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Chapter 7:Karambit
🕑 Added 2023-11-04 08:58:01 +0000 UTCThe weather had grown colder. It was early autumn when I had my first magic examination. For a month, we studied together. However, for nearly two months after, Alicia never came to our house. She still submitted the feystone quota she took as a job and answered the knight's call to defend our northern gate. However, she never came to our house. By the way, my parents made me dodge the drafting due to safety concerns and my unique magic. My brother was working around it since he said he did value my illusion magic. However, he agreed that I should train with some soldiers first before adapting illusions to monsters. So, I could only do the feystone job for free to alleviate our county's financial situation.
"Hey, Laura, why doesn't Alicia come to our house?" I asked my personal maid the critical question. My irritation seemed to leak out from my words. However, my mana remained sealed to avoid scaring her.
"Why would she?" Laura asked back.
"Aren't we friends? Shouldn't we stop by each other's houses and play?"
"Why would a commoner come to our mansion to play?" She replied.
"She won't be a commoner forever, will she? She has talent level 6, which is only 1 percent of this kingdom's population."
"She is a commoner now, Lady Elidranthia. She won't come over to play unless you summon her."
"Then, let's summon her now!" I said.
"Summoning a commoner should not be done in a frivolous manner." Laura sighed at my lack of etiquette. Everyone in the mansion knew that I excelled in every lesson except etiquette.
"Ugh... then, let's go to their house instead."
"You will be a burden to them instead."
"Let's go incognito and 'just happen' to be outside of her house. That way, she only needs to prepare tea!" I said as my patience was running thin, and my mana inevitably leaked out a little.
"Eek!" Laura jumped back, and that was the moment I knew I screwed up.
"Sorry. I didn't mean that." I took a deep breath.
"Well, if milady wants to go out, I guess it is possible."
Then, after wearing my less fancy dress, a capelet, and a hat, I went outside with my maid, who also went incognito. As I walked around, I found myself in the shopping district. Several peddlers were displaying their wares at the city hall.
"Hmm, they weren't here before," I muttered.
"These are the traveling peddlers. They make rounds inside and outside our kingdom. They might sell you some nice things. Though most of what they sell here are weapons and tools since we are a frontier county."
They indeed sell only weapons. Various swords, bows, and axes are here. Not only that, they also sell some farmer's tools such as hoes and sickles.
"Milady, that stall sells some tea sets. You might be interested."
However, I am not interested in teacups or silverware. My eyes were locked onto a knife, a small curved knife down to its handle, which was on the carpet. Its blade gleamed blue with stripes like a Damascus blade. Its beautiful curve seemed to hypnotize me. This shop seemed to sell knives, starting from utility knives to combat knives like daggers.
"Oh, young miss. Looking for some unique treasures? This is called a karambit. I bought it from a traveling merchant. He said it was a unique weapon used by native forest people. People call it a karambit, the great eagle's talon. I didn't know what metal this one is made of, but the stripes and color are quite unique, aren't they?" the peddler explained his wares.
I immediately grabbed it. It really felt like I was holding a talon of a great eagle. The design was robust with a simple handguard. I grabbed it and swung it around. Unlike a bastard sword my brother used, this one was not heavy nor tiring in the least. This is the first time I fell in love. The blade seemed to glimmer like stars in the blue sky.
"Miss…."
"yes?" I looked at the peddler but my eyes were immediately covered.
"Sorry, but she is afflicted with some unique magical impression due to her magical talent. We can assure you that she is a kind girl." Laura's voice rang behind me. Oh shit! I must have leaked mana through my eyes again. This magical impression was starting to bother me. Alicia's body was only slightly hotter than normal. Why does my impression radiate such negative energy?
Alex mentioned several months ago that he was unsure why my impression was one of intimidation or pressure. He also noted that other dark magic users he had met typically gave off a favorable impression, often appearing sexy or radiating a kind and trusted aura. Maybe it was because I needed to survive in the jungle during that monster assault, or perhaps it was inherent to this villainess protagonist's nature to intimidate people. It could even be related to my blessing. I wasn't entirely sure.
Nevertheless, I needed to control this. I quickly regained my mana control and talked naturally. "My apologies, mister. How much is this karambit?"
"Ah, it will be two silver."
"it is quite cheap, isn't it?"
"Well, it has no other use than being a decoration. Nobody could use it. Soldiers would prefer this silver dagger with its sheath as a third weapon or when there are ceremonies in the capital. Or, if they want to go unique, they could go for this katana or wakizashi," the peddler showed me a short wakizashi. The wakizashi are short, only thirty centimeters in length. I could probably hold this no different than a dagger. Well, I am a count's daughter. Nobody is going to attack me. And the monsters in the north never reached here.
"Thank you for the purchase," the peddler smiled. I still wanted to buy more knives from the peddler. That dagger looked exceptionally sharp. Unlike the elegantly curved karambit, that dagger was straight. The contrast was mesmerizing.
"Young miss, please do not play with that knife in public," Laura said. I quickly sheathed it and put it in my pocket. A little girl playing with a knife would surely get some looks. Ah, I just remembered that I had to visit Alicia's house. But the day was nearing its end; what should I do?
As I continued walking, lost in thought, I was separated from Laura without knowing. When I looked around, I was in the middle of nowhere. Panic surrounded me immediately. Wait a minute? Where am I? Is it so easy to get lost? Shouldn't Laura always look after me? Why am I alone now?
The beautiful street turned dirty wherever I looked. Is this the slums? Wait, our county has slums? Why? Isn't it only in the royal capital where the heroine tried to save the poor people by giving them jobs and housing?
"Hello, girl. You should know that a defenseless girl like you should not be here…" a hooligan greeted me. I was panicked and abandoned all restraint. However, I was not afraid. Somehow, my heart remained calm when he greeted me, even with his villainous voice. I quickly grabbed the knife I just bought. I never thought I would use the knife I purchased just for fun immediately like this.
"Hiee!" the hooligan jumped back.
"Hello? I think I am lost. Do you know where I am and where is the main street? I seem to have lost my way. It would be nice if you could also point me in the direction of the count's mansion."
"Ah! O-o-of course. It is that way to the main street. However, if you want to go to the count's mansion, it is closer if you go that way. But since you didn't know the way, it would be faster if you go to the main street." He stuttered! The hooligan stuttered when talking to me. Well, I thought this was going to be a typical hooligan trying to harass a young girl. But it turned out the hooligan was actually a nice guy!
When I continued my walk, I found Alicia strolling down the streets! I am so lucky today.
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That scared the shit out of me. I thought we were getting easy money out of some random lost rich girl. However, when we looked right into her eyes, I felt like I was being stared down by a monster from the woods. My dad used to work as a soldier for the count, but he deserted and was now living as a laborer with less than minimum pay. I complained a lot about our living conditions and why he rejected such a high-paying job, and he always replied that he valued his life more.
How did such a girl manage to emit such a terrifying aura? When she glared at me, I felt the air leaving my lungs and almost choked. She held a weird-looking knife that looked like it could rip my throat apart if I offended her. The blade gleamed dark blue, was small, but she wielded it as if she had been with it since she was born, like claws from a tiger ready to send me to my grave. She was looking for the count's house, right? She must have been a child assassin sent out to dispose of unneeded children there.
I need to work hard and avoid nobility at all costs. Let's stop with extortion of fellow citizens, or I will pay the price sooner than expected.
