Chapter 695

Nilfe

Translated by Tods

Edited by NotEdited

The martial arts tournament has finally begun. However, Fran is in the seeded bracket this time, so she won’t be participating in the qualifying round.

Well, Fran said she wanted to participate in the qualifier, but as expected, Diaz and the others won’t let her. They asked her to be patient for the sake of the other participants in the qualifying round, so she gave up this time.

『Fran, over there』

「? The seats are over there」

『Fran may cause a commotion if she were to sit on the regular seats. I’m sure the special seats for officials won’t draw that much attention, so let’s watch from there』

「Okay」

Today, we came to watch the qualifying round. I don’t know if there will be any strong opponents, but we simply have nothing else to do for today.

Holding the food from the stall in both hands, she walked towards the special seats. On the way, we spotted a familiar face.

Fran then calls out to the girls walking in front of her.

「Katley」

「Oneesama!」

It was Katley, the aspiring adventurer who adored Fran. She was walking in the same direction, accompanied by a man who seemed to be their escort.

「Did oneesama also come to watch the martial arts tournament?」

「Nn, you too?」

「Yes!」

Katley looked happy, but beside her was a little girl who looked up at Fran anxiously. She squeezed Katley’s hand and gripped her skirt with her other hand.

「Who?」

「Her name is Nilfe. She’s Dimitris-sama’s granddaughter」

「I-I’m Nilfe…」

Nilfe muttered his name in a very low voice.

Dimitris’ granddaughter? So, she’s Hilt’s sister? Her green hair certainly looks like hers. But I didn’t feel the same presence as hers. She seems to be a shy and weak girl. Other than the color of her hair, she had nothing in common with Hilt.

「And that’s Michael-san. He’s Nilfe’s bodyguard」

「Nice to meet you」

A bald, fine-looking macho man standing behind Katley and Nilfe bowed his head lightly. He’s got a pretty good face. He seems to be Dimitris’ disciple.

「Grandfather asked me to show her around. He said if I was going to be an adventurer, I had to be able to escort her」

For Aurel to leave the role of guiding Nilfe around to Katley, he seems to have fully approved of Katley becoming an adventurer. Well, getting to know someone of her age is certainly a good experience too, I guess. But Fran seemed to be bothered by Kaley’s words.

「I see. If that’s the case, your current introduction is no good」

「Eh?」

「Even if it’s not a formal request, if you’ve accepted the job as an adventurer, you shouldn’t give out any information about your client or escort. Even to acquaintances」

It seems that Fran’s mentoring has not ended with the completion of the previous request. Well, she’s her first kouhai (junior) after all, she’s willing to give her an advice or two.

Katley, whose carelessness was pointed out by Fran, immediately realized her mistake.

「…You’re right… I’m sorry Nilfe」

She bowed deeply to Nilfe, with the look of a newbie adventurer who screwed up a request.

I think it’s not something that she should be so upset about, but Katley seemed to have taken it very seriously. The other reason was probably because of her respect for Fran.

「Nilfe is the granddaughter of a famous person. The more reason you should be careful」

「You’re certainly right…」

「U-umm, I don’t really mind…」

Nilfe shakes her head in frustration as Katley apologizes. She looks young, but she seems to have understood what we were saying.

「Did you come here to see the qualifying round?」

「Y-yes..」

Fran was not asking Katley this time, but Nilfe. It seems that she could tell that Katley adored Fran and was interested in her.

「Let’s go together then」

「Yes!」

「Yes…」

As we walked, Katley talked to Nilfe about Fran.

She’s telling the overly exaggerated story of Fran again though. It’s a little better now that Fran had corrected her a little, but it’s still a bit exaggerated.

Fran is so indifferent about it that she hardly ever comments on it.

Nilfe’s expression changed as she listened to Katley’s passionate talk about Fran. She clearly has developed some respect for Fran.

Katley’s story sounds like something that comes out of fiction no matter how much I think about it, however…

「T-that’s amazing」

Nilfe, who trusts Katley, doesn’t seem to think that her words are a lie or an exaggeration. Well, she’s still young after all.

Her small body trembled as she listened excitedly to Katley’s story.

「That’s so cool」

「Right? Fran-oneesama is amazing」

「Yes」

The gleam in her eyes is exactly the same as that of Katley looking at Fran. This could be the birth of a new child who respects Fran.

Even after arriving at the special seat, Katley’s praise of Fran didn’t stop. Maybe in Nilfe’s mind now, Fran is as big a hero as Dimitris.

「What have you been up to lately?」

「I’m training every day to become an adventurer. The rest of the time, I do chores in the city」

I heard that in Ulmut, there are jobs that one can take as an apprentice even if they are not registered as an adventurer. I guess it’s just something for newbies. And because of the martial arts tournament, there are plenty of chores that need to be done, so there are a lot of jobs posted around this time of year.

This apprenticeship was not only a great way to earn money, but also a way to hear various rumors, which Katley seemed to enjoy very much.

Especially at this time of year when rumors from all over the country are flying around.

「I heard that the appearance rate of undead is increasing around Ulmut」

「Why?」

「The reason is still unknown. However, since many travelers are coming here at this time of the year, many of them die around Ulmut. The merchant who told me the story said that the corpses of such unfortunate travelers might turn into undead」

「I see」

「Also, there are a lot of mercenaries coming in as guards for those travelers, so there have been more fights recently」

「Between adventurers and mercenaries?」

「 It’s also happening among the mercenaries. There are also more pickpockets and swindlers, so grandfather is busy all the time」

The festive atmosphere must have attracted bad people as well.