Otoko Nara Ikkokuichijou no Aruji o Mezasa Nakya, ne? - novelonlinefull.com
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Chapter 51
Year 7442, Month 1, Day 14 Night After suddenly returning Mill explained the reason as "in some meanings a reward for being made a true knight". Just being a member of the first knight group is an honor so going even further and receiving invest.i.ture as a true knight is close to the highest honor for your birthplace. Since that's the case after receiving invest.i.ture as a true knight in the first knight group they're given a holiday of about a month and a half. Since the majority of the members in the Webdos knight group originate from within the territory there wasn't such a system. That's why no one in our family knew about such a convenient system.
Also, after receiving invest.i.ture as knight when a true knight separates from their group the must always have squires with them as guards. Several decades or several hundred years ago I don't know for sure but it seems an extremely dishonorable incident occurred where knight who was away from the group was attacked by a large number of thieves died and had his equipment with the knight group emblem abandoned, because that happened they started giving them guards but I thought if they were attacked by an even larger group wouldn't there be no meaning? Though remaining quiet is the adult way. I'm sure they probably just want to put limitations on the mentality of the ones attacking by giving them a guard after all. After hearing the heavy reason she was accompanied by guards on her return and Mill finally touched on the main point. That's right. Why was Mill able to become a true knight this fast? Obviously no one thinks Mill is showing off and lying but just in case I'll have Sonia use tea as an excuse to get her attendants to come to the dining room after dinner. Yeah, we can deny the possibility that Mill is misunderstanding something after all. After I returned to the dining room from putting the horses into the stable she talked about these sorts of things. After preparing chairs for the two attendants and myself the dining room really was at its limits. After finishing dinner and offering the squires who arrived in the dining room some tea while thanking them for their long trip and Hegard nervously starts trying to confirm Mill's story as he listens. The squires had extremely good manners and didn't just affirm the story but even explained the situation in more detail. By the way, after the squires appeared in the dining room Mill's manner of speaking returned to when she arrived and it's a polite and proper way of speaking that you wouldn't think it's Mill. The explanation that the squires gave us about Mill were all unbelievable so everyone started to show confused expressions. The only ones who weren't confused were sister-in-law Shani who only had a shallow relationship with Mill and my nephew and niece. Incidentally, my nephew Zett and my niece Becky are both being held in Mill's arms right now. Since they've already gotten considerably big putting aside temporarily it must be painful to keep holding them like that. It doesn't really matter though. While the squires continued to talk about Mill's reputation in the knight group they must have noticed that we were making confused expressions and asked Hegard, "Was there something that you didn't understand?" and Hegard couldn't respond with anything other than, "Ah, No" or "Uh, No" so the explanation continued. Even if you put it moderately their impression of Mill was extremely high. Since I could tell that the both of them were clearly older than Mill and had some doubts because one of the squires was Mill's senior. I wonder why neither one of them shows any sort of envy towards Mill? Even though they're squires since they're in the first knight group then they should have originally been knights as well. And considerably skilled ones at that. Obviously, they should have their own pride and confidence. They've been exceeded by a young girl from this countryside. While there should be feelings of mortification I don't think it's something that should give him a high opinion? The doubts within me increase. Around the time I thought of cutting into the conversation the squires conversation finished. If I were to simply summarize the story: - Her results on the entrance exam weren't particularly outstanding. However, the speed with which she used magic wasn't normal furthermore it was confirmed that she could use several types of magic so she pa.s.sed. Yeah, this is fine. I can agree with it. The other members of the family nodded as well this far. Sister-in-law Shani was a bit surprised because she didn't know her very well. On the contrary the squires made a disappointed expression that none of us were surprised. - She started from the lowest rank squire (Rank 5 of the 6th Squad it seems), but it didn't take much time for her to show how she exceeded all of her fellow squires that were ex-knights, in just a single month she made it to Rank 4 of the 6th Squad. Since no one really knew Farne must have represented that and said, "What kind of period does it normally take to raise your ranking?" The squires responded with, "Normally it takes about three months." I wonder why they decided on her promotion that quick? Sharl asked representing everyone's doubts, "Was there some sort of criteria?" the response was, "Up until Rank 3 of the 6th Squad you can get promoted if you pa.s.s an exam that occurs every month for those who wish to take it." The promotion exam for Rank 4 is composed of everything learned in the cla.s.ses the information required for a knight in other words a paper test it seems. At this point everyone was confused again. Of course, sister-in-law Shani as well. Putting aside practical skill, I thought there's no way Mill could properly answer on a paper test which tests your knowledge and preparedness. However, one of the squires (since it's become troublesome I'll just start using their names. This squire is Glohortz.) said "The exam always starts with academics. Lord Greed was extraordinarily excellent even when it came to studying. Not just the content of the standards but she mastered all of the text content for rank 4 within one month. Of course, in the end you must be able to do it either way but it's not easy to manage it in one month. Nevertheless, I'm sure it's still possible. There were several cases in the past as well." to which everyone sighed. I can understand up to here. Remembering the information that a normal knight spends three months to memorize in a month, while it seems difficult but if you're good at memorization then it's plenty possible. Putting aside in my past life, there weren't a lot of people who were great at perfect memorization but it wasn't all that unusual. It's just my personal opinion but I feel like the actual amount they were required to memorize wasn't all that much as well. In this Orth then no matter how you think about it there's no way they'd be required to learn more than a student in my previous life. Since Mill is young I'm sure she's better at memorization than the other squires who are older. - Just before the summer after that she pa.s.sed the Rank 3 Squad 6 exam as well and was promoted further. This was considerably fast just like the rank 4 exam but still not all that unusual it seems. In other words the amount to memorize just increased. Up until here while it's somewhat fast, it's not like no one manages it, and if they're smart then it's not anything surprising. In Orth I think being good at memorization is included in being smart. However, from there on it shouldn't go so easily? - After that she pa.s.sed the exam for Rank 2 of Squad 6. At this point she started to gain the attention of the members of the knight group. Practical skill should start in the rank 2 exam. You can guess that from the explanation up until now. In the first place, Mill shouldn't have ever ridden a horse. Entering the group in the middle of January, most likely going to Rank 4 by the middle of February, since he said before summer she should have made Rank 3 by June. Then reaching Rank 2 by July or August? Is it something that's possible within six months from entering? This time the squire Amzel responds. "The exam for Rank 2 is synthesized. In addition to all of the content up until then there's a combat exam. You do 20 consecutive practice matches against active duty knights. It's said that the results of each practice match don't have any influence on your a.s.sessment but there's no record of anyone winning them all up until now. Lord Greed was the first one in the records of the knight group that had a complete victory." Wh...What was that!? No wait, that sounds fake... I don't think I would lose if I use my bayonet recently but if I were to do 20 matches consecutively I have confidence I'd start to lose around the 5th or 6th match. Probably around the 10th match I'd lose them all. It's not something to brag about but isn't it only obvious? I'm sure everyone else was thinking the same thing as me as they had various doubts in their expressions. "No really, it isn't a lie. Ah, everyone doesn't know well how skilled Lord Greed is with magic? Lord Greed is an unparalleled user of both magic and sorcery. It's nothing more than that this was confirmed once again during this exam." It...It can't be she used attack magic? Against a living knight? That absurd "Fire Ball"? She'll kill someone. My parents and my face went pale from the horror and my older brother and his wife are nodding because they haven't really seen Mill use attack magic properly. I guess sister-in-law Shani has understood that Mill's skill with magic is outstanding and acknowledged it. However, sister-in-law, that isn't a proper understanding. In any case, the squire Amzel's words continued. "Lord Greed aimed for the horses of the first few with fire and then when the horses flinched she aimed for their feet with "Flame Arrow Missile" and sent them falling over. When riding a horse during a practice match the moment you fall from the horse you lose. After that no one appeared on a horse. After seeing that no one was riding a horse Lord Greed descended from her horse as well. After that she used "Flame Arrow Missile" for the first hit and then won victory be using a second attack of magic when the opponent flinched." "When it comes to close combat at the point where two attacks have clearly landed or one side forfeits the outcome is decided. Against opponents who didn't flinch she created distance without hesitation and used "Flame Arrow Missile" again to gain victory. Of course, there are several knights with enough skill to use magic in the knight group as well." "It was even more simple when facing them. When the opponent was using magic Lord Greed just made sure that her magic hits faster after all. There's most likely no one in the knight group that can activate magic faster than Lord Greed. Therefore, the moment she confirms that the opponent is using magic she just has to make sure that she lands a hit with magic first while they can't move. At that point the opponents magic is obstructed as well." "After that she used the same tactic of making distance and definitely landing hits with "Flame Arrow Missile" to finish the matches. Just like this she won by injuring more than 10 knights and 4 horses. The last five were unprecedented, each company's leader, the sub-leader of the knight group, and the leader himself. They can all use magic. Among them there was even a strong person who didn't hesitate in using wind magic to blow them self away." "However, Lord Greed won by feinting that she was going to use "Flame Arrow Missile" and when the opponent took a defensive stance she used the non-guided "Flame Arrow" while charging and cutting at them immediately. She won by catching the opponent off guard since she had only used "Flame Arrow Missile" which you can't move while guiding it until then." "Furthermore she used not only "Flame Arrow" but a small "Fire Ball" to wrap them up the explosion range, feign that she's not going to use magic and then once she got close suddenly use "Flame Thrower" to damage them, or once she makes some distance using "Flame Arrow Missile" to finish them off. Against opponents that can use wind magic she made a dirt hill in front of her right after reading the opponents charging at her and won." "During the practice match with the sub-leader she used something other than fire magic for the first time, she did damage with "Ice Cone" while at the same time scattering ice beads to block his vision then she stopped maintaining the magic and during the short time the ice beads were still there she went around to his blind spot and won. When she finally faced off against the leader everyone realized that Lord Greed hadn't used all of her power." "The moment it started she used large scale ice magic to freeze the knight group leader. The range was too wide I don't think there was any way of evading it. Most likely 5 m in every direction was frozen. If we just left it like that then the leader probably would have suffocated to death so in that moment the match was decided. Lord Greed immediately changed the ice to water and saved the leader. And then used healing magic on the wounded knights and horses." I'm sure the squire Amzel himself got excited as he was talking about it. His face was slightly red and there was sweat on his forehead. Certainly if you limit the power on it then the magic "Flame Arrow Missile" only uses about 7 MP. It seems that Mill was fighting while conserving energy and probably only used about 200 MP to take on 20 consecutively. I'm sure she should have had plenty for the healing magic after. But...No, for now it's fine. Squire Glohortz continues after that. "Obviously she pa.s.sed the exam in a way that no one could complain about. Since not a single knight even succeeded in landing a hit on Lord Greed after all. In other words, putting aside several at once, there's no knights that can win against Lord Greed one on one in the first knight group right now. After that there was an uproar. Everyone know that her skill with magic was somewhat excellent but no one realized it was to that extent." "That level of skill was plenty to be called a sorcerer and the knight group leader said that both her skill and amount of mana exceeded that of the Kingdom's top royal sorcerer Marquis Dasline. Certainly her skill with the sword still has some room for improvement but Lord Greed is still young and the youngest among the active duty knights. She still can do as much training as she wants and while he said she still has room for improvement but she's properly keeping up with the training of our first knight group. Her skill exceeds that of the average knight." He's going all out in praising her without restraint. Even if you were to say he was older or her senior there's no other choice than to accept that he's her subordinate with how he's acting. The squire Amzel says "After that, as expected Marquis Dasline came to the knight group and said he wanted to see Lord Greed's skill with sorcery but I'm sure the leader was being cautious of her being scouted so he completely rejected it. Thanks to that we all can receive the guidance from a rare genius sorcerer. There's nothing happier than this." And said that ending the explanation. Farne and I exchange glances and look at Mill's face. Realizing that Mill's faced down in embarra.s.sment while cuddling Zett and Becky. Eh? What's this? It seems that in order to take the exam for Rank 1 of Squad 6 you need to gain experience in Rank 2 for at least one year. However, after a year had pa.s.sed Mill only had to take the practical skill tests for sword and horse riding and she was exempted from practice matches. After that she took an interview and pa.s.sed. When they're still squires it seems that the exam for horse riding isn't all that severe yet. Normally, squires don't ride horses after all. It seems that even then Mill modestly continued her att.i.tude without becoming arrogant and earned a favorable impression from the members of the knight group. And then the squires of Rank 1 Squad 6 are taken along as attendants during live combat. Obviously even the Rank 5 squires of the first knight group have excellent abilities as a knight but they only start doing the real work for the first knight group starting from Rank 1 as squires it seems. What's with that elite track? Are they the rumored Narashino first airborne squad that says non-Rangers aren't people so they aren't allowed to be in exhibition descents? * Last year, it seems Mill partic.i.p.ated in two conflicts. At the start of the year and the end of the year. If you think about the frequency conflicts occur then she partic.i.p.ated in two consecutive battles. And she played an active role using magic. Since she was using the rubber protectors she started to be called "Black Witch" or maybe not, no one knows. What's with that, is she a third-rate villain? Mill laughed with a troubled face. Thanks to her achievements after the conflict ended at the end of the year she received a recommendation from the knight group leader and received invest.i.ture as a true knight. And in order to show her achievements to her home town she received a holiday. It was a bit long but it's good that we got to know about a side of Mill we didn't know. We thank the two squires for explaining things to us even though they're tired and decided to rest for today. Since Mill doesn't have a room she's going to sleep together with me in my room. It can't be helped so I surrender the water bed to Mill and place a rubber sheet on the dirt floor then when I was about to lay down Mill asked if I wanted to sleep together with her so I decided to take her up on the offer. It was a bit painful because of how confined it was but Mill showed admiration for the water bed. It seems there's rumors about the rubber water bed in the capital recently so she knew about its existence but she had never used it. It can't be helped so, "Since older sister can use water magic there shouldn't be a problem so you can take this back with you. Since it's a prototype it's not quite as comfortable was the ones circulating though." I said that and she was delighted. "More importantly than that, what did you say to hide the fact that you have a lot of mana?" It's an important matter. I need to make sure to confirm this. "Eh? Ah, I said it was because the level of my magic skills were high. I said while I can't use wind magic they're all considerably high level. Of course, I didn't tell them what my level was. But I suggested that they were around level 50." I reflexively coughed. That's big even fore a huge lie. Even if only the person them self can see the level of their own special skills level 50 is absurd. In the first place, the maximum level of special skills should be the same as unique abilities at level 9. My void magic level is the highest but since it still hasn't gotten to level 9 I don't know for sure if level 9 is really the max though. Aren't they probably the same? "Eh...isn't that going too far... did they really believe that?" "I wonder? It seems that the top royal sorcery Marquis Dasline has only just gotten to level 7 the same as me recently. That person is already past 60 years old so even if he gives his best he'll die soon. I'm sure he knows how much time he has remaining. It probably won't be exposed." What's she saying? However, I guess you can say it's not an incorrect theory? If all of your magic other than wind were level 50 then with just that your MP amount would be about 200 and as long as someone isn't keeping track of how many times she used what magic on an everyday basis then they shouldn't easily be able to predict how much mana she has. I guess it's fine as long as there's no one that can perceive the concept of MP or how much mana there is? No wait, in the past after seeing our training mother almost accurately guessed Farne and Mill's mana amount. Even if there's no concept of the number value there's a possibility that they'll count how many times each magic is used. "Hmn, but I don't think you should relax with that and still hide the amount of mana you have. Since no one knows if they still have enough mana to use magic when their opponent can still use magic, you never know what could happen. Mother is always saying to make sure you always have mana remaining after all." "That's only obvious, it's my life line after all. If they were to aim for when I run out of MP then it would be bad. Magicians and sorcerers are scary because you never know how much mana they have remaining. I'll keep it hidden no matter what." I see, then that's fine. From here on out, someone might be able to figure out but it's better the longer the period it takes for them to figure it out. "Ah, and I want you to teach me but what's the difference between a magician and a sorcerer? The squires were calling magic as sorcery as well right?" "Yeah, they're the same. We call magic "Flame Arrow Missile" right? They just call that sort of magic with a name that's a combination of several types of magic as sorcery. And if you're able to use about three types of that sorcery with a reasonable amount of speed then they don't call you a magician but a sorcerer. Al, we're sorcerers." Oh, it's just a difference in name. How boring. "Hmn, I see. Even if they say that it's not like there's anything particular to it right? It doesn't matter." "Sorcerer is like a t.i.tle given to people who master sorcery, it seems that just being able to call yourself one is an honor but it seems that in the past few years it's become a popular word. It seems it was originally a word used in Glanan Empire and the Kingdom of Backlooney in the east. As a mater of fact I don't care at all either." Hm, a word that came from outside of the country huh. Well it doesn't matter, it's about time to sleep. "I see now, then good night, Black Witch-sama" "Gu...Really, stop it with that already." "Blaa~ ck Witchhh~ samaaa~" "The next time you say it I'll smack you." I need to limit my teasing to about this much. Year 7442, Month 1, Day 15 After being kicked away by Mill's bad sleeping posture I woke up. After using up all of my MP in the middle of the night I ended up falling asleep on the floor in the end so when I woke up the next morning my entire body was stiff and hurt. d.a.m.n it~ In any case I woke up before the sunrise the same as always around 5:00am and it seems Mill was awake as well. And then Mill puts on her clothes and starts equipping her protectors. When I was wondering what she was going to do as I observed her, "Stop s.p.a.cing out and you quickly get ready as well. I'll take you on a bit before breakfast." And started saying that. I'll show you. I quickly start getting ready and after preparing two wooden swords I go to the training area a bit of a distance away. Fufun, watch and be surprised. However, it seems Mill is grinning as well. That's the expression she makes since the past when she's thought of some sort of secret weapon. Since she doesn't think about it enough if you were to ask me the majority of tests didn't go well. This time she's most likely making that face thinking she can overwhelm me. "Then, let's start. I won't go as far as killing you and if you get injured I'll heal you." "Ke...That's my line, I'll change you into a bloodstained Red Witch." We both stand on guard with our wooden swords at a distance of about 10 m. It feels like her stance has been refined compared to what it used to be. I wonder if that's the style they use in the first knight group? Starting off with the first match. I'm sure we'll do it like in the past without using magic. We prohibited the use of magic when training with the sword after all. ...I should have become considerably strong. However, Mill exceeded me. The difference hasn't been shortened. When I dodge the attack from the wooden sword I end up taking a hit to the elbow and use healing magic to fix my nose bleed. After taking another hit to the elbow I use healing magic on my legs that have been stabbed. This type of training where we both attack the opponent directly is something that only we can do thanks to our excessive amount of mana. I lost the first match huh. "Now, let's go to the next. This time I'll win." "Next time using magic is okay. I'll make you fall to your knees again." s.h.i.t, I'll show you. Since the past we would always hide and train using magic (Or more accurately sorcery. If it comes to using magic then the first to quickly bury the opponent wins so honestly speaking, since I have more mana and the level of my magic is higher I have an absolute advantage). With those rules we start at roughly 2 m from the opponent a distance where just stepping in and swinging can reach. How you manage to dodge the first attack and gain enough distance and time to use magic decides the match. We both stand on guard with our wooden swords while looking at the opponents eyes. Somehow or other it starts. There's no signal. I resolved to take a hit. I thought only about evading that hit without taking it to my head. I guess I'll abandon one arm. I'm sure Mill realized that my expression changed. I can see that there's resolve in Mill's eyes as well. I jump up and leap at her. I stick my left hand out at her with my right hand still holding the sword I lightly guard my head by twisting the sword. I'm sure that Mill's lightning-like stab will come right away. After all I stuck my left hand out as if I was going to use magic as I came at her. Mill took on my invitation. Without a moment of delay I let go of the sword in my right hand and stick it out as well. The sorcery "Stone Bolt". At the same time as short stone arrow is fired from my right hand I take a thrust from Mill with my left hand. The "Stone Bolt" stabs into the gap in the protector of Mill's left shoulder and upper arm. Our faces both distort from the pain. But, I didn't miss Mill's "with this you can't use magic anymore" expression. Normally if you take an injury your concentration is disrupted so it becomes difficult to use magic. However, my dear older sister, I haven't just been playing around~ I pa.s.s by Mill's right side as my left arm is stabbed. I recover my left arm with healing magic as I get up and by the time Mill turns around I show off how it's recovered by lifting my left arm and using "Air Cutter". It's my victory. Mill couldn't even realize what had happened I'm sure. She had certainly done a thrust to her little brothers left arm and while she did take an attack with magic, that little brother should have dropped his sword, been injured and unable to use magic or attack with no other choice than to get beaten up, is what I'm sure she was thinking. She made a surprised expression as she takes my "Air Cutter" to the leg. "Hahahahaa. The blood has started to flow in a good way as you're becoming the Red Witch." I say the lines in a monotone making fun of her. "Wait just a second, what was that just now...Di..Did you finally become able to use magic while running?" Hm...It seems she's grown a bit. "No, I still can't do it yet. Though I can occasionally use it on a fluke." I use healing magic and boast to Mill as she recovers from her wounds. "Then what in the world was that just now? I definitely stabbed you in the left arm." "Yeah, I was stabbed. But I tumbled past besides you right? If you make use of momentum then you don't need to think while moving and you can use magic. I used healing magic to recover my left arm while rolling." Mill was surprised hearing that. "Huh? You recovered in that instant? So you've become able to do that now.." "Ehe...Even if it wasn't healing I could have used attack magic at that moment as well. I intentionally let you off easy. You're acting like you've already won after all. Didn't father always say the ones who don't make good use of their chances will die? In reality if I had used attack magic while rolling and then using attack magic again to finish you off after standing up then older sister should have become a bright red Witch~" "What was that!... Let's start the next match." "We're still going to keep going? It's older sister's victory with the sword, isn't already fine?" Mill responds unsatisfied. "I won't let my guard down anymore. Let's do this." It can't be helped, I pick up my wooden sword that's fallen and stand on guard again. At the same time I think that this probably won't end unless I lose and start thinking about how I can skillfully lose. I guess it should be good if I can surprise her a bit. Since I still haven't succeeded yet I guess I'll try that out. The only time I use magic during a practice match with the sword is when I'm together with Farne. If I show even the slightest bit of gap when I'm going to use magic Farne mercilessly attacks with thrusts and swings. Until now it's been nothing but failures but if I think about the possibility that it actually succeeds then I can only try using it against older brother. This time it's fine if I lose so I don't mind even if it fails. I'm sure Mill will be surprised just by the fact that "I tried to use magic while in the middle of combat with the sword". I flatly think about that while swinging the sword. Mill received my attack with her sword. It's become a situation where the swords are locked together. When I look at Mill's face her beautiful blue eyes are looking here trembling with intense emotion. I notice that my face is reflected in those eyes. That I can do a practice match when I'm this relaxed. I wonder if it's a problem of level and gender, Mill is four years older than me but my strength is a bit higher. I notice that a bit of impatience runs through Mill's eyes. No, I don't know, but I just had that sort of feeling. If she's getting impatient then now's the chance. I open the palm of just my left hand while it's on the handle of the sword. And I activated the magic "Air Hammer". Mill's face twists in surprise and at the same time her body is blown away by a ma.s.s of air. After being blown away she finally stops rolling face down 10 m away. As a matter of fact when "Air Hammer" activated I was surprised as well. I can't believe I actually succeeded...Huh? Mill isn't getting up. Did she get in a bad place!? I run up to older sister while calling out to her in a panic. I need to quickly use healing magic... I run over and crouch down to Mill who's still laying face down and Mill was laughing. "What are you laughing about? I thought you might have been hit in a bad place and worried about you so I was going to use healing magic and this? Don't joke around." "Fufufu...Ku...fufufufu." Did she go insane? I wave my hand in front of Mill's face. There's a reaction. "Hey, if you're alright then heal your wounds, I'm sure there's at least some bruising right?" "...Ufu..Eh? Ah, I guess so.. And with this I'm fine." Mill gets up and asks, "Did you worry about me? and smiles while hitting my head. "That's only obvious. Since you fall down and don't get up. What are you laughing about?" "This time it's my win again." "Huh? I didn't even take one hit. In the first place, even older sister realizes I could have continued attacking after you were blown away right?" "I just hit your head twice. That's why it's my victory." What was that this b.i.t.c.h? "Well it's fine. Rather than that, you've even become able to do something like that... If it's you then I'm sure you would even be able to become a company leader in the first knight group right away. But, I won't say anything bad so after all you should probably aim to be an adventurer. I'm sure you're more suited for that." Why's she saying weird things all of a sudden? I had already intended on that in the first place, even if she doesn't say that I plan to do so.
Year 7442, Month 1, Day 14 Night After suddenly returning Mill explained the reason as "in some meanings a reward for being made a true knight". Just being a member of the first knight group is an honor so going even further and receiving invest.i.ture as a true knight is close to the highest honor for your birthplace. Since that's the case after receiving invest.i.ture as a true knight in the first knight group they're given a holiday of about a month and a half. Since the majority of the members in the Webdos knight group originate from within the territory there wasn't such a system. That's why no one in our family knew about such a convenient system.
Also, after receiving invest.i.ture as knight when a true knight separates from their group the must always have squires with them as guards. Several decades or several hundred years ago I don't know for sure but it seems an extremely dishonorable incident occurred where knight who was away from the group was attacked by a large number of thieves died and had his equipment with the knight group emblem abandoned, because that happened they started giving them guards but I thought if they were attacked by an even larger group wouldn't there be no meaning? Though remaining quiet is the adult way. I'm sure they probably just want to put limitations on the mentality of the ones attacking by giving them a guard after all. After hearing the heavy reason she was accompanied by guards on her return and Mill finally touched on the main point. That's right. Why was Mill able to become a true knight this fast? Obviously no one thinks Mill is showing off and lying but just in case I'll have Sonia use tea as an excuse to get her attendants to come to the dining room after dinner. Yeah, we can deny the possibility that Mill is misunderstanding something after all. After I returned to the dining room from putting the horses into the stable she talked about these sorts of things. After preparing chairs for the two attendants and myself the dining room really was at its limits. After finishing dinner and offering the squires who arrived in the dining room some tea while thanking them for their long trip and Hegard nervously starts trying to confirm Mill's story as he listens. The squires had extremely good manners and didn't just affirm the story but even explained the situation in more detail. By the way, after the squires appeared in the dining room Mill's manner of speaking returned to when she arrived and it's a polite and proper way of speaking that you wouldn't think it's Mill. The explanation that the squires gave us about Mill were all unbelievable so everyone started to show confused expressions. The only ones who weren't confused were sister-in-law Shani who only had a shallow relationship with Mill and my nephew and niece. Incidentally, my nephew Zett and my niece Becky are both being held in Mill's arms right now. Since they've already gotten considerably big putting aside temporarily it must be painful to keep holding them like that. It doesn't really matter though. While the squires continued to talk about Mill's reputation in the knight group they must have noticed that we were making confused expressions and asked Hegard, "Was there something that you didn't understand?" and Hegard couldn't respond with anything other than, "Ah, No" or "Uh, No" so the explanation continued. Even if you put it moderately their impression of Mill was extremely high. Since I could tell that the both of them were clearly older than Mill and had some doubts because one of the squires was Mill's senior. I wonder why neither one of them shows any sort of envy towards Mill? Even though they're squires since they're in the first knight group then they should have originally been knights as well. And considerably skilled ones at that. Obviously, they should have their own pride and confidence. They've been exceeded by a young girl from this countryside. While there should be feelings of mortification I don't think it's something that should give him a high opinion? The doubts within me increase. Around the time I thought of cutting into the conversation the squires conversation finished. If I were to simply summarize the story: - Her results on the entrance exam weren't particularly outstanding. However, the speed with which she used magic wasn't normal furthermore it was confirmed that she could use several types of magic so she pa.s.sed. Yeah, this is fine. I can agree with it. The other members of the family nodded as well this far. Sister-in-law Shani was a bit surprised because she didn't know her very well. On the contrary the squires made a disappointed expression that none of us were surprised. - She started from the lowest rank squire (Rank 5 of the 6th Squad it seems), but it didn't take much time for her to show how she exceeded all of her fellow squires that were ex-knights, in just a single month she made it to Rank 4 of the 6th Squad. Since no one really knew Farne must have represented that and said, "What kind of period does it normally take to raise your ranking?" The squires responded with, "Normally it takes about three months." I wonder why they decided on her promotion that quick? Sharl asked representing everyone's doubts, "Was there some sort of criteria?" the response was, "Up until Rank 3 of the 6th Squad you can get promoted if you pa.s.s an exam that occurs every month for those who wish to take it." The promotion exam for Rank 4 is composed of everything learned in the cla.s.ses the information required for a knight in other words a paper test it seems. At this point everyone was confused again. Of course, sister-in-law Shani as well. Putting aside practical skill, I thought there's no way Mill could properly answer on a paper test which tests your knowledge and preparedness. However, one of the squires (since it's become troublesome I'll just start using their names. This squire is Glohortz.) said "The exam always starts with academics. Lord Greed was extraordinarily excellent even when it came to studying. Not just the content of the standards but she mastered all of the text content for rank 4 within one month. Of course, in the end you must be able to do it either way but it's not easy to manage it in one month. Nevertheless, I'm sure it's still possible. There were several cases in the past as well." to which everyone sighed. I can understand up to here. Remembering the information that a normal knight spends three months to memorize in a month, while it seems difficult but if you're good at memorization then it's plenty possible. Putting aside in my past life, there weren't a lot of people who were great at perfect memorization but it wasn't all that unusual. It's just my personal opinion but I feel like the actual amount they were required to memorize wasn't all that much as well. In this Orth then no matter how you think about it there's no way they'd be required to learn more than a student in my previous life. Since Mill is young I'm sure she's better at memorization than the other squires who are older. - Just before the summer after that she pa.s.sed the Rank 3 Squad 6 exam as well and was promoted further. This was considerably fast just like the rank 4 exam but still not all that unusual it seems. In other words the amount to memorize just increased. Up until here while it's somewhat fast, it's not like no one manages it, and if they're smart then it's not anything surprising. In Orth I think being good at memorization is included in being smart. However, from there on it shouldn't go so easily? - After that she pa.s.sed the exam for Rank 2 of Squad 6. At this point she started to gain the attention of the members of the knight group. Practical skill should start in the rank 2 exam. You can guess that from the explanation up until now. In the first place, Mill shouldn't have ever ridden a horse. Entering the group in the middle of January, most likely going to Rank 4 by the middle of February, since he said before summer she should have made Rank 3 by June. Then reaching Rank 2 by July or August? Is it something that's possible within six months from entering? This time the squire Amzel responds. "The exam for Rank 2 is synthesized. In addition to all of the content up until then there's a combat exam. You do 20 consecutive practice matches against active duty knights. It's said that the results of each practice match don't have any influence on your a.s.sessment but there's no record of anyone winning them all up until now. Lord Greed was the first one in the records of the knight group that had a complete victory." Wh...What was that!? No wait, that sounds fake... I don't think I would lose if I use my bayonet recently but if I were to do 20 matches consecutively I have confidence I'd start to lose around the 5th or 6th match. Probably around the 10th match I'd lose them all. It's not something to brag about but isn't it only obvious? I'm sure everyone else was thinking the same thing as me as they had various doubts in their expressions. "No really, it isn't a lie. Ah, everyone doesn't know well how skilled Lord Greed is with magic? Lord Greed is an unparalleled user of both magic and sorcery. It's nothing more than that this was confirmed once again during this exam." It...It can't be she used attack magic? Against a living knight? That absurd "Fire Ball"? She'll kill someone. My parents and my face went pale from the horror and my older brother and his wife are nodding because they haven't really seen Mill use attack magic properly. I guess sister-in-law Shani has understood that Mill's skill with magic is outstanding and acknowledged it. However, sister-in-law, that isn't a proper understanding. In any case, the squire Amzel's words continued. "Lord Greed aimed for the horses of the first few with fire and then when the horses flinched she aimed for their feet with "Flame Arrow Missile" and sent them falling over. When riding a horse during a practice match the moment you fall from the horse you lose. After that no one appeared on a horse. After seeing that no one was riding a horse Lord Greed descended from her horse as well. After that she used "Flame Arrow Missile" for the first hit and then won victory be using a second attack of magic when the opponent flinched." "When it comes to close combat at the point where two attacks have clearly landed or one side forfeits the outcome is decided. Against opponents who didn't flinch she created distance without hesitation and used "Flame Arrow Missile" again to gain victory. Of course, there are several knights with enough skill to use magic in the knight group as well." "It was even more simple when facing them. When the opponent was using magic Lord Greed just made sure that her magic hits faster after all. There's most likely no one in the knight group that can activate magic faster than Lord Greed. Therefore, the moment she confirms that the opponent is using magic she just has to make sure that she lands a hit with magic first while they can't move. At that point the opponents magic is obstructed as well." "After that she used the same tactic of making distance and definitely landing hits with "Flame Arrow Missile" to finish the matches. Just like this she won by injuring more than 10 knights and 4 horses. The last five were unprecedented, each company's leader, the sub-leader of the knight group, and the leader himself. They can all use magic. Among them there was even a strong person who didn't hesitate in using wind magic to blow them self away." "However, Lord Greed won by feinting that she was going to use "Flame Arrow Missile" and when the opponent took a defensive stance she used the non-guided "Flame Arrow" while charging and cutting at them immediately. She won by catching the opponent off guard since she had only used "Flame Arrow Missile" which you can't move while guiding it until then." "Furthermore she used not only "Flame Arrow" but a small "Fire Ball" to wrap them up the explosion range, feign that she's not going to use magic and then once she got close suddenly use "Flame Thrower" to damage them, or once she makes some distance using "Flame Arrow Missile" to finish them off. Against opponents that can use wind magic she made a dirt hill in front of her right after reading the opponents charging at her and won." "During the practice match with the sub-leader she used something other than fire magic for the first time, she did damage with "Ice Cone" while at the same time scattering ice beads to block his vision then she stopped maintaining the magic and during the short time the ice beads were still there she went around to his blind spot and won. When she finally faced off against the leader everyone realized that Lord Greed hadn't used all of her power." "The moment it started she used large scale ice magic to freeze the knight group leader. The range was too wide I don't think there was any way of evading it. Most likely 5 m in every direction was frozen. If we just left it like that then the leader probably would have suffocated to death so in that moment the match was decided. Lord Greed immediately changed the ice to water and saved the leader. And then used healing magic on the wounded knights and horses." I'm sure the squire Amzel himself got excited as he was talking about it. His face was slightly red and there was sweat on his forehead. Certainly if you limit the power on it then the magic "Flame Arrow Missile" only uses about 7 MP. It seems that Mill was fighting while conserving energy and probably only used about 200 MP to take on 20 consecutively. I'm sure she should have had plenty for the healing magic after. But...No, for now it's fine. Squire Glohortz continues after that. "Obviously she pa.s.sed the exam in a way that no one could complain about. Since not a single knight even succeeded in landing a hit on Lord Greed after all. In other words, putting aside several at once, there's no knights that can win against Lord Greed one on one in the first knight group right now. After that there was an uproar. Everyone know that her skill with magic was somewhat excellent but no one realized it was to that extent." "That level of skill was plenty to be called a sorcerer and the knight group leader said that both her skill and amount of mana exceeded that of the Kingdom's top royal sorcerer Marquis Dasline. Certainly her skill with the sword still has some room for improvement but Lord Greed is still young and the youngest among the active duty knights. She still can do as much training as she wants and while he said she still has room for improvement but she's properly keeping up with the training of our first knight group. Her skill exceeds that of the average knight." He's going all out in praising her without restraint. Even if you were to say he was older or her senior there's no other choice than to accept that he's her subordinate with how he's acting. The squire Amzel says "After that, as expected Marquis Dasline came to the knight group and said he wanted to see Lord Greed's skill with sorcery but I'm sure the leader was being cautious of her being scouted so he completely rejected it. Thanks to that we all can receive the guidance from a rare genius sorcerer. There's nothing happier than this." And said that ending the explanation. Farne and I exchange glances and look at Mill's face. Realizing that Mill's faced down in embarra.s.sment while cuddling Zett and Becky. Eh? What's this? It seems that in order to take the exam for Rank 1 of Squad 6 you need to gain experience in Rank 2 for at least one year. However, after a year had pa.s.sed Mill only had to take the practical skill tests for sword and horse riding and she was exempted from practice matches. After that she took an interview and pa.s.sed. When they're still squires it seems that the exam for horse riding isn't all that severe yet. Normally, squires don't ride horses after all. It seems that even then Mill modestly continued her att.i.tude without becoming arrogant and earned a favorable impression from the members of the knight group. And then the squires of Rank 1 Squad 6 are taken along as attendants during live combat. Obviously even the Rank 5 squires of the first knight group have excellent abilities as a knight but they only start doing the real work for the first knight group starting from Rank 1 as squires it seems. What's with that elite track? Are they the rumored Narashino first airborne squad that says non-Rangers aren't people so they aren't allowed to be in exhibition descents? * Last year, it seems Mill partic.i.p.ated in two conflicts. At the start of the year and the end of the year. If you think about the frequency conflicts occur then she partic.i.p.ated in two consecutive battles. And she played an active role using magic. Since she was using the rubber protectors she started to be called "Black Witch" or maybe not, no one knows. What's with that, is she a third-rate villain? Mill laughed with a troubled face. Thanks to her achievements after the conflict ended at the end of the year she received a recommendation from the knight group leader and received invest.i.ture as a true knight. And in order to show her achievements to her home town she received a holiday. It was a bit long but it's good that we got to know about a side of Mill we didn't know. We thank the two squires for explaining things to us even though they're tired and decided to rest for today. Since Mill doesn't have a room she's going to sleep together with me in my room. It can't be helped so I surrender the water bed to Mill and place a rubber sheet on the dirt floor then when I was about to lay down Mill asked if I wanted to sleep together with her so I decided to take her up on the offer. It was a bit painful because of how confined it was but Mill showed admiration for the water bed. It seems there's rumors about the rubber water bed in the capital recently so she knew about its existence but she had never used it. It can't be helped so, "Since older sister can use water magic there shouldn't be a problem so you can take this back with you. Since it's a prototype it's not quite as comfortable was the ones circulating though." I said that and she was delighted. "More importantly than that, what did you say to hide the fact that you have a lot of mana?" It's an important matter. I need to make sure to confirm this. "Eh? Ah, I said it was because the level of my magic skills were high. I said while I can't use wind magic they're all considerably high level. Of course, I didn't tell them what my level was. But I suggested that they were around level 50." I reflexively coughed. That's big even fore a huge lie. Even if only the person them self can see the level of their own special skills level 50 is absurd. In the first place, the maximum level of special skills should be the same as unique abilities at level 9. My void magic level is the highest but since it still hasn't gotten to level 9 I don't know for sure if level 9 is really the max though. Aren't they probably the same? "Eh...isn't that going too far... did they really believe that?" "I wonder? It seems that the top royal sorcery Marquis Dasline has only just gotten to level 7 the same as me recently. That person is already past 60 years old so even if he gives his best he'll die soon. I'm sure he knows how much time he has remaining. It probably won't be exposed." What's she saying? However, I guess you can say it's not an incorrect theory? If all of your magic other than wind were level 50 then with just that your MP amount would be about 200 and as long as someone isn't keeping track of how many times she used what magic on an everyday basis then they shouldn't easily be able to predict how much mana she has. I guess it's fine as long as there's no one that can perceive the concept of MP or how much mana there is? No wait, in the past after seeing our training mother almost accurately guessed Farne and Mill's mana amount. Even if there's no concept of the number value there's a possibility that they'll count how many times each magic is used. "Hmn, but I don't think you should relax with that and still hide the amount of mana you have. Since no one knows if they still have enough mana to use magic when their opponent can still use magic, you never know what could happen. Mother is always saying to make sure you always have mana remaining after all." "That's only obvious, it's my life line after all. If they were to aim for when I run out of MP then it would be bad. Magicians and sorcerers are scary because you never know how much mana they have remaining. I'll keep it hidden no matter what." I see, then that's fine. From here on out, someone might be able to figure out but it's better the longer the period it takes for them to figure it out. "Ah, and I want you to teach me but what's the difference between a magician and a sorcerer? The squires were calling magic as sorcery as well right?" "Yeah, they're the same. We call magic "Flame Arrow Missile" right? They just call that sort of magic with a name that's a combination of several types of magic as sorcery. And if you're able to use about three types of that sorcery with a reasonable amount of speed then they don't call you a magician but a sorcerer. Al, we're sorcerers." Oh, it's just a difference in name. How boring. "Hmn, I see. Even if they say that it's not like there's anything particular to it right? It doesn't matter." "Sorcerer is like a t.i.tle given to people who master sorcery, it seems that just being able to call yourself one is an honor but it seems that in the past few years it's become a popular word. It seems it was originally a word used in Glanan Empire and the Kingdom of Backlooney in the east. As a mater of fact I don't care at all either." Hm, a word that came from outside of the country huh. Well it doesn't matter, it's about time to sleep. "I see now, then good night, Black Witch-sama" "Gu...Really, stop it with that already." "Blaa~ ck Witchhh~ samaaa~" "The next time you say it I'll smack you." I need to limit my teasing to about this much. Year 7442, Month 1, Day 15 After being kicked away by Mill's bad sleeping posture I woke up. After using up all of my MP in the middle of the night I ended up falling asleep on the floor in the end so when I woke up the next morning my entire body was stiff and hurt. d.a.m.n it~ In any case I woke up before the sunrise the same as always around 5:00am and it seems Mill was awake as well. And then Mill puts on her clothes and starts equipping her protectors. When I was wondering what she was going to do as I observed her, "Stop s.p.a.cing out and you quickly get ready as well. I'll take you on a bit before breakfast." And started saying that. I'll show you. I quickly start getting ready and after preparing two wooden swords I go to the training area a bit of a distance away. Fufun, watch and be surprised. However, it seems Mill is grinning as well. That's the expression she makes since the past when she's thought of some sort of secret weapon. Since she doesn't think about it enough if you were to ask me the majority of tests didn't go well. This time she's most likely making that face thinking she can overwhelm me. "Then, let's start. I won't go as far as killing you and if you get injured I'll heal you." "Ke...That's my line, I'll change you into a bloodstained Red Witch." We both stand on guard with our wooden swords at a distance of about 10 m. It feels like her stance has been refined compared to what it used to be. I wonder if that's the style they use in the first knight group? Starting off with the first match. I'm sure we'll do it like in the past without using magic. We prohibited the use of magic when training with the sword after all. ...I should have become considerably strong. However, Mill exceeded me. The difference hasn't been shortened. When I dodge the attack from the wooden sword I end up taking a hit to the elbow and use healing magic to fix my nose bleed. After taking another hit to the elbow I use healing magic on my legs that have been stabbed. This type of training where we both attack the opponent directly is something that only we can do thanks to our excessive amount of mana. I lost the first match huh. "Now, let's go to the next. This time I'll win." "Next time using magic is okay. I'll make you fall to your knees again." s.h.i.t, I'll show you. Since the past we would always hide and train using magic (Or more accurately sorcery. If it comes to using magic then the first to quickly bury the opponent wins so honestly speaking, since I have more mana and the level of my magic is higher I have an absolute advantage). With those rules we start at roughly 2 m from the opponent a distance where just stepping in and swinging can reach. How you manage to dodge the first attack and gain enough distance and time to use magic decides the match. We both stand on guard with our wooden swords while looking at the opponents eyes. Somehow or other it starts. There's no signal. I resolved to take a hit. I thought only about evading that hit without taking it to my head. I guess I'll abandon one arm. I'm sure Mill realized that my expression changed. I can see that there's resolve in Mill's eyes as well. I jump up and leap at her. I stick my left hand out at her with my right hand still holding the sword I lightly guard my head by twisting the sword. I'm sure that Mill's lightning-like stab will come right away. After all I stuck my left hand out as if I was going to use magic as I came at her. Mill took on my invitation. Without a moment of delay I let go of the sword in my right hand and stick it out as well. The sorcery "Stone Bolt". At the same time as short stone arrow is fired from my right hand I take a thrust from Mill with my left hand. The "Stone Bolt" stabs into the gap in the protector of Mill's left shoulder and upper arm. Our faces both distort from the pain. But, I didn't miss Mill's "with this you can't use magic anymore" expression. Normally if you take an injury your concentration is disrupted so it becomes difficult to use magic. However, my dear older sister, I haven't just been playing around~ I pa.s.s by Mill's right side as my left arm is stabbed. I recover my left arm with healing magic as I get up and by the time Mill turns around I show off how it's recovered by lifting my left arm and using "Air Cutter". It's my victory. Mill couldn't even realize what had happened I'm sure. She had certainly done a thrust to her little brothers left arm and while she did take an attack with magic, that little brother should have dropped his sword, been injured and unable to use magic or attack with no other choice than to get beaten up, is what I'm sure she was thinking. She made a surprised expression as she takes my "Air Cutter" to the leg. "Hahahahaa. The blood has started to flow in a good way as you're becoming the Red Witch." I say the lines in a monotone making fun of her. "Wait just a second, what was that just now...Di..Did you finally become able to use magic while running?" Hm...It seems she's grown a bit. "No, I still can't do it yet. Though I can occasionally use it on a fluke." I use healing magic and boast to Mill as she recovers from her wounds. "Then what in the world was that just now? I definitely stabbed you in the left arm." "Yeah, I was stabbed. But I tumbled past besides you right? If you make use of momentum then you don't need to think while moving and you can use magic. I used healing magic to recover my left arm while rolling." Mill was surprised hearing that. "Huh? You recovered in that instant? So you've become able to do that now.." "Ehe...Even if it wasn't healing I could have used attack magic at that moment as well. I intentionally let you off easy. You're acting like you've already won after all. Didn't father always say the ones who don't make good use of their chances will die? In reality if I had used attack magic while rolling and then using attack magic again to finish you off after standing up then older sister should have become a bright red Witch~" "What was that!... Let's start the next match." "We're still going to keep going? It's older sister's victory with the sword, isn't already fine?" Mill responds unsatisfied. "I won't let my guard down anymore. Let's do this." It can't be helped, I pick up my wooden sword that's fallen and stand on guard again. At the same time I think that this probably won't end unless I lose and start thinking about how I can skillfully lose. I guess it should be good if I can surprise her a bit. Since I still haven't succeeded yet I guess I'll try that out. The only time I use magic during a practice match with the sword is when I'm together with Farne. If I show even the slightest bit of gap when I'm going to use magic Farne mercilessly attacks with thrusts and swings. Until now it's been nothing but failures but if I think about the possibility that it actually succeeds then I can only try using it against older brother. This time it's fine if I lose so I don't mind even if it fails. I'm sure Mill will be surprised just by the fact that "I tried to use magic while in the middle of combat with the sword". I flatly think about that while swinging the sword. Mill received my attack with her sword. It's become a situation where the swords are locked together. When I look at Mill's face her beautiful blue eyes are looking here trembling with intense emotion. I notice that my face is reflected in those eyes. That I can do a practice match when I'm this relaxed. I wonder if it's a problem of level and gender, Mill is four years older than me but my strength is a bit higher. I notice that a bit of impatience runs through Mill's eyes. No, I don't know, but I just had that sort of feeling. If she's getting impatient then now's the chance. I open the palm of just my left hand while it's on the handle of the sword. And I activated the magic "Air Hammer". Mill's face twists in surprise and at the same time her body is blown away by a ma.s.s of air. After being blown away she finally stops rolling face down 10 m away. As a matter of fact when "Air Hammer" activated I was surprised as well. I can't believe I actually succeeded...Huh? Mill isn't getting up. Did she get in a bad place!? I run up to older sister while calling out to her in a panic. I need to quickly use healing magic... I run over and crouch down to Mill who's still laying face down and Mill was laughing. "What are you laughing about? I thought you might have been hit in a bad place and worried about you so I was going to use healing magic and this? Don't joke around." "Fufufu...Ku...fufufufu." Did she go insane? I wave my hand in front of Mill's face. There's a reaction. "Hey, if you're alright then heal your wounds, I'm sure there's at least some bruising right?" "...Ufu..Eh? Ah, I guess so.. And with this I'm fine." Mill gets up and asks, "Did you worry about me? and smiles while hitting my head. "That's only obvious. Since you fall down and don't get up. What are you laughing about?" "This time it's my win again." "Huh? I didn't even take one hit. In the first place, even older sister realizes I could have continued attacking after you were blown away right?" "I just hit your head twice. That's why it's my victory." What was that this b.i.t.c.h? "Well it's fine. Rather than that, you've even become able to do something like that... If it's you then I'm sure you would even be able to become a company leader in the first knight group right away. But, I won't say anything bad so after all you should probably aim to be an adventurer. I'm sure you're more suited for that." Why's she saying weird things all of a sudden? I had already intended on that in the first place, even if she doesn't say that I plan to do so.
