Boukensha Ni Naritai To Miyako Ni Deteitta Musume Ga S Rank Ni Natteta Chapter 28

Someone is sprinting through the forest at great speeds; leaping expertly and with feet barely touching the ground. It's a woman, or to be more specific, it's a young woman. Her smooth, silky silver hair is tied in a messy bun. She has a sword strapped to her waist, covered by her fluttering coat.

Her most distinctive features are undoubtedly her pointy ears.

The surrounding forest is full of blackened dead vegetation. None of the trees have their usual foliage. The thorns and shrubs are dry and seem to be alive with unusual erratic movements. Dark clouds loom overhead; the gray desolate panorama encases the sky with a depressive glow.

Chasing the young woman are a bunch of magical beasts. Child-sized lizards are hot on her heels, sprinting after her on their hind legs. Their lidless eyes are entirely focused on the woman, their blue scales ooze a strange liquid.

“You lot!” the young woman growls upon seeing the lizards still chasing her. "Are really getting on my nerves!"

Her hand falls to her sword's handle. Leaping to the side, she spins in a deadly arc and in a blink of an eye her blade buries itself in one of the lizards. Taking advantage of the momentum, she continues to spin; her blade lobbing off the next beast's head. 

The young woman elegantly dances from foe to foe, her movements a graceful blur of death. The enemies stood no chance against her obvious extraordinary skill, as each beast was slain without breaking a single drop of sweat.

"I warned you…"

With rows of corpses remaining, the woman simply wipes the blood off her blade.

'I've travelled so far just to find one worthy beast to slay,' the woman thinks, sheathing her sword. “What a disappointment this has been…could it be that they're all really weak?”

The young woman shakes her head and begins to run into the distance. She can still feel the presence of magical beasts chasing her, but she cannot be bothered to waste her strength of small fry. Although her body looks delicate, she shows no sign of being tired. 

The young woman continues to run.

For hours upon hours, jumping over dead trees and dodging dry th.o.r.n.y bushes, the woman continues to run. Until eventually, she sees a cloud of miasma floating adrift. 

The strange magical occurrence sends a cold chill down her spine.

The young woman skids to a halt, a gleeful look in her eye.

“Finally,” she says with a menacing smile. The young woman draws her sword again and begins to march towards the source of magic. 

And there she sees a dark crouching creature.

The child-sized shadowy creature dissipates and bubbles, it forms undefined and changing constantly. Its limbs are, in a nutsh.e.l.l, very peculiar. A normal-looking human arm on one side, and a wing on the other. Multiple heads turn from one side to the other, scanning its surroundings for a threat, or worse…

Prey.

The creature made of shadows murmurs something in a low voice as it changes shape. It's like the creature is begging, or maybe regretting something.

“Go… go… I go back… Master…”

“Sorry sweetheart, but you won't be going back anywhere,” the woman manically smiles, readying her blade. In a single step, she closed the distance and brought her thin blade down on the shadowy creature.

○

Little by little, the signs of summer begin to appear.

The gra.s.s and trees of vibrant spring gradually darkened to a solemn green. The forest near the village of Tornela thrived with a solid lively glow.

The plains outside the village are covered with rows upon rows of carpet like gra.s.s. The livestock enjoys the warm sunny days.

The most laborious tasks during the early summer are harvesting wheat and shearing the well-fed sheep. 

The nights in Tornela are relatively cool—even during the summer—but the daylight is dazzling and relentless. So, after losing the excess wool, the sheep return to the pastures, lighter and refreshed.

On the day the villagers are shearing the sheep, Belgriff sits in the garden of Kerry's house; watching over the children. The old adventurer holds a baby in his arms while five other children draw pictures on the ground or watch the sheep being sheared on the other side of the garden.

Many homes in Tornela have sheep, but Kerry's house easily held the most. It is for this reason that Kerry hires several villagers to help him with this process to the point where it is basically a small festival within Tornela. 

However, their work does not end there. 

Once everyone has finished with the sheep, they begin the spinning and weaving of wool.

A person with experience shearing sheep will take maybe forty to fifty minutes with the appropriate scissors. A beginner, on the other hand, may take up to twice or thrice as long. The more experienced people show the craft to the younger ones, however, there are many occasions when the sheep feel uncomfortable and try to escape. At other times the young shearer's end up damaging the wool, or even hurting the sheep. Small situations like this end up causing a big commotion among the villagers.

Belgriff has had his fair share of sheep shearing, but the number of children has increased over the years, and he found himself looking after them.

Belgriff is thankfully willing to teach the young ones the craft properly, allowing the women who help wash and spin the wool to work without interruption. In addition, all the villagers feel safe leaving their children in Belgriff's care as the children love him dearly.

When the baby in Belgriff's arms starts crying, he puts his hand in his pocket and pulls his thumb out through the hole in the s.h.i.+rt. The baby giggles and eventually calms down, a satisfied and tired smile on its face. This is something that occurs on a regular basis.

As he entertains the baby this way, a relatively chubby but muscular man approaches the place. His clothes look like an adventurer's and he has a battle-axe in his hand. His brown hair seems to be falling out yet a thick, dark beard covers the lower part of his face.

The man s.h.i.+elds his eyes from the sun and then laughs aloud when he sees Belgriff.

“Hahaha, as expected of you Bel. Even with a baby as your opponent, they fall before the might of the Red Ogre!”

“Haha. Welcome back, Duncan. How was your day?” Belgriff replies with a warm smile.

“Eh, same old, same old. Ha~, but the young people of this village are…in really good shape. Clearly, their teacher is quite has been whipping them into shape no?”

“I have no idea what you are talking about, seriously…” Belgriff gets up with a wry smile and hands the baby over to Duncan. “Take care of him for a minute, will you? I'm a little thirsty.”

“Huh?” Duncan splutters, bewildered by the sudden declaration. 

The baby burst into tears as soon as it's in Duncan's hands. Duncan panics and quickly tries to calm the little one, but the baby starts crying harder.

“Hey! Bel! What am I supposed to do?!”

“Just hold him for a minute.”

Belgriff quickly enters the kitchen where some women are busy preparing food. From a ladle, he takes a large mouthful of water. After that, he returns to the garden.

Apparently, Duncan's chubby body is easy to climb, as all the village children have surrounded the man. Smiles of glee fill their faces as some of them on his shoulders while others are climbing on his back.

“Haha, I didn't know you were so popular.”

Duncan pales. “I-I'm not used to these things…”

Belgriff laughs heartily. He approaches and gently takes the baby out of Duncan's arms, who continues to battle with the children who are pulling on his beard.

It's been almost two months since Belgriff returned from Bordeaux territory. While he was in Bordeaux, the snow in Tornela melted completely. Ever since his return, the wheat shoots have become large and golden, so harvest time has come.

Surprisingly, Duncan was the first to welcome Belgriff back.

Duncan is an adventurer who once traveled the entire continent in search of a strong opponent. On one occasion, he heard the rumor of the ‘Red Ogre' who lived in Tornela and made the long journey to that village. However, Duncan had already met Belgriff in Rodina village, but as he did not know the face of the ‘Red Ogre', he simply continued his journey.

Upon arriving at Tornela, Duncan learned that Belgriff had gone on a quest. With nothing else to do, Duncan stayed in Tornela until his return.

It was fortunate that Duncan had a friendly personality. With no time at all, he followed Belgriff's shoes and began to help the villagers train the youth.

Belgriff apologized for deceiving him in Rodina, but Duncan didn't seem to mind all that much. What's more, Duncan thanked the man. If he had discovered the truth in Rodina, he would never have made it to Tornela. Apparently, Duncan had grown very fond of the small rural village. Also, Duncan's presence in Tornela while Belgriff was away was a G.o.dsend.

Of course, the villagers were disappointed because the development of the road was postponed, but another problem had arisen.

Low-ranking magic beasts, from E to D Rank began to appear quite frequently. Although they are low-ranking magic beasts and aren't a problem for most adventurers; against normal villagers, they were a serious threat.

The young people of the village can handle swords and, of course, have enough strength to fight, but they have little to no experience in real battles. All the villagers feared that without Belgriff, deaths were going to be inevitable. 

Duncan just so happened to have been visiting the village at the time. As a wandering adventurer, he played an important role.

Not only did he help exterminate the magic beasts, but he also a.s.sisted Belgriff in training the village youth. While Belgriff taught them the skills, knowledge, and precautions that came with adventuring; Duncan taught them what a real fight against the magic beasts was like.

The young people who already knew how to use the sword thanks to Belgriff, quickly learned how to deal with the magic beasts, and now, have formed a group focused especially on that, almost like a small adventurers guild. 

So far, there have been no serious injuries and fortunately, no one has died. Everything was perfectly in order.

“I guess it wouldn't make much difference if I left the village now,” says Belgriff as he thinks to himself. A peaceful smile graces the old adventurer's lips.

“Huh? What are you on about? There ain't many things I can do for the village. Unlike somebody who grew up here,” says Duncan, plopping down next to Belgriff.

“I appreciate you saying that," Belgriff warmly smiles. "Why don't you settle down here and look for a wife Duncan?”

Duncan is taken aback for a second before he bursts into a loud hearty fit of laughter. “Hahaha! Now that; doesn't sound half bad!”

Suddenly, they hear a scream of surprise on the other side of the garden. Apparently, one of the young men who is shearing the sheep angered one of them. With a headb.u.t.t, the sheep managed to knock the man down and escape. The laughter of the old man who was teaching the boy and the people around him echoed throughout the garden.

Belgriff looks at that scene with a warm smile and then turns to see Duncan. “So, what happened? Were you able to find the cause?”

Duncan sighs and crosses his arms with a complicated expression. “I tried to find the source of the magic. Got nothing. Exploration ain't my cuppa tea Bel. It's usually just me and my axe, taking down magical beasts.”

“Hmm…” thinks Belgriff, rubbing his chin. 'Maybe I should go investigate too.'

The quests that Adventurers are well known for can usually be divided into three broad categories. Subjugation quests, gathering quests, and scouting quests.

As the name implies, subjugation quests involve the elimination of magical beasts. It's dangerous for the average person and usually, the beast threatens someone, so combat skills are a necessity. Some knowledge of the magic beasts is also required, but as the scouts have already collected enough information, it's often not necessary to do much research during this phase.

In gathering quests, materials are collected. In the event that furs, fangs, claws or sh.e.l.ls of magic beasts are required, these missions often overlap with subjugation missions. However, most of them only consist of gathering medicinal herbs and ores. Depending on the location of the resources, these missions regularly require no combat skills. It's common for novice adventurers to take on these types of quests, and they are quests that all adventurers complete at least once in their careers.

The scouting quests are mainly oriented to dungeons, deep forests, and other unexplored areas of interest. The objective of these quests may vary greatly from gathering information about a high-ranking magic beast lurking in a dungeon, to identifying the priceless materials of some creature.

These quests can become something of a wildcard, as they can include unexpected combat and long hours of observation. That's why adventurers who accept these quests require at least certain combat and observation skills. On several occasions, these quests are somewhat more challenging than the subjugation and gathering quests.

Just as there are several types of quests, there are also several types of adventurers, and Duncan seems to be an adventurer specializing in subjugation quests. That's why he may not be the best person to carry out a scouting quest, where subtlety and patience are required. Although Duncan is a gifted AA Rank adventurer, he is…battle-hungry to the point where he is useless in other forms of adventuring. 

He did after all come to Tornela in his lifelong search to find strong opponents.

On the other hand, when Belgriff was an adventurer, he accepted all kinds of quests. He subjugated magic beasts, collected materials, and researched dungeons.

He worked that way for two years, and he doesn't remember taking a day off all that time. He accepted one quest after another, and thanks to this, he acquired the experience and courage necessary to do his job properly.

'Anyway, the number of magic beasts has most definitely increased. A reservoir of magical energy may have appeared near the Tornela Mountains,' Belgriff thinks, ma.s.saging his temple. 'Which means the possibility of the higher ranking beasts appearing…'

In places with a lot of magical power, magic beasts are likely to gather unless barriers are created. In addition, it is also common for weaker magic beasts to gather around stronger ones. If the magical energy continues to acc.u.mulate like this, a dungeon will undoubtedly appear in that place. If they do not discover the cause soon, the problem with the magic beasts will only get worse. 

For now, only low-level magic beasts have appeared. How long do they have left before it gets out of hand is the question in Belgrif's mind.

Sooner or later, when Belgriff is gone, someone else will have to take care of the village's defenses. So the training of young people is a must.

Even so, it is worrying not to know the cause of the increasing population of magic beasts. Whether they destroy the cause or leave it alone, they have to uncover the truth…

For some time now, a fly has been flying in front of Belgriff's face, really bugging the old adventurer. He frowns and swats at it. At that moment, another sheep runs away and the laughter of the villagers is heard again.

○

“I miss my Daddy.”

In the lower part of the coastal town of Elbren, at a table under the eaves of a, Angeline sits idly. She has her chin on the table and her body is languid.

“You saw him recently,” Anessa says with a wry smile as she wipes the sweat from her forehead.

“It wasn't recently… It's been two months…”

Angeline pouts and tilts her head to one side, flattening her cheeks on the table. Miriam's gaze is blank and distracted. Apparently, the soft hair on her ears is very helpful in cold weather…not so much in warm weather.

After returning to Orphen, the girls returned to their regular adventurer's business.

They can work whenever they want and do anything else when they are not busy. That's the life of high-ranking adventurers, which novice adventurers envy so much.  And now that the threat of the Demon King no longer exists, everything is much calmer.

This time, they are in the coastal city of Elbren to collect the valuable iron coral. The other day, they explored a nearby sea dungeon for the rare material. After eliminating several oceanic magical beasts and collecting enough iron coral, they are preparing to transport them back to Orphen.

With their quest completed, the girls enjoy the fine dining seafood and wine that can be found in Elbren.

Angeline sips at the cold wine.

“I'm sure my Daddy misses me too…” says Angeline, watching wine swirl in her gla.s.s.

“A lot of people depend on Mr. Bel, so I don't think he has much time to feel lonely.”

“Muu…”

“Our visit to Tornela was refres.h.i.+ng, wasn't it? Nya~…” Miriam mutters as she sways and wipes the sweat from her forehead. "I think the heat is getting to me…"

“Here Miriam, drink up,” Anessa says as she gives her friend a gla.s.s of cold water. "I did say we should eat indoors."

“I didn't think the wind would stop blowing…” Miriam consumes the gla.s.s of cold water and sighs. For some time now the eaves with which the girls cover themselves from the sun have not moved with the wind.

Elbren is a town southwest of Orphen. It is a city that has flourished thanks to maritime transportation and fis.h.i.+ng. Although it isn't as big as Orphen, Elbren is a relatively large and crowded city.

Since the city is not so far south, its climate should not be very different from the climate of Orphen. It is, however, a coastal city and thus is at low alt.i.tude. Therefore, when there is no wind, Elbren is far hotter than Orphen.  And with summer rolling in, the three girls could feel the difference.

“Why don't you get yourself a boyfriend~?” says Miriam, leaving the gla.s.s of water on the table.

“What for?”

“That way you won't feel so lonely anymore.”

“I don't know. The love you get from a boyfriend is different from the love you get from a father," Angeline states, shrugging. "Besides, there are no good men in Orphen. What about you, Miri?”

“Eh, I prefer older guys. Boys our age are unreliable. Also, I wouldn't want them to know that I'm a beast woman. Besides, it's like you said, we don't know any cool guys. They're all too weak for my tastes.”

“Don't you think your standards are a bit low?” Anessa asks.

Seeing Anessa's astonished expression, Miriam and Angeline bring their faces closer and smile mischievously.

“Trying to look good, huh~?”

“No person is good enough for Ane… Her standards are ridiculous.”

“Shut up. I'm fine. It's not like I want something like that…”

“Hmm~.”

“Well, I figured it would be that way…”

“What's that supposed to mean! It's not like that! I meant that right now I enjoy being an adventurer… Hey, listen to me!”

Angeline and Miriam drink wine quietly, ignoring all the excuses Anessa tries to make. At the moment, all three of them only have alcohol in their empty stomachs.

Angeline looks away. A storm cloud moves over the blue sky.

“I'm hungry…when's the food coming?

“It should be here any minute now~.”

“Hmm…”

“Do you think Mr. Bel intends to get a girlfriend~?”

“What are you saying all of a sudden?” Angeline stares at her friend.

“If he gets a girlfriend, he won't feel so lonely anymore, even if he stays in Tornela. Although Mr. Bel didn't seem very interested when Ms. Helvetica kissed him~.” Miriam says as she rests her chin on her staff.

“I think he was a little embarra.s.sed,” Anessa says.

“Hmm… I don't think that little girl is good enough for my Daddy.”

“That 'little girl' is a Countess, you know?”

“What do you think, Angie~? What kind of person would be a good mother~?”

After listening to Miriam's question, Angeline began to think carefully.

“What does it take to be a mother, I wonder?”

“To be a mother…”

“Perhaps a voluptuous body?”

“No, that would mean Miri has everything to be a good mother.”

That said, Angeline and Anessa turn to look at Miriam.

“Nope.”

“Agreed.”

“What do you mean~?!” Miriam asks while pouting.

Anessa drinks more wine with a wry smile. “Anyway, many people consider Mr. Belgriff to be a good father, so his partner must also be equally skilled as a parent.”

“True. In addition, there are also many kinds of love. For example, I love my Daddy, but it is not the same as a woman loving a man. Maybe it's like the love the beasts feel for each other? Yes, maybe like beasts…No, my Daddy is a gentleman, so calling him a beast is incorrect.”

“I really don't know what you're talking about… I've never had a father before, so I'm not sure. But I think if I had one, I'd like him as much as I like Mr. Bel. But it's also a different feeling than being in love with someone.”

“Right~? I like Mr. Bel, too, and it is fun to be with him. But it's something completely different from loving a partner.”

“Yes, I like Mr. Belgriff, but I wouldn't marry him…”

“First of all, I would have to allow it. And I don't think any of us have enough skills to be a good mother,” says Angeline.

“And I wouldn't like to have a daughter like you, Angie,” Miriam says, sticking her tongue out at Angeline. 

“Haha~. I think you'd love me.”

“Do you really believe that~?”

While Angeline's and Miriam's argument goes back and forth, Anessa sighs heavily.

“What the h.e.l.l are you two on about now?” she mutters to herself.

Angeline finishes her gla.s.s of wine and slams her fist on the table. “All right it's decided then. I have no choice but to find my Daddy a girlfriend.”

“Yay~. That'll be fun~!”

“Since it's about candidates to be my mother, I have to choose carefully…”

“No, no, no. Mr. Belgriff is the one who should decide that, isn't he?”

“If we leave him in his hands, he'll never find anyone… he's kind of a late bloomer.”

“No, but it's possible he knows someone in Tornela.”

“No. If he had, he would have been married years ago.”

“Well… Maybe… Maybe you're right.”

“Of course, in the end, my Daddy will be the one to make the decision. But since there are no possible partners in Tornela, we have no choice but to look for candidates elsewhere. Fufufu~, this is getting really fun…”

“Mr. Bel's future wife~… But if we really find that person, then your father would concentrate on her and he might neglect you, Angie~.”

“What!”

Although Miriam said those words in a joking tone, they are at a loss of words when Angeline's slumps and collapses onto the table. “Ah, what should I do? What should I do? What should I do? What should I do?”

“You…really didn't think of that?” Anessa deadpans.

“Eh~! M-Maybe…it's not the best time to look for a new wife~.” Miriam states.

The wind again begins to blow gently. A waiter comes up to the girls and places the food on the table. The Elbren-style paella with fried oysters and gives off a delicious aroma and lots of steam.

Angeline doesn't notice.

*Translator's Notes: 

h.e.l.lo everyone! First of all, I apologize for the delay with this t.i.tle. I had some technical problems with my computer and lost some of the chapters I had already translated. I'm really sorry

From here we start the Third Volume of this novel, I hope you enjoy it a lot! New characters, new allies, new loves (?) Lots of new adventures await us! 

*Editor's Notes: 

Hey everyone! Sorry for the delay as well. I had to plan a LOTR marathon with my friends, so I just got back from it. I'll be sure to edit faster in the future. :3