TWWSY 46

Chapter 46

Etienne suddenly recalled a conversation he had with Mia.

— In that case, wouldn’t attacking the mercenaries while they’re in Raven deal a significant blow to their forces?

To this, Mia had shaken her head and replied:

— Even if the upper echelons dismiss it as a rumor, talk of war breaking out is already spreading, Etienne. Anyone who can be bribed to abandon their post during such times likely doesn’t possess much loyalty to begin with.

— Even without loyalty, they could still fight.

— True. But whose side they fight on—that remains to be seen.

A light knock broke his train of thought, and Etienne lifted his head.

“Identify yourself.”

There was no reply from the other side. Silently, Etienne folded the map he had been looking at and tucked it under his desk.

After dealing with the uninvited guest, another visitor came to see him. This time, it was the agent assigned to secretly tail Mia.

“So, you didn’t see her return to her room again?”

“Yes. I waited until the time for reporting drew near, but she still remained outside…”

“If she stayed outside that long, it surely wasn’t for no reason. What was she doing?”

Despite being appointed as her observer, the attendant visibly paled under Etienne’s pressing questions.

“That is…”

“Unless you’ve conspired with her, there’s no reason you should have any difficulty telling me.”

“T-that’s outrageous!”

“Then speak plainly.”

Only after staring at Etienne’s eyes—where a quiet intensity lingered, hard to tell whether it was suspicion or anger—did the boy finally gather the courage to speak.

“She was… swinging a sword.”

“A sword?”

Etienne’s tone wasn’t so much disbelief as exasperation—was this really something worth hiding?

The content of the report itself wasn’t particularly surprising. After all, it hadn’t been long since Mia collapsed near the border and stubbornly insisted on learning swordsmanship. He hadn’t expected her to have changed all that much.

And though her physical condition had kept her mostly immobile due to repeated assassination attempts, Mia had not neglected her sword training even after arriving in Raven.

Still… it felt like that wasn’t the whole story.

Etienne spoke with a hint of suspicion.

“If you’re hiding anything more, speak now and save yourself future trouble.”

The boy hesitated for a long while, then finally shut his eyes tight with the resolve of someone making a major confession.

“…It didn’t seem like she was using divine power.”

“Divine power? Elia?”

That was certainly hard to believe. If it were true, it might be something Mia herself was trying to hide.

But even then, it didn’t seem like something the observer should be so hesitant to report. Etienne gave the boy a puzzled look.

“Yes… But you told me she was a highly dangerous combatant and must not discover me, didn’t you?”

Etienne nodded. That order hadn’t been for Mia’s or even his own sake—it was for the boy’s safety.

Mia was too sharp and observant not to detect someone tailing her eventually. And if she determined that the observer interfered with her plans, she would eliminate them without hesitation—even if she knew who had sent them.

Etienne, who didn’t know when he might have to leave the city, had no desire to waste manpower replacing lost subordinates due to carelessness.

“I understood what you meant. Despite being a merchant, she’s rather proficient with the sword. Someone like me, who’s only ever watched soldiers train from afar, wouldn’t even come close to matching her.”

“I didn’t pay you a year’s salary just to hear the obvious. Get to the point.”

The boy bowed deeply in apology and continued his report.

“Truly skilled individuals tend to give themselves away in subtle ways, right? I’ve never received formal training, so I can’t say exactly what seemed off, but…”

“So, you’re saying something didn’t look right.”

“Yes. Especially because what I saw didn’t match what I’d heard. That troubled me.”

“…Hmm.”

“I began to wonder if there might be some hidden scheme I wasn’t aware of… I’m sorry!”

Ah, so it was me he was suspicious of. Etienne smirked. Loyalty bought with money was easy to discard when no longer needed—but it could also backfire and invite mistrust from unexpected places.

“Well, you’ve spoken honestly, so that’s enough for now. You’re dismissed.”

There were several possible explanations as to why Mia hadn’t used divine power during training. The most likely was that the glow her divine power emitted was different from what most people expected.

So maybe the boy simply didn’t recognize it as divine power when he saw the red light. Or perhaps Mia herself thought it was too conspicuous and refrained from using it in open spaces.

Moreover, Mia hadn’t possessed divine power during her first deployment. The fact that some still mocked her as a “hero without divine power” was proof enough of that.

Since her power had manifested unusually late, perhaps she hadn’t yet adjusted to incorporating it into combat…

But didn’t Mia prefer to dominate battles using overwhelming divine force?

If so, that theory could be dismissed. While her decision to focus on swordsmanship could stem from past experiences where divine power was a disadvantage, even that explanation didn’t sit entirely right.

Maybe it was because her movements seemed unnatural.

The fact that she was still outside this late into the night kept nagging at him. If she were in good shape and fighting as usual, it wouldn’t be so concerning. But if even a young observer could tell something was off, then she might not be able to properly respond to a surprise attack.

Yes, perhaps he was simply worried that she wasn’t in good condition. As a commander, that level of concern for his subordinates was perfectly reasonable.

Still, it’s getting late. She should’ve gone back in by now.

But what if she’s attacked? What if it’s an ambush too big for her to handle alone?

I don’t know. I’ll just check and come right back.

Unable to ignore his concern, Etienne finally rushed out of his room without even waiting for the elevator, dashing toward the first floor. A few late-night guests climbing the stairs gave him odd looks.

Behind the hotel, in a neglected vacant lot. Despite its proximity to a luxurious hotel, the area was largely deserted. Occasionally it was used as a discreet walking path by nobles and their lovers, but lately, their romantic strolls had been driven away by a woman in a robe wielding a sword in the middle of the field.

The blade that cut through the air made only a dull swishing sound, as if dulled by the wind, and her once-straight arms now bent under the weight of cold steel. The sweat soaking her back revealed how long she had been there.

“May I be so bold as to offer my assistance, my lady?”

A voice, tinged with amusement, rang out from behind her.

An occasion like this—where divine power couldn’t be used—could arise at any time. Or perhaps she had truly returned to a state like her past life, where she had to survive without it. Back then, she’d been a hero despite never using divine power, so now was no time to neglect her training just because it was difficult.

Though she had no way to engage in divine power-based combat right now, even if she did, it was time to learn how to fight without it.

“Mia, why aren’t you answering?”

Which meant she had no time to be swayed by such meaningless jokes and provocations. For Etienne’s sake more than anyone else, she had to survive the battlefield.

“Please, just listen to me.”

“……”

“It wasn’t something worth getting so angry over, was it? I apologize. But I still don’t understand why you reacted that way…”

“……”

“I just wanted to know why. I was worried about you, that’s all.”