Fuzzy (Finne"s Side) Lady Liselotte Riefenstahl is a strange person.
Other than her, all the other n.o.ble ladies at this academy treat me as if I don"t even exist.
I guess that"s how it is. No one would bother to talk to the weeds or pebbles they walk by on the path, after all.
I don"t have a family name or even a father, so it can"t be helped if, from a n.o.ble"s point of view, I"m completely beneath their notice.
However, she"s the only one who treats me as an equal. Even a rival. She"s strange.
At first glance, her fiancée is also kind to me, but he"s not strange at all.
To him, all the students in the school are under him, so it"s not strange that he"s equally kind to everybody. It"s a simple rule so even I can understand it.
“Miss Finne, where are we going?”
Ah, right. As he called out to me from behind, I remembered that there was, in fact, one more ‘strange" person. He has already spent a month and a half by my side. I guess I wasn"t just a weed anymore.
A G.o.d? Under strange circ.u.mstances, this man, Baldur Riefenstahl, became something like my bodyguard.
I suppose we were equals now? No, since he was always asking me for commands and told me to address him as ‘Bard" without any t.i.tles, I suppose he thinks of me as above him?
Of course, I don"t know what people would think if I suddenly started to give him instructions and call him by a nickname like that especially considering he was older than me, so I got him to agree to let me call him 【Bard-senpai】.
‘How could I both be your escort, Miss Finne, as well as have you call me such a respectful name when I cannot best you in combat…" He seemed to have a few hang-ups over that, but thankfully for the sake of protecting my peaceful school life, I managed to get him to agree.
Maybe when it comes to the Riefenstahl family, they judge people based on their strength?
“I"d like to get some exercise, so I was thinking of hunting some monsters? You don"t have to follow me, Bard-senpai.”
That"s why I was headed towards the mountains behind the school where there are endless amounts of monsters, but that serious knight didn"t seem to have any intention of letting me go alone, keeping a half-step behind me.
When I said I wanted to get some exercise, that was a lie, the truth is I wanted to hunt for my dinner. It would be kind of awkward to say it now though.
“I"m strong, after all?”
As I looked up at him, I said something even I thought was really arrogant.
He was tall and muscular, whilst I was short even for a girl, so it was a little frustrating having to look up at him every time I wanted to talk. So, why not try and catch him off guard with a surprise attack?”
“I know. That"s why the prophecy that soon strong enemies even Lady Finne, who is as strong as any monster, could have trouble defeating will appear is such a dire one. For the sake of this country"s future, I cannot afford to leave your side for even a moment.”
Don"t you think it"s rude, comparing a lady to a monster?
I felt myself frown at his words, but, well, I guess I"m not unaware that I"m strange in my own way as well. I"m not much of a lady and I don"t really see myself becoming one anytime soon. I guess that"s fine.
“…Your wand, you won"t be wearing it on your waist?”
As he asked me that, I looked down at my clothes.
I was wearing the regular school uniform and had that wand tucked away in the inside pocket. It wouldn"t exactly be easy to pull out in a crisis.
In this school, both the male and female uniforms were similar to magicians robes, but apart from some set standards, students were free to wear whatever they wanted.
Some of the male students seemed to only wear athletic clothes all the time, but most of them at least wore a blazer. Girls normally wore skirts that were below the knee in skirt length, but there were a lot of them who had beautiful custom made dresses brought in.
I had the mandatory exercise uniform that I had to buy, but since that used up all of my funds I couldn"t even buy the regular uniform, so I had nothing to wear other than that.
Well, that was until one day when Lady Liselotte came up to me and said ‘If there is such a shabby looking girl at the same school that I attend, then the academy"s reputation will be thrown into ill-repute," and gave me what at first looked like a normal school uniform, but was actually made with such luxurious cloth that I had never touched anything like it before. What"s more, she gave me five… I still wear them gratefully.
It was perfect for my build, so I don"t see how Liselotte could have ever worn them. Because of how it fit my height and width perfectly… And my chest.
“Ah, no, it"s just that this wand looks so expensive, so I was thinking that I should keep it safe, right? When I tried to return it to Liselotte before, she said something like ‘You intend to have me use your second-hand goods? Keep it.", I don"t really understand her…”
Then, she and His Highness begin to flirt with one another again. It"s always like that.
Really, such a strange person. Honestly, such a cute person.
“When Liese has decided on something, she usually won"t back down. Besides, I"d feel sorry for such a good wand if no one were to use it.”
I don"t really understand Bard-senpai"s words, but in the first place, I don"t really have much of a reason to use it.
“I don"t really need a wand if I"m going to be honest? Well, maybe if I have to back-up Bard-senpai with recovery magic…”
I suddenly realized that I didn"t need to make a concession like that.
“Anyways, Bard-senpai, you don"t use a wand either, right?”
Just like always, he had his favourite sword on his waist. I"d never seen him carry a wand before. Did he even have one?
“Ah, this sword also functions as a wand.”
“Wooow! That"s cool! Where did you buy that?”
I dreamed about having something like that for myself, maybe with knuckledusters or at least a machete, but Bard-senpai shook his head.
“It"s a family treasure of the House of Riefenstahl. I was adopted into the family as part of my engagement and, perhaps because he doesn"t have a son, the present head of the house took a liking to me and granted me this blade.”
For some reason, the fact that he said that so indifferently, I didn"t like it at all. I felt fuzzy.
That Bard-senpai, he had a fiancée.
When it came to the top of this school, although he was the top compet.i.tor for the second strongest, though he had never was able to beat me.
“…Hmph.”
As I sulked slightly, Bard-senpai suddenly looked at my face.
“What"s wrong?”
As I saw the worry in his eyes, just for a brief moment, I felt a little gratified.
“Ah, no, it"s just that I was thinking being n.o.bility must be tough, right? For commoners like me, the idea of having a fiancée when I"m still only in school isn"t really something I can understand.”
“I don"t understand it well, either. Or rather, I"m not sure I even agree with it.”
I caught myself staring at his face that seemed to mirror my opinion exactly.
“Is there something to complain about? If she"s Liselotte"s sister, she must be beautiful, right?”
When I asked him that, his face looked as if he had swallowed something awfully bitter.
“Well, the daughters of the main household are certainly beautiful, but I can"t think of them as anything other than my younger sisters because we grew up together. What"s more, the two sisters just a little younger than Liese are twins, so I was told to pick one or the other but both of them cry and complain about me not having chosen them already, and the youngest sister below those two is only nine… Well, it isn"t something I can back out of, so one day I will have to choose one of the three, but… just thinking about it makes me want to go to the mountains and never come back.”
As we approached said mountains, Bard-senpai looked up at them wistfully.
“It"s unusual to hear you talk like that, Bard-senpai.”
I say that, but to be honest it"s unusual to hear him talk much at all. I couldn"t stop myself smiling, but he still looked bitter.
“I just don"t know what to do about it.”
“Then… Wanna stay in the mountains after all?”
Until we"ve eaten all the delicious meat that we can hunt. Then without words… He gripped that magic sword on his waist.
When he turned and locked glares with me, we both grinned.
After all, he and I were both battle junkies.
Running rampant was the most fun thing in the world.
Trying to rid myself of that strange fuzzy feeling I felt before, I sprinted forward as he followed after me.
He"s a n.o.ble and I"m just a commoner.
Someday, he"ll be a lord as well.
Even if I came to like him, it wouldn"t end happily.