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Chapter 136

Both of our bodies were in terrible shape, and so the on-duty priest’s suspicion was reasonable, but we both shook our heads. The priest channeled a healing spell for a while, and our bodies quickly recovered.

Nonetheless, when our injuries were being examined, I peeked over and saw that Ellen’s condition was more serious than mine. Her arms and legs, covered under her long-sleeved top and long pants, were covered in bruises and blood.

“It seems like this one was in a sparring match, but what did you go out and do?” The on-duty priest asked. He was wondering how we ended up in such a state.

Ellen shook her head. “It’s the same for me.”

Ellen did not say more, and after being magically healed, Ellen and I left the room where the on-duty priest was stationed and headed back to the dormitory.

“... thought you were just out having fun. What did you do?”

I thought Ellen had been out playing around with the other girls, but it seemed like Ellen had gone somewhere completely unexpected.

“I went to the white-haired ajumma.”

“... What?”

‘The white-haired ajumma? What is that supposed to mean?’

“I asked that ajumma to teach me how to fight.”

“... You mean our boss?”

Since Ellen and Harriet knew about the Rotary Club, there was no reason to hide it from her.

“... Yes.”

‘She went back to Loyar again? Even after such a harsh experience?’

I think I understood her reasoning. It might have been the shock of losing in such a manner for the first time in her life.

Was it really such a shock to be told to get lost because she was of no help? Was it so shocking that it would drive one to seek out the person who had tried to kill them, and ask them to teach you how to fight?

“Hey... I get why, but... Don’t do that.”

“...”

I had sternly warned Loyar not to harm Ellen any further, but she was the sort that lost all sense of reason once she got worked up. I knew that, since I had seen her fight before.

“Seriously, you could die if you get beaten by her again. You have to pick your battles wisely.”

I didn’t know why Loyar had agreed to spar with her in the first place, but Ellen’s body was virtually wrecked. If Loyar had lost control of her strength for just a moment, Ellen could have actually died.

“I never want to experience that again,” Ellen said.

She never wanted to go through the experience of being powerless despite wanting to do something. That was what had caused Ellen to sit in the rain, blankly, looking miserable.

She didn’t want to feel that way ever again.

When we reached the dormitory lobby, Ellen reached out and took my hand. She kept her head down, not looking at me.

“Reinhart.”

“Uh... yeah?”

She sounded as if she was pleading.

“Who you are, who that person who beat me was, and why that person tried to kill me, and why they suddenly decided not to kill me. Also, why you lied after being kidnapped and released... I won’t ask about any of that.”

Harriet and Ellen knew that the statement I’d made after being released from the kidnapping was a lie. I had been kidnapped and released, but claimed that I didn’t know anything about it. I had falsely testified that I had simply come to and found myself free.

However, since I was only released after Loyar intervened, both Ellen and Harriet knew I was hiding something.

Even so, they had not voiced their suspicions about Loyar or myself, and had promised not to be curious about it either.

“So, let me at least do this.”

Ellen was asking me to overlook her training with Loyar in exchange for not asking any questions.

It wasn’t a matter of whether I would permit it or not. After all, Loyar was supposed to be my boss.

In reality, though, I was Loyar’s superior, and therefore, the decision did indeed rest with me.

Although it seemed strange for Ellen to make such a request of me, I was, in fact, the right one to ask.

She wanted to become stronger. Despite already being strong, she was vexed that she had been defeated by someone stronger than herself.

It was a peculiar feeling.

Originally, Ellen was supposed to be a character with little desire for competition. She was just naturally good at everything, so winning or losing didn’t matter much, but she always ended up winning. That was what it meant to be a freakish talent.

However, after getting involved with me, Ellen had been dragged into various incidents, and in the end, faced with several desperate situations she had wished to solve but couldn’t with her own strength, she felt despair.

That was why Ellen had developed a new motivation—a desire for strength.

“... Fine.”

‘I guess I’ll have to tell Loyar to go easy on her.’

“But...”

“...?”

“It seems like you’ve made some new friends lately and you don’t pay attention to me anymore. That’s crazy.”

“... Oh.”

Ellen seemed a little flustered by my comment and spaced out for a moment. Then, she looked down slightly and murmured softly, “Sorry.”

“... No, no. That’s not what I wanted to hear.”

I was hoping for her usual reaction, something along the lines of “What are you saying?” or “What’s that supposed to mean?” I wasn’t expecting an apology.

‘Wow, she’s seriously trying hard to not get on my nerves, isn’t she?’

It seemed like it was going to take some time for her mental state to normalize.

***

Despite suffering so much physical abuse, Ellen returned to tip-top condition immediately after receiving the miraculous healing magic from the on-duty priest.

As for me, it was just like the beginning of the semester, when I’d been training intensively to improve my poor physical condition. I knew that the healing would take a lot out of me, and I ate much more than usual to prevent malnutrition.

On Friday, after classes were over, I went with Ellen to see Loyar, and told her directly to take care of her. Loyar was reluctant. Although I phrased it as a favor because Loyar was nominally the boss, ultimately, it was a command.

“So, boss, please take good care of her.”

“Ah... That’s going to be a bit difficult.”

“I don’t want to! Why should I do this?” said Loyar’s eyes, but my eyes were saying something totally different: “If I tell you to do it, you do it, kid!”

Although we were maintaining the necessary formalities on the outside, I was indeed giving her an order.

“... If you get hurt because I fail to control my strength well enough, it’s not my fault, okay?”

“Yes. That’s fine with me,” Ellen responded bravely.

Loyar seemed certain that Ellen wouldn’t come back after the fierce lesson she’d been given in response to the nuisance she’d caused, but Ellen would probably keep going back until she was satisfied.

Ellen had a strong heart. Even though Loyar had genuinely tried to kill her, and Ellen knew it, she still approached Loyar nonchalantly, asking to be taught how to fight.

The club members seemed excited to watch their duels, but Loyar, not wanting to perform in front of anyone, took Ellen to a secluded area. The others seemed disappointed.

I took the chance to examine the new clubhouse that was being built. It was a massive clubhouse that would be able to accommodate around 200 club members.

The construction was being supervised by the club’s second-in-command, Dybun.

“Shouldn’t we hire professionals to take care of this?”

They didn’t seem to have hired any professional workers, but were building it themselves.

“People who’ve been around have tried all sorts of things. Among them, wouldn’t there be people who have worked in construction before?”

“Oh.”

Apparently, the folks within the club were a rag-tag bunch with tumultuous pasts, and some had been involved in construction and design work before. Although Dybun didn’t seem to come from such a background, there were apparently people with knowledge or experience in that field who were doing the designing and supervising the construction efforts.

There were all sorts of people around, with plenty of them skilled in at least one thing. That fact was surprisingly refreshing.

“It’s all thanks to you, Reinhart.”

“I just said a few words, that’s all.”

“A few days ago, the Thieves’ Guild even offered some substantial support so that we could build it even bigger.”

“Is that so?”

They had attempted to eliminate the Rotary Club, but had ended up receiving significant aid from me. It seemed like they were trying to save face by offering to contribute generously to the construction of the new clubhouse.

Even a criminal organization like them had a certain level of pride that they felt compelled to maintain.

‘The Thieves’ Guild should be so grateful that they should bow to me three times a day.’

Still, considering how many might have died if matters had escalated to violence, it was fortunate that everything surrounding my kidnapping had been resolved without bloodshed.

After taking a quick look around the construction site, I headed over to where Ellen and Loyar were training.

The area we were in was located at the very southern tip of the imperial city, and was completely uninhabited. If you went further south, you’d hit the forest.

In the short time I’d spent checking out the construction site, it seemed Ellen had been thoroughly thrashed. She rolled across the ground before dusting herself off and getting up.

“Can you use a sword?” Ellen asked, unperturbed, as if she wasn’t in pain at all.

“I don’t really use one often... But why not, I guess? Sure.”

Ellen threw one of two practice swords she had placed near a tree to Loyar, who caught it. This explained why she had taken the practice swords from the Temple.

“Hmm... It’s been a while since I’ve used a sword.”

Despite that remark, Loyar seemed to have an exceptional mastery over the sword.

Of course, she primarily relied on her strength and speed, but ultimately, Ellen stood no chance against Loyar, even with a sword.

Ellen’s preferred way of fighting was to counter by deflecting the sword strikes, shifting her center of gravity, or dodging in unexpected directions.

However, Loyar’s swordplay possessed enough destructive power to shatter a training sword upon contact, and she was incredibly fast as well.

Thus, Ellen couldn’t even attempt to counterattack or take the initiative; she simply dodged as best as she could until Loyar caught her in a vulnerable moment.

There was a vast difference in their baselines.

The overwhelming difference in their physique rendered skill irrelevant, and Ellen seemed to have come to that realization.

Rather than feeling despair, however, it merely seemed to help her gain a deeper understanding of what more she needed for herself.

I hadn’t told Loyar or Eleris about Ellen’s true identity, and only mentioned that she was an extraordinary individual.

I wondered how Loyar would react if she knew Ellen was the brother of the hero Artorius, who had killed the Demon King.

Would she say that she had to be killed immediately?

Anyway, I quietly observed the lycanthrope, a demon spy, training the younger sister of humanity’s greatest hero, in front of the prince of the Demon Realm.

***

After a whole evening of training, Ellen, the club members, and I, all beaten and battered, gathered in one place to have a meal.

It wasn’t a proper meal, just rice balls.

However, it was clear that the club’s finances had improved. The rice balls weren’t just plain rice, but contained something resembling meat.

“Ouch, young lady. It looks like you got beaten up pretty badly over there. Are you alright?”

“The boss really has a foul temper.”

“What kind of person beats up a kid like this?”

“Shut it, you bastards! It’s not like I hit someone who didn’t know how to fight at all!”

The club members had many comments to offer as they watched Ellen, who was a mess, chomping down on her rice balls.

When she had arrived, no one had been as neat or pretty as her. At the moment, though, she was eating rice balls while looking much rougher than even the club members, which made her look utterly pitiful.

Her hands trembled as she held the rice ball, which said it all. Loyar hadn’t been able to control her strength even if she’d wanted to, since Ellen wasn’t someone she could handle casually. Hence, for the training to be effective, it was inevitable that Ellen would end up battered like this.

“... I’m okay.”

Ellen, looking far from okay as she munched on her rice balls, tried to get up unsteadily.

“Argh...”

—Whoa! Hey, hey! Are you sure you’re okay?

There was a huge commotion from the club members as she tried to rise to her feet uneasily.

“Kid, you’re making me look like the bad one,” Loyar said with a sigh. She clicked her tongue as if Ellen was a nuisance to her in many ways.

“I will come back again...”

“No, please don’t.”

“I will.”

I supported the limping Ellen, and the club members peppered me with blatantly transparent jibes.

—Reinhart, you...! You really are a gentleman, huh?

—But Reinhart might actually be weaker than that girl, right?

—You’re right.

—I can already sense how he’s going to be completely dominated by her in their relationship.

—That girl is no ordinary piece of work either. The way she got up so stubbornly after being beaten down by our boss like that...

“Damn it...” I muttered under my breath.

It seemed a strange misunderstanding was starting to grow into a reality among the club members.

“Are you okay?” I asked Ellen.

“Y-Yeah...” She replied.

Ellen seemed to have no energy left to even walk on her own.

I felt strange. Loyar had overwhelmed Ellen, whom I could never beat even once. However, Loyar had also mentioned offhandedly that, in a few years, she wouldn’t stand a chance against Ellen.

While Eleris was an exceptional individual, I came to realize anew that Loyar was no less formidable.

In the end, Ellen collapsed from exhaustion while walking, and I had to carry her back to the Temple. I ended up getting a workout of my own as well.