Chapter 23
After we greeted our Mothers and Aunts, we asked the servants to get the boat out for us to play on the water, but since it’s dangerous for just children to go by ourselves, the knight of our house, Earhart-san, decided to go with us .
Earhart-san is a knight, but right now, he wasn’t wearing his armor and instead he was just wearing his army uniform . If he were, he wouldn’t be able to save us if we’re drowning .
Speaking of which, there are about 4,000 soldiers stationed at our house . It has a strength that is slightly more powerful than a single modern regiment .
The great nobilities of the Prussian Empire owned their own army, and they will be mobilized under the Emperor in the case of emergency . That, or the lords and the emperors would employ mercenaries to work for them . The standing army would then be organized under the Soldier King Wilhelm III, which would then be an army of a ridiculous scale .
That’s why, in case when my house gets destroyed, I would have to punch my way through the standing army, the mercenaries and the lords’ armies .
…that would mean my firepower wouldn’t be sufficient . I need more firepower…one that would inflict shock and awe .
“Onee-sama?”
“Aah, sorry, Iris . I was thinking about something . ”
It’s the rare chance for me to spend some time with my cute cousin on a boat on the lake, so I should not think about anything else for now . It’s not like I’m going to war right now…well, as long as this world follows the pace of the world in the game anyways .
“This lake is always so beautiful, isn’t it? It looks almost magical with this fog around us . ”
“That’s right . It looks like a world of fairytale . ”
The boat circled around the lake shore .
The scenery was breathtaking . We could see the dense forest beyond the lakeshore, giving the feeling of translucence to the lake . We could also see the outline of the fishes swimming past below us, and that only makes the scenery more fantastic .
“Onee-sama, I didn’t study magic as much as you do, but can I still study well in the academy?”
“Don’t worry, the teachers are going to diligently teach you . Also, I have no doubt that you would be invited to the Spirit’s Round Table, so if you don’t understand anything, I’ll teach you over there . ”
I bet since she’s the daughter of the Braunschweig duchy, she would be summoned to the Round Table .
“What is the Spirit’s Round Table?”
“It’s like a salon for high-ranking nobles . It’s actually a place to slack off though . ”
As far as I recognize, that place is a place for noble children to have idle chats or gossip about while drinking tea elegantly . They were doing nothing Varysenpai had advertised to do, like studying, broadening connections or fulfilling your duty as a noble .
Though I admit that recently I the senpais with good scores had been assisting me with my studies when I do, and I was also able to interact with high ranking nobles, such as Varysenpai who is supposed to marry into the Duke Schleswig’s family in the future .
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I guess this will be useful for my confrontation against my fate in the future .
Fufufu, just you wait, you wretched fate . I’ll turn you into a raggedy dust cloth .
“If I go there, then can I see onee-sama at the academy?”
“Yes, you can . I irregularly visited the place, but if Iris is called there, I will go there every day for you . ”
It was honestly very irritating for me to go to the round table, but if my cute little cousin is there, that would be an entirely different story . That place would turn into a healing place for me . If it goes well, Iris could also guard me against Friedrich .
“Now I am excited to go to the academy! I am worried if I could get along with other people, but I will be at ease if onee-sama is there . ”
“I will look for some people who you can be friends with . ”
I have to find her a good person to introduce . She’s close to me, but if she sees a stranger, she’d immediately hide herself somewhere .
If Iris gets into the Round Table, she’d get used to interacting with people . I wouldn’t stand it if my cousin turned to be a loner .
“Fufu, thanks to onee-sama, I am really looking forward to enrolling into the academy . ”
“I’m glad to hear that . Let’s enjoy our school lives in two years . ”
Hmm hmm . I can’t help but to look forward to her enrollment too . Heck, I feel like I might as well marry her . That’s how cute she is . My favorite is still Bernhardt-sensei though . I know it’s a love that won’t come true, but I still like him .
“Onee-sama, do you not see horses over there?”
“Huh?”
What I was surprised is the fact that Iris was not pointing at the shore, but towards the lake .
A horse in the lake?
“Watch out! That’s a Kelpie!”, Earhart yelled .
What were Kelpies again? Oh right, it’s like a chimera of a horse and a fish . It’s a monster that would drag anything that got on its back to the bottom of the lake and devour them . They’d attack you even if you’re not on its back if it’s hungry, but is it hungry now…?
As I was thinking like that, the Kelpie approached our boat with tremendous speed!
“It’s coming towards us!”
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Why do you have to be hungry at this exact moment!?”
“Uncle Earhart! Take care of Iris! I’ll take that thing down!”
“Eh? What do you…”
I grabbed the shotgun I carried on my back, switched the safety off and aimed at the charging Kelpie . Maybe because it’s so hungry, it made a beeline towards us full speed .
“STAY AWAY FROM MY CUTE COUSIN!”
I cast Blood Magic to enhance my strength and pulled the trigger . At the same time, Blau flew out of my pocket and suppressed the sound of the shotgun .
The slug I shot only grazed it, but it flew back to retreat . Kuh, it’s hard to aim with the boat rocking about…!
Though it seems like the Kelpie understand that it’s fighting against someone armed with an unknown weapon, so it circled around us, watching carefully . This is my chance .
I moved the forearm and loaded the next shot and fired my second shot at the Kelpie . The shot landed on its abdomen, causing the Kelpie to rampage in agony .
It bellowed, and as if it wanted to quickly finish us off, it ran towards us in a zig-zag maneuver .
Third shot…missed . Fourth shot…missed . I only have one shot left…!
“BE OBEDIENT AND DIE, YOU HORSE-MEAT SASHIMI!”
I yelled with all I got as I aimed at the Kelpie’s head and pulled the trigger .
Fifth shot…hits! The slug shot buried itself in the Kelpie’s head, and its brain fluids scattered about . The Kelpie then convulsed as it slowly sink down to the bottom .
“Fuuh, that was dangerous”, I said as I quickly reloaded another five shells into the shotgun . Another Kelpie might show up, so I can’t be careless .
“Onee-sama, that was amazing! Is that magic!?”
Afterwards, Iris cheered .
“Yes, that was magic . I am an exception, but I can not tell you about them, Iris, because they’re dangerous . ”
“Eeeh? Why?”
Forgive me, Iris . I promised to uncle Gnome about this .
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“Uncle Earhart, were Kelpies supposed to appear in this lake?”
“No…that was the first confirmed sighting . Perhaps it was driven out of somewhere and got lost here . There are four lakes in this vicinity after all . ”
So it’s a lost Kelpie . What a trouble . Where could it possibly run away from .
“But ojou-sama managed to take down a Kelpie…taking down a Kelpie is usually a difficult quest in the adventurers’ guild…”
“It’s just beginner’s luck . We were almost eaten…right?”
If that last shot didn’t hit home, what would happen to me, Iris and uncle Earhart would have been too terrifying to imagine . Today I learned about fear in combat . Protecting people is a serious business .
“Alright, since there might be more Kelpies, we should get back to the mansion for now . ”
“That’s right . It would be difficult to find enemies in this fog . ”
With that, we ended our water excursion . I wanted to get to the lakeside on the other side and eat some sandwiches together though…damn you Kelpie . Damn you for shaving my time together with my cousin .
“A Kelpie appeared!?”
Father yelled after uncle Earhart reported to him after we came back home .
“Yes sir . I suspect they came from the other lakes . The adventurers’ guild supposedly had searched the lake here . ”
“Right . Just when we got to our vacation home a Kelpie appeared…we can’t enjoy our time comfortably here . I was planning to go fishing with Diethardt…but I suppose the plan must be postponed . ”
Even father was upset that the Kelpie got in the way of his holiday .
Speaking of which, Diethardt is the name of Iris’ father .
“So? Where is this Kelpie now?”
“Ojou-sama had killed it . It’s now on the bottom of the lake . ”
Geh…! Uncle Earhart just reported it as honestly as he could .
“Astrid did? Since when do you have the magical capability to take down a Kelpie? How did you kill it anyways?”
“U-Uhh…I used fire elemental to heat up the water in the lake and I used that hot water to take it down . Myy, we were in a tight spot there . ”
“Huh? Did you not use that mysterious weapon…?”
“SSHHH! SSHHH!”
I doubt that Kelpie would die from being poured by hot water anyways .
“Hmm . I was about to say I told you not to do anything dangerous…but you did well defending yourself and Iris from the Kelpie . I’m glad you are alright .
Fuuh, father was relieved that Iris and I was fine and didn’t ask any further questions . I’m saaved .
“Astrid onee-sama, you were very cool! I want to be like you!”
“You can study magic if you get in the academy, so do your best to get there . ”
“No! I will ask my father to get me a tutor from today!”
Oohh…I think because of me she’s at risk of becoming a magic otaku…
Forgive me Iris…father…mother…
Iris is a very diligent girl though, so I do believe she could do well studying . I believe she could be a magician with a promising future . I don’t doubt it .
Perhaps . Probably . Tabun¹ .
Anyways, now that we have settled down after taking out the Kelpie, let’s play with Iris in the mansion!
“Iris, what do you want to do next?”
“I want to eat our lunch on top of the hills . ”
Aah, Iris’ favorite hill . It’s a great viewing spot, so I love it just as much . I used to roleplay as a forward observer in the past . By myself . Saying things like “good hit on targets!”
“Alright, shall we go to the hills then?”
“Yes, onee-sama!”
Just like that, we fully enjoyed our summer vacation .