She was captivated. Like a divine revelation, she realized in an instant that the swordsmanship she had been taught until then was nothing more than children playing with sticks.
Back when Yulitia lived as a young girl in the Royal Capital, still ignorant of how vast the world truly was.
Yulitia had fallen in love with Wolka’s sword at first sight.
/
Yulitia was born into a prestigious lineage, a family that had produced exceptional knights for the Royal Capital's orders for generations.
Though she possessed a quiet, delicate temperament entirely unsuited for the life of a knight, the talent of her ancestors was etched deeply into her blood. More than anything, she loved the sword so much that she had eyes for nothing else. The first toy her parents ever gave her was a blunt practice sword. her instructor was a family servant who had retired from the knighthood years ago. Whether awake or asleep, she thought only of the blade, swinging it in constant play. That was the kind of child she was.
Yulitia had two older brothers.
The eldest was fierce and brave despite his youth, while the second was intelligent and strict. Unlike the frail Yulitia, the two seemed born for the sake of becoming knights; she remembered them training fervently every day, carrying the heavy weight of their parents' expectations.
On one hand, there were her brothers, dreaming of becoming first-class knights as they received harsh, direct instruction from their parents.
On the other, there was Yulitia, who didn't even know if she had a future as a knight, receiving nothing more than play-like lessons from an elderly servant.
It should have been obvious to anyone which side the Goddess of the Blade would smile upon.
Then, one day, Yulitia and her brothers ended up having a match out of mutual curiosity.
There, Yulitia decimated her brothers.
At the time, Yulitia had simply been trying her absolute best so that her brothers wouldn't laugh at her, and she barely remembered the details of the fight.
However, according to the servant watching from the sidelines—her brother had held the lead only for the first few minutes. Within moments, they were evenly matched; a few minutes more, and the positions reversed. By the end, it could no longer even be called "practice."
Yulitia was an unmistakable genius.
For her brothers, it must have been a devastating humiliation that negated everything they were. It was only natural. They, who devoted themselves to grueling training every day, had lost to a weak girl who did nothing but swing a sword for fun. Their years of effort had been crushed without a trace by the mere existence of "talent."
It was an event more than sufficient to make her brothers loathe her.
They stopped speaking to her. Even so, when she tried desperately to reach out to them, she was met with sneers and blows. When her parents learned of Yulitia's talent, they scolded her brothers, demanding to know why they couldn't be more like her. They showered Yulitia with praise, calling her the pride of the family. Then, at night when their parents were fast asleep, her brothers would grab her by her hair, throw her to the floor, and kick her in the back over and over again.
Looking down at the weeping, apologizing Yulitia were her brothers' eyes, burning with resentment and envy.
It was a blessing in disguise when the time finally came for Yulitia to enter school.
Her parents recommended the same Knight Academy her brothers attended, but Yulitia chose to live in the dormitories of a Magic School instead. It was obvious that if she followed her brothers' path, her treatment would only worsen.
"I want to learn things other than the sword," she told them.
It was a lie. Her parents seemed disappointed, but they relented.
"Perhaps that is for the best. With your talent, even becoming a Holy Knight wouldn't be a dream one day."
Holy Knight—the kingdom's highest honor, awarded to those with peerless martial skill who could also wield magic as well as any Sage.
It was a sentiment they had never once expressed to her brothers.
What exactly was talent?
Being hated by her brothers, lying to her parents, becoming unable to hold her beloved sword, and fleeing her home like a fugitive...
Was this what it meant to be talented?
However, in the end, Yulitia was truly glad she had left home.
Because it was thanks to that choice that she met "him"—and that sword.
"U-Um! P-Please! Please make me your disciple!!"
"...Huh?"
From that moment on, Yulitia's world was once again dyed in beautiful, vivid colors.
/
"...Nn."
She had been lost in the past for a moment. Yulitia gave her head a small shake, let out a breath, and wiped the trace of monster blood from her blade.
The monster she had slain had already vanished, leaving behind a drop.
That made thirty-six.
"I'm still nowhere near his level..."
A sense of helplessness tightened her grip on her sword.
No matter how Yulitia swung her blade, it always ended up stained with the blood of her prey. She was much better than she used to be, but it still wasn't enough.
Most swordsmen would wonder what was so strange about that. Monsters were living things; it was only natural for blood to spray when they were cut.
But Wolka's sword was different.
Wolka never stained his sword with blood. No matter how many hundreds or thousands of monsters he cut down, that beautiful blade was never defiled. It was a God-speed strike that didn't even allow the eye to perceive the moment the sword left its scabbard. It was a pinnacle of the Way of the Sword that could only be reached by one who had pursued it with single-minded, foolish persistence.
This time, an ecstatic sigh escaped her lips.
"Haa... Senpai really is amazing. Senpai, Senpai, Senpai, Senpai—"
She recalled the flash that had buried the Life Reaper before her eyes. A strike of absolute death that seemed to cleave through even light itself, carved out by a man throwing his entire life away. It was a realm of extremes that even Yulitia, the "genius," couldn't hope to touch.
Just picturing it caused a sensation akin to pleasure to surge through her. She felt a sense of euphoria, as if her mind were floating. Ever since she first met Wolka, she had been a captive of his sword. She felt she had been born specifically for the sake of witnessing that strike.
That was precisely why...
"..."
The pleasure vanished like mist, replaced by a crushing weight of regret and guilt.
The image of Wolka’s broken figure, missing his right eye and left leg, filled her mind.
"...It's all my fault."
Lieselalte blamed herself, claiming it was her fault for taking the request. But Liesel had done nothing wrong. The Guild had officially cleared that dungeon. No one could have predicted that the true boss waited in a hidden chamber reached only by a teleportation trap.
Therefore, the one truly at fault was Yulitia, who had triggered that trap.
"If only I hadn't made that mistake..."
They would never have encountered the Life Reaper. Wolka would never have lost his eye and his leg. If only his leg were intact, his sword technique would surely have reached an even more legendary height.
But that future was gone.
Liesel had told her—Wolka had not expected to survive that battle.
Even if his life was saved by a miracle, losing his pivoting leg meant he was effectively dead as a swordsman.
Yulitia's foolish mistake had forced the man she admired most to throw everything away.
That reality was warping Yulitia’s heart into something dark and obsessive.
"I have to... get stronger."
When Wolka resolved to die, Yulitia had been useless. She had been tossed aside by the Life Reaper, her body frozen in pain and terror.
She was too weak. Her sword, her heart—it was pathetic.
As his only disciple, no amount of regret would ever be enough.
That was why she had to become stronger.
She had to get closer to Wolka's sword and inherit it. She had to prove that his technique had existed. Unless she inherited it, his sword would vanish from the world forever.
And she had to make amends.
From now on.
Everything she could do for Wolka.
What it meant to protect the person she loved.
So that he would never be hurt again.
So that no one would ever take anything from him again.
It would be best if Wolka simply entrusted everything to her.
"Then I can protect you... all of you. Right, Senpai?"
There was no voice to answer her.
In the forest off the main road, the light filtered through the lush branches failed to reach Yulitia's eyes.
If Wolka had been there to hear her, he likely would have been convulsing with his eyes rolled back from a stress-induced stomachache.
/
"Oh, that would be Yulitia-chan. She’s actually taking the same request as you right now."
"Yulitia..."
What a lovely name, the boy thought. It suited that girl, who was like a delicate flower.
When the boy returned to the Guild and explained his failure—glossuring over the part where he had fled from the Goblins—the receptionist gave him a prompt answer.
"Yep. Shorter than you, cherry-blossom hair, and a red-hilted talwar. It couldn't be anyone else."
"Was a girl like that an adventurer in this town?"
"No, she’s visiting from the Holy City."
The boy was surprised, but it made sense.
The Southern Holy City Granfloze—a religious hub about three days by carriage from here, home to the Great Cathedral of the Chryscles Holy Church. It was known as the safest place in the kingdom, one of the two great pillars of the country alongside the Northern Royal Capital Eisen-Vista.
Essentially, she was a high-class adventurer.
"She was alone, but is she a solo?"
"No, she's here with her party, obviously. A little girl like that wouldn't be traveling the world alone."
That was true. But then why was she alone earlier? The receptionist seemed to have the same thought.
"Wait, she was alone? She should have headed out with her party member..."
"...Come to think of it, she said she was looking for someone."
Crap, the boy thought, biting his lip. The person Yulitia had been looking for was her comrade. She had been separated from them and was wandering the forest all by herself. He shouldn't have let her go alone.
However, the receptionist remained nonchalant.
"Well, she'll be fine. Yulitia-chan is in an A-rank party. Monsters on the road are nothing to her."
"A-rank!?"
The boy was stunned. An A-rank party was composed of the elite of the elite. He doubted there were even ten such parties registered in this town's guild.
"But she's around my age..."
"Actually, I think she’s younger than you. Thirteen, if I recall?"
The boy couldn't fathom it. He was two years older and only a D-rank rookie.
Something felt wrong.
"...I have to ask, is that party okay?"
He immediately suspected the worst—that she wasn't a real "comrade," but rather a mascot being used by high-ranking adventurers for her looks.
Female adventurers were rare, and he'd heard plenty of stories about older men picking up young girls just to be the "flower" of the party. According to a veteran he once knew, such scandals were so common they were barely worth mentioning.
If that’s the case, I have to save her—as he was lost in his hero fantasies, the receptionist suddenly smirked.
"My, you're awfully curious. Do you have a crush on Yulitia-chan?"
"Wha—"
His face turned bright red.
"I-It's not like that! That party isn't just the two of them, right?! I just thought... what are the others doing, making a little girl handle requests alone!"
"Nobody's making her do anything."
The receptionist sighed.
"Listen, kid. I get that you've got a lot of questions, but that's just unnecessary meddling. It's nothing like what you're imagining."
Rebuked, the boy pouted.
"...Then what's the deal?"
"Good grief... I can't give you details since it's another party's business." The receptionist lowered her voice. "There was a serious injury in the party, so they're on hiatus. But things like inn fees, food, and donations to the Church for medical treatment cost a fortune, right? So, the person who can still move has to earn their keep. And that person is Yulitia-chan. That's all."
"...I see."
He was somewhat convinced. He knew that money was a necessity and that the Church wasn't a charity. It made sense for party members to support each other.
If she wasn't being forced, then Yulitia was simply a kind-hearted girl working for her friends. It was exactly as he'd thought.
"She really is a sweetheart. Even though the Guild was mostly to blame for what happened, she hasn't said a single word of resentment..."
"Huh?"
The receptionist looked down, whispering something under her breath. By the time the boy tried to ask for clarification, her professional mask was back in place.
"Anyway, that's all I can tell you. Don't pry too much; it's bad manners. And don't get cocky just because she's a quiet girl. If you come on too strong, she'll be totally creeped out! ☆"
"Yeah, yeah."
Waving off the busybody receptionist, the boy walked away. He wouldn't trouble Yulitia, but if her comrades were injured and she was struggling, there was no harm in asking if she wanted to form a temporary party.
He had failed earlier only because he was solo, but he had experience in group play. He'd completed requests with B-rank veterans several times. Even if Yulitia was A-rank, he wouldn't be a burden.
He spent the afternoon organizing his items and eating lunch, waiting for the perfect moment to invite her—
"Senpai, is there anywhere else you'd like to go? Please, just say the word. I'll take you anywhere!"
"O-Oh."
"Hmm... the weather is lovely, so maybe we could relax in the plaza? There's a nice breeze; a nap would feel wonderful... U-Um, by the way, Senpai, there's something I've wanted to try at least once. Well, um... a l-lap pi— ugh, never mind..."
"..."
Yulitia was walking down the street, devotedly pushing a wheelchair carrying a young man he didn't recognize.
She had a smile on her face, her cheeks flushed red like a blooming flower.