Newly written bonus story: Esther’s Lady’s Way “All you damn weaklings, here’s to you”

Are you familiar with the word, Elegant?

It has a beautiful ring to it, doesn’t it? I feel so much O-Power from it.

It holds a very important meaning for an ojōsama.

Chaste and refined. Graceful yet alluring. Power is O-Power. Always ready for a fight; to be looked down upon is to lose. If there’s a complaint, crush it with a fist. I worship only one thing: my own raw strength.

That is precisely Elegant! This is the true nature of an ojōsama! In other words, me!

…But even I wasn’t born an ojōsama from the beginning, you see.

Please indulge me in a little story about my past.

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“A-Augh…! My back is aching again today!”

“Father, please don’t overdo it…!”

—I was originally born as the only daughter of a poor merchant family.

My father, who was perfectly suited for his crew cut, was a tough guy who made a name for himself in exhibition fighting when he was young. But he retired after hurting his back due to age. My mother ran off a long time ago. Now, my father and I were poor merchants running a small shop. We were so poor that there were days we had to eat weeds just to survive. As a result, I even developed the ability to “taste-test weeds” instead of wine. Weeds are surprisingly delicious, you know.

“Damn it! If only my back had a little more fighting spirit! Move, you piece of junk!”

“Father, please calm down! I’ll handle the heavy labor…!”

With that, I hoisted two massive barrels onto my shoulders. They weighed about a hundred kilograms each, perhaps? I could lift them easily. For my personal weight training, I once deadlifted a maximum of five hundred kilograms.

“You always told me, Father… ‘Train! Muscles never betray you.'”

“Ester…!”

“Grace is strength, and strength is O-Power… With the graceful muscles and tenacity I inherited from you, I will make this shop prosper!”

I couldn’t just stand by! Though my clothes were rags, my heart was silk! A hawk, though hungry, will not stoop to the ground!

—I have a dream, you see…

To become a real, genuine ojōsama someday…! To become rich, a noble’s daughter, and be welcomed by a hunky, muscular prince on a white horse…!

However, in my current life, that was a pipe dream. We were dirt-poor, with no money to spare, unable to even buy bread, let alone sweets. Reality is cruel.

But—I have muscles.

If you don’t have bread, just eat the grass! If you don’t have money, just lift weights!

I’m going to do it! With my O-Power, I will show you that I can make this shop prosper!

—That day, I made a firm resolve. For my father. For my dream. To become a genuine ojōsama.

From then on, I worked hard, diligently. Well, my body had always been sturdy, so I figured I could just do the work of ten people myself and kept working. Day after day, I devoted myself to heavy manual labor, and over the years, the shop’s finances slowly began to improve. At the same time, my muscles became more and more refined.

Our regular customers would sometimes call out things like, “Nice bulk!” “That foundation is incredible!” or “Your muscles are so big they’ll be taxed as fixed assets!” I thought the comment about fixed assets was rude! I like solid muscles, but I’m still aiming to be an ojōsama, so I always make sure to maintain a slim physique!

So, the family business started to take off—until one day.

“—Hey there, are you the girl that’s the talk of the town?”

“Oh? And you are…”

“I’m Ramfed. I just started trading in this town recently. Thought I’d come by and say hello.”

A short man with bodyguards appeared before me, looking like a typical small-time wealthy businessman. I had heard the name Ramfed before. He was supposedly a wealthy merchant who ran a large company called the Ramfed Trading Company, and he had a terrible reputation. It was rumored that he used his financial power to buy up small businesses and used thugs to seize land from those who wouldn’t cooperate. I had heard he started trading in this town recently… and now he had finally come to our shop.

“You’re a hard worker, girl. Business owners love people like that. Why don’t you come work for me?”

“I must refuse. I have decided to make this shop prosper alongside my father.”

“Then I’ll buy the shop. How much do you want?”

“I already told you, I have no intention of selling! Get out of here!”

“Heh-heh-heh, a feisty one, aren’t you? But watch your tone. There are plenty of ways to crush a shoddy little place like this, you know.”

My, how vulgar! I truly disliked people who resort to violence in the end. It’s so utterly barbaric! Muscles are only beautiful when they are admired gracefully. Strength used only for violence is utterly tasteless.

…Well, in a way, it’s actually convenient.

“Very well, then let’s settle this with a simple method.”

“Oh?”

“If you want to command me, there is one condition. Show me greater O-Power than I, Ester Appleberry, possess.”

I put my hands on my hips and proudly puffed out my chest. “Bring any strong man you like. If they can beat me in an arm wrestling match, I will work for you without pay for the rest of my life.”

“…Without pay? Are you serious?”

“Yes. In exchange, if I win, I shall take all of your assets. How does that sound?”

“…Heh-heh-heh, fine by me. I have your word. Don’t go regretting it.”

—And so, I arranged an arm wrestling match for a week later.

On the day of the match,

“Ho-ho, is this little girl gonna be my opponent? You’ve got to be kidding me.”

My opponent was a huge, muscle-bound man nearly two meters tall.

Oh… he’s a handsome man with a nice beard. His bulging biceps looked as though his legs were growing out of his shoulders. His six-pack abs were rock-hard, reminding me of a chocolate bar. Ramfed had brought quite the attractive person with him.

But—wasn’t his physique a little underdeveloped?

“Good grief, I even got insurance, thinking my opponent would be tough, but this is gonna be over in a second.”

“Oh? You’re quite confident, aren’t you? Well, why don’t we start already?” I said.

We sat down at the table in the tavern, the venue for the match. Around us were many onlookers and Ramfed, with his unsettling, slimy grin.

“Now, opponents, grip hands.” The referee prompted us, and the muscular man and I clasped hands. Compared to his large hand, mine looked like a child’s.

But, you see… My apologies. I’m utterly in peak condition today.

“Then—Nice to meet you in combat,” I declared.

“Ready… FIGHT!“

“Hah!” The muscular man immediately put all his strength into his arm, trying to end the match in an instant.

However—my arm remained perfectly upright, not moving an inch.

“What?! W-What the—!?” he gasped.

“What’s the matter? I’m not even putting any effort into my arm, you know?” I taunted.

“Ugh…! D-Damn you…!” The muscular man’s face turned beet-red as he desperately tried to force my arm down. At the same time, cold sweat began to drip from his brow.

“W-What’s going on…? It won’t budge…! Is this really human strength…?!”

It seemed he was finally realizing the difference in strength between us.

“Th-This is impossible…! I even had magic cast on me just in case, but still…!”

“Hmph, so this is all you can manage even with magical reinforcement for your muscles?”

In terms of dumbbell lifting, that’s about three hundred kilograms, perhaps? Without the magic, maybe a hundred and fifty? Ramfed probably cheated to ensure a victory. But even with that, he was completely underwhelming. I was honestly disappointed.

I’ll let you in on a little secret. This is what real “Muscle O-Power” is all about.

“~~~~~~~~~HAAAAH, TAKE THIS!”

In that instant, I unleashed my full power for the first time. The true strength of this perfectly conditioned body. The moment I released my power, the muscular man’s arm twisted at a sickening angle with a CRACK, the momentum so great it shattered the table. A satisfying THWASH! echoed through the tavern.

Ah… That was perfectly executed. So exhilarating!

“Good game—I say.”

“Huh…?”

Every person in the room, including the muscular man, wore a blank, idiotic expression. They couldn’t seem to comprehend what had just happened. But it only lasted for a moment.

“W-Winner declared! The winner is Ester Appleberry!” The referee raised my hand high, and the tavern erupted in applause.

The muscular man rolled on the floor in agony from his broken arm, and Ramfed stood aghast. When I approached him,

“Now, as per our agreement, I shall take all the assets of the Ramfed Trading Company.”

“Ngh, you… you damn witch!” At Ramfed’s cry, his thug subordinates in the tavern all pulled out their weapons. There were about twenty of them. They surrounded me, holding knives and swords.

Well, I expected this.

“Oh dear, that wasn’t part of the agreement, was it?” I asked.

“Like hell I’d hand over my assets to you! Boys, get her!”

“Waaah!”

“Oh, by the way, I forgot to mention—”

“—Hogegh!?” I declared, delivering a perfect dropkick to one of the charging thugs. The thug was sent flying, smashing through the tavern wall and bouncing several times off the ground outside. He finally stopped when he was just a speck in the distance.

“—To be frank, I’m better at an all-out brawl than I am at arm wrestling.”

The truth is, this wasn’t the first time. Our small family shop, run by my frail father and inexperienced daughter, was often targeted by vulgar people. Scummy gangs would attack in groups, and I would take them down with my bare hands. Before I knew it, I had become just as skilled at punching people as I was at weight training.

“Now then, once more—Nice to meet you in combat!”

—That day, I utterly crushed twenty thugs, including Ramfed, leaving them in a heap.

In the end, Ramfed signed over all his assets and the company’s management rights to me. As the daughter of a major trading company, I changed the company name to the “Appleberry & Power Trading Company.” I appointed my father as Chairman and devoted myself to the business. Since then, the company’s management has been perfectly smooth. It was the right choice to train my business sense alongside my muscles. With my newfound wealth and free time, my father hired an exclusive masseuse, and his bad back was recovering. I had gone from the daughter of a poor merchant to the daughter of a major trading company, and I could finally say I had achieved my dream…

“…Hmph, I feel like something is still missing,” I sighed, holding a teacup.

Since becoming the daughter of a major company, I no longer had to do heavy labor or solve problems with a good brawl, and honestly, I was getting a little bored…

But then, one day.

“My Lady, a letter has arrived.”

“Oh? From whom?”

“The sender is—Faust Melchizedek, Headmaster of the Magdala Familia Royal Academy.”

“…Oh?”

I took the letter from the butler and read the contents. In summary, the letter recommended me, Ester Appleberry’s, enrollment in the Royal Academy.

“The Royal Academy… doesn’t that sound interesting?”

I was just getting bored, after all. Besides, maybe I was secretly waiting for this letter. The Royal Academy, attended by real nobles and noble daughters. If I enrolled there, I might finally become the ojōsama I dreamed of. And perhaps meet a hunky, muscular prince on a white horse…!

“I shall go. The Royal Academy, attended by noble young ladies—Nice to meet you in combat, I say.”