"This is my study room. You can use it as you like. If you want to study something that isn't here, consult me first and decide whether to call your teacher or go to school."
One evening.
After taking a short break after her bath, Efergan showed Rose around her study room and library. The location is next to Efergan's office. It's very spacious and has a lot of books. If you read all of this, you will gain tremendous knowledge. Rose looked around, wondering if she could read all this for two years.
Efergan laughed as he saw Rose running around his library. Rose was simply, she had never seen so many books. She has looked into Miraiya's book library but doesn't know the details because other items were messed up. Moreover, at that time she could not read or write well, so she could not study properly. But now, Rose thinks, she can read and understand it.
"There are so many books..."
"Do you like them?"
"Yeah. In Alhatross, books are a luxury item, so they're valuable. There's no library either. They were all destroyed during the war."
"That's too bad."
While Efergan said this, he took a book and checked the contents.
"But with so many books, you can learn a lot."
"You look so happy when you look at the book. Even happier than when you see the jewels. It's surprising."
"Huh?"
"That's what it looks like to me. But that's good, now Rose will be busy every day."
"Yeah."
Rose smiled. Efergan put the book back on the shelf and walked toward the desk.
"We have clean paper, notebooks, pens, and ink here, so feel free to use them. You can ask me, maids, or the butler for more. I'll prepare new ones."
"Yeah."
"Also, if there's anything you don't understand, I'll tell you, so feel free to ask."
"Yes!"
Rose nodded happily.
"Has Efergan read all these books?"
"Of course. Since I didn't go to school, I had no choice but to study alone."
"Why didn't you go to school? There are many schools in this country?"
"It was a bit...difficult to get there."
"Oh, I see."
"You don’t pursue that, Rose."
"Because Efergan seems to be in pain. If I go out of my way to ask you about something you don't want to remember, it will only make you sad."
"Thank you for caring about me. But I'll tell you. I want you to know everything about me."
Efergan looked at her and smiled.
"Yeah. But don't overdo it."
"I don't push myself too hard. Actually, I thought about going to school just once. The day I was admitted to school, I put on my uniform, grabbed my bag, and went to school, and all the other kids were looking at me. They were so scared of my bodyguards and cried."
"Oh..."
"So, when I removed the bodyguards, the parents of those children tried to bribe me with their own children, telling them to give me toys, give their father a good job, etc."
"Oh my..."
"And what I hated the most was that the girls wanted to be my wife, so they fought with each other. They also lied to each other, and things were more troublesome than I expected. There were even assassin attempts..."
"That's tough."
Rose heard this and looked at Efergan. Pathetic, she thought.
"My school life ended that day. I thought it would be easier to study on my own. Zurgun told me that if I needed some teachers, just call them here."
"Mr. Zurgun has been close to Efergan for a long time."
"He is my tutor, my swordsmanship teacher, my life master, my friend, and my parent."
"He's everything to Efergan."
"Yeah."
Rose said and Efergan nodded.
"I'm sorry for asking about such painful memories. But thank you for telling me. Now I understand a little more about Efergan."
"It's not painful anymore, so it's okay."
Rose nodded as Efergan smiled.
"Okay then, good."
"Next time I want to ask you about Rose."
"What do you want to know?"
"I want to know what life was like before you came here."
"Well, it's only been four years, but I don't think it's a big deal. Is that still okay?"
Rose asked, and Efergan nodded.
"Let me hear it."
"Well, it seems that after coming to this world and being given this body, I slept for about a year. When I finally woke up, on the second day I was attacked by a thunderbird, and my brother fought right in front of me."
"This is a sudden and serious development."
Efergan smiled bitterly, and Rose also laughed.
"Yeah. Then, a few weeks later, I cast a spell that I didn't even have a contract for, and half destroyed the mansion."
When Rose said this, Efergan was surprised again.
"That's tough."
"Yeah. The next day after my injury had completely healed, I was kicked out of the mansion and sent to train with Teacher Miraiya. At that time, Rinka, my bodyguard Mr. Darga, and my maid Moi were with me. Rinka was casually protective of me, but Mr. Darga and Moi were my parents and were very kind to me."
"I see. It must have been difficult for you when you were little."
When Efergan said that, Rose nodded.
"Yeah. And then, I was attacked by the thunderbirds again in Escodria, and it was a tough time, but those two did their best to protect me."
"Rose really encounters thunderbirds often."
"That wasn't a natural occurrence. It was thunderbirds summoned by the Morgs spell."
"Tell me in detail."
Efergan suddenly looked at Rose with a serious face.
"Well, the Morgs wrote their spells on paper and distributed them all over the place on airships. Teacher Miraiya told me the details of the conditions under which they were activated, but I don’t know much about spells. So, I can't say anything. However, four of them appeared in the town of Escodria. They attacked the ship and the port, causing many casualties."
Rose said and Efergan nodded.
"Miraiya understands. I see."
"Yeah. I heard from Teacher Miraiya that there was a possibility that I might be targeted. That's why I was made to practice magic and martial arts thoroughly."
"How long has it been since Rose woke up then?"
"Hmm, I think it was a few months."
“Has it been since you were that young?!”
Efergan stares at the girl in front of him in surprise.
"I had no choice. I am being targeted because I have all the attribute magic, and Gold abilities in this world."
"It's a rare ability."
"Yeah. I was told I had to protect myself and what would happen if no one protected me. So after I woke up, I was forced to practice magic and martial arts without fail. Danger class. Even ferocious beasts and birds were forced to fight.''
"That would have been difficult."
Rose nodded.
"Yes, I almost died many times. But I think it's better than falling prey to the Morgs."
"Were you attacked that often?"
"There have been no attacks directly targeting me, but I have experienced two attacks on the Dragon God's capital."
"Really?"
"Yeah. At first, Moi, a maid, was bitten by a mysterious snake and was on the verge of death. When we investigated the cause, it was caused by a piece of paper from a Morg technique blown away by the wind. It was near someone with magical powers. It was a mechanism that would be activated if it fell on the ground.
"Hmm, I'll write something..."
Efergan takes a piece of paper from the desk and writes a memo. He sat down at her study table and noted what he had heard.
"Keep talking, Rose."
"Yes. When Teacher Miraiya returned from Escodria, she said that the capital had been attacked and was on the verge of being wiped out. Two of the generals had also died."
"What happened to the Queen?"
"She wasn't there yet. There was no king for a long time, and the country was protected by five generals and the national army. Most of the country's nobles died, and the only one who survived was my mother."
"There hasn't been a king for that long?"
It's hard to believe, but it's true, Rose said.
"Yeah. The Dragon God was in charge of the throne. The people were patient for a long time until a new king was chosen. A new queen was chosen only recently."
"It must have been difficult."
"Maybe. I didn't really understand the situation at that time. Anyway, the capital was attacked and was almost destroyed, and my father's men, the volunteer army, and the remaining national army carried out an operation to retake the capital."
"I'm afraid to ask, but did Rose also participate?"
Efergan is staring at Rose.
"Yeah. Teacher Miraiya said it was my graduation exam, so I went to the battlefield. That was my first time on a battlefield. I was probably around two years old at the time."
"What a forced test..."
"I had no choice. It was a much better choice than being destroyed. By the way, the residents, soldiers, and people there were turned into magic stones during the attack on that city. There were a large number of Morg soldiers in the city. There were five airships."
"Airship...that's called an airship."
"Yeah."
Rose nodded.
"How did you know they were airships?"
"Old memories."
"Did something like that exist in the Dragon God's world?"
"Hmm, I felt like there was one. My memory is incomplete so I don't know the details. I just know it was an airship."
"I see."
It's not an answer, Rose knows, but that's all she knows.
"When Black Ops and my brother entered the palace and tried to defeat the enemy general, a monster similar to Ooramorg was summoned. Rinka and Teacher Miraiya dropped five airships, and the enemy general couldn't escape. It wasn't. It seems he was trying to summon that monster and sneak away. I heard this from someone in the Black Ops."
"I see. But Rinka is such a strong warrior."
"She's strong. It seems Level S. But I don't know much about her. Besides, she's a cat."
Efergan smiled when he heard that.
"I see, with this, a night visit is impossible."
"Huh? Were you planning it?"
"Somehow."
"Hmm."
When Rose looked troubled, Efergan laughed.
"Sorry, keep talking."
"Yeah. How far was it?"
"It was a monster and five airships."
"Yeah, that's when I woke up in the middle of the battle. I wanted to help my brother who was desperately fighting that monster, and before I knew it, I teleported and took the enemy from the palace to the middle of town. I chased him away. Finally, I released my brother's power to finish him off."
"Your brother's name is Yanagi, right? Is he strong?"
"He's strong. He's a demon god."
"Demon god..."
Efergan was confused.
"Yeah. Father is also a demon god."
"Is that the legendary demon god that the Dragon God summoned from another world?"
"Yeah. It's about my father."
"I'm surprised and excited right now. In fact, I met and talked with Lord Dalgodas, but I didn't know he was a demon god."
"Hmm."
Rose looked at Efergan and made a complicated face.
"So, in the end, the recapture of the capital was successful..."
"Yeah. Mr. Kagemaru of the Black Ops took the head of the enemy general. At that time, Kagemaru's pair was Suzu. She was still from the Black Ops at that time."
"She heard that the Queen was also a subordinate of your father..."
"That's right. The queen is higher than him now though."
"I see."
Efergan nodded.
"After that, there were various rumors, and to protect us, Teacher Miraiya and Prince Jatayu took us to Dwipa."
"Rumors? Even though you went that far, you got such bad rumors? That's disrespectful to the heroes."
"Yeah, it can't be helped, we were strange. So, while on vacation, I found a bodyguard lying on the ground after being hit by an airship, and I rescued him. Related to that, His Majesty the King of Dwipa met with Mr. Zurgun. I was called to attend the meeting with them. That's how I joined the Dwipa army in the Efergan rescue operation."
"That's right. That's where we first met."
Efergan smiled.
"I'm sure this is also the Dragon God's guidance."
"I agree with you."
"The rest is what Efergan knows. I think they must have gotten a lot of detailed information from the battle of Ooramorg."
"We certainly received a lot of information about that. What happened to Rose's life after that?"
Efergan asked.
"Ever since I returned from Dwipa, my brother left me to go train somewhere and disappeared. I didn't know what to do after being left behind. I got frustrated fighting my father. The cause of the fight was that I was trying to defeat the thunderbird that appeared in the village."
"Thunderbird again?"
"Yeah. I thought I should have been able to defeat an ordinary thunderbird like that, so I went up against it. But instead, I was suppressed by the Black Ops and my father got angry at me...and because of that, my frustration exploded. So, we got into a fight. Of course, I lost. My opponent was a demon, and there was no way I could win."
"That's amazing too."
Efergan smiled bitterly.
"Well, I destroyed two grounds, the Black Ops headquarters, and the wall...haha."
"Don't fight with Rose...I wrote it properly."
"Huh?"
"This is also important."
It seems like he wrote that seriously.
"Hmm."
"What happened after that?"
"After that, I was watched over by the Black Ops and remained quiet until I was about three years old. Shortly after the queen ascended the throne, I was called to the capital, and as the queen's younger sister, I was given the status of princess and asked to live in the palace. But after a while, a rebellion broke out."
"It’s tough."
"Yes, the person at the center of the rebellion was my older sister's aide. Moreover, he was collaborating with the Morgs and was planning to turn the queen into a magic stone."
"That’s also difficult."
Efergan wondered if the exact same thing was about to happen to him.
"That night, my room was attacked, and three bodyguards and a maid were killed. Rinka was fighting outside, and I joined in. I captured one enemy, but that enemy's comrades killed him. Those who were captured were killed too. I went after the enemy with Rinka, but we were ambushed. At that time, I happened to meet an acquaintance of mine, a Black Ops member, and he managed to save me, but after assessing the situation, Rinka... I asked her to return to the palace."
"Why is that?"
"I saw an airship in the sky. I thought the situation was the same as Suzukinoyama, so I sent Rinka back to protect the queen."
"Did Rose end up working with that person from the Black Ops after that?"
"Yeah. His name is Rocco. He's my best friend and he's a great Black Ops member. Rocco and I dropped that airship together."
"Did you shoot it with magic from below?"
At Efergan's question, Rose shook her head and laughed.
"No way. We don't know if the magic will reach it at that height. Moreover, they have interceptor weapons over there, so if we did that, we would be shot first and hit the townspeople."
"Then how?"
"We flew and then teleported into the airship. Rocco was the one who took out the Morg soldiers inside."
"I see."
Quite bold, Efergan thought.
"So, I stole the airship and everyone was killed by Rocco, but I didn't know how to pilot it and crashed into a mountain. Hahaha."
“Hahaha, huh? I don’t think that’s the kind to make you laugh, right?”
Indeed, Rose smiled again.
"Well, I'm glad we're alive. What I learned about that airship was that it was powered by magic stones and operated like a ship."
"I see. This is almost the same as Ooramorg's airship."
"Yeah. After that, my sister told me the rebel forces had taken over the palace. It was a chaotic situation. You didn't know who was friend or foe, and the assassin was dressed as a guard. Soldiers were killing each other, but when I arrived, everyone threw down their weapons and things calmed down. However, many ministers were killed and many soldiers were killed. Somehow, the rebellion was captivated within a day, so the situation moved positively."
"Rose is amazing."
"No, I just flashed and told them to stop fighting. It was Rocco who did all the hard work. He cut down every enemy assassin who attacked me."
"I see."
Efergan thought that Rocco was an important person.
"Then, when the Queen returned to the palace and I thought peace was restored, I almost died."
"What happened?"
"I was poisoned by my maid. The maid was on good terms with the person who had rebelled. She offered me poisoned tea to avenge her enemy, and I drank it without realizing it."
"Look, I'm right. We need a poison taster, right?"
Efergan pointed out while saying so.
"Yeah, but I was saved because Rocco was there. Rocco is good about poisons, so he gave me the antidote and saved me."
"It was good."
Rose can't say that Rocco gave her a drink from mouth to mouth. This will be her secret until the day she dies.
"What's wrong? You suddenly became silent..."
"Ah, no. Now that I remember it, it was a difficult time..."
Rose shook her head.
"It seems difficult. I don't know if it was good for Rose to come to this world, but when I met you, my life changed."
"There were many difficult times, but I'm glad I came to this world. I'm glad I met Efergan."
Rose said that, staring at Efergan. Efergan's face showed a very gentle expression.
"By the way, how did you change your life?"
"I wanted to become stronger for Rose, so I decided to spare no effort. Over the past two years, I've become surprisingly strong. But I realized I was still far from strong enough to protect Rose. I will continue to work hard."
"Then it'll become increasingly difficult to win a sword match with Efergan."
When Rose said that, Efergan laughed.
"Challenge me anytime."
"It looks like I'll get defeated in no time. Aren't you going to lose on purpose?"
"I won't."
"Stingy."
"It would be disrespectful to Rose if I lost on purpose."
Although she may have sounded like an excuse, Rose thought that maybe that was what he meant.
"Is Efergan really 17 years old?"
"I’m almost 18."
"Hmm, I guess you are a very stubborn person."
"It bothers me when you say that. When you're in a position like this, you can't help but behave like this. Am I acting bad?"
"A little bit. But that's also typical of Efergan."
"It seems... huh?"
"Yeah?"
"You told me this the other day when we were hunting, that it seems like it. I tried to think about what it means to be like me, but I don't know."
"I've included Efergan's actions, gestures, and words that impressed me. I guess that's Efergan's impression from my perspective."
"I see. Next time I'll have to observe Rose a lot. What is typical of Rose?"
Efergan said while laughing.
"Well, you don't have to force yourself. I know I'm strange, troublesome, clumsy, lonely, and a big eater."
"I see. Let's write it down."
"M-don't write!"
"I wrote it. You're late, Rose."
"..."
"Hahaha. But today I found out a little bit about Rose's past. Next time I'll tell you about myself. But it's almost bedtime, so let's end it for today."
"Yeah. I'll be using this room starting tomorrow."
"Go ahead."
"Thank you."
"You're welcome."
Efergan stood up, took Rose's hand, and kissed it.
"Good night, Rose."
"Good night, Efergan."
Rose and Efergan went outside. Efergan watched as Rose returned to the room with the bodyguards, and entered the office next to the room. He might work late again tonight.