Chapter 12 (1/2)

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Chapter 12: Path forward

「s.h.i.+…!」

Shun—The sound of a blade slicing through the air rang pa.s.sed my ear and stopped stopped just short of my neck. The cold blade pressed against my skin. Th-That was scary! Just a tiny bit more and it would have cut me for real!

Mistrea-san drew back her sword to sheath it and turned to look at me. Wh-What is it?

「Mi-Mistrea-san?」

I-It's embarra.s.sing when you stare at me that intently. However, it felt like I would lose if I looked away, so I stared right back at her.

「……Well, I guess I'll give you a pa.s.sing grade」

「……Eh? You mean……」

「This is the end of your temporary training. From now on, I'll train Redius as an official pupil of mine. Helen, give Redius his sword」

「Yes, obaba-sama. Here, Redius.」

「Th-Thank you…… Wait, huh?」

How should I put this? Today's only the fifth day of the temporary training course, and it seemed like I was able to spread the Magic Armor evenly across my body without much difficulty, but, isn't this a bit too easy?

「Come on, what are you s.p.a.cing out for? Quickly draw your sword. You don't have the time to just stand there, right?」

Right. I'm racing against time. Also, I still remember the conversation with Mistrea-san and Helen-san from yesterday.

「Being an adventurer is… ”Tough,” you say?」

We were having dinner together after training, when Mistrea-san said this, the context was: What should I do to not be hated even though I have black hair.

I'd always thought of myself as being weak and incompetent compared to other people, because of this hair color. I believed that's how it was in reality as well. As expected, things were completely different when I couldn't use any sort of magic.

I could charge at my enemy to hit them, but it would be over the instance they retaliated with magic.

For that reason, my current goal was training under Mistrea-san to become stronger and then coming back to become an adventurer. I thought that I'd be accepted if I could raise my rank. However……

「About that… Wouldn't the adventurers be the only people to acknowledge you then? Do you not care if the other commoners and n.o.bles won't acknowledge you?」

……so I was told. That gave me the determination to be accepted. Furthermore……

「Besides, even if you became a successful adventurer, the n.o.bles wouldn't acknowledge you. I would say that those who would accept you do exist, but the same goes for those who think of adventurers as ruffians as well. Some of them would say, ”That black hair is getting full of himself,” and obstruct you, right?」

「Then what should I……」

When I mumbled that, Mistrea-san smiled; her expression was scary, I wonder what she's thinking?

「You just need reach a position where those n.o.bles aren't even able to complain.」

A position where the n.o.bles can't complain? I was wondering if such a person existed, when Helen-san beside me made a surprised face while looking at Mistrea-san.

「Obaba-sama! Even just saying that can get you charged with treason!」

「Don't worry, if they wanted to question me for my crime, they'd have to bring the army along. Beside, I want to do something about this system myself as well. Deciding everything based on one's hair color is foolish. In reality, there are purple-haired idiots who committed crimes, and there are excellent people with black hair, like Redius」

It was the first time someone called me excellent. I'm embarra.s.sed.