Outside the inn. In a slightly distant location, there are two shadows silently observing the meeting of Second and the girls.

　The sixteen years-old, ranked adventurer, genius Spirit User and Earl's daughter, Chérie Lumberjack along with her spirit.

　Chérie stared intently at Second in the distance while slightly blus.h.i.+ng. She was anxious about what had happened ‘after' she delivered the letter. Thus, she had been observing Second since they started eating at the bar on the first floor for about an hour. In other words, this is what you would call a stalker.

“Master～, someone is approaching～.”

“Eh? “

　Her Great Spirit of Earth, Terra then informed her that someone was coming closer.

“――Hmm, ahh!　You are Chérie Lumberjack-sama, aren't you!? “

　The person who showed up was a long-haired man, his hair red-brown colored. He went out of his way to try and lower his already high stature.

“What?　Coming so rudely. Who are you? “

　Chérie stared at the man, spouting her usual harsh words. The man then took a step back and hurriedly lowered his head as he spoke.

“I'm s-sorry!　I'm a huge fan of you, Chérie-sama!　I'm called Seram!　I'm a 19-year-old C-ranked adventurer, and a Spirit User still in training! “

　The man claiming to be a Spirit User introduced himself as Seram. He had a servile att.i.tude of deprecating himself and praising the opposite party, which would make people feel good.

　However, that didn't apply to Chérie. She always sought for more than that, since for her, it was obvious that she was ‘superior and the other party was obviously inferior'. Prostrate, lick my shoes —behavior such as that. But when that was actually done, she would say “You make me feel sick! “, throwing abuses at that person, and at that point, it was useless to keep talking to her.

“What a bother. So, what?　I'm busy right now, can't you see? “

　As the stranger just kept getting in the way of her love (stalking), Chérie's mood just worsened. She even began to think “If the talk will be long, I think I'll just ignore him altogether”.

“I just wanted to see the Great Spirit of Earth-sama up close, no matter what!　Wow, she's really amazing!　Her aura is completely different when compared to Nymphe! “

“I'm sorry for being a spirit without an aura, my Lord.”

　At some point, Seram had already called his spirit using Spirit Summoning. It was a spirit called Nymphe.

　On the other hand, Chérie finally decided to ignore him. She sent a look towards Terra that implied “I leave this to you”.

“Ohh, can it be that you're a wind～“

“Yes. I am the wind spirit, Nymphe. It's an honor to meet you, Gnomides-sama.”

“Is that so?　Me too, I'm happy to meet you.”

　Nymphe and Terra hit it off with each other, and the talk between spirits started.

　Seram tried to ask questions to Chérie, but he was completely ignored, and since he couldn't join the talk between the spirits, he just listened from the sides.

“――Speaking of which, I met the Great King yesterday night.”

“The G-Great King!? “

　With Nymphe raising her voice in response to Terra's casual words, Seram saw the opportunity to join the conversation.

“Great King, is it!?　Does that mean, the Great King of all Spirits!? “

　He asked in a way that showed great interest.

“Yeah. The Great Spirit King Angolmois…… the pinnacle of the Spirit World. He was rea～lly scary.”

“I have never seen him before. He's like something divine, way out of the reach of a lowly spirit like myself.”

“I-Is he such a great spirit!?　Wh-wh-wh-where is he!? “

“Second-san is the person he is under～. Look, over there――”

“EEEHHH! ? “

　The sudden cry was done by Chérie.

　While seemingly disregarding it, it appears she was actually hearing the contents of the conversation.

　Great Spirit King Angolmois―― An existence above the Great Spirit of Earth, the very top of the Spirit World. Just when did you meet such a great existence, Terra? she wondered.　And after thinking about it, she noticed the name of Second also came out.

“……H-hey, Terra?　Why didn't you tell me that?　That Second had such, such an incredible spirit…… such……”

　Why on earth was I so proud of having the Great Spirit of Earth? ……wondered the trembling Chérie. She became blushed from ear to ear.

　But it was good that this was Second, the only person she acknowledged. If it was someone other than Second who had the Great Spirit King under his command, then she might've acted rashly due to jealousy.

“I forgot about it～.”

“That's not something you'd forget!　That's like, super important! “

“I'm sorry, Master～.”

“Haaー……-riously. Well, it doesn't matter……”

　A Spirit User who employs the Great Spirit King. Chérie knows she's no opponent for that.

　Of course, she feels a little jealous. But, more than that, she feels happy. She also feels pleased that her rival and the only person she acknowledges is strong.

“……Uh?　By the way, where did that man with long hair go? “

“That person is over there～.”

“Geh! “

　Seram was walking along with Nymphe towards the bar on the first floor of the inn where Second was located. Probably, he was a spirit maniac. He probably wanted to take a look at a Great Spirit, like just now when he did so with Terra.

“Le-Le-Le-Let's run away, Terra! “

　Chérie then said “Second will find me out! “, and so, she decided to flee the town of Badgordo.

“Yes～, Master～.”

　Terra happily smiled as she chased after her.

Thank you for reading.

＜Status Details＞

Named after shogi pieces (The word in bold is the one being used in this translation). From easier to acquire to harder.

Swordsmans.h.i.+p

s.h.i.+eldmans.h.i.+p

Archery

They use the “Form” or “step” system of martial arts. From lower to higher.

From lower to higher, then it changes to the “Dan” system of martial arts, which means Grade.