Chapter 19: Little girl by the roadside, part 4

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Translator: Denryuu


Surprisingly, nothing unusual happened in the few days after that strange encounter.

「Roland, does this technique have a name?」

Meiri chose a small twig and thrusted it at me with a swish.

「It doesn’t.」, I said as I parried her swipes.

Having an aptitude for learning, Meiri had little trouble remembering whatever I taught her, be it fighting stances, weapon handling, dodging, defense or offense. Like dry sand meeting water, she readily absorbed everything.

「You can name techniques if you want to, although I personally don’t think it’s necessary.」

「Hmm… ‘Backslash’!」

Having given it a name, Meiri started charging at me from behind. She intended to execute a backhand swing, using her dagger (a branch for now) to slash at me, just as I had taught her. While keeping my back to her, I reached behind and grabbed her arm.

「Ehh!? Wha–!? But you didn’t even look!」

She’s become a lot more cheerful since we found her.

「If you keep saying its name, your target will notice and be on guard.」

「But, but… it’s not cool if you don’t say it out loud!!」

It would be pathetic to die while trying to look cool. I gently poked her cheek.

「And that’s the 253rd time you’ve died.」

「Muuuuu… Roland, you’re so mean!」, Meiri cried while puffing up her cheeks.

Frustrated at my refusal to go easy on her, she threw the twig at me. I flicked it away with ease.

「Nice try.」

「Neko-chan! Roland just…」

She dashed towards Lyla, who had spread a picnic mat on the grass to sit on while watching her training.

「How many times have I said that I’m not a cat! Roland’s right you know, it’s not just for fun.」

Meiri hugged Lyla for comfort. Lyla, seemingly not as averse to it as I thought, returned the hug and patted her head, consoling her.

「Roland’s too strong…」

「Yeah. He’s the only one who has ever defeated me. He’s not gonna lose to a little whippersnapper like you.」

「Hmph…」

Seeing that she wouldn’t take her side, Meiri thumped her little fists on Lyla. She laughed.

「Ahahaha. You’ve really started carrying yourself more gracefully. You don’t have much raw strength, but that ‘Backslash’ earlier was really well-executed.」

「Roland taught me… he gave me lots of advice…」

「He can be a bit mean, but you won’t find anyone in this whole wide world who’s better than him at fighting.」, Lyla said while drinking the tea that she had brought with her. She continued, 「Meiri’s already pretty good, isn’t she? Without setting too high a bar, she’s plenty strong enough.」

「By my standards, she still has a long way to go, but for the entry test… she should be up to scratch by now.」

Meiri stared at us in curiosity while listening to our exchange. As she seemed rather clueless about it all, I explained the merits of becoming an adventurer.

「Will Meiri become an adventurer?」

「You can do quests at your own pace. If you don’t want to, you can always do other stuff.」

At this point, Meiri was strong enough to take on the average street thug. She was not only physically fit enough, but also well-versed in defensive techniques. I’m fine with her not becoming an adventurer, but seeing how enthusiastic she was, I brought her to the adventurers’ guild that same day.

「Oh hi, Roland-san! And Warawa-san! And Meiri-chan. What brings you here on your day off?」, Milia asked as we approached the reception.

Meiri, who was holding hands with me, promptly hid behind me.

「I came today to register her as an adventurer.」

「Oh, to register her? Ehh!? At such a young age!?」

「Yeah. I feel that she’s good enough.」

「Well yes, there’s nothing stopping her from taking the test and becoming a registered adventurer if she passes…」

Milia seemed a little worried, but arranged for the test anyway. Meiri filled in the registration form — name, age, skills, etc. For some reason, she was literate. She probably had had some sort of education in the past.

「Her magical and practical skills will need to be assessed… today’s examiner is… oh. Morley-san, someone’s taking a test!」

Employees with the relevant experience act as examiners on a rotational basis. Today was Morley’s turn.

「Eh? A test? Fine by me, but I won’t make allowances just for that little kid.」, snickered Morley when he saw Meiri.

She knitted her eyebrows in response.

「Bad luck, kid, having a former C-rank adventurer like me as your examiner, aye?」

Morley guffawed loudly as he thumped his own forehead.

「Allowances will not be necessary.」

「I know, I know, how about I pull this kid’s head out of the clouds? Make her give up? I guess that’s part of my job too –?」

He was having a blast talking down to Meiri. I wouldn’t be surprised if he was the kind of person who enjoys bullying those weaker than him.

Being acutely aware of Lyla’s presence, Morley put on his best handsome face and continued:

「Adventuring is more dangerous than you think, y’know? It’s not a bad thing to discourage weaklings from the start, aye?」

Clutching his coat and with a wooden sword in hand, Morley went outside, moving against the wind. He was cool as long as you only looked at him from behind. He probably did that only to show off to Lyla.

「Heh, I’m all ready to be entertained.」, said Lyla.

「Don’t get too excited.」

With the former C-rank adventurer taking the lead, we arrived at a plain at the outskirts of Lahati. The magical assessment would take place after this, it seemed.

「Weapons, magic… anything is possible in this test. Do your best, ok?」

Morley lightly thumped the wooden sword on his shoulder. I handed Meiri a dagger.

「Use this. I bought it for your use today.」

「Roland… thank you…」

I had picked a dagger as it was easy for Meiri to use — the blade was barely fifteen centimetres long. I reminded her to keep it in the sheath for safety purposes. After getting herself in the right frame of mind, Meiri gripped the hilt with her tiny hand.

「I hope everything goes well…」

It wasn’t just Lyla who felt that Meiri is like her own child — so did I. Just a little.

Meiri made her move. Agility is an assassin’s greatest asset.

「She’ll be fine.」

It helps a lot to have a small stature too.

「No, I don’t mean her…」

Before Lyla could finish her sentence, Morley swung his wooden sword downward. Meiri sidestepped it, changing direction. He had left his back exposed, and Meiri knew it. In the blink of an eye, she disappeared from sight. By the time Morley noticed her behind him, it was too late.

「‘Backslash’!!」

Pachin!!

The dagger made direct contact with Morley’s buttocks.

「Oo-gyaaaaaa!? My, my ass –」

「‘Backslash’!!」

Meiri entered his blind spot once again.

「Owwwwwwwww!!」

「‘Backslash’!!」

「Gyaaaaahh!! Why always my ass — !?」

People hate nothing more than being struck again in the same area. I had taught her this just earlier today.

「‘Backslaaaaaaaaaaaaash’!!」

「Okay, okay, stop, stop!! Please — !!」

Morley tossed his sword away and yielded.

Afterwards, her magical assessment took place back at the guild. Although she didn’t quite meet the standard, they passed her anyway, writing it off as ‘possible room for improvement’. That night, we celebrated her success.

「Hey, hey! It’s just as Roland said! It was amazing! Meiri just attacked and it worked!!」

Lyla and I watched an ecstatic Meiri as we ate dinner. I know this feeling very well by now.

It’s ‘warmth’.


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