Chapter 192 – The Wind Ranger

As a seasoned old hand, Yvette knew a thing or two about swordsmanship, and she certainly wasn’t about to learn swordplay from a little girl.

What she really wanted was to understand how swordsmanship and magic were spread and developed at the grassroots level in this world, to fill in the common sense an ordinary person ought to have.

She also remembered that in Rosalyn Sien’s golden age, illiteracy rates across the eastern and western continents had dropped sharply, and magical knowledge had been popularized—no longer so lofty and out of reach. Unfortunately, after the legendary archmages fell and the continent plunged into civil strife, the Academy of Truth’s policies gradually soured. Knowledge once again became monopolized by the nobility, and everything returned to square one.

That was truly a regrettable thing.

Soon, after agreeing to meet tomorrow, Lucia changed the subject and said, 「It’s getting late. Do you want to come to my place for dinner?」

「No need,」 Yvette shook her head. 「I can handle it myself.」

「How are you going to handle it yourself? Can you cook?」 Lucia was puzzled; there clearly weren’t any ingredients here.

Yvette hesitated.

She was, of course, planning not to eat. First, before heading to Autumnwind City, she didn’t have spare change for meals—the money for furniture and new shoes had been borrowed from Mr. Sterling. Second, eating was never a necessity for her. Back in the Abyssal base, she’d gone over two hundred years without food; going a few days without eating was perfectly normal.

But from Lucia’s perspective, that was a colossal matter. How could a person not eat?

Seeing Yvette fumble for an excuse and fail to come up with one, suspecting she was just embarrassed, Lucia said directly, 「Alright, alright, just come eat at my place. Dad always makes too much anyway. Worst case, you can pay me back when you’ve got money later.」

Then she shook her head, helpless. 「Sigh, you’re clearly an older sister several years my senior—how do you not even know how to take care of yourself? Is this what nobles are like?」

「…Fine, I get it,」 Yvette said.

She figured she could also ask Mr. Eamon about this world. Since he was a master hiding his strength, he should know more than an ordinary villager or adventurer.

A dozen minutes later, at Lucia’s home, Yvette freeloaded a dinner Eamon made for his daughter: roast chicken, vegetable soup, and whole-wheat bread.

According to Lucia, their meals were already the best in the village, in no way inferior to the quality served by the old chef at the tavern. After smelling the aromas at the table, Yvette believed it.

Next, during dinner and small talk, Yvette began subtly probing Eamon about the situation of several of her students.

Of these, there was no need to ask about Rosalyn Sien; nothing on Dugrabi or Lant either. Only the fourth student, Moga, gave Yvette a bit of a lead.

「You mean Moga Smollett? Miss Loxivia, are you sure you actually know her?」 After hearing Yvette rattle off the names, Eamon wore a half-smile, clearly amused.

「I only remember the name. I’m not sure whether I know her. But the impression is deep—maybe before I lost my memory, I had some connection to her,」 Yvette said.

Eamon regarded her a moment, then smiled. 「Then you might be disappointed, because Moga Smollett is a household name. If you don’t believe me, ask Lucia.」

Yvette looked to Lucia at once and heard her say, 「Yvette, your amnesia is really thorough—she’s the famous ‘Wind Ranger,’ a legendary figure known across the whole continent!」

「Is that so?」

「Of course!」 Lucia nodded earnestly, then, eyes shining with worship, said, 「About a hundred years ago, the previous Demon King suddenly launched a surprise attack on our world. Everyone was beaten to a pulp and pushed to the brink of despair! At that critical moment, the Wind Ranger stepped forward, infiltrated the demons’ lines all alone, slew the Demon King single-handedly, and saved the entire world!」

「Killed the Demon King? Saved the world?」 Yvette said in surprise.

「Yeah—cool, right?」 Stars sparkled in Lucia’s eyes. 「The Wind Ranger is my idol. I bet before you lost your memory you must have liked her too—that’s why you can’t get her out of your head, right?」

「Possibly,」 Yvette neither confirmed nor denied. 「So how is she now? Still alive?」

「Obviously. She’s the Wind Ranger—who could possibly kill her?」 Lucia glanced at Eamon as she spoke. 「Right, Dad?」

Eamon shook his head. 「I don’t know, but I’m sure she isn’t dead. If someone at that level had an accident, it would have spread across the continent long ago.」

「Good to hear,」 Yvette said with a smile.

Dinner finished on a light note, Yvette thanked Eamon Sterling and said she would pay for the meal after she returned from market day in Autumnwind City. Mr. Sterling, magnanimous, said not to worry about it. Considering he’d shaved a little off her when selling her the house, Yvette felt he was just being polite. She still ought to pay.

Back at her new home—a lone little wooden hut without even a fence around it—lying on the simple bedding on the wooden bed, Yvette mulled things over and decided there was no rush to look for Moga.

After all, as one of the continent’s top powerhouses, the Wind Ranger wasn’t someone any random cat or dog could get in touch with. At the very least, you had to be a known powerhouse yourself. But if she suddenly revealed her strength, she’d be a powerhouse who’d appeared out of thin air, with no background—easy to arouse suspicion, even the gaze of the true gods.

If she got exposed, who knew whether the true gods might, like the Witch of the End, strip her of her divine molting power?

Therefore, Yvette’s best course was to travel and release her strength bit by bit, climbing step by step.

That way, her 「growth」 would leave a traceable trajectory, reducing the sense of abruptness. Of course, this would take years or longer. Fortunately, half-elves have long lifespans, and her travel plans are not short either. This amount of time is nothing.

1:

The next morning, just after Yvette got up, Lucia arrived with a piece of bread for her breakfast—very thoughtful.

Yvette thanked her, and under her lead they headed to the village militia’s training ground. There were many wooden practice swords and such there, and some village kids usually trained in that spot. Lucia could learn under her dad, but she still loved going to the training ground—simply because she liked finding people to spar with and enjoyed the thrill of stomping rookies.

「Ha! The red-haired freak is here!」 As soon as they reached the training ground, Yvette heard a shout. She looked over to see a boy of about ten pointing at Lucia.

Seeing Yvette, the boy added, 「There’s a white-haired freak this time too! Boss Hank, her forces have grown stronger! What do we do?」

The so-called Boss Hank was a chubby youth, eleven or twelve at most. Faced with Lucia’s icy gaze, he instinctively took half a step back, but immediately stiffened his neck and said, 「What’s there to fear? We’ve trained so hard for so many days—today we’ll show that little bastard what we can do!」

「Heh, Hank, did I not beat you hard enough last time? You still dare come back looking for death?」 Lucia’s eyes flashed viciously as she grabbed a wooden sword from the rack.

Yvette said nothing. From the scene it was clear these kids had a prior grudge. Sure enough, the next second Lucia warned her, 「Big Sis Yvette, watch closely. What I’m going to teach you is how to beat them up in a moment!」

Then, once Yvette nodded, Lucia charged in with the wooden sword and clashed with the two boys, scaring the bystanders into scrambling out of the way.

It had to be said—Lucia’s swordsmanship really was something. She fought with surprising structure and rhythm, while the two boys just flailed wildly. Even two-on-one, they fell behind; within a minute or two they fled in a panic and didn’t come back.

When the brief scuffle ended, Lucia stood her ground, imposing and triumphant, sheathed her sword, and won admiring looks from the other kids.

「Well?」 Lucia looked proudly at Yvette, waiting for an evaluation.

「Tons of potential,」 Yvette offered an honest appraisal.

「—Is that it?」 Lucia felt underestimated. She’d just shown off something so cool, and Yvette’s reaction was so flat—clearly she hadn’t grasped the subtleties.

And why was her tone so condescending!

Yvette hummed in acknowledgment. By comparing her with kids her age, she confirmed one thing: Lucia’s talent was truly outstanding. Even though the fight just now hadn’t used any magic, it didn’t stop Yvette from seeing at a glance that Lucia’s mana reserves and her natural rate of mana absorption were several times that of her peers.

Honestly, such excellent talent surprised even her—appearing in a rural village of a small country. It was extremely odd; she could almost be certain that Lucia’s bloodline was far from ordinary.

The question was: what bloodline in this world could grant talent like that? Some special hereditary lineage?

Thinking this, Yvette grew a little interested. She said, 「I may have lost my memory, but it feels like some knowledge of swordsmanship remains. Want me to teach you a couple of moves?」

Lucia: 「…———… Don’t want to.」