Volume 4 - CH 2

「You, I know you……」

Feld seemed to hear my mutter. His gaze moved toward me for an instant and his eyes widened slightly in the middle of speaking.

「Aa, I met you before at the capital, the young but strong adventurer! Long time no see……what’s more you’ve gotten even stronger now. Even I might be in danger if I don’t take you on seriously……and?」

Feld talked with a lively tone that lacked any tension, even so he kept everyone within his line of sight that narrowed in vigilance.

「What’s the situation? It’s insane that the inside of an abandoned mine like this in fire you know?」

.

▼Feld　Race：Human・Rank 5

【Magic Power : 212/225】△ 30 UP【Stamina : 357/370】△ 20 UP

【Overall Combat Strength : 1494 (With Body Strengthening : 1908)】△ 116 UP

.

His combat strength had also increased greatly compared to three years ago. Judging from the rate of increase, he must have obtained some kind of physical skill, his sorcery level had also gone up, with his combat continuation capability and status’s average value going up.

Feld’s appearance hadn’t changed compared to three years ago. From the start he looked older than his actual age suggested, but come to think of it, he was still twenty years old three years ago, so considering his age, I should consider his growth in strength as reasonable.

But, why was Feld in this kind of place? I think he would understand the situation if I explained to him in detail but, it would be difficult to do that in this situation.

But, it was then──

「──Tsu, mister adventurer, I’m a guild staff! This woman suddenly set this place on fire and attacked us! Please help!」

Tabatha evaluated Feld’s strength and put on an act to make Feld her ally. Hearing that Feld glanced at Tabatha and nodded a little.

「……Certainly, I once saw you at the guild.」

A faint smile formed on Tabatha’s lips when she hard Feld’s muttering.

Who to trust in this situation? I too might be able to make him trust me if I brought out Viro’s name here as a member of “Rainbow Sword” but……if it was me it would be fifty-fifty whether I would trust that or not.

「……I understand the situation.」

Feld covered his mouth with a cloth to block the smoke while turning only his gaze toward me. The point of the great sword that was being held with just a single hand without shaking even a little shook slightly as though it was the signal.

*GOOO!*

「──tsu!」

The powerful sword blew away the smoke as it attacked Tabatha. Tabatha jumped to just barely avoid the blade of the great sword that Feld swung.

「Mister adventurer, what are you doing!?」

「Sorry but, I’m not so stupid that I can’t see what’s actually going on.」

Feld answered Tabatha’s yell. I used Stealth and made my move the moment he swung his great sword. While everyone’s attention was gathered on Feld, I circled behind a woman and snapped her neck by putting my arm around it.

「Ash Crowned-!」

Tabatha raised her voice once more seeing that. Feld sighed with a frown seeing her showing an overreaction when a clearly “suspicious woman” wearing all black and a mask getting killed.

「……As I thought. I received an emergency request from the guild’s vice leader the moment I entered the adventurer guild. It looks like I made the right decision rushing here.」

「……A request?」

Tabatha discarded her fake expression and glared. Feld pointed his sword with composure as “the strong” toward her without any tension even knowing how strong she actually was.

「I was told that the adventurer who is going to become our new party member got led away by a “staff with suspicious behavior”. The vice leader said that you might be a spy for a noble or someone from assassin guild. Which one are you?」

「…………」

Tabatha didn’t answer and gritted her teeth like an animal baring her fangs.

Most likely she was both. Was that old gentleman the guild’s vice leader? He looked like he didn’t hold any good impression toward Tabatha since the start but, he had been suspecting him from the start?

「You have been watched since the start. You were also unable to obtain information right? They were waiting for you to make your move. The carriage driver outside has also been captured by the guild staff who came with me. Throw away your weapon and surrender quietly.」

「…………tsk!」

Tabatha clicked her tongue knowing that her plan had crumbled.

She was overconfident with her own ability. She thought that using her beauty and good outer appearance, she could even smooth over some unnaturalness in her part……. In fact, the adventurer guild was unable to catch her until she made her move despite being under suspicion, so her acting performance was actually not that bad.

But, being relied on by the survivors of her old haunt and seeing that their target which was me actually showed up at the guild caused her greed in the form of 『conceit』 to rear its ugly head.

From Tabatha’s conduct, I felt that she was someone who sought praise and envy from other people. That was exactly why she couldn’t see eye to eye with Dino who had the same nature like her. The way she was strongly controlling of the surviving younger women who relied on her must be also to show that she was the boss in order to satisfy her conceit.

「Gohg……shit!」

The blazing flame from the entrance produced black smoke. Although the space inside here was still wide, unlike me who had prepared countermeasure from the start and Feld who came later, Tabatha and her subordinates were already starting to inhale too much smoke.

「You guys, how long you’re going to just stand around like that-! We all are going to die without anything to show for it at this rate!」

Tabatha too knew that they had no time and yelled anxiously at the women without any care of how it made her looked.

「Y-yes-」

「Ash Crowned, even if it’s just you alone-!」

Two of the survivor women became desperate after Tabatha’s scolding and rushed forward.

I narrowed my eyes seeing them like that. Taking revenge for their comrades. Suicide attack in a dire situation. Human would exhibit extraordinary power when they were cornered. I was like that. That was why I didn’t let my guard down. But you see…….

「──Gah!?」

Without averting my gaze, I dodged the short sword of the woman who charged at me. I stepped in as we passed each other and my elbow caved in the woman’s face.

「Don’t try to exchange your life for your enemy’s when you can’t conquer your fear of death.」

If you treasured your life so much that you would became desperate like that, you should live quietly while holding strongly to that rather than doing this.

「Hih……」

Rank 3 meant that they had became skilled in the path they chose. Seeing someone of that rank getting instantly killed because she lacked a little composure made the other woman be overwhelmed with fear and she ran toward her boss Tabatha looking for help.

「B-big sis-」

「You dare running away……」

*Ga-!*

「!?」

「You-!」

Tabatha kicked that woman who wanted to rely on her toward Feld who was blocking the exit. Feld swiftly knocked her down with his great sword. But, Tabatha took advantage of that short opening to dash toward the blazing flame.

「──VeilWater Robe──」

It seemed that she was honest when she said before this that she could use water sorcery. She covered her body with level 2 water sorcery. That sorcery granted resistance against natural phenomenon like fire or blizzard. Certainly if she used that sorcery and her myhtril chain mail, it was possible she could survive even if she would get burned somewhat.

Even Feld who was nearby couldn’t stop her. Tabatha who wanted to survive even if she had to abandon the women who relied on her jumped into the flame while laughing mockingly at us who got left behind inside the flame.

「Get burned by your own flame, Ash Crowned-! Ahahaha──」

That moment──

The multiple porcelain jars that I threw after Tabatha when she leaped into the flame entered her sight.

「Did you think I run out of oil jar?」

*Pakin!*

「──aAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!?」

The oil jars that were thrown into flame broke and large burst of flame whirled up, enveloping Tabatha. The amount of water covering her was completely insufficient. She screamed with the sound of water evaporating accompanying it.

「There’s no way I’ll let you get away.」

I never thought that other people wouldn’t be able to do what I could. That was why, I took into consideration that you would run away and prepared for that. I wouldn’t allow a troublesome enemy like you got away.

I didn’t know whether you could still listen or not in that state but, Tabatha, I was able to prepare my trap this thoroughly was……thanks to the information that you gave me at the beginning.

「Only someone related to that branch guild before I destroyed it would call me as 『Ash Crowned』 even now.」

That alone was enough to be my reason to suspect you. That was why I treated you as an enemy right from the “start” when we met at the adventurer guild.

I didn’t know whether she could hear my words but, Tabatha slowly fell down inside the flame.

.

「Oi, what’re you doing? Even us can’t run away from here like this-!」

Feld hurriedly took distance from Tabatha who vanished inside the flame. He looked at me with a protesting look. Even someone who charged through flame to reach this spot couldn’t possibly escape when the flame had gotten this large.

Some of the women might still be alive but, the flame had already spread around us. This wasn’t the time at all to think about finishing them off, after all even our lives were in danger right now.

「It’s fine. Grab on me.」

「……What’re you going to do?」

Feld must be uneasy with holding on a small girl like me but, he grabbed on my shoulder after a bit of hesitation. I handed to Feld a pendulum that was tied to a string that had been given fireproof treatment.

「Oi, what’s this?」

「Feld can throw a hatchet right? Throw this with all your strength to the exit. Quick.」

「I don’t get it at all but……」

Feld believed on me even in the middle of this perplexing situation. He tied the pendulum on his hatchet and threw it with all his strength toward the exit.

I had thought of how to escape from the start. It would be a bit heavy with the two of us but, we would make it somehow with my current amount of mana.

.

「──Shadow Walker──」

***

「Aria-sama, my apologies for getting you involved in our internal matter.」

「I don’t mind.」

I was able to defeat the troublesome avengers and another separate attacker. It saved me time, and the adventurer guild had also taken the proper action quickly by contacting “Rainbow Sword” when they noticed the suspicious activity.

The adventure guild’s vice leader, the old gentleman told me more about this matter. In summary, that Tabatha was dispatched from the merchant guild, but even the person who recommended her was unclear.

It was thought as a forceful insistence from a noble house but, it seemed the merchant guild claimed that they didn’t know which noble it was.

An unknown person was appointed as an inspector, on top of that Tabatha’s own action was also suspicious. And so the adventurer guild assigned a scout that specialized in monitoring to watch Tabatha. It was that scout who led Feld until that abandoned mine.

From here it was just speculation but, the reason Tabatha infiltrated the guild must be to investigate the movement of the royal family that started taking action behind closed doors. If “Rainbow Sword” that was in the middle of taking a break also started moving at the same time period, it was natural for them to suspect that there was relation between the two.

But, Tabatha set her sight on me who was going to join “Rainbow Sword” because of her inability to obtain information due to the adventurer guild’s suspicion on her. Most likely it was just a coincidence that the survivors of the former northern frontier branch relied on her, but with that Tabatha obtained some disposable pawns that she could use.

In the end, we didn’t learn which noble house was targeting the royal family. Even so there was a large possibility that an assassination plan was going to be carried out toward the royal family.

「Viro will inform the black ops about that matter. It’s not a confirmed information but, the black ops too will be on their guard if they know there is a possibility of an attack.」

Feld who was listening together with me took responsibility for that matter. Viro’s job increased more with this but if it was him then the information should be conveyed well to the black ops.

.

「──Illusion──」

At the training ground of the adventurer guild, I chanted a level 4 darkness magic and projected a lot of flower petals whirling around me. The weighted pendulum dispelled those flower projections and smashed a log, then the cutting type pendulum carved a deep fissure on it. The staffs of the adventurer guild let out voices of admiration toward the performance.

It was a promotion exam for adventurer rank but, apparently even the capital’s guild only held such exam for rank 4 or above once every several years. Many staffs came to observe.

Feld who was also among them to observe nodded in admiration.

「I see, I was curious what kind of person you are because that Viro was unusually proud when boasting of you as his student, but after seeing this I can understand why he acted like that.」

「It’s still hard for me to do this in real battle though.」

I could only do it when it was in a calm situation, but it was still unclear whether I would be able to do level 4 darkness sorcery and level 4 String Control simultaneously in the middle of battle. If I was able to use these consistently, I should be able to beat Tabatha even without relying on fire.

Feld’s large back when he walked away during that sunset was my goal. I thought that I had grown a little stronger by becoming rank 4 but, his back was still far away.

「I don’t think so but……well, it doesn’t matter, I look forward to work together with you, Aria.」

「Uh huh.」

As I thought, Feld was a swordsman of “Rainbow Sword” that Viro belonged to. It seemed that he was given an emergency quest when he showed up at the guild right after I left with Tabatha to the abandoned mine.

The other members of Rainbow Sword were the scout Viro, and then the elf and spirit user Mira who I had met before, and the leader Dalton who was a dwarf. The latter two were the founding members who created Rainbow Sword together with the magician Samantha.

This party had continued for nearly a hundred years even though it contained both a dwarf and an elf……. But what was even more shocking was how Samantha continued to be adventurer literally a hundred year despite being human.

But as expected, thinking of the roles of the members, the party’s tactic would lack versatility without a sorcerer in it. The challenge would be of how to compensate for that using spirit magic and my darkness magic.

.

I talked to Feld about that thinking of mine while walking. He nodded with a pondering look.

「Even so, Dalton judged that our party can work if we have a member who can use light sorcery. Because of that I trained my light sorcery to level 1 and fire sorcery to level 2, but there are spells that I can’t use yet, so to be honest, it’s helpful that Aria joined our party.」

「Is that so……」

「Your combat style seemed peculiar for Viro’s disciple but, you also have your own teacher for sorcery huh. Even Samantha couldn’t use darkness sorcery level 4 so I look forward to see what you can do.」

「Uh huh.」

Right now I was walking with Feld on the capital’s street.

The update to my adventurer rank had finished without any problem. That old gentleman believed that I would return and had prepared beforehand the tag for rank 4 with my name engraved.

An adventurer’s tag would be made from different material depending on the rank. Rank 1’s tag was made from mere copper with a lot of impurity but, magic iron would get mixed into it bit by bit starting from rank 2 and its color would become blacker.

Even the rank 3’s tag that I owned had looked quite black to me, but a rank 4’s tag was practically pitch black, no different from the actual magic iron.

A tag of magic iron wasn’t something that could be created right away, but it seemed Viro had contacted them beforehand to ask for the tag to be prepared. ……Viro is really capable. Even though from a kid’s point of view he was a hopeless adult.

My business was over with the incident taken care of and the rank update finished, but when I said that I would go to Gelf’s shop to adjust my armor after that, Feld volunteered to show me the way seeing that I was still unfamiliar with the capital’s layout. And so the two of us went together.

Although Feld remembered meeting me at the capital before, he didn’t remember that I was the street urchin he encountered at the highway before that.

At that time I disguised myself as a boy and now my appearance and age looked completely different so his ignorance was understandable, but I myself also had no intention of bringing it up.

Appearance wise I had grown up to look like a commoner who had come of age, furthermore I had formally joined his party, so Feld was treating me not as a kid but like an adult.

Feld was so softhearted that he even taught a kid he didn’t know how to survive without any ulterior motive. I trusted him as a “person” just like I trusted master. Perhaps that was why, I might dread being treated like a child again if he learned that I was the kid at that time.

「…………」

Somehow……I was feeling nervous because it had been a long time since I walked with someone on the street.

I didn’t notice because I had been alone all this time but, perhaps this was what counted as normal? I too had grown bigger but, walking beside Feld who was far larger than me gave me a peace of mind somewhere inside me. It was a mysterious feeling that made me felt shy.

It was a mysterious feeling but I didn’t dislike it. But, even that stroll of just the two of us through the city didn’t last for long.

「──Ah, Feld?」

「Ou, Mira.」

Was it a coincidence or an inevitability? I guessed it was an inevitability, because she was also an acquaintance of Gelf who we were going to visit. We ran across the elf Mira who previously worked together with Feld to guard some noble kids.

「Eh? That girl there……」

Mira noticed me who was hiding behind Feld’s silhouette. Perhaps she sensed my stare on her.

「Do you remember her? She’s that adventurer that we took to that dwarf’s armorer. She’s Viro’s disciple who entered our party, Aria.」

「Is that so? But this is great……. I became the only girl after Samantha retired, so I’m happy that you joined us. Nice to meet you, you can call me Mira.」

「Yes. Nice to meet you, Mira.」

The spirit user Mira. If I remembered right Mira was her pet name while her actual name was Miranda. All elves who lived inside forest were hunter. It seemed she was also really skilled with bow.

It might be her sensitivity as elf. It seemed that for Mira, her and also Samantha were still in the category of “girl”. She seemed to be genuinely happy that the number of girl had increased, because she was staring at me smilingly after Feld introduced me to her.

「And where are you two going? To Dalton’s place?」

「Aria is going to adjust her armor, so we’re going to that armorer. Aria too hasn’t come to the capital for a long time, so I’m showing her the way.」

「Aa, Gelf’s shop. Then I’ll come together with you two. I also have business there.」

As I thought it seemed that this reunion was an inevitability. The two of us had no reason to refuse her and so the three of us headed together to Gelf’s shop.

Mira kept a friendly smile on her face while having some casual talk with Feld and I. Meanwhile the men around us were sending glances toward her.

Master too had mentioned it about herself. Elf race had big pride and their self-esteem was also proportionally strong with that. But although Mira was from such race, she didn’t give any such cutting impression. A lot of man got their eyes attracted toward Mira who looked like a twenty years old beauty.

Their captivation might be especially caused by Mira’s appearance that hinted of kindness and gentleness. Surely this kind of woman was the preference of man everywhere.

「What’s the matter, Aria?」

Feld called out to me who kept walking silently without really joining the conversation.

「Hm? Just thinking that Mira is pretty……Viro’s girlfriend isn’t Mira right?」

Was Feld’s preference also a woman like Mira……I also had such thought and asked the question that was in my mind. In respond Feld shook his head while Mira didn’t notice.

「No way, that’s just not possible.」

Feld denied it with a strange look on his face. He brought his face closer to me who was more than thirty centimeter shorter than him and quietly told me.

「Mira look young because she’s an elf but, at the inside she’s the same age like Samantha. She’s different from the elves in the forest but……to be blunt, she’s a plain 『auntie』 at the inside.」

「……?」

I tilted my head because I heard a puzzling word for a moment there, but Feld didn’t even notice my reaction and let out a long sigh.

「You see……Mira treated me and even Viro like children. She often shoved candy or the like into our pocket. And a lot of men came to woo her because of her appearance, but usually they would separate in three days.」

「……Is that so.」

It seemed that her pleasant temperament wasn’t because she had mellowed from living in human society for nearly a hundred years, but because she had completely turned into 『auntie』.

Come to think of it, even though master still looked young like someone at their thirty, she was calling herself an 『old woman』 because she had lived too long in human country…….

「Aria, do you know about dark elf?」

「Yes.」

I was startled for a moment, wondering whether I had let my thought slipped out. Even so I nodded without showing it on my face.

「Don’t ever bring up the topic of dark elf in front of Mira okay? I don’t know why but, it seems she once got utterly made fun of by an excessively strong female demon in a battlefield of a country somewhere……she’s still holding a grudge about that.」

A strong female demon……furthermore it was a dark elf with bad mouth. It reminded me of someone.

「That’s what I can tell you about Mira but, why did you suddenly get curious about that Aria?」

「……Because a lot of men are looking at Mira.」

「It’s always like this. But today there’re also a lot of guys who’re looking at you Aria. You also have beautiful look to you.」

「…………」

I sometimes got told that I had nice appearance but, I didn’t really get it myself. But when Feld told me that, it made me felt a bit embarrassed partly because he treated me like adult.

「Aa……you know, you’ll get lost if you’re lost in thought in this kind of place, so don’t get too distracted.」

Perhaps Feld also became embarrassed about his own words seeing me falling silent. He scratched his cheek with his finger.

「Uh huh……」

The capital was incomparably crowded compared with other city. It looked like my pace had really slowed down, so I reflexively pinched at Feld’s cloth when he warned me of getting lost.

「A-Aria?」

「Hm?」

What’s the matter……? I looked up at Feld from below while tilting my head asking if something was the matter. For some reason Feld’s gaze wandered around for a bit before he averted his gaze.

「……No, it’s nothing.」

.

Like that I kept my hold on Feld who turned taciturn for some reason and we arrived at the shop of Gelf, the dwarf armorer.

「Gelf, you there?」

「O~h my, Aria-chan and Mira-chan. And you two are bringing a fine man along with you.」

Gelf was wearing a tightly fit leather outfit that exposed a lot of skin like usual. He winked his eye that had long and pretty eyelashes. Feld who got called as a fine man took half a step back with twitching expression while Mira was smiling faintly.

「Gelf, it’s getting harder for my chest and waist to move in this outfit. Can you do something?」

「……This girl, your reaction is indifferent like usual. Well, that’s alright, I thought that it was about time for you to grow bigger and already made a new outfit for you. Give it a try okay」

It seemed that Gelf had anticipate my growth and created new equipment for me. I got dragged to the back of the building again and he handed me the new equipment while collecting my current one.

「I gave this equipment proper maintenance before this too but, you had gone through a really harsh fight aren’t you? Even my armor isn’t all powerful so you must take care of your body.」

「Yes, sorry.」

「This new equipment is matched with your looks. The shape isn’t that different from before but, I designed it too look more mature so it’ll increase your “defensive power” even more.」

……What defensive power?

The shape of the new equipment was still a black dress with stand-up collar and no sleeve, but the material used the membrane of wyvern just like my previous equipment that apparently had its fireproof and waterproof improved to adapt even to harsh environment.

Its shape was altered in small details to suit the growth of my body. The slit at the side of the skirt became even deeper and the skirt itself had lengthened from above knee to below knee. It was also made to be easy to flip so I could move easier.

「Yep, you look great-!」

「Uh huh, it’s really great.」

It was only a little but it had gotten lighter than before and easier to move in. I got the feeling that what Gelf and I were praising weren’t the same, but we both liked it anyway so there was no problem.

I returned back to the shop after I finished changing. Mira’s eyes sparkled when she saw me.

「As expected from Gelf-, Aria, you look really cute-!」

「That so?」

I didn’t really get it myself but if Mira said that then it must be true. When I took out a knife from the slit that had gotten deeper to confirm the ease of its use, Feld averted his gaze a little.

「Feld?」

「Aa……yeah, it looks good I guess?」

Somehow I felt at ease when Feld said that. I pinched on his cloth before was also because I felt unconditionally safe if it was with him for some reason.

Ah, I see……I suddenly realized.

「I feel at ease when I’m together with Feld.」

When I casually muttered those words, Gelf’s eyes widened, Mira’s eyes twinkled for some reason, while Feld who was being told that had his gaze darting around without any composure.

「I-is that so?」

「Uh huh……you’re like “father”.」

Feld froze when I spoke of my honest feeling. Gelf and Mira pointed their finger at him while bursting into laughter.

……Did I make some kind of mistake?

***

One month passed since I arrived at the capital. The season had also changed completely into autumn and I turned eleven.

For some reason I was staying in Gelf’s house instead of an inn while getting my equipments serviced. I also asked Mira to introduce me to an alchemist so I could create medicine and the like. Mira too was well versed in herbs as befitting an elf and it seemed she was the one who created potion and the like with alchemy for the party, but she was really happy when she heard that I could create it.

I became involved a lot with Mira and Gelf during this one month in the place of Feld who was dejected for some reason. I believed that Mira and I had opened up a lot with each other. ……Well, sometimes she surprised me when stuffing candy that was wrapped in paper into my pocket though.

When Feld recovered from his mysterious dejected state, I trained with him in the adventurer guild’s training ground to confirm each other’s fighting style. It was then I  was finally able to meet with Viro who hadn’t showed himself until now along with the leader or Rainbow Sword, Dalton who seemed to be busy before this with coordinating with the noble for the request this time.

Samantha had retired so she wasn’t present but, it seemed that it had been several years since all members of “Rainbow Sword” had gathered as a party.

In the capital there was a mansion Dalton owned that was used to store items and the like that they gathered as a party. It seemed that the members of Rainbow Sword could use the mansion freely but, this was my first time getting inside.

When I entered into the mansion together with Feld and Mira, we were greeted by Viro who looked somewhat tired and a large dwarf who looked clearly strong.

「I’m Dalton. Are you Aria, the disciple of this guy?」

「I learned the skill as scout from Viro.」

Dalton was different from the typical image of a dwarf that had small, short, and stout stature. He had an intimidating large body that he used to glare at me appraisingly.

He was a dwarf, but apparently he wasn’t a 『rock dwarf』 like Galbas or Gelf who lived in mine, but a 『mountain dwarf』 that lived in forest.

The difference wasn’t obvious in a glance like forest elf and dark elf. The difference could be spotted from their place of birth, body build, and personality.

Most of the rock dwarves that lived in mine and worked as blacksmith didn’t really have flexible mind and stubborn. They had a body build like a mass of muscle because they dove into cave and dug hole. In contrast mountain dwarf that lived in forest and worked as carpenter or jeweler had body build that was relatively similar with human. Many of them were skilled with detailed work and sociable.

But Dalton who had been active as first class adventurer for more than a hundred years had height that was close to human with body width and muscle mass that surpassed rock dwarf. Even Feld who I thought as a muscular man looked slender compared to him.

The various equipments lined up in this living room like the mythril full plate armor or giant warhammer would be difficult even to lift by the average warrior.

Although I don’t think that the average warrior would be able to collect these equipments that had the price that could buy a small castle.

「……Fumu」

Dalton stroked his beard that was shortly pruned like Gelf, which was a rarity among the dwarf. He stared fixedly at me while grinning.

「I’ve been wondering just how strong you actually are because Viro even boasted about you as his disciple but, I see now……you pass if it’s just your combat strength. But, we “Rainbow Sword” is a prominent rank 5 party even in Claydale Kingdom and trusted even by noble. Your background or history doesn’t matter but, if you’re going to be one of us, at least show me that your “guts” is fitting for that name.」

*DOONN!!*

Instantly, “killing intent” and “Pressure” that even caused an “auditory hallucination” of blasting sound burst out from Dalton.

The pressure that was emitted by a rank 5 heavy warrior made him looked like a giant. Dalton instantly lifted up a warhammer that was as tall as him and swung it down toward me.

This was the peak of rank 5……. My body trembled in fear from that might intimidation. But, I too had faced the rank 5 Grave and mythical beast Nero before. I acted the instant I felt his killing intent by using body strengthening at full strength and rushed like a flying arrow.

*BUONN!!*

The air inside the room rattled from the defense and offense that happened in an instant. Wind whirled. Dalton’s warhammer was touching my shoulder, while the tip of my black dagger stopped just several millimeter before Dalton’s left eye.

「Anymore than this and I’ll fight to kill.」

「……Ku-ku-ku, Viro, where the hell did you find someone like this? She definitely didn’t study just from you alone.」

Dalton couldn’t hold back and breakout laughing in front of my knife tip that didn’t waver at the slightest and my pressure. He turned his gaze toward Viro.

「That’s insulting. Well, it seems Aria also has other teacher for sorcery, and the black ops Sera also instructed her once in the past, so even you might get “devoured” if you let your guard down thinking of her just as a brat y’know?」

「HAHAHA-, roger that! When I heard that Viro brought a girl who isn’t even an adult yet, I was worried that you ran that way after getting jilted by mature woman too many times but, this girl is a nice find!」

「That’s even more insulting oi!!」

……So he had that kind of thinking. It was just a short conversation but, I felt like I could see what kind of position Viro had in the party from it.

Feld and Viro were breaking into cold sweat from the exchange between Dalton and me, even so they sighed after it was over while Mira whose was the only one in the party with low combat strength in close quarter clapped her hands cheerfully.

Dalton easily lowered his warhammer and carelessly approached me who was still keeping my dagger unsheathed. He lightly patted my shoulder.

「I like you! Welcome to “Rainbow Sword”, Aria!!」

Like this I was officially accepted as a member of “Rainbow Sword”. Several days later we departed to the territory of Duke Fudale in order to go to the island where the large scale dungeon was located.