Chapter 88: The Strength of Guardians, Part 1
On the day when the school had a day off, the two of them arrived early as invited.
"Fii-chan, thanks for inviting us today."
"Your Highness, thank you for inviting us today."
When the two arrived at the castle, they entered the room where the princess was waiting and said so.
"It's been a while since Fii-chan invited me to stay overnight. I was starting to wonder if she'd ever invite me again. I was talking to Tiana-chan about it, you know?"
"We've been busy since we started school, so it was hard to invite each other. Besides, we've been together at school for a long time, so I thought it would be different to meet outside with Jun and the others. That's why I decided to invite you."
As the princess said that, Miriana looked at us and said, "Jun-kun and Kuro told me! Thank you," expressing her gratitude.
Currently, Chloe and I are disguised as Jun and Kuro, serving as bodyguards for the princess at school.
We also informed the castle's soldiers and attendants of this, and they are treating us as "Jun and Kuro, the princess's bodyguards" for the day.
"Your Highness, the room hasn't changed much over the years, has it? It's rather plain, with only things for daily life."
"It's fine, isn't it? Besides, Tiana's room still has lots of stuffed animals, right? I know that."
"Th-that's... Well, it has reduced compared to before!"
"But I heard there are still a lot on your bed, right? And I know that you can't sleep without your teddy bear. Most of the stuff in that big bag over there is probably teddy bears, right?"
The princess said this while looking at the bag Tiana brought with her, and Tiana blushed and exclaimed, "That's not true!" while trying to hide it with her body.
"Those two are so different at school and at home..."
"Tiana-chan is usually strict, right? Fii-chan, if she gets the chance, she'll give Tiana-chan a taste of her own medicine. Well, she ends up getting scolded later, though."
As Miriana's words suggested, the princess's attack turn ended quickly, and now it was Tiana's turn to scold her.
During that time, Chloe and I chatted with Miriana and waited for the scolding to end.
"Tiana-chan, is the scolding over?"
"Yes, that's enough for today. I'm sorry for making you wait."
Tiana, with a relieved expression, said that, and the princess, who had called the two of us, immediately regretted it.
Afterward, they had tea, and the princess conveyed the main reason for calling them this time.
"Huh! Jun-kun and the others will show us their strength?"
"Yes, because both of you were so insistent, they agreed as a thank-you for getting along with us for the past two months. Tiana is just an extra."
"What do you mean by 'extra'? ...But honestly, I've been curious about both of your strengths, so I'm grateful that you called us."
Miriana was delighted, and while Tiana seemed a bit dissatisfied with the princess's words, she said nothing.
The princess, still a bit sulky from the scolding...
"Your Highness, if you say it like that, you'll get scolded again..."
"It's alright, I understand the princess's feelings, so I'll talk to you more when we have time."
In response to my warning, the princess smiled at Tiana, seemingly unafraid.
But when Tiana glared at her, she flinched and shouted, "I'm not scared!" using a cushion as a shield. Is it okay for the princess to show herself like this?
"Well, we'll show you our strength, but don't expect too much. Both Kuro and I are still inexperienced compared to you and the princess, with three years younger."
With that, I added a disclaimer and then moved with the princess to the training ground we usually use for practice.
Normally, soldiers and others would also train here, but today, since it had been announced in advance that the princess would use it, no one else was present.
"I specialize in swordsmanship and magic. Which one would you like to see?"
"Um... I think I'd like to see swordsmanship. I've always wanted to see Jun-kun's swordsmanship, especially."
"I'm curious about magic, but since Miriana-san requested it, I'll be patient and watch it later."
After hearing their preferences, Chloe and I each took a training sword and decided to engage in a simulated battle.
"Jun-kun, take it easy on me. I haven't been doing this much lately."
"Yeah, I know. I'll use a different style than usual, so it should be fine."
With that, Zef, who was acting as the referee, as well as the overseer for this discussion, gave the signal to start.
"Huh! You caught me off guard with that speed right from the beginning!"
Right from the start, Chloe suddenly closed in on me with incredible speed and launched an attack.
"Early bird catches the worm. If I let it become Jun-kun's pace, I won't win! Even though it's just a simulated battle, I don't want to lose!"
Chloe, like that, increased her speed even more and launched a fierce attack.
However, I parried all her attacks and gradually took control of the pace.
"Ju-Jun-kun, your attack speed is faster than before?"
"Well, I've been training, after all. And I can put more power into it."
"Whoa!"
So, overwhelmed by my pace, Chloe surrendered by having her sword knocked out of her hand.
"Wow, amazing! Jun-kun's movements are really something! And Chloe-chan, I'm surprised she can keep up with Jun-kun's incredible movements!"
"We used to be evenly matched..."
In response to Miriana's compliments, Chloe seemed a bit down and said so, and Miriana said, "You're cute when you're down," and hugged her.
As I watched the two of them, Tiana-san approached me and stared at me.
"Um, is something the matter?"
"Well, I do think your swordsmanship is amazing... but I can't help but feel that your magical power is quite high. Is swordsmanship really your specialty, considering that?"
"Well, it's a secret. I've been told to hide my abilities, even by my family. I only showed you this because I trust Miriana-san and the others, so please don't spread it around."
"I promise I won't... but if you have this much magical power at your age, your father should know, shouldn't he?"
Tiana, with a slightly suspicious look, had been observing us. It's really surprising that she noticed, even though she couldn't possibly know my skill level just by looking at my magic.
"In that regard, it's a secret. I've been told to keep my abilities hidden, so I only showed it to you because I trust Miriana-san and the others. Please don't spread it."
"I won't... but with this much magical power, your
father should know, right?"
Tiana couldn't possibly overlook a magician like us, even her own father.
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