The Girl Who Bore the Flame Ring

The diner welcoming the delegation from Gemb was to be held on the following evening at Madress Castle. Coimbran attendants were to include Grohl, the viceroy; Elgar, his son; Wilm and Gaddis; as well as the various chief vassals like Perius. The daughters of several nobles were to dress up and entertain the guests as a pretext for allowing Noel and Cynthia’s participation. Above all, Grohl wanted to boast about Noel, and had immediately approved of it. Incidentally, Noel had attempted to persuade Riglette to go as well, but had been curtly refused as she absolutely loathed the idea.

The ambassadors from Gemb attended too, and all of Kai’s subordinates, for he was the captain of their guards, had lined up. Kai’s task had not yet begun as to allow the ambassador to focus fully on his duties.

Grohl raised a glass in one hand as he commenced his greeting, “Gembite gentlemen, it has been a long journey to Coimbra. On behalf of the people of Coimbra, I welcome you.”

They would occasionally receive ambassadors from Gemb, but the mood this time was unusually good. It was little wonder for they weren’t feeling each other out this time, but were openly working towards deepening their friendship. That was why Grohl had greeted them so warmly, and as such, the atmosphere was cheery all around. Gemb and Coimbra had held friendly relations since before the unification, and things had not changed much since then. Grohl had wanted nothing more than their support, and so they had brought a promissory note concerning their alliance with Coimbra. They could not have been welcomed warmly enough, and again, there was the matter of Grohl’s desire to show off Noel.

Carelessly ignoring the viceroy’s greetings, Noel whispered, “Hey, isn’t the waist too tight after all? My stomach’s been hurting for a while now…”

The pale, baby blue dress that Cynthia had picked out for Noel fit her body well, so there was no way that it hurt. In the first place, it only had to be slightly tightened because of how slender she was, so she was likely merely unused to the sensation. It was extremely important that all attendees wore such dress, so there was no way around it. Cynthia was wearing her favourite pale, red dress. She had put on some muscle since the last time she had worn it, so getting it on had proved slightly troublesome. Her own corset was tightened at least twice as tightly as Noel’s was. She knew it was nothing but vanity to draw in her stomach as much as she could, but it didn’t stop her. Looking at her surroundings, there were even some girls who were slightly sweating for the stiffness. The world of the aristocrats appeared glamorous at first glance, but there was much hidden work that they put into modesty.

Still, she’s disguised as a woman. She could become a splendid lady if we could only fix her speech and attitude… Well, that’s probably impossible.

That was correct, if only Noel could keep her mouth shut, she would appear to be a young lady from some important family or other. Her pale, baby blue dress suited her well, highlighting her characteristic red hair. Her azure eyes, lips —despite being only subtly reddened— , and her pale skin gave her the look of an exquisite doll. More than physical attractiveness, she exuded an almost inhuman aura; provided she was able to maintain a calm expression, and keep her mouth shut. Her natural, slightly messy hair hinted at some remaining childishness, but her impression had been too intense when they had used a wig. Her exposed collarbone was exquisitely erotic, and she seemed a totally different person from the usual Noel.

Such was her transformation that Barbas, accompanying her in a wig of his own, had gotten excited on his own, not noticing that she was Noel. When it was explained to him, his jaw hung so widely open, it looked as though it had been disconnected. Elgar too, had his eyes go round the moment he realised she was Noel. Face fully flushed, his gaze had flickered intermittently to her frequently before the diner party began. Cynthia wanted to believe in Noel’s childish nervousness doing most of the work, but there could be no mistakes so she would likely have to drive home her points rather thoroughly. Riglette had knit her eyebrows at a single glance, tutted loudly, and went off on her own.

Even as a woman myself, I can see how she is rather charming. That’s for sure… that’s for sure, but…

No matter how beautiful she was externally, her true self got easily carried away, and would quickly start to mess around, so Cynthia needed to be sure to avoid being taken in by her doll-like appearance.

“Okay, this is a pain. I’m taking it off.”

“Y-you idiot! Is there anyone who would strip in a place like this!? It’s only for a short while, so bear with it.”

“You’re even more squeezed in than I am, so how are you fine? Could it be that your stomach’s squishy enough?”

“S-shut up. I don’t need your advice!”

Noel tactlessly struck where it hurt. There was no way that Cynthia was fat, it had simply been her vanity. Noel was mischievous enough that she was probably going to go on about how she totally understood, and the corners of her mouth were, indeed, already twisting. Whatever words she had planned, they were going to be one hundred times more infuriating than cute. Resisting the urge to pinch Noel’s cheeks, Cynthia put up a smile, for Grohl’s speech was still ongoing. The welcoming of guests was an important ceremony, and they could not afford to be in any way rude.

“Hey, when this lengthy speech is over, we get to eat, right? It’s painful, and it’ll get in the way, so why don’t we just open up the corset? Look, it’ll be fine if we do it now.”

She continued spouting unbelievable words: it was impossible to loosen the corset without first removing her dress. It seemed like Noel was starting to move her hands, and so Cynthia forcefully pinned them. All gazes were directed at Grohl, so Cynthia reprimanded her in a low voice, hoping not to be a disturbance.

“Stop doing stupid things. What is most important is that the viceroy is giving greetings.”

“No matter what?”

“No matter what. Please just be obedient. Listen, just for now, will you please shut your mouth like a doll?”

“Hey, can I drink the wine if I do? I feel like my throat is dry somehow.”

“Wait for the toast.”

“Ah, but this wine looks super good. The aroma is excellent. Well now, what vineyard is this from?”

Rattling off her words rapid fire, she seemed about to place the glass in her hands to her lips, so Cynthia rushed to stop her.

“It’s really only going to be just a little bit more that you’ll have to wait. Don’t do anything, and still your heart.”

“Yeah, I get it… but, the viceroy just keeps going. Look, even the young master is yawning. Is that okay?”

Slightly horrified, Cynthia turned her gaze to Elgar who was standing just behind Grohl. Of course, he was sitting tensely without yawning in the slightest. His appearance was rather splendid, but what was emphasised was his childishness.

Thinking about it, there’s no way that the young master would yawn.

Cynthia realised she had been completely fooled, but by the time her gaze returned to Noel, she had already raised her glass.

“Hehe, I drank it. Ah, but it seems like the toast’ll be soon, so I’d better refill this.”

“Noel… I’m going to remember this.”

Muttering with a sour expression, raising her head from Noel, her eyes accidentally met with those of a young officer in the opposite line. He was the previously introduced captain of the Gemb delegation’s guard. The fact that he had been entrusted with command at such a young age was likely indicative of his skill. In the first place, it was already unbelievable enough that he was able to succeed at all as an officer considering how much Gemb valued the military arts above all else. That very Kai looked like he had just seen something interesting; most likely Noel’s most recent disgraceful act. Cynthia could do nothing but nod and act as if she had seen nothing, though her mouth twitched slightly as she did so.

“I pray for ever more growth, and fame for both Coimbra and Gemb. Cheers!”

“Cheers!”

As they all exchanged the toast, the young Coimbran ladies brought more wine to the officers from Gemb. The meal was under the pretext of being a free and easy buffet, so it was acceptable to only eat what one wanted. Cynthia had painfully tightened her corset, and so wasn’t in the mood for food, but she had resolved herself to eat some vegetable sticks, and fish pie. After that was a matter of welcome, and she felt the need to greet the people from Gemb appropriately, yet the chance never came as all of the Gembites had gathered together, eating and drinking. A great many dishes prepared from fresh Coimbran fish had been laid out upon the table. While some of them had to be spiced rather heavily to mask the scent, Gemb also bordered the sea, so the officers showed no real indication of discomfort. They were eating it as quickly as it could be described. Usually, that sort of behaviour would be improper decorum, but as they were there to side with Coimbra, no complaints were raised. They were laughing and drinking as normally as could be.

“…”

That being the case, Cynthia’s stomach turned sour at the sight of such ferocious appetites.

Just what are their stomachs made of?

As she appeared to meditate further upon it, she noticed someone beside her that seemed to be doing something rather familiar. Of course it was Noel. She had no idea at what point this had happened, but Noel had secured five bottles of Madress wine. With a gleeful look, she poured a glass, and downed it in a single stroke. Madress wine was not weak enough for that sort of consumption, and it just so happened to be so expensive that the plebeians had no hope of ever even touching a bottle.

“Ehehe, this’ good.”

With a loose face, she hummed in her satisfaction. Cynthia could not help but smack the alcoholic in the head for making such a fuss.

“Oi, this isn’t a bar. Though the event isn’t particularly formal, you still need act with discretion.”

“Somebody told me happiness is found in expensive wine. So, I’ll drink till I’m sick. Just look how much there is.”

“If you could find happiness just by drinking, nobody would have any troubles left.”

“But, I’m in a better mood… isn’t that evidence that I’m getting closer?”

“Who knows. I think that it’s completely different.”

“But it might work, so I’ll share it with you as promised. C’mon gimme your glass. It’s been empty for a while.”

“Okay, thanks.”

Cynthia politely thanked and accepted it since Noel was offering this once. As the red liquid was almost to her lips, she noticed a young man approach. It was Leue Grambull, Wilm’s son, and his social standing was the same as Cynthia’s.

“Sir Cynthia, it has been a while. I know that it’s extremely late, but I’d like to congratulate you on your promotion. My father Wilm is also very happy for you.”

“Hello there, Sir Leue. Thank you for your kind words. I hope I can count on your continued guidance in the future as well.”

“Please don’t be so formal. We’re both young, so let’s work together. …It can be troubling to have a great man as a father, I too have my hardships.”

Her late father had been an old friend of Wilm’s, and Leue had known her since childhood because of their families. When her father was alive, they would sometimes be invited to the Grambull family manor. As Leue was of a similar age to her, there had been many opportunities for them to talk as they both practiced their swordsmanship. After her father’s death, their meetings had decreased in frequency. Incidentally, she had almost no memories of ever speaking with his younger sister Riglette as she would hide away in her room and refuse to come out even when called. There was also that Riglette’s relationship with Leue was poor.

“That dress suits you well. Sir Cynthia, I must say you’ve become truly beautiful.”

“Sir Leue, I see you’ve become skilled at flattery.”

“Haha, oh please. I’m not someone who can say that so easily to just anyone. I really think it to be true.”

“In that case, I thank you very much.”

Resigned to her acceptance of Leue’s complement, Cynthia forced a smile. She had no idea how serious he was, but he would say those kinds of things from time to time. His future was secured as he was Wilm’s heir, and furthermore, his face wasn’t bad, so he was extremely popular with the nobles’ daughters. It wasn’t that Cynthia herself disliked him, but she had no time for things like romance. Her hands were full with training her troops, and herself; even moreso now that she had a certain mischievous girl to deal with.

“By the way, Sir Cynthia, is this the rumored Sir Noel?”

“Yes that is correct. Commander of One Hundred, Noel Bosheit… Noel, are you not going to greet him?”

“Eh, but, this is informal…”

“That’s just a facade. This is Senior Commander of One Hundred, Leue Grambull. He’s Major General Wilm’s son.”

“My name is Leue. I’ve been sent by my father because of your recent achievements. Also, please take care of my sister. She is still my sister.”

Accepting his words, Noel stood, and with a serious expression, saluted. At first glance, nothing was notable, but further inspection would reveal the slight flush in her cheeks and the very minute wobble she had developed. With as much as she had drunk, it wouldn’t be strange for a normal person to have fallen over. She was completely unbelievable.

“Ah, I’m Commander of One Hundred, Noel Bosheit! Please leave Riglette to me!”

“Ahaha, you don’t have to be so stiff. Tonight is informal, so go ahead and drink as much as you want.”

Leue took some himself, and smiled.

“Will do, thank you very much!”

Having answered in a loud voice, she began to put the glass once more to her lips, even spilling some on her only dress.

“You’re as lively as the rumors say. Well then, I’ll be off to greet the guests from Gemb, so please excuse me.”

Leue could not stand to deal with drunkards, and went on his way after nodding to Cynthia. It was likely thanks to the mood there that not much attention had been drawn, despite all Noel’s uproar. The Gembites were surrounded by the young ladies and had begun to regale their heroic tales. Sometimes erupting into cheers and applause, everyone was wrapt in the tales.

It’s probably an exaggeration, but Gemb is renowned for its valour. It’s obviously heartening that they’ve become our allies.

She didn’t know what the reality of a war with Bahar would be like, but cooperation from Gemb was undoubtedly an advantage. As she thought, Cynthia fiddled with Noel’s red hair while she was in a drunken daze. It was silky smooth, and felt good to the touch.

As the party neared its climax, Cynthia heard Grohl begin a grand tale opening on how Noel wouldn’t lose to their tales; likely talking about her most recent exploits, though the people were drunk, and it was likely greatly exaggerated; the contents being about her slaying one hundred bandits with a single stroke of the spear, how a single cry could cause all foes in sight to cower, or some such overblown topic. Of course, to those who had witnessed her in combat, not all of it sounded outside of the realm of possibility.

Where does the power come from in such a slender body? It’s a wonder that she can wield her bident and warhammer with such ease.

When Grohl’s grand boasting was over, the regular chatter returned, but looking their way with a broad grin, holding a bottle of wine in one hand, the commander of the Gembi guards, Kai, approached.

“Excuse me, would it be acceptable for the Gemb delegation to raise a toast for the young heroine of Coimbra?”

“I’s fine by me… uhh, who’re you again?”

“Oi! Don’t be rude!”

Assuaging Cynthia, who had started yelling, Kai filled Noel’s glass to the brim. As far as she could tell, he wasn’t angry.

“I am an officer of Gemb named Kai. As you can see, I am inexperienced, but I earned my command of one hundred men with my skill in arms.”

“I see…no, is that so?”

Flushed and smiling, Noel had quickly tried to smooth things over, catching herself after her initial response.

“Whatever the case, in Lord Grohl’s story, Sir Noel is quite valourous. We Gembites value the strong, so feel free to visit with us. By all means acquaint yourself…”

“I’m Commander of One Hundred, Noel! I look forward to working with you!”

Noel merrily responded, still red, and reeking of wine. It seemed she had become completely drunk.

“Haha, since it seems we’re of a rank, we might as well be more relaxed. From what I’ve heard, you use a long spear, Sir Noel, but can you really use it with such thin arms? I’ve been wondering about that. I have no reason to doubt Lord Grohl, but was there not a bit much exaggeration?”

“S-sir Kai.”

“If that was rude, I apologise… but, we cannot raise our glasses to a fake.”

Kai watched her as he tested the waters. He most likely found the stories of Noel’s martial prowess to be unbelievable due to his own self confidence. If Cynthia hadn’t seen it with her own two eyes, she would feel the same.

“Can you not believe the viceroy’s story?”

“To say it honestly, that would be correct. To be more clear, it’s such a joke, it’s insulting. It sounds like a story made up for today.”

Kai had lowered his voice to a whisper. He seemed brusque, but unskilled in the ways of the world; hence his coming to test Noel instead of letting it slide.

“Not at all, but what can I do? There’s no way to have a match here. Ah, can you give me your arm?”

“That won’t be a problem, but what do you want?”

“It’ll be fine, it’ll be fine.”

“If you say so, do as you will.”

Kai presented his well trained right arm. Sitting, the instant Noel grasped him with her left hand…

“Gh…”

Kai’s face warped in anguish. He didn’t let out his voice, but he clearly experienced significant pain. His formerly arrogant expression had gone pale, and a cold sweat had begun to break out. Noel, on the other hand, looked about as oblivious as ever, except for her eyes, which looked as though mid battle.

“Hey, what’s important is if there’s enough strength to kill the enemy or not. However thin my arms are, or whatever I look like doesn’t matter at all right?”

“Gh… gnnn!”

“See, on the battlefield, nobody pays attention to those little things, eh? Just if they’re alive or dead. So, Commander of One Hundred, Kai, do you agree?”

“L-let go!”

Noel released her hand as, Kai seemed to be pulling his arm away, having confirmed her strength.

“Okay. If we made any more noise, Cynthia would get angry, after all.”

“W-what strength. You could have broken my arm.”

“Uh, was it the strength of a hundred men? I’m a commander of one hundred, so that much is obvious, though. And I really have the strength of a hundred men!”

“Yes, whatever it is that you’re saying, I don’t comprehend it at all… but it seems that Grohl’s story earlier was true. I must apologise for my rude statements. Please forgive me.”

Kai lowered his head, but Noel waved it off with, “It’s fine, it’s fine. Rather, drink up,” as she raised her glass to her lips with a smile.

Fortunately, she hadn’t caused an uproar without paying heed to her surroundings. With a sigh, Cynthia smoothed down her dress, and resolved to properly lecture Noel afterwards. Of all things, Noel had been rude to an emissary from another province.

“Hey Kai, you’re still young, but you speak super stiffly, eh? Don’t you ever tire of talking like that all the time?”

“Well, I will accept what you’ve said, but are you not just a little too lax, yourself? I am, ostensibly, an emissary from Gemb, you know.”

“You said not to hold back ‘cause we’re the same rank, though.”

Kai leaned back arrogantly as he spoke, “I was merely being polite. It was strictly beaten into me every day by my superiors to not accept words at face value.”

Noel nodded along vigorously.

“Ah, they get angry at me every day too. And when I nod off during lectures, Cynthia gets all naggy.”

“Don’t say I’m naggy! Sir Kai, I will scold this fool later, so please be lenient for the moment.”

“Hahaha, I don’t mind it. In fact, I didn’t know that Sir Noel was undergoing training too. As a matter of fact, I too am no match for my staff officer, Lord Haksek. We young ones have our own troubles, eh?”

Laughing heartily, Kai put the bottle of wine to his lips and downed it in a single stroke. Afterwards, realising it had been rude of him to do so, he stroked his scar.

“Sir Kai, how to I put it, you seem quite lively.”

“Dear me, I often hear that, for I’m a simple man underneath. Haha, honestly speaking, this whole emissary thing where one must use one’s head, and the atmosphere, and all that, is rather difficult for me. I end up becoming rather stiff.”

“You’re really funny Kai. Even though your face is scary like that. You’re like a bear.”

“Noel!”

Kai simply smiled pleasantly, though Noel was being scolded.

“Hahaha, it’s a bit much to say that I’m scary, but I’ll take the bear part as a complement. You are rather amusing, yourself, Sir Noel. It is my first time meeting such a strange and peculiar person,” after a brief pause, he continued, “That’s right, this must be some kind of fate; a sign of Coimbra and Gemb’s friendship. Why don’t we have a toast to our camaraderie!”

Kai filled a new glass to the brim with wine, and Noel responded in kind. Cynthia was bewildered about just what was happening, and tentatively raised her glass.

“That’s great. In that case…”

Noel and Kai turned their gazes to her.

“S-shall I give the signal?”

“Quickly. Quickly.”

“W… w-well then. Uh, ahem… Cheers!”

Following Cynthia, the two also gave their cheers, and drank in high spirits. Immediately afterwards, as if nothing had happened at all, the two bumbled off and set about eating and drinking with no intentions of stopping.

“It’s delicious, eh?”

“Yes. These are all things that we cannot eat in Gemb.”

“Ahaha, you’ve got tons of food there, just like a real bear.”

Noel laughed heartily as she pointed. As if in response to her, Kai flourished the meat he held in both hands.

“…”

Somehow… it seems like I’m the only one getting tired. For the moment, I’ll just have to be happy that it ended well. Yup.

Sighing to herself, Cynthia accepted the leftover meat from Noel’s plate.

Author’s Note

It’s the story of the drunken woman and the Gembi bear.

The friendship between Coimbra and Gemb has deepened.

Grohl’s mood improved.

Dayly updates end today.

Probably!

People who can write in real time, and serialize it are really incredible.

Translator’s Note

It always feels unnatural for me to keep adding in all the Sir titles before Cynthia, Noel, and Riglette’s names. For as rare as female knights are supposed to be, we seem to know more of them than male knights at this point.

The author really posted this thing quickly. I assume he wasn’t doing it in ‘real time’, and had some saved up. Or he’s just praising himself. It’s always easier for me when the chapter has a lot of dialogue because I do x number of pages of translating per day. This one was also 20% shorter than average, as far as total page numbers are concerned.

Editor’s Note

I wonder when my editor will do something on the site.

“Tomorrow, tomorrow, I love ya, tomorrow. You’re always a day away!”