Selena (1)
“Eight hundred sixty-nine…!”
“Eight hundred seventy…!”
“Eight hundred seventy-one!”
…….
Didn’t she ever grow tired of this? The girl wondered, twirling a lock of her neatly falling golden hair. She had long since given up on trying to stop him. The village elders and the other children had abandoned the effort even earlier. In the beginning a few of them had watched with encouraging eyes, but as his obsession intensified with every passing day they began to drift away, one by one.
If he dies doing that, who’s going to take responsibility?
The chief who brought him here will have to answer for it…!
Still, what kind of boy does something like this…
Someone stop him before he collapses!
…….
“Huff… huff… haa!”
He was smaller than her. One good tap looked like it would snap him in half. The only thing worth praising was his face. That pale skin and those delicate features were famous even in the neighboring villages. He himself probably had no idea. How people from the next village over, and the one after that, would invent errands just to steal a glance at the boy.
In truth the boy was completely unaware, lost in the rhythm of swinging his wooden sword.
After watching him pant for a long while, the girl finally spoke, deliberately making her voice even more indifferent.
“Finished?”
“Hoo… hoo… yeah?”
“Don’t do such stupid things. You’ll actually die one of these days.”
…….
The boy stared at the blonde girl. Then he flashed a bright, refreshing smile.
“I won’t die from this much. The human body is surprisingly sturdy. Now, if you stabbed something long into a vital spot, that might be a different story.”
“Something… long?”
“Like a skewer?”
The girl tilted her head. Of course a skewer through the gut would kill someone, but it still seemed like an odd thing for a boy their age to say. The boy realized it a beat later and scratched the back of his head awkwardly.
“Ah. I had a nightmare like that once.”
“Rui.”
“Yeah?”
“What exactly are you thinking about all day to have dreams like that?”
“I… I don’t know. I wasn’t thinking about anything special.”
“Liar.”
Clear blue eyes pierced straight through him. Those beautiful eyes held an almost magical allure, the kind that could enchant anyone who met them. And perhaps he really was a little enchanted, because the boy—Ruines—handed over one of his wooden swords like a white flag of surrender.
“Seli. If there’s something you want to hear, you already know the condition, right?”
“Of course. The loser obeys the winner, blah blah blah. You really do love this sort of thing, Rui.”
“Matches are cool, aren’t they?”
“The other boys don’t do this.”
“Then they’re the strange ones.”
…….
Her gaze clearly said anyone can see who the strange one is here. Ruines could only chuckle at Selena’s reaction.
“Seli. Today I’ll show you what a man’s pride looks like.”
“If you actually have something like that, I’d love to see it.”
“All right, here I come!”
“Haa.”
Selena let out a languid sigh. She brushed the hem of her dress, then carefully wiped the hilt of the wooden sword with a handkerchief. The motions were graceful, refined enough that no one would doubt she was a noble’s daughter if she were introduced as one.
But the instant her fingers closed around the wooden sword, the relaxed atmosphere shattered.
……!
That spirit. It was so sharp it would have been rare even on a battlefield. She looked as though she had received the direct blessing of the Goddess of Strife.
As always, Ruines felt his curiosity explode at the sight. Just what kind of world had he woken up in that made this possible? How could an ordinary girl change so completely the moment she held a sword? Did any of this even make sense?
Pure wonder and curiosity tugged at the corners of his mouth. Of course, a small part of him was also a little scared.
The next instant—
“Haaah!”
“……Haa.”
The shout and the sigh overlapped. The wooden sword in Ruines’ hands snapped with a deafening crack.
Crack—!!!
……!?!?
In contrast, the wooden sword Selena swung didn’t have a single scratch. If anything it looked sharper, wrapped in an edge as keen as real steel.
Ruines blinked rapidly, stunned. He hadn’t even seen the collision clearly. Looking closer, the break was so clean it seemed less like it had snapped and more like it had been sliced. He had never heard of anyone cutting a wooden sword with another wooden sword. And for such a slender girl to do it…
Selena approached the dazed Ruines and whispered softly in his ear, as if the match itself had never mattered.
“There was already a crack in the middle. Let’s stop training for today and carve a new one. Sound good?”
“Uh… yeah…”
“I’ll help you.”
“……Okay.”
She took the broken sword, and their hands naturally intertwined. At her strangely cheerful tone, all Ruines could do was nod like a puppet with cut strings.
At first he had thought it was a gift.
He believed the Goddess had taken pity on his soul and was giving him the chance to fulfill the dreams he never managed in his previous life. He had never considered himself pitiful, but perhaps that was how he had looked to her.
But it had all been a misunderstanding.
In this insane world, could a man truly become a knight?
“Rui. You’re back?”
“Ah, yes. Eila noona.”
“Since Seli is with you I’m not too worried, but still—be careful. The forest is dangerous.”
“I will.”
I’m starting to think the dangerous ones are the women in this village. Or rather, the women of this entire world.
Just look at the chief’s daughter. To him she was no different from a real older sister. The moment he saw the massive log slung over Eila’s shoulder, Ruines could only stare in shock. He had no idea how she could carry it with such a bright smile, and honestly he didn’t want to know.
Strength. Speed. Mental resilience. In almost every physical and mental aspect, women were overwhelmingly superior to men. The reason, they said, was that the Goddesses personally bestowed their blessings upon women.
Why they withheld those blessings from men, he still didn’t understand. Did goddesses really discriminate by gender? The question gnawed at him.
“Rui?”
“Y-yes?!”
Eila, still carrying the log, spoke again.
“You worked hard today, so let’s wash up and eat. I’ve already prepared dinner.”
“But isn’t it my turn to cook tonight…?”
“I told you, we’re family. Don’t worry about things like that. Oh, and by the way.”
“Yes?”
“Did Seli—no, did Selena… do anything bad to our Rui?”
She was still smiling, but her expression had gone ice-cold. It felt as if a pitch-black shadow had fallen across her eyes. Ruines’ knees nearly gave out; he shook his head frantically.
“No, no! Nothing like that. Absolutely not.”
“Good. Both Seli and Rui are such good children.”
“Yes, of course we are.”
“I knew that already. I’ll finish this quickly and come right back, all right?”
“Okay.”
Gulp.
Since when had the word “finish” sounded so terrifying? Ruines hurried to the bathroom and washed with the hot water Eila had prepared.
Thud! Thud! Thud! Crunch!
…….
The intermittent sound of wood being split outside made it impossible to relax. So, once again—if it could be called new—he poured water over his bruised body and examined this form that was so different from his previous life.
No matter how much he swung a sword every day, his muscles refused to grow. In fact he barely developed calluses. He had hoped to bulk up like his old squadmate Henson, but this body seemed determined to keep only the bare minimum of flesh and muscle.
At least tenacity and endurance were less affected by physique, so he was slowly building those…
“Haa.”
“Rui? Need more hot water?”
“!?”
Had she already demolished an entire log? As expected of Eila. She was called the strongest in the village for good reason. Even so, that bright smile of hers could still be frightening.
“N-no, Eila noona. This is plenty.”
“Really? If you need anything, just tell me. We’re family, after all.”
…….
“And even if Seli is with you, don’t go into the forest too often. Understood?”
“Yes, Eila noona.”
Beyond the thin wall, he could feel the sincerity in her voice. At this point maybe becoming a knight didn’t matter. Maybe it would be better to simply live for the village and its people. The men of this world seemed to devote themselves to home and family. If so, his own future would probably…
…….
He splashed water on his face, but the road ahead still looked bleak.
Still, it was a second chance he had somehow been given. He didn’t want to waste it. If knights existed in this world, then that was what he had to aim for. There was no other choice.
So what did he need to do?
One thing was certain: he couldn’t stay like this.
The best thing he could do right now was—
…….
A few days later, after finishing his usual light physical training, Ruines turned to Selena, who had been watching him with languid eyes.
“Seli. Can I ask you for a favor?”
“What kind of favor?”
A faint spark of curiosity lit her gaze. Those striking blue eyes blinked slowly. To her it might seem pointless, even a waste of time.
But.
“Sorry. You’re the only person I can ask.”
“……?”
Selena stared straight into his eyes. At the words “only person,” a vivid light seemed to flare in her gaze. After all, she had always secretly enjoyed it when he relied on her.
…Even though it somehow felt like it should be the other way around.
Deciding this was his moment, Ruines finally revealed his true feelings to her.