The Villainous Aristocrat's Efforts Led to a Genuine Harem - Episode 36

Episode 36

…What is that?

When I turned my gaze in that direction, though it was being suppressed, I could faintly feel something like magical power.

I found it suspicious. But since Ael showed no reaction at all… then, perhaps it wasn’t someone suspicious.

The moment after I looked in that direction, the door burst open. And a woman appeared. It was as if she was rolling into the room.

Her beautiful golden hair swayed as she brushed it back gracefully. Wearing a confident and noble expression, she adorned her lips with a smile.

I unintentionally raised my voice at the appearance of someone I hadn’t expected at all.

“…L-Lady Fylia!?”

She, the first princess of this country—why was she here…?

As I stared at her in shock, Lady Fylia and Ael began giggling.

“Operation Surprise was a great success, wasn’t it, Lady Fylia?”

“Yes. Perfectly executed, I’d say.”

Lady Fylia walked over to Ael and exchanged a high five with a cheerful yay~ motion.

…W-what is going on here?

Still confused, I looked at them. Ael murmured softly.

“Lady Fylia said she wanted to learn the sword. These days, I occasionally give her sword lessons.”

“I’m always in Ael’s care. Today as well, I came here under the pretense that the former vice-captain would be giving me sword instruction.”

“…I see. That’s how it was.”

I was surprised. But I could find parts of their story that made sense.

I was practically broken from the surprise. As I nodded over and over again, Lady Fylia murmured:

“If such discussions were to take place in a formal setting… they would reach the ears of other nobles. And it would become difficult to take any action. But if it was simply a conversation I happened to overhear, and I happened to head toward Vale as a result—then no one could be blamed for it.”

…That might be Lady Fylia’s way of being considerate.

Regarding this matter, I had come here fully prepared to risk my own neck—literally.

In the worst-case scenario, there was a chance I could be silenced by the nobles… so I left Garing behind even though he asked to come with me. I then came alone.

“Lady Fylia is one of the few trustworthy nobles. Rest assured, Zangell.”

“…Thank you for your consideration.”

Ael must have been thinking of me.

When I conveyed my gratitude, Lady Fylia walked over to me.

“For now, shall we talk in more detail while doing sword training? I did come here today for that purpose, after all.”

“Understood.”

Nodding to Lady Fylia, we immediately headed to the training ground.

Facing Lady Fylia and raising my sword—she, too, assumed a stance similar to Ael’s.

…It wasn’t just a pretense for listening to me; I could tell from her calm and composed stance that she was used to training regularly.

We began training in the form of a mock battle. And I began handling Lady Fylia’s sword techniques.

…Her movements were amazing.

Her speed was quite something. There was no waste in her technique.

She launched various attacks to corner me—it was brilliant.

“……”

Watching our fight from the side, Ael’s expression gradually grew stern.

When Lady Fylia took some distance for a moment, I pointed my sword tip toward her while maintaining a half-body stance.

“…Zangell. Have you been training recently?”

“Rather than training, I’ve been giving Lord Reis some instruction.”

“…Your movements are clearly sharper. Aren’t you stronger now than when you were in the knight order?”

“I suppose, since I’ve been fighting in the ‘Forest of Rebellion,’ my level has gone up?”

Sword techniques can only be learned through training. But as one’s level increases, so do their physical abilities.

This level thing is pretty tricky—in the beginning, it goes up quickly. So many adventurers and soldiers misjudge their actual abilities because of that.

It’s common for rookies to overdo it and get injured every year.

“I see… maybe you also re-learned a lot through teaching?”

“…Rather than teaching… it might be more accurate to say I’m being taught.”

“…Huh? What do you mean by that?”

“…If Lord Reis fought me seriously now, he would probably be stronger than me.”

“…What!?”

If it’s purely about sword technique, without using magic or magical power, then I still believe I surpass Lord Reis.

…Well, maybe we’re even, or I’m just slightly ahead. But if I were told to fight using all abilities at my disposal, I’d likely lose to Lord Reis without being able to do anything.

Lately, he’s been getting better at using the blue vortex to deploy spatial magic.

That spell consumes a lot of magical power. But even taking that into account, its performance is incredible.

Apparently, there are adventurers in Vale who also use spatial magic. And I had heard those abilities were quite impressive.

Lady Fylia was slightly pouting. She tilted her sword and spoke cheerfully:

“That just gives me one more thing to look forward to.”

…The moment she said that—her movements accelerated further.

It was as if she were trying to show me her strength.

I reflected a little.

Considering what I had just said, I had ranked the combat abilities as:

Lord Reis, me, and Lady Fylia.

That part may have slightly bothered Lady Fylia. …She must be quite competitive.

To prove her strength, her attacks became more intense—

And I handled all of them without letting a single one through.