Day Off

"I CAN'T TAKE THIS ANYMORE!!!" Eris suddenly screamed in the middle of her math lesson, drawing looks from both Rudeus and Ghislaine.

He looked at her and sighed. She had exploded like he thought she might. For the sake of learning voiceless magic, Eris had put in more time than she ever had in her life in learning language and math. Philip had been very glad to see this and praised Rudeus heavily. Recently, however, she had become a lot more fidgety and restless in class.

It was precisely because she was working hard to learn to read the words in the magic book, as well as basic arithmetic to learn voiceless casting, that she was now feeling burnt out.

If she could vent her frustrations by beating Rudeus up it wouldn't have been as bad. But because Rudeus always easily overpowers her during spars, her frustration had been bubbling for too long and now it had finally boiled over.

Rudeus gazed at her for a moment and then nodded, "Okay. Let's take a break."

"Your breaks are lies! Just 10 minutes and I have to start studying again!" She yelled.

He shook his head, "Nope, let's take a real break. Tomorrow we will spend the day outside the manor. No studying, no training. What do you say?"

Her wide eyes brightened, "Really? Are you serious? Rudeus can't lie to me! Even though I can't defeat you I will still put bugs in your food!"

"Don't resort to biological warfare so quickly. And yes, I'm not lying. I'll ask your father for permission to bring you out of the estate tomorrow. Whether he will allow it or not, that's a different problem."

"He will! He definitely will! Uuu I can't study anymore with this in mind. Let's go ask him now, now!"

Eris held Rudeus by his hand and dragged him away without giving any chance to protest. Seeing how happy she was though, Rudeus didn't mind it. She had been working really hard, and her schedule was jam packed as well. She had six subjects in total: Language, Math, Magic, History, Sword Training and Etiquette.

And because her education in Language and Math had only just started progressing with Rudeus' arrival, she had a lot to catch up on. As a result, the girl had hardly any time for leisurely activities.

So, Rudeus thought she needed a well-deserved break as well.

Convincing Philip wasn't difficult. He was weak to his daughter in the first place. And with both Ghislaine and Rudeus' protection, she would be the safest 9 year old in the Asura Kingdom.

"Alright, I'll arrange with Thomas for some allowance for Eris. You kids go have fun." Philip gave his permission easily and even offered his daughter money to spend.

...

The next morning, Rudeus and Eris gathered at the manor gates, waiting for Ghislaine. Eris waited impatiently, her feet tapping excitedly like a puppy waiting for a treat.

"Uuu, why is Ghislaine taking so long? Every minute wasted here is a minute we can spend outside!"

"Mm, and how many minutes in an hour?" Rudeus took this opportunity to quiz her.

She thought about it for a moment before answering hesitatingly, "…60?"

"Oh! That's correct! Good job Lady Eris." Rudeus clapped his hand.

She grinned proudly and tilted her head up, "Hmph, I'm smart too! And I told Rudeus to stop calling me Lady Eris didn't I!?"

"I'm your bodyguard Lady Eris, there is formality we must maintain." Rudeus answered.

"Mm, then today you aren't my bodyguard! Today you are just Rudeus, and I am just Eris!"

He lifted an eyebrow and chuckled at her logic. "Alright, alright, I got it… Eris."

She smiled brightly, which was still odd for Rudeus to see because his first impression of her was an angry, rude and disrespectful brat. His impression of her had softened considerably. Below her unruly and boisterous exterior, was a child who just longed to have fun and be normal. Her status as a noble was more stressful than one would assume just observing from the outside.

"Heheh, Rudeus!" She giggled.

Thomas the butler suddenly came out of the house and approached them.

"Lady Eris, Ghislaine has been called away for some urgent business. She will not be able to join you on your trip. Young Master Philip has given his approval for you to go ahead with Rudeus. He knows how excited you have been for this day off so he does not want to keep you waiting."

Rudeus tilted his head, "Really? Hmm, I better check in with him first."

The butler smiled, "It's okay. Young Master Philip is confident of Rudeus' ability to protect Lady Eris. You're also a bodyguard after all, and there's nothing in Roa that can threaten you."

The boy quirked his eyebrow, "I see… but I think I better be safe than sorry."

"It's fine Rudeus! C'mon, let's go already!" Eris pleaded, pulling on Rudeus' hand towards the gates. She didn't want to waste any more time, dying to leave the mansion. Even she rarely had a chance to go out of the Boreas estate without guards flanking her left and right. An entire day out with only Rudeus sounded perfect to her.

Rudeus thought about it for a moment, 'Well, even if there is any trouble, I should be able to handle it. What Thomas said makes sense. Roa is the capital of Fittoa, how could there be any real danger lurking around?'

"Alright, fine. But you have to promise you'll stay beside me the whole time. No running around without telling me. Even if you have go to the toilet I'll go with you."

"What, you want to go to the toilet with me? Rudeus, you perv!" Eris teased.

"That's not- urgh, forget it. Let's go." Rudeus relented and let himself get pulled along by Eris.

Thomas waved goodbye to them with a smile that unbeknownst to them held a sinister quality, "Have a safe trip, Lady Eris."

-----

(Rudeus POV)

"Look over there! Chickens!" Eris exclaimed while pulling on my hand.

I helplessly let myself get dragged along, thankful that she was at least listening to my instructions to stay by myside at all times.

I couldn't help but be reminded once more how sheltered the girl was, to even be fascinated by something as mundane as chickens. Sure she enjoyed ate good food and slept in a warm bed without having to worry for her livelihood the next day, surrounded by a loving family that cared for her deeply. But, in exchange for this comfort and luxury, Eris would never know what it was like to live a normal life, to just be a normal child without the expectations of the nobility weighing down on her shoulders.

I had learned after the short time I lived in the Boreas estate that Eris was an only child. She had no siblings to play with, nor did she have any opportunities to interact with children her own age. To put it bluntly, the haughty noble lass had no friends. Any time she left the estate, Eris would be surrounded by servants and guards. Her only playmates when she was little were the servants and maids employed by her family.

She did not have what most would consider a normal childhood. She never learned how to talk to people her own age, nor the necessary social skills required for one to function normally in a society. Because why would a little noble girl who had everything handed to her and waited on hand and foot ever need to learn social skills? So it really wasn't surprising why she turned out the way she did.

Though many would envy her opulent lifestyle, with servants and maids taking care of her every need, I actually held a degree of pity for the lass. After just a few weeks shadowing her and watching how she lived, I began understanding why she acted out so often. I was no child psychologist, but even I could tell that in such an environment even the most well-behaved child would pick up some weird behaviours.

It was indeed, what people would call 'first world problems'. Of course, her plight could never compare to starving orphans or trafficked slaves. But why was it necessary to compare suffering and hardship? Just because one party objectively suffered more did not invalidate the other party's own negative experience.

And in a few years' time, when I would eventually leave to pursue a life full of adventure and romance, she will still be stuck in a bird cage, trapped by the shackles of bloodline and expectations. A gold gilded bird cage, sure, but still a cage nonetheless. How pitiful.

"Are you listening to me!?" Eris swung her fist at me, which I half-heartedly evaded.

"I know. Chickens. This place is boring. Let's go look at something else." I suggested. We were in the common markets of the city, where hawkers hawked their goods, peddlers peddled their knick knacks, and grocers groced their produce. Groced? Is that a word? Either way, there was nothing of interest to me here. I had only been dragged here by Eris' wilfulness.

"Then where do you want to go?" The little lady asked. If it was just a month ago, she would probably have thrown a tantrum at the perceived slight.

I grinned, "I heard that there is a section of the market called 'Adventurers Lane'. They sell things to adventurers – weapons, armours, potions. You know, things adventurers need."

Her eyes widened at the thought, "You had me at adventurer. Come on, let's go!"

We left the common markets and went to the much more specialized street of commerce, the so called Adventurers Lane. There, the pedestrians were of a clearly different breed. Fighters wearing armour and weapons, magicians with robes and staves; these were a common sight amongst the people who shopped here.

At the end of the busy street, was a large building that stood four stories above the rest of the single-storey buildings around it. Even from afar, I could see the large sign that read 'Adventurer Guild'.

I could see Eris' eyes glittering at the sight. She pulled me into the nearest weapons' shop, though frankly my enthusiasm matched her.

If it was even possible, her eyes glowed more when she saw all the displayed swords, sabres, maces and spears in the weapon shop.

The shopkeeper saw us enter his shop and waved for us to browse. He was a brawny sort, with arms that burly and covered in scars. He did not look like a stranger to battle. The shopkeeper smiled as he saw our undisguised excitement. It seemed like he was used to seeing children browse his wares with their childish delight.

Eris went for the biggest and most impressive looking sword right away. It was a giant thing and crude in its craftsmanship, roughly 2 meters long and looked like it was smelted from a single, massive chunk of iron.

The girl put her tiny hands on the massive blade of the giant sword, so broad and thick that Eris was barely able to wrap her arms around it when she tried hugging the blade. She grunted and tried lifting it out of the pedestal that held the giant blade, and was only able to shift it slightly before the shopkeeper ran over to steady it, less it fell on the girl.

"Whoa there girl, careful. That there's a heavy sword. 300 kilograms of pure cold iron. She will squish you flat if it fell on you." He said.

Eris gasped, "300 kilograms!? That is… Rudeus, how heavy is that?"

I chuckled, "It's about as heavy as a horse."

She gasped even louder at that, "What! Who could even swing a sword that's as heavy as a horse!?"

The shopkeeper laughed, "Her name's Tyrant Queen, and she was only made as a novelty. I'd say that only really, really strong King-ranked swordsmen are strong enough to wield her properly. But even then, they wouldn't use something as cumbersome as this as a weapon. There have been people who tried though. There is always some dumbass that comes in here thinking he's the strongest man in the world. Tries to swing her one time and pop! His shoulder gets pulled out of his socket with one swing."

Eris stared at the sword that was more dangerous than her even without anyone holding it with amazement.

"One day, I'll become strong enough to come here and swing this sword…"

The shopkeeper was a good natured fellow who chuckled at the promise she made herself, "She will be waiting here for you lass."

I shook my head at her comment. She was a practitioner of the Sword God style, which prioritized speed above all. Why would she ever need a heavy sword?

I ignored the giant, unwieldy sword and browsed swords that were a size more manageable for myself. I wasn't very familiar with the metallurgy of this world, and many of the swords had labels with words I didn't understand like 'cold iron' or 'dragon steel'. If I wasn't aware that dragons actually existed in this world, I might have just thought it was the medieval form of false advertisement.

Then, I spotted an elegant looking long sword with a blue crystal embedded in its hilt, much like my own Blue Fang. It had a gold trim decorating it's silvery blade, while the cross guard had stylistic designs smelted on it.

"Uncle, is this a magic sword?" I asked the shopkeeper who turned in my direction.

"Aye. Good eye. That's the only magic sword I have in my shop." His eyes fell to my waist, where my own magic sword was sheathed. "I see you have one of your own too. But honestly, yours is a little more crude when compared to what I have here."

He walked over and lifted the magic sword off its display rack before leaning down and showing it to me.

"See here?" He pointed at the cross guard, "It has magic arrays that enhances the magic of the caster. Roughly speaking, it doubles the effectiveness of water magic."

Now that I took a closer look at the hilt and its crystal, I could identify the magic arrays he was talking about. I wasn't super familiar with magic circles and enchantment, which was an entire discipline on its own which Roxy only barely knew the basics of as well, but I could tell he was telling the truth.