Chapter 15
Chapter 15
“Hey, I heard you’re just a commoner like us?”
What was with that tone?
It openly sounded like he was looking down on me.
I turned my head in irritation and found a red-haired boy standing there.
Around the early teens, maybe?
From the looks of it, he seemed to be the leader of the orphan group.
And instinctively, I realized something.
This guy had come to establish dominance among the commoners.
Was he some kind of local tough guy back where he came from? A street boss or something?
“The honorable Knight Commander told us himself. Said we don’t need to be especially nice to you.”
Excuse me?
The honorable Knight Commander?
No matter how young he was, that phrase alone made my skin crawl.
What kind of speedrun loyalty was this?
Or maybe Sir Rekun had already sweet-talked the kids before bringing them here.
“......So?”
“You look awfully carefree for someone who isn’t even a noble.”
Hmm. So that was it.
That one sentence made the situation pretty clear.
Sir Rekun had probably given the children free time to celebrate becoming part of the household.
And this boy, apparently the leader of the orphans, must’ve gotten curious about me loafing around and asked the old man who I was.
Something like, “Is she some noble using the Bellark family name?”
And the old man had probably snorted before answering.
“She’s not even a knight trainee. Just another commoner orphan like you lot.”
“And what’s with those clothes? Take them off already.”
Clothes?
Ah!
Now I finally understood why they mistook me for a noble.
The clothes I was wearing looked ridiculously luxurious.
This silk tunic was something little Eden used to wear back when he practiced swordsmanship.
Wait.
Why did Eden stop practicing swordsmanship anyway?
Even if he was a lord, he should at least be able to protect himself, right?
And sitting around all day wasn’t exactly healthy either...
No, that wasn’t the important thing right now.
“Hmm...”
I guess they found it irritating that another orphan was wearing fabric way too nice for her station.
Or maybe it just looked like a commoner pretending to be nobility.
I only accepted the clothes because Eden said they’d go to waste otherwise.
Who knew it would come back to bite me like this?
Still, these were by far the most comfortable clothes for everyday life.
And whenever I wore something else, Eden would make this pitiful expression.
I only ended up wearing them because of that, but stopping now felt a bit...
“Sorry, but I don’t think I can do that.”
So I politely refused.
Since we were all part of Bellark now, I wanted to be accommodating if possible.
But the person whose feelings I prioritized most was Eden.
My own comfort came second.
Honestly, the image of a lord sulking because some orphan girl wasn’t dressing nicely enough was absurdly depressing.
“Th-These were given to me by the lord, so I have to wear them.”
Ugh, calling Eden “the lord” felt embarrassingly awkward.
Still, the servants were reaching the point where they could no longer excuse my age forever, and hierarchy mattered around here.
Might as well get used to it now.
And when rejecting someone, clarity was important.
“So no means no!”
Belatedly, I crossed my arms into an X shape and answered firmly.
Clear enough for even children to understand.
“......”
By the way, why was this guy so tall?
At this height difference, my actions might look more cute than intimidating.
In that case...
Boing!
While maintaining the X with my arms, I added a jump for emphasis so I wouldn’t lose momentum.
Any intimidation caused by height differences could be crushed through sheer spirit alone!
“Ugh!?”
Huh?
Did I come on too strong?
Why was he suddenly blushing and backing away?
“D-Don’t get cocky just because you’re a little brat!”
That’s a misunderstanding!
I wasn’t getting cocky, and I never looked down on you for being older either!
“A-Anyway!”
The boy tried acting dignified, though it felt a little late for that.
“My name is Bentley!”
Sudden self-introduction?
But honestly, having a luxury brand name was hilarious.
“Pfft—!”
“Hey! Did you just laugh!?”
Ah, maybe that offended him.
Smile smile~
“Kahahaha!!! Sorry about that!”
“...Hey, are you making fun of me right now?”
What?
I only copied Sir Rekun’s laugh because this kid seemed to admire him.
Why was it having the opposite effect?
Honestly, I could never understand the emotional logic of children here.
What exactly was the problem?
“You should be more careful from now on. Back in Bedrean, there wasn’t a single brat who disobeyed me.”
Bedrean?
I didn’t know where that was, but it was probably his hometown.
I see.
So it was the kind of place where disobeying a car got you killed.
“You know why?”
Not particularly curious, honestly.
“Hrrngh—!”
Suddenly, the luxury-brand automobile scrunched his face dramatically.
Then he tensed his entire body and started making weird “hup, hup” engine-starting noises.
After that, he thrust a bulging bicep in front of me.
...What was this?
Showing off his strength?
“Lazh chanzh! If yoo don’t wahn trouble, change clothesh!”
Allow me to translate.
“Last chance. Change clothes while I’m asking nicely.”
“Adult—!”
Quickly.
“Yoo deaf!? Cahn yoo hear mah heart!?”
Hmm?
What was that one supposed to mean?
“Shurrender before yoo regret it!!!”
Shurrender before yoo regret it.
“Are yoo reeeally an idiottt!?”
At this point, even I was struggling to translate him when—
“She’s tiny as a peanut! Maybe she just doesn’t understand long sentences because she’s little!”
A small, chirpy voice rang out from the other side.
But peanut-sized?
Height was a matter of pride, both in this life and the previous one.
So naturally, I turned toward the source of the voice.
What entered my vision was neatly tied ponytail hair, round eyes, and someone even smaller than me...
“...A brat.”
“B-Brat!? How rude! Have some manners around a lady!”
A commoner brat talking about manners toward a lady?
Did she read too many noble fairy tales or something?
Still, seeing someone smaller and younger-looking than me talk like that was more funny than annoying.
Back when she stood beside Sir Rekun, she had hidden quietly behind the boys, but now that she opened her mouth, she was surprisingly feisty.
“Hey, how old are you?”
“I’m eight! That makes me your big sister! Don’t act up~!”
Ah, so Sir Rekun had exposed my age too.
Not that it mattered much.
Still, what should I say?
Looking at her up close made her even cuter.
So much so that I couldn’t believe she was older than me.
Her cheeks were flushed pink, and her round little face resembled a rice cake.
Poke.
“Hiiieek!?”
I only touched her cheek with one finger, but she panicked immediately.
She really was like a timid hamster.
Hmm, was this how Eden saw me?
If so, I could kind of understand why he treasured me so much.
She felt like a fussy little sister.
Not that I was one myself, obviously.
“Don’t bully my little sister!”
Excuse me!?
Little sister!?
These two looked absolutely nothing alike!
How could a luxury-brand automobile and a rice cake possibly be siblings?
Life really was full of surprises.
“Hyah!”
Anyway, judging from how angrily he charged at me, it probably wasn’t a lie.
Even if he was just a kid, I had no intention of getting shoved around or hit.
I disliked men touching me, so I lightly dodged aside.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
For a child his age, he was fairly sturdy.
But his hands only sliced through empty air.
Naturally.
My physical abilities at age seven already rivaled those of someone in their late teens.
And with the memories of my past life as an athlete still intact, dodging attacks from amateurs like this was something I could do while yawning.
“W-Why can’t I hit you!?”
Because I’m ridiculously fast.
The first opponent I ever encountered in this life happened to be a monster, but among ordinary people, I was definitely exceptional.
Still, the lucky thing for Bentley here was that I had no hobby of bullying or humiliating weaker people.
Combat stopped being fun when one side overwhelmingly dominated the other.
Not just for spectators, but for the fighters themselves.
Whether it was games, soccer, or even paper-slapping games, things were only interesting when there was at least some level of equality.
Even so, directly hitting a child still bothered me.
Wasn’t there another way?
“Huff, huff! Are you that scared of me!? Running away the whole time!”
This little vroom-vroom idiot misunderstood again.
I wasn’t running away.
I was being considerate.
I had maintained a friendly attitude from start to finish, but he kept getting angry all by himself.
Still, it definitely looked like this disobedient child needed a proper lesson.
Not a beating.
More like corrective discipline fueled by love.
And while I pondered, an idea suddenly flashed through my mind.
The “shockwave” I had recently acquired.
This seemed like the perfect opportunity to test it out.
Which meant all I had to do was throw ten punches with full power.
“Hup!”
Having made my decision, I widened the distance between us and—
“Hrah!”
Imagining the shockwave in my mind, I punched the empty air.
“O-Oh no! Did she accidentally hit her head or something?”
“No! I think she’s just trying to scare us a little!”
Wait.
Did I seriously look that ridiculous from an outsider’s perspective?
...Well, whatever.
I still had to do it nine more times before the shockwave activated.
I’d just have to endure the embarrassment.
“Wadadadada—!”
Since I spent all my time swinging swords lately, punching felt strangely unfamiliar.
But it wasn’t unpleasant.
Actually, it felt weirdly nostalgic.
“S-Scary!”
“She might be possessed!”
“Run away!”
It was unfortunate they misunderstood, but the little brats scattered and fled in every direction.
“Kgh...!”
But why was this Bentley guy just standing there hesitating?
Hey, you’re supposed to be the big brother protecting your sister.
Why are you staring at me with flushed cheeks instead of attacking!?
Did he chicken out now of all times?
Too late.
The luxury-brand automobile had already crossed the line and would now pay the price.
And when my punches finally reached the ninth strike—
I felt a formless power gathering around my fist.
I couldn’t see it, but since they called it a shockwave, maybe it worked like compressed air or a sonic boom.
I could even hear faint sounds of wind.
Preparation complete, I threw one final punch into the air.
Bang!
The violent gust shot forward—
Thud!
“W-What is thiiiiis!?”
—and sent the boy’s body flying several meters backward.
“......”
His body lay motionless.
He seemed properly unconscious.
Since I never physically touched him, this technically counted as a nonviolent suppression.
The new ability worked beautifully too, so overall it was a satisfying result...
...He should be fine, right?