Chapter 59 - Aisha Dragnoff - 2

Bera stared blankly at Aisha.

Why was she here? Why was someone destined to become a swordswoman wielding a demonic sword serving as a blacksmith’s apprentice?

The questions arose, but he soon found an answer.

'... There’s no reason she couldn’t be.'

Of all the heroes who had risen against the Demon King in his previous life, she alone had an unclear past. It made perfect sense that she might have been an apprentice here before becoming a swordswoman.

As Bera was putting the pieces together in his head, Dovan spoke sternly to Aisha, who stood huffing with her head bowed low.

“Aisha.”

Aisha flinched, then bowed to Bera and Renée with a thoroughly aggrieved expression.

“... Sorry.”

Her voice was thick with tears.

Renée immediately picked up on the emotion in Aisha’s voice. Smiling, she waved away the apology.

“It’s all right. It was a mistake.”

“Ugh...”

Aisha clenched her apron. A venomous look was beginning to seep into her tearful eyes.

She bit her lip, trying to suppress her mounting anger, but ultimately lost her temper and ran out of the room with a shout.

“But it’s still your fault for looking suspicious!”

“Aisha!”

BANG!

Aisha slammed the door behind her as she left.

Dovan stared at the door, his mouth opening and closing in bewilderment. Finally, he heaved a sigh and apologized.

“I’m sorry. My apprentice is terribly stubborn.”

“No, it really is all right! Um, shouldn’t you go after her, though?”

“I can’t leave my guests. Aisha will be nearby, so don’t worry. Now, let’s get back to business.”

The words were clearly meant to reassure them, but Renée could hear the deep concern beneath them.

“Then may I go check on her? I don’t have anything to do anyway.”

“It’s all right. I couldn’t impose on a guest like that...”

“No, I want to.”

Dovan blinked at Renée’s words, then nodded after a brief moment’s consideration.

“Then I would appreciate it. Aisha is probably up in the tree in the backyard.”

“All right.”

Renée nodded and took the hand of Hella, who had been standing behind her. Then she slowly left the room to the sound of steady tapping.

The door closed with a thud. Left alone with Bera, Dovan spoke with an awkward expression.

“What a kind young lady. Do you serve her?”

“I do.”

“You serve a good person. It must be very rewarding.”

Bera nodded, his opinion of Dovan improving a little.

“She is someone who will bring light to the world.”

“You are deeply loyal.”

Dovan, of course, was feeling rather uneasy at the way Bera had abruptly launched into praise.

As the conversation lulled, Bera’s curiosity about Aisha prompted a question.

“Your apprentice is quite young. Does she live nearby?”

“I’m raising her. She’s a war orphan.”

“Ah...”

Bera nodded.

He must mean the conflicts within the alliance of kingdoms.

Fifty years ago, Bargo had smashed in Tiger King Haman’s skull, bringing down the beastfolk empire. The nation had split into five, and the conflicts had not ceased for even a moment since.

Aisha had been orphaned by those conflicts.

'I see. Is that why no one could trace her past?'

With Aisha’s past finally making sense, Bera nodded and continued.

“How unfortunate.”

“Unfortunate... Well, I think it’s ridiculous. No sooner had they rid themselves of a tyrant than they started fighting over the spoils.”

There was unmistakable disgust in Dovan’s words.

“When the tiger leaves, the fox plays king. That saying fits the situation perfectly.”

Faced with the profound disgust pouring from Dovan’s words, Bera kept his mouth shut and waited for him to compose himself.

After a brief silence, Dovan regained his composure and continued with a bitter expression.

“I’m sorry for bringing up such a depressing subject. Would you follow me? I’d like to show you some designs we could use as models.”

“Certainly.”

CREAK.

Dovan’s wheelchair made a noise as it began to move.

* * *

Behind the platform of earthenware jars in the backyard, Norn crouched beside Renée, who was likewise crouching, and spoke.

“She’s curled up in the tree. She looks quite upset.”

“Is she...”

Renée nodded, her face full of concern, then asked,

“How should we comfort her?”

Norn gave a small smile at the worry on her face.

“May I try talking to her?”

“You, Norn?”

“I am a father, you know. I’ve had plenty of practice dealing with children.”

Norn was confident.

How much trouble had Hella caused at that age? She had beaten the boy next door to a pulp. She had turned the entire house upside down looking for a portal to another dimension.

He was the one who had dealt with all of those disasters. Surely he could be of some help this time.

Determined to make up for having accomplished nothing in the Great Forest, Norn rose.

“I’ll be back.”

He walked toward the tree.

Her face tense, Renée concentrated on the voices reaching her.

“Are you all right, child?”

“What? Get lost. You stink, old man.”

Renée jolted.

“H-Hella? What’s happening?”

“... Father’s coming back.”

“What?”

“Looks like he failed.”

A bead of sweat trickled down Renée’s forehead.

When Norn returned a moment later, he could not quite hide the sadness in his voice.

“... Children these days are frightening.”

“Um...”

“Cheer up. You’re plenty cool, Father.”

“... Thank you.”

The mood sank. Renée felt bewilderment welling up inside her.

She did not know how to heal an older man’s wounded feelings...

“Well...”

Unable to find anything to say, she kept drawing out her words until, finally, she squeezed her eyes shut and stood.

“I-I’ll go!”

The best she could come up with was escape. Desperate to get away from the gloomy atmosphere, Renée chose to head into enemy territory.

* * *

With her head buried between her knees, Aisha listened to the approaching taps.

Judging by the sound, it must be the all-white blind woman she had seen earlier.

Her face suddenly twisted into a fierce scowl.

'Because of her...!'

Her master had scolded her.

She just hated the people who bothered her master! She had only been trying to keep them from making his life difficult! But he didn’t understand any of that and had only scolded her!

Anger rose inside Aisha. As she lifted her head slightly, her face emerged in a ferocious scowl. Her ears were folded back in wariness.

“What do you want now?”

At the sharp words, Renée flinched, then put on a bright smile and greeted her.

“Um, hello?”

“I asked what you wanted.”

“Oh, my name is Renée. You’re Aisha, right?”

She had spoken in the belief that a friendly approach would surely get a response... but the reply was far from encouraging.

“Who said you could talk to me so casually? Don’t you have any manners?”

Renée swallowed the instinctive retort of 'Do you?' and spoke again.

“Oh, I’m sorry. Have I offended you?”

Her tone remained kind.

She could have met Aisha’s rude attitude with hostility of her own, but Renée believed that children should be cared for with love.

Had that feeling reached Aisha?

Watching Renée respond gently to her every sharp remark, Aisha gave a slight twitch.

Her eyes narrowed a little, and her ears, which had remained flattened back, rose slightly. The tip of her tail began to sway.

Renée could not see any of this, but fortunately, Aisha gave another response that made the change unmistakable.

“... I already apologized.”

Her tone had softened a little.

Hearing it, Renée brightened and nodded.

“Oh, of course. I haven’t come to ask for an apology.”

Pleased by Aisha’s softer response, Renée continued.

“Um, may I ask how old you are, Miss Aisha?”

She hoped to grow closer by learning about her one thing at a time.

Aisha twitched and glared at Renée. She had realized that admitting she was twelve might make the woman look down on her.

After stealing several glances at Renée to gauge her reaction, Aisha answered forcefully.

“Twenty-three.”

Anyone who saw her face and manner would have immediately recognized the lie. But Renée was blind, and all she could hear was the emphatic answer. She sputtered in confusion.

“Huh? W-What?”

Her bewilderment was so obvious that even someone meeting her for the first time would have noticed it. Her thoughts tangled.

'B-But they said she was a child?'

Both Norn and Dovan had certainly spoken of her as a child. And didn’t her voice sound quite young?

Strictly speaking, this had happened because Bera had not described Aisha’s appearance accurately, and because Renée did not know how to doubt other people’s words.

Seeing Renée at a loss, Aisha realized her lie was working and continued in an even more confident voice.

“I look young, so people mistake me for a kid.”

One corner of Aisha’s mouth rose.

She knew immediately.

'She’s a sucker.'

This blind woman was a sucker.

Mischief spread across Aisha’s face. The realization that her words were working had left her feeling full of herself.

“I-I’m sorry! I’ve been so rude...”

“Well, I’ll let it slide just this once.”

With that reply to Renée’s apology, Aisha hopped down from the tree.

She dusted off her backside, then raised her head smugly and asked in a haughty tone,

“How old are you?”

“Oh, eighteen...”

Renée shrank into herself. Someone she had thought was much younger than her had turned out to be older.

Watching Renée hunch her shoulders, Aisha somehow felt as though she had won. She lifted her chin.

“So I’m the older one, huh?”

“I-I suppose you are?”

Aisha’s grin widened.

“I’m Aisha Dragnoff. You said you’re Renée?”

“Yes. Oh, are you a noble?”

Surprise settled over Renée’s face.

As far as she knew, only nobles and people who had been knighted had surnames.

Aisha might have earned a surname through knighthood, but it made no sense for a blacksmith’s apprentice to have been knighted. Deciding that she was more likely the daughter of a noble family, Renée smiled and continued.

“That’s wonderful. Young noblewomen don’t usually do strenuous work like blacksmithing, do they?”

So she was someone brimming with passion.

That thought brought a spontaneous note of admiration to Renée’s words.

Aisha’s eyes shook as though an earthquake had struck.

“Th-That’s right!”

She even stammered. She was lying, after all.

Aisha was no noble. She had added a surname to make herself sound impressive. She had chosen Dragnoff simply because it sounded cool.

Suddenly afraid that her lies might be exposed if this continued, Aisha quickly changed the subject.

“So...! Where’s the man who came with you?”

“Oh, he’s discussing business with Master Dovan.”

Relieved that she seemed to have changed the subject successfully, Aisha cleared her throat a couple of times and continued.

“You two looked pretty close, huh?”

She was imitating the tone of the older mercenaries who sometimes came to commission work. She had only done it because she thought she should sound like an adult...

“We... did?”

But that behavior stirred Renée’s ever-mistaken intuition.

Suspicion rose within her.

'Why bring up Bera?'

Why was she showing interest in him?

After thinking for a moment, Renée suddenly realized what she had overlooked and jolted.

'Come to think of it...'

She wasn’t a child, was she?

She was twenty-three, wasn’t she?

'She’s...'

...older than Bera.

Renée felt a prickling down her back.

Tension rose within her.

'Don’t tell me...'

Was she interested in Bera? Was she trying to steal him away?

Renée’s expression began to turn distinctly grave.

“Hmm? You looked good together, you know?”

Aisha continued in her affectedly sly tone.

It could easily have been taken as a compliment, but Renée had already classified Aisha as an enemy. Her reply was bristling with hostility.

“... What’s it to you?”

“H-Huh?”

Confusion began to seep into Aisha’s voice.

Normally, Renée would have noticed something was amiss. But she was too worked up to catch the awkwardness in Aisha’s words and continued.

“You’re a stranger, aren’t you?”

She tossed out the words bluntly.

Renée straightened her previously hunched shoulders, turned toward the voice, and set her expression firmly.

This was her own battle stance for facing a romantic rival.

'You thieving cat!'

Addressing a thieving cat that was no mere figure of speech, Renée said,

“You certainly take a lot of interest in other people’s business, don’t you?”

“Wh-What!”

An odd tension filled the air.

Hostility settled over Renée’s face. Opposite her, Aisha also adopted a fierce expression at Renée’s sudden change in attitude.

What followed was an argument too embarrassing to watch.

This was the moment Renée’s second shameful memory was born.