The Peaceful Life of a Maid Who Hides Her Power and Enjoys It

<Episode 95>

 

“…During the Magic War. Was there a militia in the village where you lived, senior?”

“Yeah.”

“Did they protect the village?”

“Yeah. Protecting the village was the duty of the militia .”

“That wasn’t the case for my hometown.”

 

That was a firm denial, almost tainted with resentment.

“It was during the Magic War, about six years ago. News came that demons were advancing towards the village where I lived. Fortunately, after being subjugated once, their momentum weakened significantly. So, we decided to organize a defense line centered around the militia. We even gathered mercenaries from the outside and prepared them quite solidly.”

 

During the Magic War, this was a common occurrence.

 

“But when the dawn when the demons advanced towards us came, there was no militia to protect the village. They all ran away with everything, including the weapons, our only means of resistance.”

 

“….”

 

“Naturally, the village turned into a sea of flames. In the chaos of fleeing, I lost hold of my younger sibling’s hand… When I found them again, they were buried under a collapsed roof.”

 

In my mind, the image of a roof collapsing in blackened ruins and a ship sinking beneath the sea with black smoke emerged simultaneously.

 

“At first, I resented the militia for betraying the village. But later, I realized that the resentment might not be justified. In the end, the cause of all the suffering was not the villagers who trusted the militia or the militia who betrayed them, but Mephisto.”

 

“So, what you want is revenge.”

 

“Yes. I want to kill Mephisto and seek revenge for my deceased sibling and the burned village. Even though it was Andert Fager who killed Mephisto. But if there is a next time…”

You will kill him.

 

I swallowed a sigh beneath my tightened throat.

 

‘She’s so similar to me that it’s creepy.’

Now just don’t tell me the apparently dead brother was actually her.

 

Jean had a story.

 

And a story strengthens a swordsman and becomes a stepping stone to cross the wall.

 

‘But that’s also how it is easier to lose control.’

Indeed, Jean needed a presence to keep her in check.

 

“Senior, it seems like the evaluation has begun.”

Upon hearing those words, I decided to push away any lingering thoughts. There would be enough time to worry later.

 

As expected, the first round of evaluation for Rogue was a duel.

According to the rules, the candidates had to face the evaluators while wielding the shoddy tin weapons provided by Rogue (they were so terrible that the term “tin” was fitting).

 

The evaluators were formidable.

Three evaluators took turns facing the candidates, and one of them seemed to be an inspector who’d crossed the second wall.

 

‘Yette, is it? Then my opponent must be that man.’

Due to the number of candidates, there was plenty of time to look at the evaluators.

First characteristic, predominantly right-handed.

Second characteristic, preferred to push forward with brute force.

Third characteristic, had a circular bald spot.

 

And just before I was going to identify the fourth characteristic,

The entrance evaluation was over.

 

‘What? Is this a joke? I haven’t gone yet.’

The moment when I was about to raise an objection and get up.

The evaluator who was giving final instructions crossed the empty space and approached me.

 

“Miss Daisy Fager, we will now proceed with your examination. Please follow me.”

“Not here?”

“It will take place in the palace. Please come with me.”

 

Then why bother bringing us to the evaluation site?

We followed the evaluator back to the royal palace.

When we arrived at the courtyard, Count Serenier and King Astrosa were waiting for us.

And Viscount Desherro…

 

“Be gentle.”

With an interesting expression, he came to me and left such advice out of the blue.

 

How audacious.

“What are you saying? I’m not the one conducting the evaluation, I’m the one being evaluated.”

 

“I’m just concerned. Every time you make that expression, you tend to be mean.”

“What’s wrong with my expression?”

“It’s sour.”

 

…Hmm.

I stood in front of the evaluator, managing my expression. Carefully turning my head, I asked the evaluator.

 

“Question. Why am I being evaluated separately?”

 

“It’s an internal matter. I can’t disclose it.”

 

Can’t disclose it, huh? It definitely had to be Rue’s work.

Well, it wasn’t a bad thing to have a private evaluation.

 

“From now on, we will begin the evaluation of Miss Daisy Fager’s qualification as a Yette.”

 

I picked up a tinned sword from the scattered weapons.

It was uselessly heavy and seemed fragile.

To get used to it, I swung it lightly a few times while the evaluator spoke.

 

“I assume you observed how I wield the sword in the test arena. Of course, I doubt you have that level of insight.”

 

He arrogantly flicked his chin while holding the sword out.

“Take the initiative. I’ll only defend up to three moves.”

 

Initiative. And three moves.

Wasn’t this a favor that the other three candidates didn’t receive?

 

Considering his disrespectful tone, it felt like he was forced into this. I could sense that Rue had made thorough preparations to send me to Rogue.

 

‘Well, it also means he’s deemed my presence perfectly enough to ignore.’

 

Hmm, fine.

Let’s kill him within three moves.

 

I walked slowly towards the evaluator, holding the sword in my right hand.

 

Facing the bald evaluator who had an expression of ‘what kind of trickery is this,’ I stood up and raised the sword. And I swung it from top to bottom.

 

Since it wasn’t a particularly fast strike, the evaluator easily avoided the sword by moving one step to the right. The moment I felt his contemptuous gaze on me.

 

The sword energy that extended from both sides exploded like a grenade.

 

Kwaaang!

 

There was no opponent as easy as a careless one.

The half-hearted bald figure spun in the air and retreated far back.

 

“Kuk.”

 

Thud. In the spot where he took a step back, red blood splattered on the floor, drawing a long line. It was the blood dripping from his left ear.

 

“Don’t raise your sword. I have two moves left.”

 

Reflexively, the hand that was feeling the sword handle froze.

You were the one who first brought up the three sword strikes thing, baldie.

As it’s a favor that’s not easily obtained, I’ll respond sincerely.

 

I walked back to the evaluator once again.

Unlike before, I couldn’t find a conceited expression on his reddened face.

This time I tried to poke a little plain.

Maybe he thought the sword energy would explode again, so the judge stepped to the side at once.

 

In the moment when the bald figure was trying to move away, I swung my left leg using the weight centered on my right foot.

 

“Crack!”

 

The rigidity of the abdomen felt from the knee was impressive. However, not knowing what I should do next, I punched the chin of the staggering opponent with my left fist.

The bald figure, who fell to the ground, shook his head and clenched his teeth.

 

“Who… throws a punch in a duel?!”

“Sorry. I’ve always been rootless.”

 

I grabbed the empty scabbard with my left hand again.

 

“And actually, I’m left-handed.”

 

After confirming the faint terror in the eyes of the bald figure.

“I’ll rely on you until the last move.”

 

I thrust the sword with the fastest speed I could muster. The tip of the sword precisely aimed at the man’s head.

 

Experienced examiners know how to accurately assess their own limits.

The bald figure was no exception.

 

Perhaps thinking it was too late to dodge, instead of counter attacking me, he tried to minimize the damage by leaning his upper body as far back as possible.

The moment the sword that went so head-on was about to dig into the pupil of the man’s eyes.

n that moment when the sword was about to pierce the man’s pupil head-on.

 

“Stop!”

 

With the command of the King of Astrosa, the examination ended.

I looked at the eyelashes that touched the tip of the tin sword. The dense eyelashes unique to the northern continent were trembling with fear.

 

“You really scared me! Miss Daisy Fager, did you really intend to kill the examiner?”

 

The bald figure exhaled roughly and swept his face while bowing his head.

I replied as I sheathed my sword.

 

“Taking civilian lives is a crime.”

“Stop talking like the military. The examiner almost died!”

“It was just intimidation.”

“So, the strong oppress the weak. Is that the Empire’s way of dueling?”

“The examiner backed down. In fact, I was the weak one here. Does that mean doing my best as a weak person is the problem?”

 

Sighing heavily, the King of Astrosa glanced at Count Serenier and then at the Calepa.

“I wondered why you wanted to put a young lady through the Yette examination… So she was a monster, a monster indeed.”

 

“So, does that mean I passed?”

 

As the other examiners focused on supporting the bald figure, my question scattered into thin air. I raised the tin sword above my shoulder and asked again.

 

“Did I pass?”

The examiner stiffened his shoulders for a moment and nodded.

 

“You passed… Congratulations!”

 

Hurray!

 

As soon as I threw the tinned sword away and rejoiced, Desherro approached me, looking terrifyingly pleased.

 

“You did well. You held back at the end. Of course, considering your personality, there is a high probability that you intentionally taunted your opponent. However, this is the Astrosa Kingdom, not the Empire. There is no need for any behavior that might warrant too much attention..”

 

Even as he lectured me, I could see the satisfying gleam in his eyes.

 

“You were excellent at using your feet and fists, senior. Thanks to you, I learned that I can utilize my hands and feet sufficiently for victory…”

 

After Desherro, Jean’s voice, as she was rambling on about something, passed through one ear to the other.

 

Alright, I made it to the finals!

When I looked at Count Serenier with pride, he also flashed a charming smile.

---

their pasts are scarily similar. I agree with Daisy.

no more advance chapters! I’ll just post normally, you guys can always just buy me a ko-fi if you ever feel like supportingg

 

ALSO HER LOOKING AT RUE WITH PRIDEE AND HIM SMILING BACK AA