kscans

Chapter 46 - The Day a Weapon Was Taught Sweetness

Mireille continued to turn the pages of her master Ariel's diary.

Recorded there were her days after becoming captain. Every day, just how many monsters she had slaughtered, and how brutally. That was all that was written, on and on.

Furthermore, she was considering a system where she would give soldiers alchemy items, allowing ordinary soldiers to hunt large numbers of monsters just like magicians. ...It was the complete opposite of her master's current way of thinking.

As she read on, she found the record of her meeting with Darius.

Around the time Ariel became captain.

"Reinforcements outside the Tree Sea. Understood."

Ariel, who had answered dispassionately, headed to a conflict zone as ordered by the Mage Order Captain, Orphen. By that time, she already possessed power that surpassed Orphen's. Her expression never changed, like a living weapon.

"I'm going now."

She departed without hesitation, carrying a mountain of tools created through alchemy. The one who greeted her on the battlefield was the young captain of the First Knight Order, Darius, still in his late twenties.

And Ariel's first words were...

"Who do I kill? How many do I have to kill for this to be over?"

Darius gasped. Even he, who had been worn down by a difficult battle and the constant loss of his men, felt a chill from the girl before him.

A teenage girl, speaking as if she were a machine devoid of emotion.

He couldn't be so cruel as to say, "Then, kill that one."

"Y, you must be tired from your journey. First, get some rest..."

"I am not tired."

"I, I see..."

What should I do...?

He had heard the rumors. That the captain of the Tree Sea Defense Force was a "living weapon." But if used incorrectly, she could become a bomb that would destroy the country. He instinctively understood that he must not treat this girl as a mere weapon.

Just then, a small bag inside his desk caught his eye.

"Ah... that's right!" As if struck by an idea, Darius took out a piece of candy.

"Here, try this. Something sweet is good when you're tired."

"...What is this?"

"Huh? What do you mean, what is it? It's candy. You've... had it before, right?"

"?"

Ariel tilted her head.

Don't tell me... she doesn't know?

She had grown up in the Tree Sea, and since becoming a soldier, she had eaten nothing but monster meat. Seeing the colorful, round pellets Darius offered her...

"Is this the carcass of a small monster? I've never seen one before,"

she said in all seriousness.

"...You're kidding me," Darius said, shocked.

There was almost no one in this country who didn't know what candy was. Even children from poor families had tasted it at least once. Yet, something he, who had grown up wealthy, took for granted looked like an "artifact from another world" to her.

"...Just open your mouth. Don't chew it, suck on it."

He popped the candy into the bewildered Ariel's mouth.

In that instant, for the first time, her expression wavered.

"...!"

Her eyes widened, and with the candy still in her cheek, she froze like a statue. The expressionless girl now wore a look of shock.

"How is it, is it good?"

Silence followed. After about ten minutes, Ariel gave a small, firm nod.

That was the first "human-like reaction" she had ever shown.

From then on, every day, Darius would call Ariel to his room and give her candy. Only while she was eating it did her eyes sparkle from behind their emotionless facade.

This country... is wrong.

A girl "bought" by the state. A girl who didn't even know what candy was. On the battlefield, for the first time, Darius began to doubt his own country.

A few days later.

The captain of the Imperial Guard, Adrian, appeared at the front lines to assess the battle situation. He was skilled in both martial and literary arts, and by no means a bad person. But he was also a man who had been taught from birth that "nobles are the ones who should lead the country."

...A typical noble supremacist, huh? Darius thought as he greeted him.

After hearing about the situation, Adrian looked at the young Ariel and a smirk appeared on his face.

"Hey, you there, woman. Come with me."

The target of his gaze was Ariel.

A teenage girl who had lost her emotions. And a living weapon.

No one could have predicted that those words would later trigger a "major incident."