133. Spring Outing (1)

It is the border of the kingdom of Isilia, and the eastern front.

Inside a large barracks. A woman was sitting at a round table.

Her seat of honor, Eunice Callia, crossed her arms with her pensive face.

“Just this week alone, there were a total of three engagements with the Imperial Army… The ambition of the empire is getting bigger and bigger.”

Eunice Calia in the low, low voice of a woman. A small wrinkle formed between her brows.

The kingdom is confused.

Recently, the westernmost part of the kingdom. They said that there was a war in Countess Cianella’s family. The opponents are monsters and demons.

The situation at the easternmost point was not very good either.

Since the empire, in its lust for territorial expansion and conquest, keeps stimulating our Marquis of Calia and watching their liver. It wouldn’t be strange if a battle breaks out once in a while.

The relationship between the kingdom and the empire is already in a bad state. Therefore, the royal family is keeping an eye on the dynamics of the empire and the safety of the Marquis of Calia, and now some of the royal troops are stationed in the territory.

In this situation, something more troubling happened.

“What should I do with this… ….”

An elf from the Great Forest, who had been hiding in the forest, came to find himself staying at the border of the Marquis of Calia.

Secretly so that no one notices.

─Lady, we can suppress the imperial army’s spirit. The forest on the border between kingdom and empire is our territory. It’s simple.

At first it was sweet words.

─But… I have a condition. In the near future, support soldiers loyal to the Great Forest clan. And listen to the small requests that will come later. If it’s the brave women of the Marquis of Calia and the elegant women of the royal family… It will surely be of great help to us.

I have a question.

Why are you trying to borrow the kingdom’s soldiers? And if you look at it objectively, the empire’s military will be much stronger than the kingdom. Are they trying to borrow our military, or if they are trying to leave us.

So I asked, and I was able to hear the answer.

─The reason for borrowing the military… You’ll find out when the time is right. And if you ask me if I chose a kingdom over an empire…… We elves are beings who know how to ride our destiny. A small blue… I’ll let you know next time.

As the elf said that, he showed a most alluring smile.

─You seem to have a lot of questions. In three days, we elves will officially come to the kingdom. Then, let’s talk more deeply.

─… Wouldn’t the Empire be even more wary if the Forest Clan were to make an official appearance in our Marquis family?

─It’s okay.

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The arrogance of the elves at that time will never be forgotten.

─They are just like candlelight that go out when they blow after standing in front of us. You don’t have to worry about the imperial army like that. We elves will easily handle that much….

Elves—

─Since we chose you… I think you’d better get ready to greet us and not worry about the Imperials.

On a winter day before spring came, he began to intervene in the chaos of fate.

* *

“Whoa… ….”

I calmed my breath, wiping away the beads of sweat that formed on my forehead. Recently, he has grown more muscular and stamina than before, but unfortunately he was not strong enough to fully digest the sparring with Siabelle.

My body was very heavy, weighed down by fatigue and heavy protective equipment. So I sat down on the floor of Ainel’s private training room.

I took a moment to catch my breath and think.

‘Time has already passed so quickly.’

Time passed by relentlessly.

Time passed helplessly. The pure white snow that covered the ground melts, and little by little the green begins to breathe life into the frozen ground. The sun, which rose higher than before, increased the duration of the sunny day and encouraged budding life.

The power of the northern winds is diminishing, and warm spring breezes and sunlight are cast in its place.

Finally, the winter full of damn events is over, and spring full of hope with flowers blooming has arrived.

And I didn’t sit idle until spring came.

‘It was difficult.’

In the meantime, I have been sparring with Siabelle.

‘I’ve never seen one of them while facing swords all this time.’

At first, it seemed like they were paying attention, but…. At some point, Siabelle’s sword became so tenacious that it was quite embarrassing.

Besides, I’m afraid he’s not an expert superman.

His stamina was amazing… Do you even know the concept of being tired? Siabelle said if I had the strength to wield the sword one more time, she would continue the sparring without stopping.

‘… Even though they’re sisters, their personalities are different from Shione’s.’

If it were Shione, after sharing the sword to some extent, she would say she was exhausted and collapse.

Even when he caught her angle and attacked her, Sia Bell was sweating profusely. He showed no signs of being tired. Rather, he even giggled as if the situation was going to be the most amusing thing for him.

If it was Shione, he would have been wriggling under the covers for two days, saying he didn’t want to move… After all, Siabelle did not know that she was tired even on the top of the castle wall and tore through enemies.

She could be said to be of a different kind than I thought.

“But….”

In the meantime, it wasn’t just hard training, there was definitely a small harvest.

‘One quest has been cleared.’

Did the good story of Shione spread steadily within the territory? Before she knew it, her reputation with Shione had improved beyond compare to her previous battle.

Of course, her countess, who was directly verbally abused by her Sione, though the servants there don’t seem to like her yet. They also acknowledged the merits Shione had accumulated in this war.

When her universal title changed from an incompetent low-ranking nobleman to a valiant archer, the reward of her quest came down to me.

‘Completely unlocking up to a certain level of mana improvement and blocked abilities.’

The total amount of mana increased, and her efficiency also increased. That was enough progress.

And more importantly, the full release of abilities. And that ability was my elemental magic and basic physical abilities.

Not only did the power of spiritism greatly increase, but it also became possible to fine-tune the body to be more suitable for spiritism. Mana efficiency has definitely improved, so I’ll be able to use more daring techniques in the future.

In addition, archery has also gained a lot. His senses became sharper and he was able to shoot his bow more quickly. His forged senses are very good compared to his entire body, so it will be of great help when handling not only the bow but also the sword.

Gradually, the outline of my ability is starting to be captured when I roll in the damn dungeon. If I can cruise at this speed now, I should be able to restore my strength within a year or two.

But—

‘The Torrent of Destiny… ….’

The torrent of fate that Princess Adelheit said was caught.

Anyway, the princess who can see fate personally informed me that this count’s family would be caught up in the torrent of history. Something will hit the target.

It took quite a while to not know what variables the torrent and all would create.

As I was thinking to myself, Siabelle took off her heavy protective gear and cooled off in a sweat. As she draped her hair down, she was looking down at me.

“Today was more fun than before. The use of swords and the use of magic are getting better and better… Didn’t that sharp wind startle me a little earlier?”

“I think you destroyed it too easily to be surprised.”

“Because it is a skill that can be seen and avoided just by reading the flow of your movements.”

“… Did you see that?”

Sia Belle just smiled mischievously and shrugged her shoulders.

… I kicked her off the ground with her left foot and shot her right foot forward to roll her toes. At the same time, an attack that drew her from the bottom left to the top right. It was an attack that was carried out with the help of magic and at terrifying speed.

Siabelle must have seen it again.

“My eyes are a bit better.”

Siabelle tapped my eye area with her index finger.

Then she reached out her hand to me who was sitting on her ground.

“… Let me borrow your hand for a moment.”

“What, you are my disciple. Take it easy.”

I took Sia Belle’s hand and stood up from her seat.

After that, she took off her protective equipment and tidied it up appropriately, and finished preparing to leave the training ground.

As the thick protective gear disappears, the occasional cool breeze from outside brushes against the skin, creating a sense of refreshment.

“Shione must be at the shooting range right now, right?”

“Yes, right now you are probably taking a break from shooting your bow.”

“Good. Let’s go together to the shooting range.”

“You mean together?”

“Yes, I have something to say to Sione.”

“I can tell you—”

Sia Belle shook her head in the middle of her sentence.

“I want to tell you directly.”

I quietly nodded at her words.

Seeing my reaction, Sia Bell moved her steps away, brushing her hair roughly with her hand.

I ran after her.

We arrived at the gymnasium shortly after.

There were still quite a few clumsy recruits at the training ground.

Quite a few people who lost their lives in the last war were replaced with new personnel. When Siabelle and I appeared, they looked at us with a feeling akin to envy, as if for granted. It seems that the achievements of Siabelle and I have spread even more deeply among the new recruits.

Me and Siabelle passed them and entered the shooting range.

“Shione… Oh, there you go.”

Siabelle’s gaze turned to a corner of the shooting range.

In her eyes, the face of someone she was happy with along with Sione came into view.

I also followed her head to check Shione.

“You were with Flora.”

On a blizzard day, a clumsy recruit who caught kobolds together and worked with orcs.

Recently, Shione has been talking more and more with Flora during breaks like this. Sometimes they watch each other shoot arrows and even hold them. Little by little they formed a friendship while Siabelle and I were swords to sword.

‘… I never thought Shione would make a friend.’

I have a childhood friend named Noah Belleia, but she and Shione are quite entangled, and we rarely see each other, so we move on.

I am proud of the fact that Shione, who seems quite cold outside of me, made such a friend. If we keep up this momentum, one day, Shione will be able to make at least three friends. I have to cheer you on.

‘By the way, Flora’s skills have also improved a lot.’

Maybe it’s because I went through a war once and was with Sione, who was good at archery.

Flora’s skills have grown remarkably. Little by little, her trembling arrowheads also calmed down, from tying and pulling her strings to arrows that were shot straight and sharp. Her lack of tips were filled and she was transforming into an outstanding ranger.

She didn’t know much when she was young, but maybe with enough time she could become a pretty famous ranger.

Siabelle and I approached Sione.

Then Flora saw the faces of Sia Belle and me and she trembled and she immediately lowered her head.

“Oh, hello… !”

… Still, it seems that it can’t be helped that the fence is weak except when shooting a bow.

Well, I don’t know about Shione, who has gotten used to it, but when our next head of household visits, I can’t help but feel a bit scared.

After a brief exchange of greetings, Flora slipped back and began shooting her bow again.

The story comes out by itself, Shione and Siabelle. The three of us were divided.

Shione tilted her head in a cute way and asked.

Then, when she saw me behind her, her face turned red.

“Sister, what are you doing here?”

“The story I wanted to tell came and I came right away as soon as the sparring was over. Sione, is it okay for a second?”

Nodding.

As soon as Shione gave her permission, Siabel quietly crossed her arms and gave her a satisfied expression.

“We decided to play together at the last festival, but it got caught that we couldn’t play together. Winter is over and now the days are a bit relaxed, so I wonder if it would be nice to go to the estate together.”

“You mean with your sister?”

“Yes, she knows some pretty good restaurants and places to see. Zion says she suddenly wants to be a combat priest, and since she lives in church every day, she can’t help it. How about going back and forth with only a few attendants and my sisters?”

“Umm… ….”

After Shione pondered over Siabel’s words for a moment, she let out her words as if Siabel had been waiting for them.

“I know the pretty plum tree road… Maybe by now the plum blossoms will be blooming beautifully, right?”

“Maehwa… ?”

“Yes, Maehwa.”

“Umm… ….”

Shione fell into deeper trouble. Looking at her Hana expression, she seemed to be almost inclined to play with Siabel.

Because there is no plum tree at the count’s place. If you want to see plum blossoms, you must inevitably go outside the count’s residence.

The perfect hostage for Sione, who loves flowers.

Shione eventually agreed to Siabelle’s request.

“… I’ll go.”

“I’m glad. When to go… I’ll let you know after I’ve roughly coordinated the date. Are you fine?”

“Yes. I’ll wait for you, sister.”

Siabelle stroked Shione’s hair with a familiar gesture.

As expected, Sione closed her eyes tightly and felt her touch.

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“My disciple will be going with me, so look forward to it.”

“Okay.”

After the story ended, Siabelle went back first.

Me and Shione came out of the shooting range shortly after.

Shione walked with more cheerful steps than usual.

Then she jumped out in front of her dodo and turned her body around to face me.

“Ray, Ray.”

“Yes?”

“Lay, do you know the flower language of plum blossoms?”

My boss seems very excited to hear that she is going to see plum blossoms.

In the end, I had to tire of listening to her thoughts on plum blossoms until I returned to my room.