Ch.7474. Eunice Kallia (2)

“Unlike many other imitations, it’s the real thing.”

“……”

I was planning to hurry back to my quarters and just lie on my bed, spacing out.

But thanks to the unexpected visitor, Yulia Kallia, my plans were completely derailed.

Since mana gathers and is stored in the heart, the source of life. From the way she stared so intently at my chest area. And then saying I was a real male knight unlike other imitations.

‘She must be one of those people Ainel mentioned who have definitely noticed my level.’

Eunice Kallia seemed to be one of those who had clearly recognized my level.

Otherwise, in this gender-reversed world, she wouldn’t be able to stare so boldly at a man’s chest and whisper in a man’s ear without hesitation.

‘Well, she is the eldest daughter of the Kallia family.’

Moreover, Eunice’s publicly known rank is the same as Siabel’s—Sword Expert.

She’s famous as a knight of the east who shows exceptional skill with the sword, having almost moved beyond the entry level of that rank.

If she saw my sword exchanges with the Demonkin several times during yesterday’s chaos, she would have certainly figured out my level to some extent.

I was caught between a rock and a hard place.

How could I overcome this ordeal and return to my room for a nap? As I was deeply contemplating this…

“Ray, do you still need more time to think?”

Looking at Eunice’s determined face, I casually remarked:

“Mana? That’s absurd. And moreover… it seems difficult to discuss this right now.”

Regarding mana, Ainel would handle it separately someday, so there was no need to acknowledge it here.

Although I’m a timid and weak slave, I’m still an official member of the County, even wearing the Sianella emblem on my chest pocket.

I thought if I politely refused, Eunice would eventually let me go, but…

“Absurd? You used it. Mana. I saw it clearly with my own eyes.”

Eunice began to cling to me even more.

At this rate, she’d be just like that elf girl, acting as if today wasn’t the only day. It was obvious she’d come running and cling to me whenever I showed my face at the royal palace.

I shook my head with an awkward smile and tried to end the conversation with a formal greeting, starting to walk away again.

Eunice’s voice reached me from behind.

“Sell me your time.”

“…?”

“The Sianella and Kallia families have a history of fierce opposition between their ancestors. Because of that, the relationship between the two families has remained ambiguous until now.”

“…Why are you telling me this?”

“If you sell me your time, the Sianella family can gain favor with me, the next head of the Kallia family. As you said, it’s an opportunity to create a deep connection with a lady from a marquisate that’s incredibly close to a duchy. Wouldn’t it be a shame to miss it?”

…It seems there was some kind of incident between Sianella and Kallia.

Ainel only introduced Eunice Kallia as a noble that Sione should talk to, but didn’t tell me anything about the Kallia family.

I stopped walking at the lady’s words.

“That’s not all. If you grant my request… I’ll prepare a small gift for you too. For just having a brief conversation, isn’t that quite tempting?”

Eunice smiled subtly, seemingly pleased that my attention had turned back to her.

“If the Sianella lady asks about your whereabouts, feel free to mention my name. After all, it can’t be helped, right? When a lady from such a prestigious family as mine requests a conversation like this. Who could refuse? Especially—”

“……”

“A commoner without even a surname, even if you are a servant of Sianella.”

I finally acquiesced to Eunice’s words as she began to flaunt my social status.

“…If you’re talking about what happened yesterday, you must be referring to the incident during the coming-of-age ceremony.”

At my words, Eunice began to show an immensely satisfied expression.

It was a natural reaction. By not objecting to her comment about being a real male knight and moving on, I was essentially acknowledging that I could handle mana.

Eunice quickly responded to my words, not wanting to let this opportunity slip away.

“Yes, and among those events. Not the exploits of Sione Sianella, nor the exploits of Ainel Sianella—”

Eunice, who had been unnecessarily close, distanced herself from me and said:

“I’d like to hear about your exploits. Would that be alright?”

“My exploits, such as they are, only amount to exchanging sword strikes and taking down two Demonkin… it won’t make for a very interesting story.”

Eunice shook her head at my words.

Her brown hair swayed in the sunlight, shimmering.

As her warm smile gradually formed and her lips curled upward,

somehow my intuition began to warn me.

That something even more troublesome was about to happen.

“That’s fine. There’s a much more interesting way to hear Ray’s heroic tale than just sitting and listening.”

“Pardon…?”

Isn’t a heroic tale something you just sit and listen to? What other way is there to hear it?

With her smile now complete, she grabbed my sleeve near the wrist and pulled.

“Follow me!”

“…Where are we going?”

“To my room!”

“Excuse me…? Your room?”

“Yes! Is there a problem?”

If there’s a problem, there are many.

Why do we need to go to her room when we could just talk here and be done with it?

And why is she grabbing and pulling a person she just met?

If I had sufficient status, I would have objected.

As I kept my mouth shut in disbelief, Eunice smiled mischievously as if she understood.

“Ah—. Don’t worry. I won’t do anything. I’m not that kind of naughty girl, you know?”

“……”

…I thought I had adapted sufficiently.

What on earth did I just hear?

I don’t think I’ll ever adapt to this crazy gender-reversed world, even if I die trying.

* * *

I eventually ended up being led to her room by the forceful Eunice.

Eunice quickly entered her room and headed to a corner, while I followed her slowly, examining the room’s structure.

The structure itself wasn’t much different from Sione’s.

However, Eunice’s room had significantly fewer pieces of furniture.

It seemed she had removed everything except essential furniture like the bed and wardrobe. Not a single decorative item could be found in her room. As a result, the spaciousness was impressive.

While I was looking around the room, Eunice returned to me.

“Well then, shall we start the story?”

Yes, starting the story is fine, but…

“May I ask what you’re holding in your hand?”

“Training wooden swords. I get a bit anxious if I skip training even for a day.”

Why on earth would a crazy person bring wooden swords to have a conversation? And not just one, but two—one in each hand.

Looking at Eunice, a mild headache began to rise.

“A heroic tale just sitting and listening is no fun. I’d like you to recreate what happened then, while telling the story.”

“…Are you serious?”

“Of course. And… the mana too.”

“What do you mean?”

“Please handle mana at the same level as you did then.”

“Ha.”

Eunice Kallia was peculiar. Not just peculiar, but extremely peculiar.

“I really don’t understand why you’re making such a request.”

Eunice ignored my words and placed a wooden sword in my hand, saying:

“Didn’t I tell you? I’ve always wanted to see a male knight.”

“How is that a reason?”

“I want to feel more certain that you’re a real male knight. A male knight who handles mana and cuts down enemies for his lord.”

Eunice stepped back and began to loosen her wrists.

“It’s just a legend, but… before demons and monsters appeared in the world, before mysterious powers like Divine Power and mana emerged. In what was called the mythical era, spears, swords, knights, and all things related to war were the exclusive domain of men.”

After loosening her wrists, she infused energy into her body with some simple stretching.

“Well, it might all be fictional, but men of that time on the battlefield, especially those who became knights, considered it glorious to die at the frontlines to protect their country and beliefs.”

Having sufficiently warmed up, Eunice adjusted her sword to a middle stance.

“For nearly ten years, when the border was in chaos due to frequent attacks from the Imperial army. Unlike our marquisate’s male knight who created great confusion by indulging in pleasure with female knights when they should have been helping, given the dire situation.”

Eunice’s words carried deep resentment.

As I was thinking about the male knight of the marquisate whom she resented…

Eunice raised her momentum by moderately utilizing mana.

“I told you, didn’t I? That I’ve always wanted to meet a real male knight, both in the past and now.”

“……”

“I hope you’ll show me the true potential of a knight held by a man, not a fake like Allen Kallia I’ve seen so far.”

“……”

“And the surest way to confirm this is by crossing swords with each other.”

Eunice smiled brightly after saying this.

“Unlike our Allen, I hope I can expect to see the true image of a knight that I admire?”

I nodded vaguely at Eunice’s words.

Though I missed some parts as her speech was too long and I was a bit dazed,

I roughly understood what she meant.

So, instead of seeing an eyesore like her brother who boasts about being her male knight, she wants to see a proper male knight that she admires.

The reason she gave me a wooden sword is because she wants to know how well I can handle a sword while utilizing mana as a male knight.

Thinking I’d just go along with it and quickly return to my quarters,

I began to utilize mana with a nonchalant expression.

There was no need to utilize mana to the extreme as Eunice suggested.

Even if she requested it, I had no obligation to follow her words.

And drawing more attention here would only make things more troublesome, with no benefit.

After all, this situation wasn’t a duel or training equivalent to actual combat, but merely an explanation and recreation of what happened yesterday.

Just convincing swordsmanship and an appropriate level of mana utilization.

That should be enough.

“First, the enemy tried to harm the princess with a short sword.”

“Like this?”

“Yes, and then I—”

Thunk!

The sound of wooden swords colliding rang out strongly.

Since the body enhanced with mana possesses strength beyond normal levels.

I’m not sure how long the wooden swords will last, but the sooner they break, the sooner this will end.

I continued my explanation casually, and Eunice matched her movements with my explanation.

“I swung my sword intending to strike his wrist to avoid the attack aimed at the neck, but he managed to block it.”

Thunk!

“I then thrust at his neck, and he tried to block my approach by scraping my sword.”

Creeeeak.

Eunice’s wooden sword slid along mine.

“At the same time, he deflected my sword to the side.”

Thunk!

“I swung downward intending to cut his chest, but this too was blocked.”

Thud!

“From here, it was a test of strength.”

“…You’re strong.”

“That’s because I’m enhancing my body with mana.”

In a situation where our swords and gazes were locked at a distance where we could feel each other’s breath.

Why am I in this ridiculous situation when all I wanted was to go back to my quarters and rest?

I smiled at this absurd situation before continuing my explanation.

“So I blocked his blade coming up along my sword with the bridge of my nose and…”

Whoosh!

I suddenly utilized mana more quickly and twisted my sword.

Surprised by my sudden attack, Eunice moved her sword.

Thunk!

Crack…

Eunice’s wooden sword cracked upon receiving my attack, then broke off and rolled on the floor.

“…and thus I cut off his neck.”

Unlike Eunice’s broken one, my wooden sword stopped right in front of her neck.

She rolled her eyes to check my wooden sword, then met my gaze again.

With our faces about a hand span apart, Eunice looked into my eyes.

“Ray. You really do seem to be the genuine male knight I’ve been admiring.”

She raised both hands playfully as if surrendering.

Eunice took a step back, slowly caught her breath, and suppressed her mana with her eyes tightly closed.

“Haah…”

She opened her eyes again with a sigh.

Her obsidian-like eyes were solely focused on me.

“I’m starting to envy the Sianella lady. For having such a male knight.”

“……”

“I want one too… If the Kallia family had protected the kingdom from the demon realm like the Sianella family, instead of the eastern border. I wonder if I could have obtained you.”

I responded to her words with silence.

Despite the lack of response, Eunice shrugged and skillfully led the conversation.

“Well, for now, I’ll be satisfied with creating this connection. After all, clingy women aren’t popular.”

With those final words, we exchanged a few more sentences before ending our conversation.

Just as I was about to turn around and leave, thinking I could finally go back…

“Ah, Ray.”

Eunice called my name.

“This morning, I only glimpsed from afar and moved on. I don’t know what conversation you had—”

What she glimpsed this morning seemed to be when I was talking with that elf girl.

Without saying anything, I turned back to face Eunice.

“It would be better not to fall for an elf’s beauty. It’s not good to deeply trust elves.”

I could see her smiling coldly.

“The elves I’ve seen while guarding the border until now… unlike what’s commonly known, they tend to be more cunning and selfish than people think. Understand?”

“…I’ll keep that in mind.”

I responded to her words with a faint smile.

To see through the essence of elves.

I couldn’t help but nod at her words and give her a perfect round of applause.

* * *

After Ray left, Eunice Kallia sat on the bed.

She looked at her broken wooden sword and smiled faintly but brightly.

“Since I’ve seen the real thing—”

With a smile on her lips, Eunice lay down on the bed, gently closed her eyes,

and whispered serenely while brushing her hair:

“I won’t be interested in plausible imitations anymore…”

Then she quietly looked at the door through which Ray had left.

“I hope we can meet in our territory next time.”