Rustling.
Whispering.
“It’s Ariadne!”
“Why is she here?”
Aria, with her stomach rumbling, was at a training ground for those not treated as soldiers, such as trainees, rookies, amateurs, and beginners, which was more of a hangout. Her purpose was to test the performance of a legendary weapon.
The area was ordinarily separated by wooden fences for men and women.
However, currently, those fences were moved to create private rooms, which were being used for secret meetings (sex, escort services, and rendezvous).
“What are you all doing?”
Aria found the trainees standing idly in front of unfamiliar, room-like fences instead of practicing.
Why were they standing there instead of practicing?
Did they have something important inside?
“Ah… well.”
“This fence! It’s a bit dilapidated, you see ♪”
*Knock knock.*
One of the individuals watching the secret meetings, to prevent them from being discovered, adroitly talked their way out of it. They claimed to Aria that these were important materials for those who would be transporting old, new fences.
“Indeed… Our country is not rich in resources…”
” “Right ♪” ”
Inside the private room.
A ranking superior (senior executive) who had come for a rendezvous panicked. The female trainee peeked through a gap in the fence, scrutinizing for his signal to escape unnoticed.
“It’s a nice spot ♪”
Rayos, who had possessed a knife, phased through the fence to observe the panicked figure.
While there was no roof, the process of phasing through the fence was crucial. It was a spicy thrill to be peeping.
“But do they really need this much guarding?”
” “Hmph” ”
Aria wondered if such extensive guarding was necessary.
The other trainees, except for the two engaged in conversation, quickly scattered, saying, “Right? We’re going to do our own training,” and then they silently signaled to the remaining two, urging them not to get caught.
” “What!? Help us!” ” the guards retorted with their eyes.
“Hm? What’s wrong?”
” “No, nothing at all.” ”
Looking in the direction the guards averted their gaze, Aria saw trainees vigorously striking targets with wooden swords and shields, shouting encouragement.
Upon closer inspection, she noticed men and women training together.
“Huh? Weren’t trainees supposed to train separately by gender?”
“No, no!?”
“That’s from the old days!”
This was bad. The secret meeting was about to be discovered.
The guards desperately tried to explain, “That’s from the past. An old arrangement. On the front lines, soldiers, both men and women, are just soldiers. The higher-ups heard the messenger guards complain about having to inform men and women separately about the same orders, and they said, ‘That’s a problem with coordination.’ So now, men and women are diligently training together. Therefore, we would be honored to receive words of encouragement from Ariadne, a court mage, so please…” the two guards attempted to further persuade Aria.
“I see… it’s from the old days…”
I’ve gotten old. I’m still young. Young. But to you trainees, I’m from a past era. Heh.
“I came here to see the performance of this weapon (the legendary weapon).”
“If that’s the case, we’ll guide you to a place where you won’t bother anyone ♪”
“Yeah, leave the guarding to us! Come, Ariadne, please follow him ♪”
The guards had brilliantly avoided the crisis.
As soon as Aria was out of sight.
*Knock knock.*
They knocked on the fence, conveying that the crisis had passed.
“…Good work.”
“That was thrilling, wasn’t it? ♪”
The superior, with a woman on his left arm, moved the fence slightly and checked the surroundings for good measure. The remaining guard, unnoticed by his superior, glared inwardly, thinking, “If you don’t trust me, I’ll never guard for you again.” The woman noticed this. After the superior left, she immediately pressed the guard for information and extorted hush money.
“…What’s so great about this woman?”
“What did you say? ♪”
“Nothing, nothing at all.”
“Your voice sounds so monotone ♪”
“Let’s go and train. Help me clear this fence.”
“No way. What if I get splinters (from the fence)?”
“Then go call someone.”
“You go call them. I’m tired from dealing with my uncle. Hmph.”
The guard could finally breathe a sigh of relief when the woman left.
Aria arrived at the corner used by the women, guided by a trainee who had been on guard duty.
“Please enjoy your time.”
“Thank you for the guidance.”
The trainee, thinking they would be assigned heavy labor, quickly returned to dismantle the fence and headed for the communal mess hall.
“Yes. There’s a perfectly good log standing there. Hoo, haa.”
Aria, following Rayos’s instructions, faced a log that could fit her entirely. She took a deep breath and swung the knife from the lower left to the upper right in one go.
— Clang.
“Th-that’s amazing! I felt no resistance from the log at all!”
Rayos could manipulate Aria without issue, as the language barrier only applied partially. He was working on increasing Aria’s favorability with the legendary weapon setting.
“Yes ♪”
Thinking he could give Kisarabis a good report, Aria threw the knife at the log as instructed by the legendary weapon. It pierced the log and stuck in the ground behind it. She let out exclamations of joy fitting her age.
Aria, how old are you?
Rayos had no problem as long as she wasn’t shriveled or sickly.
“Eh? When did that happen… But with this result! Thank you, legendary weapon.”
“Oh, you’re so eloquent ///”
Wasn’t the last wielder a bard?
If not, then the creator…
Aria compiled the report for Kisarabis in her room and headed to the communal mess hall for dinner.
Rayos (the legendary weapon) was carefully stored in Aria’s private room.
Rayos detached himself from the knife (legendary weapon) and floated through the castle with a clear objective.
“The higher-ups’ rooms must have guards.”
He intended to find a map, which should be in the room of a higher-up, to determine the country’s location and with whom it was at war.
“Hooo~”
“Hey. It’s almost time for the shift change.”
“Yeah, yeah. You’re so serious~”
“You’re just not serious enough.”
“Good work,” Rayos said as he slipped past guards clad in heavy armor and infiltrated the room of the relevant higher-up.
“It’s dark… Where’s the map…”
Possessing the desk, he opened the drawers one by one from the bottom. It would be troublesome to clean up after spitting out each document that emerged. Rayos detached himself from the desk and scanned the room, looking for something suitable for a vessel body with limbs.
“An ornamental suit of armor, perhaps.”
He possessed it.
Clank, clang. Rayos, who had moved from the pedestal supporting the armor, felt aドキドキ (doki doki – heart pounding) as if the guards in front of the door had noticed. He then efficiently organized the documents from the opened drawers onto the desk.
<...>
He rereads the selected documents multiple times, recognizing familiar words. He was certain that this was the first world he had visited. The words “Western Grabum Kingdom” and “group of small nations” in the documents confirmed it.
<...Was the sacrifice insufficient, after all?>
Rayos searched for the map and found that this country was located at the eastern end of the group of small nations. Further east, there was a large river, which appeared to be the sea. Crossing that sea would lead to the Western Grabum Kingdom. While the map’s scale was approximate, magic existed in this world. Rayos wondered if they could reach it in a week (approximately 5-7 days) by continuously channeling wind magic into the sails. He put the map away, returned the armor to its pedestal, and retreated from the room. Upon returning to Aria’s room, he re-possessed the knife, acknowledging once again that he couldn’t fly to another world.
He couldn’t become the protagonist.
Nor could he become an villainous protagonist.
Hmm, his only option was to play the villain until the very end and then make a clean getaway…
Rayos decided that he would, for the time being, embrace Aria and other female soldiers of this country (a small nation), the Xexe Minor Kingdom, with the setting of a legendary weapon.
“Fu~~, I’m looking forward to tomorrow~~”
Aria returned to her room after dinner and bath. She confirmed that the legendary weapon was securely in place, changed into her nightgown, and went to sleep. Relieved that she wouldn’t be yelled at by Kisarabis and struck by lightning, she quickly drifted off into dreams.
“Sss… zzz…”
Rayos, hearing her quiet breathing, gently detached himself from the knife. He possessed Aria’s sparsely revealing nightgown and performed a massage, slightly increasing the sensitivity of her erogenous zones by moving the fabric.
“…Nnn… mmm… Haa…”
A sweet sigh escaped her lips, and Rayos ceased the massage. It seemed she was developing her body very gradually. For Rayos, he was exercising considerable restraint.
The failure must have been very painful for him.
