Chapter 3
Chapter 3
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 3
Chapter Title: Proposal
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◆
The Holy Sword conferment ceremony was, naturally, a major event attended by high-ranking officials from every nation—and as such, it was practically a law of nature that when those sorts of people gathered, an undercurrent of power struggles would emerge over whose house was more prestigious.
“⋯⋯.”
“⋯⋯.”
So.
It meant that the people capable of making everyone fall silent and glance around nervously in a place like that were exceedingly rare.
But it was clear that the two knights wearing pauldrons emblazoned with the crest of the Chasefield family—meritorious retainers who had helped found the Empire—were perfectly suited to elicit such a reaction from those around them.
After all, they belonged to the family of the one who had just been granted the mantle of humanity's protector through this Holy Sword conferment.
Especially since a key figure from that family had come in person.
“Clan Lord, there’s no need for you to come here yourself, is there? You’re already so busy as it is.”
At the retainer’s words, laced with concern, Lionel Chasefield turned to him with a kindly smile.
The head of the Chasefield Ducal House.
Father to Gray Chasefield, who had been chosen as this generation’s Hero.
“For a father not to even show his face at the place where his daughter receives the Holy Sword? Unthinkable.”
“⋯⋯.”
The retainer following Lionel cracked a wry smile at his words.
Well. Of course, it was true that Lionel enjoyed a high reputation for his noble character, even among the Empire’s nobles whose eyes turned red at the mere whiff of personal gain.
The problem was that his daughter wouldn’t care whether Lionel was there or not.
“And above all.”
Lionel sighed, running a hand through his hair.
“⋯⋯If that child causes some kind of incident, someone has to clean it up, right?”
“⋯⋯.”
Hm.
That was a convincing reason.
“Her education did go⋯⋯a bit astray. My failing.”
“To be frank, Clan Lord, even if it weren’t you, no one could handle Lady Gray if they were her parent.”
“⋯⋯If there’s anyone who can handle that child, I’ll make sure to promote them heavily—so would you keep an eye out?”
“Why not just tell her to retire quietly?”
The retainer and Lionel both chuckled as they walked on.
⋯⋯They both looked like they’d suffered plenty at Gray’s hands.
“Where’s Gray?”
“I’ll look for her.”
The retainer bowed at Lionel’s question, but it didn’t seem like Lionel would need to go searching himself.
Someone was already sprinting toward them, face pale as a ghost.
“Vespa?”
Gray’s exclusive attendant.
A kid who was always suffering, to the point where Lionel—unusually for a clan lord—even remembered her name.
“⋯⋯.”
“⋯⋯.”
Lionel and the retainer exchanged glances.
There was always a line that came with Vespa running up like this.
So, let’s see.
“Big trouble! L-Lady Gray, she—!”
“⋯⋯.”
“⋯⋯.”
Of course.
◆
What Carlyle could confidently say he liked about Gray was that once this woman set her mind to something, she never hesitated.
The way she stormed over with a ferocious glare right after taking a few verbal jabs was proof of that.
A quick glance showed that Vespa, who had been with her, had already vanished.
‘Gone to fetch reinforcements, probably.’
A familiar scene.
It was impossible for Vespa to rein in Gray herself from the start, so whenever she was with Gray, her most common action was rushing off to find someone who could handle the situation.
‘And I was probably the one called in the most, right?’
[⋯⋯.]
‘You remember this much, at least.’
Ignoring the silence from the Hero inside the Holy Sword, Carlyle took a deep breath.
Let’s see.
Humanity’s strongest was approaching him with murderous intent.
⋯⋯Honestly, it was scary.
Trauma from death and pain, buried deep in his memories, bubbled up.
Countless past memories of suffering at this woman’s hands flashed by.
She had reached the absolute limit of what a single human could achieve in martial prowess, across all history. Carlyle was so outclassed that even brushing against her could kill him.
But.
Keep this in mind.
All he needed was a tiny crack.
Not to defeat her.
So.
[Now.]
At the signal from the Hero inside the Holy Sword.
The instant Gray drew her sword, he swept her left leg.
And then.
Crash, bang, clatter.
Humanity’s strongest Hero rolled across the floor.
Dust from the ground clung to her porcelain-white skin, smearing it with grime.
“⋯⋯.”
Gray blinked on the floor, expression blank.
A face that didn’t even realize what had just happened to her.
The Hero.
Had taken a single hit.
From a seemingly worthless human.
[It was a habit only I knew about.]
Watching her, the voice of the Hero inside the Holy Sword spoke.
[When she drew her sword, she’d close her eyes for a split second. Her vision went completely blind on that side, just long enough that even someone as worthless as you could land an attack without her noticing.]
‘A weakness this fatal, and no one knew? Amazing.’
[Well, she’s the Hero. People don’t usually think Heroes have weaknesses at all.]
‘⋯⋯.’
[And who’s going to discover a flaw that only shows up conditionally for a fraction of a second?]
Annoyingly, Gray’s tone was a calm statement of fact.
Irritatingly, Carlyle had to agree.
The moment this woman drew her sword, she was a monster who didn’t seem to have any weaknesses.
[Back in my immature days, I had all sorts of flaws—enough that even someone like you could make me look like this with a lucky strike.]
Even so, no one but ‘herself’ would ever know about a weakness like that.
[Serves her right.]
The Holy Sword muttered as it watched Gray, too shocked to even get up.
‘⋯⋯You just told me your weakness, and I used it to humiliate your past self?’
[Just seeing that smug face spout nonsense pisses me off too.]
‘⋯⋯.’
Hm.
A new lesson.
The ultimate narcissist can even get mad at herself.
As that thought crossed his mind, suddenly.
“Wha—what⋯⋯?”
A shocked gasp came from the training ground entrance.
Turning that way, he saw Vespa staring back and forth between the floored Gray and Carlyle, her grip on reality apparently slipping.
Perfect. An audience made the dramatic effect even easier.
Carlyle opened his mouth with a mocking tone.
“Slippery floor?”
“⋯⋯.”
“Hero, keep slacking like that, and you’ll have to hand back the Holy Sword.”
Heat flushed across Gray’s face in an instant, visible even from here.
Her face turning red at that speed—Carlyle’s mind flashed with the impression that it was downright terrifying.
Not only had she, the Hero, been utterly humiliated by some nameless nobody, but she’d done it in front of witnesses.
For someone who lived off her own superiority, this had to rank among the most shameful experiences of her life.
Her body trembled. Her teeth ground together. Tears glistened faintly on her flushed face⋯⋯
And that meant success.
The simple way to lodge yourself in someone’s memory?
‘Piss them off.’
What easier way was there to make them hyper-aware of you?
Well.
The easy path always came with a price.
And now, Gray sprang up from the floor, tears in her eyes, swinging not her sword but her bare fist at him.
Lightning-fast, leaving no room for anyone to intervene.
‘Ah.’
Carlyle sighed inwardly.
A brutish attack unworthy of someone drilled in basic courtesy her whole life—but that just meant she was that furious.
Well, taking this hit would land him in the hospital for a while.
Their first meetings always ended with him eating one like this, for one reason or another.
Pretty familiar by now.
‘Still.’
In past loops, he’d just blacked out here.
This time, he at least needed to get his ‘feelings’ across.
With that final thought, the Hero’s fist slammed into Carlyle’s face with brutal force.
Crack.
Crunch-crack.
The first was Carlyle’s face shattering on impact; the second, his body flying back and smashing through the wall.
“You filthy worm—! Do you even know who I am, you dare!”
Gray panted heavily, her usual cool composure completely gone.
Even after knocking Carlyle out cold with one blow, she didn’t look satisfied.
In fact, stomping toward him for a follow-up evoked the image of a wrathful ghost possessing her back.
But the moment she saw Carlyle on the ground, Gray’s face went blank again.
Even unconscious and sprawled out, he was flipping her off.
His middle finger extended straight at her in perfect view, hand positioned just right.
His nearly caved-in face still bore a clearly identifiable, smug grin.
“⋯⋯.”
What could she say? It felt like he’d set this up in advance, knowing this would happen.
Just to piss her off more.
“—You, you—!”
Gray’s face went sheet-white.
“I’ll kill you, you trash—!”
“Gray, Gray, calm down now—!”
⋯⋯If Lionel hadn’t arrived right then, it really would have been a disaster.
◆
The Imperial Knight Order’s infirmary was a place all too familiar to Carlyle.
He’d been here plenty.
Mostly because of Gray.
“⋯⋯The doctor was impressed you were still alive.”
Carlyle rasped, coughing.
“Asked if I’d taken a hit from a siege weapon.”
“That child’s punches do pack a punch.”
“Cute way to put it.”
“They say even hedgehogs think their young are cute.”
A hedgehog would faint hearing that nonsense.
Carlyle eyed the man before him, his body wrapped head to toe in bandages.
Lionel Haster Chasefield.
Head of the Empire’s prestigious martial house, the Chasefield Ducal House. One of the Empire’s most renowned knights—and Gray’s father.
When Carlyle came to after blacking out from Gray’s hit, this man had been the first visitor.
“What brings you here?”
Truth be told, he had no memory of meeting this man in previous loops.
He was always already dead by the regression point.
Still, as the man who’d suffered most at Gray’s hands, they shared a bond of shared misery, at least.
“Carlyle Bellfast. I hear you’re a new recruit in the Imperial Knight Order.”
“Yes.”
“And you humiliated the Hero.”
Carlyle gave a bored look to Lionel, who stated it so matter-of-factly.
‘Expected business, huh⋯⋯’
Probably here because Gray was furious—maybe to make him apologize.
This guy was a notorious doting dad, even by Imperial standards.
But.
“I like you.”
“⋯⋯.”
“Once you recover, come to the Chasefield Ducal House. I have a job offer for you.”
“⋯⋯.”
Hold on.
What?
“I humiliated your daughter?”
“Hm.”
“⋯⋯And you’re offering me a job at the ducal house?”
“That’s exactly why I have a job for you. Giving her that experience alone qualifies you.”
“⋯⋯.”
“You.”
Lionel grinned, leaning forward.
“Won’t you tame that child for me?”
“⋯⋯.”
Before he could even process the words.
A ‘window’ popped up before Carlyle’s eyes.
One he’d never seen, across countless regressions.
[System Message]
◆ You have obtained an opportunity to greatly influence the young ‘Hero.’
◆ Conditions for unlocking traits and skills have been met.
◆ The ‘Hero’s Companion’ trait has been unlocked.
◆ The ‘Taming’ skill has been unlocked.
◆ Additional traits and skills will unlock depending on the relationship form with the Hero!
◆ Tame your target well!
“⋯⋯.”
What the hell is this?