Chapter 81: “A Panther’s Change!”
I came home from the Duke of Clef’s house and sat on my bed. I’ve come away with no useful information. Well, if such dramatic progress had been made in a single day of research, the information would have leaked out long before that. The fact that no such information has come to light so far means that it’s not a simple matter of doing a little research.
Even if the nobles didn’t like each other, it’s impossible for them to harass each other so blatantly. They might harass each other or drag each other down in a way that isn’t visible to the naked eye… but to go to such lengths to pick a fight with a frontier count’s family would be quite a feat.
This might not be about the third prince’s forgiveness anymore…
Oh, my God. There can’t be some big conspiracy. It’s not like it’s a comic book or a novel… if there was a conspiracy like that in real life no one would be able to sleep peacefully.
I don’t… No?
All right. Let’s go to bed. I’m going to bed. Good night.
******
Come on, let’s get killed this morning!
Come on, Flora.
“Yes!”
I still haven’t been able to take one from my mother or even fight her properly. I’m at an age now where my physical age is no longer an issue. And yet I can’t even beat my mother… this world is full of superhumans… That’s no wonder there aren’t any brave souls who’ll reincarnate or transfer to this world… No one would bother to come here if Earthlings are inferior…
I still can’t reach my father. The only time I’ve gotten more than a scratch was when I caught him off guard with my buff magic for the first time. He’s loosened up a bit since then. He’s never been able to reach me again. We’re both monsters in this house.
Dodge the thrust. And move forward. I can’t do that. It’s not a sound you’d expect to hear from a spear thrust. and the spear snatches my head at a tremendous speed.
Even if you dodge a thrust, the pull is so fast it’s as if you’re being attacked from behind. This is where a weapon like a halberd comes in handy. They’ve got blades and claws… and they can end you if you’re caught in a spear coming back from behind. This isn’t a drill. It’s life…
I try to move forward to meet the pull, but my father’s sword comes at me, trying to cleave my torso. So… I’ve been training with my mother against him and him against me. Since they’ve come to King’s Landing they can’t train together anymore so it’s just him and my mother instead.
That’s impossible… This would be easier with four people. What the hell is it like dealing with both my mother and father at the same time?
He was close to my father’s body, but I blocked his sword. We mustn’t take each other seriously. I must be getting pretty big now, and I still can’t even hold my father in a Tsubagakure. He blows me away the moment he gets it. I almost feel as if my father and mother are getting stronger as I get stronger.
No matter how hard I try, I can’t keep up. Am I really getting stronger? It’s like I can’t catch up to my father or my mother. I don’t even feel like I’m closing the gap.
“There!”
“Hmph!”
Oh no… My father’s trajectory is to knock me off my feet. My mom’s gonna poke me in the chest. There’s no way to dodge both at the same time…
“Duh!”
I fly in a straight line horizontally in the direction of the spear and spin around to parry and thrust at the same time. But I’m still in the air, spinning.
“Phew!”
And then comes my mother’s thrust. How fast she pulls… I land on the ground head first with both hands and immediately use my buff magic to strengthen my arms and fly backwards as fast as I can. I’m not sure if I can do it with just my arms or if I have to break away fast enough to dodge my mother’s spear. I can hear my arms creaking.
What are we gonna do without our weapons?
“–!”
I fly backwards with both arms, my father closing in on me. I gave up my weapons when I flew with my arms. But now I’m crouched on the ground. I can…
Dirt!
“Nuh?”
Earth magic creates spears. They train me with a sword all the time, but I practice with a spear too. But for some reason they only let me use a sword in morning and night combat training. If I could create weapons with my magic I’d have spears and everything else I want. My father didn’t say anything the last time I conjured a weapon. If you can use a spear with reach you can still fight.
“Hey!”
“You’re sweet, Flora. You’re forgetting about your mother, aren’t you?”
I tried to poke my father, but my mother was coming at me from the opposite direction. But of course I haven’t forgotten. I’d be more careful with my mother than with my father, who takes it easy on me. I’ll always be on my mother’s radar.
“Phew!”
“Huh!”
He thrusts at my father to gain distance and time, and then immediately thrusts at my mother in the opposite direction. Fangtian gegeki and halberds are nasty weapons. But they’re heavier and more cumbersome than regular spears because of all the bells and whistles. If you’re just going to thrust them at each other, a normal spear would have the advantage.
“Wow… You shot your mother’s spear down with that thing.”
As she said, my spear met her halberd and knocked it away. I was able to intercept her spear without touching its edge.
But it’s not over yet.
Dirt!
DUN! and I stamp my foot to activate the earth magic. A wall of earth forms between me and my father, who is closing in behind me. My father’s huge sword is about to cut through the wall of earth, but I’m not there anymore.
“Yah!”
“Hmm… I’m not quite there yet.”
“What? “Boo!”
I should have used the mud wall as a blind to my father’s side, but instead I found myself with the hilt of his sword lodged in my gut. I stopped breathing and fell to the ground.
This is it.
“Ka-ha! Giggle… Yes. Thank you very much.
I didn’t get it today. Am I really getting stronger? I’ve been training for a decade and I don’t feel like I’m getting stronger. This world really is full of superhumans from the point of view of earthlings. I have no choice but to wield my sword again today and tomorrow so that I can at least defend myself.
******
Today’s breakfast is a Japanese set meal of white rice, tofu and miso soup. It may seem a little short, but it’s just right. Now that soybeans can be grown, we can make tofu. Tofu is made by pressing soybeans to make soy milk, then heating it and adding bittern. It’s not as easy as it sounds, and it took a lot of trial and error and failure, but we’ve managed to make something we can call tofu.
Also, bittern is a by-product of salt production, so it’s easy to get in our house. The soybean lees from the soymilk are called okara, which can also be used in many ways.
“Are you eating that again, Flora? Everything you make is delicious, but your mother doesn’t like it.”
My mother shakes her head when she sees my breakfast menu. For some reason, Japanese food is not well received. Well, it’s not that I want her to understand, or that I’m trying to spread the word. I made it because I want to eat it, and as long as I can eat it, it’s fine.
And are your father and mother still here? When will you return to Khazan?
My initiation’s over. I don’t have to stay here forever. My mother and father are probably too busy to stay in King’s Landing forever.
“Well! Flora, you tell your mother to go back to her estate quickly… You’re making her sad. Oh, no, no, no, no, no…
“I didn’t say that, but I thought you and your mother were both busy.”
My mother is mimicking crying and I rush to follow her. I know she’s not really crying, but she’ll sulk if I leave her alone, so it’s right to follow her right away.
“Maria and I will still be here for a while. Don’t worry, we’ll keep you in training until we get back to the territory.”
“… Yes.”
Well, I’m not worried about that at all. In fact, I’d be more concerned if you’d go back to your home territory as soon as possible.
And so, after the usual breakfast, we headed for the school.
******
Looks like I was the first to arrive today. The classroom is as empty as ever. The five of them aren’t going to harass me by coming before me. I train every morning so it should be easy for them to get here before me…
Why are you here again? Do you savages have a lot of free time in the morning?”
Good day to you.
I say hi to the five guys who finally show up, but as usual, they don’t say hi back. I don’t really want to get to know these guys…
But still… My plans have gone so wrong… My plan was to join the school and have fun with the cute girls every day…
Come to think of it, it’s been that way in social situations too. I thought I’d get to know the ladies of the society, but in the end I hardly ever showed up at any of them. And even if I did sometimes, I’d get snubbed just like the first time, and I don’t have any fond memories of it.
That’s strange. I was born into a high ranking noble family… and I’m not that bad looking thanks to my mother’s good looks… So why am I so unlucky with friends?
Is it my personality? In my previous life, I acted socially on the surface, but in reality, I was just a recluse who went to work… I wonder if it’s because I have a personality problem that things aren’t going well…
While I was thinking about that, the noise around me was getting louder and louder. Soon the students gathered and classes started. I had not been harassed in the morning today, so I was hoping that the situation would calm down.
******
We’re heading to the cafeteria for lunch. We’re supposed to eat lunch in the cafeteria at this school. However, you are not required to eat the food in the cafeteria. Just like in Japanese schools, you are not allowed to sit here and there and eat as you like, but you are free to bring your own food or eat from the cafeteria menu.
One or two groups are basically eating lunch boxes brought by butlers or maids. I’m not sure if that counts as a bento. I’m not sure if that’s considered a bento or not. They are not simple bentos like the ones in Japan. Some of the higher-ranking members even rent the kitchen of the cafeteria and have the cooks they brought with them prepare the food on the spot.
I eat the lunch Katerina brings me. But sometimes it’s good to order food from the cafeteria. My bento is totally on the level of a Japanese bento. My lunch is obviously not the same in the cafeteria.
It seems that most of the students in the third and fourth classes have ordered food from the cafeteria. However, since the number of seats in the cafeteria is limited, the students of Classes 1 and 2 occupy most of the seats, while the students of Classes 3 and 4 take turns to use the small space.
By the way, the school building and the cafeteria are separate for each grade, so there are only first years here. And the cafeteria is bigger and more luxurious than the school building. What the hell is this school for…
After eating a small lunch compared to the sumptuous food around me, I return the lunch box to Katharina and leave the room. We’re allowed to have family members in the cafeteria. We’re not allowed in the classrooms unless we have business there.
I was walking from the cafeteria to the school building when I saw a group of female students walking towards me from the other side of the building. They were the three girls who had been gossiping about Ludwig, Helene, and me behind my back at the entrance ceremony. They were the three students from Class 3?
But it didn’t matter. My eyes were fixed on the girl who was leading them. My heart skipped a beat every time she came near.
A drill-head wig with blonde hair in vertical rolls. A dress with a tight red skirt like no other in the world. They must have made a new one just like the one I gave you. There’s no way she could’ve worn the old one because her body size has completely changed. And the design has changed slightly.
Still, there’s no way I could mistake this girl. Finally, I’m close enough to her to say she’s in front of me.
Hi, Alexandra! Alexandra!
I never thought that she also attended this academy… Surely a high ranking countess would have enough requirements to attend this academy. The Lingerburgs were the highest ranking of the Carruthers, so it’s no wonder they could attend the academy…
“Will you please step aside? And then… Don’t ever speak to me again.
“… Eh?”
I don’t understand a word Alexandra’s saying. I’m stunned out of my wits in an instant, and Alexandra and her three students walk past me. The three of them giggle at me as they pass.
Why? Alexandra? Me and Alexandra didn’t have a bad breakup. We both wanted to be with each other, and then circumstances forced us apart… That’s all it was.
And what did Alexandra just say to you and how did she behave?
He totally knew it was me. And then he just stared at me with those cold eyes and told me never to talk to him again and walked away like he wasn’t even interested in me.
I can’t think straight. I’m… I’m finally reunited with Alexandra, but what the hell happened to her? I walked back to the classroom in a daze, unable to think straight.
