Strongest Survival by Otome Game’s Heroine

Holiday at Capital

「So troublesome……」

「Eh, why do you dislike it?」

Seo got called once more to Leyton House’s secondary residence in the capital in order to accompany Aria’s “holding back” training and to see just how much she had recovered from the injury that she got during the outdoor field trip. He reflexively asked back in respond to the mutter that Aria leaked out.

「There, an opening.」

「Uwah」

She drew close to him using only a walking technique that didn’t cause her uniform’s long skirt to sway. Then she lightly kicked the back of his knee and made him stumbled. Seo who was wearing his butler uniform fell on his back on the garden’s lawn.

「Uu~~」

Seo couldn’t ask her to go easy on him. Although Aria was an adopted child, she was older than him and a powerful fighter who could even conquer a dungeon or drive away rank 5 assassin, but Seo wished to surpass her in various senses. Because she was a “girl” who he wanted to confess at when he was able to do so.

「Don’t lose focus. You will get surrounded by ogre and die on your own like that.」

「No no, normally you will definitely die when getting surrounded by multiple ogres on your own okay?」

Seo felt dizzy seeing just how far he still had to go.

Seo felt like the sense of distance between the two of them had shrunk since they became family, but the gaze that he felt from Aria was just like [a big sister who was warmly watching a naughty little brother]. Seo was dissatisfied by that.

Aria offered her hand to him. He took it and stood up while thinking that he almost caught up to her if it was in height. Just a little bit more……he psyched up himself in his heart.

「……And, what is “troublesome”? It’ll make it easier to protect her highness as a baron daughter rather than baronet daughter right?」

「I got pestered.」

Aria answered like that as though it was only natural after Seo asked her once more.

Layton House had gotten promoted from being a baronet house which was a low noble rank to baron house which was a middle noble rank.

From the start Aria who had the position as the princess’s only attendant despite coming from a low ranked noble house was in a position where she could be easily pestered by high ranked noble. A noble could be promoted in rank by making achievement but, promotion from low rank to middle rank, or from middle rank to high rank was something that rarely happened. The middle ranked nobles who came from noble houses with long history must find themselves offended by it.

Layton House was a house with black ops lineage. Sera was one of the people in charge of the palace’s security and she had received very high evaluation for her work from the start. The case with Aria was nothing more than an impetus for the promotion, but to the noble houses that didn’t know anything, it must looked like the promotion was because of the princess’s favoritism.

And then the most troublesome thing was…….

「I heard from Sera. It looks like there are several marriage proposals being send my way.」

「Eh!?」

A girl from low ranked noble house serving as the princess’s maid wouldn’t get that many problems.

Aria was an adopted daughter of a low ranked noble house, so there shouldn’t be anyone who thought of using her as political piece. But, with her now coming from a middle ranked noble house, it was only natural that noble houses that wanted to have connection with the upper echelon of the country were having their eyes on Aria who was intimate with the princess.

Perhaps Elena was protecting Aria from that but, the problem wasn’t there. The promotion came to be as a reward directly from the king himself because of the incident last time, which made it harder for Aria to stop being a noble easily now.

「I don’t wanna Aria getting engaged with other noble!」

「I’m not planning to from the start.」

Rather, it would be Seo who would have it harder from now on because he was now the heir of a baron house.

He also had good look and personality. Surely a lot of female students would approach him when he enrolled into the academy next year.

It seemed that even now there were already senior female students who got their eye on him despite him not being a student……that was what Aria heard from Chloe. She thought him pitiful for being distracted by the engagement talk of his “big sister” and not realizing that.

Although Chloe who was telling Aria about that would want to sigh if she saw Aria not noticing Seo’s feeling even after he was talking like that.

「Anyway, I’ll try asking Kaa-san about that-! Also Aria, you shouldn’t move too much yet. I have to get back to the academy already but, ask someone to accompany you when going into the city okay?」

「Got it.」

.

「……And that was why you called me?」

「Yes.」

Following the warning of her “little brother”, Aria looked for someone to accompany her, but the number of her friend was catastrophic, and she also couldn’t possibly ask a maid of Leyton House to accompany her because who knew when she would get attacked. In the end he chose Feld who was hanging around in the adventurer guild where he could be easily contacted.

By the why the elf Miranda also felt like someone who would have nothing to do, but currently she was going out touring for sweets in the capital. Aria didn’t even know where she was.

「Well, that’s fine but……you’re looking like a real “lady” now after I took off my eyes from you.」

「That so?」

Perhaps he was taken aback. Her atmosphere was different from the gallant atmosphere when she was just an adventurer. The way she cutely tilted her head made Feld slightly didn’t know where to look.

There was also how the maid of Leyton House had put a light makeup on her as the young lady of the house. But perhaps the biggest reason he was taken aback was his realization that she was putting her trust on him.

「And, where are you going?」

「Gelf’s shop.」

「……Again huh.」

If asked what places Aria would visit in the capital, it would obviously be the weapon shop, the adventurer guild, or Gelf’s shop. And the male faction of Rainbow Sword wasn’t good with dealing with the owner of that shop. His existence was traumatizing to them.

Feld felt like he wanted to sigh a little when Aria mentioned their destination dispassionately.

「Well, that’s alright……」

It couldn’t be seen from her appearance but Aria’s legs still hadn’t recovered completely. So it would certainly be better for her to have a baggage carrier accompanying her.

Certainly Aria had few acquaintances but, there should be a lot of man who volunteered if she asked for it. At the same time it was easy to imagine that almost none of them wouldn’t have any ulterior motive.

(……I guess that’s why it must be me.)

Aria’s appearance had grown to such degree. Even if his partiality as her comrade was subtracted, Feld too understood that Aria’s look was in the top category.

「Then let’s go. To Gelf’s shop.」

「Right.」

Feld said that thinking that it couldn’t be helped because this was Aria. Then he turned his back on her. Aria lightly hopped and put her upper body on his shoulder right at that very moment.

「……Oi」

「My legs are injured.」

「……That’s true.」

She should be able to walk normally if she could get on his shoulder so easily without giving away her presence, or, they could simply use carriage in the first place. Such thoughts crossed his mind but, it was pointless to say them at this point, so Feld allowed Aria to do as she pleased.

He didn’t dislike carrying Aria on his shoulder, but it made him felt complicated. That was because Feld had a complicated circumstance.

Feld didn’t come from a commoner background. He was born from a noble house with territory located at the southeast from the capital, near the border.

The house in the past was known as a warrior house, but now not a trace of it still remained. There were only civil official leaning people in it. But then Feld exhibited extraordinary talent in swordsmanship in such environment.

It had been decided that his older brother would inherit the territory, but the old people who missed the old day started recommending Feld to take the headship, so Feld decided on his own will to join an adventurer guild that was friendly with his father. He did it before he became of age.

Feld had already reached rank 4 when he became grown up. He was clearly abnormal from other people’s perspective.

Feld’s comrades in Rainbow Sword were all stronger than him, but that was the result of training and real battle experience through a long time.

People like Feld with strength to scatter soldiers during his teenage were special. Until now Feld had constantly lived under the gazes of people who envied and considered him strange.

He met Aria at such time. At first she was still a kid who was dressed like a boy, but the next time he met her, she shocked him so much that it blew away that past impression that he had almost forgotten.

A beautiful girl with rank 4 strength and the appearance of a grownup commoner. He finally found a “kindred” like him with strong power.

But, who could possibly imagine that such girl was still a “kid” whose age was around ten years old?

Their encounter was a mistake. He should have noticed it when the playboy Viro was treating Aria as an [immature girl] rather than a [young girl].

The pretty girl who Feld recognized as his equal was a “kid”, but his first impression of Aria and her sublime strength hindered him to look at Aria as a kid.

In addition the “girl” side and “childish” side that she alternately showed to him with randomness were baffling him.

Aria was actually a kid so he tried to treat her like one but, although Aria never loosened up in front of her teacher Viro, the defenseless face as a girl that she displayed in front of Feld easily broke into his heart.

Feld felt relieved when he heard her reason for that was [because he was like her father that made her felt a peace of mind], at the same time it also allowed Aria to break further into his heart. It made him got stuck with even more complicated feeling than before.

.

「Ooh my, welcome Aria-chan. You have become prettier again. Feld-kyun too, your muscles are always growing to be lovelier and lovelier every time.」

「O-ou」

The rock dwarf Gelf appeared as soon as Aria and Feld arrived. He was wearing a dress that was made from glossy leather. The dress clung tightly on his whole body. The look overwhelmed Feld and he greeted him back falteringly.

「The tights you gave me had gotten soaked with blood, so I want to have them looked after. Also the reward from the kingdom has come out so I want to order a spare. Also are the shoes I ordered finished?」

「……You’re really an unwavering child eh.」

Yeah really¸ Feld thought while nodding deeply.

For some reason Gelf’s expression became like a clown whose performance got ignored by the kids. He accepted the transparent tights that Aria handed to him and started scrutinizing it with a craftsman face.

「You had been reckless again hadn’t you? Even the mythril’s silver string has absorbed too much blood that the black stain remained when it regenerated. Be careful about that, because it’ll cause the hardness to decrease. As for the academy’s designated loafers, I have fitted them with magic steel plate and also hidden blades in the heels and front tips. But, the loafers have weaker toughness than the boots you used before, so pick the enemy you are going to use them at carefully. As for the spare tights……」

Gelf paused there and pondered for a little bit before hitting his palm.

「Aa, I have a spare. It’s a mix of prototype mythril silver string with magic steel black string. Its magic resistance is a bit lower but, its physical resistance goes up slightly in exchange. I also have a bustier made from the same material, so try wearing them at the back to see if their size fit you. Also……their color is black so try wearing a matching underwear. If it’s black then I have some unused silk products in stock.」

「Got it.」

「…………」

Feld felt like he had heard some lines that a man shouldn’t listen to. He focused on something else while getting cold sweat.

Aria was still a kid sensibility-wise even though she had the appearance of a top class beauty. An earnest people like Feld felt his mind tormented by a strange sense of immorality from listening to that kind of topic.

For now it seemed Gelf was acting like a “mother” to make up Aria’s insufficiency in the female sensibility department. In actuality he was a mal, a dwarf, and a person of that type, but Feld turned a blind eye toward that.

Aria looked like someone who knew nothing else except fighting, but surely she would become a magnificent woman in the future if she had that kind of existence at her side.

Until then Feld could just look over her like a “father”. There was also a “little brother” who was worried about Aria just like him.

Feld was making that kind of compromise inside himself and felt relieved. Then Gelf’s flustered voice suddenly came from the back of the shop that was partitioned using a curtain.

「──Aria-chan, wait!」

「Ah, Feld.」

The curtain suddenly opened and a voice called his name. Feld turned around and froze.

「I think the waist is a bit loose and it’ll be better to make it a bit more easier to move in, what do you think?」

There, Aria was standing while twisting her waist. She was wearing a black bustier, a black short knickers, a black garter belt, and black tights.

Gelf was searching for a cloth behind her in hurry. Feld dropped the thing he was holding after seeing that. Then he raised his voice with various feelings filling it.

「W-WEAR SOME CLOTHESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!」

.

The hardships of the males around Aria including Feld would still continue.