Chapter 12 – The Girl Clara And The Old Warrior, Thanking The Mysterious Boy

Chapter 12 – The Girl Clara And The Old Warrior, Thanking The Mysterious Boy

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“……haa”

The girl sat on the ground and sighed.

It’s all quiet now. It seemed unlikely for another ‘Dark Bear’ to appear.

“Thank you very much……”

The girl bowed to the boy.

“I can’t thank you enough for saving my life in such a dangerous situation”

“Likewise, I was able to see some good stuff”

The boy shook his head shyly.

He looked about the same age as me.

If he was a noble, I guess he would have been old enough to be taught by a private tutor in prepare for entering a school.

(I didn’t know there was such an amazing person in the countryside. He wasn’t afraid of the monsters at all. If there had been one wrong move, even he himself could have been attacked by the ‘Dark Bear’……and yet he still helped me……such courage)

The girl clutched her chest.

She couldn’t stop her heart from beating fast.

(……maybe this person……is the one from the exam?)

“Thanks for the help, boy! You’re amazing!”

Unaware of the girl’s agitation, the old warrior called out.

“Are these bats your familiar? It’s amazing. There aren’t many people in the ‘Magic Guild’ educational institution who can control their familiar to this degree. This is really an awesome feat!”

“No, they were strong to begin with”

“……oh, yeah?”

“Yeah. I was just feeding them. And then we became friends”

“……those bats are strong”

“They have to be strong to live in the mountains where monsters would occasionally appear, right? More importantly……”

The boy looked directly at the girl.

His gaze was so strong that it almost made her feel pressured.

“If you were a local, then you would not have entered the ‘Dark Bear’ territory. Outsiders are not allowed to enter this mountain without the soldier or adventurer’s escort. So, why are you guys here?”

“N, no……we……”

“Please don’t blame ojou-sama. We heard it was safe here”

“From whom?”

“From a private tutor of the Baron Grossalia household, named Kachel Mieghem”

“…………………oh, I see”

The boy looks like he had swallowed something bitter.

“That bastard. He should think a little before doing anything……the exam almost got messed up because of him……”

“Are you, perhaps, a member of the Baron Grossalia household?”

“No, I’m just a hunter”

“Just a hunter who uses magic?”

“A hunter who knows a lot about magic”

“……………oh, really?”

“……………yes, really”

“Even so, you have great skill. If it’s you, you can even join the ‘Magic Guild’”

“Are you related to the ‘Magic Guild’?”

“……eh?”

“I can roughly guess it from this conversation”

“Y, yes. Sorry for the late introduction”

The girl stood up and brushed the dirt off her clothes.

Then she looked at the old man standing behind me.

They looked at each other and nodded as if confirming something, then——

“I’m helping with the exam. My name is……um……Clara Listeth”

“I’m Barnes, ojou-sama’s bodyguard”

“In a few days, there will be an exam for joining the ‘Magic Guild’ around here. We came to perform a preliminary inspection for that reason. After all, there must be no danger and injustice”

“Keep it a secret from your people. If you tell them in advance, they will make a big fuss”

“So that’s what it was about”

“You’ve saved my life. If you don’t mind, may I have your name?”

“………can’t I be a nameless hunter too?”

“There’s nothing wrong with that. You are our benefactor……oh, that’s right…”

The girl touched behind her ear and removed the hair clip from her silver hair.

“I’ll give you this as a token of my gratitude”

“……no, there’s no need for that”

“Oh? If you’re a hunter, don’t you need to monetize what you get from hunting?”

The girl covered her mouth and laughed.

The boy has a troubled look on his face.

I wonder why. When I look at his face, I feel warm in my chest.

“We’ve burnt the ‘Dark Bear’ material to crisp. So please take this instead. Okay?”

“……thank you very much”

“Hehe”

The girl Clara took the boy’s hand and placed a silver hair clip on it.

I don’t know what to do if he refuses……that kind of thought passes through my mind for a moment.

However, the boy accepted the hair clip.

“You’ve been very helpful. Please help me to thank your bats too”

The girl bowed deeply to the boy again and the old man does the same too.

“If you hadn’t come running to us, we wouldn’t be alive now. It was really……amazing. Like a gale, I suppose that’s what one would call it, right…?”

“…………you”

“Yes?”

“…………you looked just like my silly son’s daughter……”

“…………you have grandchild? That can’t be possible”

“…………it’s nothing. I’ll take you to the foot of the mountain”

Then the boy led Clara and Barnes to the foot of the mountain.

Their carriage was hidden in the woods at the foot of the mountain.

At the end, Barnes wanted to thank the boy as well, but the boy declined and left.

“He was a wonderful person”

murmured Clara with a sigh.

“That kind of fighting ability at such a young age. And the courage to aim at the monster’s vital part with one blow. I wish someone like him could be near me”

“As a bodyguard? Ojou-sama”

“Yes. If possible, I wanted to tell him my real name but……”

“After all, he did save our lives. But the opportunity will come soon”

“If it’s him, I think he wouldn’t even need to take the ‘Magic Guild’ examination. I’d want him to be my attendant right away”

“A knight standing next to ojou-sama. That’s the position that everyone aspires to, isn’t it?”

“Do Barnes thinks that he’s the examinee this time?”

“There’s no doubt about it, right?”

The old man Barnes nodded in satisfaction with an axe in his hand.

“I think that boy is Xellos Grossalia, the one who intends to join the ‘Magic Guild’”

“Is that so?”

“Did you find anything amiss?”

“Tutor Kachel described him as, ‘Blonde hair. Tall. A courteous young noble’ in the report”

“Ojou-sama must have felt that his words were unreliable”

“Kachel’s father was a brilliant man”

“At any rate, I think that boy is Xellos Grossalia. If he was a different person, then Kachel has missed such talent. If that’s the case, then I think he ought to be kicked out of the guild at once! Especially after what he did to ojou-sama!!”

The girl Clara was not listening to Barnes.

The image of the boy from earlier was still on her mind.

A mysterious hunter. The ability to fight and defeat monsters in an instant. And the bats that are too strong.

He knew about the ‘Magic Guild’ exam. If he wasn’t Xellos Grossalia……then who was he?

“And…………he said he knows someone who looks like me”

Clara shook her head.

I had a feeling that I must look into the Baron household a little more.

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