Time to Make a New Friend, Desu wa!
……………
"Now then, take this and give it a try."
When Nikolai held out the dagger hilt-first, Bielka accepted it with trembling hands. Her first grip was awkward, but under Nikolai's guidance she gradually settled into the proper stance.
"Good. Now, when I attack — dodge."
Nikolai advanced toward Bielka slowly, cutting through the air at first with deliberate, languid slowness, giving her the signal to evade. Bielka stumbled a little and her movements were stiff, but somehow, she managed to dodge.
Little by little, Nikolai picked up his pace. And yet — surprisingly — Bielka managed to keep up with his speed somehow. More naturally than anyone would have expected, in fact.
Breathing in and out in a steady rhythm, she kept a consistent cadence through the exchanges, and astonishingly, she never once lost her balance for the entire duration. Her swaying, enormous bust seemed to trouble her far less than anyone might imagine.
She's not even wearing a sports bra or anything — how!?
"Oh-ho."
It seemed Nikolai was just as taken aback. His voice changed too. He stopped moving and tilted his head slightly.
"Your sense of balance... it's good. Quite good, in fact. And your reflexes are the same. You hardened your body working on a farm, did you say?"
Bielka nodded.
"If you grow up around animals, you learn to read them. You have to know when a cow's about to kick or a horse is going to buck before it happens."
"The instincts of a born warrior."
Nikolai turned his head toward me.
"My lady, this girl has talent. Though the dagger... well. I shall have her test other weapons."
Next, he had Bielka try a whole array of weapons — a two-handed sword, an axe, a mace, and more, pressing each one into her hands in turn.
Bielka learned the basic movements for handling each weapon, while Nikolai watched her form without pause.
Finally, Nikolai pulled a long polearm down from the wall and handed it over to her.
"This is called a halberd. It has some weight to it, but with your build, you should be able to handle it just fine."
The moment Bielka took the halberd, something remarkable happened. Her movements became far more natural than before. The halberd flowed as if it were an extension of her own arms.
"Wow, this is... it's easy!"
Bielka swung the halberd in a wide circle, joy spreading across her face.
"Polearms suit you, it seems. The halberd especially... your stamina and strength could become a great asset with it."
Nikolai came over to me and spoke in a low voice.
"My lady, this girl is a natural-born polearm soldier. I never imagined I would find such talent in a handmaiden, of all people. If she trains in earnest, she should master the fundamentals completely within a matter of days."
Before my eyes, Bielka kept swinging the halberd. I could see her movements growing more confident by the minute.
Good heavens...
Nikolai, who had been watching Bielka with such indifference barely half an hour ago, was now instructing her with utter seriousness. Sometimes he corrected her stance with his own hands; sometimes he smiled in satisfaction.
What had begun as little more than humoring Bielka's stubbornness had turned into... something that exceeded expectations.
"Extend your arm a little more — yes, like that. Lower your center of gravity. Perfect!"
Halberd in hand, Bielka moved with the ease of someone who had wielded the weapon for years. Her face was full of emotion — most likely astonishment at discovering she had this kind of talent all along.
It might actually be possible...
The vague idea that had flickered through my mind last night was beginning to sharpen into focus. A small corps of elite warriors, loyal to me and me alone — the personal guard of Grand Duke's daughter Katerina.
At first I'd brushed it off as mere fantasy, but watching the talent Bielka was displaying right in front of me, it suggested the idea might not be pure daydream after all.
"Bielka, I have seen enough. That will be all for today."
Setting down the halberd, Bielka's face was flushed.
"How was I, Lady Katerina?"
She asked between breaths. Beads of sweat dotted her forehead, but her eyes shone with a sense of accomplishment.
"You exceeded my expectations."
That was not encouragement for encouragement's sake — it was the honest truth.
"Instructor Nikolai, I ask that you assist with Bielka's training from here on — so long as it does not interfere with her other duties as a handmaiden."
"It would be my honor, my lady. That girl... she has potential."
"Good. Then Bielka shall be my handmaiden — and the first member of my personal guard."
At my words, Nikolai's eyes went wide.
"A personal guard, you say?"
"That is so. In preparation for the threat from Sergen, I intend to form an elite unit sworn directly to me. Warriors with the finest equipment and special training."
The picture began assembling itself in my head. Women warriors — clad in the highest-grade barding and armor.
A mixed unit would inevitably breed gossip — and real trouble, for that matter — so that's out, I suppose.
At any rate, they would be strong and swift enough to stand against Sergen's mightiest warriors like Volgar. And at their head would be me — riding the Mountain King, swinging a chain-flail.
If I lead the charge atop the colossal Mountain King with the personal guard at my heels, we'd become a supercharged hammer that could crush even the anvil. We'd bulldoze straight through the enemy lines.
Nikolai pondered for a moment, then nodded.
"It is an undertaking so grand I can scarcely picture it, but I take it you mean to raise a unit from among your own people, my lady. In that case, this girl could be its beginning."
"Yes. And I shall need many more."
………………
Leaving Bielka and Nikolai to their enthusiastic training in the yard, I made my way back into the citadel proper.
As I climbed the stone steps of the citadel, I could feel Katerina's blood surging through my veins with excitement. Her instincts loved battle and strength, and they were thoroughly pleased with how events were unfolding.
A personal guard... my own elite corps...
The idea had surfaced faintly only last night, yet it had become reality far faster than I'd expected. Of course, one handmaiden alone would never be enough. I needed more forces.
As I stepped into the western corridor of the citadel, I heard the voices of soldiers. They were apparently switching shifts, gathered behind the corridor's pillars, trading talk.
I stopped walking and slipped behind a pillar. The moment a Grand Duke's daughter passed by, they would abandon every private conversation and bow to me — and I had no wish for that.
There might be useful information in their unguarded chatter. Or even if it's just entertaining gossip, that's fine too.
The one holding forth at the moment was a soldier with a thick, unruly beard.
"Did you catch the match in the market square yesterday?"
"Missed it. I was on duty. Something special happen?"
"There was this woman from the Empire — a champion of the tourney, I'm telling you, a champion!"
One of the soldiers waved his hands as he spoke. Naturally, my ears perked right up.
"A woman from the Empire? Was she a swordswoman?"
"No, no. Her weapon was a spear, or so I heard."
The soldier with his helmet wedged under his arm chimed in. Sadly, he was one of those whose hairline had retreated nearly to the crown of his head at a tragically young age.
"To be precise, it was something like a glaive... a woldo, they called it? Some weapon they use in the Eastern lands. At first everyone laughed. Said some woman had gotten fancy ideas, lugging around a heavy weapon like that. But her movements..."
He churned his hand through the air, as if groping for the right word.
"Hmm, how do I put it — like a sandstorm, maybe? Fast, precise, and lethal. She beat six challengers one after another."
"Six in a row? That's no joke."
The second soldier whistled.
"Yeah, exactly. That woman was an absolute monster. But here's the thing..."
"The thing being?"
I held my breath and strained to catch the soldier's dramatic pause.
"They say she's pretty easy on the eyes. Not much up top, but tall and slender, apparently."
After all that buildup, it was about her looks!? ...Well. To be fair, looks do matter.
"Bah, I could give up height, but giving up a full bust is a bit... Still, I wouldn't mind going to see for myself. Anyone know her name?"
"Heard it was Hildegard Pechter. Don't know exactly where she's from, but they say she came from across the southern border, in the Empire. Wandered a lot of regions as a mercenary, apparently."
Hildegard Pechter...
I turned the name over in my mind as the soldiers spoke it.
"If she keeps flaunting money like that, someone's going to get badly hurt over it. Well, not my business..."
"So are you going to the matches tomorrow or not? Word is the betting stakes will be sizeable."
Their conversation carried on, but I judged I had heard enough. Quietly, I withdrew and walked on down the corridor.
A woman warrior from the Empire... and a polearm user, at that.
A seasoned warrior wielding a weapon similar to Bielka's — recruiting her was simply common sense. One could fairly say the choice was practically made for me.
A smile crept across my lips.