Rose is currently on a ship crossing the lake. She is going to Escodria with Yanagi and Darga.
Yanagi will meet his client at the port of Escodria for his next escort job. Rose and Darga are planning to go to Master Berg's armor workshop to pick up Rose's armor.
Rose and Darga are known as parents and children in Escodria. This family game is done to protect Rose. The town of Escodria is dangerous, so this kind of family play is necessary. But this time, Moi, who plays the mother, is away at home. She was in the middle of making Rose's workout clothes, so she declined the invitation, saying she would stay home.
Yanagi is holding Rose in his arms and looking at the view from the lake. A beautiful morning sky, a cool breeze, and gentle waves as the ship slowly heads toward the port of Escodria. Darga, who seemed to care about Rose and Yanagi, was making small talk with the ship's officials from a distance, and they were having a fun conversation while being treated to tea. Darga is a hero who killed off thunderbirds that attacked the port, so everyone connected with the ship comes into close contact with him.
Rose listens to Yanagi's heartbeat, while she looks out at the lake. Yanagi is also holding her tightly. Even though they are brothers with no blood relation, Yanagi is very kind to Rose. Rose feels very lonely, thinking she won't be able to feel his warmth in a few hours. She is saying goodbye for a while, but now she wants to enjoy it for even a second longer.
"Rose, aren't you cold?"
"No, it's not cold. Are you cold?"
"No. It's okay."
Yanagi shook his head. Rose moves her head slightly to look above her.
"Rose, I felt something when we just separated..."
"Huh?"
"I felt Rose's presence."
Yanagi finally said what was bothering him.
"What did you mean?"
"I don't know, but I heard you called my name. I don't think I was dreaming or hallucinating, but it indeed happened. It was a strange experience."
At that time, Rose remembered. Miraiya said it was an awakening. She still remembers desperately calling Yanagi in that mysterious, dream-like space. In a world full of light, she lost track of herself. She became worried and the only person who answered her was Yanagi. Thanks to that, she was able to regain herself.
"Oh, it must be when the time of awakening."
"Oh, I see. So it was time for your awakening then."
"Have you had any experience like that?"
"No. But it's possible for Rose. I heard that people with high magical power have some special experiences."
Yanagi said this while staring at the sea.
"But I was scared at that time. I still remember not knowing who I was and just screaming and begging for help."
"Was it me who noticed Rose's existence at one time?"
Yanagi looked at Rose in her arms and smiled.
"Yeah. You called my name, so I realized who I was."
"I see. That would be fine. You called my name, too. But you disappeared in an instant, so I got worried. I wondered what happened."
"I'm sorry for making you worry."
"No, it's no problem. I'll do anything for you. Because for me..."
Yanagi is silent for a while, taking his breath slowly before he speaks.
"I need you."
Rose is blinking. She didn't know what to do when she heard those words. She can't find the words to reply. Just stay silent and listen to Yanagi's heartbeat. The warmth of him, the scent of him, the voice of him, and the feeling of him... She doesn't know how to respond.
"I need you, Rose. So for the future, I decided to move forward. I will work hard to be on your side more than anyone else. So that I could see your smile, and so that I could laugh with you. But I understand that I have to become even stronger."
Yanagi hugged Rose tightly. Little Rose looked at him and nodded.
"Yeah."
"You are my emotional support, so I want to be your emotional support someday, too."
"You are already supporting me emotionally."
"Oh, really? Thank you. I'm relieved to hear that."
Yanagi is smiling. He wanted to protect this little girl.
"Brother Yanagi..."
"Yeah?"
"I want to be your pair."
"Do you mean a working pair?”
"Yeah. We can go on an adventure together and work as a family escort. I want to roam the world. I want to defeat wild beasts together."
"I'm glad to hear that. I haven't had anyone to pair with me. It would be my first time with you. Okay, I understand. Next time we meet, let's pair up. You will be stronger than me, so that's why I can't lose."
Yanagi laughed.
"You're strong, so it's okay."
"I can't say that. Rose's master is that Mr. Darga, right? He's a kind level 8 demon instructor, right? That person is so powerful. Right now, I'm just a chick in front of him. Since you are a disciple of that strong person, you will definitely become stronger, too.''
Achoo! Rose heard the sound of someone sneezing from somewhere. When Rose saw it Darga sneezed, she couldn't help but laugh.
"Your magic master is also Teacher Miraiya, so I think you will become a magical warrior who will surpass me in six months."
"It looks like training will be difficult from now on."
Rose laughed bitterly.
"It's okay. I'm sure it'll be okay."
Yanagi hugged Rose tightly. And he spoke kindly to Rose.
"Let's do our best until the day we meet. Even if we're apart, we're connected in our hearts, so we'll definitely be okay."
Rose nodded after hearing Yanagi's words. Tears are flowing from her eyes.
"Yeah."
"So, don't cry anymore. It's going to be hard for me, too."
"Yes, Brother."
Yanagi wiped Rose's tears. Rose is trying to hold back this feeling of despair, that can't be put into words. Until the ship arrived at Escodria, the two silently felt each other's warmth while looking at the scenery.
When the ship arrived at Escodria, Rose parted ways with Yanagi. The merchants who had already been waiting at the port and the carriages carrying their luggage began to gather. They are going to a town called Mole in the Suzuil region to the east of the Ecoria region.
Good luck with your work, Yanagi! , Rose waved her hand frantically.
Darga put Rose on his arm and headed to the armor workshop. As she was on her way, he noticed the tears that remained on Rose's face and he became worried. He wet his handkerchief at the waterhole in the square and gently wiped Rose's face. But it's Moi's handkerchief. Rose couldn't help but laugh, wondering if he still had it.
To cheer Rose up, Darga bought a candy cane from a nearby candy store. Rose thought he was a really kind person. As they walked toward Master Berg's workshop with candy in her mouth, Darga talked about all the delicious Escodria foods. She heard that there were many other delicious dishes besides venison stew, which cheered her up. Perhaps appetite is more correct than energy.
Rose and Darga arrived at Master Berg's workshop and immediately tried on and adjusted the armor. There are chest plates, armor for the shoulders and hands, armor for the backs of the hands and elbows, armor for the stomach and waist, and a place on the belt for securing weapons. They also made a set of armor to protect her knees and feet. There are beautiful rose patterns everywhere. The armor's color is bright, like silver, durable, and light. Not only that, it's said to be made of a superior metal that can be enchanted. According to Master Berg, this is currently the highest-grade metal in the world.
The master said that Darga, the hero who ordered this set of top-of-the-line armor for his daughter without hesitation, has become the talk of the town.
Master Berg, you are the source of that rumor! , Rose thought in shock.
The armor is so light that even she doesn't feel the weight when she wears it. Last night, she tried touching Yanagi and Darga's armor, but it was heavy. Rose was impressed by how quickly those two could move, even though they wore such heavy armor.
After a while, Rose heard a loud noise outside. Looking at people gathering, she ran outside, still wearing protective gear. In front of Master Berg's workshop, a woman is surrounded by several scary villains. Blood was flowing from the woman's face as if she had been assaulted by those people.
However, no one helps her. When Rose observes, those evil-looking people have weapons. Ordinary people would probably be scared because of that. The woman is so frightened that she can't even call for help.
“Hey, what are you evil-looking guys doing over there?”
When people heard Rose's voice, people turned to look. Someone told her to stop, but it was too late.
"What?"
One of the villains shifted his gaze to Rose. But she didn't run away, she stood still. Rose thought condoning a crime was as much a crime as the person committing the crime.
“What is it, you brat?”
One of the scary men is slowly approaching. His weapon is a stick, which he spins in his hand.
“What are you ugly faces doing?”
She's a cheeky girl, thought the bad guy. Rose looked at him and laughed. There is no one to be scared of because an even scarier father is behind me! thought Rose.
From that woman, they transferred their enemy to Rose. However, Darga did nothing in front of Master Berg's workshop. he just laughed.
“This is how you play, little girl!”
Suddenly, someone tried to hit her with an iron rod. Naturally, in this situation, the defensive vines were automatically activated.
People noticed the commotion and gathered around some screaming. People cried out in worried voices that a small child was being attacked by large men.
"What's that?"
One of the bad guys was surprised when he saw the vine that blocked the iron bar. He readied himself.
"Rose, be careful! This area has many small factories, so wide-area magic attacks are no good. They will explode!"
"Huh? Yes, Sir!"
"That's right, put away the vines, it will be difficult to fight, right?"
Rose heard Darga's voice from far away. Instructions were given.
"Yes, Sir!"
Rose put away the creepy vines and quickly put a barrier around herself. She confirmed the enemy's position. There are five bad guys in total. It appears the woman who was assaulted earlier has already fled somewhere. In that case, she can punish them without hesitation.
"This!"
While saying that, one of the bad guys attacked Rose with his fist. Wow, Rose thought as she watched his attack. It's so slow it's incomparably slower than Darga!
She exchanged the attacks with ease. His fists came one after another. As Rose lowered herself and her opponent lost his balance, he was struck by her small, magically charged fist, right in his stomach.
"Lightning Punch!"
A punch at a zero distance!
It is a combat technique that directly injects lightning magic into the opponent's body.
Along with Rose's words, smoke came from that villain's mouth.
"Ugh!"
He just fell back and Rose could see the foam at his mouth. One person processed! , she grinned.
The remaining four expressed their anger at the defeat of their comrades. This time it was two people, and one of them pulled out a knife. She thinks it's dangerous when facing someone with a weapon. However, if it doesn't hit, there's no problem. The bad guy in red is brandishing a knife and aiming at Rose. Another person is behind her. Now that there were no vines, what was behind her was out of sight. Just when she felt a presence, and thought that if she couldn't evade the attack, she would be in danger, that red-clothed bad guy came rushing in from the front. Thinking this was her chance to test the performance of her hand's protector, she put out her right hand and blocked his knife attack.
Ugh!
It was quite a shock, Rose thought. Quickly pulling her hand away, Rose lowered her body and tried to attack the bad guy's legs. It is the bad guy with messy hair, who came behind her. However, due to the distance, it was not possible. She cast an earth magic on the ground.
"Wall of the earth!"
It was that stepping stone magic that Yanagi showed yesterday. If she adjusts the magical power, it will become a mound that suddenly appears from the earth. However, it seems that that mound that Rose put out appeared in a not-so-good place. It appeared between the legs of that unkempt-headed bad guy and hit him directly in the groin!
!!!
The pain was so great that he fell to the ground. She should have aimed for his leg, she thought. But the result is okay! Two persons, processed!
The person holding the knife swung the knife again and moved quickly as if suddenly stabbing her. Rose blocked the knife's attack with her hand again and pushed it down hard, causing the knife to slip out of his hand. Rose kicked the knife behind her and she moved quickly and tried to attack. However, he stepped back again, and they became further apart. The other two joined near the man in red picked up the fallen weapon, and handed it to him. Therefore, those three bad guys have weapons. Rose wonders if they still feel bad about losing a small child.
Rose wondered if she would try that trick that Yanagi taught her. The iron bar is also large, so it might be best to stay away from it for now.
Suddenly Rose put her hands on the ground. She prayed that the vine would reach her opponent.
“Bind Rose!”
With a tremendous sound, three black branches sprang up from the ground and quickly attacked and tied up the three bad guys! Of course, since Rose is a 'rose tree', naturally she has thorns. "It's going to hurt", she said as she looked at her tied-up targets with a painful expression. Red blood is oozing from their bodies. All three of them fainted from the pain and agony.
Now all 5 people have been dealt with!
When she thought everything was going smoothly, a large man appeared among the onlookers. Rose looks at him and clearly, he doesn't look friendly. He has a scary face, an eyepatch, dog-like ears, a gray tail, and a metal rod. Is he one of those bad guys? , Rose immediately prepared.
"Hey, young lady. I don't know who you are, but you've done a terrible job to my cute henchmen. I want you to die."
As he said this, he held the rod up to her. Rose thought it was a sudden declaration to kill her.
I don't have time to die here, Rose thought inexplicably. Rose shook her head and concentrated.
"Rose! Don't forget your barrier! If you win, I'll treat you to a delicious roasted boar!"
"Yes, Sir!"
As soon as she heard that shout, the color of her eyes changed. Feeling a rush of motivation, she licked her mouth with her tongue.
"Keep it up!"
She could hear the cheers from the onlookers. As expected, it is an unsafe town. A little girl like this is about to be beaten by a big man, and everyone is just watching. What's more, it's even developed into gambling.
But that didn't matter, she thought. The important thing is to do her best for delicious roasted boar!.
"Nature, Rose commands: Give me strength!"
Rose has all the attributes, and her contract word allows her to use all the powers of the natural world. Then Rose looked at the three she tied with the branch. All three collapsed when she untied the branch. Then, a jet-black whip full of thorns appeared from the palm of Rose's right hand.
Bang!
A dry sound rang out.
The other big man suddenly lunged at me. Fight back with his right-hand whip! That person quickly avoided Rose's whip and jumped high. Then he swung his stick around, aimed it at her head, and hit her. Rose avoided the attack by making a split-second decision, but it was a close call. If she didn't move slowly enough in a few seconds, the stick would probably reach her head, she thought grimly.
The attack was so powerful that it left a deep hole in the ground. Rose stepped back behind her, keeping her distance. At that distance, they have an advantage. Due to her small size, the metal rod her opponent held will reach her first. Moreover, by analyzing the opponent's speed and strength, it is clear that fighting in close combat will be difficult.
Now, she thought, what should I do?
However, the opponent did not give her time to think. While Rose desperately avoided her opponent's stick, she tried attacking with her whip everywhere, but it was useless. Rose spun her body, moving back behind and she enchanted herself.
"Wall of the earth!"
She created some mound magic on the ground to reduce the range of movement. At the same time, she ran up to it and jumped high. Rose enchanted the whip with lightning, hardening it so much that it resembled a stick.
"Lightning Spear!"
Rose quickly created a lightning spear with her whip. Then aim hard and throw!
"Lightning!"
Additional magic: Just shoot it from above and don't let it escape! , Rose attacked her opponent from a high position.
For roasted boar! It's a hit!
Just as she was thinking, her opponent jumped upwards. Surprisingly, this is an opponent whom magic attacks are not effective against! She swung her whip-spear with her left hand and it shattered.
Unpalatable!, Rose panicked and activated the vines.
The vines blocked his attack. But the falling Rose needs a footing.
"Wind!"
When the wind elemental wind was directed downwards and repelled, the air rose upwards and became a cushion. She managed to land safely.
Barrier! She enchanted herself again.
The next attack is coming! , she thought.
If you just run around, you'll be at a disadvantage.
She is keeping the word in her mind. Her size requires her to move quickly to encounter the opponent's attacks. But therefore, if she fights for a long time, she will be defeated in no time. She was desperately trying to figure out how to slow it down. If the opponent has a high magic defense, magic attacks from a distance will not work.
Miraiya is right. With an opponent like this, you're in a real pinch.
Rose erased the whip she had used and summoned it again. This time it was heavy and had a lot of thorns sticking out. And above all else, she already uses a lot of magical power. The previous consecutive moves consumed a lot of her magic power. She feels exhausted.
The opponent started to move. There was the sound of his horizontal bar colliding with Rose's whip.
Her arms were getting tired and painful.
At that moment, someone onlooker splashed water on her. Water fell to the ground, making it wet. This is it!
“Mud!”
The ground became muddy. The activation conditions are earth and water, so this magic is fulfilled!
The ground beneath her feet suddenly turned muddy, and the big man lost his balance. Rose quickly put her hand on the ground.
"Bind Rose!"
With a thud, branches sprouted from the ground and tied him up. Rose thought to herself, tying him tighter this time.
"Bloody Rose!"
The thorns on the branch he was tied to suddenly became sharper and larger, and they pierced and dug into the giant man's body. Blood splattered red and fell to the ground, like scattered red rose petals. Even though it was her own technique, she felt horrified.
That big man endured the pain while letting out a loud voice. He desperately resisted, but the rose branch was stronger. The metal rod in his hand fell to the ground.
Rose wins!
The more he moves, the deeper the thorns dig into the flesh, and the more it hurts. He still tried to move, so she was at a loss as to what to do.
"Dad, what should I do?"
Rose called Darga. Darga showed his face from the crowd.
"Hmm, what should you do? Nothing. Stay there. I'll have to call the security forces and hand him over."
When he replied, someone recognized Darga.
That hero!
"Oh! That little one was our hero Mr. Darga's child!"
"As expected of a hero's child!"
"Oh!"
"Awwww! Mr. Darga! I want a child like that, too! Let's make one!"
The onlookers shouted out loud one after another. She can even hear incomprehensible cheering...
To protect Rose from the people, Darga quickly picked her up and left. He wiped Rose's dirty face with a handkerchief. Then he quickly went to Master Berg's workshop. Worried Master Berg looked at her and saw the relief on his face.
"Good job, Rose. Are you hurt? Is there any pain?"
Darga borrowed the water hole at Master Berg's house and cleaned Rose's hands and feet.
"Yes, I'm fine. But I was scared."
"From now on, you'll have to fight like that daily. Please be prepared."
Darga said in a small voice, smiling, and in a gentle tone, stroking her head and speaking into Rose's ear. This person is truly a kind evil instructor, Rose thought.
The security forces who rushed to the disturbance arrived and said they would arrest those six people. Rose untied the branch that tied the evil boss, who was covered in injuries. Security personnel confirmed the situation and recorded it. Many witnesses testified that the blame lies with those six people. Those six people are bad guys who often do bad things around here.
"Hey, Dad."
"What is it?"
"Did you throw the water earlier? On the ground."
"Well, hey.., what do you mean?"
This person definitely did it, she thought. Because his shirt is a little wet. But Darga just laughed.
"Hmm, I'm kind of tired..."
Suddenly Rose was overcome with extreme fatigue, and before she knew it, she had fallen asleep, resting her head on Darga's shoulder.
Several hours had passed. She was lying on a mattress in a room she didn't know. Darga is sitting next to her and his eyes are closed. Her armor had been removed.
"Dad··."
Hearing Rose's voice, Darga opened his eyes. Rose got up and she sat down on the mattress.
"Are you okay now? How are you feeling?"
Darga called out in a gentle voice. He put his hand on Rose's head and checked to see if she had a fever.
"Yeah, I'm okay."
"That's good"
Darga smiled.
"Where are we?"
"It's a room in Master Berg's workshop. I was worried, so he lent me the room."
"Then I have to thank you. Um, what about my armor?"
"Master Berg is adjusting it now. He said the adjustment was interrupted, and it's not perfect yet. Maybe it will be finished soon."
Growl...
That embarrassing sound came from her stomach.
"Hahaha, you are hungry. As promised, let's go eat some delicious roasted boar."
"Yay!"
Rose once again donned the armor perfectly finished by Master Berg. When she thanked Rose for letting her use the room, the master patted her head and laughed. In return, he thanked her, saying that the six bad guys who threatened public safety in that battle would be quiet in prison for a while. The woman attacked by the bad guy earlier works as a candy maker nearby. As a thank-you for the help, a box of sweets was delivered to Rose at Berg's workshop. They all looked delicious, but Rose thought she would eat them with Moi later.
Also, due to the uproar, Berg's workshop has received many inquiries about armor similar to Rose's. As a result, the people at the workshop were busy accepting orders. As a thank-you gift, Rose's armor was made free of charge. As a bonus, she also received a set of care tools.
Thank you, Master Berg! Rose bowed her head happily.
After that, Darga brought her to the roast boar restaurant. Seeing a lot of delicious roast boars selling there, Rose became hungry, so she ordered several roasted boars and ate them deliciously, regardless of the people's stares. Rumors will spread that they are the heroic duo Darga and his daughter, who ate many roasted boars.
The sun had already set when they got on the ship and returned to the mansion. Darga reported to Miraiya about the events that happened that day. Darga tells Rose there will be no training today as it is already late and he decided the training will start tomorrow.
I will do my best again tomorrow, Rose thought, and eat sweets with Moi.