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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Yuziro
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Screech!
“Pull it down!”
The grotesque bird, impaled on numerous spears, shrieked and thrashed.
But with its neck and wings bound by several capture ropes, it quickly plummeted to the earth.
The fallen bird was swiftly dispatched by the waiting soldiers’ spears.
Of the twenty birds, Zeta had felled four.
Soldiers and adventurers had accounted for ten more.
The remaining six, seeing more than half their number decimated, hastily took flight and disappeared into the distance.
The soldiers, having ensured the demise of the downed birds, breathed heavily, staring blankly at the corpses.
A brief silence descended.
As if time itself had stopped, everyone stood, catching their breath.
The silence was broken by the cheers of the adventurers, weapons raised high.
“Victory is ours!”
The soldiers, jolted back to reality, joined the adventurers, raising their weapons and roaring in triumph.
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“Whew.”
As the excitement subsided, I watched, amused, as a group of excited adventurers flocked around Zeta.
“That kid’s pretty good!”
“Well done, kid!”
They had all seen it.
Zeta cutting down four of those grotesque birds.
A trainee adventurer, not even officially registered, had accomplished more than anyone present.
The adventurers, witnessing the rise of a new talent, looked at Zeta with excitement in their eyes.
Well, I understood.
I was still surprised by her myself.
Zeta’s talent was that extraordinary.
“That was incredible! Amazing!”
“Here, have some water!”
Zeta, faced with the friendly advances of the adventurers, frowned slightly.
Undeterred, they patted her on the back, praising her efforts.
The adventurers, marveling at Zeta, began to murmur amongst themselves.
“That kid, she’s blind, right?”
“Iyerpol’s been training her directly.”
“Iyerpol? So that’s why she’s this good.”
It seemed they were becoming accustomed to my presence.
A blind girl achieving such a feat was no longer surprising to them.
From their perspective, I had displayed even more outlandish behavior.
For the adventurers of Tillasden, who had witnessed my antics for years, a blind girl’s prowess was perhaps not so strange.
The problem, of course, was that Zeta was truly blind, and I wasn’t.
“Is this the birth of another Blind Swordsman, following in Iyerpol’s footsteps?”
“How about Blind Swordswoman Zeta?”
“That has a nice ring to it!”
“Wahaha!”
The adventurers erupted in laughter.
And amidst their boisterous celebration, Zeta stood, looking uncomfortable.
As I watched the adventurers reveling in their victory, I noticed someone observing them from a distance.
“……”
Belle stood apart, watching the adventurers praise Zeta.
Her small fists were clenched tightly.
She turned and walked away, disappearing into the shadows of the forest.
“Belle…”
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Belle stopped before a large tree and placed her hand against its trunk.
She had believed she was talented.
Stronger than her peers in the village, stronger even than those several years older.
The adventurers who passed through had all praised her talent.
Even a mole dwelling in a dark, damp burrow could sprout wings, she had believed.
She possessed that talent.
That was why she had come to Tillasden, to become an adventurer.
She had finally found a mentor, a senior to guide her…
But that belief had been shattered by a genius standing right beside her.
‘Stay back.’
Zeta, pulling Belle back from the approaching monster, had stepped forward.
Even as Zeta, younger and blind, took the lead, Belle could do nothing.
She had simply fallen, watching Zeta’s display of skill.
That humiliation… had cruelly crushed the confidence she had held in her talent.
“…….”
She wiped her eyes with her sleeve, the fabric dampening slightly.
Head bowed, hand against the tree, as if facing a wall, Belle continued to wipe her eyes.
Suppressing her sobs was the only pride she had left.
Then, she heard the rustling of leaves behind her.
“Ta-da.”
The young man with the cloth covering his eyes appeared, accompanied by a strange sound effect.
Belle quickly wiped her eyes again at his arrival.
“There you are.”
“S-Senior. Why are you here…?”
She had tried to hide it, but her reddened, tear-stained eyes betrayed her.
He stepped closer as she turned away.
Though her back was to him, she felt his hand on her head.
“You…”
“…….”
A single word.
But in the gentle ruffling of her hair, Belle felt his affection.
“You’re upset, aren’t you?”
“…….”
“It’s alright. Everyone feels this way at first. I did too.”
Everyone feels this way at first.
But Zeta hadn’t.
She had shone brighter than anyone on the battlefield, despite being the youngest of the relief force.
Recalling Zeta’s prowess, felling the grotesque birds, Belle forced a cheerful tone.
“Zeta was amazing, wasn’t she? Such a display of skill.”
“Yes, she was amazing.”
“So young, so tall, and blind, yet stronger than me…”
“An exceptional talent, indeed.”
“…….”
Whether sparring or facing monsters, Belle had never once defeated Zeta.
She couldn’t win.
An insurmountable gap in skill and talent separated them.
Belle chuckled awkwardly.
“Maybe I shouldn’t have come to you, Senior. Then you could have focused more on Zeta.”
“…….”
“Then Zeta could have learned even more…”
“Does the difference in skill bother you?”
He had hit a nerve.
Belle scratched her head, laughing as if embarrassed.
But it wasn’t embarrassment she felt.
It was frustration.
Frustrated even at feeling frustrated, she belittled herself, feigning embarrassment at her own inadequacy.
“You think so too, don’t you, Senior? That I’m far behind Zeta.”
“…….”
“That’s why you let Zeta call you ‘Master,’ and I have to call you ‘Senior.’ Because Zeta is far superior to me.”
“That’s not true.”
“……Yes, it is. Just admit it.”
Belle’s hand, scratching her head, dropped, clenching into a fist.
Her knuckles, white with tension, trembled slightly.
“It’s true…!”
“…….”
Drip
Drip
Though it wasn’t raining, droplets began to fall on the earth.
Her trembling fist clenched tighter, the image of Zeta’s prowess and her own suppressed frustration overwhelming her.
Belle squeezed her eyes shut.
Even the single tear escaping the corner of her eye made her feel miserable.
After a moment, she realized she had been acting childishly.
“……I’m sorry.”
He might even dislike her now.
Untalented and unskilled, throwing a tantrum.
Thinking this, Belle lowered her head further.
But… his voice, when he spoke, sounded almost cheerful.
“Feeling frustrated is a good sign.”
“A good sign…?”
“It means you haven’t given up. If you truly believed you were inferior to Zeta, you wouldn’t be frustrated. You would have simply accepted it.”
His gauntleted hand ruffled her hair again.
“Zeta being stronger than you is in a way, perfectly natural.”
“Why…? Is it because of the difference in talent?”
“Well, Zeta’s talent is certainly unbelievable, even to me. But there’s another big difference.”
His hand, ruffling her hair, moved to her shoulder.
Following his touch, Belle slowly turned around.
He wasn’t angry.
He was smiling.
“Zeta has received excellent training from a young age. You, on the other hand, have only learned by observation. There’s bound to be a difference between someone with professional training and someone without.”
“…….”
“And the reason I let Zeta call me ‘Master’ is… because she’s learning from me as a blind person. Neither of you have much to learn from me in terms of technique. That’s why the titles are different.”
His smiling face drew closer.
Though his eyes were covered by the black cloth, she felt as if he was looking directly at her.
“Belle, you can become strong. Your talent is real. I, the best hunter in Tillasden, guarantee it.”
“Senior…”
“I’ll even take responsibility if you come back later and demand it.”
His lighthearted joke brought a small smile to Belle’s face.
The corners of her lips, which had been turned down, trembled slightly.
The knot of frustration that had been weighing on her heart began to unravel.
As the tension eased, tears welled up in her eyes again.
“Sniff…”
“Crying again? What should I do? Give you a hug?”
He spread his arms playfully, and Belle, nodding, stepped into his embrace, hugging him tightly.
He seemed surprised by her sudden hug, but he placed his hands on her head and shoulders, stroking her gently.
“There, there, little one.”
“Sniff, sniff… Waaah…”
“Always crying. Always crying.”
His chest, clad in leather armor, was hard, but Belle hugged him tighter.
Small tear stains began to appear on the dark brown leather.
Warm.
That’s what Belle thought.
She lifted her head after a while.
“……Senior.”
“Yes?”
“I… I want to become strong.”
He had promised her.
To make her a competent adventurer in one month.
But… Belle wanted more.
“Not just competent, but strong. Stronger than anyone.”
“Belle…”
“Please… make me that strong.”
Her tear-filled eyes, no longer clouded by insecurity, but burning with passion, met his.
He scratched his head, smiling awkwardly.
“I don’t think I have that kind of ability…”
“…….”
“But… I’ll do my best.”
“Senior…!”
Belle hugged him tightly again at his words.
He ruffled her hair and shoulders once more.
Looking up at Belle, he spoke with a smile.
“Then let’s begin your special training.”
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“…….”
Zeta, having excused herself to rest in the supply wagon, collapsed as soon as she reached it.
Her legs trembled, and sweat poured down her face.
She had maintained a calm facade in front of the others, but she was mentally and physically exhausted.
The intense focus required to feel the wind against her skin.
The pressure of having to strike while maintaining that focus.
Leading the fight for so long had taken a toll.
Collapsing in the wagon, Zeta gasped for breath.
“That man… he’s been doing this all along…?”
Her master, who had advised her to feel the wind.
She hadn’t understood at first, but now, having experienced it, she realized how difficult it was.
If feeling the wind was this taxing, how did her master endure it, day after day?
Zeta bit her lip.
“If he can do it, so can I.”
Zeta was a genius.
A prodigy with an unparalleled ability to learn.
If he could achieve such a feat, so could she.
For Zeta, Iyerpol was both a tangible possibility and a target to surpass.
“I won’t lose to anyone.”
She muttered, as if trying to convince herself.
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[Modern Naruto vs Sasuke…. the good version at least]
