The Mob Noble Who Got Reincarnated in a World Where Men Are Naturally Protected—So I Trained Like Crazy to Protect Girls Instead, But Their Love Got Way Too Heavy - Chapter 53 & 54

Chapter 53: A Weak Woman

Vee Garland was considered a poor student even at the Constantine Royal Academy.

The reason was simple.

Her strengths lay in areas the academy didn’t evaluate.

The stealth skills she had trained so hard in with her beloved little brother, Tect—held no value in school.

“Garland? Yeah… for someone from a knight family, she’s kinda weak, huh. Haha.”

“She’s not good at academics or magic either. And she’s from a well-known knight lineage, right?”

“I heard she got into a fight with a guy in class once, and now she’s basically being ostracized. So dumb.”

It was just one step short of bullying.

That said, outside the “school evaluation” environment, those classmates were no match for Vee—

So it wasn’t really a problem.

“S-Stop! W-We were wrong! We’ll apologize, so please—gahh!”

“…Seriously, don’t ever pull something this stupid again, okay?”

Even after beating up the five who had tried to bully her—right there where they had planned it—

The way people looked down on her didn’t change.

And the truth was, Vee didn’t have the power to overturn that perception.

Because in the areas that were valued—swordsmanship, magic, academics—

She really was below average.

And because of that, there wasn’t a single guy who would choose a failing student—or a rebellious girl like her.

So, for an entire year after enrolling at the Constantine Royal Academy, Vee spent her days alone.

Forget about finding a partner—she couldn’t even make proper friends.

It was a hollow year, wrapped in a dull emptiness, with neither joy nor sadness.

The turning point came one year later—when Tect enrolled.

At the entrance ceremony, she had wanted to run up and hug him from behind.

But she didn’t have the courage to defy her terrifyingly strict mother.

Luckily, as early summer began, Tect was the one who found her first.

But—

Maybe because he was handsome, or because he overflowed with talent—

He was already surrounded by three girls.

Seeing that, she thought—

Of course.

There was no way every girl would ignore someone as amazing as Tect just because he was from a knight’s family.

Vee had never believed something that naive.

So she tried to kidnap him—and failed miserably.

Even so, she refused to give up on having him all to herself, and declared to the three girls—

—“I-I won’t accept this! Tec is my little brother! I’ll train harder too and prove that I’m the only one worthy of him!”

After that, Vee struggled desperately.

But it was loss after loss.

She couldn’t match Wiz in intelligence.

She was outclassed by Aegis in wealth.

And Princess Shia had simply fired her.

She knew she was just running in circles.

Even here, nothing was going well.

Sometimes, she even cried about it in private.

Deep down, she already understood.

The only reason she could barely win at all was because she managed to drag others into her own field.

Compared to the girls who had fallen for Tect—

She was inferior.

She knew she should acknowledge them.

That was how she truly felt.

But the inferiority complex smoldering inside her—that restless frustration—refused to let her accept it.

Even though she knew it was simply because her own capacity was lacking.

Still—

The time she spent talking with Tect alone brought her peace.

With him, she could just be herself.

It made her realize—

Being by Tect’s side was where she belonged.

And that made her happy.

It made her want to be useful to him.

—“…If you want it that badly, should I go get it for you?”

She had said that.

Tect had hesitated at first, but he was happy.

And that made her even happier.

So the next morning, she set out at dawn.

Riding her horse, she pushed forward across a long distance.

Even one second sooner—

She wanted to make Tect happy.

That sense of urgency—was probably her mistake.

She had found the sunstone plate—and was on her way back, in high spirits.

“A girl all alone! Easy prey! Even if this is just practice, make sure you hunt her properly!”

“—!?”

Out of nowhere, an arrow flew toward Vee.

It was night.

A narrow path through a dense forest.

From both sides—and the front—more than a dozen bandits appeared, surrounding her.

Normally, Vee wouldn’t have fallen for an ambush like that.

But she had let her guard down, wanting to make Tect happy as soon as possible.

As a result—even after taking down about seventy percent of them—she still lost.

“Hah—hahaha! You’re impressive! Some of them were rookies, sure—but the ones lying there are our veterans, you know? And you took them down alone, at your age!”

The one who spoke stepped forward, illuminated by the moonlight.

Blue hair.

A tall, flexible body—and a powerful build.

A beastkin woman, like a leopard.

“You looked weak at first, but you’ve got guts. I like you. It’d be a waste to just sell you off. How about joining my gang?”

Hearing that, Vee hesitated.

It was the first time anyone outside her family had spoken to her like that—acknowledging her.

The woman before her was fierce—yet strangely bright, smiling like the moon in the night sky.

“I’m Pantera. The ‘Blue Leopard.’ What’s your name?”

To that—

Vee answered—

“I’m not telling~. I’m happy you think highly of me… but if I became a bandit, Tec would hate me.”

“Oh? Is that so? That’s a shame.”

Pantera sighed in disappointment, her tone still light.

Then, as if it were nothing, she struck Vee on the temple—knocking her out.

“Can’t be helped. I’ll sell you off. But I’ll let my crew know about you. If you change your mind, just say the word.”

And just like that, Vee lost consciousness.

Since then, she had been locked in a cell inside the fortress where Pantera’s Blue Leopard Bandits were based.

The only thing on her mind was her little brother.

She couldn’t even fulfill such a small request.

It made her feel pathetic.

Ashamed.

“Sorry, Tec… your big sister’s useless, isn’t she?”

Alone in the darkness of the cell, Vee muttered, her voice trembling as she quietly cried.

“I thought being by your side was where I belonged… but I was wrong… I don’t have a place anywhere…”

No one answered her quiet self-mockery.

Chapter 54: Cutting Through the Night

We stopped our horses along a narrow path deep in a dense forest.

The sun was just about to set.

And in a place like this, that already meant night was close.

In that dim light, I got off my horse, crouched down, and stared at the ground.

“…There are signs of a fight.”

“That’s true. The footprints are scattered everywhere.”

Shia analyzed it calmly.

Meanwhile, Wiz cast a quick spell.

“Search.”

She immediately found something.

“Tect, do you recognize this?”

“Let me see… This is—a fragment of sunstone I gave Fifth sis.”

That confirmed it.

She had been attacked here.

And if nothing else was left around—then there was no doubt.

“Fifth sis… just like we thought, she’s been taken by the bandits.”

We all nodded.

Then Aegis spoke.

“Alright, let’s stick to the plan. The standby team waits near the bandits’ forest fortress. As for the infiltration…”

She looked at me.

“…I’m worried, but I’ll leave it to you, Tect.”

This was the plan Aegis had come up with.

First, I would infiltrate the fortress alone and rescue Fifth sis.

The others would support me from a distance.

The reason was simple—

I was the only one here suited for stealth infiltration.

On the other hand, we had two people capable of providing remote support.

One was Wiz.

Her Blood Rose magic circle had been upgraded to work at range.

In an emergency, it could restrain enemies—and she would have it follow me.

The other was Shia.

Apparently, she could designate coordinates without fully manifesting her phantom.

So if things turned into a fight, the Knight Commander could appear right beside me instantly.

Unfortunately, Aegis couldn’t provide that kind of support.

So she would stay outside the fortress, monitor the situation, and coordinate everything.

And just like that—

I began infiltrating the fortress, more or less on my own.

“Alright… let’s go.”

I raised my left arm and fired the grappling hook.

It latched on—and with a quick pull, I was pulled straight up onto the fortress wall.

“…That mobility of yours is seriously insane. Thinking about enemies using grappling hooks while defending a fortress gives me chills.”

“Well then, I’m going.”

I waved to Aegis and the others—who looked half impressed, half exasperated—then lightly jumped down and slipped inside the fortress.

“Alright… In a place like this, the cells are usually underground. So the entrance to the basement should be…”

Moving lightly, I slipped in through a nearby window and made my way inside.

Walking through the stone interior, I searched for stairs leading down.

Then—

I suddenly stopped.

“Oy, oy! That shady merchant’s coming tomorrow, so hurry up with the preparations! Don’t go causing trouble for an important client! Hah-hah-hah!”

A low, smooth female voice echoed out.

Probably a high-ranking bandit.

I quietly peeked over—

And froze.

“…Everything about her is huge…”

The words slipped out before I could stop them.

Yeah—

She was unbelievably big in every sense, yet still had a sleek, flexible build.

Blue hair.

Feline-like beast ears.

So this was a beastkin…

I looked her over from head to toe.

She had to be over 190 cm tall.

Her chest and hips were massive too, making me swallow reflexively.

Her upper body was barely covered by a strip of cloth, leaving her midriff completely exposed.

Meanwhile, her lower half was wrapped in leopard-patterned tights with cutouts, boldly showing off her thighs.

“…”

What even is she…?

Seriously, what kind of outfit was that?

She was probably the leader of this bandit group—

But that wasn’t even the first thing that came to mind.

W-Well, whatever.

I quietly backed away from the scene—

“Ah.”

“Hm? A male?”

In that instant, I jumped forward.

I lunged at the female bandit in front of me—grabbed her from behind—and swiftly wrapped my arm around her neck, knocking her out.

“G-gh… gaa… aah…!”

“That was close…!”

Women’s bodies were tough against direct injuries or impacts—but surprisingly weak against chokeholds.

So when I had to take someone down barehanded, a choke sleeper worked extremely well.

I gently propped the bandit against a nearby piece of furniture and left the spot.

And just like that, I found a staircase leading underground.

“Alright.”

Keeping my steps quiet, I quickly made my way down.

After a while, I spotted a guard.

I fired my grappling hook up at the ceiling—pssh.

“Hm? Did I just hear something…?”

The bandit looked around, confused.

From above, I watched her while clinging to the ceiling.

Then slowly, I reached down—wrapped my arm around her neck—and lifted her up.

“Ugh… g-gha… ggh…?”

Her body went limp.

I let go, dropping her to the ground, then flipped down and landed lightly.

While I was at it, I grabbed the keys from her.

“Alright… now where’s Fifth sis…”

It looked like she was the only guard here.

I walked along the row of cells.

There were quite a few girls locked up.

Strangely, I didn’t see any men.

Maybe because they mainly targeted travelers—and men usually weren’t even allowed to travel alone.

And then—at the very end—

I found Fifth sis.

“… ”

She was curled up in the corner of the cell, hugging her knees.

Her head was lowered, her body drawn in tight.

I was about to call out—

But if the other captured girls noticed me and caused a scene, that would be trouble.

So I quietly found the key, unlocked the cell, and stepped inside.

If I spoke from within the same cell, it wouldn’t draw attention.

“Fifth sis?”

I called softly as I walked closer.

She flinched.

So she wasn’t asleep.

“Fifth sis.”

I called again, stepping right beside her.

Then I gently shook her shoulder.

“Fifth sis, I came to get you. Let’s get out of here.”

And in response—

“—! Just… leave me alone…!”

She slapped my hand away.

“…Huh?”

I blinked.

Wait—she’s refusing rescue?

Why?

Looking closer, I saw she was trembling, tears streaming down her face.

And suddenly, something from the past surfaced.

Fifth sis spoke.

“I couldn’t even do something that simple for you, Tec… I’m useless…! So just leave me here… Being sold off suits me better anyway…!”

I blinked again.

That feeling of deja vu grew stronger.

The way she was sulking over her own failure—

It looked just like when we were kids, when I used to comfort her.

Without saying anything—

I quietly sat down beside her.

“…That’s why I’m telling you to go away…!”

“Yeah. Sorry.”

I said just that—and didn’t move.

Fifth sis tried to push me away, reaching out with her arms, but I didn’t budge.

Then she muttered—

“…I wish I’d been born a guy.”

“Huh? Why?”

“Because even if you’re useless, you get forgiven… I’m incompetent, weak, and everyone looks down on me. There’s nothing good about me at all…”

“…”

“Being a girl is hard… It’s really tough, you know? Unlike guys, even if you’re struggling, no one helps you. So no matter how painful things get, you just have to grit your teeth and stand back up.”

“Yeah.”

“…I hate myself for saying stuff like this. It’s pathetic. It doesn’t feel like something a girl should say… But this is all I can manage…”

“Yeah.”

“…Just like you say it’d be better if you were born a girl, Tec… I wish I’d been born a guy. God got our genders mixed up. That’s why… that’s why…”

As she kept mumbling—

I said—

“But I like you when you’re trying your best, Fifth sis.”

“Eh…”

With tear-streaked eyes, she looked up at me.

I smiled, reached out—

And gently wiped her tears with my thumb.

“At first, you really were just weak. You even lost to me head-on sometimes. But then we worked hard together—and in that forest free-for-all training, we took everyone down. You remember that, right?”

“…Yeah…”

“Everyone was shocked, remember? Because our team was definitely the weakest. But we changed the rules. With just hiding and surprise attacks, we took everyone out.”

Everyone else was stronger than us.

But we still won—

By doing whatever it took.

“Back then, we were partners. Every time I was in danger, you backed me up again and again.”

“B-But… you helped me just as much too, Tec…”

“Yeah. That’s how we won. I still remember how you were back then—gritting your teeth, training like you were determined to win no matter what.”

“…Tec…”

I stood up.

Then I held out my hand.

“And this time—you didn’t just get caught for nothing, right? The Fifth sis I know would’ve definitely dealt some damage to the enemy. Am I wrong?”

“…Out of the dozen or so who attacked me… I think I took down ten…”

“You took down that many? Then that’s more than enough, isn’t it?”

Why is she even feeling down about this?

I looked at her with half-lidded eyes.

“So—”

I smiled at her.

“Get up, partner. Let’s show those idiots who thought they could just grab you what we’re really capable of.”

“――――!”

Tears spilled from her eyes again.

But this time, she quickly wiped them away and looked up.

The weak, crying girl from before—

Was gone.

“Yeah. Let’s do it, Tec—my partner.”

Fifth sis grabbed my hand.

And together—

We stood up.