Chapter 57

Foul Eater had come to the dormitory as a private blacksmith for the academy.

She was part of a very exclusive club of outsiders who were allowed to come in.

So she was probably very confused about why I was here.

Maybe it was in places like this where shocking encounters just occurred.

“I’m here as a Dragon Master.”

“…”

I stated it bluntly, but there was no reaction.

And so I wasn’t sure if Foul Eater even understood me.

Regardless, this bowing business in the dormitory had to stop.

It would look bad if someone saw us. And so I grabbed Foul Eater by the neck and took her to Christan’s room.

I had thought she seemed young the last time I saw her, but I was sure of it now.

We were practically the same age.

I told Christan the situation and he allowed me to use his room for a while.

“Huh. Well…you might have a gone a little too far there.”

He chuckled as he saw that Foul Eater was shaking.

“I was just jokingly threatening her.”

“So what happens now?”

I told him about our relationship.

And that I had put a knife to her back when I saw her.

“I’m surprised you didn’t go through with it.”

Well, I would have the first time. But then that lady got in the way.

“I just don’t care about it anymore.”

I said. ‘Oh, no unnecessary killing now? You’ve finally matured.’ Christan chided.

Of course, this conversation seemed to make Foul Eater even more scared.

“So, what are you going to do? I wouldn’t appreciate my room turning into a sea of blood, just so you know.”

Foul Eater froze.

“I made a promise to Her Majesty. I can’t kill anyone unless they oppose me.”

“I see. That’s good. …Though, opposing doesn’t just mean coming at you with a weapon.”

This part, he said to Foul Eater.

Foul Eater nodded enthusiastically.

“Alright, it’s settled then. You have your life. Now, stand up so we can talk.”

Christan put Foul Eater on her feet.

Either out of relief or due to being freed from the fear of death, there were a few tear stains on her face.

And then I finally learned Foul Eater’s real name. It was Anis Quinto.

Anis was a blacksmith who had studied martial arts on her own and was currently working as the queen’s Right Hand.

“I wanted my mouth to be a weapon, not just my arms and legs. And so I made it myself.”

She talked very politely as she showed me the fangs.

“Beasts have fangs like this. And I was always impressed by how threatening they were. If humans had fangs, they would gain a great advantage in battle.”

As she started to fight like this, she was given the name ‘Foul Eater,’ due to how strange her appearance was. The more we talked, the less polite her words became. So she was starting to relax.

But not completely, just yet.

“Of course, I don’t think I was worthy of such a name.”

After fighting her, I didn’t think she was that strong at all.

And while her name was a bit of a hindrance, it was apparently true that she was considered to be among the higher ranks of Right Hands within the Royal Capital.

“There’s no way…” I said. “You’re just special.” She insisted.

There was clearly some kind of Shadow shortage.

“Well, like I said. I won’t do anything as long as you don’t bother or oppose me.”

“I understand. I shall engrave that into my mind.”

That was an odd way to put it. But it was fine, as long as she wasn’t an enemy.

However, we were the same age, but she was definitely keeping her distance.

Well, it was no wonder, considering how we met.

As Anis was a blacksmith, I decided that I would order my Dragon Master armor from her, come next year.

Maybe then, we could become friends.

A few days passed, and Anis finished adjusting the armor of the Second-Years. Which meant she no longer came to the school.

And so it was time for the advance party to leave.

○

My routine work. My early morning part-time job.

It was just as I finished up with the dough and was thinking about returning to the dormitory. The bakery’s mascot(that was what she claimed to be) Mira, started to talk to me.

“I heard that you’re going out on a military exercise?”

“Yes, I told Mister Rob about it. We leave in five days. The whole thing will last for fifteen days. Half of that will be spent camping outdoors. But I guess it also depends on whether the Moon Beasts show up. I don’t really know the details.”

“You better be careful. I hear that people get injured every year.”

“It’s the Second-Years that are going to do all the fighting. And there will be veterans watching over them. I’m sure it’ll be fine.”

“Still.”

“Got it. I’ll be careful.”

Mira had been softening up recently and would occasionally worry about me.

Perhaps it was because she was now the mascot.

“And father was so happy that his job is easier now, so you better come back quickly.”

“Yeah. I feel really calm when I’m here. So I’ll come back as soon as I can.”

“You better.”

She said, a little forcefully.

It really wasn’t necessary. I had every intention of returning.

However, Mira made me promise this at least three times before the departure date.

Indeed, the hardest part about baking was preparing the dough.

It wasn’t bad if it was just a small amount, but when you were making enough to be used in multiple ovens, the whole process of kneading could be very tiring, even for an adult.

And since you had to do it several times a day, it took a lot of energy.

And it wasn’t something you could cut corners on either. There was a trick to doing it quickly, but you needed a lot of energy and endurance to get to that point.

The reason that Mira wasn’t allowed to do it yet, was because her strength wasn’t able to stay the same until the end.

She would run out of stamina and her kneading would become too weak.

Regardless, the military exercise was approaching.

But first, there was one event that awaited us First-Years that we could not miss.