Outing (4): The Sword Ghost Revealed
"……."
Beatrice blinked repeatedly, unable to easily accept or believe the scene she'd witnessed. Of course, from midway through, Kyle's hand had covered her eyes, so she hadn't been able to see most of what happened.
Even so, she'd heard the sounds, and through her mana, she'd sensed the situation around her with a visceral intuition. At the very least, she'd realized long ago that this was far from a normal situation.
There were dozens of mysterious men who clearly weren't there for any good purpose, at first glance. And the grim-faced one who seemed to be their leader was obviously in the ranks of the strong, just by looking at him.
Beatrice had always excelled at detecting mana, even before Kyle began teaching her. That's why she could tell.
……6th Hierarchy.
The measure of martial prowess classified in the world as Hierarchy. That scarred man was undoubtedly at the sixth stage of it.
Even back in the count's household, she'd rarely seen knights who'd reached the 6th Hierarchy. Her biological father, Count Edenberg, was an exceptional mage at the upper levels of the 6th Hierarchy…… but he was a mage, after all, and the head of a noble house to boot.
Moreover, since her father was a 6th Hierarchy mage, Beatrice had no choice but to understand just how impressive that realm was.
He…… cut off his arm in one strike.
She'd seen it. Right before Kyle covered her eyes out of concern for the shock it might cause her, a flash-like slash had severed the man's arm.
It was astonishing. She'd gasped so sharply that her breath caught for a moment.
A beautiful, exquisite strike—above all, impossibly powerful and perfect sword aura. It was so brilliantly executed that it made perfect sense how a 6th Hierarchy powerhouse could fall so pathetically.
I knew he was strong, but……
Beatrice knew it, of course. Just how incredible a swordsman Kyle was.
From their first meeting, he'd moved so fast that her eyes couldn't even track him.
And even after she'd begun seriously training in mana, Beatrice still couldn't gauge Kyle's level. That meant he was concealing his mana so skillfully that it surpassed her insight.
She'd been seeing 6th Hierarchy users since she was ten. So she knew how to pierce through that level.
That's why, though she'd never asked directly for fear of being rude, she'd sometimes cautiously speculated in her heart that Kyle might be beyond the 6th Hierarchy—perhaps one of the even greater powerhouses.
But just a few days ago, she'd withdrawn that hypothesis upon hearing he'd been a mercenary before coming to pick her up……
If you'd reached such an exalted realm, why would you work for others?
-So your father wasn't just some ordinary mercenary, was he?
That wasn't it.
It had been a misconception. She'd underestimated him just because he'd said he'd worked as a mercenary.
Dangling from Kyle's side like a pendant, Beatrice thought to herself.
That man, who had sacrificed his subordinates to escape only to have his head lopped off in the end, had uttered those final, hollow words in a dazed voice.
-Sword Ghost, Kyle……
Her new father's name was definitely Kyle. So, was he the one the moniker Sword Ghost referred to?
Even a ragged orphan girl scraping by in the back alleys could eavesdrop on worldly affairs.
And from what she'd heard, the Sword Ghost was one of the absolute powerhouses who'd begun making a name as a new member of the Seven Strongest a few years ago.
His other epithet was Mercenary King, or something like that?
Suddenly, all the puzzle pieces clicked into place.
Her new father was one of the Seven Strongest. A monstrous being beyond human limits, capable of toppling a city single-handedly—or even an entire small nation.
Gulp.
Beatrice swallowed dryly without realizing it, hesitated for a moment, then wriggled her body to try slipping out of Kyle's arms.
"Oh, sorry. Were you uncomfortable?"
Sensing her movement, Kyle realized with an oh no and quickly set her down.
Finally standing on her own feet, Beatrice awkwardly scanned her surroundings. And as her red gaze drifted toward the headless corpse at her feet—
"That's not a sight for a child."
"……Urk."
Kyle swiftly reached out, covering Beatrice's eyes again and pulling her toward him. She reflexively grabbed his wrist, but of course, it didn't budge.
Resigned to it, she sighed and spoke up.
"Is it over now? Are they…… all dead?"
"Mm."
Kyle didn't answer, merely letting out a complicated hum.
Beatrice could guess what he was thinking. He probably saw it as something too harsh for a young child like her to see or hear.
But there was one thing Kyle didn't know.
"It's fine. I'm pretty used to this sort of thing."
That she'd already witnessed corpses and all sorts of grim scenes multiple times. Edenberg's back alleys were relatively clean, but a shadow was still a shadow.
From the start, it was a world where an orphan without parents couldn't expect to see and hear only good things.
If anything, men approaching with naked hostility and weapons were far scarier…… but the noble young lady who would shriek and burst into tears at the sight of such men dying no longer existed.
Hearing her utterly matter-of-fact tone, Kyle seemed to vaguely realize this.
"……Yeah, it's all over now."
His voice carried a hint of pity as he finally lowered the hand covering her eyes. Though he quickly stepped forward to block her view of the headless corpse.
"What are you……?"
"……Nothing good to see. No matter how used to it you are."
"I said it's fine."
Her sleepiness now completely gone, Beatrice looked up at Kyle with an incredulous expression. The height difference meant she had to crane her neck almost at a right angle when they were this close.
No matter how she tried to peek around, Kyle stubbornly followed, blocking her line of sight. Her eyes flashed with irritation at the repeated obstructions, but what could she do?
He stood his ground awkwardly, avoiding her gaze, as if this was one thing he wouldn't yield on.
In the end, Beatrice had to give up.
Pouting her lips, she said,
"Fine. If you don't want to show me, then don't."
"Mm."
Kyle nodded slightly in relief, and instead of checking the corpse, Beatrice glared up at her new father.
She scanned his face first, then his neck and collarbone not hidden by his clothes, checking thoroughly for any special injuries on his upper or lower body.
"……Beatrice?"
Puzzled by her actions, Kyle asked, but she just kept inspecting him silently.
Aside from the sword in his hand, there was no blood to be seen. Injuries…… none apparent.
"……Good."
"Huh?"
Muttering softly to herself, she brushed the dust off Kyle's hem for no reason, and he blinked in confusion.
She seemed to have no intention of saying more.
"Well then, ahem. Shall we head back? We took a little detour, but luckily, home's right around the corner."
Trying to lighten the subtly sunken mood, Kyle forced the words out and pointed to the mansion with its pale gray roof visible in the distance.
In chasing the Black Lotus Society men who'd fled swiftly, they'd coincidentally ended up near home.
Just before they'd appeared, Beatrice had been dozing off from exhaustion. It was late at night now, so surely she wanted to sleep.
That was the intent behind his words, but—
"……Huh? Oh, yeah. Sure."
"……."
"Got it. Let's go home."
Beatrice's face showed no trace of fatigue; her clear eyes sparkled brightly as she replied.
For some reason, Kyle felt a vague sense of unease, but with no other choice, he extended his hand.
"……Let's go home."
"Okay."
Beatrice took it naturally. Aside from their apparent size difference, the awkwardness was gone, and they looked like a proper father and daughter.
Swish!
Kyle shook off his sword, cleanly wiping the blood from the blade before sheathing it. And so, the two slowly made their way back to the mansion.
*****
Things blew up much faster than expected.
I locked the front door securely, then entered the living room, hanging up my coat as I sank into thought.
According to the original story, the Black Lotus Society wouldn't kidnap Beatrice for another year.
Their approach had come sooner than I'd anticipated. And from the looks of it, they'd already scoured Edenberg's back alleys……
If I'd been even a little later picking her up, disaster might have struck.
The thought sent a chill down my spine. I was glad I'd pushed myself to save money sooner rather than later.
This will put the Black Lotus leader on alert about this city too. After all, one of his executives died here.
Even if the incident had come a bit earlier than expected, it wasn't particularly strange.
It had been seven years since I transmigrated into this world. I'd already tasted plenty of butterfly effects from my personal actions.
My movements acting as some trigger, advancing the Black Lotus Society's interest in Beatrice by a year, wasn't an incomprehensible change.
Still, since it was unexpected, I'd need to be more cautious from now on.
"Tch……."
I clicked my tongue softly, irritably loosening my tie as I glanced back.
There was a girl staring fixedly at me from the entryway, showing no sign of going up to her room.
"You."
She hadn't even taken off her shoes. I let out a wry chuckle, furrowing my brow, and Beatrice spoke to me in a calm tone.
"You asked those men, 'Did the Black Lotus leader send you?' didn't you? And before the fight, they told you to hand me over."
"……."
"……You know something, don't you?"
A stiffness I'd never felt even after cutting down dozens of Black Lotus grunts made me rub the back of my neck.
I'd hoped she might let it slide, but as expected, she wasn't about to dismiss today's events as a mere fluke.
I pressed my lips into a line and stared at Beatrice, who boldly demanded of me,
"Tell me. Why is the Black Lotus Society after me?"
This was awkward. I'd had no intention of telling her until she grew up—until she could at least protect herself.
Brushing it off vaguely…… won't work.
She was digging in her heels like it was some protest, refusing to budge until she got a proper answer.
Sighing in genuine distress at Beatrice's earnest gaze from the entryway, I……