Tilea's Worries

Edim approached, pointing the treasure spear of the Eastern Kingdom at me while spitting curses.

"Edim, calm down."

"I'll kill you. I'll fucking kill you. How dare you! A Miless acting like a Miless. How dare a fragile piece of trash like you!"

Wait, let me hear what this is about...

She must be extremely upset. She's not listening to my words at all.

Can't be helped.

First, I'll offer a topic that might interest her.

"That's an amazing weapon you have there, by the way."

I point at the treasure spear Edim is holding.

Sanity returns to Edim's eyes.

Her lips curl into a smile, looking somewhat pleased.

Just as I thought.

I can tell by how preciously she's holding it.

That treasure spear must be Edim's favorite.

"It's truly incredible. I've never seen such a wonderful weapon before. It even outshines the royal family's treasures."

"Hehe, of course. This is called Fang Tian Ji Halberd, a famous spear of the realm. Moreover, Camilla-sama herself applied magical enhancements to it. Don't lump it together with third-rate items."

"I see. How did someone like Edim end up with such an amazing weapon?"

"Well, I was awarded this for being the top performer in the previous battle. Tilea-sama personally praised me."

Edim explains happily.

Good, good. My strategy is working well.

People never mind being complimented on things they cherish.

At least she's willing to talk now.

"By the way, what does 'top performer' mean? What achievement did you accomplish, Edim?"

"Hehe, I'll tell you—I cut down Baccio with a single strike."

"You defeated Baccio?"

"Yes, in single combat, with one clean cut. I lived up to Tilea-sama and Camilla-sama's trust in me."

Edim speaks eloquently.

I see...

Edim has become a vampire.

She's not just a student anymore.

It's not surprising that she could defeat Baccio, who was known as the strongest primate.

Edim looks proud.

I should probably praise her.

"Defeating Baccio is amazing, isn't it?"

"...Miless, despite saying it's amazing, there's no feeling in your words at all."

"R-really? I truly think so."

Huh? Why does my voice sound so dry?

She defeated Baccio, the guardian deity of the royal capital, known as the strongest primate who never lost a battle in his life.

That's an impressive achievement.

I want to praise Edim, but...

"So what? Is that all?" These thoughts keep coming to mind first.

This body is really strange.

"Miless, be honest. You're making fun of me, aren't you?"

"N-no, nothing like that. It's your imagination. Anyway, tell me more details about that situation."

At least Edim is talking to me now.

I don't want to break this flow.

I encourage her to continue.

"...Alright. Come a bit closer then."

"Huh!?"

"Don't 'huh' me. We're talking. How can we talk if you're not close enough?"

"Y-yeah."

Ah, this is...

I move closer as Edim instructed.

"Miless, the sunset is beautiful, isn't it?"

"...Yes, it is."

Edim is casually moving to a position where I can't see her.

"Miless, you must be tired, right? Sit down there."

"..."

"Miless?"

"Ah, yes. I'll sit down."

I sit down as told.

Edim smirks as she watches me obediently following her instructions.

Ah~ Does she think I don't notice?

It's completely obvious from her muscle movements and killing intent.

"Miless, the sunset is beautiful. Look at it carefully."

"E-Edim, I'm sorry but—"

"Ah, it cleanses my soul. With such a beautiful sunset... now DIE!"

Here comes the sneak attack.

Well, it's fine.

It was completely obvious.

Edim swings her spear, aiming for my neck...

Not even close.

You're not doing it right, Edim.

With such clumsy spear work, you can't cut through muscle and bone.

The weapon's performance is good, but it seems to be swinging her around instead.

I easily avoided the attack from behind without even flinching.

"What!? Who are you really!?"

"Well, that's what I'd most like to know myself."

"H-how is this possible? You didn't even look back!"

Edim stares at me with a shocked expression.

Astonishment, doubt, jealousy—various thoughts seem to be racing through her mind.

But she hasn't given up on harming me.

She's still firmly gripping her spear, maintaining her stance toward me.

"Edim, let's stop this."

"Shut up!"

"L-look, to be honest, with your skill level, it would be impossible even if you had a hundred years."

"Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!"

Edim became excited and started swinging her spear wildly.

Can't be helped.

Talking won't work anymore.

I'll have to use force to stop Edim.

What should I do?

It would be a shame to make her unconscious or hurt her.

Breaking her weapon is the only option.

"Hah!"

I focus on the Fang Tian Ji Halberd as she swings it around.

I deliver a precise kick aimed at the handle.

The handle isn't as hardened as the blade.

Upon receiving my kick, the handle snapped cleanly in two.

Edim is frozen in place.

"I'm sorry. I thought this was the only way to make you stop."

Edim remains silent.

"Edim?"

"What have you dooone?! Terrible, this is terrible! Waaaaaah! My precious, precious treasure spear made by Camilla-sama herself, given to me as an honor..."

Edim is crying like a small child.

Sobbing and streaming tears.

Ugh, poor thing.

But I thought this was better than injuring her.

"U-um..."

"Miless, you monster! Why did you break it? Why did you dodge!?"

Don't be unreasonable.

If it were an ordinary blade, maybe, but that thing would be dangerous if it hit me.

If it struck a bad spot, it wouldn't just be a broken bone. I could be seriously injured.

Well, with my current self, I probably had other options.

Maybe I could have avoided breaking Edim's precious weapon.

I might have been a bit angry after nearly being killed in a sneak attack by my close friend.

That's why I took such measures.

I still have a lot to learn about being human.

"I-I'm sorry. I'll do anything to make it up to you."

I put my hands together, begging Edim for forgiveness.

"*sniff* *hiccup* Th-then fix it completely, and then let me kill you!"

She's really being unreasonable.

"I'll have to pass on that."

"*hiccup* I won't forgive you. I'll never forgive you!"

Edim shouts loudly, and her tantrum shows no signs of subsiding.

As I try to calm Edim down, Timu-chan arrives.

With her silver hair flowing, she's still a beautiful girl.

Edim notices Timu-chan and lets out a shriek.

"I-I'll be killed by Camilla-sama. Breaking such an important reward given by Tilea-sama... Wh-what should I do?"

She's gone from throwing a tantrum to being extremely flustered.

No, no, even if Timu-chan is like a queen, she wouldn't kill someone for... actually, she might.

Timu-chan becomes extremely harsh when Tilea-san is involved.

Edim was frantically moving about, holding the broken Fang Tian Ji Halberd.

It's painful to watch.

I guess I have no choice.

"Leave it to me."

I take the Fang Tian Ji Halberd from Edim.

It's my responsibility since I broke it.

I'll ask for forgiveness, prepared to take two or three punches.

I should be fine even if I get hit now, right?

Probably...

"Camilla-sama."

When I call out to her, Timu-chan observes me with interest.

"Hmm, Miless."

"Wh-what is it?"

"You've grown, haven't you!"

Grown... she doesn't mean my chest, right?

Well, I know Timu-chan's personality.

She probably means it literally.

After that, Timu-chan stared at me intensely, then started touching my body all over.

"U-um, Camilla-sama?"

"Kuku, interesting. Very interesting indeed. What a development. My intellectual curiosity is satisfied for the first time in a long while."

"I-I see."

Timu-chan's eyes are scary.

She was excited as if she had found a new toy.

That's right. When we last met, Tilea-san had collapsed, so there was no time for this.

She must have had some thoughts after seeing me again.

"Now then, Miless, come here. I want you to participate in various experiments."

"Eh, that's a bit... More importantly, about this..."

I show the broken Fang Tian Ji Halberd to Timu-chan.

"What about this piece of junk?"

"Junk? Isn't this a masterpiece weapon?"

"Hmph. I presented this to my sister, but she said she didn't need equipment. The moment my sister made that judgment, this lost all value. At most, it's only good enough to be given to an incompetent subordinate."

What a harsh way to put it.

Even though it's a masterpiece comparable to the three great weapons of the realm...

No matter how much Tilea-san says she doesn't need it, it's still an ultra-rare item.

With Tilea-san's personality, she'd probably say she doesn't need any weapon. If you're going to give her a present, a kitchen knife would have been better.

"Anyway, I broke this by accident. If it can be fixed, I'd like you to repair it."

"Understood. Just leave it over there."

"Huh!? That easily?"

"I can fix it anytime. More importantly, come here!"

Timu-chan forcibly pulled my arm.

"W-wait, Camilla-sama."

"What? Are you resisting?"

Timu-chan applies even more force.

I resist with equal force.

The more I resist, the more force Timu-chan applies.

Th-this might break my bones.

Reflexively, I redirected her force and sent Timu-chan tumbling to the ground.

"Ah, sorry."

I bow my head in apology.

Timu-chan was momentarily stunned after being thrown.

Then she started laughing like a madwoman.

"Kuku, ahahahahahaha! You dare to throw me down!"

"No, I'm really sorry. I didn't mean to."

"Then what did you mean to do?"

"Um, well, I wasn't thinking, it was unconscious..."

"You threw me without even thinking about it! Interesting. Show me the extent of your abilities."

Timu-chan grabbed my collar with a combative expression.

Th-this is...

"C-could this be judo?"

"That's right."

"Are you serious?"

"Yes, and I won't hold back. You won't die in your current state, right?"

"W-wait a sec—kyaaah!"

Timu-chan tried to throw me with a shoulder throw.

She got inside my guard and lowered her body to get under me.

It's a throwing technique using the spring of her hips.

If I'm slammed into the ground with this momentum, I could die.

I need to get serious.

I analyze the technique being used against me.

Quickly thinking of a countermeasure.

I see through it!

Even while being thrown, I grab Timu-chan's wrist.

Then I adjust my center of gravity.

Using the momentum of being thrown, I land and counter-throw Timu-chan.

"Ah!"

With excess force, I accidentally dislocated Timu-chan's wrist joint.

Timu-chan stares at her dislocated wrist.

And then...

"Hooo~~~~~"

D-don't stretch your syllables like that.

Timu-chan made an impressed sound and curved her mouth into a crescent shape.

Scary. Seriously scary.

I could feel Timu-chan's wave of killing intent swelling up.

This is bad. I need to apologize immediately.

"I-I'm sorry! Please forgive me!"

"It's fine. I like you even more now. To dislocate my joint in an instant! Hmm, to think Miless could do this much. I should modify my experiment content."

Timu-chan is muttering to herself.

The content is... too terrifying to ask about.

What kind of experiment!?

Sensing danger, I immediately fled.

I ran down the basement stairs and rushed into the nearest room.

*huff, huff, huff*

I can still feel fear properly.

As always, only Timu-chan scares me.

I carefully opened the door to observe the surroundings and saw Timu-chan searching for me.

"Miless~, where are you hiding? Don't be so cold! After getting me this excited... let's play more."

Timu-chan is searching for me!?

I need to conceal my presence.

It's okay.

I'll use the same method as during the body check.

I suppress the magic power I'm emitting and conceal the magic flowing through me.

Then, I erased my presence as if blending with the scenery.

"Oh, amazing, Miless! Your presence has completely disappeared. Such stealth is difficult even for me, let alone my subordinates."

Ah, Timu-chan lost track of me.

That's goo—

"But unfortunately for you, you were a bit slow in concealing your presence. The afterglow of your magic power remains."

"Huh!?"

"Hmph, straight ahead, to the right."

W-w-I've been found.

Timu-chan moved to the door of the room where I was hiding and placed her hand on the doorknob.

"S-someone's in here."

It was useless to say that.

The doorknob turned right and the door began to open.

I quickly grabbed the doorknob from the inside and forcefully turned it in the opposite direction.

This type of lock works by rotating the knob to release the latch connecting the door to the frame.

In other words, if I turn it in the opposite direction, the door won't open.

I won't let you open it—wait, Timu-chan is strong!?

The doorknob is gradually turning to the right.

I need to get serious too!

I put all my strength into it.

The doorknob that was turning right starts turning left.

"Oh! Oh! Oh!?"

I could hear Timu-chan's astonished voice from outside the door.

"Let's talk this out. No to violence!"

"Kuku, ahahahahahahahaha! That power rivals even mine. Miless, how much more will you surprise me?"

"U-um..."

"I'm having fun. You creator's pet!"

What is this person saying?

Anyway, my resistance seems to have heightened Timu-chan's fighting spirit even more.

What should I do? Will I be able to return alive at this rate?

[TL notes: I added a poll regarding this novel and If we should translate volume 5 which ended on cliffhanger https://take.supersurvey.com/poll5470491x6eB64CDb-162 ]