Chapter 18

“Um, Lady Marie? What exactly are we going to do today?”

“Just follow me quietly.”

“Y-Yes…”

At the moment, I was being dragged along by Lady Marie—against my will, perhaps? We were now in a forest some distance away from the city.

What was she planning to do to me? Another puppy game? Or was she going to do something so awful that she couldn’t do it in front of other people??

“…What exactly do you take me for? Do you really think I’d do something as outrageous as that?”

“I-I’m sorry… But you did bring me all the way out here, didn’t you?”

“That’s a completely different matter.”

So she was aware of how she acted…

As I was thinking that, Lady Marie tossed a sword at me. I somehow managed to catch it.

“…What’s this?”

“I was a little harsh on you yesterday. I was just fooling around. By the way, you can use a sword, of course, right?”

“Huh? Y-Yes… About as well as any ordinary person.”

After hearing my answer, Lady Marie simply said, “I see,” then raised what was presumably her own sword toward me.

“Get into position.”

“Huh?”

“Why are you just standing there? Hurry up, or…”

Suddenly, Lady Marie’s figure disappeared from sight.

My instincts—almost like a sixth sense—screamed that I was in danger, so I immediately crouched down.

“…Because things will become irreversible if I don’t.”

Standing before me was Lady Marie, radiating an overwhelming fighting spirit that was hard to associate with a young noblewoman.

Realizing that she was serious, I quickly put some distance between us and drew my sword from its sheath.

“Oh? You’re surprisingly good at handling a sword. This might be promising.”

“…Lady Marie. What exactly is this all about…?”

“What do you mean, what is it about? I’m simply doing what I want. Though I’m not sure whether this can really be called taking care of me.”

As she spoke, Lady Marie skillfully maneuvered her sword with practiced ease.

“Come to think of it, whenever I start doing this, all the adventurers in this city leave at once. Well, I couldn’t care less about cowards who only care about money and women.”

“C-Could it be…?”

So the reason adventurers had been leaving this city wasn’t because they were fed up with Lady Marie’s carefree antics…

They had actually been running away because they were afraid of her?

Even from that brief movement just now, I could tell she was incredibly skilled.

But if that was the case, everything made sense.

There was no way so many people would flee just because they had to look after a young noblewoman. Besides, the reward was outrageously generous by ordinary adventurer standards.

But they had been frightened by her unexpected strength… That was why every adventurer who accepted Lady Marie’s request ended up leaving this city.

“I really can’t stand adventurers who only care about money and women. My mother may be like that, but she’s still young and incredibly popular with men, you know? Those guys are always desperately trying to get her attention. It’s disgusting. You’re not like them, are you?”

“…I won’t deny it. I need money, too. I’m barely managing to make ends meet.”

“How refreshingly honest. It’s good to be truthful. Honest people are rewarded, after all. Well…”

Once again, her sword sent a slash flying straight toward me.

“Whether I’ll forgive you for that is another matter entirely.”

“…Lady Marie.”

“Hey, do you know why House Clivus was able to become a noble family?”

Lady Marie asked, as though testing me.

House Clivus had become a noble family because of some great achievement. And if I remembered correctly, the main reason was…

“…Because you’re strong?”

“Correct. My mother is incredibly strong, you know? Strong enough to fight an entire army by herself. I’ve received my training directly from her… Do you understand what that means?”

…So Lady Marie was quite the skilled swordswoman herself.

I could feel an unpleasant cold sweat beginning to form.

“Today’s training ends this evening. If you can withstand fighting me until then, your request will be complete. Simple and straightforward. Easy, right?”

“…Even so, I feel like you’ve picked a rather unfair opponent.”

“Oh? So you do understand. I’ll promote you from an ordinary dog to a clever and perceptive one, Kuro.”

“That’s very kind of you… Thank you.”

After taking a deep breath, I pointed my sword toward Lady Marie.

Seeing that, the corners of her mouth curled into a fearless grin as she raised her sword toward me.

“Then, Kuro. Would you kindly indulge me in a little game, courtesy of your cheerful and innocent young lady?”

“…It would be my pleasure, Lady Marie.”

After exchanging those final words, our swords clashed with a dull metallic clang.