――Currently, the Lemurian Empire is in a dangerous situation. Three out of the four surrounding cities (Main point of Berlin Wall) have collapsed, and monsters have invaded the inland areas.
To eradicate them, lower-ranked knights like Tiana are being sent out every day to explore the area around the town. When she got near the gate, she switched her focus.
"Alright, let's forget about that jerk for now and focus on work...although, there aren't many monsters around here."
She didn't think much about it because it was easy. ――In reality, there was a man who was hunting them like crazy and she didn’t have much work.
"It's always better to be peaceful, but... huh?"
As she was thinking that, she passed by a knight who was entering the town, opposite to her. ――She was taken aback when she saw his jet-black hair. Could it be that he is that knight?
"Black hair is rare, you know. It used to be commonplace a thousand years ago, but after the high-concentration magic power leak, even those who didn't turn into monsters experienced a change."
It was the fact that the color of her hair and eyes changed to the fictional style with varied colors. Tiana's light peach-colored hair was also considered a fantasy at the time. This was also due to the influence of the magic that materializes illusions.
"He definitely has a black sword too, there's no mistake. That guy is Kurou!"
She was sure of it and acted quickly. Tiana used her proud ninja steps to sneak up behind Kurou quietly.
‘Fufufu. The main duty of a junior knight is to hunt down small fries and explore. If you find a strong monster, quietly run away without being noticed and ask a mid-level or higher knight to do something about it.’
Tiana used her trained stealth techniques to approach Kurou silently.
‘Now, what should I do? Should I spit on his back, bite his ear and make him suffer, or mess up his hair to make him miserable!?’
She couldn't stop coming up with ideas to torment him. Tiana was intoxicated with the feeling of sin, wondering if she was really this much of a bad woman. And so she finally approached Kurou from behind... At that moment,
"――Hyaaa!"
By the time she noticed it, he had drawn his sword. At the same time, a wave of anger hit her. It felt as if Kurou was emitting an aura of vengeance, as if he was going to send his enemy to hell.
‘Hiii, who is this guy!? Who is he!?’ Tiana's heart was pounding so fast, and her fear made her legs feel weak.
‘What...even though he's just a level six knight…’
She reacted instinctively to his soundless footsteps. In the blink of an eye, he had drawn his sword. And then there was the aura of rage that made her shudder. There's no way a level six knight could do this!
‘I...I'm going to be killed! He'll mistake me for an enemy and kill me!’
She made that decision in about a second. Tiana trembled with fear as she yelled, "I'm not your enemy!"
Her plan to bully him had failed miserably. And so, Tiana ended up pretending to be just a senior who didn't know what was going on in front of her, without realizing that the guy in front of her was enraged and had drawn his sword, thinking, ‘I'll stick this treacherous sword into the roadside poop!’
…
"――Are you there, branch chief?! I’ve brought that black guy!"
‘Please don't say it like that…’
After meeting with Senior Tiana, I arrived at the Knight Order branch with her and was scheduled to meet with the branch chief there. In fact, I was instructed by Commander Blackmore to do so.
"I've made arrangements. Once the mission is complete, go meet the branch manager in the city of Sirius," he said.
‘Hmm, meeting important people makes me nervous. What if they're scary?!’ As I was feeling anxious inside, Tiana suddenly exclaimed, "Branch chief?! We're coming in!"
‘Huh? Really?!’
Without waiting for a reply, Tiana boldly entered the branch chief’s room! A woman sitting in the back exclaimed, "Hey, Tiana?!"
Apparently, she was the branch manager. Tiana rushed over to the woman and said, "Aah! Mommy's here after all! Mommy!♡" with a melting
smile... What does she mean by "Mommy"...?
◆ ◇ ◆
"I apologize for showing you an unseemly sight. My name is Fiana von Alitraly. I am the branch manager here... and the mother of that idiotic girl over there," said Fiana, who politely introduced herself while Tiana cried and held her head (because she had been punched in the head). They were quite a contrasting pair of mother and daughter.
"Mommy~….!"
‘Hmm. Their atmosphere is completely different, but their appearance is so similar.’
They could even be mistaken for sisters. Tiana's plump body, which was already good, and her lively, sparkling eyes that she changed into a squint, make her look like a younger sister.
They have the same peach-colored hair, and from a distance, you might not be able to tell them apart.
"You are Kurou-kun, right? Did this idiotic girl do anything rude? ...Perhaps because I have spoiled her a little too much, she has selfish and lazy tendencies, and sometimes she takes impulsive actions like earlier," Fiana said while Tiana sobbed receiving harsh criticism.
And when the branch manager asked, "For example, have you ever bullied a new employee due to some strange misunderstanding?" Tiana shuddered and trembled. Hmm? Why did she react like that? I mean, I was grateful that she had been kind to me.
I decided to answer honestly, "Don't worry, Chief Fiana. Tiana is a very kind person."
"What, her...!?"
"Yes. She approached me when I didn't know my way around and led me here."
I'm really thankful to her. I always looks unfriendly, so not many people want to approach me. None of the girls in the village would even look at me. Tiana is different.
She approached me and helped me even though I scared her because of a misunderstanding when we first met. Yes, she's a really good person. My judgment is not wrong.
"She introduced me to the town before we came here, showing me good restaurants and shops with a great selection of goods, as well as a place where cats gather. I'm grateful for her kindness," I added.
"Wha... that's probably just because she didn't want to go back to the exploration mission and was just dawdling…"
Oops, if you say that, Tiana would look like a scumbag! That's disrespectful, you know? Look, Tiana seems hurt too, "Uh-oh!" she exclaimed.
I'm an absolute supporter of someone who has been kind to me. That's why I'm protesting!
"Branch Chief Fiana, making statements that doubt the good intentions of your daughter without even checking the facts is not appropriate."
"T-That's...!"
"I don't know what Tiana was like in the past, but to me, she's a kind and bright senior who deserves respect. If you're her mother, shouldn't you believe in the 'current her' rather than the past?"
"Eek!"
When I said with a dignified tone, the branch chief fell silent, her face turning pale. It seemed she was deeply affected by what had been said.
She eventually lowered her head and looked towards her daughter, apologizing, "I'm sorry, Tiana. I was careless to suspect you like that, given my impression of you until now.
Even though you have your issues and complexes, and even though a few months ago you were beaten up by a younger knight from the Camblor family, Vita, who became the youngest knight through connections, and you cried after being beaten up by someone younger despite being a daughter of a samurai family…
I should have believed that you had changed your ways. I'm truly sorry."
In response, Tiana seemed nervous as she spoke, "Y-Yes! I really have changed! I haven't thought about bullying others or slacking off at all!"
"Well then, that's great, Tiana! I'm glad you've changed. From now on, you'll practice diligently every day, right? And you'll study etiquette and manners as a noble, won't you?" the branch chief asked.
"Yes, I will! Waaahhh!" Tiana started crying for some reason. Perhaps she was overwhelmed with joy at being believed by her mother.
The two hugged each other and cried, and I watched them with a warm heart. It was a touching scene.
