The Latest Game Is Too Amazing

Chapter 21: The Chamberlain's Melancholy

At daybreak, when the sun has only just started rising and the skies are still dim, Irene gets out of bed and gets dressed. Rather than her chamberlains outfit, she changes into more casual clothes, an easy-to-move-in shirt and pair of shorts, for her daily sword training. With her short red hair along with her delicate, sharp features that are almost doll-like, her appearance is similar to that of a beautiful male knight, except that her voluminous chest, her well-proportioned limbs, and her beautifully slender legs that would even mesmerize other women give her a certain allure.

She always looks like this when she does sword training and doesnt pay it much attention doesnt have time to care but before, when aristocratic children saw her with this appearance, theyd look her up and down and drool over her. Naturally, she felt a visceral disgust at this, and since then, shes done her training at a time when she would stand out as little as possible. Fortunately, since nobles are still asleep in the early morning, the only ones around are the maids who are busy with morning preparations and the guards whose night shift just ended, so she isnt seen by many people.

Although its early summer, the early morning still feels cool and chilly. When she goes out to the open space she usually uses, she does some light warm-up exercises such as running laps. Once shes done, she wields her training sword. At first, she slowly traces lines through the air repeating one set of movements: swing, thrust, slash, return, assume ready stance. Gradually, as if dancing, she starts to get caught up in the rhythm, increasing her speed.

As she moves at a speed that an amateur would no longer be able to follow, she thinks to herself, Ive been in incredibly good form lately, to the extent that I would have never thought possible for me until now, as if my abilities have improved. Perhaps fighting monsters has brought out my inner strength? Theres no way to tell how much stronger Ive gotten since I havent sparred with anyone since coming to this academy, but even so, havent my sword movements grown quicker? If only I had a suitable opponent As shes lost in thought, she loses her form.

She stops and readjusts her grip on the sword as if to start over, but then, suddenly getting an idea that she wants to try out, she walks over to a tree and kicks it. The tree shakes and several leaves fall around her. She aims for one of them and thrusts her sword three times. When she picks up the fallen leaf, rather than the three holes that should be there, they connect to form one single, large hole.

Hah!

Shes only seen this feat performed once, but it seems that at some point, she became capable of doing it. Seeing the unbelievable extent to which her skills have improved, she couldnt help but let out a laugh.

After finishing training, she cleans herself, puts on her chamberlains outfit, and goes to Alexias room to wake her up. In the past, Alexia would usually stay up late reading, so Irene had a hard time waking her up in the morning, but

Lady Alexia, pardon my intrusion, she says as she knocks and enters the room.

Irene.

Her master is already awake, sitting at her vanity in a negligee as she anxiously looks to Irene. Her hair became a mess in her sleep and her negligee is also disheveled, as if she was in a hurry. Lately, this has become a common sight.

Um, my hair wont stay put. Oh, why wont it stay?

Lady Alexia, please calm down. I will brush your hair for you.

Guessing that shes so panicked that she cant make her hair stay together, Irene takes the brush from Alexias hand and brushes her masters hair. Although her master who is bad with mornings has started waking up on her own and taking less time to get out of bed, in actuality, it has only become more difficult to get her ready in the morning.

Before, Alexia never paid much attention to her appearance or prepared any more than the bare minimum to look presentable, always leaving everything to Irene. Shes lectured her many times to care more about makeup and her appearance, so she should be thrilled that Alexia has finally begun to care. However, considering the circumstances, she has mixed feelings about it.

As she braids her hair and changes into her school uniform, Alexia asks Irene with a weak voice, Irene, does anything look strange? She looks up at Irene through the mirror as if pleading, her eyes wavering with worry.

How many times have you asked me this? Its fine. As long as you put effort into your appearance, youre beautiful, Lady Alexia.

Really? As her master looks back at her over her shoulder, her expression is truly one befitting a girl of her age. Usually, her master rarely showed emotion on her face, so every day, Irene makes new discoveries of expressions she never knew her master could make.

Yes, really. Or do you not believe my words?

N- no, I didnt mean to imply anything of the sort.

If you are this bothered by it, then I humbly request that you tend to your own appearance, Irene says in exasperation.

Oh, youre so mean today, Irene, Alexia says, blushing with embarrassment and puffing out her cheeks, and Irene smiles back at her pouting master.

When Alexia goes to the dining hall to get breakfast, near the entrance, she runs into the noble girls who always gossip about her. They call out to her, most likely intending to make another snide remark.

Oh, Lady Alexia, its been so long. We havent seen you recently, so weve been worried about you. The girls nasty smile frustrates Irene, but Alexia smiles back.

Yes, Im continuing my extracurricular training, so Ive been unable to attend lectures.

Oh dear, is that so?

Oh, you poor thing. But with your abilities, Lady Alexia, Im sure youll finish your extracurricular training soon.

The girls seem to think that Alexia hasnt finished her extracurricular training and is having trouble with it. Unfortunately for them, Alexia has already completed her training assignment, contrary to their expectations. In fact, shes been actively accepting quests almost every day. In terms of grades, Alexia is in another league compared to the other girls who only cleared their assignment. This is true for their abilities as well. The truth of the matter is that the teachers, who struggled to deal with Alexia, are mostly tolerating her since shes been so enthusiastic in her extracurricular training.

The girls spoke sarcastically since they consider Alexia to be on a lower level than them, but Alexia pays this no attention, thanking them and leaving with a curtsy. Shes in such a good mood that she doesnt mind their comments. As she does so, the girls, taken aback by her smile which doesnt have any sort of underside to it, can only watch in stunned silence as she walks away.

After Alexia finishes breakfast, she goes to the school library for independent study. Meanwhile, Irene goes to do other things so she doesnt get in Alexias way. After her late breakfast, she cleans Alexias room, does her laundry, and other such tasks. Chamberlains, who are the nobles personal assistants, usually leave this work to the school maids, but it doesnt take long to do, so the diligent Irene always does it herself. Once shes done, its almost time for extracurricular training, so she heads to the library to call Alexia. Alexia is usually focused on reading when shes in the library, but lately, shes been restless and fidgety whenever this time approaches.

Lady Alexia, I apologize for bothering you while youre busy. Its almost time for extracurricular training, Irene greets her master with a wry smile.

Of course, Ill leave at once, Alexia replies somewhat hurriedly and quickly returns to her room. Seeing how fast shes moving, Irene spontaneously bursts into laughter.

When they get to their meeting place, the Adventurers Guild, Alexias eyes wander all around the room nonstop. Then, she spots him and breaks out into a wide smile. Looking at her, Irene feels that this must be what is meant by a smile that blossoms like a flower. Then, Chaos notices them and gives them a small wave. In the end, they stayed in touch with Chaos even now that theyve completed her extracurricular training assignment.

Teacher, Im sorry to have kept you waiting.

Sorry Im late.

No, we only just got here.

Ever since then, Alexia has been calling Chaos her teacher. Chaos was embarrassed and asked her to stop (and Irene couldnt stop herself from laughing at how flustered he was), but Alexia stubbornly refused and continues to call him that. Since hes her masters mentor, Irene also started to treat him with respect, but Chaos didnt like that, so he talked to Alexia about it and Irene went back to treating him the way she did before. To someone who doesnt know the circumstances, this probably looks like a strange relationship where the chamberlain speaks rudely to her masters mentor.

They depart for the quest at once. Along the way, Alexia and Chaos often engage in friendly conversation. Someone who doesnt know them would probably see this and think they were spending a bittersweet moment together, but the reality is slightly different.

I heard that when the evil god was sealed, people and gods joined forces to seal it. Their battle was so fierce that the people and gods who were present had no choice but to seal it, apparently. It seems that they sealed the evil god by separating the vessel, which is its body, from the soul.

I see, so it was divided into body and soul. I wonder where it was sealed?

The body was sealed in a temple in the north of this world, and the soul was sealed in another world or something.

As Chaos talks about things that Irene has never heard before, Alexia is intrigued, her eyes sparkling with curiosity as she asks questions and prompts him to continue. Today, shes excited to hear about the legend of the evil god. For a conversation between a girl and a boy, there isnt even a bit of romance unfolding. Although she knows that such a relationship is undesirable from a chamberlains perspective, no matter how little Irene knows of romance, shes amazed to find that theres nothing between them, considering how Alexia was this morning. But on closer reflection, Alexia has spent half her life doing nothing but study every day. Unlike other children, she never amused herself with fashion or games, and in terms of conversation topics, all she can manage are stiff conversations about things she learned from books, such as magic or history. There are a lot of things that Irene cant understand no matter how well she listens to their conversation, so in that sense, Chaoss existence as someone who can hold a conversation with her is a valuable one to Alexia.

The monster hunting quests have turned fierce since Irene has started participating now that theyve finally gotten rid of their difference in strength. Monster hunting with Chaos is, in a word, strange. Instead of hunting the minimum number of monsters that the quest requires, it seems that the goal is just to defeat a lot of enemies that they wouldnt be able to win against in a one-on-one fight. Because of this, if each person doesnt sufficiently fulfill their role in their party of only three people, itll put a heavy burden on others. Her role is to use her speed to draw enemies attention and create an opening. Alexia deals with enemies by putting them to sleep and paralyzing them, limiting the number of attacking enemies, and Chaos basically annihilates them all at once.

Alexias magic is now indispensable to their partys fights, and she seems to be aware of this, the sense of accomplishment showing on her face. The fact that until recently she was mocked as talentless almost doesnt seem real anymore. Its become a daily routine to spend three or four hours doing this and then part ways with Chaos at the Adventurers Guild.

The more she thinks about it, Chaoss existence is incredibly important for Alexia. Until now, she was nothing more than a wingless, flightless bird. Chaos is undoubtedly the one who became her wings. Considering this, its no wonder that Chaos, the one who saved her, holds a special place in her heart. Its also true that, as a chamberlain, she wants to see how far this bird whos just begun to flap her wings will fly. However, if she and Chaos become lovebirds

Lady Alexia, what does Chaos mean to you? Irene asks Alexia when they return to Alexias room at the academy.

Teacher is, well Hes a trustworthy mentor, a reliable older brother to me, I suppose.

Perhaps since she lost her familys affection as a young girl, she cant tell if what shes feeling is romantic love or not? From Irenes point of view, its most likely

Since shes the daughter of a count, she could never be with Chaos, who is only a commoner. If she notices that fleeting desire, it surely wont be long until she realizes this and is overcome with sadness. Normally, in Irenes position, she should prevent this by advising Alexia not to become close with Chaos.

However, doing that would be like plucking the wings of a bird thats just begun to fly though the sky. If Alexia loses Chaos, her progress will come to a halt. Considering the harsh environment that Alexia has been in for all these years, Irene cant make a decision. She just wants these tender moments to last as long as possible. She also thinks that, as a person, Chaos would be better for her than all those noble boys who never lent her a hand during difficult times. Though, since hes only a peasant, the jealousy towards him wouldnt die out easily.

What should I do about this situation?

The red-haired chamberlains misery has not yet brightened.