I Raised the Villain's Daughter Too Well-Chapter 48: Didn’t Know! -

No one knew why she killed herself, but the unit without their commander should have been a disorganized mess...

It wasn’t.

“Fire! She went that way!”

“...Nothing’s changed?!”

As arrows rained down with a fwoosh-thwip-thwap, I hid behind the storage building and tried to calm a whining Emily.

“Well, it’s not like they’re getting some kind of buff from above. Just think of it as a shift from impossible to difficult difficulty.”

“This isn’t just difficult...!”

“Exactly. It’s practically easy.”

“What?”

I had some confidence in guerrilla warfare.

That’s the nature of my swordsmanship—tailored precisely for such tactics.

“There! Over there!”

I broke cover and charged straight at the advancing squad.

They’d already suffered losses, so the moment they saw me, they twitched in panic and thrust their spears. A few nocked arrows immediately. Their formation was textbook perfect—maybe they really were elite soldiers, not just in name.

But—I’m always faster.

“Aaaaagh!! Magic again! It’s magic again!!”

“How the hell can he cast that fast in the middle of combat...?!”

I took down a few who lunged at me, slashed my sword a few times, and burst steam clouds.

Once vision was blocked, I retreated instantly. They’d never find me...

Every successful hit only made their coordination sharper.

Soon I’d be surrounded, so I rolled back into the warehouse Emily was covering and reassessed the battle.

“Next cover—please support me.”

“Ah, got it.”

This time, I slipped into the stable using the steam as cover. With my sword drawn, I watched the squad’s next movement—

Emily twitched and muttered a question.

“At this point... can’t you just clear out the entire command post alone?”

“You’re giving way too much credit to a mere butler.”

“...Come on. Be honest. You’re no butler.”

“You’re right.”

Guerrilla warfare becomes impossible once there’s a watcher.

If someone above is relaying my location in real-time, I’m finished.

In the end, guerrilla tactics rely on the only advantage the few have over the many: an imbalance of information.

Lose that—and you lose everything.

“Once we clear the next squad, we’ll head toward the entrance. Reuniting with Arin is the top priority, so if you see her—say so immediately.”

“Think she’s still alive?”

“Don’t jinx it.”

“Wha—what? You used her °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° as a decoy too.”

“I’m not that kind of trash.”

...Though she wasn’t wrong.

Arin still hadn’t fully healed her injuries.

Why? I didn’t know. Wounds in a mana space weren’t real ones, so they should’ve healed quickly unless they were truly deep.

Anyway, she wouldn’t be disqualified unless—

—we took too long.

To this day I don’t know why, but Sephennity committed suicide just minutes after our first encounter.

With the time we saved, Arin would endure. I believed that.

“Backup! Requesting backup—”

“Gaaagh...”

And Arin rewarded my belief far beyond expectation.

“Haa, haa...”

Dust swirled violently around her, like a sandstorm.

In this mana space, that dust was made entirely of the soldiers’ corpses.

Pierced, slashed, and impaled—her wounds grotesquely reflected her struggle—but she smiled.

“Ah, Virdem...”

“...You okay?”

She didn’t look okay at all, but I asked anyway—for formality’s sake.

Arin smiled in satisfaction, as if completely content, and lowered her sword with a sigh.

“Yeah. I feel great right now.”

“Because you got to kill people as much as you wanted?”

“No.”

It was a joke, but she took it seriously.

“I think... I’ve figured something out...”

“D-Die!!!”

Then it happened.

A soldier, who had collapsed and was turning to dust, suddenly got up with a dagger and lunged at Arin’s back.

“H-Hey...!”

Maybe some sense of camaraderie kicked in, because Emily hastily drew her sword.

I didn’t bother.

From Arin’s aura alone, I could tell—even if I went all out to kill her right now, I wouldn’t break through.

“It’s okay. I got it.”

“Wha—”

Arin lightly shifted her step.

She moved along a path no sword should be able to follow—and yet reached exactly where she needed to.

That elegant motion, containing only the bare minimum needed to achieve the result, produced the impossible: a counter faster than the initial strike.

Slice.

“Guhhk...!”

It was a blow beyond description—a miracle.

Even the soldier, made only of mana traces, died with a stunned expression.

“...Huh?”

“...”

Emily stared at Arin with a face that screamed: what the hell did I just watch?

I shuddered silently.

It had shown even before the exam began—just a glimpse.

If she hadn’t lied, if she had really swung her sword ten thousand times without knowing anything, she had somehow grasped a shape nearly identical to the right answer humanity reached after millennia of martial refinement.

But... this was different.

I’d seen countless sword styles. But never one this perfect. This beautiful.

To think she reached this level from just a few hours of combat?

No, it’s not growth. It’s evolution.

“You...”

“Yeah?”

Firnea had unmatched talent in magic.

Arin—had the same in swordsmanship.

Maybe even more than Firnea—

...No, not quite. I shook my head to clear the thought.

She was helpful. That’s all that matters.

I reached out and gently patted Arin’s dust-caked head in praise.

“You held out well. Thanks to you, I was able to clean up easily.”

“Mmm...”

Arin closed her eyes, clearly enjoying the gesture—then suddenly jolted and darted back, eyes wide.

“What’s wrong?”

“I, um...”

She fidgeted awkwardly, murmuring:

“We were fighting, so I was sweating...”

“...There’s no sweat in a mana space. And even if there was, so what?”

“It matters!”

Weirdly, the reply came from Emily.

She glared at me as if I'd just committed a crime.

“You have zero awareness. Do you even understand girls at all? And you touched her?!”

“Huh?”

Touched? What?

Oh—she meant the head pat.

...Can’t I be a little affectionate? What’s the problem?

“What’s wrong with that? It’s not like I did anything lewd.”

“Not lewd?! Are you insane?!”

Emily flushed with anger like a madwoman, then turned to Arin.

“Hey. Commoner.”

“My name’s Arin.”

“Whatever. Take this.”

Emily pulled a silver case from her inner pocket and tossed it to her.

Arin caught it easily, looked at it curiously—and popped it in her mouth.

“Wha—what are you doing?!”

“Didn’t know what it was.”

“So you ate it? Are you an animal?!”

“I’m human.”

“...Why the serious face? Open the cap and spray it—it's a magical item that neutralizes body odor. If you’re going to fight in a woman’s body, you obviously need to carry one around.”

“What nonsense is this? Why would I carry something that useless?”

“Hmph, you really don’t know anything, do you?”

Emily let out a scoffing laugh, like she pitied my ignorance.

“I could stake my family name that even your mistress carries one. Even if you’re a butler, you’re still a guy, huh.”

“...”

I wanted to flick her on the forehead, but if she was confident enough to bet her family name on it, then odds were it was true. So I stayed quiet.

Arin fiddled with the magic item, found the cap, opened it, sprayed her face, and sniffed.

Then she looked at Emily and gave her a faint smile.

“Thanks.”

“...Don’t get the wrong idea. It’s not like I gave it to you because I like you or anything.”

To hear that line in real life...

Come to think of it, this was probably the first real conversation between Emily and Arin.

I’d assumed Emily would never even treat a commoner like a person—but maybe fighting side by side had built a little camaraderie.

“And forget about that trash. I’m saying this for your sake.”

“No.”

...Or maybe she was just trying to recruit someone else to join her in hating me.

****

The outpost assault was still underway.

After reuniting, I thought maybe Arin needed to rest, given her injuries...

“I’m fine. Totally fine.”

“That can’t—wait, you kind of are?”

Surprisingly, most of the wounds I’d seen on her before had already healed.

That she healed fast wasn’t weird in itself. She used abilities close to magic, so fine.

But earlier they weren’t healing at all—then after she fought more and got more injuries, suddenly she was fine?

Healing from fighting?

...What even is this creature? Some kind of alien warrior race?

“Well, in any case, the fact she can fight right now is good for us. Arin probably still needs rest, so let’s clean up the remaining stragglers as quickly as possible.”

“Mm.”

“Got it... Wait, why are you giving orders all naturally now?”

“Let’s move before they spot us.”

Now that we had a shock trooper, our speed skyrocketed.

“This is insane...! That freak of a girl!!”

“She’s human.”

We just threw Arin in head-on and kept the enemy distracted from the sides, making sure no one could focus entirely on her—

And everything got wrecked.

I wasn’t even sure you could still call this guerrilla warfare.

We just stared from afar, mouths hanging open.

“...Yeah, I couldn’t pull that off.”

“Agreed.”

Originally, we were only planning to use her as bait while we landed the real blows. She was still technically injured, after all.

But there was no need.

Arin was like a blender, shredding every soldier who charged her without a single miss.

Maybe this was what Lü Bu or Xiang Yu looked like in their prime—for the enemy, it must’ve been straight-up horror cinema.

“Shit—what is this?!”

When there were about ten enemies left, I figured we didn’t need distractions anymore and started moving in to assist.

But Arin held up her hand quietly to stop me.

“Let me finish alone.”

“Uh... why?”

“I think... I’m about to understand more.”

That focused look—like a swordswoman on the verge of enlightenment.

She still wanted to push further?

I nodded with a grim expression.

“...Fine.”

Even if they were just made of mana, I was starting to feel sorry for the enemy soldiers.

Emily crossed her arms, watching Arin with satisfaction.

“...I don’t really get it, but she’s crazy fast! We’ll probably have time left over once this is done.”

“Yes. I think we’ll be able to rest until the exam ends.”

“What?”

Emily frowned at me.

“Why rest? We should go after more outposts.”

“Clearing the command post alone gives us enough points to land in the top ten.”

“And you’re okay just settling at 7th or 8th? Aim higher!”

She really didn’t get why I targeted the command post in the first place.

“Lady Emily.”

“...W-What? Why the change in tone?”

“There seem to be more enemies than we expected.”

“Huh?”

“Lady Elija and Lady Cysphia are looking for you.”

“...What?!”

Emily’s eyes bulged, and she grabbed my shoulders, shaking me hard.

“Why are they looking for me?! Wait—where would they even see me?!”

“We ran into them while escaping from Lady Olvesia. They tried to extract your information from me. I didn’t tell them, but they’re likely searching the area.”

I kept eye contact with her as she clutched my shoulders.

“And I think you know better than I do why they’re looking for you.”

“...”

Emily clenched her teeth.

“...If it comes to a fight, do we have a chance?”

“The two ladies themselves aren’t too dangerous, but Takraphision is with them. They have the numbers. We might be able to fight if we use Arin well—but is that a risk you really want to take?”

“Ugh...”

From her perspective, this was a hard-won opportunity.

She wouldn’t be foolish enough to throw it away.

In the end, her trembling eyes gave in.

“...Fine. Once we’re done here, we’ll stay put until the exam ends.”

“A wise decision.”

I offered the compliment as a formality—and then sighed. freewēbnoveℓ.com

“...Not like we really have a choice, though.”

“?”

A sound we weren’t supposed to hear was approaching.

Likely the final trial of this exam.

The sound of wagon wheels.