Chapter 136

Chapter 136

“Did you two fight or something?” The on-duty priest asked.

“No, we didn’t.”

Both of our bodies were in terrible shape, and so the on-duty priest’s suspicion was reasonable, but we both shook our heads. The priest channeled a healing spell for a while, and our bodies quickly recovered.

Nonetheless, when our injuries were being examined, I peeked over and saw that Ellen’s condition was more serious than mine. Her arms and legs, covered under her long-sleeved top and long pants, were covered in bruises and blood.

“It seems like this one was in a sparring match, but what did you go out and do?” The on-duty priest asked. He was wondering how we ended up in such a state.

Ellen shook her head. “It’s the same for me.”

Ellen did not say more, and after being magically healed, Ellen and I left the room where the on-duty priest was stationed and headed back to the dormitory.

“... thought you were just out having fun. What did you do?”

I thought Ellen had been out playing around with the other girls, but it seemed like Ellen had gone somewhere completely unexpected.

“I went to the white-haired ajumma.”

“... What?”

‘The white-haired ajumma? What is that supposed to mean?’

“I asked that ajumma to teach me how to fight.”

“... You mean our boss?”

Since Ellen and Harriet knew about the Rotary Club, there was no reason to hide it from her.

“... Yes.”

‘She went back to Loyar again? Even after such a harsh experience?’

I think I understood her reasoning. It might have been the shock of losing in such a manner for the first time in her life.

Was it really such a shock to be told to get lost because she was of no help? Was it so shocking that it would drive one to seek out the person who had tried to kill them, and ask them to teach you how to fight?

“Hey... I get why, but... Don’t do that.”

“...”

I had sternly warned Loyar not to harm Ellen any further, but she was the sort that lost all sense of reason once she got worked up. I knew that, since I had seen her fight before.

“Seriously, you could die if you get beaten by her again. You have to pick your battles wisely.”

I didn’t know why Loyar had agreed to spar with her in the first place, but Ellen’s body was virtually wrecked. If Loyar had lost control of her strength for just a moment, Ellen could have actually died.

“I never want to experience that again,” Ellen said.

She never wanted to go through the experience of being powerless despite wanting to do something. That was what had caused Ellen to sit in the rain, blankly, looking miserable.

She didn’t want to feel that way ever again.

When we reached the dormitory lobby, Ellen reached out and took my hand. She kept her head down, not looking at me.

“Reinhart.”

“Uh... yeah?”

She sounded as if she was pleading.

“Who you are, who that person who beat me was, and why that person tried to kill me, and why they suddenly decided not to kill me. Also, why you lied after being kidnapped and released... I won’t ask about any of that.”

Harriet and Ellen knew that the statement I’d made after being released from the kidnapping was a lie. I had been kidnapped and released, but claimed that I didn’t know anything about it. I had falsely testified that I had simply come to and found myself free.

However, since I was only released after Loyar intervened, both Ellen and Harriet knew I was hiding something.

Even so, they had not voiced their suspicions about Loyar or myself, and had promised not to be curious about it either.

“So, let me at least do this.”

Ellen was asking me to overlook her training with Loyar in exchange for not asking any questions.

It wasn’t a matter of whether I would permit it or not. After all, Loyar was supposed to be my boss.

In reality, though, I was Loyar’s superior, and therefore, the decision did indeed rest with me.

Although it seemed strange for Ellen to make such a request of me, I was, in fact, the right one to ask.

She wanted to become stronger. Despite already being strong, she was vexed that she had been defeated by someone stronger than herself.

It was a peculiar feeling.

Originally, Ellen was supposed to be a character with little desire for competition. She was just naturally good at everything, so winning or losing didn’t matter much, but she always ended up winning. That was what it meant to be a freakish talent.

However, after getting involved with me, Ellen had been dragged into various incidents, and in the end, faced with several desperate situations she had wished to solve but couldn’t with her own strength, she felt despair.

That was why Ellen had developed a new motivation—a desire for strength.

“... Fine.”

Despite that remark, Loyar seemed to have an exceptional mastery over the sword.

Of course, she primarily relied on her strength and speed, but ultimately, Ellen stood no chance against Loyar, even with a sword.

Ellen’s preferred way of fighting was to counter by deflecting the sword strikes, shifting her center of gravity, or dodging in unexpected directions.

However, Loyar’s swordplay possessed enough destructive power to shatter a training sword upon contact, and she was incredibly fast as well.

Thus, Ellen couldn’t even attempt to counterattack or take the initiative; she simply dodged as best as she could until Loyar caught her in a vulnerable moment.

There was a vast difference in their baselines.

The overwhelming difference in their physique rendered skill irrelevant, and Ellen seemed to have come to that realization.

Rather than feeling despair, however, it merely seemed to help her gain a deeper understanding of what more she needed for herself.

I hadn’t told Loyar or Eleris about Ellen’s true identity, and only mentioned that she was an extraordinary individual.

I wondered how Loyar would react if she knew Ellen was the brother of the hero Artorius, who had killed the Demon King.

Would she say that she had to be killed immediately?

Anyway, I quietly observed the lycanthrope, a demon spy, training the younger sister of humanity’s greatest hero, in front of the prince of the Demon Realm.

***

After a whole evening of training, Ellen, the club members, and I, all beaten and battered, gathered in one place to have a meal.

It wasn’t a proper meal, just rice balls.

However, it was clear that the club’s finances had improved. The rice balls weren’t just plain rice, but contained something resembling meat.

“Ouch, young lady. It looks like you got beaten up pretty badly over there. Are you alright?”

“The boss really has a foul temper.”

“What kind of person beats up a kid like this?”

“Shut it, you bastards! It’s not like I hit someone who didn’t know how to fight at all!”

The club members had many comments to offer as they watched Ellen, who was a mess, chomping down on her rice balls.

When she had arrived, no one had been as neat or pretty as her. At the moment, though, she was eating rice balls while looking much rougher than even the club members, which made her look utterly pitiful.

Her hands trembled as she held the rice ball, which said it all. Loyar hadn’t been able to control her strength even if she’d wanted to, since Ellen wasn’t someone she could handle casually. Hence, for the training to be effective, it was inevitable that Ellen would end up battered like this.

“... I’m okay.”

Ellen, looking far from okay as she munched on her rice balls, tried to get up unsteadily.

“Argh...”

—Whoa! Hey, hey! Are you sure you’re okay?

There was a huge commotion from the club members as she tried to rise to her feet uneasily.

“Kid, you’re making me look like the bad one,” Loyar said with a sigh. She clicked her tongue as if Ellen was a nuisance to her in many ways.

“I will come back again...”

“No, please don’t.”

“I will.”

I supported the limping Ellen, and the club members peppered me with blatantly transparent jibes.

—Reinhart, you...! You really are a gentleman, huh?

—But Reinhart might actually be weaker than that girl, right?

—You’re right.

—I can already sense how he’s going to be completely dominated by her in their relationship.

—That girl is no ordinary piece of work either. The way she got up so stubbornly after being beaten down by our boss like that...

“Damn it...” I muttered under my breath.

It seemed a strange misunderstanding was starting to grow into a reality among the club members.

“Are you okay?” I asked Ellen.

“Y-Yeah...” She replied.

Ellen seemed to have no energy left to even walk on her own.

I felt strange. Loyar had overwhelmed Ellen, whom I could never beat even once. However, Loyar had also mentioned offhandedly that, in a few years, she wouldn’t stand a chance against Ellen.

While Eleris was an exceptional individual, I came to realize anew that Loyar was no less formidable.

In the end, Ellen collapsed from exhaustion while walking, and I had to carry her back to the Temple. I ended up getting a workout of my own as well.