Chapter 23
Shuffle, shuffle!
Every time Alicia’s sword moves, a slightly less than adult-sized golem cleanly splits in half. Despite wielding a massive sword, her movements flow smoothly and swiftly into the next.
One, then another.
She conserves strength with minimal movements, ruthlessly and fiercely striking down her enemies. The gentle gaze is nowhere to be found, replaced by the predatory aura of a fierce predator.
“What… She wasn’t a beginner; she was an amazing expert…?!”
Emily, who was watching the scene, blurted out her thoughts with her mouth agape.
Even at a glance, it’s clear how biased she was against Alicia.
She probably underestimated her because of her refined appearance. The things she has been through are beyond imagination.
Thinking, “She can handle such a large sword as easily as a kitchen knife. She’s even stable!” is undoubtedly wrong.
Current Emily may be able to wield a sword, but she struggles with maintaining precision and form. Other than being somewhat agile in terms of stats, there’s nothing particularly noteworthy about that guy.
It must be surprising that Alicia, who looks delicate to the point where it seems she couldn’t even lift a chopstick, is superior to herself and experienced in combat.
Well, her gentle demeanor disappears as soon as she enters combat, fiercely cutting down golems like a fierce beast.
Who could have transformed Alicia, who was so gentle? I don’t know, but well done.
A breeze brushes past their ears.
Shya⎯⎯⎯⎯!
Despite the distance, the air vibrates strongly enough to ring their eardrums. The culprit of that sound swiftly reloads the next arrow, aiming and delivering additional shots.
A dense concentration of arrows surrounds Alicia’s sword, as crowded as the frontlines facing the enemies, showcasing Serena’s impressive archery skills.
Serena remains expressionless, piercing through golem heads one after another.
She carefully observes the targets, aligning her shots in an order that doesn’t interfere with Alicia’s movements and poses a threat.
With a significantly high accuracy rate, most of Serena’s arrows either pass through or embed themselves in the golems.
Not a single word of admiration or yawn. Serena, who hadn’t even changed her expression slightly, faces the oncoming golems.
Just a slight change in her gaze, and she smoothly follows the complex orders I had given.
Even though the instructions were quite demanding, Serena nods as if acknowledging the validity of my opinion, maintaining her position.
Indeed, she’s still useful as she is now.
“If you call them useless.”
“This guy…!”
From a little distance away, another male member of the group can be heard grunting.
Finn, wielding a longsword. No aura. Not a weak one; completely absent.
Although his blade has grazed the golems a few times, there is virtually no damage. Only minor scratches appear, not leading to fatal injuries.
“Argh!”
In contrast, Finn’s body is accumulating more and more residual wounds, indicating a significant depletion of stamina.
His breathing becomes increasingly labored.
“With that guy.”
“….”
This guy, like a lifeless stone, gazes at the other group members with eyes filled with various emotions, doing nothing.
“Why are you just standing there like a fool? Quickly free the hostages so this drama can end.”
As Emily was lost in thought, I urged her on.
One cannot overlook idleness when there is work to be done.
Then, Emily, whose focus had drifted momentarily to the distant battlefield, returned her gaze to her original position.
In the current training session, Emily is tasked with rescuing the hostages.
In the armory, through the selection of their respective weapons and united training, the members’ teamwork was raised to enhance closeness.
“Do you not even consider the harm that may befall others? Everyone is out there fighting golems and attracting attention. It’s too bothersome to bother freeing hostages.”
“Ha, I was…! It’s not bothersome. …Why are you so confident while you’re just resting… huh?”
Sitting on a jet-black chair maintaining a form, I did not seem pleased, as Emili countered.
This concept is nonexistent.
“Do you even have thoughts? If I were to step in, it wouldn’t end so easily before confirming the members’ skills. Foolish.”
“So. Why do you act as if you’re the only one evaluating… huh.”
“This is surprising….”
Truly surprising.
I displayed a face that had not seen such absurdity in a long time. It was an expression not often made to maintain dignity.
But it slipped out like this.
“You really think so ignorantly as to consider your kind equal to me.”
“…Ugh.”
Upon hearing my words, Emili gnashed her teeth but tried not to show it as much as possible.
The issue is that it shows when others see it, but I let it go as the generous one here. There is a separate attitude when dealing with such matters.
“Well then, fine. It seems you’re even more foolish than imagined. Showing directly will surely smooth the progress of future events.”
As I stood up from the armchair, the black chair maintaining its form returned into my shadow.
“Go on and work diligently to unlock the prison door from there. I’ll be back soon.”
“But then…!”
“It’s best to do it quickly. If after I’ve resolved everything else and you still couldn’t open a single door, it means your value is that much.”
“…It’s just a door to open…”
Walking towards the group of golems, leaving behind the quite rebellious Emili.
Wild animals like Emili shouldn’t be dealt with in words. They need to be shown directly.
Maybe she’s hoping I make a mistake or feel embarrassed right now. It’s good to create an excuse for her to come after me.
….
But, well.
The results are understood without saying.
***
“Emily, are you alright? You don’t look well….”
As the unity ended abruptly by Vargan, the group finished their practice and changed back into their school uniforms in the dressing room divided by gender.
Approaching Emily, who leaned against the cabinet, immersed in frustration like a person with a loose screw, Alicia speaks with concern.
“If you’ve pushed yourself too hard, shall I cast a healing spell on you? Or should I take you to the infirmary?”
“Oh, I’m fine. Alicia, I was just… pondering my own worth.”
“Huh? Um… I’m not sure what you mean, but if it’s tough, please let me know. I’ll do my best to help if there’s something I can do.”
Emily looked into Alicia’s clear eyes.
It’s a pure area that seems to have no impurities visible. It’s so different from the merciless way she was dealing with golems just moments ago.
Straightening her swaying body, Emily faced her. Alicia also adjusted her posture, waiting for her to speak.
“Alicia, you said you’re Vargan… Vargan’s attendant, right? Is he normally such a ruthless person?”
“Oh… It was related to the young master. Hmm… Were you talking about magic or about personality?”
“Both.”
As soon as Emily replied, Alicia’s slightly embarrassed reaction continued.
Then, even though she thought it would be obvious, Alicia looked around before covering her mouth to speak only to Emily, lowering her voice.
“…You’ve always been like that.”
“As expected.”
Emily chuckled, saying she had expected that.
“You must be going through a lot.”
“No, it’s not a struggle.”
“Since that person isn’t around, you can be honest. Even without looking, it seemed like a tough road. Really.”
“This is something I enjoy doing.”
“Really…?”
Alicia raised her voice again and showed a gentle smile.
Emily couldn’t believe Alicia’s words, but her reaction seemed so genuine that she started to feel confused.
It seemed not only important what was being said, but also who was saying it and how.
“How can you work under such a person and still be so positive? If I were in your shoes, I would have run away unable to endure being under that person.”
Emily said just imagining herself being hugged by her arms gave her chills.
Upon realizing something, Alicia excused herself briefly and started fixing Emily’s crooked ribbon.
“It may seem absurd, but he’s a good person. He may seem intimidating and misunderstood, but he’s actually very warm-hearted.”
“That person…?”
In response to Emily’s reaction, which seemed to warn against telling such lies, Alicia remained kind but firm in her opinion.
“I think you’ll come to know naturally as you spend time together. I used to be scared of Lord at first, but now, not at all.”
“And now?”
“Well… It’s hard to put into words.”
Alicia, satisfied with fixing the ribbon neatly, smiled contentedly and added to her previous response.
“Respect, trust, gratitude… Isn’t that it?”
Emily was speechless in the warm smile of Alicia, feeling like she knew her even without long conversations.
“Alicia, you are truly an amazing person in many ways.”
***
Alicia and her group emerged from the dressing room and headed to the waiting room together. In the waiting room, the ongoing battle of Jo was being broadcast live, and other team members were watching.
However, two people standing there stood out.
Emily smiled unknowingly when she saw one of them, her childhood friend Liam. It was a strange face she couldn’t recognize in the always cheerful Liam.
And the man facing him.
“What’s this, why are you grabbing me so recklessly?”
Bargan. He showed signs of discomfort as Liam put his hand on his shoulder to control his actions.
But Liam, despite his usually playful demeanor, stood his ground seriously.
In a slightly tense tone, he spoke confidently.
“Bargan, let’s talk elsewhere for a moment.”
Without hesitation, Bargan, with a disdainful look as if seeing something insignificant, immediately responded.
“No.”