Alfine's point of view


　It had been two weeks since Fynn and I had broken up in a fight.

　In the meantime, I've been letting adventurers find out where Fynn is going through the Adventurers Guild in the royal capital.

　However, the reports brought by the steward were not good.


　No matter how much I looked for him, I couldn't find Fynn's whereabouts in King's Landing or the nearby cities.

　The rumor that has been gathered is that he was last seen going towards the stagecoach to the frontier.


　I don't think that guy from Fynn really left me behind ...... and went to the frontier.

　I'm not sure if it's just a matter of time before I'll be able to find a solution to my problem, but I'm not sure if it's a matter of time before I'll be able to find a solution.

　It's possible that you might be working with another adventurer .......

　I've heard recently that when I wasn't at the palace on business I was working with other adventurers,......

　The first thing I would like to do is to ask the adventurers who were working with Fynn about their whereabouts.


　I'm not sure what to make of it, but I'm sure it's a good idea to be gentle with him, because he'll be able to come back when his head is cold.

　So I had them focus on searching the neighbourhood to make sure Fynn wasn't going far: .......


　A bad feeling came over me when I saw the sword in my hand, the proof of my promise to Fynn, and my heart clenched.


　I'm not sure if he left this behind to punish me or if he really meant to say goodbye to me. ...... No way, no way, no way.


　It's not just a matter of time before you get to the point where you'll be able to get your hands on a new one.


　Even after he became a successful adventurer and was no longer using it after he attained the platinum grade, Fynn always took good care of this sword.

　I'm not going to be able to tell you what to do with it, but I'm going to tell you what to do with it.


　Fynn...... where are you going to go...... idiot...... what about the promise?


　I could only abuse his sword instead of him being gone.


　Just as I was about to feel like I was going to fall off the edge looking at Fynn's sword, there was a knock at the door of my room.


''Alfine-sama, today is the day for the swordsmanship instruction for the members of the Kingsguard at the Royal Palace. Please get ready to change your clothes.

I'll finish packing in a minute. Be ready to take the castle.

Yes, sir.


　The butler answered through the door and went straight downstairs.


　Come to think of it, today was the day you were going to serve at the royal castle.

　Along with the title of sword saint bestowed by the king, he couldn't abandon his work as he had joined the nobility as a swordsmanship instructor of the Kingsguard.


　It's depressing to think that I'll be teaching those soft noble knights the sword again.

　I'm a master of equipment and swords, but my swordsmanship is inferior to that of an iron-grade adventurer, and I'm annoyed that even when Fynn is around, there are those who show their ulterior motives towards me.


　I let out a deep sigh and decided to put away the cleaned up sword and change out of my nightgown and into the formal wear I would wear to the castle.





''Teriyaa!''

It's slow, and its thrusts are not only easy to read, but also not accurate.


　I lightly flicked the sword thrust out towards me and pointed it at the gap created by the other knight's right shoulder and thrust the wooden sword into the gap.


''Kahaha!''


　The tip of the wooden sword that had penetrated the gap in my armor had done serious damage to the knight.

　The knight who received my thrust dropped the sword in his hand and poked his knee into the ground.


'Well, I'm here. I didn't expect a woman's blow to cause so much damage.


　As expected, this knight is all talk and no skill at all.

　I've been told that before becoming a knight of the Kingsguard, he lived an adventurous life and passed through many battles, but his skill was only a few levels lower than that of Fynn and me.


I believe that you are also an excellent fighter. However, I thought that taking too long to transition to offensive actions could work to your opponent's advantage.


　If you were to move so casually in a battle against a strong monster, your neck and body would instantly separate and you'd be dead.

　However, the people who are chosen to be knights of the Kingsguard are the children of the great nobles.

　This is why I have to choose my words to instruct them, which is a source of stress for me.


It's a good thing that the king has acknowledged that he is the "Sage of Swords". "You are the sage of the sword,


　The one who called out to me was the Knight Commander of the Kingsguard, Gile, who was watching the mock match.


　There's another troublesome man .......


　The man in front of you is Jair Radcliffe, the heir of the great noble Radcliffe family, whose father is the vizier, and who is himself a Knight Commander of the Kingsguard.

　He is a handsome young man with a handsome face and is said to be very popular with the ladies of the court.


　But if you ask me, he's just a "good-looking, pompous son".


　The existence of Gile is another source of stress for me.


"Everyone calls her the goddess of swords," said Alfina-dono. I'm sure you'll be able to find out more about this. I'm just happy to see her in action.

Even with all that praise, the practice still continues. Mister Gile, you're next.


　He skips sword practice for some reason.

　His strength is the lowest among the soft knights of the Kingsguard.

　It's a good thing that you're able to get a job as a Knight Commander of the Kingsguard through connections alone.


　If that's all there is to it, it's not going to harm me, so I could ignore it.

　But that wasn't the only problem with him.


I've heard that Lord Feen, one of Lord Alfine's lovers, has disappeared. The rumor has leaked out from the people in the city.


　A fondly colored gaze was turned towards me.

　He was an unparalleled womanizer, to the point that his flirtations with the ladies of the nobility were said to be countless.


　Exposed to that gaze, I felt a boiling up of anger.

　He couldn't stop his attitude towards Fynn from becoming even more stinging than when he was an adventurer because of the stress this man gave him, which was half as much.


''If you have time to indulge in such rootless gossip, then please take up your sword as a kinsman knight, a shield to protect the king.


　I stifle my anger and endure from the bellicose gaze of the great nobleman's bonbon.

　If I let my anger get the better of me and engage in a private fight with him, even though he is a swordsmanship instructor, it is I who will be disposed of.


I've been worrying about Alfina-dono for quite some time now. I'm always happy to consult with you if you don't mind.


　I advised him to take his sword if he was a knight of the Kingsguard, but Giles didn't listen to me and didn't remove his bellicose gaze.


　This man ...... doesn't listen to what people are saying, he keeps looking at you rudely and is really disgusting .......

　If he wasn't the legitimate son of a great nobleman and leader of the Kingsguard, I would have instantly beaten him to death and hung him from the top of the castle gate.


''No thanks. Besides, Fynn is just training on his own right now, so don't worry, he'll be back in time.

I'm sorry to hear that. However, if you have any concerns, please feel free to consult with me. Lady Alfine is an important instructor of swordsmanship in our Kingsguard.


　After saying that much, Gile disappeared from the parade ground without drawing his sword even once.


　Ah, seriously, that bonny aristocrat, saying only what he wanted to say and disappearing, disgusting!　


　The stress inside me made me want to bite my nails, but I couldn't bite my nails in front of other people, and I was getting annoyed.


''From this, we will now have a 1 vs. 100 randori practice. All Konoe knights present, go ahead and draw your swords.''


　I decided to try to calm my nerves, and decided to practice random combat with my knights in the Kingsguard.

　I'm sure you've heard of the 1:100 practice session with me, and I can see the guards' faces change to a frightened expression.


"I'm not feeling well--

I don't think I...

I think it's time for tea.


"Those of you who will not be training as instructors of the sword, you must report to the King--


　The knights of the Kingsguard, who were trying to escape, stopped at once.

　They are afraid of losing the king's favor and their status as nobles.

　I'm an upstart, but they would be in trouble if they were informed by the king that I'd skipped out on my sword training.


　So, I practiced a 1:100 match with my fellow knights in the Kingsguard, and none of them were able to beat me.

　As a result, none of them were able to strike me with a single blow and all of them fell down with their contents (vomit) all over the ground.