Oh, Iyer! Iyerpol! – Chapter 54

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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Yuziro
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“Haah… haah… haah…”

The girl, Belle, gasped for breath, readjusting her grip on her sword. Beads of sweat trickled down her pale cheeks.

Facing her were two savage-looking wild dogs. Teeth bared, they growled, their hostility palpable.

Bark, bark!

Seizing their chance, the two dogs lunged at Belle simultaneously. Trained in pack tactics, their perfectly coordinated attack came from both sides, distracting her attention. In the blink of an eye, she was surrounded.

As Belle shifted her gaze to the dog on her right, the other seized the opportunity and leaped.

Bark!

“……!”

With a subtle twist of her body, she dodged. Using her right leg as a pivot, she thrust her sword forward in a short, precise jab.

With just two simple movements, her sword pierced the dog’s throat. It died instantly, collapsing to the ground mid-leap.

But there had been two dogs.

While she dealt with the first, the remaining dog had circled behind her.

It was too late to turn and react. The dog’s jaws were already snapping at the back of her neck.

“Ha!”

But Belle had anticipated this.

Spinning like a top, she swung her sword in a wide arc as she turned.

By combining the actions of turning, repositioning, and attacking into a single fluid motion, she was able to counterattack much faster.

The dog, aiming for her neck, was struck by her blade and crumpled to the ground without a sound.

“Haah… haah…”

Belle, having effortlessly dispatched the two wild dogs with elegant movements, wiped the sweat from her brow with the edge of her sleeve. Despite her exertion, she didn’t seem particularly tired.

“…….”

Wow.

I found myself clapping without realizing it.

There were two more dogs lying dead nearby, besides the two she had just killed. In total, Belle had taken down four wild dogs.

And in a single engagement.

“Senior! How was that?!”

“……Uh, yeah. Good work.”

I responded, still slightly dazed, to Belle’s enthusiastic question. I handed her a water skin, which she accepted with a bright smile, gulping down the contents.

…This girl. She’s unexpectedly skilled.

I had brought her to Tillasden Forest to test her abilities against the wild dogs, but… I hadn’t imagined she would take down four in a single fight.

Wild dogs, known for their pack tactics, were difficult for novice adventurers to handle alone.

But this audacious girl had managed it without a scratch.

But what truly surprised me was something else.

While the last attack had been from two dogs, initially, all four had attacked at once. Even against wild dogs, being outnumbered four to one was naturally disconcerting. Most novice adventurers would have panicked.

But Belle hadn’t flinched. From beginning to end, she had chosen the best course of action, systematically reducing their numbers, and ultimately claiming victory.

And that wasn’t all.

Anyone who witnessed her fluid movements would have been astonished. Like flowing water, like the practiced steps of a formal dance, Belle had moved with a natural grace, dispatching the dogs in a single breath.

That a girl not yet seventeen, a simple village girl at that, could display such skill… I was genuinely impressed.

“Belle, can I borrow your sword for a moment?”

Belle handed me her sword, and I lifted and lowered it, testing its weight. I swung it a few times, then returned it.

As I suspected, it was a terribly cheap iron sword.

The weight distribution was off, making it difficult to swing accurately, and the blade was asymmetrical from tip to hilt.

The edge was nicked and chipped in several places.

“She displayed those movements… with this…?”

I muttered to myself without thinking.

This girl… could she truly possess such remarkable talent?

As I looked at Belle, lost in thought, our eyes met.

Growl

“…….”

“……Hee hee.”

Belle’s stomach growled loudly enough for me to hear.

Embarrassed, she clutched her stomach and giggled.

…Seeing her like this, she seemed like just a normal village girl.

“Shall we have lunch?”

“Yes, Senior!”

I shrugged as Belle hurried to sit beside me.

Oh well, I didn’t know. It wasn’t my job to assess her talent. I wasn’t qualified for that.

My role was simply to help her start her career as an adventurer. Someone else, someone she would meet in the future, would recognize her talent. Someone with even less discerning eyes than mine had already noticed it.

So, I would leave that to the whims of fate.

Belle’s hands were dirty, so I fed her dried fruit directly from my pouch.

I couldn’t help but chuckle as she eagerly accepted each piece.

…She certainly had an appetite.

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Several days had passed since I took Belle under my wing.

What had I done for her during that time? Not much, really.

I had simply explained the procedures and processes of adventuring, and the things to watch out for.

I had taken her on a few simple requests. That was all.

As Belle had said, there wasn’t much I could teach her in terms of technique. She was already surprisingly skilled.

I could understand why she had been so confident in her abilities.

“Well then, I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Yes! Have a good evening, Senior!”

We had returned to Tillasden after completing another simple request.

It was nearing evening, time for us to part ways.

I waved to Belle as she bowed, and continued on my way home.

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I returned home after my usual dinner at the pub, but…

I couldn’t seem to fall asleep.

It had been a week since the woman who usually lay beside me had been gone.

I missed her warmth, and my side of the bed felt colder than usual… but that wasn’t the reason I couldn’t sleep.

I think I ate too much for dinner.

I tossed and turned in bed, eventually giving up and getting up.

“I’ll go for a walk.”

Sometimes, I liked to wander the streets at night.

Strolling through the quiet streets under the moonlight had a certain appeal.

The cool night air. The quiet streets.

Just walking without thinking… perhaps that was the appeal.

“……Hmm?”

Lost in thought, I stopped as I noticed something familiar.

Long, vibrant red hair, reaching down to her waist.

It disappeared into a nearby alleyway.

Was that…?

Intrigued, I followed, peering into the alley.

Inside, there were discarded boxes from nearby shops. Among them, I saw that distinctive red hair peeking out from behind a particularly tall stack.

Three or four boxes were stacked high, covered with a wooden plank, forming a makeshift shelter.

I approached cautiously, kneeling down to peer inside.

“……Belle?”

Huddled among the boxes, gnawing on a piece of dark bread, was the girl I knew as Belle.

Startled by my voice, she turned, then her voice trailed off as she recognized me.

“S-Senior…”

Uh, what? Why was Belle here…?

My train of thought derailed.

I had seen her heading towards the inn district earlier. I had naturally assumed she was staying at an inn nearby.

But why was she huddled under a pile of boxes, eating cheap bread?

As I stared at her in silence, Belle offered an awkward smile. But she still didn’t offer an explanation.

Finally, I broke the silence.

“Belle? Why are you here?”

“Ah, um. Well, that’s…”

She giggled nervously, scratching her head.

“Well, I’m running low on money… so I have to save on lodging if I want to eat dinner…”

Dinner? Lodging?

My gaze fell on the bread in her hand.

It was dark and hard-looking. Undoubtedly the cheapest of the cheap.

“……Is that your dinner?”

“……Hee hee.”

A silent laugh. But I understood its unspoken affirmation.

I felt a jolt, as if I’d been hit in the back of the head with a hammer. I was speechless.

That single piece of bread was her dinner?

No, wait. She was saving on lodging just to eat a single piece of bread? If she was staying at an inn, she could easily afford dozens of those.

“I thought you were staying at an inn…”

“I am. Well, not in a room. In the stable.”

Belle stood up, emerging from her hiding place.

I slowly looked her over.

She looked the same as she had earlier today.

But after witnessing that shocking scene, I finally saw her as she truly was.

A cheap, worn iron sword.

Clothes with frayed sleeves.

Uneven, unkempt fingernails.

A patched and mended bag.

Upon closer inspection, Belle’s appearance… was far more impoverished than I had realized.

She was the picture of poverty.

“……Hee hee.”

As if sensing my scrutiny, Belle blushed, pulling her robe tighter around her.

She hid her frayed sleeves beneath the fabric.

“……Belle…”

As if reading my thoughts, Belle kept her gaze lowered.

Silence fell between us.

After a few seconds, Belle broke the silence.

“Adventurers have limitless potential, right?”

She said, still looking down, then slowly raised her head.

Belle was smiling brightly.

“Even a poor person can become an adventurer, right?”

I felt another jolt, as if struck again.

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[Iyerpol? more like…. Iyer rizz…. please laugh.]