Evening, Outer District of Twilight City, back alley behind the Morning Light Tavern.
After seeing the simple targets Aurelia had set up, Boss An hadn’t scolded her; he seemed to tacitly allow her to use this space.
In the corner stood the throwing knife target she had made from old wooden planks. It was crooked and lopsided, but it was serviceable.
Aurelia took a deep breath, first touching the leg holster holding “Black Light” and “White Shadow” on one leg, then the other leg holster, sponsored by Uncle Ragnar, which was filled with a full circle of refined iron throwing knives.
Picking up one of the Black Light throwing knives, Aurelia aimed at the target.
Her vision… was clearer than ever before.
Her wrist merely flicked with the motion, not even using full strength.
Whoosh—!
…
The knife left her hand, its speed leaving behind only a blurry gray line.
The next second, with a solid thud, the throwing knife’s entire blade almost completely buried itself into the center of the thick old wooden plank, only the very tip of the hilt left trembling slightly.
Aurelia raised an eyebrow and walked forward.
When she pulled the knife out, she could feel significant resistance; the wood fibers had been cleanly cut.
This power and penetration were simply not on the same level as when she had practiced before.
She stared at the seemingly ordinary refined iron throwing knife in her hand, then at the shockingly deep hole in the wooden plank, her crimson eyes filled with astonishment.
‘Did I… just get stronger?’
Then, she touched her head. Her black hair was still soft and silky.
‘And I’m not bald either?’
“…Whatever, no more weird thoughts. Let’s try again!”
She stepped back to a greater distance, assumed her stance, twisted her waist, and channeled the power of her entire body in coordination through her arm, wrist, and finally her fingertips.
This time, the throwing knife became a blurry afterimage almost impossible for the naked eye to track, accompanied by a short, sharp sound of tearing air as it slammed into the target.
Aurelia quickly stepped forward.
The knife’s blade had almost completely disappeared into the wooden plank, with only the tiniest bit of the hilt visible.
On the back of the plank, a gleaming, sharp tip of the blade was clearly protruding.
“Hiss…”
Aurelia sucked in a sharp breath.
This penetration… was simply ridiculous!
Although this target was made of old planks, it was quite thick.
Before, if she threw with all her might, getting it a quarter of the way in would have been a blessing.
Now, she had pierced clean through?
‘Wow, is this… “what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger”? Just what did Uncle Ragnar use on me!’
She pulled the knife out with force, looking at the clean hole running through the plank, a surge of excitement in her heart.
‘Hmm… I have a bold idea!’
Her gaze fell on her slender, delicate right arm. With a slight thought…
On the surface of her skin, dense, hard black scales rapidly appeared, layering over each other.
Her fingers extended, nails becoming extremely sharp.
In just a few breaths, her entire right arm completed its dragonification, transforming into a dragon claw covered in sleek, streamlined black scales.
It felt completely different from before—that fleeting, hard-to-maintain burst.
This time, the dragonification process was exceptionally smooth, and maintaining it felt much easier.
She could clearly feel this power flowing within her body.
It seemed as long as she wished, she could maintain this state for a considerable amount of time.
Moreover, she keenly noticed that the black scales covering her arm—that black that seemed to absorb all light—seemed… to have lightened just a tiny bit?
No, rather than the color lightening, it was more like the luster had an extremely subtle change, becoming more restrained, no longer that unsettling, heart-pounding shade of black.
“Could it be my dragon bloodline is mutating?”
She clenched her claw, then casually waved it, not feeling much of a difference.
Carefully picking up the Black Light throwing knife with her claw, Aurelia glanced at the target, that bold idea surfacing again.
But just before she was about to try, her gaze swept over the mottled brick walls on either side of the alley and the barrels and clutter piled not far away.
She remembered her current meager finances and her dependent situation, then recalled the debt she owed for buying these weapons and gear.
The dragon claw she had raised high slowly lowered.
“Better not. What if I can’t control the force and punch through the wall, or break something else…”
…
She could already picture the perpetually stoic face of Boss Andre showing an expression of speechlessness, and the tragic scene of her wages for the next three months—no, possibly half a year—going up in smoke.
“Can’t afford to pay, absolutely can’t afford it.”
She dispelled the dragonification.
The black scales receded like a tide, her arm returning to its original fair and slender state.
The throwing knife slipped from between her fingers and fell to the ground.
She hurriedly bent down to pick up the knife, blowing off the dust with a pained expression.
“I bought this on credit, can’t break it. It was pretty expensive…”
Sighing, Aurelia gave up on the idea of trying a dragonified knife throw and instead continued practicing her knife techniques with her human body.
‘Hmm, this feel, this accuracy… maid outfit, leg holster, throwing knives—elements detected!’
She glanced down at the maid outfit she was wearing for tavern work—she had to wear it because her other clothes were being washed—and touched the leather leg holster on her thigh.
‘I get it now. All I’m missing from being the legendary perfect, dashing head maid is silver hair, an ability to stop time, and an absurdly large, haunted mansion.’
Time flew by.
When she realized it was already late into the night, she touched her stomach, which had started growling from hunger.
Just as she was inserting the last throwing knife back into the leg holster, preparing to tidy up and return to the garret, Helen’s voice suddenly sounded from behind.
“Sister Lia, your dinner.”
Aurelia turned around to see Helen holding a plate with several sandwiches on it.
They were filled with ham slices from a canned meat similar to spam that Aurelia had bought before, along with two freshly cut apple slices.
The aroma of the food wasn’t strong, but in the cool late-night air, it was especially enticing.
Aurelia’s stomach cooperated immediately, letting out a loud gurgle, making her blush in front of Helen for once.
“This…”
“Rena made it!”
Helen handed her the tray, his face full of smiles.
“She said you’ve been practicing throwing knives here all this time and must be hungry. She used the canned meat and bread you bought to make a quick meal. The apples were sent by that gray-haired uncle a few days ago.”
Aurelia took the tray.
The sandwiches still had a bit of residual warmth, likely having been lightly toasted.
The bread crust was crispy, the inside soft.
She picked one up and took a bite.
The savory saltiness of the canned ham, the wheaty aroma of the bread, and the crisp, slightly sweet taste of the apple slices mixed together.
Though simple, it tasted surprisingly good, and it was indeed convenient to eat, not making a mess.
“Is it good?”
Helen watched her eagerly, as if he had made the late-night snack himself.
“Mhm, it’s delicious. Thank you for your hard work, staying up so late and thinking of me.”
“It’s no trouble!”
Helen immediately shook his head, his delicate, youthful face wearing a serious expression.
“Sister Lia, you have to work at the tavern every day, find time to train, and… also worry about me and Rena. Sister Lia, you’re the one working the hardest. We can only do these little things!”
“Oh, Helen,” Aurelia swallowed the food in her mouth and looked at the boy.
“Tomorrow, I plan to go check out the guild. You and Rena need to be careful, don’t run around, okay?”
Helen’s eyes lit up, then he hesitated a bit.
“Sister Lia, can I go with you? I… I can help too! I’m a Black Iron Rank warrior!”
He touched the brand new standard-issue longsword at his waist, the one Aurelia had bought for him.
Aurelia looked at Helen’s sparkling eyes and his subconscious gesture of tightening his grip on his sword hilt, sighing inwardly.
‘This little brother clearly still has a far from sufficient understanding of the dangers of combat. He’s way too unreliable. Need to temper his attitude a bit more.’
She put down the half-eaten sandwich and looked seriously at the boy.
“I know you want to help, want to get stronger, and that’s good. But the tasks at the guild all carry risks and the potential for unexpected situations. I don’t want you or Rena to experience any more danger because of my negligence.”
Then, she patted Helen’s head, adopting the demeanor of a gentle big sister.
“Besides, I said I would protect you two, didn’t I?”
Upon hearing this, Helen frowned slightly, but soon his expression changed to one of having decided something, and he nodded obediently.
“Mhm! Sister Lia, I’ll get stronger as fast as I can, then I’ll protect you!”
“Alright, hurry up and go to bed. Say goodnight to Rena for me. And thank her for the sandwiches; they were really good.”
“Okay! Sister Lia, you should rest early too!”
Helen picked up the empty tray and quickly headed back to the garret.
Faint sounds of him talking to Rena could be heard.
Aurelia watched his retreating back until the door closed, then let out a soft sigh.
‘Raising kids really is a field of study. You have to protect them, but not overprotect them. Guide them, but don’t crush their enthusiasm. Hmm… now I can understand how hard the teaching profession is.’
Aurelia turned, thinking to find something to temporarily patch up the nearly falling-apart target, or at least plug the most obvious holes to get through tomorrow’s practice.
Chewing the last bite of her sandwich, she considered whether to find some wood shavings and glue or simply stuff it with torn cloth strips to make do.
…
Just as her gaze was still fixed on the target, her peripheral vision caught a dark figure walking quickly from the direction of the alley entrance.
She instinctively moved to step aside.
Although the alley wasn’t wide, there was plenty of room for two people to walk side by side.
However, the figure’s speed was faster than she anticipated, or perhaps the other person simply had no intention of moving aside.
Just as Aurelia sidestepped, the other person seemed to veer in the same direction at the exact same moment.
Thud!
Aurelia felt a not-insignificant force hit her shoulder, her body swaying uncontrollably.
But she quickly planted her feet to steady herself, her other hand swiftly reaching under her skirt and drawing White Shadow, aiming it at the newcomer.
The other person staggered from the collision, clearly taken aback, and let out a dissatisfied tch sound.
“You’re the one who bumped into me, and you have the nerve to click your tongue?”
Aurelia glared at him unhappily, White Shadow held tightly in her hand, its blade tip pointed at his neck.
“…It’s you?”
He suddenly spoke.
“You’re the one from that day… the one I knocked over in the alley?”
‘Oh? So you remember, you jerk? Good, then today we’ll settle both the old and new scores!’
“Since you remember, then…”
Aurelia shifted her posture, looking ready to strike.
But before she could finish, the youth suddenly raised his hand sharply.
“Wait! I apologize!”