kscans

Chapter 444 - A Test of Strength and a Favor

In the corridor of the ruined castle that served as Shooting Star’s base, Parfait watched the woman before her, Ronios.

She wore her silver hair slicked back and tied behind her head, was dressed in clothes resembling a butler’s uniform, and at her waist hung a thin sword. It was a rapier, a sword that emphasized thrusting.

Her appearance was as young as Parfait had heard. She was said to be in her forties, but she could pass for her early twenties. The problem was that such a person was obsessed with her father, Hayato, but the only question that came to mind was, why.

Setting that aside, as far as Parfait could see, Ronios was full of openings. Ingrid had been defeated in an instant just moments ago, but she found it strange that she could be defeated in that way.

Against Ronios’s thrusting attack, Ingrid had countered with glove-type weapons. Even in a real combat format, if you accurately hit the weapon, it should not count as damage.

Despite that, Ingrid was defeated under the rule that she could only take ten hits. From Parfait’s perspective, her counterattack had not seemed particularly flawed, but what Ronios had done was full of suspicion.

In the first place, she had not heard anything good about Ronios. If anything, she was the type of person you should not get involved with. Coupled with the warning not to make any strange promises, Parfait’s guard was raised considerably.

And there was one other thing that bothered her. The girl standing behind Ronios. She had no expression, or rather, she seemed to have absolutely no interest in them. Like Ronios, she had silver hair, but it was cut short, and she wore a full-body black dress that looked difficult to move in.

As Ingrid had said, maybe it was better to run away now, but Parfait found herself slightly drawn to the two very suspicious individuals.

And she wanted to hear what Ronios’s "small favor" to Ingrid was. She could always choose not to grant the favor, so she decided to at least listen and took a step forward.

"Um, I’m Parfait. It’s nice to meet you."

Though that was all she said, Ronios beamed with a huge smile.

"My, you’re the type who isn’t easily intimidated, just like Hayato-kun. Still, to think I’d have to wait sixteen years to meet the daughter of Hayato-kun and the others. Don’t you think Ney and Jolth are being cruel?"

"Were you stopped by those two?"

"I wonder if you’ve heard a bit of the story? That’s right, those two made a rule forbidding me from approaching you. Sadly, because of that, I can’t even go to Hayato-kun’s cafe."

If she were to say something like, "Please, come visit," it would likely lead to a huge mess, so Parfait just offered a strained smile.

Ronios did not seem to mind, continuing to prattle on about what a terrible time she had been having.

"Um, Ronios-san, what reason did you have for coming all this way to meet Parfait?"

Rick, unable to watch any longer, cut in.

"I can’t see your face, but that voice is Rick-kun, isn’t it? And you over there must be Ginny-kun. It’s been a while, you two."

Rick and Ginny bowed to Ronios.

Ronios returned their greeting with a smile, then turned her gaze to Natsu and Chris.

"Then you two must be Natsu-kun and Chris-kun. I didn’t have much to do with your parents, but of course I know of them."

Perhaps overwhelmed by the atmosphere, Natsu and Chris just gave a small nod.

Ronios turned her gaze back to Parfait.

"Well now, just as Rick-kun said, I should probably explain my reason. But before that, how about you let me see a little of your skill, Parfait-kun?"

As Ronios said this, she drew the rapier from her waist and thrust it towards Parfait.

She had not expected to be attacked so suddenly, but under the guidance of her masters Benitsuru and Simon-sensei, she had been drilled to always be ready to counter, so Parfait moved before she could think.

The sound of sword and katana clashing echoed. But it did not end with that one blow. Ronios unleashed a series of high-speed thrusts.

"Wh, whoa!"

Parfait managed to counter that attack as well, but for the first time in this virtual reality, she found herself unable to fight back. She had hardly ever engaged in PvP, but compared to the attack from the axe-wielding man on her first day, Ronios’s attacks were fast and nasty.

Even if she tried to counterattack, the next blow, anticipating her move, was launched, leaving her with no choice but to defend.

(Amazing, she’s on the same level as Benny-shishou and Simon-sensei…!)

Parfait had a vague sense that Benitsuru and Simon were not normal, but she was surprised to find an opponent who could match them. She had heard rumors that Lunaria was the strongest, but since she had never seen her fight, she was skeptical. Be that as it may, the woman before her, Ronios, was undoubtedly strong.

Then she noticed. Ronios was thrusting with the rapier in her right hand, but with her left, she was flicking something like small stones at her with her thumb. Parfait was knocking those away as well, but this explained how Ingrid had lost.

"Wonderful, Parfait-kun."

Even while launching such an attack, Ronios had the composure to speak. Parfait had no such luxury. She was defending desperately.

"This is the fighting style of an acquaintance who went far away. It’s interesting, so I’ve been imitating it. To think you can defend against it on your first try is quite something."

She was happy to be praised, but this was no time for that. Parfait tried to think of a way to counterattack, but nothing came to mind.

"But Benitsuru-kun was stronger when she was your age."

"Huh?"

"An opening."

The moment she thought she had deflected Ronios’s attack, the rapier flew through without any resistance. The lack of feedback caused Parfait to overswing, preventing her from sheathing her katana and causing her to lose her balance just a little.

In that instant, Ronios had produced a knife from somewhere and stabbed Parfait around her heart.

In game terms, being hit once did not mean defeat. But in reality, it would undoubtedly be over.

Parfait herself was the most surprised by this result. She might lose in a game-like battle, but she had never thought she would be defeated so one-sidedly in a real combat format.

"Don’t be discouraged. If this had continued, I would have been the one to lose. I only landed a single blow by creating an opening with my words, so it doesn’t mean I’m stronger."

Parfait thought that was a lie. Ronios was not yet serious. In a virtual reality where the body did not tire, she should be able to move even more. This meant that even if the fight continued, her chances of winning were low.

Parfait was not one to dwell on winning or losing, but this time she felt a little frustrated. She was also shaken by the words that Benitsuru had been stronger at her age.

"Let me tell you, comparing yourself to Benitsuru-kun is meaningless. As the successor to the Azuma style, she’s held a katana since she could remember and was taught that letting go of it meant death. A child living a normal life could never become like that."

As if seeing through her agitation, Ronios said this.

"You undoubtedly have talent, Parfait-kun, but in any field, talent alone can’t make you number one. A genius is a set of talent and training. And you have many such geniuses around you."

"Around me…?"

"You may not have noticed since they’ve been close to you since you were a child… Well, we’ll leave that for later. I’ve seen your skill, Parfait-kun, so now I can finally make my request."

"A request?"

"Yes, it’s about this child, actually."

Ronios gently pushed the girl behind her forward, in front of Parfait and the others.

"This is Wilnel. My niece. Now, Wilnel, your greetings."

"...Wilnel."

With a blank expression, she just said her name, and no further greeting followed. Parfait was confused about whether just saying one’s name counted as a greeting, but she opened her mouth, figuring she should greet her back first.

"I’m Parfait. Hello."

Parfait gave a small nod, but Wilnel’s eyes looked particularly uninterested. She showed no particular interest in Ginny either, even though they should have met as children. She did not seem to notice her, or perhaps she did not care.

Ronios sighed.

"Wilnel, that won’t do. I taught you how to greet people, didn’t I?"

"Ronios-sama, with all due respect, are these people worthy of a greeting?"

Parfait felt she had just been told something terribly rude, but it was just as she suspected a Foundation member would be, so she was not particularly bothered. In fact, she was more inclined to doubt that the affable Ronios was truly a Foundation head.

"I told you to call me Aunt Ronios, didn’t I?"

"No, you are the head of the Gemini Foundation. I cannot address you in such a way."

Parfait and the others, having been left out of the conversation, quietly watched the situation unfold, but they still did not know what the request was, nor did they know what to do. So all they could do was watch.

The conversation between Ronios and Wilnel continued, but Ronios slumped her shoulders, sighed again, and looked at Parfait and the others.

"I think you understand now, but Wilnel has grown into a troubled child."

"Um…"

Even so, Parfait thought that was just how Foundation people were.

"I am not a troubled child. I believe I am perfect as a member of the Foundation."

"That is because you were raised with a mistaken ideology."

Ronios began to explain about Wilnel.

To put it simply, one of Wilnel’s tutors had spent a long time instilling in her the ideology that "this is how a Foundation member should be." All Foundations had some aspect of that, but this had gone too far.

As a result, Wilnel had become lacking in emotion, and she had turned into a person who would cast aside anything she deemed unnecessary. It was not that she was completely devoid of emotion, but her thought process had become machine-like, and according to Ronios, she was not like a child at all.

"It’s embarrassing to say, but this is a mistake that my sister and I made. The skill it took to shape Wilnel like this over so many years is considerable, but the one who did it is a fool for not realizing what would happen once we found out. We have taken appropriate measures against that person."

Parfait figured it was best not to ask what those measures were, so she just replied, "I see."

Ronios looked at Wilnel again.

"Wilnel, you must see everyone around you as idiots, don’t you?"

"No, I don’t think of Ronios-sama, Mother, or Father that way. I believe you are people I can respect."

So she sees everyone else as idiots, Parfait thought with an internal retort.

"That’s still almost everyone. I know how you feel. I used to think that way too. Especially people from other Foundations, I thought they were all idiots."

"Then is there a problem?"

"Do you want to be like me, Wilnel?"

"I would be happy if I could become like you, Ronios-sama."

"Really? Do you want to be like me, who is shunned by many, has only family and a few acquaintances to talk to, and can’t meet the people I want to see whenever I want?"

"I think a few conversation partners are enough. I see no need to converse with inferiors, though it’s a different matter with those who are my equals or better."

"I used to think that way too when I was your age, Wilnel. But I now believe that was a mistake. I was the biggest idiot of all."

Wilnel did not seem to understand those words, tilting her head.

Ronios looked at her with a wry smile, then turned her gaze to Parfait.

"Parfait-kun, this has taken a while, but my request is this. I’d like you to be Wilnel’s friend."

""Hah?""

Parfait and Wilnel spoke at almost the exact same time.