Early Sumr Days with Hilde
It was an early sumr day during my first year, and Hilde and I had an interesting encounter.
As we walked further from the school grounds, past rapidly diminishing buildings, we entered the wilderness. There, students camping out to conquer dungeon gates or hideouts for delinquent students dotted the landscape.
Hilde and I t by chance in the wilderness and decided to travel together.
"Hello―☆ Brunhilde―♪ Did you find anything interesting♪" "Not really. It’s still hard to find a dungeon suitable for my level." "Hey☆ A first-year freshman already pushing through high-level dungeons―☆" "Anyway, I was looking for a high-level dungeon with new terrain and structure." "Hmm♪ All the dungeons generated around here are favorable to girls with magic skills―☆ Ignoring that and challenging them―☆ Brunhilde, you’re amazing―♪"
Hilde looked at with curious eyes.
"It’s not sothing you, who fought to a draw, should say." "Th-that was thanks to a girl's intuition―☆ I haven’t beco a strong and cute girl who wins everything on my own yet―♪" "How can strong and cute coexist?" "Cuteness is strength itself―☆" "…"
Hilde shook her head.
Hilde, who had been quite prickly when I approached her, finally gave in to my friendliness after a few months. We started to travel together whenever we t.
Hilde sighed suddenly.
"Really… I can’t understand why you approach soone like who neglects family duties and just drifts around the school." "Haha―☆ Just a girl's intuition♪" "If you truly want to get stronger, you should seek guidance from the third-year or second-year seniors at each school or go to a school like where Eir is, which trains fighters." "Hmm~ I don’t know about that~♪ Eir always picks a fight with , so there’s no need to go see her―☆" "That’s true."
I responded vaguely.
I still didn’t have any particular feelings about , but I felt a strong aversion to leaving behind Frida-senpai and the others to go to another school.
'If this world is similar to the ga, you’re the only ones I truly want to defeat...'
I glanced at Hilde secretly.
"…" "What is it?"
Hilde had already noticed my gaze and turned to look at .
‘Ah…’
Her silver eyes were so beautiful.
A nobility that made gaze at them in awe.
Even with her face dirty with dust, those jewel-like eyes never lost their shine. If I were still a man, I might have blushed and run away just from looking into those eyes.
‘Being near her feels like slling sothing nice...’
Ah. That’s a bit perverted. Being conscious of soone’s scent.
‘Even if I’m pretending to be Clara, that’s not acceptable...’
I felt embarrassed and looked ahead again.
"…?" "Hehe―♪"
You are destined to beco the strongest in the academy city's history, and I want to challenge and defeat you. Saying that would certainly get labeled as crazy, and our partnership would end.
‘Traveling with the future strongest was more enjoyable than I thought.’
Hilde and I both preferred wandering outside rather than staying at school, so eting up and traveling together every three days had beco routine.
We walked side by side through the wilderness and the outskirts of the city.
Step Step
Because of the weight of Hilde’s lance, we couldn’t ride a horse together. So we moved slowly, pulling a red bicycle by hand, and I felt drawn to the Pretty Filter.
Start a girls’ conversation! This is a precious opportunity! Gather information to get closer!
Such was the instinctive feeling. But the Pretty Filter didn’t always give such advice.
It would sotis tell to collect stuffed animals when passing by a doll shop. Or to eat all the sweet desserts when they were in front of . It often gave strange orders leading to impulsive actions.
As I found satisfaction in these impulsive actions and tendencies, I began to act like Clara even without the Pretty Filter’s influence.
As if Clara and I were rging little by little...
‘Sotis the Pretty Filter feels like another self, but no matter how much I talk to myself, it doesn’t respond.’
There were many tis when I was scared, thinking it was Clara’s remnant trying to erase my soul from this body. But now, with much of the discomfort gone, I didn’t think it was bad that I was starting to like what the Pretty Filter suggested.
‘It feels like having a friend with a distinct taste…’
You beco what you’re surrounded by.
If it were the Jojo Filter instead of the Pretty Filter, would I have shared that dangerous and dark female preference with an average of 90 abilities?
Maybe that was Jojo’s taste, too.
Thinking that made newly grateful for the Pretty Filter's wholeso taste.
‘Thanks for not having strange preferences... Clara!’
I preferred spending ti learning about the future strongest over silent awkwardness. So, following the Pretty Filter’s guidance, I chatted away to Hilde.
"Whew―♪ It’s hot―☆ By the way, did you hear? The seniors recently befriended the shopkeepers and got so really fragrant tea leaves. When we tried it, the aroma was worlds apart from the usual canned compressed tea leaves." "Canned tea leaves? Clara, why are tea leaves in cans?"
Hilde tilted her head, genuinely puzzled.
‘Hey, you being from the ga world and not knowing that is a bit...’
I answered her obvious question, feeling flustered.
"Uh, well… Since is the only place with a large agricultural district, places that can't grow their own tea leaves rely on long-term storage items from the outside world―☆" "I see. I’ve never seen canned compressed tea leaves, so I didn’t know. Usually, the tea in dorms is prepared with high-quality leaves by students who serve as attendants." "…" "I never indulged in luxuries with the seniors, so I didn’t know… It’s quite enlightening. I rember throwing away boxes of them distributed for maintaining dignity." "…" "Next ti, I won’t discard them but try them. The attendants always looked so miserable…" "…"
I shivered quietly.
Aside from combat tournants, tea ti was a common and popular pasti in the academy city. Therefore, non-canned tea leaves were at least twenty tis more expensive, and getting hold of them was quite difficult.
‘I brewed the sa tea leaves with the seniors ten or twenty tis…’
What? Personal rooms? Attendants? Dignity maintenance? What kind of world does Hilde live in?
I glanced at Hilde’s face again. She nodded, mumbling about gaining good knowledge.
‘Well, the ga did say she ca from a prestigious military family. is a prestigious school that essentially rules the academy city…’
Even though we were walking side by side, sweating and dirty. Ultimately, Hilde and I lived in different worlds. The only world we shared was the battlefield.
That realization made sigh deeply.
"Sigh―☆" "…?"
At that mont. Hilde and I sensed sothing and looked in the sa direction. There, dozens of elegant red ether spears floated in the air, pointing at us.
Shushushushushushuk――
Magical projectiles. Fired from a distance by swinging a staff. The thod used by furry creatures skilled in magic.
The form of the five weapons left by the [Golden Witch] used this thod, taught to students from the prestigious .
‘Students from have such high pride that they charge in headfirst like this.’
Of course, there were kind and friendly characters like Rota...
‘But she probably hasn’t even enrolled yet at this point.’
In this world, only students with magic skills could use magic.
Moreover, due to the nature of magic skills requiring ntal calculations instead of instinctive ether control, it was rare to see soone using them freely in combat situations.
‘Using spear forms like this ans a third-stage level expert… No way a student president or officer would be here, so the only ones free at this ti would be first-years without any positions.’
As I scrolled through the list of furry creatures in my head.
I rembered a droopy purple cat ear.
"…!"
There was one. A student who grew stronger rapidly like us since first year. That student would beco one of the five strongest in the future.
Paaaat――!!
A timid voice ca from among the threateningly approaching spearheads. A girl in the uniform walked towards us.
"Um, there’s… a… dungeon gate I… found first… so, um… could you… leave…?" Droopy purple curly hair. Droopy purple cat ears. Eyes filled with timidity.
But she was arrogant.
"Um… could… you… weaklings… leave…?" "…" "…"
I spoke to Hilde.
"Left or right? I don’t mind either―♪" "I’ll take the right." "Okay―☆" "What… what are you saying… you rude girls… won’t you leave…?"
Hilde and I stood up and started cutting down the spears in our respective areas.
Tatatatatatang―!!
Dozens of spearheads vanished under the rapid punches.
Kugugugugung―!!
The lance, swung like a club, deflected nurous spearheads.
"Oh… oh?!"
The magical projectiles that had dominated the space were nullified in an instant.
The girl, who had been montarily flustered, tried to replenish the disappearing spearheads, but she was too slow. Cornered, she stood trembling in front of us.
"Haha―☆ Brunhilde♪ If you glare at her like that, we can’t talk to her―☆" "Clara, it would be more convincing if you said that with your fists unclenched." "Hii…! P-please spare ." "Hmm♪ Shall we try the tickling thod first―☆" "Hii…?!"
That day, I learned that people could wet themselves from laughing too hard. But even after that, I showed no rcy to arrogant furry creatures.
Every ti I t her again, I called her ‘Peeing Cat’ as a nickna.
That was my first eting with Freyja, the genius who would later be known as the [Purple Spindle] and the researcher of the Bana Magic School.
＊
mories flowed like a corridor. Waking from a deep dream felt like surfacing from the depths of the abyss.
Hands touching like a mirror image. Starlight falling under the dark sky. The story of the girls ended with a lively high-five.
I reflected on the sensation of reality slowly returning from the darkness.
'Although I managed to talk with the original Clara… no, Urd, there are still many unknowns about this ga-transmigration situation and the altered world.'
The prophecy ntioned by the priest of . The unstable situation of . Many important things remained shrouded in mystery.
What I received from Urd was only...
"Do your best!"
"…"
But sohow, just that. Made feel I could overco the journey ahead. Just like how 'Clara', despite being incompetent, gave strength by her re presence.
‘But the situation has beco a bit difficult.’
I checked my entire body as I slowly regained consciousness.
The impurities and others’ fates accepted to exert over 300% power had made my body unstable. Now stabilized, but the crude total amount of ether I had gathered was also gone.
Like a vehicle miraculously repaired but with an empty fuel tank. That was my situation.
"…"
Though feeling regretful would be shaless since Urd helped avoid becoming crippled, losing all the dungeon buffs I gathered over the past year was painful.
‘All I could do was increase my ether capacity.’
I had increased my total capacity so much that natural recovery couldn’t keep up, so sitting still would take forever.
‘Naturally recovering would take three months…’
Though troubleso. There were many ways to quickly recover ether capacity. And I still had my levels and cognitive abilities.
But… But more important than that was a fact that thrilled .
‘I gained weapon aptitude.’
Although it was still at the [Basic Ether] level. Even though recovering normally would be faster. I had gained a sense of weapon aptitude that Clara never had.
"…!"
Realizing that, I felt tears well up, even in my dream.
‘I can beco stronger on my own…!!’
Just one step. I had finally started walking the right path, not shortcuts.
‘My journey is not over yet…!!’
Thump Thump
Holding my bursting heart, I thought about what I needed to do next. Erging from the unconscious corridor, I began to see light.
I opened my eyes.
And what I saw…
Silver hair cascading like waves. A doll-like girl was lying with her face buried in my hair.
"Ssss…" "Hilde?" "Lara…?" "What… are you doing☆" "…" "…"
I felt I had misjudged the timing.
"Snore, snore―☆" "…"
So I went back to sleep.
To be continued...
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