Boukensha Ni Naritai To Miyako Ni Deteitta Musume Ga S Rank Ni Natteta Chapter 5

Since eliminating the Ice Hound Belgriff had wandered around the forest and mountain several times, defeating several more Grey Hounds. Since it didn’t seem like there were any more magic beasts drawn by the Ice Hound’s mana left, the woodcutters returned to work as usual. Cutting down trees and moving them to the village, sawing the logs, building on the church in preparation for the autumn festival, and starting work on the school to be built next to the church. The church plans to earnestly focus on educating the children.
As autumn approaches, the plants of the mountain begin to bear fruit in abundance.
Since he has already made sure there are no more magic beasts prowling around, Belgriff once again starts taking the children up the mountain to gather mountain grapes, mushrooms, akebi, rock cowberries, and other wild plants.

“Although this mushroom looks a lot like this other one here, look, if you tear it open there are these black spots inside. That means this one is poisonous. Don’t eat it, okay?”
“Uncle Bell, what about this one?”
“That mushroom’s colours make it look poisonous but it’s actually really delicious. Now, everyone, take a very small bite out of this poisonous one and make sure to remember its taste. Absolutely do not swallow it, okay? Once your taste is attuned to recognising it you’ll be able to avoid being fed it.”
“Ye~s!”
“It’s really good, even though it’s supposed to be poisonous!”
“Yeah, it’s great!”
“Remember not to swallow any.”
“We kno~w!”

With their baskets overflowing with items the group descend the mountain in high spirits. They don’t end up drenched in sweat from wandering the mountain like they would have in the height of summer any more. Of course they would still sweat enough for their clothes to stick to their skin though, but the wind makes it feel cool and refres.h.i.+ng.
After returning to the village, the children rush back to their houses carrying their harvests. After all they want to be praised and feel proud of themselves in front of their families.
Belgriff sees off the cheerful children smiling.

“Now, off to the field…”

Returning home, Belgriff changes into his work clothes and goes out to the field in his backyard.
The field is covered with fertilely-growing sweet potato vines. Although the summer vegetables aren’t growing as fast now compared to before, they are still bearing fruit.
He weeds the ground and digs up the sweet potatoes to remove their sprouts before re-burying them. After seeing that the turnips and leaf-vegetable seeds he had planted have sprouted he feels relieved.

“The land here has become really fertile now as well.”

Year after year, Belgriff has slowly been expanding his field.
The part he is working on now he had started on three years ago. In the beginning the soil was hard and any sprouts that did manage to grow would be eaten by bugs almost immediately, but his perseverance and thorough care paid off so now even here he can freely grow good-quality produce.

Checking over the entire field and working on whatever needs to be done, Belgriff eats some rock cowberries he had picked in the mountains. As he eats them he is reminded of Angeline.

“She likes these, after all… And the capital likely only has them as processed foods.”

Rock cowberry is sweet, sour, and delicious, but it goes off fairly quickly. Since there’s no rock cowberry to harvest in the vicinity of Orphen, they’re only sold jammed, preserved in sugar, or dried.
The villagers in Tornela make those kinds of processed rock cowberry foods as well but Angeline liked them best freshly-picked. Her happy expression as she ate them would make Belgriff happy as well.

“When will she come home…”

He rarely thought such nowadays as it has already been five years since she left. No, to be precise he did think of it but had always suppressed his thoughts about it. But since Angeline had been recently expressing her desire to go home, Belgriff is unable to not think about it. He’s lonely.

“I’m too much of a doting parent, aren’t I… Even if I do say so myself…”

Smiling wryly as he plays with his beard, a sudden vigorous voice from the front of the house yells out “Excuse me!”
Surprised, Belgriff suddenly stands up.

It’s an unfamiliar voice to Belgriff. They sound feminine.
As Belgriff heads to the front, confused and wondering who it is, he sees a single girl wearing clothes made from good-quality cloth and standing proudly.

She seems around seventeen or eighteen in age. Her platinum-blonde hair is tied back in a chignon. Her face is pretty and she seems like a n.o.ble. Though contrary to that she wears a sword on her waist.
She is one head shorter than Belgriff. Though Belgriff is a fairly tall man, so she could be said to be very tall for a girl.
Though he is fl.u.s.tered at suddenly being visited by someone he has never seen before, Belgriff maintains a calm att.i.tude and greets her.

“h.e.l.lo, who might you be?”

The girl relaxes her previously straight back, trying to act more friendly.

“Though visiting without any prior notification may be considered bad manners, I wish for your forgiveness. Am I correct in a.s.suming that this is the abode of Sir “Red Ogre” Belgriff?”
“R-Red Ogre…? Well, yes, I’m Belgriff, but…”

Belgriff is left confused about her saying something he doesn’t understand… a strange nickname? But he knows that she has come to him for a reason. The girl raises her voice in admiration.

“I see, with that magnificent red hair you possess, the nickname of “Red Ogre” perfectly fits you…”
“…Are you misunderstanding something?”
“Huh? A great number of people from this village recognise the name of ‘Belgriff’ however…?”
“Well, as far as I know I’m the only Belgriff in this village, but… Red Ogre?”

He has no recollection of such a name. Just who would have called him something like that?
Belgriff is left puzzled. The girl shows an expression of curiosity.

“Well… I have heard that Sir Belgriff is the father of the S Rank adventurer, the “Black-Haired Valkyrie” Lady Angeline, so…”

Belgriff blankly stands, mouth agape.

“Oh… Well, yes, Angeline is… my… daughter…”

Belgriff starts to speak less confidently mid-sentence.
His daughter is an S Rank adventurer. That should be a matter he should be proud of, but at the same time it just sounds like a second-rate lie and doesn’t feel like it would be real. He thinks that it would be embarra.s.sing if he straight-out said so.
But the girl replies with a “I thought so!” Satisfied, she nods to herself.
It feels like their stories don’t quite mesh together, but thinking about it just who is the girl in front of him? Belgriff opens his mouth to speak.

“Uhm… well, so who are you?”

The girl suddenly puts her hand to her mouth as if just remembering.

“F-for me to be so discourteous as to forget to introduce myself! I-I apologise for making you wait. I am known as the second daughter of Count Boldor, Sasha Boldor.”

Belgriff is taken aback after hearing this. He hurriedly lowers his head.

“For the daughter of the lord to come here… Although I did not know I have been greatly impolite to you…”
“N-nonono! Please raise your head! Lady Angeline is a great benefactor to the Boldor household! You are the same, as the father of such a person!”
“I, I see… Well, we shouldn’t just stay standing out here, so…”

Belgriff, still bewildered, leads Sasha inside. He makes herbal tea and serves her a plate of things such as rock cowberry, grapes, and akebi.

“You do not need to do so much for me, I am already very grateful.”
“No no, please go ahead and have some!”

Sasha bows her head in a friendly manner. Despite being the daughter of an aristocrat she is awfully humble, Belgriff thinks to himself. He also has not heard anything about Angeline being the benefactor of the Boldor household. Just what did she do?

Watching Sasha deliciously snack on the rock cowberries, Belgriff speaks.

“So on what business have you come here, Lady Sasha…?”

Sasha suddenly raises her head, as if she was completely absorbed in the rock cowberries before and forgot about everything else. Blus.h.i.+ng, she coughs once to try to cover it up and keep up appearances. Then she once more lowers her head.

“Sir Belgriff, your daughter, Lady Angeline saved my little sister Seren Boldor from robbers and then escorted her to our father, Count Boldor, as he lay sick and bedridden. I cannot express my grat.i.tude for this enough.”
“Bedridden… Is Count Boldor okay?”

Sasha smiles, though with a tinge of sadness.

“He has left on a journey to the King of G.o.ds, Viena’s side after seeing Seren and being left with no regrets.”
“I see… May he be blessed with Viena’s divine protection…”
“Thank you.”

The two make the sign of the cross. Sasha nods and continues.

“At the time I was unfortunately out to subjugate a magic beast and so I was unable to meet Lady Angeline in person, however when she was offered a reward she declined and said that if we really wanted to reward her we should instead give it to you, her father, Sir Belgriff.”
“I see…”

So when she wrote in her letter about saving a girl from bandits and escorting her to her father, it was the daughter of Count Boldor. Belgriff thought that she should have written something as important as that in the letter as well, but of course he doesn’t dislike the fact that his daughter performed such a meritorious deed in the slightest. He smiles slightly.
Sasha takes out a small bag from her breast pocket and sits it on the table. The clinking of coins can be heard from inside.

“In here are one hundred gold coins.”
“Hundred…!?”
“Though we feel ashamed that we are only able to repay you by this much, since the House is currently in a panic…”

Sasha ashamedly casts down her eyes. With just one gold coin the villagers of Tornela could live freely for an entire year. Belgriff hurriedly returns the bag.

“Th-there’s no need to be so ashamed. I would instead receive divine punishment if I were to accept this much!”
“Wh- what are you saying!? A hundred gold coins for Seren’s life is instead too cheap a payment! If you do not accept it this will leave a stain on the honour of the Boldor House!”

They continue this back-and-forth for a short while before finally Belgriff accepts the coins, overwhelmed by Sasha’s pressuring.
He doesn’t have the slightest idea as to what he would use one hundred gold coins for. It would be a different story if this were the capital, but here in the totally remote village of Tornela, aside from the merchants that come the village is for the most part self-sufficient, almost all trade that occurs here is made by bartering goods. There are many villagers that have never even seen a gold coin before.
Though he did end up taking them, Belgriff has decided that since it is Angeline’s reward he will keep them and give them to Angeline when she finally comes home. Until then he will not use a single one of them. Not that there would be any reason to though.

He expected that Sasha would go home after handing the reward over, but she instead leans over as if the actual talk begins now.

“I have heard that Sir Belgriff, you taught Lady Angeline her swordsmans.h.i.+p and the fundamentals of adventuring!”
“Yes, that’s right… Though that was when she was still young.”
“Although I am embarra.s.sed to admit it I am actually an adventurer, though an insignificant one. As I am still but a lowly AA Rank I am embarra.s.sed to ask but…”

Though Belgriff thinks to himself that as the majority of adventurers spend their entire life stuck at C Rank or B Rank there’s no reason to be embarra.s.sed about it, but Belgriff laughs and doesn’t think too deeply about it. She must be a girl with high aspirations.
Sasha fidgets around a bit before eventually staring directly at Belgriff, as if she has mustered up her resolve for something. Belgriff reflexively straightens his back suddenly in response to her sharp gaze.

“Sir Belgriff!”
“Yes?”
“I am extremely aware of how brazen a request this may be, however… I, Sasha Boldor, ask that Sir “Red Ogre” Belgriff please teach me your sword skills!” I wish to ask you for a match to learn from!

Sasha bows deeply.
Belgriff hesitates slightly, but it seems that she just wants to spar with him. If it’s just that much then it should be fine. It would be good exercise. But just who was it that called him Red Ogre?
Belgriff smiles wryly.

“I don’t believe I’m good enough to be teaching others, but… if you’re fine with that then I will.”

Sasha suddenly raises her head. Her expression beaming.

“I thank you…!”
“Let’s go outside then.”

Belgriff leads Sasha outside. The weather is good. The sun is currently setting in the west, and their shadows are greatly elongated.
Sasha places her hands on the scabbard and handle of the sword at her waist. Seeing her posture, Belgriff lets out his breath in admiration. It’s a beautiful stance with no useless movements. She is someone that can be considered skilled.

How interesting.

Belgriff similarly places his hands on his sword’s scabbard and handle.
The two face each other, glaring at each other for a while as if trying to measure the distance between them. Sasha slowly, carefully, sidles closer but Belgriff does nothing. He only slightly sways from side to side. Sweat runs down her forehead.
Eventually it builds up into a droplet, and the moment it runs down her face and drips off her chin she makes her move.

Sasha breathes out sharply.

With her brilliant footwork Sasha closes in on Belgriff in a flash.

But watching every single minute move she makes, Belgriff is able to respond, suddenly swinging his sword. Since he didn’t remove it from its scabbard the metallic sound of swords clas.h.i.+ng didn’t ring out. But the clash does send out a strong, sharp sound.
Realising that her first attack has been parried, Sasha immediately moves in for her second attack. But Belgriff easily blocks that one with the minimum amount of movement necessary as well. Then she attacks a third time… A fourth time….

How many times have they clashed weapons now?
A skilled person’s swordsmans.h.i.+p can look like a dance. As if they’re telling the other person how to move they run, leap, jump, moving around everywhere as they swing their swords at each other.
Sasha’s sword is fast but Belgriff’s is fast and heavy. For every attack of his that Sasha blocks, her face distorts in response to the heaviness. On top of that Belgriff’s footwork sometimes becomes more unorthodox, possibly due to his false leg, catching Sasha off-guard.

Eventually Sasha falls to her knees from the fatigue and Belgriff’s sword thrusts at the base of her neck. Her breathing strained, Sasha puts her hand up to indicate her surrender.

“I-It is my loss…”
“…Fuu… I apologise for the crude swordsmans.h.i.+p I showed.”

Belgriff retracts his sword, smiling. Though Belgriff is also breathing heavily it isn’t as much as Sasha, whose breathing is as if her body is covered in wounds. But regardless, Sasha’s ability is enough for Belgriff to have lost had he let his guard down. Through something like the obstinacy of an aged person Belgriff stands acting as if he is unaffected, but in truth his heart is still beating hard and he felt he was only barely able to win.
Belgriff goes inside, scoops up a cup of water, and brings it out to Sasha. Belgriff hands the cup over to her, still on her knees but having recovered her breath.
Sasha drinks all the water in one go, takes a deep breath, and looks up at Belgriff.

“Thank you very much… Your skill is truly superb… As expected of Lady Angeline’s father and teacher…”
“You are just as splendid yourself, Lady Sasha. I truly admire your skills. It would have been dangerous for me if I had let my guard down.”
“Fufu, you are just being modest. I was hoping to at least get a single strike in, however I am now ashamed of my own foolish thoughts… I am unknowledgeable and as such have not heard anything of it however, Sir Belgriff, you must have been a well-renowned adventurer during your active days.”

Belgriff sees her admiration-filled eyes. It feels as if they’re saying that he must have been an S Rank as well. Troubled in betraying her expectations, Belgriff frowns.

“No… I was an E Rank. As you can see, when I had first started out adventuring I lost my leg. After that I retired from adventuring. Ever since then I have lived secluded here in Tornela.”

As he talks he puts on display his right artificial leg. Sasha gulps, her eyes wide.
She must be disappointed, Belgriff thinks. Though that would be better than her constantly overevaluating him as someone special. She may not like having lost to a former E Rank, but given a year she will have become stronger. It would be good if she could use this as inspiration.

But completely contrary to Belgriff’s thoughts, Sasha’s eyes s.h.i.+ne and she grabs his hands. Her face is flushed.

“What a touching story!”
“…What?”
“Even with an artificial leg you were able to become so strong… Just how much did you train!? And even after building up that strength you chose not to show yourself to the world and continued to protect Tornela Village all this time, did you…!? And then, after all that time, you were able to nurture an S Rank adventurer with your own hands…! You did not pursue fame and instead focused solely on training the next generation and constantly striving for the development of this small village… I, Sasha Boldor, feel as if I have just been shown a deep revelation!”
“…No, well…”
“This will serve as a good tale on my travels… I must also increase my outlook on life and not just pursue my own fame, mustn’t I? Sir Belgriff, though this may be audacious of me to say, I wish to also respect you as my teacher!”
“H-hey… Lady Sasha? Could you listen to…”
“I sincerely apologise for a novice like myself to have taken up your time, Master! Some day I shall return to polish up on my swordsmans.h.i.+p once more!”

Still holding Belgriff’s hands she shakes them vigorously then says “Now I shall take my leave!” and quickly leaves. She comes and goes as suddenly as a storm.
For a period of time Belgriff stays standing there, blank-faced, wondering what just happened.
The sky is dyed orange by the sunset and his shadow grows longer still.

Burnes walks over, speaking out to him.

“Mr. Bell, Dad says he wants to eat dinner with… What are you doing?”
“…I might have just had a waking dream.”

Seeing Belgriff s.p.a.cing out, Burnes tilts and scratches his head.

Unless you are an expert in the field please do not taste any poisonous or unidentified mushrooms, even if you don’t swallow them. A lot of mushrooms can poison you without needing to be ingested.