Descendant of the Hero
Anton Village.
And within it, the most lavish building of all: Baron Anton's manor.
"My lady, truly, without so much as a word of notice…"
"I already told you it's fine. Father won't care much either way."
Inside that manor, a certain young woman—Estelle Valter—had brazenly claimed the baron's own chambers and was sprawled out at her leisure.
"No matter how I look at it, this simply will not do. My lady, even if the baron surrendered the room without complaint…"
"I said it's fine. Honestly… if this is all he can offer, shouldn't he be the one apologizing to me?"
Estelle waved a hand dismissively, as though the whole matter were a nuisance.
"……"
Photon, butler of the Valter Ducal Family, watched her in silence and let out a shallow sigh, head bowed.
He wanted to argue—but she wasn't wrong.
It is true the village found stability thanks to the young lady.
The Valter Ducal Family's party had finished their business and been ready to head north again. The one who stopped them cold was none other than their leader herself: Estelle.
From what I've been hearing, Lia's got quite the headache on her hands. Looks like I'll have to lend a hand.
Citing her friendship with the Saintess Arcelia as her justification, Estelle had turned the entire procession around.
Something strange was afoot in Anton Village, she'd said. If there was anything she could do to help, she would.
…And yet this is how it's turned out.
Of course, Photon hadn't believed a single percent of that story.
Everyone—Photon included—knew it was just Estelle's excuse for not wanting to go back north.
But the pretext had been so airtight that no one could object. So they had held their tongues.
And in truth, once Estelle arrived in the village, she had gathered the people and snuffed out the fear that had sunk deep into their bones—all in a single instant.
How had she managed it?
The method was simple.
A descendant of the Hero has come to protect you. Fear no more.
That was all Estelle had said. And yet every villager—Baron Anton himself included—had been so moved they wept.
Knowing the full truth of the matter, Photon had nearly lost his mind.
"You must leave in two days. Without fail."
In the end, that was all he could say.
"Yeah, yeah. I know. Don't worry about it."
Estelle nodded as though she understood—though the air around her all but shouted that she wanted him to stop talking already.
"Hmm…"
She flopped back onto the bed and studied the bracelet hanging from her hand.
"Ah. That reminds me."
She sat up abruptly, as if something had just occurred to her, and muttered under her breath.
"I wonder if that guy's actually getting it done."
"That guy, my lady?"
"The magic engineer. I left him the other bracelet to repair."
"…Are you saying you've already been out wandering the village?"
Photon's gaze turned frosty in an instant. Estelle paid it no mind and pressed on without flinching.
"Baron Anton mentioned there was a skilled magic engineer in town. I wasn't expecting much, but…"
"…And so?"
"I went and asked him to fix the bracelet. Having one side broken feels a little empty, you know."
She held up her bare right wrist for Photon to see, giving it a little shake.
"You simply left an object that expensive in his care?"
"He seemed decent enough. Not on the level of the family's own engineers, of course."
"……"
Estelle answered as if it were nothing. But she wasn't finished.
"Though he put up quite a fight."
"…Pardon?"
Photon's brow twitched. It was only a short remark, but it was more than enough for him to guess what had happened.
"Don't tell me you…"
"Don't tell me what?"
Estelle looked almost offended by his reaction.
"I asked him very politely."
"My lady, your idea of polite and everyone else's idea of polite are not quite the same."
"……"
Apparently she had no good answer for that. Estelle turned her head aside and spoke as though she couldn't have helped it.
"Anyway, at first he said no. Claimed he was terribly busy, that it was a hassle, and so on."
"And then?"
"So I persuaded him a little."
"……"
Photon asked nothing further. Hearing the details would only give him heartburn.
He was already thinking he would have to track down this magic engineer later and offer appropriate compensation.
"I left it with him in the end, but I have no idea if he's actually working on it."
"Surely you don't mean to go there now?"
"Yep."
Estelle propped her chin on her hand, then rose from the bed.
"I'll have to check with my own eyes."
"……"
She slipped lightly off the mattress and picked up her coat as if it were the most natural thing in the world. Photon watched her for a moment, then spoke.
"I take it you won't stay even if I try to stop you."
"Probably not."
"……"
Photon closed his eyes and exhaled a short, resigned sigh.
"…Then at least see that I am not required to intervene."
Estelle heard him—and grinned.
"Don't worry about it."
BANG!
BANG!
"You gonna open this door or what?"
What the hell am I supposed to do about this…
Who on earth was that woman, and why was Carlton so terrified?
While Juhan was still trying to figure out how to handle the situation, the woman's voice only grew louder.
"I know you're in there!"
"……"
BANG! BANG!
Juhan glanced over, then shot Carlton a look that asked the obvious question: Who is she?
Carlton's answer came without delay.
"A catastrophe."
"…What?"
"One of the top three disasters I've ever lived through."
BANG!
As if on cue, another tremendous crash exploded from the other side of the door.
"Fine!"
The woman paused, catching her breath as though she'd accepted their refusal. Then she spoke again.
"If you don't open up by the time I count to three, I'm breaking it down for real."
"……"
"One!"
Carlton's face had already gone bone-white.
"D-Do you have any idea how hard I worked to fix that door…"
"She's about to smash it. Shouldn't you just open it?"
"I—I can't just…"
"Two!"
The countdown from beyond the door had begun. Carlton looked ready to cry as his eyes darted between the iron door and Juhan.
"Hey, do something—please."
"Me? How, exactly?"
"Somehow!"
Juhan could only answer with pure disbelief.
All he knew for certain was that this was no ordinary visitor.
"Three——"
Tch.
Ah, whatever.
Juhan clicked his tongue and walked to the iron door.
He was going to open it. Unless he planned to deal with the woman right here and now, opening the door was the only real option.
With a heavy creak and a deep rumble, the lock released and the iron door slowly swung open.
And standing on the other side was—
"Huh."
A young woman with one fist raised, ready to punch the door clean off its hinges, staring straight at Juhan.
"……"
"……"
A brief silence settled between them.
Juhan studied the woman quietly.
A noble, then? And from a knightly house that trains the body, at that.
Beautiful hair with a golden sheen. Eyes that shone like sapphires. Clothes so fine that anyone could tell she was aristocracy at a glance.
She was studying him in return—blinking, as though she hadn't expected him at all.
"…What the."
She looked him up and down, then asked,
"Where's the magic engineer?"
The question came out of nowhere. Juhan considered his answer for a moment before speaking.
"If you mean Carlton, he's already got a job he took on first. Doesn't look like he'll be able to handle yours."
"…What?"
One of the woman's eyebrows twitched.
"He took that much of a deposit and now he's saying he can't do it?"
"W-What deposit?! You just threw the money at me and left!"
Apparently that was more than he could take. Carlton, who had been hiding in the back watching the exchange, burst out shouting at the top of his lungs.
"Oh. So you were here after all."
The woman only laughed, as if she found the whole thing amusing.
"……"
Carlton took one look at her face—and immediately ducked behind Juhan's back.
Which was probably why the woman's gaze had settled firmly on Juhan.
"Hmm."
A sharp, appraising look, as though she were sizing him up for sale.
Juhan didn't care for it. He frowned slightly and asked,
"…What's with the staring?"
"Nothing."
Even under his edged question, she answered with complete nonchalance.
"You're interesting."
An assessment with no beginning and no end. Juhan opened his mouth to ask what she meant—
"You're strong."
"……"
"Strong enough that I can barely believe someone like you is living in a village like this."
At the word strong, Juhan's mouth closed of its own accord. She was right, after all.
His body, still growing accustomed to the outside world, was growing stronger by the day.
By now, he could casually overpower most Holy Knights.
She saw through me at a glance?
An ordinary trained knight would never have reacted like this. At minimum, this woman was equal to his current physical ability—or greater.
And yet, for some reason—
"Hmm…"
—she kept examining him, as though confirming something.
"Strange."
Then she offered him another observation: that something was strange. When Juhan asked what she meant,
"…What do you mean?"
"Normally, when I meet someone strong, I just think, Oh, they're strong—and that's the end of it."
She paused, then spoke as if genuinely puzzled, as if she couldn't make sense of it herself.
"So why is it that, with you… I keep wanting to fight?"