It took time for me to calm down the seniors who had collapsed on the floor.
Elsi, who had been trembling, received a pat on the head, while Delphine was at a loss for how to calm her down.
With a quivering voice, Delphine spoke to me.
“…S-Scratch me.”
At first, I thought Delphine was joking. A look of disbelief directed at her, but her violently shaking crimson eyes testified that she was indeed serious.
While I was taken aback, Delphine asked me again.
“P-Please… Anywhere…”
Ultimately, I had no choice but to scratch Delphine’s cheek once more.
It was just a shallow wound. A scratch that would heal in a few minutes.
Even so, it seemed to reassure Delphine, and her breathing began to stabilize rapidly. I had to watch her with a somewhat reluctant expression.
I felt like I had picked up a bad habit, which was a big problem.
Having somehow settled things down and cleaned up the collapsed table, we decided to have a face-to-face meeting.
Of course, none of us three could say a word for a while.
Elsi, feeling embarrassed, was fidgeting with a bright red face. As she wiggled her fingers, she pressed down her hooded hat as if trying to avoid my gaze.
But that wouldn’t make me unable to see her.
Delphine, slightly blushing, cleared her throat and avoided eye contact. While not as much as Elsi, she also had a fair amount of embarrassment.
It was understandable, given how they appeared before a junior.
Especially after using words like maid, slave, dog, and cat. It would be humiliating for anyone.
I let out a deep sigh. Since the two didn’t seem like they intended to speak, I felt I had to lead the conversation.
“Why are you two fighting over something so trivial?”
Elsi had a wronged expression. She looked at me with pleading eyes and said in a frail voice.
“N-No… I was just sitting still, but that girl keeps provoking me!”
My gaze shifted to Delphine. However, she simply scoffed as if my question wasn’t worth answering.
They were still at odds. Since I had caused this, it was also my responsibility to improve their relationship.
So, I decided to correct their misunderstanding.
“Also, why do you both consider me your maid? If anything, I’m the junior here, so please don’t say such things in the future.”
“…B-But.”
Elsi glanced at me as if something was dissatisfied. While it was cute, my determination was unwavering.
“Please don’t. At the very least, you shouldn’t speak of it.”
If it continued, there would be many problems.
My reputation at the academy had been distorted for a long time. Due to baseless rumors and a sensationalized media culture, I was considered a “mad dog with a hand axe.”
What would happen if either Elsi or Delphine insisted on being my maid?
I didn’t even want to imagine. It could escalate to conflicts between families. This kind of conflict should not surface.
However, it seemed Elsi understood my words in a slightly different way.
“Y-Yeah! I won’t say it out loud, hehehe…”
I was about to say something more to Elsi, but I stopped.
After all, there was no point in speaking to someone who wouldn’t listen. Elsi was someone firmly rooted in her worldview. I would just have to gradually reset our relationships.
It seemed that today’s fight would be wrapped up like this. I was relieved that the word ‘maid’ wouldn’t come out of our mouths anymore.
Recently, my daily life felt like it was changing too rapidly. I hadn’t had to worry about such things before.
All of this was due to the letter. I recalled the love letter remaining in my pocket and looked sadly.
In a situation where a mage could appear, there was no time for us to be fighting among ourselves. I spoke with a low, serious voice.
“We don’t know what might happen from now on. A monster could attack the orphanage; it doesn’t seem like a simple issue. A mage might intervene too.”
“…A mage?”
It was Delphine who had spoken after sitting silently till now. Her voice was filled with questions, and her brows were slightly furrowed.
Elsi looked the same. With wide-open eyes, she stared at me in confusion.
The sudden appearance of a mage was hard to believe, even for me. I exhaled a sigh for what felt like the umpteenth time today.
“Yes, there’s no concrete evidence, but there’s a possibility. To explain the monsters’ unusual behaviors, Mr. Guildford said that the existence of a mage is the only explanation.”
“…Wh-What if we really encounter a mage?”
Elsi looked a bit frightened. I understood since she was naturally timid. To be honest, I was scared too.
Facing a mage while attending the academy would earn someone legendary status among juniors for decades.
I fell silent for a moment. How should I respond to this? No matter how I thought about it, there was only one conclusion.
“…We must prioritize survival.”
They were people I had forcibly brought along. Even if they had come voluntarily, they were not prepared to risk their lives.
I couldn’t tell them to throw away their lives. If it came down to it, I had to manage it on my own.
In the now heavier atmosphere, I stood up again.
I needed to share this fact with everyone. Had it not been for the voice that stopped my hurried steps, I would have left the dining hall as is.
“…So, what’s the judgment?”
My eyes turned to the source of the voice. It was Delphine.
She was blushing slightly and looked down, asking again in a bashful tone.
“Out of me and Rainelle, who is more useful?”
“…Does that really bother you that much?”
“Of course! I am Delphine Yuridina. A contest isn’t over until the winner is decided.”
I made an expression like I was stunned, but Delphine’s willpower was unyielding. She even sent me a gaze filled with clear expectation.
Elsi was the same. Though she pretended not to care, she occasionally stole glances at me.
Her eyes held a mix of anticipation and concern. I groaned and said.
“…Let’s talk about that after the practical training.”
Right now, my mind was filled with the mere existence of a mage; it was unavoidable.
With those words, Elsi and Delphine’s eyes locked upon each other once more, and then the two seniors got to work without saying anything further.
No matter how I thought about it, it was a topic I could not grasp.
Was it really that important, the position of maid?
What a perplexing world it was.
That night, there was special training.
Swords clashed together. Blue flames erupted into the air, flickering in the darkness. The sharp sound of impact rang in my ears.
My opponent was an old swordsman. His name was Guildford, the head of the orphanage and a former mercenary who once attained the title of sword expert. His white hair left a strong impression.
Naturally, he was stronger than me. I could tell even after a few exchanges.
The experience level was different, and so were the skills. And above all, I couldn’t keep up with that bizarre swordsmanship.
Stepping back a pace, I took a deep breath and lunged with my sword.
It was a strike like a ray of light. Mr. Guildford’s advancing figure testified to the virtual trajectory unfolding before my eyes.
My sharpened senses had never lied to me. It was the same now.
Yet, despite my initial strike, I found Mr. Guildford’s sword already at my throat.
The movement felt almost hallucinatory. I was launching an attack, and he effortlessly turned and slipped through my guard with his technique.
“It’s called Refraction.”
Mr. Guildford said this as he wiped sweat from his brow with a handkerchief he had prepared. I gasped and opened my water bottle.
When the cold water poured down my throat, I felt somewhat better. My gaze returned to Mr. Guildford.
“It’s a technique I learned from a short encounter in my youth. It’s quite difficult to master.”
“…I can see that.”
If I wasn’t careful, I could end up crossing over to the other side instead of defeating my opponent. To utilize it freely in actual combat would require an astonishing amount of practice.
No, it might not just be a matter of practice; mental strength was critical.
The resolve to risk one’s life isn’t something a living being can easily muster.
“This technique isn’t something just anyone can use. I only started to understand its nuances when I was faced with death. Essentially, you have to let go of yourself.”
“…Let go of myself?”
“Yes, only by doing so can you overcome your instincts. Haha… it’s hard to explain it in words. If you’re interested, I can teach you a bit.”
I momentarily stared blankly at his unexpected suggestion.
In fact, tonight’s duel was at Mr. Guildford’s request. He wanted to help me as a way to repay his assistance over time.
Although his skill level was higher than mine, his experience was also vast. Naturally, there was no reason for me to decline, and I accepted it with joy.
But for him to offer to teach me a technique too was too much. I quickly shook my head.
“No, that goes too far…”
“For a few hundred gold, you could save dozens of children.”
It was Mr. Guildford speaking calmly. It seemed that several hundred gold represented the reward for the monster corpses I had defeated.
“That is their price. Please accept it.”
With those words, I could no longer refuse. I finally accepted Mr. Guildford’s offer with a wry smile.
What I had overlooked was that Mr. Guildford turned out to be a surprisingly strict teacher.
“Again!”
“That’s the wrong posture. If you pierce your head like that, you’ll regret it in the afterlife, won’t you?”
“Even a monkey could do better than that, young master. Isn’t it shameful as a human?”
He indeed lived up to his background as a mercenary. I had to practice continuously until my body was drenched in sweat.
Exhausted, I staggered toward my lodging.
Reto would already be sleeping, and Yulen had gone off to the city, leaving me the last one awake. It was quite a pitiful situation.
Perhaps due to recent overexertion, I felt a dull ache in my back. I thought the healing potion had cured it, but perhaps it had been insufficient.
While I was moving forward in thought, a scene suddenly etched itself into my view.
It was a statue located in a corner of the orphanage yard. A cheap statue found wherever there were places supported by the Holy Kingdom.
Before it, a saint was praying.
It was a sight that truly deserved the word ‘saint.’
Her silver hair, glowing softly in the moonlight, and her strikingly beautiful features were even more exquisite than the statue itself.
She overwhelmed the landscape with her presence.
In an instant, the scenery morphed from a landscape painting into a portrait. I found myself staring in awe, speechless for a while.
The woman’s eyes slowly opened. A delicate pink hue brushed across the portrait, stirring emotions in my heart.
“…It’s rare to see someone like you pray.”
Her sulking voice shattered my reverie.
It was only then that I finally steadied myself, chuckling softly and shaking my head.
“I’m not faithful enough to pray at dawn. Rather, so you’re indeed a saint.”
“Did you think I wasn’t?”
Her tone was curt. Given the nature of our recent interactions, I wasn’t particularly offended.
I decided to take my leave, waving my hand. The saint was also about to turn her eyes away with a scoff.
If only I hadn’t suddenly felt a hot, wet sensation on my back.
“Huh? What’s going on?”
In that moment, the saint’s eyes were already wide open. She staggered and parted her lips.
“B-Blood…!”
I turned my arm behind me, only to feel sticky blood seeping on my hand.
A look of bewilderment silenced my mouth. Just then, the saint’s clear voice echoed through the night at the orphanage.
“…You’re bleeding!!”
This was bad. I had been caught by the very person I least wanted to discover me.
Just imagining the lecture I would receive made me break out in a cold sweat.
The night was still far from over.
