Boukensha ni Naritai to Miyako ni Deteitta Musume ga S Rank ni Natteta Chapter 14

Surprise! New chapter, hope you enjoy. And thank you so much for all your comments! 🙂

Of course, Belgriff, as an adventurer, did not long for fame or fortune, nor did he even wish to be an important individual.

When he was a young adventurer, he only did small quests that allowed him to obtain enough money for his food and daily life. But even someone like him, deep in his heart, wished he could see at least a glimpse of true power…

And although he was now forty-two years old, that feeling had not completely disappeared.

He had lost his right leg and returned to Tornela with the intention of retiring as an adventurer, but that did not stop him from training daily. He proudly accepted the fact that he now had a prosthetic leg and worked much harder than a regular person would in his rehabilitation.

Because of that, he is able to fight C and B Rank magic beasts, even though he had only reached the E Rank himself. And now it is clear to him that the reason behind all his effort is that, somewhere in his heart, he does not want to stop being an adventurer. It is not only the need to protect the village and its people but also the desire to continue competing with his former companions, who are surely still adventurers.

That’s why he doesn’t object to the idea of having his abilities recognized. This makes him feel more confident and, at the same time, allows him to regain some of the pride he thought he had lost a long time ago.

“…But this is different… “

“What’s the matter, Daddy? Do you have a headache?”

Angeline has an expression of concern as she caresses Belgriff’s head. It’s a delicate gesture, reflecting the girl’s affection for her father. And since Belgriff knows that Angeline doesn’t have any ill intent, it doesn’t bother him at all.

That doesn’t fix the fact that now many people, in places he’s never been before, know that nickname. However, that’s the opinion that her daughter, Angeline, has about him, so she hadn’t done it with bad intentions. There is nothing he can do about it, even if he screamed with all his strength inside his head.

Besides, Belgriff has always treated his daughter with affection. He would never think of raising his voice in front of her…

“Hey, Bel. You don’t have to come to the meeting tonight,” Kerry says, poking his head in from the entrance.

“What? Why…?” asks Belgriff, lifting his face.

“Because Angeline has returned home, and even someone like you will be too excited to concentrate on the meeting.”

“Mmm…”

Kerry’s right. Even if he attends, his mind is in total chaos and he won’t be able to add anything to the meeting. He is happy that Angeline has returned, but right now, a new problem is arising.

Belgriff scratches his head with an uncomfortable expression

“I’m sorry, Kerry.”

“Oh, that’s okay. We mustn’t depend on you for everything! Gahahahaha! Hey, Burnes! Move faster, will you?”

Burnes glances at his father and enters the house with some blankets.

“Mr. Bell, where should I put… “

“Oh, on the straw… What’s wrong?”

Burnes is watching Anessa and Miriam as if bewitched. When Belgriff calls him, he starts moving again and carries the blankets. Then, he approaches Belgriff and whispers.

“The girls from the city are very beautiful, after all…”

“Yes, yes. But if Rita listens to you, you’ll make her cry.”

“Why do you have to mention Rita?! She has nothing to do with this!”

Burnes quickly places the blankets on top of the straw and leaves the house with a red face. Kerry, on the other hand, has an expression of astonishment.

They are pretty… But I still think our children are the cutest of them all”.

“Haha, that’s good, isn’t it? Didn’t you say that all the time, a few years ago?”

“Birds of a feather, don't you think? Well, I’m beat…and it doesn’t matter anymore. Go back to your daughter. Mr. ‘Red Ogre’ Belgriff.” Kerry says in a funny tone and leaves the house with a smile on his face.

Belgriff scratches his head with a wry smile. A nickname is something people say on their own accord, and since this time it’s a nickname that Angeline herself has thought of, Belgriff can’t say that is something bad.

It is funny, though, that a middle-aged man who is not even an adventurer and works in the fields should have a nickname like that. Belgriff doesn’t remember performing so many feats as to deserve a nickname, much less one so “flashy”. The feeling of not fulfilling the expectations that something like that implies is quite uncomfortable. If the recognition a person received wasn’t “fair”, the person wouldn’t feel comfortable at all.

“Mmm… Did I do something wrong? Did I do something to upset you, Daddy?” Angeline asks restlessly, seeing Belgriff’s uncomfortable face.

Her eyes reflect some tears. He can’t get angry when he sees her like that. Belgriff shrugs his shoulders and does his best to smile.

“No, it’s not that… I know how you feel about me, Angie. But I’m not sure I’ve done anything so praiseworthy…”

As far as he knows, he’s only defeated C or B Rank magic beasts. While he is known to be Angeline’s father, everything Angeline has accomplished since she became an adventurer has been on her own merit. Belgriff is happy for his daughter, but once again, he hasn’t done anything extraordinary.

Seeing Belgriff's expression, Anessa and Miriam tilt their heads.

“Mmm… So, Angie’s dad isn’t as good as she says?”

“Maybe Angie was exaggerating the whole time~?”

“That’s not true!” Angeline stands up with a furious look in her eyes. Her companions began to shake uncontrollably.

“My Daddy is very strong. As I said, I could never defeat him with the sword.”

“But Angie, that was more than five years ago…”

“Whether it was five or ten years ago, it doesn’t matter… It doesn’t matter!” Angeline declares out loud, drowning out Belgriff’s argument.

Belgriff believes that those five years have made a huge difference, however. But at that moment, Angeline hits the table with an expression that reflects her bad mood.

“If you’re not satisfied, then I’ll prove it to you! Daddy!”

“Y-Yes.

“Have a match with me!”

“Oh, yes… Wait, what…? N-No, Angie. You must be exhausted after your trip…”

“I said I’m fine… Now, come on!” After saying this, Angeline leaves the house with a sword in her hand.

“Wow, so I’ll be able to see the swordsmanship from the rumors~. I'm looking forward to it~,” says Miriam cheerfully.

“Angie and Sasha said it’s awesome. I’m going to study it carefully,” murmurs Anessa as she nods.

Immediately after that, the girls leave the house. Belgriff grabs the sword that is leaning against the wall without saying anything, and he hangs his head.

“I don’t even know what’s going on anymore…”

○

“Take this seriously, Daddy!”

The sky, which until then was clear, is now covered by thin white clouds. They are not dark enough to bode rain, but big enough to cover the sunlight. The recently thawed soil has some puddles and mud. So they run the risk of falling if they’re not careful.

Father and daughter are facing each other in the garden. Belgriff still looks puzzled, and Angeline still looks angry.

Angeline’s anger is not directed at Belgriff, but she is a little frustrated with him. Because a person as trustworthy as Belgriff has always suffered from his lack of confidence. She wants her father to be as praised as he deserves. Even if, somewhere in her mind, she knows that this behavior is unreasonable.

On the other hand, Belgriff is still a bit confused, but when he mentally prepares for combat, he realizes that he is also in a state of awe and calm. It’s been a long time since he felt this way, but for now, he can’t help it.

He knows he’s at a disadvantage. His strength cannot be compared to that of Angeline, who is still an active S Rank adventurer. Belgriff isn’t even an adventurer anymore. There is the risk that Angeline’s perception of him collapses and she ends up disappointed. If this happens, she may stop loving her father.

However, children eventually outgrow their parents. Many of the village children are now responsible, well-educated men and women, much more than their own parents.

“…Well, this is also part of a parent’s job, isn’t it?”

As Belgriff continues to mumble, Angeline pulls her sword out of the sheath. Belgriff lets out a sigh of admiration at the sight of her daughter’s combat posture. He is glad to see how much she has improved.

From an early age, Angeline has repeatedly shown glimpses of her talent. On more than one occasion, Belgriff had problems when facing the 10-year-old. Each time, Belgriff had to train even more on his own. Maybe it was due to his stubborn pride, but he didn’t like the idea of losing to his little daughter. And it’s because of this, that the swordsmanship he thought he’d given up a long time ago has grown steadily ever since.

But this time it’s different. Angeline has faced many high-ranking adventurers and magic beasts in the city of Orphen. Her sword technique probably goes beyond anything Belgriff can imagine. He would not be ashamed to be defeated by her. However, he can’t give a bad impression.

Belgriff also adopts his combat posture. It is a posture full of openings that, at first glance, resembles the Nioh posture*.

However, his right arm, where he holds his sword, responds to each of Angeline’s movements without hesitation, swinging at small intervals. It’s like he’s inviting Angeline to attack.

Angeline was happy to see Belgriff like this. No sign of weakness. It’s just as she expected, her father will always be the same…

At that moment, a strange tension takes hold of the garden. It is as if a thread is stretched to the max and could snap at any time.

Anessa and Miriam, who are in a corner of the garden, feel they can’t breathe. Their hearts beat slowly and loudly. It’s a resonance that powerful people emit, and they can feel it thanks to their high-ranking.

The drops of water left on the ceiling fall to the floor. Belgriff reacts to this movement and twitches his eyebrow slightly. At the same time, Angeline moves. And fast. In less than a blink, Angeline kicks the ground several times, approaches Belgriff and makes a downward slash with her sword.

“…Huh?”

However, Belgriff deflects the attack as if it were nothing and lightly hits Angeline’s head. Angeline immediately crouches with a small cry of pain (“Kya!”).

“Angie… I’ve told you many times that you shouldn’t let yourself be deceived by a feint. You have to fix that. Also, in your first attack, you always start by moving to the right and with a downward slash…”

“Uh… You really took it seriously, Daddy…”

“Hm? W-well, you asked me to.”

At that moment, Angeline extends her arms as she puffs up her cheeks.

“Hug…”

“Haaaa… You’re seventeen now…”

“Hug!”

Belgriff frowns, but when he sees Angeline’s big eyes full of tears, he shakes his head and lets out a sigh. He can’t help pampering his daughter a little. And from what he remembers, it’s always been this way.

With a wry smile, Belgriff crouches, extends his arms and places them around Angeline’s waist. Then he lifts his daughter and sits her on his shoulder. Angeline remains silent for a while, hugging her father’s head and plunging her face into his red hair. But finally, she turns around and jumps to the floor.

“One more time! Have a match with me one more time!”

” I don’t mind…” says Belgriff tilting his head, as all the tension from before has disappeared.

The two of them move away and again face each other. This time Angeline moves even faster. Belgriff receives the first blow with an expression of surprise and turns with his prosthetic leg to counterattack. Angeline jumps instantly, but Belgriff kicks the ground with his left foot to close the gap. Angeline responds quickly and tries to jump to the right,

“Same direction, again!”

Belgriff hits Angeline’s head again before she jumped. There was no way to avoid it because the sword moved as if it knew beforehand where the girl would move. Angeline crouches again with a small cry of pain (“Kya!”).

“Angie… I said you had to fix your bad habit, didn’t I?” Belgriff says in surprise as he scratches his cheek.

“Uuuhhh…” Angeline looks at her father with a big smile on her face, despite the tears in her eyes. “Yes! My Daddy is really strong!”

“No, it’s not that. It’s just that you…”

Belgriff has an anticlimactic feeling. Certainly, his daughter’s movements are much faster, sharper and more sophisticated than when she left Tornela. However, no matter how fast or how sharp the movements are, they are still the same movements Angeline always makes… and he knows them very well.

That’s funny. It wasn’t supposed to end like this.

Belgriff doesn’t know what else to do, so he looks up and starts analyzing everything he knows.

Angeline is basically a cluster of talents… but she’s not a theoretical genius, she’s an intuitive genius. Yet even if you don’t master the theoretical part, you can become a good adventurer. And if the quality of your intuition is high, you can get even further.

So, even though Belgriff taught the girl the basics of the sword, she had to continue training on her own when she traveled to Orphen. However, as Belgriff’s influence has diminished, Angeline has been able to develop her own technique with the sword.

Her sword movements are fast and fierce, and those who see them or face them for the first time, cannot help but feel astonished and frightened.

On the other hand, Belgriff, who has tried several times to correct Angeline’s bad habits, is familiar with her daughter’s technique and movements. From the feet to the eyes, he knows how to distinguish the chain of movements his daughter will make next. Of course, it’s not something he’s learned overnight, but from all the years they’ve lived together, all the times they’ve trained together, and the long hours of observation.

In addition, Belgriff continues to train hard so that Angeline, who continues to demonstrate her innate talent, doesn’t make the gap between them too big. And because the only person in Tornela who can be considered Belgriff’s opponent is Angeline herself, he has unconsciously trained enough to face the girl.

Also, the intensity of Angeline’s movements is proportional to the hostility she feels towards her opponent. The power increases considerably if she is faced with a magic beast or a person she does not like.

On the contrary, the intensity decreases if it is a person she likes. And if her opponent turned out to be the father she loves so much, the intensity diminishes completely. She would definitely not use the same power she uses against magical beasts, bandits or ogres. If she did, Belgriff’s number of victories would drop dramatically.

That’s the biggest flaw of intuitive geniuses.

In short, Belgriff is sure that if, for example, he were to face Angeline’s companions, he would surely lose. His skills only worked against Angeline.

But none of the girls know this. And since Angeline has fought seriously, her admiration for her father continues to grow more and more, something that embarrasses Belgriff a bit. Also, Angeline’s two companions seem to be stunned.

“Unbelievable~… Angie couldn’t even defend herself~…”

“I can’t believe it… “

Both of them have seen Angeline wipe out powerful monsters over and over again. As they are part of the same party, they know what each is capable of. The “Black-Haired Valkyrie” is the strongest in the city of Orphen, and one of the runners-up in the Estgarl Duchy.

In this battle, not only had Angeline not struck once, but she had been easily defeated. Two people had observed the exchange between father and daughter, but both had trouble understanding what had just happened.

This has really happened. Anessa grabs her head and Miriam pinches her cheek. They now know that Belgriff’s skill is worthy of the nickname ‘Red Ogre’.

Angeline has an expression of satisfaction as Belgriff carries her on his back. As for Belgriff, he seems to be thinking of something quite complicated.

“What do you think now, Ane?…. My Daddy is very strong,” Angeline says proudly.

“Y-Yes, he’s amazing. I’m very surprised… but, Angie, did you hold back?”

“No, I used my best techniques… why?” When Angeline asks this, Miriam nods her head.

“It’s the same old Angie~. I could feel that she was a little upset, but her movements weren’t slow or anything, were they, Ane~?”

“Right. I didn’t feel her speed was compromised… Angie’s dad really is amazing.”

“It’s true. Mufufu, my Daddy is the same as always.” Angeline happily curls her face in her father’s hair.

“…Angie.” Belgriff says with a frown.

“What’s wrong?”

“I know you love me very much…but please don’t spread any more rumors about my strength.”

“Mmm… but if you’re too strong, Daddy. You’re stronger than me.”

“Anyhow, I’m asking you to stop… I don’t like you doing that.”

Angeline’s expression becomes sad, but suddenly it changes as if something had occurred to her. Now she has a cheerful, warm expression.

“…I see! A clever hawk hides its claws**, right, Daddy? I get it! I’ll keep your secret. An Unnamed Genius… I think it’s great too.”

“No, I don’t mean that either… Haaaa…”

Belgriff wants to say something else, but he ends up sighing and falling silent. He has to resign himself to the inevitable.

Footnotes * It sould be something like ** It is a