Disclaimer: I do not guarantee a 100% accurate translation. Do kindly notify me if you see any mistake.

You Don’t Acknowledge Me

In the southeast of Amaddo, there was once a kingdom which was affiliated to the “Holy Alliance (Furigana: Riga Santourear)” called “Romarikku”. However, at the end of twists and turns, Romarikku was annexed by Amaddo and now remained as nothing but the name of one provincial city of Amaddo.

Due to such a sequence of events, the self-reliance trait was strong in Romarikku province, and Amaddo’s government had been racking its brains on the treatment since the olden days.

Conversely, Haiderota also had a past of annexing a member nation of the alliance called “Baragan”, and including it into its own territory. The current Haiderota had a two-person share of the possession right of Dominas because one of them belonged to Baragan.

Presently, the north of Haiderota which was ruled by the rebel army roughly coincided with the territory of the former Baragan. From that start, the animosity towards Haiderota’s government firmly remained among the people of this region.

It was certainly a little girl.

Casually tearing off the black mantle that had gotten dirty in mud and making her neck sound a “kokiri kokiri” was, possessing hair that was long to the degree of reaching her ankles and skin, which had faintly emerged in the very dim light, that was white to the extent of abnormal, a little girl with melancholic eyes.

The plenitude of exposure, which one could see nothing but cloth wrapping around the circ.u.mference of her flat chest and waist in very small amount, made one think of Valeria’s appearance when she used magic, but because she was short and lacking variation of body line, she looked much more younger than Valeria.

However, Dimitar, whose chest was greatly cut open, understood well more than anyone that it was impossible that she was an innocent little girl according to that appearance.

It wasn’t because he was rained on, but because he was purely shuddering that Dimitar felt his back muscles shivering.

「…She’s not a normal kid」

Rather than conveying to Valeria who was beside him, perhaps Dimitar muttered to warn himself.

It was probably this girl who had cancelled out Clotilde’s magic just now. Thinking about that, he immediately understood that her magic skill was quite something. And then, even if one thought about the matter of her managing a large warhorse with this small body, grappling with Dimitar at the moment when they met and swinging her knife, it was possible to say that that agility put professional soldiers to shame.

However, what was the most troublesome was that she could kill people as if she was breathing. Despite aiming at the human body’s vitals and swinging her knife, she neither released killing intent deliberately nor had any hesitation. It was better to face and fight her from the front; he might hardly survive if that sort of person made a surprise attack on him in the dark.

「…Though I’m concerned about the number of people being numerous, you’ll have to take on those people in our surroundings」

Brushing his forelock that had absorbed the rain and sweat and became heavy upwards, Dimitar spoke.

「And then, run away if there’s a chance」

「Look here—」

「It’s fine to link up with Clotilde and rescue His Excellency or return to the town and call for reinforcement. …At any rate, move away from that kid」

「Like I said, I can’t do that—」

「You definitely can’t win」

Dimitar casually made Valeria who had doggedly opposed him obeyed by force. It was because he believed that that was an undeniable fact.

If it was just putting a distance from right in front and shooting magic at each other—in Dimitar’s opinion—Valeria might win. However, in a one-on-one battle where anything goes, no matter how, Valeria probably had no chance of winning. She’d be approached in the blink of an eye and stabbed deeply once with the knife, and it’d end with that.

「It’s not because you’re weak」

While understanding that it wasn’t any kind of consolation, Dimitar added.

「It’s simply that… she’s just merciless」

Differentiating the two girls’ positions was most likely just that one point.

Valeria was gentle. It might be fine even if one paraphrased it as “timidity”. She was afraid of herself being wounded, and at the same time, she was afraid of injuring others. If one were to make an extreme argument, she couldn’t kill people.

However, that girl could kill people. She probably wasn’t afraid of herself being wounded either.

Therefore, Valeria couldn’t win against that girl. Just by shortening the distance and making one stab to Valeria’s vitals while she was hesitating, the girl would become the living victor, and Valeria would be transformed into the defeated that could die.

「…Leave her to me」

「Dimitar!?」

While hearing that voice at his back, Dimitar slashed at the girl.

「Do, dodo—」

The girl, who was looking at Dimitar fixedly with upturned eyes, seemed to be trying to say something in a faltering tone, but it didn’t become a clear word.

Instead, the somewhat large knife attacked Dimitar. The edge of the knife which had drawn a strange curve caused Jagieruka’s blade to smoothly slide on it, and Dimitar’s slash was easily warded off. It was the brilliance of the skill that he wanted to show to the bonbons of the Seal Chivalric Order (Furigana: Tanpries Aegis).

However, he didn’t have the free time to be feeling admiration.

Patterns of pale purple phosph.o.r.escence emerged closely packed on the girl’s bare white stomach. They were considerably high-density and complex magic crests (Furigana: Hierateika), but Dimitar who was a Hiera Glaphicos could immediately understand those were for using what sort of magic.

「It’s—like that, huh!?」

Dimitar took a distance against the girl instantly and thrust Jagieruka into the ground. Removing the gauntlet that was put on his left arm in subst.i.tute for a shield, he concentrated his consciousness into both arms. Separate magic crests on each arm shone, and Dimitar’s whole body was filled with a new power.

Then, the girl came charging towards him at high speed.

「!」

Pulling Jagieruka out quickly, he repelled the girl’s knife back. It was a blow that possessed an unnatural weight, but this was also within the estimation for Dimitar.

「Though you hold a huge projectile weapon…, you’re the type that is similar to me, huh」

What the girl had used just now were “Double Power (Furigana: Force)” and “Double Speed (Furigana: Flash)”—magic which dramatically raised physical ability that Dimitar also frequently used.

「Oh, o-oh… oh?」

The girl, who was easily sent flying, kicked a tree trunk with both her feet, landed with a “hitari” and gazed at Dimitar quizzically. She most likely noticed that Dimitar had used the same magic as her.

The other thieves came interrupting in that opening.

「Step aside, Dimitar!」

Valeria who had come running to the side of Dimitar, who was staring at the girl, stuck her left hand out forwards. The flame arrows which the thieves had fired were entirely pulverised by Valeria’s “Iron Wall (Furigana: Rampart)”. Perhaps they were surprised at that jarring noise, the horses which were nearby ran away into the forest, leaving behind shrill neighs.

「If you’ve the spare time to do something like that, then go somewhere!」

「Hey…!?」

Dimitar carried Valeria under his arm and greatly jumped backwards, but the thieves were already taking a roundabout path to there too. While it might be true that those movements were easy to grasp, he couldn’t ignore the thieves who, unlike the girl, released clear killing intents either.

「Chi…!」

At almost the same time when he heard the sound of the thieves unsheathing the swords on their waists, Dimitar extended his right foot to the back while sinking his body.

「Gugo—o」

The sensation of ribs been broken was transmitted through the boots. Dimitar’s back kick had probably done a direct hit on the chest of a thief at the rear. Furthermore, letting Jagieruka pa.s.s through his armpit, he did a stab with it and delivered the finishing blow.

「In, in front!」

Valeria, who was pressed down by Dimitar and had squatted down on the spot, finely scattered “Fire Bullets (Furigana: Blast)” towards the girl who was approaching from the front.

However, the girl weaved her way through those gaps and ran here. It was a kinetic vision that one ought to be shocked at.

「Do the rest yourself somehow!」

「Eh!?」

Dimitar grabbed the nape of Valeria’s neck and flung her, and then attacked the girl. On this occasion, the other thieves wouldn’t become a significant problem. Their number had decreased to some extent, and when compared to the girl, their abilities fell behind by several levels. If those people of this standard were her opponents, then Valeria should be able to defend herself as much as she liked.

However, only this girl couldn’t be left alone. The worst case was this girl and Valeria squaring off one-on-one while Dimitar was occupied with the other thieves.

Therefore, Dimitar proactively slashed at the girl of his own accord.

「—Fuu!」

Despite stepping in, the girl sank her body and evaded the point of Jagieruka that had matched her and ran horizontally. Although a tuft of her bluish-purple hair was cut and fell as if dancing, she didn’t even narrow her eyes. As she stared at Dimitar with completely unshaken eyes, the girl tried to jump into Dimitar’s chest.

「You’re more troublesome than I imagined—!」

While stepping backwards, he thrust Jagieruka which had magic crests emerging on it into the ground. An intense cold air ran radially from there while freezing the ground.

「—?」

The girl, who had stepped on the ground that had frozen and split finely, grimaced and hurriedly jumped back. For the girl who was wearing sandals, this footing was probably unpleasant.

In that interval, Dimitar pulled out the knife that was inserted in his boots. Recalling his practice with Lucius, he a.s.sumed a stance with his legs in an L-shape. The posture of thrusting out his left hand which gripped the knife to the front with his right hand which gripped Jagieruka at the back was for opposing the girl who had come challenging him to close combat.

The girl, who had temporarily jumped to the side, kicked a tree trunk and came attacking Dimitar again.

「!」

He turned the knife which had come extending towards his face away to the side with his knife that was far more meagre when compared to that. Dimitar who had sensed that the girl tried to forcibly grapple with him as it was boldly stepped in of his own accord and struck his forehead against the girl’s head.

「Aii!?」

Raising a shrill scream, the girl was blown off. Even if she obtained amazing physical ability by means of magic, only this difference in body weight wasn’t covered up as expected.

Dimitar then fired magic arrows towards the girl who had rolled and bounced on the ground.

「H, H-h, how dare, you—」

Holding down her temple where blood weakly oozed, the girl swung her left hand. Similar arrows surged from those fingertips and were negated together with Dimitar’s arrows. Her instantaneous reaction and speed of even using magic; even the proficient magic warriors (Furigana: Marefikos) of Amaddo would probably be astonished.

Dimitar kicked the ground and closed in on the girl. Taking advantage of the centrifugal force, he threw a full swing of Jagieruka. Honestly, Dimitar wasn’t inclined to the composition of slashing at a young girl without going easy on her, but the sense of danger that such a cheap vacillation would become fatal had removed the limiter of his mind.

Making a “gatsun!” dull sound, Jagieruka’s blade sank into the tree trunk. The girl who had jumped lightly dodged the blow striking from the side.

「You impertinent—!」

The girl landed onto Jagieruka’s sword blade as it was, aimed at Dimitar’s face and released a kick.

「—What!」

Blocking the girl’s turning kick with his left elbow, he then grabbed that ankle immediately and swung her. If he could throw her to the ground or even into a tree trunk with that force, that’d be the best, but seeing the girl raising her knife overhead, Dimitar threw her out at once.

If they continued such a hand-to-hand combat, it’d probably cause shortness of breath to the girl first eventually. By borrowing the power of magic, the girl could also obtain a speed and power on par with Dimitar’s, but to stand on the same place as Dimitar, the originally powerless girl must push herself to the limit more than Dimitar. That was to say, she must be saddled with more mental burdens than Dimitar.

Of course, this shrewd girl should have realised that. If so, the girl might not aim for a hand-to-hand combat that would slowly exhaust her, but a short-term decisive battle by means of flashy magic. If that could be predicted, he could make the battle progress to his advantage.

The girl, who had rolled in the mud with a “goro goro”, made magic crests emerge on both her bare arms while standing up.

However, he wouldn’t give her the time to let them transform into real magic.

「Excuse me for my manners being bad—」

Dimitar hooked the corpse of a thief which was lying down close by onto Jagieruka and flung it towards girl.

「……」

Immediately after a sound of clicking tongue was faintly heard, the girl put up a rampart around and before her. The corpse which had lost the strength of its limbs was sent flying with a “gunyan”, and the mud turned into sprays due to that aftermath and scattered flashily.

Seizing that opportunity, Dimitar shortened the distance between him and the girl.

「Y, y-y… y, you—!」

Although the girl directed her right hand which was coloured by magic crests towards Dimitar, prior to the flame arrows surging from those fingertips, the side of Dimitar throwing his knife at her was faster.

「Tsu—」

The knife that Dimitar, who had acquired a physical ability that far surpa.s.sed an ordinary man’s, threw was even faster than the arrow of a strong composite bow. The fact that that knife which should have been aimed at her chest was limited to just gouging her left shoulder might be because the girl had tried to reflexively avoid it.

Although that reaction was magnificent, Dimitar didn’t think that she’d be killed by that. When Dimitar kicked up mud and approached the girl, he tried to drive the toe of his boots into the girl’s solar plexus.

It was when he noticed through the gap of her copious hair which drooped loosely that the girl wasn’t looking at him but the night sky that he sensed that it was a mistake.

「—!?」

The girl, who had held her knife in her mouth, stopped Dimitar’s kicking leg with both hands, used that force and soared into the air in one breath.

In front of that dark gaze was—.

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