Book 1 Chapter 4

Here's the English translation:

【4】3

Creak-!

The door of the Flobe mansion opened.

Gerdlinger's people entered.

The Flobe household members who had come to greet them gulped.

An overwhelming sense of intimidation, befitting a heroic noble family that discusses the continent's hegemony, was felt.

Flap- Flap-

The family banner, embroidered with burning flames, fluttered.

At the front, a carriage led by a griffin stopped.

The door opened, and Jis and Celia dismounted.

'Why is Uncle staying here?'

In fact, Celia wasn't pleased when she heard they would be staying at a noble family's mansion.

Celia had no intention of being satisfied with merely entering Lumen Academy.

Her goal was to be at the top of her class.

Therefore, she wanted to focus solely on the entrance exam until it arrived.

But coming to such a noble house meant a lot of troublesome affairs.

Especially a noble family in a small kingdom.

They would undoubtedly be desperate to forge a connection with Gerdlinger one way or another.

So, she wished they had rented an entire luxury hotel.

As it was Jis's decision, she didn't openly voice her dissatisfaction, but she wasn't happy about it.

Splash-

Celia swept her waist-length black hair behind her ear and straightened her back.

Dissatisfied or not, she was the family head's daughter.

Her public image was important.

As a representative of the family, she needed to show courtesy to the master of this house.

As Celia thought this, she was momentarily flustered.

"Huh?"

She wasn't the only one.

The other Gerdlinger people also stirred.

Two people stood at the entrance of the mansion.

Deid and Reina.

They were specifically surprised to see Reina.

'She looks like Father and Uncle.'

And she also had a similar appearance to herself.

"Greet her, Celia. This is Marquis Flobe."

"My name is Celia Gerdlinger. I'll be imposing for a week."

"Welcome. Please make yourself at home and stay comfortably."

Deid greeted her plainly.

There was no sign of trying to impress the heroic noble family.

"And this is Marquise Flobe."

"Hehe, I've heard much about you."

Reina smiled softly and greeted her.

Celia looked at Reina with confused eyes.

"Uncle, who is this person?"

"Reina Flobe. She is your aunt."

Celia's eyes widened.

***

The Gerdlinger people unpacked their luggage at the mansion.

Meanwhile, Jis conversed with the Flobe couple in the drawing-room.

"I'm glad to see you're both healthy and well."

"There's no reason for me not to be well."

Click-

Reina elegantly raised her teacup.

"You've become very modest, sister."

"Hahahaha. You've grown a lot, Jis."

Jis shook his head, seeing his sister's forehead vein bulge.

'Her personality hasn't changed.'

His sister, once known as the 'Flame Witch'.

The reason she bore the title 'Witch', which was hard to attach to a knight, was simple.

It was purely due to her personality.

Smiling as he recalled old times, Jis said.

"Leo is quite bold, I see."

"What has my son done?"

Jis laughed at Deid's question.

"Before coming to the Flobe family, we visited Delan Royal Academy for a tour. All the students were assembled, but Leo apparently said he wasn't interested in Gerdlinger and left early."

"If you were offended, I will apologize on my son's behalf."

"Jis isn't so petty as to be offended by that, Deid."

"Indeed. It was quite a fresh experience."

As a Gerdlinger, always the center of attention, a reaction like Leo's was novel.

"So, what kind of child is Leo?"

"I'm not saying this just because he's my son, but his talent is truly remarkable."

"If you say so, sister, I look forward to it. However."

Jis's gentle demeanor suddenly changed.

"Gaining permission for the family's Aura Heart Method is a separate matter."

A cold atmosphere, unbefitting the title of Flame Blade.

Jis raised his head.

"Sister, do you truly believe Leo Flobe is worthy of inheriting the flame of Gerdlinger?"

Pressure emanated from his body.

He wasn't using any special power.

It was charisma naturally ingrained in him.

"I believe he is fully worthy."

Reina said, her lips curled up.

"You'll know when you meet him too. The value of that child."

***

"Sir Wheaton. Do you know anything about my aunt?"

Celia asked Wheaton, who had been the family head's loyal knight since before she was born.

"Lady Reina was the previous owner of the 'Flame Storm' that you possess, young lady."

Flame Storm.

It was one of the family treasures that possessed the power to maximize the 'Flame Aura', the symbol of Gerdlinger.

Just being the owner of this Flame Storm allowed one to gauge what kind of person she was.

"How did such a person abandon the family name and end up in such a remote kingdom?"

"Lady Reina lost her flame in an unfortunate accident. Afterward, she said she wanted to live a normal life, so she abandoned the Gerdlinger name and left the family."

The moment a family name is abandoned, records of that person disappear from the family, regardless of the reason.

"Even I never dreamed I would meet Lady Reina here again."

'For Sir Wheaton to say so much, she must have been truly remarkable. Perhaps I can receive some sword training from her later?'

While she was thinking about wanting to witness Reina's swordsmanship.

They had already arrived at the Flobe family's training grounds.

Whoosh-! Whoosh-!

"Huh?"

The sound of a wooden sword being swung was heard.

Someone was swinging a sword in the training ground.

Unfamiliar white hair, but familiar red eyes.

"You're Leo Flobe, aren't you?"

Leo looked at Celia with puzzled eyes.

"So? Who are you?"

"Ahem."

Celia cleared her throat, straightened her back, and introduced herself.

"My name is Celia Gerdlinger. I am your maternal cousin."

Celia thought Leo would be surprised.

A beautiful girl, spoken of as the top enrollee at Lumen, where the world's best talents gathered.

Celia was a global celebrity.

Especially among her peers, she was an object of admiration, literally like an idol.

"Oh? Nice to meet you."

Whoosh-! Whoosh-!

However, Leo's reaction was dry and uninteresting.

He didn't even stop swinging his sword.

Celia frowned at his obvious lack of interest.

As she was about to speak again, Leo's sword stopped.

"Hoo."

Celia asked Leo, who was taking deep breaths and wiping away sweat.

"How old are you?"

"Fifteen."

"You're the same age as me? Since we've met like this, it must be fate, so I'll **specially** give you some sword training. How about it?"

Celia offered with a kind smile.

'If I'm good to this guy, my aunt might give me special training.'

It was an offer with ulterior motives, but Leo himself wasn't interested.

'What? Who is this kid?'

Sword training?

He knew she was skilled, but she had the wrong address.

Leo lost interest in Celia and swung his sword again.

Whoosh-! Whoosh-!

This time, Celia carefully observed the sword's movements.

And let out a gasp of admiration.

'It's quite good, isn't it?'

There wasn't a single wasted movement in his swordplay.

She could tell it was a sword strike containing considerable power.

'Still, he's from our family bloodline, right? His skill is better than I thought.'

Clank- Clank-

'But what are those bracelets?'

Every time the sword moved, there was an annoying clanking sound.

A moment later, Leo retrieved his sword.

"Now, let's see you move properly. From what I can tell, you seem to have potential."

Celia felt a slight sense of anticipation.

But Leo wiped his sweat and left the training ground.

"Hey, where are you going?"

"I finished my training for today."

"I said I'd watch you, didn't I?"

"I'll decline."

"Why?"

"I don't really want to be trained by someone less skilled than me."

"What?"

Celia's face hardened.

"Are you saying you're stronger than me right now?"

"You're probably stronger right now. Because I can't use aura."

He couldn't defeat Celia in a real fight for their lives.

"But I'll win a sword duel, won't I?"

Celia's lips twitched as she watched Leo speak nonchalantly.

"You have great confidence, don't you?"

Her red eyes narrowed.

"Seeing you swing your sword, I get it. You. You're the strongest at the school you attend, aren't you?"

All aspiring knights at Delan Royal Academy handle aura.

But Leo would be much stronger than them.

Leaving aura aside, their basic foundations were too different.

'The reason this guy hasn't learned aura is probably my aunt's wish to have him learn a high-level Aura Heart Method, right?'

High-level Aura Heart Method.

For example, an Aura Heart Method that only those of the Gerdlinger family bloodline could learn.

'But what? He says I'm stronger now? Does that mean if he learns aura, he'll be stronger than me? What? How arrogant!'

Gerdlinger children begin fierce competition from an early age.

That competition made no exception, not even for the family head's own children.

And Celia had always been the best.

The root of her pride was not 'Gerdlinger' but her confidence in herself.

"Alright. If you're so confident in your skill, let's duel."

"Duel?"

"Yes. If I win, you'll be my servant while you're in the Flobe family."

"If I win? Will you be my maid then?"

"Of course. It has to be the same condition to be fair, doesn't it? Though that won't happen."

Celia swept her hair back, smiling dismissively.

"Ah, young lady."

Wheaton, who had been watching the situation, hastily tried to dissuade her.

"Don't worry, Sir Wheaton. I'll win anyway."

Celia, with a confident expression, looked at Leo and said.

"I'll show you that you're a frog in a well."

The two stood in the middle of the training ground.

Leo spoke to Celia, who was gripping her wooden sword.

"Oh, right. You can use aura."

"What?"

'This guy, really!'

"Hmph! Then I'll give you two attacks as well. Go ahead and attack to your heart's content."

A crimson glow enveloped Celia's body.

Aura Armor.

A technique to wrap aura around the entire body like armor.

"Oh? Then I won't refuse."

"As much as you like."

Celia's lips curled into a smile.

She was confident that Leo's attacks, unable to use aura, wouldn't affect her.

Leo gripped the sword with both hands and took a deep breath.

"Hoo-!"

Veins bulged on the forearm holding the sword.

Leo's red eyes glinted.

CRASH-!

The wooden sword struck Celia's temple precisely.

Her head snapped back, and her skull rang with a dull ache from the impact.

Stiffness and pain shot up from her neck.

Celia's face turned pale from the unimaginable force.

"Hardy."

Leo murmured in admiration.

"Hmph, hmph! Do you think your attacks could pierce my Aura Armor?"

'W-What monstrous strength!'

She was forcing a smile, but she almost went down for the count.

It was such a powerful blow that the reinforced wooden sword was tattered.

'Still, it's not unbearable at this level.'

Seeing Celia exaggerating her composure and smiling, Leo loosened the bracelets on both his wrists and flung them away.

Thud-!

"…!"

"Well then, shall I swing it properly this time?"

To Celia, Leo, smiling as he stretched his shoulders, looked like a demon.

Bracelets enchanted with weight magic.

Normally, it would be a ridiculously crude training method that she would have mocked as old-fashioned.

But she couldn't laugh now.

Because the sight before her transcended crudeness; it was insane.

"Then one more hit."

"W-Wait…!"

CRASH-!

A sound incomparable to before resonated.

A dizzying impact struck her head.

In her fading consciousness, she saw Leo discarding the shattered reinforced wooden sword and thought.

'What kind of…'

Celia's eyes rolled back.

'Is there a crazy person out there?'