Chapter 20

A few days had passed since I started taking on that request (?) from Miss Marie.

Apparently, her knights and maids had been handling the other requests in my place, but…

I’d occasionally sneak away from Miss Marie to visit everyone at the guild, and it seemed they weren’t getting any help from her at all.

Everyone in town had been asking me to come back as soon as possible, but I had no idea what Miss Marie would say if she found out, so I kept giving them vague answers for the time being.

And right now, I was having a one-on-one duel with Miss Marie. As usual, we were crossing swords in the forest.

“…!”

With a single swing of her sword, she sliced through one tree after another, making them collapse. It was what you’d call a flying slash.

I swung my own sword horizontally and deflected it.

“Your guard is wide open.”

Her voice came from behind me, and I instantly leaped forward.

“I’m not sure I’d call that a hit, though.”

I turned around and said that, causing her to furrow her brows slightly before breaking into an even more amused smile.

Taking advantage of my unsteady posture, I gripped my sword between my teeth and started running circles around her on all fours.

“Like some kind of beast…!”

She swung her sword as if she’d seen right through my movements, but I deflected it with the sword clenched in my mouth.

My jaw hurt so much it felt like it was about to break, but I endured it. While bearing the pain, I unleashed a powerful kick aimed straight at her abdomen.

“Guh…!”

Even as her face twisted in pain, Miss Marie deliberately went along with the force of the blow and used it to send herself flying. She landed on a tree with both feet, then immediately launched another attack against me.

I got back up as well, gripping my sword in my hand just in time to block Miss Marie’s blade as she came rushing toward me.

CLANG!!!

The sound of steel striking steel echoed throughout the forest.

Our strength was evenly matched, and I found myself staring directly into Miss Marie’s eyes as we clashed.

Several minutes passed like that, until she suddenly changed her approach. Instead of meeting my strength head-on, she redirected my sword and abruptly relaxed the force she was putting into hers.

“Whoa!?”

I couldn’t react in time. I pitched forward and fell straight onto the ground.

“Break time. I’m getting a little tired, too.”

Miss Marie said that while looking down at me. She then went over and sat beneath a nearby tree.

Even while resting, her posture was so elegant. As expected of a noble lady…

Thinking that, I got up from the ground and picked up my sword.

This had become my daily routine lately. Get up and fight, get up and fight, over and over again…

Sometimes I wondered if I’d eventually drop dead from constantly moving my body like this.

Miss Marie and I barely talked beyond what was necessary. That was only natural. A noble and an ordinary person lived in completely different worlds, after all.

Thinking about that, I took a cloth out of my pocket and began wiping my sword.

“…You always do that during breaks, don’t you? Don’t you ever get tired of it?”

“Huh? Ah… Well, it’s something my parents taught me. They always said I should take good care of my weapons.”

I’d made it a habit, though I wasn’t sure if I was doing it correctly.

Surprised that she’d spoken to me, I answered. Miss Marie responded with a casual, “Hmm…”

“…I’ll do it, too.”

“Huh? Y-You don’t have to—”

“If I say I’m going to do it, then I’m going to do it. Come on, hand that over.”

“Ah, wait!?”

She forcibly snatched the cloth from me and started roughly wiping her own sword with it.

“Ah!? You can’t do that! Don’t be so rough with it! You’ll damage your sword!”

“I-I know that already! Stop making unnecessary comments!”

Seriously… Why was I the one getting yelled at!?

I couldn’t help feeling that this was unfair, but Miss Marie was now taking care of her sword a little more gently than before.

“…Hey.”

“Y-Yes?”

I’d been watching her for a while when Miss Marie suddenly spoke to me again.

Again? I wondered, but I answered anyway.

“You come here and train with me every single day. How do you manage that? Don’t you ever get sick of it?”

“Huh? W-Well… Since it’s something Miss Marie asked me to do, I don’t mind doing at least that much…”

“………You could run away from me, you know. For example… you could leave this city.”

As she said that, she stared straight at me.

I could only give an awkward laugh before answering.

“Ahaha… I don’t think I’d do that.”

“…Why are you so sure?”

“Well, how should I put it… I’ve actually been outside the city once, thanks to an acquaintance. But it was such a huge city that I started feeling like I’d get stressed out just living there.”

This place is where I feel most at ease.

I said that as I looked up at the blue sky, partially obscured by the trees surrounding the forest.

“Besides, I don’t want to abandon someone who requested my help just to leave town.”

“………Even if that person is someone like me?”

“Yes. Generally speaking, I think I’d feel the same way.”

I answered as though it were the most obvious thing in the world.

There were other reasons, too, but at this point, I couldn’t imagine trying to make a living in another city.

I hadn’t thought much about what I’d said. It was just an honest answer…

“……….”

“…Um, Miss Marie?”

For some reason, the very person who had asked me the question was now staring at me intently.

She looked incredibly cute, but at the same time, there was something frightening about it. I’d really appreciate it if she stopped…

“…You’re a strange person.”

“Huh?”

“It’s the first time. No one has ever talked back to me like that before. Not a single person. Someone like you…”

For just a moment, I thought her expression had changed, but that feeling vanished almost immediately.

For some reason, she placed the cloth on my head before standing up.

“Come on, break’s over. Hurry up and get ready, Kuro.”

“W-We’re starting already? I don’t think even ten minutes have passed…”

“It’s not like someone like you needs a break anyway. One minute should be more than enough, right?”

“No, no! That’s absolutely not true!?”

What did this woman think I was!?

Looking at her, I thought I could see the corners of her mouth lifting slightly.

Once again, I was reminded just how unpredictable Miss Marie really was.