CH 57

Why didn’t you tell me about your sword arm, Elsa?” Curtis asked.

“Chichi ordered me not to tell you, Curtis-sama, he said it’s the same as embarrassing a man if his martial skill is inferior to a woman, so I should just show you my ladylike side and deceive you… was that wrong?

“Of course, what your Chichi said was wrong, Elsa, even if I lost to you, I wouldn’t be ashamed!” Curtis yelled. “There is no distinction between men and women in martial arts, it’s only natural that whoever is the better fighter wins!”

Curtis-onii-chan is all for equal competition.

This guy only has martial arts in his brain.

“I am the second son of a frontier noble, and my brother is the one who will inherit the house, so when I grow up, I plan to leave home and become an adventurer,” Curtis said.

Elsa-san stepped back in shock.

“Richard-sama, your brother, is sickly, and I thought it best to make preparations for you to take over the family because anything could happen at any time,” Elsa said.

“Are you waiting while preparing for the future that you don’t know when it will come?” Curtis said. “I don’t want to do that. When I come of age, I’m still going to leave home and go on a journey for adventure. So, I know that the woman who stands beside me has to be strong.”

Elsa-san was looking at Curtis-onii-chan with wide eyes wondering, probably wondering what this guy was saying.

“Then, all my hard work to become a noble lady, to prepare to be the wife of a margrave…”

“I felt sorry for you, you were trying too hard to be ladylike, I felt guilty,” Curtis said. “That’s why I couldn’t tell you about my dream.”

“I, my dream is to be with you, Curtis-sama, as a wife of the margrave… to be a respectable lady…”

Ah, it’s a misunderstanding of each other’s dreams due to a lack of communication.

Carnage incoming, carnage incoming.

Everyone in the faction also holds their breath and can’t take their eyes off the Curtis-Elsa Theater.

“I thought that someday, I would have to abandon you when I go out into the wilderness with my concubines,” Curtis said.

So that’s why Curtis was so plain and boring to Elsa-san.

I guess he was being so distant and cold to her so she wouldn’t have any lingering attachment when he abandoned her.

“But if you’re this strong, it’s a different story,” Curtis said.

“Yes?” Elsa said.

“You should immediately move from Class C to Class B, enter the Swordsmanship Club, stop training as a young lady, and develop your talent with the sword,” Curtis said.

“N-No, umm, Curtis-sama, such a thing is,” Elsa said.

“Elsa, I want you next to me as I go into the wilderness. Let’s be together forever,” Curtis said, taking Elsa’s hand and speaking passionately.

Elsa-san blushed. “Yes……” she said.

“Alright, okay, okay, then first join the faction, it’ll be fine,” Curtis said.

“Right, it doesn’t matter anymore…” Elsa said.

Well, even if it’s a misunderstanding, it’s reaaaallllyy no wonder that all the noble lady training she’d been working on was in vain and that Curtis-onii-chan will be destroyed if the sword skills he worked so hard to get would become useless in one stroke of fate.

But, well, if Elsa-san is happy, that’s fine.

“I mean, you guys should talk more,” I said.

“No, I didn’t think that this homely Elsa could have such skill with a sword,” Curtis said.

“I didn’t expect that you would abandon your family, Curtis-sama,” Elsa said.

“But I’m glad we got to know each other, welcome to the faction, Grigny-sama,” I said.

“Elsa is fine, Makoto-sama,” Elsa said.

“Yeah, nice to meet you, Elsa-san,” I said.

“The pleasure is all mine,” Elsa said.

We shook hands with Elsa.

A great swordsman has joined the faction, and she is also familiar with high society.

I’m sure we can count on her.

Carol looked at the two with a smile that seemed to melt away.

“You look happy,” I said.

“Yeah, I thought it was quite a relief to see, thank you, Makoto,” Carol said.

“I didn’t do anything, and it’s not my fault that they didn’t talk and kept misreading their intentions,” I said.

“Fufu, still, thank you for that, Makoto,” Carol said.

Well, no, if Carol looks happy, I’m happy to be claimed responsible for it.

“Come on, the faction’s swordsmanship group will return to the school for a mock battle,” Curtis said.

“Let’s do it, myon, I’m going to fight Elsa-san,” Koishi said.

“I, I was letting my guard down earlier, this time I won’t,” Cattleya said.

“Take it easy, both of you,” Elsa said, her mood softening.

Much better than being stubborn.

All of a sudden, I felt something strange, and when I looked toward the trees, I saw a suspicious group of people wearing black skull masks walking toward us.

“Who are you?” I asked.

“We are the Black Skull Group! We are a group that loves justice and hates deceit!! We have come to punish the evil false saint, Makoto Kimball!”

“What are you talking about, Mike?” I asked.

Mike put on a suspicious mask and brought along a suspicious group.

There are about 30 people.

There are about 10 people that are slim and well-groomed, so they must be students of the school.

The other 20 looks like downtown thugs.

“No! I’m not Michael Pickering!! I’m a mysterious person, Dokuro Man!!”

No, no matter how you look at it, it’s Mike’s voice and stature.

“That’s right! Makoto, there’s no way Aniue would dress like that!!” Cattleya said. “Your sense of choosing a black skull mask yet calling yourself an ally of justice, your contradictory words, and actions, that’s all so ridiculously stupid!! You can’t be my Aniue!!”

Ah, Cattleya-sama is starting to get riled up.

And Mike, don’t hold your chest because your sister called you stupid.

“Ca-Cattleya Pickering-sama, you, you’re from Pottinger-kyou’s Faction, why are you mixing with the Saint’s Faction!?!” “Dokuro Man” said.

“Eh, aah, that reason is, it’s because I have friends here!!” Cattleya said.

“Nnu, it can’t be helped, please stand back a little,” Dokuro Man said.

“No, why do I have to listen to a villain like you?! Don’t mock me!!” Cattleya said.

“We-We’re also part of Pottinger-kyou’s Faction,” Dokuro Man said.

“That’s a lie!!!”

What power there was in Cattleya-sama’s “That’s a lie!”, all the birds flew out of the canopy.

“In the glorious Pottinger-kyou’s Faction, there is no one who hides his face and waits to ambush people from the shadows!! You are all scoundrels!! I, a true member of Pottinge-kyou’s faction, will never forgive you for this insult!!”

Ah, Cattleya-sama drew her sword out of anger.

Uhhiya-hhiya, the 10 or so masked students under Mike are in trouble.

What do we do in this situation?

“Kuh! I’ll deal with this woman!” Dokuro Man said. “The rest of you cut down Makoto Kimball!”

“”Roger!!””

The Black Skulls drew their swords all at once.

Oh, are they really going to kill me?

“I won’t let you,” Carol said.

Jyari-jyari-jyarin, Chain-kun rose up next to Carol.

“Corinna-chan, Melissa-chan, Yurisha-senpai behind me,” I said. “Elsa-san, escort the three of us, please.”

“Understood,” Elsa said.

Yurisha-senpai took out a magic wand from her pocket.

Misha-san takes out a halberd that is about twice her height from the tea wagon.

Corinna-chan and Melissa-san stepped back.

Elsa-san moves closer to the three with an iron fan in her hand.

“You all… don’t take me for a fool,” Elmer said.

Many ice spikes form around Elmer and slowly rotate.

It looks like an ice fortress.

Dokuro Man and Cattleya-sama are starting to have a serious match-up.

“Kisama! You’re a long swordsman from the same school as I!! Shame on you!!” Cattleya yelled.

“Th-There’s a reason for this, you’ll understand!!” Dokuro Man said.

“I will not understand!! Neither will I want to!!!”

Yeah, it might be effective to hold down a Pickering with another Pickering.

“Let’s go! It’s okay to cut them down, right, Makoto!!?” Curtis asked.

“Well, just avoid instant death, otherwise I can’t heal them!!!” I asked.

“So it’s okay, myon? Then I’ll cut them down!!” Koishi yelled.

Uwa, the combat bakas certainly look happy.

There are about 30 opponents, so I can’t suppress them with non-lethal attacks like peak strikes.

The fact that they drew their swords means that they are prepared to die if something happens.

I make a ring of Light molecules and spread it.

I searched around 1 square kilometer—–and saw someone was acting strange.

“Elsa-san, 5 people from the forest behind! They’re coming!”

“Roger that!”

Five thugs burst out from the bushes, targeting the non-combatants.

Elsa-san defeated one with a single blow, one was beaten by Misha-san’s halberd, and Yurisha-senpai blew two away with Wind magic.

As for the remaining one, Elsa-san quickly ran up to them and gave them a blow.

That prevented a surprise attack from behind.

DOOOOHHHNNN!

It was an explosion.

I thought it was Curtis’ collapsing Fire magic, but Carol threw a test tube.

It looks like it contained explosive chemicals.

5 or 6 Skulls were caught and blown away.

“Carol! Nice explosion,” I said.

“Fufufu, thank you,” Carol said, smiling brightly.

Curtis and Koishi-chan are slashing with their backs to each other.

They’re working smoothly despite this being the first time they’re doing this.

“Curtis!” I yelled, pointing at the thickest concentration of enemies.

“Ouuh!” Curtis said, nodding.

“On my count!” I yelled. “3, 2, 1, Light!”

“Fireball!”

My Light orb and Curtis’s Fireball intersect where the enemy is densest.

“”COLLAPSE!!”

BIKKA-DOKKAN!!

A flash of light and a roaring sound caused the Skulls to freeze up.

Instant stun grenade magic!

There, Elmer’s ice spikes rain down, defeating the members of the Skull Brigade.

“Wh-What the hell!!”

“Don’t look away! You bastards!!”

The Skull Corps is now full of corpses.

Dokuro Man was now the only one standing on the ground.

“Da-Damn it!! Kisamaraaa, you’re all cowards!!” Dokuro Man said.

“What’s so cowardly about attacking with 3 times the numbers!!?” Cattleya yelled. “You’re a just piece of walking trash!! If you have to learn anything from this, learn from the ideal knight, my Onii-sama!!”

“Guuuu!!” Dokuro Man groaned.

Perhaps he was shaken, and he took a blow from Cattleya-sama’s longsword on his right hand.

“Kuh, I’ll remember this, Saint’s Faction…!!”

Dokuro Man turned tail and started running away.

“Wait!!” Cattleya cried.

“Cattleya-san, please hold back,” I said.

“Mm, why Makoto?” Cattleya asked.

“It’s dangerous if you chase after him alone,” I said.

“Ah, that’s right, I think all the blood was rushing to my head, sorry,” Cattleya said.

But the lawn in the park is a mess of blood, ice, and explosions.

The Skull Corpsmen that could still walk ran away, but about 10 people were laid out and groaning in pain.

It would be a problem if they died here, so I cast Healing magic in order of severity.

Carol also took out potions and poured it on them.

What a hassle.