My Childhood Friend Told Me to Go Marry the Most Beautiful Woman in the Kingdom, So I Seriously Started Improving Myself—and Somehow Ended Up Making Women Fall Hard - Chapter 15: Misplaced Resentment

Chapter 15: Misplaced Resentment

My training with the Second Knight Order came to an end.

The morning paperwork hell. Lunch at the cafeteria. Afternoon training. Nighttime special training. Even that unreasonable sword of hers…

All of it had blended into my daily life so naturally—and then, all of a sudden, it stopped.

According to trainee regulations, I was given a few days off until my next knight order assignment was decided.

A break.

A knight order vacation—my first one ever.

But just resting didn’t sit right with me.

My body kept craving a sword. My head kept craving the smell of the battlefield.

So I decided to head out as an adventurer.

I’d registered back when I was a student.

Back then, I was desperate to gather materials for Rina’s research.

Honestly, the reason my fighting style took shape at all was because I kept hunting different monsters to collect their materials.

And now, after having survival tactics drilled into me by the commander, there was no better place to test them than out here.

Not just my sword. Magic too.

I wanted to use everything I had.

The morning air of the royal capital was cold.

I left the lodging, slipped through the back alleys, and headed for the Adventurers’ Guild.

My gear was lighter than usual.

A sword. A dagger. Leather armor. A small pouch.

Inside were fire starters, cloth, rope, a water flask, and some light food.

The bare minimum for an adventurer—I knew that much.

Survival isn’t about flashy swords.

It’s about small tricks and preparation.

At the guild, I looked over the requests.

“Ramune. Hey, don’t run—it’s dangerous.”

“Y-Yes!”

While I was choosing a job, a beastwoman spoke to a small girl.

The girl looked like she admired mages—she wore a robe and held a staff.

“Both of you, quiet now.”

An elf woman followed behind them, gently scolding the pair.

A three-woman adventurer party was rare.

I could feel the men around them staring.

Not my problem. 

I picked a low-risk extermination request.

Thinning monsters in the forest—simple, and just right.

Outside the capital. The smell of trees grew stronger. The ground softened. Bird calls faded into the distance.

That tense air reminded me of the silence before combat on the training grounds.

Beasts were hiding.

My skin prickled, and I stopped. My throat went dry. A gaze stabbed into my back.

…It was coming.

The next instant, the air split.

Hyun—!

I dropped my body on reflex.

Mixed in with the beast’s presence, an arrow sliced past just beside my shoulder.

A dry thunk echoed as it buried itself in a tree somewhere.

My breath returned—one beat late.

“…!”

An arrow?

Not a monster—this was a human.

And worse, he was aiming straight at me.

I didn’t run. If I did, I’d just get shot in the back.

The fact that he attacked in the forest meant he had something to hide too.

I slipped into the shade of a tree and drew my sword.

I brought my dagger up in a reverse grip and slowed my breathing.

I listened. 

Grass being stepped on. Boot soles scraping dirt. Heavy breathing. Footsteps thick with anger.

About twenty paces away. From behind the tree, I threw my voice out.

“Who are you!? I’ve got plenty of people who dislike me, but I don’t think I’ve earned the kind of hatred that gets me killed on sight!”

Even back when I was with Rina, I’d been resented by people—but never enough to be murdered.

The reply sounded almost beastlike.

“Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!”

A man stepped out from between the trees.

I recognized the cloak.

Third Knight Order colors.

Bloodshot eyes.

A quiver. A bow. A sword at his waist.

…Ah. This guy.

The one from the Third Knight Order who’d come to complain to the commander.

The one who’d been crushed by her on the training grounds and run away—wearing that cowardly grin.

Now he wasn’t smiling.

His face was twisted, muscles pulled tight, nothing left but raw anger.

“Because of you, I lost my position in the Third Knight Order! I’ll never forgive you!”

The forest air trembled.

I let out a slow breath.

…So this was misplaced hatred.

Simple. And annoying.

But this too was probably one of the consequences of my actions.

“The reason you lost your position is because you didn’t do your job.”

“Shut up! Shut up! Shut uuuup!! Shut the hell up!!”

He drew his bow.

His aim—my torso.

The arrow flew.

I kicked off the tree’s shadow and jumped sideways.

The arrow slammed into the ground.

No pause. A second shot.

A different angle this time—aimed at my legs.

I knocked it aside with my dagger.

A sharp metallic clang.

Fast—but rushed.

The arrow’s path was sloppy.

“I won’t let you get close!”

The man stepped back while nocking another arrow.

He meant to keep his distance and shoot me dead.

Then I’d mess with that distance.

I lowered my palm toward the ground.

“Mist.”

A thin fog spread along the forest floor.

Not thick enough to block vision—but enough to mess with depth perception.

With a bow, once your sense of distance slips, you miss.

“You and your tricks…!”

Irritation crept into his voice as he stepped forward.

The instant he did, I sent a weak flow of air at his feet.

“Wind.”

The fog shifted. Leaves rustled. Sounds scattered.

His ears hesitated. Where was I? From where?

I wasn’t anywhere he could see.

Using the trees, I circled around him.

The commander’s sword style was straight and overwhelming.

If I faced him head-on, I’d lose.

So I learned something else—how to survive.

I didn’t run. I erased my presence. I shortened my steps. Killed my sound.

Even my breathing stayed shallow.

I slipped in behind him. I stopped there.

…If I cut him now, it would be over.

But if I ended it the wrong way, I’d cross over to the side of killers.

So instead of swinging my sword—I spoke.

“Stop.”

“…Where are you!? Show yourself!!”

The man spun around.

That instant, I closed the distance.

Drop the bow—or draw the sword.

He hesitated.

That was enough.

I didn’t cut him.

I struck his wrist with the pommel of my dagger.

The bow fell. He tried to draw his sword.

I raised my palm immediately.

“Clean.”

I scrubbed his gloves and the hilt spotless.

Oil. Sweat. Friction—gone.

He couldn’t grip it.

“Wha—!?”

The sword wouldn’t come free.

Even if it did, he couldn’t hold it.

His fingers fumbled.

“Light!”

“Gah—my eyes…!”

I stole his vision.

In that heartbeat, I smashed the flat of my blade into his jaw.

The shock rang through bone.

He dropped to one knee.

Still—he didn’t fall.

Teeth clenched, standing on nothing but rage.

“I’ll kill you…!”

I exhaled. …Still going, huh.

Without looking down, I fed magic into the ground with one hand.

“Clean.”

My footing. His footing.

The surface of dirt and leaves smoothed instantly.

Dry ground turned slick.

He stepped in—and slipped half a beat late.

His weight shifted wrong.

The sword came down, but the swing was sloppy.

I slipped aside and stepped into his guard.

“Even a knight who neglects training won’t gain strength. You dumped work on the commander—and lost your own ability along with it. Burst!”

I wouldn’t kill him.

But pain—he could have that.

The blast detonated at his abdomen.

He flew back—and still tried to lift his head.

“A knight who loses to a trainee doesn’t have any right to call himself one. Just retire already and go back to the countryside, old man.”

I kicked him hard in a very important place.

“Gwah—?!”

Foam spilled from his mouth as he passed out cold.

♢

It was a pain, but I dragged the man over to the Second Knight Order’s training grounds.

The commander didn’t seem to be around, so I went to Vice-Commander Bind instead.

“What’s this guy?”

“I got attacked out of pure spite.”

“…I see. Got it. Leave the rest to me.”

“Are you sure?”

“You’re the one who changed the Second Knight Order. I’m grateful to you—for real.”

“Grateful?”

The bald, over-two-meters-tall, rough-looking old man grinned.

“You’re a brat, but you’ve got promise. Once your training’s over, join the Second Knight Order. I’ll whip you into shape—so be ready.”

“That sounds absolutely awful.”

I didn’t know what Vice-Commander Bind planned to do with the man, but at least I’d managed to hand over the one who attacked me.

That was when it finally sank in.

This time—everything was really over.

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[Afterword]

Hello, this is the author, Iko.

I ended up writing all the way through in one go.

In a way, this marks the end of Act 01.

This was the Adelheid arc.

This work was submitted to Kakuyomu Contest 11.

If you enjoyed it, I’d be happy if you followed, left a ⭐ review, or gave it a ♡ like.

Thank you very much for reading.