tomoe, who was gazing at the feast, and took a bite of the boiled fish in the center. Yep, my grandmother’s poison #3 was in it!

Clearing off the dishes from the table, I took out a dinner Matsuki had made for us this morning from my Magic Room (Perishables).

“All right, Your Majesty. Please enjoy.”

“This is...”

On the menu for dinner was rice balls with pickled plums, chikuzenni, tamagoyaki omelets, and warabi-mochi for dessert.

“This is Marschean cuisine...”

When I told our chef Matsuki that I would be eating with someone from Marsche, he made a classic bento. He had finally stepped into the world of umami and fish broth...

As I chowed down, I said to Tomoe, “This is great!”

Tomoe gently picked up a rice ball, gave it a hesitant lick with the tip of her tongue, and chewed on a small bite. Then she chomped down on it, gobbling it up without a word. This request covers meals. You can slow down and taste it.

“That was delicious,” said Tomoe, blushing. “Thank you.”

“Of course it was. Matsuki made it,” said Lou smugly.

“We have to leave early tomorrow, so we should go to bed.”

“Um... Serephione, are you going to go anywhere tonight?”

“No, I plan to rest with you as long as I’m serving as your escort.”

Lou would probably go out for a walk if he felt like it, though.

“Okay... That’s good, then. Good night.”

“Sleep well.”

We set out at dawn the next day, heading straight for the capital while fending off similar attacks to the ones we faced the day before. If we were going to be attacked anyway, there was no point taking a detour. Some of the attackers could use magic, but I beat them down before they got a chance to use it. Yay!

Finally, in the afternoon, we made it to the capital! Cue applause!

While I was happily showing my plate to the guards and heading through the entrance, a needle shot into my neck from behind. I turned around to see Yamada pointing a blowpipe at me and Sakaki taking out the city guards with strikes from the back of his sword.

So, all three members of her entourage were in on it! They did seem to work a little too well together. There was no sense of incompatibility between them. And this was the time they chose to take aim at me. I had let my guard down a bit in the moment. A film instantly formed over my eyes, and I sank to my knees.

The coachman began to drag Tomoe out of the carriage. She struggled, raising her voice. “Y-You all betrayed me! How awful! Ah! Serephione! You’re okay, aren’t you? Help me!”

“Poison #8... Bee venom...”

“This is Judore, you all realize! And Serephione is a noble lady! Do you understand what that means?!” she yelled.

The three Marschean men’s faces twisted in distress.

“It’s a serious crime to murder a noble lady!” she shouted. “They’ll capture you all in Judore and put you on trial. You’ll never be able to come back to Marsche again. Serves you right. He he! Oh, I hear footsteps already. The other guards are coming because they heard me yell! This is the gate to the royal capital. No matter how many you cut down, the soldiers will keep coming. It’s only a matter of time before you’re captured! Ha ha ha ha!”

“The people wouldn’t be in this position if you weren’t so greedy!” Yamada tried to swing at Tomoe, but Sakaki stopped him.

“You have a future. Don’t get your hands dirty. I’ll do it.” Sakaki swung his sword down.

“Sakaki!”

“Eeeek!”

“Ahhhh, okay, time to stop.”

I stepped in front of Tomoe and kicked Sakaki in the stomach.

“Agh!” Sakaki went flying into the wall.

“S-Serephione... How...?”

“Come on, I’m not dead! Don’t underestimate me!”

“B-But, the poison! It’s a lethal dose! From a Marre bee!” Yamada pointed at me incredulously.

“I’m used to it.”

I have frequent experience with it!

The footsteps we had heard before stopped, and the doors opened with a click.

“Sorry to keep you waiting—oh? Has the fight been resolved?”

“Soldiers! These men tried to kill a noble lady of the Granzeus family and me. Take them away right now! Wait, huh?”

The opposite of a soldier—Guildmaster Ziek, an old man always on the sidelines—stepped out.

He set up a place at the checkpoint station and sat Tomoe and the three men down.

I stood in front of them, intimidating them to the point of not being able to move. Ziek relaxedly sipped green tea next to me.

“So, Sakaki, Yamada, and the coachman... Ah, your name is Tabuchi? Could I ask you for an explanation from your point of view?”

“What are you doing, Serephione?! If you can move, then capture these traitors!”

“Shh, Tomoe! Be quiet!” I cast soundproofing magic on Tomoe. Her mouth continued to move without making any sound.

Yeah, I’m quietly angry, so? I jerked my chin at Sakaki for an explanation.

“I am Sakaki, commander of the 3rd Corps of the Marsche Army. I would like to apologize, first of all, for causing trouble to a noble lady who has nothing to do with our situation.”

Unbelievable... I glared at him silently.

“For the past several years, the mines have been running out of ore one after the next, and the kingdom’s power has declined. In spite of that, the royal family lives a life of luxury. The people have no rice balls to eat, but the princess dismissed the issue with ‘Then let them eat mochi.’”

I’ve definitely heard that somewhere before.

“The prime minister had enough of the situation and rose up. He wants to abolish the monarchy and make our kingdom a republic, putting politics in the hands of the people.”

So it’s the Riceball Revolution.

“I joined the prime minister’s cause while still registered in the army. I thought I could play an active role by virtue of being under the royal family’s umbrella.” Sakaki exhaled. “But it came back to bite me. It became known that I was on the prime minister’s side, and I was ordered to escort Princess Tomoe. It was a seemingly legitimate order. I couldn’t very well refuse.”

“But?”

“It’s completely made up that Tomoe is studying abroad. This was a plot to make us out as criminals for harming someone important from another country—the daughter of Judore’s Minister of Finance—and have us imprisoned abroad without Marschean royalty having to get their own hands dirty. I knew it was a plot, but I had to go along with it anyway. I couldn’t let Princess Tomoe escape into Judore.”

Of course. Even if she’s the princess, she couldn’t study at the magic academy with zero magic ability.

There would be nowhere for the people’s anger to go if the princess who caused the decline of the country was allowed to easily go into exile. If she entered Judore as the princess of another country, she would be treated with respect as a guest of honor, receive strict security, and watch the civil war from upon high. If her relationship with the Judore royal family was good, she might even get reinforcements from Judore. Sakaki couldn’t let her leave the country, that was for sure. However, if he killed a member of the royal family, it would make him just another bandit.

“Okay, next, Tomoe, tell me what you have to say!” I released the soundproofing magic.

“Pfft! You people just say whatever you want if we listen quietly! I’ll acknowledge that the country’s economy has been struggling, and we have some things to reflect on... But that doesn’t make it okay to start a revolt and poison my older brother and serving ladies!”

“Your bad policies and extravagance have starved millions of our people to death!” Yamada’s voice was rough.

“Th-The royal family has to maintain our dignity and pride as royalty.”

“Tch, what worthless pride. The whole lot of you are useless!” shot back Yamada.

Tomoe shot me a glare. “Serephione, you must have known these men were against us. Why didn’t you take them out last night while they were sleeping?! That would have been enough!”

“Well, my job description was just to escort you.”

“I can’t believe you!”

“Basically, Your Majesty, you were okay with having me killed and these men captured if it meant you could rest in Judore as your safe haven. And Sakaki, you knew about her plot, but you were fine with it as long as somebody who wasn’t guilty of killing me captured the princess and brought her back to Marsche. Either way, you would have known that you would get me, a noble lady, if you specified that you wanted a woman of A-rank or higher on short notice. You really underestimated a gold-rank adventurer.”

“Sorry...” Sakaki hung his head.

“And what’s wrong with that? It’s your decision to put yourself in danger as an adventurer!” retorted Tomoe.

“Oh my... He he, nothing’s wrong with it; it’s just against the rules.”

“Rules?”

“Yes. Let me take you through this step by step. My job here is done, right? I brought the four of you safely to Judore.”

“N-No, it’s not done! You failed the mission!”

“Hey... Are you trying to make a fool out of my guild member?” Ziek the demon had been summoned. But Tomoe seemed unintimidated by an elder who had orders of magnitude more experience than her.

“W-Well, the job was to take me to the magic academy! I’ll just go back to Marsche from here. You failed your job. My apologies.”

“All right, let’s look at the latest version of the contract from yesterday. It says ‘to the gates of the capital.’ My mission is complete. The fee will be three million gold. Thanks for your business!”

“N-Nonsense!”

“You also deliberately put an adventurer in danger. It was attempted murder, after all! That means a fine. I’m a valuable A-rank female adventurer, so the fine is twenty million gold. The total comes to twenty-three million gold. Please get the money together and pay as soon as possible!”

“This isn’t a game! I can’t agree to this! I’m not paying you a dime!”

“So you intend to evade the bill?”

“Of course! I’m the head of my country! The Kingdom of Marsche wants these bandits done away with. I won’t let a guild order me around, and I don’t need to pay you either! You should be happy to help me!”

“Guilds are country-independent organizations. We have no need to cater to Marsche in particular. If you just paid the money now, our contract would be fulfilled, and we wouldn’t interfere with you in the future, for better or for worse.”

“I knew you were a noble lady, but...you’re so shallow, with all this talk of money...”

“Sorry I’m shallow. Anyway, does this mean your country is defaulting on the official contract you made with the guild despite the terms being fulfilled?”

“I am Tomoe, the princess of Marsche! Don’t ask me the same question again, you insolent girl!”

“Got it!” I turned to Ziek, took a large stack of letters from him, and tossed them into the air with a spell activated in my right hand.

The letters instantly turned into hundreds of red butterflies and flew out the window.

“No!” Tabuchi the coachman stood up and raised his voice for the first time.

“Wh-What are these butterflies?!” Tomoe asked as she watched the ominous scene.

“It’s transmission magic. Even Magicless people can read the emergency red kind. They’ve been sent out to every guild in the world. No guild or adventurer will ever deal with Marsche again...or forgive you.”

“How can this be...?” Sakaki covered his face with his hands.

“You...! Do you, as a proud member of the royal family, not understand how much adventurers do to bring wealth to our kingdom and keep the economy running?! Do you not understand that it’s adventurers that protect our public order?! You’ve made enemies of all the guilds! Marsche... Marsche has no more hope! Waaah...” Yamada broke down in tears.

“...Huh?”

“Your Majesty, you have broken a long-standing pact between your kingdom and this guild,” I declared. “Guildmaster, can I leave the rest up to you?”

“I will take responsibility for the rest,” Ziek replied. “Even though you don’t like to take on work that makes you stand out, you took this job for the sake of the guild... I apologize that you had to take part in this worthless drama. In the future, I will make sure that even emergency requests are carefully examined.”

I left the checkpoint station.

“Sere... Looks like we’re not getting paid this time.”

Don’t say that. You’ll make me cry. Sniff.

◇ ◇ ◇

When I went back to my dorm after class, I received a request for a visit. I went to the common room, which was open and well monitored, to find the people who I’d done free work for just a few days ago—Sakaki and his group.

“You...really are a normal knight school student,” said Yamada bashfully, his face flushed.

I sighed. “What is it? Are you here to settle the score?”

“No. I wanted to come and apologize once more before I go back to my home kingdom. I’m terribly sorry for wrapping you up in our mess.” Sakaki stepped forward as a representative and lowered his head.

Unbelievable.

“And...I’ll never forget my debt to you.”

“Debt? I don’t remember helping you out at any point,” I replied. “Shouldn’t you have a grudge against me, if anything, since the guilds wouldn’t be against you if not for me?”

“What you did was unfortunate for us, but it was all proper. I may grieve what happened, but I hold no resentment toward you.”

Hmm...

“You could have killed me and my allies in a second on the road, but you let us go.”

“That’s what I was asked to do.”

“You gave us the chance to tell our side of the story instead of only listening to the princess.”

“I try not to take royalty at their word uncritically. I especially hate royalty that tries to get away with things without getting their hands dirty.”

“Now that it has been deserted by the guilds, Marsche will soon collapse. Someday, when the revolution is over, I will repay my debt to you.”

“Just pay me the money you owe me!”

As I saw them off at the school gates, I decided to offer them some advice. “I’m going to warn you out of consideration... In my experience, the difficult part of a revolution comes when it’s over. Some revolutionaries find themselves having to become ruthless dictators in order to keep chaos at bay, but then they forget their original cause and are killed themselves. Are you prepared for that?”

I learned that in world history class in my past life!

Surprise ran through Sakaki’s eyes, and something like fear through Tabuchi’s. Their eyes darted around the vicinity as they looked at me with serious expressions.

“Consideration, you say... You are frightening, Twilight Lady of Destruction. We will keep that in mind. I hope to see you again someday. When we meet again, I hope you will let us apologize again for our rudeness and atone for our sins,” said Tabuchi, the oldest of the three, who had been standing in the back. The three bowed their heads deeply and left on horseback.

“You’re collecting a lot of variations on your nickname, Sere,” muttered Lou from atop my head.

Lady of Destruction... Is that because I’ve finally destroyed a country? That’s pretty wild...

“I’m beat. Could you give me a cake, Lou? I feel like something sweet.”

“Well... I suppose I can give you the fourth one.”

...I’d better negotiate a salary raise for Matsuki with papa when I get home. It’s spring, after all.

◇ ◇ ◇

“All right! Time to go hunt that wild junk bear!”

“J-Junk bear?!”

Nick’s win-loss ratio hadn’t been very good at school recently. It wasn’t that he was getting lazy. His weapon was just bad.

His sword was all beat up, just like when he fought me in the entrance exam. Knight school had some wealthy students, so no matter how much skill Nick had, he couldn’t win against the best swords money could buy.

He had been making some money from guild commissions, but apparently he’d been sending it all to his family. I had a plan to buy him a new sword without hurting his pride, though.

“I’m going to have my good friend Nick here accompany me on an A-rank commission so he can level up some more,” I explained to Lara as I handed her the commission form. “Apparently, there’s a stray junk bear devouring the rabbits and deer in Trundle territory.”

The reward for an A-rank commission was four times as much as Nick’s D-rank. Even after we split it, he would get twice as much as usual. He could take that straight to the weapons shop.

“Good luck, Nick! I’ll be doing some collection jobs in this area while I wait for you to get back,” said Alma. “I’d like this E-rank one, Ms. Lara!”

While Alma spoke with Lara, I gave her a wave and took Nick outside with me. As we headed to the forest—“we” including Lou, who was riding on my shoulder—I explained to Nick our plan for today.

“But even Mr. Kodak needs a whole day to take down a junk bear. Do we have to do it today?”

“Of course. It’s damaging the forest. The faster we take it down, the less damage it can cause! Oh, I spy footprints! It must be around here... One second.”

Fwee! I blew on a whistle briefly.

A few seconds later, a silver snake appeared—it was Miyu, who was now almost a meter long.

“A sn-snake!”

“Hiya, Miyu! Which way is the junk bear?” I asked.

“Good to see you again, Lou. Miss Sere, the bear is tormenting a weasel about five minutes south of here.”

“Thanks! Take this in return. Share it with your papa.” I handed her a snakeberry tart, her favorite, wrapped in cloth.

“Thank you, Miss Sere! Call me anytime! Good day, Lou.”

“Mhm,” responded Lou.

Miyu hung the cloth around her neck and slithered off into the forest.

I turned around to Nick. “You heard what she said.”

“I did not! How are you talking to snakes like it’s nothing, Serephi?!”

“Heh... You’ll understand once you have enough experience...” I gazed into the distance, remembering that fateful day when I met Miyu.

“Really? You can talk to snakes once you reach A-rank? No, that can’t be right...”

“All right, I’m all ready! Let’s dash, Nick! Don’t make a sound!”

I grabbed the zoned-out Nick by the scruff of his neck and started to run.

“Ahhhh!”

“Target spotted! I’ll attack it from above and blind it, so you restrain its feet! Split up!”

“Wait! I don’t see the target yet!”

Whoa, this is the biggest junk bear I’ve ever seen. It’s at least three meters long. And I can’t use magic with Nick here...

“You can use magic as long as he doesn’t notice, right?” pointed out Lou.

“True!”

I walked around to the front of the junk bear and used both my hands to throw two shurikens, which I had strengthened and coated with poison, with all my might.

Take this! The shurikens went right through its eyes and stuck into the tree behind the bear.

Awesome, I destroyed its brain!

...Wait, what?

The bear struggled despite its loss of sight, then somehow jumped straight in Nick’s direction!

Oh, it’s because Lou is on my head... As an animal, of course it would instinctively go for the weaker enemy...

“Nick! Sorry! It’s headed your way!”

“Whoa!”

Nick jumped out of the way by a hair’s breadth, dodging the bear’s sharp claws. Phew, that’s a relief!

“That is not a relief!” he shouted.

The junk bear started to move again, for some reason. It chased after Nick with a desperate look on its face.

“So stubborn,” commented Lou.

“Who is?”

“Both of you.”

“Nick, I think we have to stab it in the heart! Go for it from the front!”

“Me?!”

Of course. This would mean nothing if Nick didn’t deliver the killing blow.

Nick stopped in his tracks, ready to go. Then he ducked under the bear’s legs!

Now! I fired a lightning bolt at the junk bear from Nick’s blind spot, and it stopped moving for a moment! Nick wouldn’t let that moment go to waste, of course.

Slash! Nick stabbed his long-trusted sword into the bear’s heart.

“Ms. Lara, Alma! We’re back!”

“Hey there! I wasn’t worried about you one bit!” Alma waved to us as she played cards with Matt.

“Welcome back. Hm? Nick, you look exhausted.”

While Lara was giving Nick some revitalizing medication, I took the freshly-killed junk bear out of my Magic Room.

“You brought in another big one,” said Ziek as he came out from the back.

“Nick... Don’t tell me Serephione took you out to hunt this without a thorough explanation?”

“G-Guildmaster...”

Nick cried into Ziek’s chest. Nick, you’re already close with the guildmaster?

“All right, thank you for completing this A-rank hunting mission! The pay was two hundred thousand gold, but you brought back a large one, so I’ll add a bonus of thirty thousand gold to make it two hundred and thirty thousand! How would you like to split it?” asked Lara.

“Nick can have a hundred and fifty thousand, and I’ll take the other eighty thousand.”

“Hey, what are you doing?” Nick’s eyes were wide.

“Of course the one who made the finishing blow should get twice as much!”

“But...”

“Serephione, could I buy this jumbo junk bear off of you?” asked Lara.

“Yes, that’s why I brought it. But, let’s see... Could you give the fangs and paw pads to Nick?”

“Why?” asked Nick perplexedly.

“Men wear the fangs as commemorative accessories. Kodak will be happy if you show him. And the paw pads are a delicacy, so you can give them to your family as a thank-you gift for everything they’ve done for you.”

“Serephi...”

“I see... I thought you were being reckless, but you had an ulterior motive.” Ziek was suddenly smiling. “The blood and claws will go to Nick as well, I assume?”

Huh? What do you mean?

“The blood of junk bears contains high-quality iron,” Ziek explained. “If you soak a sword in it overnight, then sharpen it using the claws, any old sword will become as sharp as a prized royal sword.” Ziek glanced at Nick’s sword in its sheath.

“Is that why you did all this...? For me?”

“Well, I wouldn’t say that...”

“How thoughtful of you, Serephi...” Alma’s eyes were sparkling.

“Of course our lady wouldn’t acknowledge it. She’s too modest!”

No, Matt! I legitimately didn’t know!

“All right, the purchase is complete. It comes out to 486,337 gold, since the fur and leather are high quality. What a lucky catch. You’ll give the money to Nick as well, Serephi? How chivalrous of you!”

What?! We should split the money! I need cash for my future escape plan!

“You should gratefully accept your senior’s kind gesture. You can repay your debt someday by paying it forward to a junior.”

Ziek! Don’t just wrap it up cleanly!

“Serephi... Thank you...” Nick clutched the unusually large payment and bit his lip, tears coming to his eyes. Alma was crying too just watching!

“So, we’re not getting paid again...” said Lou. “Don’t worry about it, Sere...”

I smiled through the tears in my eyes... I had no choice but to smile!

◇ ◇ ◇

After that, Nick took us to his home in the artisan district of the capital’s downtown area because he didn’t know how to cook bear paw.

Lou had gone back to the Granzeus mansion for his day off to see his beloved Matsuki.

When Nick opened the front door, hot air came out from inside.

“I’m back! Duncan, Tom! I brought friends!”

“Hey there! Don’t just chat in the doorway, come on in!” A deep, throaty voice sounded from inside. We made our way into the workshop.

“This guy with the huge beard is my foster dad, Duncan. Duncan, this is Serephi, and this is Alma. They may be cute, but they’re stronger than tropical monitor lizards!”

“Nice to meet you, Duncan. I’m Nick’s classmate, Serephi.”

“My name is Alma. Thank you for having us over on such short notice.”

Duncan was in his work clothes, dripping sweat with a towel wrapped around his head. He was the picture of a hardworking artisan.

“Hey, young ladies! Thanks for being good friends to Nick! Oh, you’re making dinner? Out of junk bear paws? That’s great!”

Duncan was a glass blower by trade. He had been a senior apprentice of Nick’s father. When Nick’s parents passed away from an epidemic, Duncan took in Nick as a matter of course.

Blown glass didn’t sell in large quantities, so their lifestyle wasn’t very easy. Nonetheless, Duncan was willing to consider Nick his apprentice and raise him as such—as Duncan put it, Nick already had good parents, so he couldn’t be a father to him. Early on, however, he realized Nick wasn’t great with handiwork, so he gave up on making Nick his successor with a laugh and put him in the role of housekeeper instead. He also didn’t stand in the way of Nick’s dream of becoming a knight when he found out later.

“I mean, this kid can’t make hollow glass no matter how much he blows. No cups or flower vases in his future! Ga ha ha!”

The glass-blowing studio currently housed Duncan and Tom, who was the senior apprentice that would inherit the place in the future. Nick’s small room was still there, of course.

“Why don’t you two try your hand at painting?” Nick suggested. “We still have time before closing!”

Nick had a tray with two clear glasses on it. Excited for my first time experiencing this, I picked the short whiskey glass. Alma took the tall and thin glass.

“Master, I want to use blue-green paint,” I said to Nick.

“Oh, like your dad’s eyes? Let’s see... Just mix this and this together.”

“I think I’ll go with green too,” Alma said.

“If you make it a gradient with a caramel color matching your eyes, the beer will look better inside it.”

“How do I make a gradient?”

“Well, you take this, and...”

“That’s so cool, Nick! I had no idea you were good at this!”

“Master Nick! I want to use this light green to remind people of the wheat fields in my domain!”

“All right, so take two brushes and cross them like this... How about that?”

“Awesome! Nick, you’re actually great at this! What if you went back to being a glassmaker?”

“Are you just saying I’m not knight material?”

“Don’t say that, young lady!” chimed in Duncan. “These wouldn’t sell. You’ll just have to look after him as a knight!”

“Why’d you have to say it like that?!” exclaimed Nick.

Duncan laughed. “Get those hands moving! You’ll run out of time to fire it!”

Alma and I finished painting with Nick’s help. Then we asked Tom, the smiling, chubby guy, to fire the glass for us.

“Okay, Nick, show us to the kitchen!”

We took the fur out of the paw pads as Lara had shown us, roasted them in the oven until they were crispy, and then simmered them in red wine and honey. In the meantime, we decided to make a few side dishes with the ingredients available in the kitchen.

While we were chopping onions, Alma murmured something to me. “I thought male craftsmen would be scarier. I didn’t think the three of us would get together and be friendly...”

“They’re Nick’s family. Of course they’re nice!”

“You’re right.”

Alma had been raised in a patriarchal environment, so she was extremely wary of adult men. She was like a shy kitten. I hoped she would find more and more people she could trust.

We figured since Nick and his family usually just grilled things with salt and pepper, our cooking would be a hit so long as we prepared something with just a little bit of effort. What I ended up making was a sort of carpaccio out of a tuna-like fish and something resembling teriyaki chicken with something that seemed similar to soy sauce. Alma made a cold pasta full of a tomato-ish vegetable, chili peppers, and carrots. We served our side dishes along with the simmered bear paw in glassware made by Duncan.

“How refreshing! Well, the bear looks pretty rich, though.”

“Serephi, my simple cooking looks like it’s from a high-class restaurant!” exclaimed Alma. “The plates make such a difference.”

“Looks great, you two!”

“Come on, Duncan, Tom! Enjoy some Trundle bear!”

“I can’t believe we get to eat a junk bear that Nick hunted! Thanks for the meal, young ladies!”

“Time to dig in!”

“Yum! I didn’t know bear meat could get so tender. I feel invincible now that I’ve eaten this! I’m impressed that you made such a luxurious dish in our tiny kitchen!”

My eyes met Alma’s, and we smiled. If they thought it was luxurious, then we wouldn’t correct their misunderstanding. All this had been a piece of cake to make thanks to the easy-to-understand recipes Matsuki gave us.

“Is it okay to eat fish raw?” Tom asked.

“I understand if you’d rather not, Tom. You don’t have to force yourself to eat it.”

“Nah, I’ll eat it. I’m definitely not letting Duncan or Nick have my portion!”

Then why did you ask?!

“Ahh, I wish she could have tasted this delicious cooking...” mused Duncan.

“Is ‘she’ your wife? Did she pass away?”

“Oh, I’m just fantasizing out loud.”

“Right... Hey, Alma, we should eat too.”

“O-Okay.”

“Serephi’s a big eater, so I can see how she’s a good cook, but you’re great at cooking too, Alma! Thanks!” complimented Nick.

“I-It’s because of the glassware Duncan made!” stammered Alma. “Right, Serephi?” She was blushing.

“No way! It’s because of the love you put into it!” I responded.

“What...?! S-Serephi, you put love into it too!”

“So it’s full of love.” Tom grinned.

“This is the best day of my life... Your son brought home two kind, righteous friends...” muttered Duncan quietly to the blank ceiling.

After we’d cleaned our plates, Nick, the housekeeper, expertly cleared the table. And before long, our glasses were done firing.

“Wow!”

“Serephi... This is better than I even imagined!”

I’d made a one-of-a-kind glass! Would my papa drink whiskey from it? I pictured him being happy to receive it and felt my spirits rise.

“Thank you for the cup! Should we get back to the dorms, Nick?”

“W-Wait!”

“Nick?”

“Here... Take these...”

He handed us each a round, flat piece of glass about three centimeters in diameter. The glass was light blue, and mine had a flowing pattern of silver specks, while Alma’s had gold specks. Little air bubbles danced inside the glass pieces.

It was...gold and silver dust!

Nick scratched his head. “I have some ideas of my own, as long as they don’t involve cups.”

“Nick...”

“Shut up and just take them.”

“Why?”

“It’s, you know...thanks for everything! And you guys have seemed down lately, what with Elise and Sasara graduating...”

How do you have such good taste, Nick?

The pieces of glass were too light to use as paperweights but too heavy to wear on a chain as a necklace. They were like marbles from my past life, but bigger. They had no purpose, but they were filled with Nick’s feelings.

“So pretty...”

It was a handmade gift. I was moved. Nick was a better friend than I deserved.

I would keep this piece of glass in my pocket until I was old and gray. I could take it out from time to time, hold it up to the light, and think back on the happy days I spent with Nick and Alma.

Tears came to Alma’s eyes as well.

“Thank you, Nick... I love it!” Alma crashed into Nick and started crying into his chest.

“A-Alma!” Nick gently put a hand on Alma’s back.

“All I ever do...is cause you trouble...but you gave me this lovely present...!” cried Alma.

“Alma... You and I are Serephi’s inseparable troublemakers, aren’t we?”

“Yeah... Wait, hey!”

“Ah, to be young...” Tom mused as he looked on.

Tom, you’re on the same wavelength as some fluffballs I know...!

“Maybe I’ll have grandchildren after all... I wish you could be here to see them...” Duncan’s fantasy had entered a new chapter.