CH 1

A girl called Razé Orphan

٩(*´ο`*)۶“Fwaaa~”

With a big yawn, Razé put on her jacket and slipped out of bed sluggishly. Her dark brown shoulder length hairs were bouncing here and there, something that couldn’t be solved with a simple finger combing.

She rubbed her heavy eyelids, pushed aside her long bangs, tied down her hair and then stretched her body. Although she was not a morning person, she was used to living alone so she always woke up in the morning at around the same time. When she pulled open the curtain, the dazzling sunlight shined into the room.

She had a simple breakfast with bread, fried eggs and soup, and then she washed her face and brushed her teeth. Her reflection in the mirror showed an ordinary girl with no distinctive features. Well, Razé was in fact a very ordinary girl who would turn 16 this year. Her hair and eyes were brown, which was a common color. She couldn’t be called pretty, not by any standard, but she has a nice face that was easy to put on with makeup. Her height was a bit shorter than her peers – not that she cares though.

She changed her clothes, put on a coat and a hat. After making sure her appearance was ok, she picked up a worn-out square bag.

“Alright. Let’s do our best today.” With those words, a magic circle appeared underneath her feet.

This was a world where magic exists. People were able to use a special power – which was magic by using a special stone called magic stone. Everyone possesses magic stones and standard of living was improved with its abilities. It could produce fire, wind, water, lightning, earth among others and could also manipulate physical abilities. The power of magic that can be used varies based on the individual strength and weakness.

At this moment, Razé, who always wore pierced earrings with magic stones, used the magic of teleportation, which allows her to transfer to a pre-marked location. One moment she was surrounded by light, the next moment she was already in a different room. The room was unlike her small home that was cramped with bed, kitchen and washroom; it has a large number of books and documents lined up on the wall.

“Good morning, Leader Orphan.” A man in a neat military uniform greeted her with a clear and brisk voice.

Leader? Who was it referring to? You might be wondering about this question. But in this room, there were only Razé and the man. So, it was not hard to figure out who the word refers to.

Razé: “Good morning, Captain Bonalt.”

Razé replied with a refreshing feeling to her subordinates who treated her with respect even though she was comparably young.

Razé Orphan. 16 years old this year.

She was a military officer, currently attached to the Monster Hunting Department of the Shian Imperial Army and has been serving the country for 10 years. Her place of work – the room which she had teleported to, was a military facility located some distance from the Staff Headquarters.

Bonalt: “Leader, this is a notice letter sent by the Staff Headquarter this morning.”

Razé: “Thank you.”

She put away her bag and coat over the desk, and took the document from Captain Bonalt.

Razé: “Aargh…”

After opening the seal and checking the contents, she frowned. Seeing something unlikable early in the morning causing her mood to drop drastically.

Bonalt: “Leader, your face… Judging from it, I take it you’ve been summoned?”

Captain Bonalt gently pointed out her face expression that is unbecoming of a lady. As Razé’s adjutant, he has seen this expression so many times and was not put off by it. Rather, it helped him to guess the contents accurately.

“Yeah. What’s worse – ahem, a pleasure that it is from the Prime Minister… I need to go to the headquarter in the evening. Aargh…” said Razé while burying her head in her hand.

“Oh-” Bonalt replied awkwardly. It was a summon from the Prime Minister, who is the Emperor’s right-hand man. There is no way that they were going to have a fun talk. On the contrary, it should be a very troublesome matter. It was like that every time. He can say for sure this time would be the same.

Razé secretly called him ‘His Excellency the Grim Reaper’ in her heart. But the name was quite accurate as every time she was summoned by him, she would be given a high-risk task.

Razé: “I’m sick of it. I just got back from a hunting expedition to Baruda. Can’t he let me leisurely do some deskwork once in a while?”

Bonalt: “But Leader, your body will become dull if you just do deskwork. As long as the monsters exist, we as military personnel must hunt them down.”

Razé: “Don’t give me such an honest answer …”

Razé rested her chin on the table. There were two continents in this world. One was occupied by human and the other one by monsters. ‘Baruda’ refers to the continent where monsters live, and until just three days ago she had been hunting monsters over there.

The continent where she was currently at is called ‘Ordiana’. Baruda has a completely different ecosystem from Ordiana, and there were so many unknown stuffs. After being sent to such a place, Razé lead her battalion and single-mindedly hunted down the monsters.

Since magic stones, which were nowadays indispensable in Ordiana, can be obtained from the forehead of the monsters, each country was competitively carrying out this hunting expeditions.

Bonalt: “It can’t be helped that the Prime Minister would call you up. You are the ace of aces who has the highest achievement at defeating S-class monster. Although your identity has been kept a secret, all other countries know that there is a person in Shian who have obtained the title of ‘Wolf Fang’.”

Razé: “Hmm. Well, it’s because I have to work hard to stay alive. Though I’ve been doing various things since I was little …”

It was because I have the memories of my previous life.

Raze swallowed the words and muttered to herself in her heart. As someone who joined the army at the age of five, she was not an ordinary person. Nowadays – no, for many years now, the Shian Empire has been in conflict with the neighboring Magenda Empire for so many times. Born on that border and orphaned due to the war, she was desperately trying to survive in that dangerous area.

At that time, she heard that if she volunteered to join the army and became a soldier, she would be able to eat meals. As she was so hungry, she immediately jumped to the deal.

At first nobody took her seriously as she was too young. What could a five years old do? But just in case, they let her took the test. Surprisingly, she showed off her knowledge that put adults to shame, and so she was enlisted just like that. Use whatever you can use. This was how it works in Shian.

She didn’t have such a carefree thought anyway. After she got enlisted, she did wonder whether would it be better to die by the roadside instead? However, considering her age and her brain, she was given special training, and so she was not sent to the battlefield and she could escape death for the time being.

She started with how to activate magic stones, she learned martial arts, war strategies, cryptography, etc., and after learning to some extent, she was assigned to the intelligence department when she was 8 years old.

Having memories of previous life were a horrifying thing. At the age of 8, other than excellent espionage performance, Razé performed a number of missions, including rescuing prisoners.

Actually, she just didn’t want to die, so she just lived every day with all her might. But contrary to her wish, more and more missions were added. And because it was during the wartime, her achievement at disabling the enemy’s military power and collecting magic stones in Baruda (which was basically monster hunting) was taken into evaluation. And so, after getting promoted again and again, she had become a lieutenant colonel at the age of 12.

Immediately after leaving the intelligence department and becoming a lieutenant colonel, the rivalry between Magenda’s invasion and Shian’s thorough defense did not collapse again. Magenda stopped the attack and they entered a truce. Once the headquarters calmed down and consider her age, there were no further promotion.

However, regardless of her age, her military achievements were excellent, and so she was given the title of ‘Wolf Fang’. Razé is the first person who earned this title while still alive.

In addition, she has passed the rigorous screening test of the Shian Empire’s special force which was called ‘Shadow’s Eye’ – a group with black mask who execute dangerous missions. She had grown into the most excellent military woman.

She is now fulfilling her mission as a leader, as one of the limited members of the elite Shadow Eyes, and as an ace monster hunter. Those who know her ability called her “Leader” to show their respect that goes beyond her title.

(Though the person who knew her identity are those on the top ranks in the military, so they have to acknowledge her powerful military strength despite her young age.)

Razé herself was always doing her best at everything. So, for now, there was nothing scary other than running out of food to eat. She has been working hard to clear up all those concerns.

Razé: “Hmm. I should buy pudding to reward myself today.”

Razé decided to just accept the inescapable command, and set out on a strategy to focus on the fun that come afterward.

Bonalt: “Pudding? Now that you say it, I heard that the cake shop on Marger Street is selling a very rare pudding.”

Razé: “Captain Bonalt, do you think I wouldn’t know about it?”

“…As expected of you, Leader” said Captain Bonalt with a wry smile.

“But you know Captain…” Razé got up, rested down her elbows, put her folded hands on her forehead and said “There are no words as scary as ‘rare’ and ‘limited item’. I’m always on the lookout for food, no matter what anyone says. But somehow there were always something got in the way and I couldn’t go out to buy it.”

“……” Captain Bonalt was speechless. Was it something to be said in a such a serious manner? But he knew her passion for food so well, so he wouldn’t ridicule her for saying it earnestly.

Bonalt: “If I have the chance, I’ll buy something too.”

Razé: “Really?! Yeay! I’ll do my best at work! I’m looking forward to it, Captain. Of course, I’ll get something for you in return later!”

Razé with her eyes shining bright really suits her age. Captain Bonalt nodded, feeling strange thinking that this same person was that ‘Wolf Fang’.

Razé: “Well. I’ve submitted the report about the magic stones I harvested yesterday. So today I have to clean up the pending documents while I was away on the expedition.”

Bonalt: “Yes. As usual, the items that need to be confirmed by you have been sorted in order of importance.”

Razé: “Thank you. You’re always a great help.”

Captain Bonalt organized the accumulated documents while Razé reviewed the magic stone and wrote the report.

The season was winter. Snow was fluttering outside the window. Razé reached out to pick up the documents while thinking how she would like to try skiing, as per her memories in her previous life.