episode_0076

Hooow—!

A white storm suddenly started and engulfed the village of Rugen.

The sound of the wind blowing through the window frame is eerie, and the white wind seen beyond the window is ominous.

Nevertheless, the interior of the accommodation was comfortable.

This was because most buildings were designed to withstand white storms.

There were those who harbored anxiety within that comfort.

“Ugh… White Storm. I hope you’re okay… .”

“… .”

It was Render and Rachel.

The lender was worried about the safety of those who had set out to find the snowmobile.

Rachel was worried about the movements of those who had set out to find the snowmobiler.

The dynamics of the two who are isolated somewhere.

The small and secret activities that are being carried out in that isolated place.

It was the first time.

During the six-month journey, only Elden and Ariel were separated from the group.

If the group had to split up for a while, it would always be Elden, Rendler, Ariel, and herself, so it would never have been like this.

There has never been a time when I have had thoughts like these, or feelings like these.

‘… … .’

And that feeling was something I had never felt before in my entire life.

If there was something I wanted, I fought for it, and if there was something I was frustrated with, I confronted it and resolved it right away.

But the current frustration and unpleasant feelings were something that could not be fought or resolved.

Because it was so different from the way I had lived my life so far, I had no idea how to fight it or how to resolve it.

also.

Because of those feelings, I think I now know how I have viewed my disciple, Elden Raphelion.

That night, I felt like I could say for sure that I had hastily taken out and put on the red dress I had been saving to wear in front of my fiance, simply because I saw potential in it.

And I thought I understood why he had made the rash remark that he too wanted to settle down somewhere and live a ‘woman’s life’ when he said, ‘I’m going to settle down in a place with a nice view.’

It was a life of fighting against innate weakness all my life.

Because it was a life so fierce and brutal that it cut through my bones, my eyes were filled only with things for survival and growth.

Things like swords, magic, battlefields, and blood.

I have never had a man in my life.

After living like that, he became the exclusive bodyguard of a count’s family, which is no exaggeration to say was the best path to success for a commoner.

The salary he received was beyond what a mere tenant farmer could have imagined, and the money he had saved so far was enough to live comfortably for the rest of his life.

I finally achieved the promise I made to my father, ‘I will definitely make a lot of money!’

Others would criticize her for using her pretty face harshly, and admonish her that it would be smarter and easier to become a maid and seduce the young master with that face, but to Rachel, a ‘man’ was simply something to overcome and defeat, and ‘seducing’ a man for the sake of promotion was a method she had never considered.

Naturally, she had never felt anything like love for a man, and she didn’t even know exactly what love was.

Although I had vaguely defined ‘a man stronger than me’ as the person I was in love with, I had never thought about or practiced what to do when I actually met that man.

He was skilled in handling a sword.

He was so skilled at fighting that it was mind-boggling.

Even so, dealing with the man was bound to be as clumsy and awkward as swinging a sword with the hands of a young girl.

That’s why.

I also couldn’t help but be immature and clumsy in handling my feelings.

Just like when I was young, I swung my sword hastily and recklessly to learn how to wield it.

I watched him grow for six months.

As he showed potential, as expected, he grew quickly and now has skills at a level that there is nothing left to teach him.

Elden’s natural talent played a big part, but the fact that I had been watching him closely and guiding him for six months also played a significant role.

Maybe that’s why.

He didn’t want his efforts to grow into a stronger man than himself to be in vain.

I didn’t want to give that hardship to someone else.

He was able to gain the wonderful nickname of Prince Bloody Demon from Prince of Mangnani, and it was only natural for him to exercise his right as a teacher, since his own efforts had played a small part in it.

So, I felt a vague determination.

Just as a tenant farmer does not want to let the crops he has grown with his own sweat be exposed to frost, a teacher begins to make a pledge not to let his students, whom he has raised with his own sweat, be exposed to frost.

Of course, this could be excessive suspicion, wariness, or a foolish delusion that I am carrying out alone, but I thought it was no coincidence that this determination came to me as soon as the variable called Lemian Winterfell appeared.

Moreover, Renderer also expressed that Ariel ‘followed’ Elden.

It was the same in the Duchy of Langren.

As the time of farewell approached, didn’t Ariel follow him and say, ‘I’ll write a book about Elden’s story!’

Therefore, it is more likely that the situation where they ended up spending time with each other while isolated in a white storm that suddenly appeared was intentional rather than coincidental.

However, Rachel, who believed in not believing anything unless she heard it with her two ears, saw it with her two eyes, and smelled it with her two nostrils, welcomed Ariel and Elden the next afternoon.

“I hope everything is fine.”

“Nothing happened?”

“… Is that so? Then get ready.”

“Huh? What?”

“There is an empty lot behind the accommodation. Let’s take some time to review what we learned by competing with bare hands after a long time.”

Bare-handed sparring.

Rachel, who decided to personally check the truth of the answer that nothing happened and the truth of the delusions she had been having all night, led her disciple to the empty lot behind.

I’m going to vent my frustration a little bit.

**

“Fortunately, it looks like you found a place to take refuge.”

“I took refuge in a nearby cave, but it turned out to be a snowman’s cave. I was lucky.”

“I see. So you were there three people?”

“No? I met the snowman this morning.”

“… So you were alone with Ariel Yeongae from last night until this morning?”

While moving to the vacant lot, Rachel asked him a small question(?), but Elden, who took it as a warm yet blunt concern from his tsundere teacher, answered it brightly.

“Then why?”

“… … No.”

Rachel is reserved with her words.

From evening to morning, we were alone for a long time.

It was a sudden white storm, and it wouldn’t have been easy to find firewood to burn during that long day in the snowy mountains in November.

The cold has a way of making everything stick together.

What’s united tends to become one.

‘… … .’

As soon as her mind wandered there, another shameful fantasy came to her mind and Rachel quickly erased it and stood in the empty lot.

If you think about it, even if he had an affair with Ariel, there was no reason to hide it from him.

If the noble families Yeong-sik and Yeong-ae harbored feelings for each other, then a commoner like Naburangi had no right to interfere.

It would have been right to wish him a blessing, and to reproach myself for daring to look up at a tree I couldn’t climb.

However, it was a shame to just accept it because the effort I had put in was too much.

It seemed like the excitement that had been building up Elden was about to cool down.

I just didn’t want to do that.

If Ariel had feelings for Elden, she wouldn’t have just let him go.

That’s why I applied for bare-handed training.

To confirm, and to signal the beginning of a full-fledged desire to live a woman’s life.

“Then let’s start the duel. If your butt or hands touch the floor, you lose.”

“Okay. I’ll go first.”

That’s how the bare-handed duel began.

There were a few close matches, and a close game unfolded.

It was a possible contest because Rachel wasn’t being sincere.

No matter how much natural talent Elden has, he can’t catch up to someone who has practiced for 10 years in just 6 months.

Of course, Elden’s skills were not ordinary, so much so that a moment of carelessness could lead to immediate defeat.

Phew!

puck!

Shhh!

Pot!

A fast-paced competition.

When the heat was just right, Rachel pretended to let her guard down and showed her weak point by sticking her left leg out, and Elden didn’t miss it and kicked her calf.

grasp!

Rachel’s left leg lifted up loudly and her body was lifted into the air.

The moment Elden relaxed his body, confident of victory, Rachel grabbed his clothes tightly.

Tear, forcefully.

As if struggling to hold on.

“Huh?”

thud!

He fell down, hitting his buttocks.

I just fell flat on my back.

He just grabbed Elden’s clothes and pulled them off.

It was natural for their bodies to cover each other.

It was natural that Elden’s face and Rachel’s face would overlap, almost touching.

“… … .”

“… .”

also.

It was the perfect position for them to smell each other, and as Rachel quickly sniffed at it, she had to realize that her fantasies from the night before might not have been false.

and.

“… .”

I had to be thankful that I was the first one to remove the bandage in front of him.

It was the first time I acknowledged the plumpness that had always been a nuisance, and sometimes even a hindrance to my swordsmanship to the point where I wanted to cut it off.

It was Rachel who realized that what she had to hide for her life as a knight could be a great weapon in a woman’s life.

The embarrassed heat on Elden’s face clearly seemed to come from their touching chests.

“Rachel… …?”

Elden’s scent was mixed with Ariel’s.

And very strongly, too.

“… You said nothing happened, but it seems like something happened. Disciple?”