Reading Corner

Chapter 41 - Reason Behind Strength

2021-07-04T00:00:00+00:00

The duel ended and it was decided that I would be moving into the same room as Yurina-san. I started moving my luggage into the room.

「Eric will be staying in the same room as Yurina-san… How nice」

「Nn? What? Tina, did you want to room with Yurina-san?」

「That’s not it! I want to room with Eric!」

Well, it’s not an exaggeration to say that Tina and I always lived together in the village.

We’ve slept in the same bed too huh.

「I think there were empty rooms at the magic knight dormitory. Can’t me and Eric room together there?」

「You cannot. Only magic knights can live in the magic knight dormitory. There is also the possibility that other people will join in the future and they will need those rooms」

Upon hearing Jere-san’s explanation, Tina visibly became downcast.

「Well, we can see each other normally everyday so it should be fine right?」

「Un… that’s right. I can endure this」

Tina replied while looking depressed.

After moving my luggage, the plan was for Yurina-san to show me around the facilities and the city.

Since Tina was already shown around, it seems that she will go together with Jere-san to greet the magic knight commander.

If she doesn’t make a good impression now, Tina would become an apprentice instead of a magic knight. I hope she does her best with the help of Jere-san.

As for me, I arrived in front of the room I would be living in from now on.

「We’re here. Getting here might be confusing at first so take care as to not get lost」

Yurina-san said so as she opend the door.

The room inside was twice the size as my old room.

The beds were lined up, and the one Yurina-san had been using was clearly overflowing with life.

There was space in between the beds. And it seemed that our living area was divided from that center.

Yurina-san’s bed was near the door, while the area further in was my quarter.

「Coming in, excuse me」

After saying that, I headed towards my side of the room… but not before my eyes caught something on top of Yurina-san’s bed.

A red cloth..?

That’s what I thought at first glance, but looking closer, I came to realize its true form.

Those are pants.

Not in the sense of actual “pants”, but in the context of underwear “panties”.

The moment I realized that, I turned my face away from it.

Maybe because I suddenly turned away, Yurina-san who came in after was suspicious.

「What’s the matter? Did something… happen…」

Her words trailed off as it dawned on her what was on her bed.

「!」

Her face dyed red, and Yurina-san moved even faster than during our duel earlier to grab and hide the panties behind her back.

「A.. apologies! I’ve shown you something unsightly..!」

「No… it’s fine」

「Because of the duel earlier, I changed my clothes in a hurry. I’m not usually this messy so please rest assured!」

Ah, so she changed clothes for the fight…

Hmm? Wait a minute… was it necessary to change your underwear as well?

Combat underwear… no good. Stop with the weird delusions, me!

「Eric? What are you thinking about?」

「Uhm!? No, nothing! I’m not thinking about anything!」

Tina who came in to see the room I was going to be living in, said what I had been thinking. Almost as if she could read my mind.

Lately, it seems that Tina’s intuition has become sharper…

We left the room after setting down my luggage.

I’ve be living together with Yurina-san from now on… is it going to be alright?

Tina who was going to meet with the magic knight commander separated from us.

As for me, I was shown around the facilities by Yurina-san.

「This is the dining common. The only place where both the knights and magic knights gather together. Which is why it’s the second largest behind the training grounds」

It was like Yurina-san had said and was super large and spacious.

It seems that the total number of knights and magic knights just in the capital, exceeded 10,000.

Adding up all the knights scattered in each city, the total number was said to be over 100,000.

For a country this big, it probably needs a lot of knights.

Among this incredible amount of knights, Jere-san was the highest authority.

He was a really important person and I’ve been addressing him casually. I wonder if this was fine.

Yurina-san continued to show me around and we finally arrived at the training grounds.

It definitely was larger than the dining common. Quite a few knights were currently training here.

There were people with swords and spears sparring each other. And there were also those who swung swords by themselves, honing their swordsmanship.

「Today isn’t a day where everyone trains. But you’ll find that many knights voluntarily train by themselves」

「I see」

I observed the scenery of knights training. There didn’t seem to be anyone particularly eye-catchingly strong.

Some were strong¹, but would still probably lose to Yurina-san.

It goes to show just how strong Yurina-san was.

She possessed both speed and power not commonly found in women.

「…Looking at them training like this, I can’t help but think I’m stronger」

Yurina-san muttered as she observed the same knights I was.

It wasn’t pride nor arrogance, just reality.

「Of course I didn’t think I’d be able to beat either the commander nor vice-commander, but I did think of myself next in line in terms of strength. And yet… I didn’t imagine myself losing to someone younger than me.」

She said to herself full of regret.

Oh man. That’s… technically true, but in reality I’ve lived about twice your life. I’m sorry.

「Your name was Eric right?」

「Ah, yes it is」

「Then Eric, why did you become so strong? I was confident that the amount of time I trained was second to none. Compared to those older than me, I felt I was training more seriously. Even so, you who had been training for the same amount of time easily beat me」

Yurina-san looked straight into my eyes and asked me.

「What made you become so strong… Won’t you tell me?」

Having been asked that, I pondered just where the difference of ability between me and Yurina-san lay.

The thing that popped into my head would be the difference in our experience.

Although we trained for the same amount of years on paper, I had also trained in my previous life. On top of that, I was used to fighting.

I believed that difference was the biggest reason for our gap in ability.

After that would be technique.

In terms of speed, she was faster than the average person. Maybe even a little faster than the current me. She also had power unbefitting of her frame.

However, she lacked the technique to fully utilize it all.

Those were all big reasons for our difference in ability, but what Yurina-san was asking about was not that.

『For what reason did you become strong』was what she was asking.

「Let’s see… It would probably have to do with the difference of『quality』in our trainings」

「You’re saying that the quality of my training was poor? My parents are nobels and because of that, I was able hire and learn from a sword instructor. In terms of the quality of our trainings, I think mine is at least higher than someone who came from a village」

That may be the case. Having been born in a village, the only person I learned swordsmanship from was my dad. And his style was different from mine.

But it wasn’t a problem since I was taught by my best friend Christ in my previous life.

Regardless, that wasn’t really the issue either.

「Yurina-san, a question for you」

「What is it?」

In order to answer her question, I instead asked her one of my own.

「Have you ever seriously swung your sword before?」

Can anyone help translate this 頭一つ抜き出て強い人 ↩

Chapter 40 - Duel Conclusion

2021-06-27T00:00:00+00:00

Author remarks: Due to everyone’s efforts, this got first place in daily rankings; thank you very much! I will continue to try hard so please continue to support me!

「We will now start the duel between Yurina Kaspar and Eric Aurin. Please begin」

Although Jere-san told us to start, neither I nor Kasper-san moved.

Both of us were observing the other with our hands gripping the sword.

She gripped her sword from the middle of the handle and turned her blade towards me. The form looked very suitable and pretty. She must have learned it from someone.

I held my handle from the bottom, with the point of my sword not aiming towards her, but the ground below.

「What’s wrong, are you not coming at me?」

「My mother told me to treat girls gently you see, so whenever you’re ready」

After telling her that, her face turned into a frown.

「Mm, that’s pretty admirable. But know that I’ll make you regret that kind of spirit」

As soon as she said that, she closed the distance in an instant.

Fast!

I block her sword while falling back.

While her speed was fast, the speed at which she swung her sword was at a level you wouldn’t expect from a girl.

As expected from someone who trained with the sword for the same number of years as me.

「Hou, you can receive my strike. I even added in a faint」

「Is that so? My bad, my hand reacted on its own」

「What did you say!」

While our swords were locked together in our current state, she rotated her body and swung her sword at me once again.

Perhaps it was because of the additional centripetal force but her strike was heavy.

Her previous strike had both speed and power. The fact that her current attack was heavier meant that instead of speed, she focused on power during training.

But I had no reason to take that powerful strike head-on.

I deflected her sword in a way to not get hit and responded with a counter.

「Ku..!」

The attack she had performed just now had a big opening.

Even if for a moment, she had her back towards me causing her to lose sight of me.

Upon receiving my wooden sword on her arm, she fell back and put some distance between us.

I didn’t put too much power into that strike but it was enough that her arm should still feel pain.

She held her right arm as she frowned a little.

「Are you all right?」

「You must be quite relaxed to worry about your opponent in a duel. Don’t think that was enough for you to win!」

Having said that, she approached me once again.

Swinging down from the top, coming from the side, and slashing from below.

All her attacks were fast and heavy.

I could understand why even male knights who trained with swords couldn’t win against her.

Yurina-san had been training since she was a child, which was why she was so strong.

On top of that, she had great sense.

Although I had said that we trained for the same amount of years, if we truly had trained for the same amount of time, I might not not be able to win.

But I had not just the experience from this life, but also the years from my previous life as well.

「Damn it! Hit! Hit already!」

Because she was annoyed that her attacks weren’t reaching me, her swings became wider and wider.

Even with that much power, it was probably a first for her to not be able to land a hit.

She was putting in the power, but it wasn’t reaching me.

On the contrary, her attacks became easier to read and parry.

After sidestepping a swing from above, I closed in on her side and swung my sword at her stomach.

「Ugh..!」

Having received the impact of my attack, she crouched down holding her stomach.

I immediately looked back and observed her condition.

She was glaring at me while crouched down, eyes still full of fight. But getting up, it seemed that she had no energy left.

Using her sword as support, she got back up, once again pointing her sword towards me.

Her shoulders heaved from her breathing. Even now it looked like she was just about to collapse.

「I… haven’t lost yet!」

She exclaimed in a strong voice.

「No, it’s your loss Yurina-san」

「Ku..! Commander…!」

Before I knew it, Jere-san was standing behind Kasper-san.

Placing his hand on her shoulder, he declared the conclusion of the match.

「The winner of this duel is Eric Aurin」

「…I lost」

It seemed that even Kasper-san couldn’t say anything once Jere-san had spoken.

She replied looking exhausted.

「Good work both of you, Eric-kun, Yurina-san」

「Thank you」

While I relied to Jere-san’s words, she didn’t respond.

It might have come to a shock for her. Having never lost to a man of the same age as her before.

On top of that, I was two years younger which might have added to her shock.

Well if I included the time from my previous life, I was about twice her age…

Leaving that aside, I approached her slumped figure.

「That was a great fight, Kasper-san」

I extended my hand out for a handshake.

She raised her head to look at me and accepted the handshake.

Her hand felt weak.

「It’s my complete defeat. I couldn’t even land a single hit」

「No, rather Kasper-san was rather strong as well」

「Don’t be sarcastic… I am weaker than you. Also, you don’t need to speak to me using honorifics. I’m the weak one. I don’t mind if you used my name」

「That’s fine, let me continue speaking politely. I’ll take your word and address you as Yurina-san though」

「Well do as you like. I can’t complain as a loser」

It looks like she was the type of person to speak super negatively, just from losing this once.

Although there was a clear difference of experience between us, she would easily win against any normal person.

「Then Yurina-san, do you have any issues with sharing a room with Eric-kun?」

「Of course not. It was that kind of promise」

Yurina-san nodded listlessly in response to Jere-san.

Mhm yup, it doesn’t feel like I’m doing anything wrong.

「Good for you Eric! I’m glad you beat that girl!」

Tina who had been watching from the side, approached me as she spoke loud enough for Yurina-san to hear.

Wow, Tina… was your personality always this bad?

「…I’m sorry Tina-dono. I took an attitude that made fun of the person close to you. I apologize from the bottom of my heart」

「Eh.. ah, no it’s fine. Rather, I’m sorry..?」

It turned into a weird situation where both parties were apologizing to each other.

Tina probably didn’t expect Yurina-san to become this depressed.

If someone were to fall into a state like that, you would be the one labeled as the bad person instead.

It seemed that upon looking at her depressed state, Tina didn’t have it in her to deliver the final blow. I’m glad.

Chapter 39 - Duel

2021-06-19T00:00:00+00:00

「Wai, wait Tina! I didn’t do anything wrong!」

I started explaining while shaking my hands.

If someone were to observe from the side, it would have looked unsightly but I wasn’t in a situation to care.

「Mm, I believe that Eric didn’t do anything wrong. So… who is that girl? What did you do?」

Tina, whose eyes were still emanating darkness was coming closer and closer.

Her voice was low, flat, and devoid of emotion but her face was still smiling for some reason. I’m scared.

「So it’s you Eric Aurin, the person who said they wanted to sleep with me」

I sensed that the girl who spoke earlier was coming closer.

「Shut up!」

「Kuu! What!?」

I yelled without turning around.

Because of someone I didn’t even know, my life was facing such a big crisis..!

「Tina, the girl behind me is.. you know, someone who’ll be sharing a room with me. My roommate」

「….Heeee, that’s how it is. So Eric will be sleeping in the same room as that girl everyday」

I wonder why. Even though I explained my situation, Tina’s appearance grew stranger, and scarier!

「We.. we’ll only be staying in the same room! We won’t be doing anything strange!」

「Obviously. But by mentioning that, you were thinking of some something strange no?」

「Wr.. wrong! Something like that!」

I’m sure I felt a chill coming from Tina. Perhaps she was using magic unconsciously?

That certainly was amazing but I would rather you not use such high level techniques here.

「Tina-san, please calm down」

Jere-san who was observing us from the side came in and interrupted us.

「This girl won’t accept sharing a room with someone who isn’t stronger than herself. Thus Eric-kun and she will be fighting. What Eric-kun said earlier about sleeping together… please forget it. It was a play on words」

I was thankful that Jere-san explained in my stead, but I wish he had also explained the part about sleeping more in detail.

It didn’t feel like Tina’s scariness dropped at all.

「Why is Eric sharing a room with her? Maybe Eric hoped for this…」

「I didn’t say anything! Apparently it was the only room available!」

I denied in a hurry since Tina said so while glaring at me.

I think this was the first time I was glared at by Tina.

「If I lose this fight, I won’t have a place to stay」

「Is that so. But why are you even listening to this kind of girl? Normally if there was only one room available, you wouldn’t ask for something like that?」

「Thi, this kind of girl..?」

After being label as a bad person, the girl said something in a shaky voice. But I was also also curious on what Tina said.

Is such selfishness allowed in this country’s knight order?

「Yurina¹ Kaspar is the daughter of one this country’s nobles. Her parents are extremely overprotective and wouldn’t allow their daugher to room with a man. Yurina-san and I managed to convince her parents to allow a man who could beat her to live in the same room」

So that’s how it was.

But wouldn’t they feel safer if someone who was weaker than her to live in the same room? Even if the weaker person attacked her, she would win.

Was there a different reason then?

「That’s how it is. So if you want to sleep here, you’ll have to win in a fight against me. Although that’s impossible」

She said with a voice filled with dignity and confidence.

With red hair tied in a ponytail, drooping down to her neck.

Sharp eyes whose iris reflected the same red color as her hair.

She was already dressed for combat, in clothes that looked easy to move in.

Rather than being cute like Tina, her face could be described as beautiful. But just like Jere-san, it was rather expressionless and had a hard to approach aura.

Beautiful women with expressionless faces are scary. Irene was the same.

「Ever since I was born, I haven’t lost to a man of the same age. As a woman, I was stronger than both my older and younger brothers. Men are unsightly creatures who have pride in their strength without putting in any effort」

Oi, she has quite the prejudice huh…

「Not to mention you are two years my junior, so I have two more years of training on you. There’s no way I would lose to you. You should start preparing to camp outside instead」

Even though she said some arrogant words, it didn’t feel like she was looking down on me. Rather to her, she was simply stating the facts as is.

No, rather than looking down on me specifically, she was looking down on all creatures that were men.

「Let’s get started already. The training grounds are over here」

Having said that, she turned her back towards us and went on ahead.

Does she have a reason to look down on men that much?

As I was pondering, Tina started releasing cold air again.

「What’s with her! My Eric would never lose!」

This was my first time seeing Tina so angry.

Also, I don’t think I belong to Tina.

「I apologize Eric-kun, Tina-san. She’s been like that ever since she first joined the knights… She is very serious when training or on missions though.」

「No worries, it’s fine. I’ll be heading to the training grounds then」

「I will also go. You will need someone to watch over the match」

「Me too! I want to see the unsightly figure of that girl when she loses」

It feels like Tina’s personality is getting worse…

Is this what it means to be dyed in the city’s colors? Maybe not.

Soon after we followed the path she took earlier, a large training grounds appeared.

It was very spacious and apparently where the knights regularly trained at.

「This is the dormitory’s training grounds so it’s a little small but I believe it is sufficient for a one on one battle」

I was wrong. It seems this place is for personal practice. The place where knights usually train was much larger.

It was larger than this place huh, just how large is it…

And standing in the middle was Yurina Kaspar.

She held two wooden swords in her hands.

Leaving both Jere-san and Tina, only I approached her.

Doing so, she threw one of the wooden swords over to me.

Let’s start already. Be sure to entertain me if only for a little while.

After those words, I felt cold air again.

「Yurina-san」

「Don’t say my name so casually」

When I called her by her name, she said so while glaring at me.

「I apologize. Kaspar-san, at what age did you pick up the sword?」

「When I was 5. Since then, I’ve been practicing everyday for the past 13 years」

That’s pretty amazing. It was rare for a girl to start practicing swordsmanship at that age.

「I started when I was 3. And like you, I have been practicing everyday for the past 13 years without missing a day」

「…I see. So you’ve dedicated the same amount of time to the sword as me」

「Yes. So if you’re looking down on me, you’ll regret it」

As I sent some light murderous intent, Kaspar-san already wrapped her hands around the hilt of her blade.

「…It appears that you might be different from those other guys. But I will be the winner」

It seems that she can react immediately to my murderous intent.

She might not be all talk after all.

And then Jere-san who was some distance from us spoke.

「We will now start the duel between Yurina Kaspar and Eric Aurin. Please begin」

Name fixed from Yuria to Yurina ↩

Chapter 38 - I Wanna Sleep

2021-06-12T00:00:00+00:00

Afterwards, the king, me, and Jere-san continued our chit chat until the coversation was over.

If I was to solely look at the time, our conversation might not have even lasted an hour. However both my physical and mental stamina were at their limits, as if I had been talking for hours instead.

I mean, I was talking with the most famous person in this country right?

Worried that I might somehow disrespect him, I carefully chose my words.

But there were multiple times when the king acted as the boke and my shitty mouth responded with a tsukkomi. Oh well I guess.

The king did laugh at them… so I should be fine. I won’t suddenly be branded as a crimminal after the fact right?

「You’ll have to excuse me Eric. I wanted to talk longer but..」

「His Majesty has a lot of work piled up」

「So it would seem. Really, why is there so much work to do」

「Because your Majesty is always fooling around」

The maid who brought in the tea earlier was now looking at the king with cold eyes.

「…Well then Eric, let us talk leisurely next time too」

「Ah, yes sir」

In order to escape from the maid’s cold eyes, I responded as so and parted with a handshake.

I came to realize that the king wasn’t a bad person and understood what Jere-san meant when he said the king was friendly.

He certainly was friendly, but how do I put it… he’s quite carefree¹ as king.

I left the room along with Jere-san while the king Leo was taken away to his office by the maid.

「Let us depart as well. After you drop your luggage off at the knight’s dormitory, I will show you around the facilities」

「Thanks, I’ll be in your care」

Following behind Jere-san, we retraced our path earlier and left via the gigantic palace doors.

We got on the carriage that was waiting on us and departed for the knight’s dormitory.

A few minutes later, we arrived at the place Tina got dropped off earlier. The carriage stopped and I got off as well.

It seemed that both knights and magic knights stayed at the same dormitory. While it couldn’t compare to the palace, it was big in its own rights.

「The dormitory is split between knights and magic knights. Since two people are assigned to each room, Eric-kun will also be living with another person」

「Understood」

「Leader! I have something to discuss…」

While Jere-san was telling me about the rooms, a man came out of the dormitory and whispered into his ear.

I wonder what they could be discussing?

「! Is that true? That’s certainly a problem」

Jere-san was thinking while stroking his chin.

「My apologies Eric-kun. It seems that a problem has come up…」

「A problem?」

「Currently, there aren’t any open room in the dorms… So you will be sharing rooms with a female knight who recently joined this year」

「A female…?」

It might be a bit bothersome for me but it’ll probably be an issue for the woman.

I bet that person also didn’t expect to live in the same room with a man she just met.

「She has already acknowledged that she is fine with sharing a room with a man」

「Oh, is that so?」

Hearing that… should I be relieved? I can’t say.

「Although she is fine with sharing the room, she said they must be stronger than herself」

「Eh?」

A person stronger than herself…? What’s with that condition?

「It’s fine that that child joined at the age of 18, but maybe because of that, she is very assertive. She isn’t a bad person though」

I see… so basically overconfidence from being strong.

「And so, Eric-kun will be out of a room unless you fight and win against her」

「…I understand. I’ll fight.」

After coming all the way here, if I couldn’t get a room and had to camp outside, it would be the worst.

I absolutely have to stop that.

「Then we will need to inform her. Please tell that child that a person who said 「I want to sleep with you」 has appeared」

「Yes sir」

「That’s not what a said!?」

Saying that will most definitely invite misunderstanding!?

I’m not sure if my yell reached him but the person who received Jere-san’s instructions already left to relay the message.

「Wait a minute! What was that about just now!?」

「About what?」

「Saying that I wanted to sleep with her…」

「Do not worry. That child said if a person who can say that appeared, she will get ready immediately」

「If it’s like that, I guess that’s fine…」

No wait, is that really fine? I’m not too sure…

「Eric!」

As I was pondering, I heard a voice calling for me from far away. When I turned around, I saw a smiling Tina running towards me waving her hands.

「Welcome back Eric! How did your meeting with the king go?」

「Thanks, it went well enough… I suppose」

King Leo was actually a pretty great guy… a bit too carefree though.

「While you weren’t here, I was shown around the facilities and the city. Let’s go together later!」

「Alright alright. But before that, I need to take care of something」

「Something? What do you need to do?」

As I was about to tell her what happened since I got here…

「Where is the person called Eric Aurin who said they wanted to sleep with I, Yurina Kaspar?」

So resounded a voice from behind me. It was most likely the cocky girl. I couldn’t think of anyone else saying those lines.

But I couldn’t turn around to check. It wasn’t the time to.

「Hey Eric, what’s this all about? What she said now, you’ll properly explain right?」

In front of me was Tina laughing lightly. For some reason, the lights in her eyes had gone out and all I could see was darkness.

Closest I could come up with for 適当な人. ↩

Chapter 37 - Eccentric King

2021-06-10T00:00:00+00:00

After dropping Tina off, the carriage proceeded to the royal palace with me onboard.

「Wait just a while longer as we are almost there」

Jere-san said in consideration of me, probably because of the long journey we’d taken. But my complexion was not because of the journey. Instead, it was simply because I was going to meet with the king soon.

After a few minutes, we arrived in front of the royal palace. As I expected, the palace was huge. So large in fact, I couldn’t see the peak of the building from my position.

「Now then, we will be getting off the carriage and entering the palace. Follow me」

Said Jere-san as he got out of the carriage. I followed suit behind him.

We entered as the front doors of the palace were opening up. As the grand doors opened, Jere-san walked in unfazed as a matter of course. I on the other hand, somehow managed to walk in while bowing my head despite my nervousness.

The hallway was equally luxurious. The carpet laid out was bright red and also looked the part. I was worried whether or not it was okay to trod on it with my feet.

As I was following Jere-san with butterflies in my stomach, we eventually stopped in front of a remarkably large set of doors.

「Are you there your Majesty?」

「Indeed I am」

In response to Jere-san, a solemn voice had replied behind the doors.

「This is Jeremias Astara. May we enter?」

「I will allow it」

「Please excuse us」

Jere-san opened the doors without letting me prepare myself. Eh.. wait a minute, my heart isn’t ready!

While I was in disarray, Jere-san had already gone into the room. I was scared to follow, but waiting out here would be wrong so I proceeded to follow Jere-san in.

Inside was a very large room. It was to the extent that I wondered if my house back at the village would completely fit inside here.

A pair of large sofas were placed between the center of the room and the door we entered. Someone was currently sitting there.

「Reporting back from the mission」

「You did well to return safely」

It was the same voice as the one I heard outside the door. Most likely this person was the king.

Short blond hair, with the bangs slicked back was the impression given.

His attire was more casual than I expected, consisting of a white dress shirt and black pants.

Earlier I had guessed what kind of face he had from his voice. As expected, it was one filled with dignity; with a sharp set of eyes and a short beard.

「Have you heard news about Felix Gradio?」

「Ahh, I heard that a young man from a village defeated him. And that you successfully scouted him」

「Yes, it is as you say. And this person is…」

Having said that, they both turned to look at me. It feels like I should say something…

「N.. nice to meet you. My name is Eric, uhm.. Aurin」

I ended up introducing myself. It was my first time using Aurin as my last name so it came out a little strange.

Sensing that I was nervous, the king said as he was laughing,

「Ahh, I am Leonard Carlo Begonia. It’s a long name so you can just remember me as Leo」

With that, he extended his hand towards me.

「Th.. thank you. I’ll be in your care」

While nervous, I too held my hand out for a handshake.

This hand..! It’s definitely one that’s held a sword before. You wouldn’t be able to have such firm hands without years of sword practice.

「Fumu, you have good hands. With these hands, I can see that you are strong」

It seems that king Leo had also gotten the same impression from my hand.

「Th.. thank you very much」

「Umu, take a seat on that sofa. Let’s have the maid bring out some tea」

I sat down on the other sofa as I was told. Uwa..!? My body sank deep into the sofa!

I was wondering if it was alright for me to sit on such a luxurious and soft sofa so I ended up sitting lightly.

Jere-san proceeded to sit besides me and king Leo in front of me.

「To start us off, let me thank you. I heard from Jere that you helped this country by defeating Felix. If it wasn’t for you, it could have become dangerous. Thank you」

The king said as he bowed from his seated position.

「No! You don’t need to thank me for that..!」

For the top person of this country to suddenly bow down was something unexpected and as a result, I grew flustered.

Man, really though! I’m kind of getting scared.

「Fumu, quite the humble one. I was expecting 「I’ve helped you out so hand over the money, trash!」 or something similar here」

「What kind of villain did you think I was!」

An involuntary tsukkomi escaped my mouth.

「Your Majesty, the only person that would do that would be you」

「Hmm, I see」

「Your Majesty has done something like that!?」

「What are you saying, that was a fine job I did. There was a country I helped in the past that said they wouldn’t hand out any rewards. I yelled at them in the presence of their king and nobels and defeated them」

「Is that so…」

Still, there should have been other ways of resolving that issue.

「Have you released your tension yet?」

「Ah..」

King Leo said as he was laughing with a smile.

Certainly with the exchange just now, my nerves have calmed down.

Was the gag earlier something to help me after they realized my feelings?

「What his majesty said earlier is true you know. Because of that, we might end up going to war again」

Ah.. it was real after all.

「Hmph, the ones who said there was no value in the dangerous jobs my subordinates were doing were in the wrong. Anyway, they are trash who don’t even possess the mettle to go to war with my country. If I didn’t speak out then, I wouldn’t be able to face the ones who had died」¹

As if he remembered something unpleasant, the king folded his arms in displeasure.

Although the king seems a bit eccentric², he doesn’t seem to be bad.

Someone who thinks for his subordinates.

At that time, the maid came in bringing with her the tea.

「Oi, why did you bring me tea as well!? I said to bring me sake!?」

「Your Majesty is still working. Please refrain from drinking」

「What! I’ll reduce your salary!」

「I will inform the queen」

「Forgive me!」

I observed the conversation happening in front of me by the maid and the king.

…he’s not a bad person right?

Not too confident on this part. 「ふん、俺の部下が命がけでやった仕事の対価が無しだと言ったそいつらが悪い。どうせあいつらは俺の国と戦争をする気迫もなかったゴミどもだ。あの場で俺が言わなかったら、死んでいった奴らに顔向けできんわ」 ↩
過激 directly translates to Extreme or Radical. Is Eccentric too off the mark? ↩