A Doll Seeking Freedom(2)

Mira was amazed.

Not just her, but all the surrounding observers were also in the midst of admiration.

After all, who wouldn’t be amazed at the sight of cutting a cliff-like wall with just those small swords and a single kitchen knife?

Mira had heard in passing from Aria about doing such training even before the Sky Island incident occurred, but this was the first time she had seen it directly, so it was inevitable that she was surprised.

‘This is incredible…’

They are merely humans.s, whose limits are clearly lower compared to other races. Of course, it’s said that humans have inherited a history of swords and knives from ancient times and are more skilled in swordsmanship than other races, but there were still limits to this.

The one showing those limits was Haran, the Knight Commander standing next to Mira.

It’s said that he can cut an even larger rock face than the cliff-like wall those two were cutting by himself, but that was his limit.

And since the limit of Haran, said to be the strongest swordsman among humans, was up to a rock face, everyone thought that was also the limit for the human race, and for humans, that alone was a power that could be called monstrous.

However, these students, the fruits of Aria’s education, were now trying to completely deny that.

‘And yet they’re still just students…’

Those two are still students. Even at this very moment, they are like growing sprouts, yet they’re showing such ability.

Then, when these students who have grown under Aria’s guidance fully bear fruit, how far will they have climbed?

Imagining that, Mira shuddered at the goosebumps rising. She was so excited that she couldn’t control her own trembling.

Probably, if it weren’t for the presence that had caught on her perception boundary that she had spread out, Mira would have continued trembling with anticipation.

Tap…

“?!”

A presence caught along with footsteps. At that, Mira straightened her back and opened her eyes wide.

‘…Who is it?’

The security of the academy was strict. Of course, it was security that Mira had particularly organized, and moreover, due to recent events related to demons, the number had been increased to nearly triple, so it was a place where not even an ant could enter.

Moreover, was it only the security that protected the academy?

There was also a protective barrier installed with Meiel’s help, so it shouldn’t have been easy to enter at all.

Therefore, the perception boundary that Mira had spread out was merely a courtesy towards the observers for show, but…

‘To infiltrate so easily and reach here?’

Mira was flustered but gripped her pounding heart at the one who had broken through those strict security measures and barrier and reached her perception boundary.

Could it be a demon? Or has the Demon King she saw then come?

All sorts of anxious thoughts flashed through Mira’s mind, but now was not the time to leisurely have such thoughts.

The presence she felt. That presence was in a position that would be visible just by turning her head.

Therefore, Mira carefully slipped out of the group of observers who had not yet noticed the presence and looked towards where she felt it.

“…”

“Who are you…?”

And looking at the source, what she saw was a woman with long blonde hair reaching down to her legs.

It was a woman looking back at Mira with vacant eyes while holding a book as thick as an encyclopedia to her chest.

Mira tilted her head for a moment at the face she had never seen before and expressed doubt, but soon realizing that there was no flow of magic or intent to attack from her, she opened her mouth.

“Who are you? I’m sorry, but this is Lua Academy. Intrusion by outsiders is not permitted.”

Of course, regardless of being permitted or not, it should have been blocked from the entrance normally.

Mira thought it was strict, but inwardly she muttered that she would have to revise the security again, which was nothing but lax, and perhaps due to Mira suddenly raising her voice, the gazes of the observers one by one followed Mira towards the woman.

“Hm? Who is that person? Principal Mira.”

“I don’t know that properly yet either. So please don’t come in front of me in case of any unforeseen danger.”

Mira politely answered the question of a noble who had let out an exclamation at the sight of the beautiful woman and then asked her, while taking out her staff.

First of all, seeing that she had come this far, she must not be an ordinary person.

From the start, the woman’s bare feet and the suspicious book she was hugging to her chest proved this.

Therefore, although she hadn’t shown any intent to attack yet, Mira lightly waved the staff she had taken out while being wary of the woman.

『Artifact Shield』

Along with the waving of the staff, a pale yellow shield enveloped the observers behind Mira.

It wasn’t as good as the Artifact Shield that perfectly blocks enemy attacks, but in terms of hardness, it was a shield with strength comparable to dragon scales.

A top-tier shield that she had learned and mastered from Meiel for quite some time. Mira glanced once at the shield that she had hastily but somewhat decently laid out, then turned her gaze back to the woman.

And it was then that the woman, who had been keeping her mouth shut tightly, spoke for the first time.

“I’ve come to meet the swordsman… no, mother… no, Aria. The human called Aria.”

---

“Hmm…?”

I suddenly let out a short sound at the scene outside the practical training ground that I saw while training the students.

Has something happened? In the brief moment I had taken my attention away, a shield had been put up around the observers.

Probably a shield of that level must have been directly installed by Mira.

Moreover, those who had clearly been looking towards where Arin and Kana were, were all now looking in a different direction.

It was clearly saying that there was something worth being wary of enough to put up a shield where their gazes were directed, so I was about to raise my guard slightly and expand my sensing, but before that, Mira poked her head in first through the entrance of the practical training ground.

“Aria-san! Where are you?!”

And Mira, looking around as if searching for me, found me standing in the center and approached me.

Of course, the students were still continuing their training, so she carefully dodged the falling rocks.

“Oh, here you are, Aria-san.”

“Has some problem occurred? It doesn’t seem to be an ordinary problem, though.”

“Yes, it’s not an ordinary problem… um…”

Mira trailed off after saying that much. She let out a mumbling sound for a moment, then turned back to me and asked.

“By any chance, do you know any women with long blonde hair?”

“…Pardon?”

At Mira’s question that I couldn’t understand for a moment, I asked back with a puzzled face, and Mira, as if she had expected this, answered with an unsatisfied expression while twirling her side hair.

“Right now, there’s a blonde woman I’ve never seen before outside saying she’s come to meet Aria-san. It doesn’t seem like she’s trying to cause harm, but seeing that she broke through security to come here, it’s suspicious in many ways… If possible, could you spare some time and come with me?”

“Yes, that’s simple enough.”

They should be able to train well on their own now even without me, so there’s no need to worry.

Thinking that, I looked around and saw students nodding their heads frantically after making eye contact with me.

Therefore, satisfied with the students’ reactions, I accepted Mira’s request and followed behind Mira who went ahead first, lost in thought.

The blonde woman who Mira said had come to see me. But even if she was a blonde woman, there was no one I could think of in particular.

It couldn’t be Pina because she’s a student of the academy, so Mira would know her, and the goddess Iriel couldn’t come here. And excluding these two, that’s the end of the blonde-haired people I know.

Then who on earth knows my name and has come to meet me?

‘A demon… is about the only possibility.’

After excluding all the people I could think of, I followed behind Mira with a feeling of perhaps at the only remaining possibility, tensing my body so that I could draw my sword at any time.

If a demon had come, and if they said they wanted to meet me, they wouldn’t have sent a mediocre demon.

Right away, it would have been one of the demon executives like Idea, Pensia, or Ar who came.

And if I was certain it was a demon the moment I saw them, I would swing my sword without hesitation and kill them.

At this point, I was no longer thinking of drawing the executives to our side, so I steeled my resolve and came out of the training ground with Mira, and.

This tension of mine became completely useless at what happened next.

“Mother!!”

A powerful three-word cry.

At the same time, a tall blonde woman threw herself into my arms as I came out of the practical training ground.

“…?”

A question mark naturally appears on my face. Even Mira, who was watching the series of events right next to me, had a dumbfounded expression as if she couldn’t understand the current situation.

“From the underwater kingdom… I’ve come to find you, Mother.”

Muttering like that, the woman rubbed her head against my chest like a puppy a few more times for a moment.

After a few seconds had passed like that, the woman finally detached her face from me and stood a step away.

And I let out a small exclamation at her face that became visible when she separated from me.

“Ah, you’re the librarian I saw at the library then…”

“Yes, I’ve run away from Mother and still don’t have a name, but I hope that Mother will give me a new name. That’s the wish I’ve been harboring as I came all the way here.”

The woman, the librarian, nodded her head, affirming my words.

However, even though I knew her identity, I wracked my brain at the current situation that was still completely incomprehensible.

Why on earth had a librarian come to the academy? Moreover, seeing that she said she had run away, it seems she had run away from Iriel.

I couldn’t understand the reason for that either, so my head heated up even more as I couldn’t understand the current situation.

But before I could finish my deliberations and sort out my thoughts, the librarian placed one hand on her chest and bowed politely to me.

“Once again, it’s nice to meet you, Mother. I am a nameless homunculus who has come to meet Mother.”

---

Right above the practical training ground. Myu, who had arrived by teleportation magic leading Isolde and Morgan, let out a hollow laugh, doubting whether what she had just heard was correct.

“What on earth is that person?”

A woman who clings to Mother arbitrarily and arbitrarily calls Mother her mother.

Looking at her, Myu gritted her teeth inwardly and thought.

That a rolling stone had appeared to threaten her place.