Chapter 59 - Entering August
The usual three of us go to the usual dining hall to eat lunch. She is scheduled to come there as well.
When the dry sound of the door opening with a 'clack' occurred, Beowulf stood up. She is waving her hand toward the entrance.
At the end of her gaze, a girl as beautiful as a sculpture, with luxurious platinum blonde hair shining in the summer sunlight, is standing there looking a bit bashful.
Her white cheeks seem to have a slightly redder tint than usual, perhaps because it is her first time coming to this place.
For a moment, the male customers who were there before us catch their breath. She is, after all, out of place in a small countryside dining hall.
"Will! Over here!"
The girl called Will smiled broadly when she found us.
Of course, she doesn't do something like rush over in a panic. She approaches slowly with elegant movements. And then, looking at us with those beautiful green eyes, she speaks to us calmly.
"Did I perhaps keep you waiting?"
Beatrix is glaring at Will.
"I knew it, I wanted you to do at least that much!"
In reality, there was no elegance or anything of the sort. After entering the shop with enough force to kick the door down, she let out a loud cheer upon finding us. Then, as a result of approaching with heavy, fast steps without a single glance at her surroundings, she made the old guys enjoying their afternoon relaxation with a beer in hand scowl.
"It can't be helped even if you say that. This is just my personality."
Will's inside is a natural-born old man, and Beatrix is a natural-born old man-handler.
Ever since the disgraceful scene where Will woke up with a huge yawn and scratched her butt right in front of Beatrix—who had woken up early for once to enjoy watching the sleeping face of the beautiful Will—Will hasn't been able to stand up to Beatrix.
"It's not your fault, Will. This girl is just fantasizing on her own, so just leave her be."
I can understand the feeling of wanting a beautiful person to behave in a way that looks like a picture, though.
"Look at this appearance. It's a waste for her to be making a racket with her mouth wide open. How many sketches of this girl do you think I've drawn? The background was always roses!"
I see. And to whom and for how much did you sell those sketches?
The suspicious sketch-seller immediately averted her eyes and looked out the window.
"By the way, Will. How was the interview? Did it go well?"
The kind Beowulf changed the subject.
Will, who had become an adult, had her interview at the town hall today.
The recruitment exam is in July every year. Since the town hall doesn't take apprentices, she had been studying while going to help out at farms. The result was a top-tier pass, and all that remained was the interview exam after reaching adulthood.
As expected, she seems to have passed.
"Where will you be assigned first?"
"Resident measures. If there's a problem with the residents, I'll charge in and solve it."
She is laughing fearlessly, 'Hehehe.'
A specialist in charging in, huh. If so, it fits her way too well.
If someone thinks she's just a young, beautiful girl, they're in for a surprise. The moment they take a licking attitude toward her, they'll surely be beaten to a pulp.
I've actually seen it with my own eyes.
Will came to the orphanage two years ago. The year we were thirteen.
When she was prompted to greet everyone while being led by the Headmistress, she stepped her right foot forward with a 'thud!' and declared:
"My name is Wilhelmina."
A dignified attitude. A name like a queen of a venerable kingdom on the continent. A sculpture-like beauty. And that line. At that moment, Beatrix had found the subject for her ideal sketches.
After the Headmistress left, the boys who crowded around her to tease her calling her 'Princess, Princess' were—by some kind of technique—thrown down in an instant, and she was pressing the knife she held in her hand against the throat of the one who was acting like the alpha male.
This scene also seemed to greatly strike a chord with Beatrix.
She suppressed the boys of the orphanage on the very first day and came to receive special treatment from the alpha males as the 'Big Sister' of the orphanage.
Will was born on the continent.
She was originally a venerable continental noble. She doesn't seem to remember the details well herself. Apparently, after her family was destroyed following a defeat in a power struggle after a house feud, she was brought here by her older brother who had escaped.
Afterward, her brother became a soldier of the Sertoria Kingdom Army and came to be stationed in Nakanohara with Will. However, he died in the previous war. It seems they had a fair amount of assets, but partly due to her own wish, she entrusted the assets to the Headmistress and became an orphanage student.
It's a rare story for someone with assets to come to the orphanage by their own wish, but anyway, her brother established himself with nothing but a spear after their downfall. She seems to have thought she'd try it too.
Since she's the same age, she's a member of the Class of 175.
What is her dream? She's smart and educated. She can also do martial arts. Everyone had high expectations.
Is it the restoration of her house? When asked, that didn't seem to be the case.
Her deceased brother apparently told her not to go back to being a noble of their original country. To leave the continent and escape all the way to Sertoria; he must have been fed up with stupid power struggles.
Then what is it? When asked, she said she wanted to become a good statesman.
It was so difficult that no one knew the meaning of the words, but in short, she said it's a Prime Minister.
Everyone froze.
Someone from an orphanage aiming to be the Prime Minister of a country. An ordinary child wouldn't think of it.
However, one person's dream is everyone's dream. No one believed it, but we decided to support her.
And, as the first step toward becoming Prime Minister, she got a job at the town hall to become an administrator.
It seems Will's job also includes being our supervisor.
While we were fighting the Orcs, the second return of the Demon Lord Subjugation Army occurred. Nearly half of those from the town guard who had gone to war returned. Fifty people from the Nakanohara Town Guard participated, and six died in battle. And the number of wounded was more than double that.
About a dozen will return to duty in the near future, but they will reduce the weight of monster extermination and focus on maintaining public order in the town and guarding the highways.
Beowulf's duties also changed, as is common, and a situation was envisioned where our supervisor would be absent. The one to fill that hole is Will. Moreover, she's participating starting today.
Adolf-san probably took care of it for us. I'll have to add Will to the roster of the Class of 175 submitted to the town hall.
However, is it okay for someone who intends to become the Prime Minister of a country to be doing things like rat extermination? I'm worried about the future of the country.
When we go to the Marcelo Company, Paul-san said something unexpected.
"From today, I'm going to have the two of you do the rat extermination."
"Eh? That's impossible, right?"
That's right. Since Beatrix has judged it impossible, there's no mistake.
"How is it impossible? Until now, you've been finishing them off with the magic of two people after dealing a single blow of lightning magic, haven't you?"
"Even Paul-san is throwing stones, aren't you?"
"You don't need to count such things. The point is whether the two of you can defeat them. The new supervisor is going with you too, right? Rats should be fine."
"What are we supposed to do if you suddenly say that and we can't do it?"
After a discussion, it was decided that Paul-san would also accompany us for today's portion. However, he told us, 'I'll just be watching.' We're probably being tested to see if we can really do it with just the two of us.
Will pats me and Beatrix on the shoulders.
"I understand well the feeling of anxiety when a senior isn't there. I will cooperate as much as I can, so let's do our best."
I'm grateful for her concern. For now, I'll say my thanks.
Satisfied, Will thrust both hands toward the blue sky and stretched.
"The prey from the hunt was to be eaten, right? I wonder if today's dinner will be rat steak. It's my first time eating it. I'm looking forward to it."
Will...
Paul-san's mouth hung open, and Beatrix let out a sigh.
"Ho, a newcomer? She's quite a beauty."
When we go to Hans-san's place, his eyes immediately went to Will.
"I am called Wilhelmina. You may call me Will. It is a pleasure to meet you."
Will placed her right hand on her chest, spread her left hand slightly, crossed her legs, and bowed lightly.
Even being called a beauty, she elegantly greeted him without paying it any mind at all. As expected.
She apparently uses different greetings: as a male when dressed as a spearman, and as a female when in plain clothes. It's quite a hassle, but according to Will, grace and dignity are maintained precisely by becoming able to do troublesome things casually.
Hans-san made a suspicious face for a moment, then smiled unusually.
It's the first time I've seen such a kind smile.
This is what happens with a beauty as an opponent. Surely, when he goes to a brothel, he must be flashing this kind of smile at the ladies.
"I see. You're Hendrick's sister, then."
"Do you know my brother?"
Umu. Jumping to conclusions is not good. I'll be careful.
Hendrick-san is the name of Will's older brother. A small portrait is displayed on the desk in Will's room. He's in formal knight's attire, and he's a supernaturally handsome man with the same platinum blonde hair as Will.
"We used to go drinking together often. That guy was a weak drinker. I'd get him completely wasted."
For some reason, he's laughing loudly toward the window.
"I thought that if there were guys like Hendrick, then maybe nobles aren't all unpleasant people. We lost a good man."
"Those are more words than he deserves."
At the words of Hans-san, who had turned back, Will looked down.
Hans-san also knew that Will would be accompanying us. Not only that, he asked if there was no Black-Purple gear for Will.
Will doesn't seem to have received her town hall office uniform yet, and she's wearing her own plain, somber blackish-gray clothes.
Since I never thought she'd accompany us, I haven't prepared any Black-Purple gear.
When I asked Will, she said she wanted it if the Class of 175 was matching.
Does that mean that? I have to make it for all eight members?
I'll go to the workshop later and order a hood and a neck guard.
Since I have to do the embroidery, I asked Will what color she'd like, and she replied that anything is fine.
This is why old men are...
She might think she's being considerate, but she should think of the one who has to choose. I'll make it a rat-gray color that the other companions would definitely never choose.
Anyway, we go to the pit and hang the chicken carcass as usual.
I thought it would be better to have Will just observe for now. Even though there's only about a two-month difference, we have experience in both melee and magic combat against rats. We have the advantage of experience. Let's have her see the senior's procedure.
I thought so, but Will said, 'I'll help too.'
She's wrapping a black cloth around her arm. Slender throwing knives are inserted into it. They're specifically for throwing and aren't for everyday use. Apparently, the sharpness isn't great. There are four on one arm, so she can equip eight on both arms. They might be effective against rats stunned by Beatrix's magic.
Well, it's a good thing to try things out. If she fails, she can just try harder next time.
However, this was a huge success. She defeated all five of the first batch with her knives.
The only magic used was Beatrix's initial single lightning strike. Moreover, she faithfully kept to my instruction to be quiet, and didn't say a word, only wearing a faint smile on her lips. She only bowed her head lightly at Paul-san's words of praise.
"Not bad, Will. You really are the best!"
Beatrix, who had been watching as if stunned, hugged Will with a full smile.
That said, if we rely only on Will, it won't be practice for our magic. I asked Will, and after that, she let us have them one by one. It seems like the positions have reversed, but I shouldn't mind it.
Just in case, when I said 'the sewer rats are dirty so we won't eat them,' she nodded in silence.
I decided to ignore the fact that her eyes widened in surprise for a moment.