Episode 9
Ron’s voice was shaking.
Although he is shaking off his immature appearance and showing his true self, being flustered is a separate issue.
That would be the case, since Ron hasn’t raised his mana or used magic since he joined the Marquis.
And Ron, as I said before, is a much quicker learner than you might think.
“What do you want from me?”
Now the story is finally starting to get on track.
“There is only one. Protect my sister.”
“… … .”
“I know. You know that you barely know anything about Ron. You’ve probably been close like brother and sister since before your mother came to the Marquis’ house, that’s all you know. Other than that, you know nothing.”
“… … Yes. That’s right.”
“And the Marquis doesn’t know about Ron’s true identity either.”
“That’s true too.”
This is a fact that neither the Marquis nor I knew.
Of course, there is a high probability that your older sister doesn’t know either.
Probably, you have no idea.
“Ron, I can never trust anyone here at the Marquis’s other than Ron and my sister. Am I asking for a difficult favor?”
“… …Elizabeth has already created a 6-circle mana heart at the age of 18. Judging by her understanding and ability to use mana, she will definitely rise to the 7-circle within the next year or two. Even if I don’t protect her, Elizabeth has the strength to protect herself.”
He shook his head.
“You’re too kind, Sister. Really… … You’re too damn kind.”
“… … .”
“I told you earlier. I don’t know what kind of person my mother is, but if I were to make a guess, I would say she was a girl who ran away from home to live her own life, unable to overcome the environment that those around her were pushing her to live. To put it simply, she was like the heroine of a romance novel. What does Ron, who was by her side, think of her?”
To my question, Ron remained silent.
As if he was sparing his words.
Then, he nodded slightly and spoke slowly.
“… … Your mother loved the Marquis. Even though the Marquis only saw your mother’s appearance, your mother felt feelings for the Marquis that she had never felt in her entire life. Your guess may be correct.”
It was a long thought.
I wonder what kind of person my mother was.
I found my own answer to that, and I have now confirmed it.
“My older sister thinks sacrifice is nothing special. Sacrificing for her family? Becoming a victim of a political marriage and being tied down by the shackles of her family? Isn’t that ironic? My mother, like the heroine of a romance novel, has found her own life, but my older sister is trying to be tied down instead. That’s not my life, it’s the Marquis’s life. I really wonder. Will my older sister be able to live her own life in this Marquis’s family?”
“What are you trying to say?”
“It’s exactly as I said. I’m planning on going to the Academy as soon as possible, maybe tomorrow or the day after. And if nothing else comes up, I won’t be here during the holidays either. In the meantime, I want Ron to stay by my sister’s side. Protect her for four years, exactly four years. After that, Ron can live his own life.”
Are you surprised by what I said?
“My life?”
“Ron should find his own happiness, what he wants to do, instead of always hiding in the background.”
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Was that something unexpected?
Ron’s expression turns a little suspicious.
“But why four years?”
“I can protect my sister in four years.”
“From whom?”
Who it is, it’s obvious.
“From the world.”
At Ron’s bewildered expression, I just shrugged.
That was when I exchanged a few more words with Ron.
dripping-
There is a knocking sound.
“Come in.”
As soon as I finished speaking, the door opened and the trainee reporter, who I had named Chick, came into the room.
“I will report to you. I have sent the guard whose finger you cut off to the therapist.”
“Is it the end?”
The chick also seemed to be quite quick-witted.
“The guard accidentally cut his finger while practicing with a dagger, and dropped the dagger in the pain. Unfortunately, the dagger that he dropped stabbed one of the guard’s eyes, and the three princes who were nearby saw the situation and fled to the rose garden in fear… … That’s how it was summarized.”
I turned my head for a moment and saw Ron, not with the expression of a 9th Circle wizard, but with the expression of an inexperienced servant.
I’ll live well even if I change my career to acting.
“It’s an escape, I don’t like it, but… … You did well. Should I pat your head?”
“Okay.”
“Look at how rough it is. I wish he was as cheerful as our Ron.”
He turned his head again and spoke to the chick still standing in front of the door.
“Hey chick.”
“… … My name is James Canta.”
“Okay, I’m going to practice some swordsmanship, so just bring me a good quality real sword and a wooden sword.”
“Running errands is not my job.”
Is this what it means to have pride as a trainee reporter?
“You don’t like me?”
“… … .”
“Let’s say you don’t like it. I’ll give you a chance to legally beat me up.”
The chick’s eyes sparkle with curiosity.
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“If you bring me a sword, I will hold it and spar with you.”
“Are you serious?”
“Of course. Can you see this hand?”
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When he spreads out both hands, his pure white hands without any calluses catch the chick’s attention.
“What kind of sword have you ever held with these hands? You just have to spar with me and beat me up. What do you think?”
“Are you asking me to be your swordsmanship master?”
Foot-
“That’s the third funniest thing I’ve ever heard in my life. Stop talking nonsense and go get a sword.”
“You will regret it.”
“You? Or me?”
“… … Okay. As you said, I will bring you both a real sword and a wooden sword.”
“Thank you, chick. You can just go out.”
“I told you my name is James Canta.”
Oh, really.
“Yeah. Okay, chick. I told you to just go out.”
A tendon sprouts from the chick’s forehead.
After a while, he nodded, closed the door, and went out.
Again, it was Ron and I’s time.
“That guy just now, he’s from Circle 4.”
“however?”
“… … Is it possible? I guess you’ve never even held a sword before.”
“Want to make a bet with me?”
“A bet?”
“I wonder if I can beat him or not.”
Ron tilts his head.
“Shouldn’t you bet on how many hits you get, not on winning or losing?”
“Oh, that sounds good. Then what about the stakes?”
“… … This is different from Confucius. Are you really going to do it?”
As I said before, I plan to leave for the academy as soon as the situation here is sorted out.
This writer is not joking, I don’t want to be there even for a single day.
“If I spar with that chick and I get hit once, Ron, you win.”
“One?”
“How about the person who loses the pot cleanly grant the winner’s wish?”
“… … If you have any request for me, just give me the order. I am your servant, Young Master.”
Ron is a really funny guy.
“As I said before, there are only two people I can trust in this Marquis’ House. My sister and I.”
When I point the fork at Ron, he smiles slightly.
“It’s rude to point at people with a fork, Your Majesty.”
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“Okay, I don’t give orders to people I trust, I give requests. So I’ll ask you. Let’s do that.”
Ron looked at me with eyes filled with emotion, then nodded and said.
“… … I see.”
* * *
After about five minutes, the chick that had left the room came back.
In his hands he held the real sword and the wooden sword I had mentioned, and as he handed them to me, the chick had a very complicated expression on his face.
There have been countless people who have ignored me in front of my face, like a guard whose finger had been cut off.
That was an indirect insult, but using direct physical force is another story.
It seemed as if the chick thought that the result of this confrontation would eventually be his own neck being strangled.
“I brought it, but I think I was rude earlier. If you need someone to practice your swordsmanship with, I will take that role. So please reconsider what you said earlier.”
So that’s why I’m saying things like this.
“This feels really strange. Then should we go somewhere where no one is watching? Are you afraid that I’ll lose to you?”
The chick shakes its head.
“I’m not scared.”
“So, on the other hand, you are confident that you can beat me up?”
The chick did not answer.
And this is clearly a silence disguised as affirmation.
In short, the chick had no doubts about his own victory.
I just turned my head slightly and asked Ron.
“Do you know of a place where we can practice alone without anyone watching?”
“Um… … There is an unused gym in the basement of the annex. Would you like to go there?”
He nodded and headed to the gym with Ron, taking the still hesitant chick with him.
* * *
The gym, located in the basement of the rose garden, was a place I had never been to while living in the Marquis’ house.
The first thing I did when I came straight to the gym was to let out a small exclamation.
It wasn’t exactly empty, but it was at least a place where two people could practice sparring together, and it had the kind of strength training equipment you’d find in a knight’s training ground, dumbbells ranging from 5kg to 100kg, and although there weren’t many other types, it had everything you could need.
Even the chick let out a small exclamation of admiration, so that says it all.
“Is this where Ron works out?”
“No. It was a place that your mother, Noah, made for you and Lady Elizabeth.”
“… … But why didn’t I know?”
“… …Because you didn’t exercise.”
That’s a clear answer.
however.
Most of the exercise equipment there is upright rows and shrugs, but aren’t they all used to train shoulder muscles?
“I guess my mother wanted me to be a shoulder thug?”
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“… … .”
Ron closed his mouth as if he was at a loss for words.
By the way, there was one more thing that was strange.
Strangely enough, there isn’t a speck of dust in this gym.
Unless my eyes are deceiving me, this definitely means that someone cleans it regularly… … .
I turned my head and looked at Ron.
“Ron cleaned. Always.”
Ron smiles quizzically.
I smiled back and reached out my hand to the chick.
Then the chick stares blankly.
It’s as if he’s confused about whether to give a real sword or a wooden sword.
“Hand over the wooden sword, Inma. Let’s start lightly.”
With a deep sigh, the chick hands over the wooden sword.
Total length: approximately 1.4 m.
He gripped the handle of the wooden sword he had been handed.
The chick, who was looking at the sight, added with a slightly admiring look in his eyes.
“You’re quite skilled at phage techniques.”
I was speechless for a moment.
I have been on the battlefield for over ten years.
If I were to build a tower of the corpses of humans and xenos I’ve killed during that period, it would reach all the way to the sky.
“Uh… … Okay, thank you. For the compliment.”
