CH 104

Episode 104 – Greatest Result!

Author Note: This chapter is from the POV of Iris Kirty, Captain of the Knights of the Royal Order.

TL Note: Sponsored chapter (2/4)

In order to have a proper talk with the boy, we changed locations so we weren’t at the back of that building anymore. The boy suggested going to a cafe or shop in Grezesta to talk, but, because of my position, I wasn’t willing to be seen by anyone else right now. In the first place, that was why I chose a running course where no one would be able to see me…

When I told the boy my selfish request, he readily invited me into the room where he was currently living. The interior of the inn that the boy was staying at was just as rundown as the exterior, but I was grateful that he agreed to let me into his room on our first meeting. Stepping on the creaky floorboards of the inn as we walked, we arrived at his room. When I entered, the first scent that assailed my nostrils was a very aromatic and delicious smell.

What the heck is this great smell?

Even someone like me, who was fine with eating bread for all three of my meals each day and wasn’t much of a gourmet, felt tantalized by such an appetizing smell. I started feeling hungry, but I swallowed my saliva and refused to let it show on my face. The boy motioned for me to sit down, so I quickly took a seat in the chair he indicated.

And as a matter of fact… today was the first time I was entering a man’s room. Since I was a little girl, I’d solely focused on wielding my sword. Even after I joined the Knights of the Royal Order, I was always aiming for the top, so I never had anything to do with “romance”. For that reason… although the owner of the room was a boy who was around 10 years younger than me, my heart was throbbing in my chest. I tried to put up a facade to mask my sentiments as I looked up at the boy sitting directly across from me. We were both looking at each other’s faces, but the conversation wasn’t going anywhere. For some reason, the boy had been looking at my face this entire time… I couldn’t bear this atmosphere any longer, so I decided to start the conversation from my side.

“…It’s embarrassing if you keep staring at me like that. If you’re still suspicious of me, I’m telling you, I’m really a Captain of the Knights of the Royal Order, you know? I can bring you to the barracks if you think that I forged those identification papers.” (Kirty)

“No, I’m not suspecting you, so don’t worry about that. I recognize the emblem of the Knights of the Royal Order on your armor, so I believe you. I just… wasn’t sure where to start with my questions,” the boy replied. Questions…? I had no idea what kind of questions would come flying at me, so I was honestly a bit anxious.

“Do you mind if I hear the reason why you were watching me?” (Boy)

Wuuu…. A difficult question to answer right off the bat. I could feel the heat rise to my face as I blushed in embarrassment.

“……Is it not okay to, as a Captain of the Knights of the Royal Order?” (Kirty)

“…I suppose so. I’ve known for quite a while that you’ve been watching me, so I’d be happy if you could tell me the reason why.” (Boy)

Kuuu…. It seemed that there was no way he was going to let me get away, and he’d noticed since a long time ago… If the cat was already out of the bag, I should just answer him straightforwardly. Realizing that I couldn’t escape, I made up my mind and honestly told the boy why I was observing him. I was so embarrassed that I felt like fire was about to burst forth from my face, but it was a relief that the boy didn’t seem to be making a big deal out of it.… If he recoiled in disgust or something after I told him that, I think I would’ve died from shock.

After that, we talked about various things, and when I told him that his swordwork was completely lacking in technique, he looked a little sad. I felt that I might have said too much, but if I already came this far I thought that I should at least tell him the entire truth.

“Thank you for explaining. I understand why you were watching me now, Kirty-san. There’s one thing I’d like to request of you… would you be willing to hear me out?” (Boy)

I had been peeking at his expression every now and then as I was telling him the truth of the matter when the boy suddenly said this to me.

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A request? What could he possibly have to ask me?

“A request? It depends on what it’s about…” (Kirty)

“Actually, I myself am aware of what you said about my swordsmanship being lacking, and I have been searching for someone to mentor me in my sword skills for a while now. So about that, I was wondering if you would be willing to instruct me in swordsmanship, just in the morning… what do you think, Kirty-san?” (Boy)

The moment I heard those words come out of the boy’s mouth, I felt like jumping for joy as waves of joy gushed forth from the bottom of my heart. While I had been watching the boy from afar, I had been thinking to myself for a long, long time that I wanted to teach him, so this elation I felt was inevitable! I was about to grant the boy’s request without a moment’s hesitation, but I stopped myself at the last moment.

―Whoa, that was a close call. I nearly forfeited my chance to negotiate right there. I didn’t think this boy would go around telling anyone, but just in case, I should negotiate a bit with him and tack on the condition that he couldn’t tell anyone about this incident.

“…I-I cannot. I have been entrusted with upholding my honor as the Captain of the Knights of the Royal Order. I am too busy to offer you guidance, but if you really insist—” (Kirty)

“I see, so that’s how it is… I’m sorry for requesting too much.” (Boy)

I was trying to deliberately look troubled as I tacked on this condition, but the boy withdrew his request before I could even finish speaking. ‘The man who chases two rabbits, catches neither.’ As this phrase from a certain great philosopher came into my mind, I frantically tried to stop him.

“….Huh? Hey, wait a minute. What are you giving up so easily for?!” (Kirty)

“Eh? Well, I do think that it might have been too impudent for me to ask someone to mentor me in sword skills the very first time we met, but I could always ask an adventurer to teach me, so I’m not giving up!” (Boy)

Crap, t-this is not good!!

I suddenly felt like I didn’t even care anymore if he disclosed anything about me stalking him; I just wanted to be able to teach him. As that one thought filled my mind, I somehow managed to maintain my composure as I spoke.

“W-w-wait! I never said I wouldn’t teach you!” (Kirty)

“Eh?! Just a moment ago, you said it wasn’t possible, didn’t you…? Er…in that case, you’ll teach me swordsmanship then, Kirty-san?” (Boy)

“Hold on a second! Don’t get ahead of yourself. I’ll give you guidance in swordsmanship, but I have one condition.” (Kirty)

“A condition…? Ah! If it’s about money, I have some!” (Boy)

“How could I accept money from a child? I’m the Captain of the Knights of the Royal Order, you know?” (Kirty)

“In that case, what would that condition be?” (Boy)

“….P-please don’t tell anyone that I was… stalking you…” (Kirty)

“Even without that condition, I wasn’t planning to tell anyone, you know? You can rest assured.” (Boy)

Phew, thank goodness.

After hearing the boy say that, I could breathe a sigh of relief at last. Since he was a kind boy, I didn’t think he would go around spreading rumors about this matter, but getting his word was important to me considering my position. I patted my chest, relieved that what had been bothering me all this time had finally been resolved.

“Is that so… I was prepared to be threatened or blackmailed for it… The fact that you’re not an assh*le saves me a lot of trouble.” (Kirty)

“Threatened or whatever, I never even thought that you were stalking me, you know?” (Boy)

“Really? I was thinking that secretly watching you from afar like that was no good…” I admitted openly, and he once again looked at me with that openly disappointed expression. But if he wasn’t going to reveal anything about what happened today, then there was no need to hide anymore. I already agreed to be his sword instructor!

“Then in that case, from now on I’ll help you with your swordsmanship as promised!” (Kirty)

I accepted the boy’s request for sword instruction with a smile. I had only been able to watch from afar at first, but, thanks to today’s proceedings, I had been able to become his sword instructor. For a moment there, I totally thought that my life and career were about to be over, but… I think this was the greatest result that could have come out of this situation. As I thought of all the training plans that I had been coming up with while watching him in the last few months, I couldn’t stop a grin from surfacing. The day had just started for me, but I already couldn’t wait for tomorrow to come.