I left the camp dragging a small cart weighed down by several sacks behind me.
The clinking of crowns mixed with jewellery, trinkets, weapons and at least one broken wheel trailed haphazardly across the endless rows of overgrown roots, nettles and shrubs that plagued this unspeakably uncultivated stretch of the woodlands.
Of all the crimes that those hoodlums had committed, not building critical infrastructure while they were here surely ranked among the top.
I was appalled. It was a dereliction of duty. Why, if outlaws had the time to squat in a forest, then surely they also had time to pave roads in said forest?
Maybe then I wouldn't be forced to drag a cart over mounds and weeds like some mule or oxen or … or …
I came to a stop.
Where was Apple?!
“Uff … where is … huff … that gluttonous … geh … layabout ...”
I'd left him at the stream with explicit instructions to eat anyone who attempted to touch him. And while I hadn't also told him to meet me on my return journey, the unspoken bond between horse and rider should have been clear on the matter.
I groaned beneath my laborious breaths. Had this been a prized chestnut mare from the villa stables, I would already have been met with the sight of a galloping steed laden with pots of fresh tea acrobatically balanced on its saddle.
As things were, I'd be lucky to share a drop of water from the same stream!
“This is … ufff … fine … I am … bleh … stupid leaves … hahh … a dignified … princess … ughh ...”
An unsightly drop of sweat dripped from my brow.
I was no stranger to physical exertion. During balls, I was regularly required to dance with the sons of uppity aristocrats, and sometimes the aristocrats themselves. Not that it was the effort required to avoid my feet from being stomped on by portly men with wine dribbling down their chins that made me athletic. Rather, it was the effort required to evade the attendants sent to find me in the first place.
I was willing to sacrifice much for my kingdom. My ability to sleep at night due to recurring nightmares was not one of them.
“This … uff … is for … uhhu … the sake … uuuu … of my … hahh … quality of life ...”
Yet even I had to admit that dragging the misbegotten gains of a gang of ruffians was taxing on my delicate frame.
Reminding myself why I was forced to trudge through this untamed wilderness, I gritted my teeth and tugged the stash of stolen goods over a particularly errant root, then held my breath as a tear threatened to squander all my hard work.
The goods would be requisitioned to the treasury. Of course, these meagre proceeds wasn't enough to off-set any of our financial woes, but it was a start … and one I'd need to have delivered.
Was it possible to hire a courier to deliver these items? If they could deliver a book, then I was certain they could deliver sacks of loot. Or perhaps I could turn the items over to the nearest garrison for safekeeping? In any event, I'd need to have everything accounted for. If so, I may as well—
“Boo.”
“Hiiee?!?!”
I dropped the cart—falling straight into the pile of sacks as I instinctively took a step back.
“Ahahahahaha!”
Embarrassment, alarm and then indignation hit me in that exact order as I was promptly assaulted by the sound of laughter.
Laughter.
The … The nerve!
To be waylaid twice in one day! And then to be mocked for it! This is precisely why I never left the Royal Villa! Anyone who laughed at me there was either one of my siblings or a traitor!
Raising my head, I saw my assailant immediately come into vision.
It was a girl, no older than I was, sitting on a branch, her legs swinging idly as she gazed down at me with a smile filled with mischievous intent.
Long, fluffy golden hair. Bright, discerning eyes the colour of turquoise. She had the look of a well-heeled daughter. Not as upscale as me, even with half my back submerged beneath a pile of sacks, but possibly lesser nobility at a stretch. Her shoes, at least. Those rosy shoes were quite delightful. But her starry black skirt was far too unorthodox.
Of particular note was her lack of dishevelment. Despite sitting atop the boughs of a tree, her clothes lacked the tell-tale stains of damp leaves and mossy bark of someone who'd climbed it.
With the laughter still echoing in my ears, I righted myself from my embarrassing position, then fixed my hair back into place before readying my displeasure.
“Y-You! How dare you accost me in such a manner! Do you not plainly see the burden I'm forced to pull through vine and thicket?! It is … It is extremely rude!”
The furious scowl that I presented should have rendered the girl's smile mute. Instead, she merely looked even more amused.
“Sorry, sorry,” she said, making a poor show of hiding her smile with her hand. “I didn't mean to accost you or whatever. I just wanted to help. Or actually, that's a lie. Have you seen a book?”
“W-What … ?!”
“Yep. A book. Say, are you okay? You were huffing and puffing like a fruit slime fresh out of watermelons. Good thing you're finally catching a break, huh? How's a big sack of filthy lucre feel these days?”
I didn't know if my confusion was due to this girl's odd questioning or the fact I landed on some tableware.
It was very uncomfortable.
“I … I do not huff and puff!” I replied, answering only what needed to be. “And you have no right to know the contents of my possessions! Are you associated with those vagabonds?!”
The girl crossed her arms.
“Noooope. No way. Never. I mean, I have a passing interest in entomology, but that's all. Definitely not enough that I'd subject myself to that kind of research.”
I looked at the girl in confusion.
“Entomology? I'm not familiar with that field.”
“It's the study of insects.”
I thought back to the bewildered queue of hooligans, many with tears in their eyes as they reluctantly handed over their ill-gotten gains.
I nodded in understanding.
“O-Oh. I see. Well, I doubt there was anything noteworthy to learn from a band of second-rate brigands other than the rate at which one forgets how to bathe ...”
“I know! A true ordeal, right? I mean, I was sitting in the trees most of the time, so I got the worst of it. That sort of smell isn't happy to just stick around. It rises like a fume. Pretty impressive, don't you think? Also, have you seen a book?”
I looked at her with overwhelming non-understanding.
Who was this girl, perched on a branch like an owl?!
“Who are you! And why are you in a tree?!”
“Coppelia.” She pointed at herself, as if that would help. “You?”
I watched her with growing apprehension as she offered a bright smile.
A sweet, girlish voice. And pretty. Very pretty. Enough to wash all misdemeanours away with a smile. Here was a girl that page boys and squires would surely fawn over. And yet I wasn't able to place that smile. A rarity. I'd become accustomed to the smiles worn by the daughters of nobility and the attendants serving them. Some wore the sweet beam of innocent maidens, and others the hidden smirk of a coiled viper.
Hers was both.
As she idly swung her legs while peering down at me with those astonishingly bright eyes, I couldn't help but feel the distinct impression that she'd never held a single concern in her mind.
Other than this book, that is.
“Juliette,” I said, momentarily forgetting my ire out of sheer confusion. “My name is Juliette … full name and title undisclosed in the name of subtlety.”
“Mmh, mmh. Got it. So, have you seen a book?”
“... Well, that depends? Which book are you searching for?”
“It's one of those you'll know it when you see it things. Don't worry. You definitely haven't. I tracked it down to this forest, but I think it's long gone now.”
I nodded.
Yes. That is indeed some of the least helpful information I've ever heard.
“I … I see? And why is it that you're searching for this book?”
“I'm an assistant librarian. It's what I do. I retrieve books that haven't been returned.”
“Truly?” I perked up with just a sliver of curiosity. “Being a librarian is a noble calling. Which library? I happen to be familiar with quite a few.”
“That's classified.”
I stared wordlessly at her.
“Your library of employment is a secret?”
“A huge secret. Like you wouldn't believe. That's the most I'm allowed to say. Rules and stuff. I'll get bonked on the head otherwise.”
“B-Bonked?”
She rapped her head with her knuckles.
It was all I could do to barely follow this conversation.
This strange parlance. This bizarre introduction. Her highly animated way of movement. Aside from her way of dress, there wasn't a shred of refinement to her. She was most definitely not nobility.
In that case ...
It was time to lord my status over her!
“Yes, well, Miss—”
She held up her hand.
“Coppelia. Just Coppelia.”
“Uh, y-yes, well … Coppelia, this is no place for a mere librarian—”
“Assistant librarian.”
“—for a mere assistant librarian to be searching for unreturned books. As you yourself are aware, there are unscrupulous individuals about. I've dispersed the rabble for now. But there's every chance they'll return to their crime-ridden ways until I can bring enough soap—I mean, guards—down to apprehend them. I advise you to leave.”
The girl, Coppelia, clapped her hands together and beamed.
“Spoken like a true heroine. I'm glad you defeated those good-for-nothing malcontents. What are you going to do about the beetles, though?”
“Beetles?”
“The man eating fire breathing death beetles. They have a colony here. Underground. Mostly keep to themselves, though. Well, until they're woken by something loud. Like a whole bunch of footsteps. Or people fighting. Or a bad singer. Or someone tugging a cart through the forest.”
A very, very small part of me wondered whether she waited until she saw the first antenna poking out of the ground before she listed the final example.
Every other part of me was wondering which part of their name I needed to worry about more. The man eating bit or the fire breathing bit.
I turned around just in time to witness the creature's huge crimson carapace emerging from the ground to an explosion of steam and scalding soil. In vivid detail, I watched as each of its clicking, serrated limbs stabbed into the air, before its bulbous mouth spat a short jet of flame between its pincers.
At that moment, I came to the conclusion that it was the death part which I should feel most concerned about.
“You good?” called down the voice behind me. “I can help.”
I looked at the grotesque creature with a sense of both revilement and fascination.
And then I looked at more, a considerable amount more, as small explosions of steam began erupting from the earth all around me.
I heard a rustle from above. The sound of the girl preparing to abandon her branch and the safety of the tree boughs. At least until the beetles decided to start climbing.
“Stop,” I said resolutely. “You may stay where you are, mystery girl in the woods. I'm quite capable of handling a minor beetle infestation.”
A noticeable silence followed my remark. I felt a note of satisfaction at the awe almost certainly being directed at me.
“... Really?”
“Really.”
Indeed, be mesmerised by my overwhelming confidence! Did she think the mere appearance of carnivorous insects capable of killing, cooking and then dining on their own prey as cause for me to flee?
I may be a princess, but I had experience beyond my peers!
“Really, really?” said the girl, her voice curious. “You've dealt with man eating fire breathing death beetles before?”
“No.”
In defiance to the explosions of soil occurring around me and the scuttling of razor sharp appendages heading towards me, I gave a confident smile, then placed my hand around Starlight Grace.
Indeed, I was no swordswoman. But dealing with beetles didn't require one.
Because when it came to pest control, I was in my element!
“I've dealt with caterpillars … and they are much, much, worse than beetles.”
“... Eh? You mean acid caterpillars? Tunnel maw caterpillars? Or the armoured caterpillars raised by trolls as pets?”
“No. The common garden variety.”
My teeth grit together as I recalled the scene of devastation in my mind.
A single caterpillar, smaller than my nail.
In a moment of uncharacteristic weakness, I'd allowed it to go about its day, munching on the stem of an apple.
The next day, it was all gone. A withered husk of a once beautiful tree stood in the centre of my orchard. All I remember as I fell to my knees, clutching at the rotten skeleton of a single leaf, was the sight of that one small caterpillar emerging from the tree's hollowed out trunk, and then the sight of hundreds of its comrades following suit in a victory procession.
From that day on, I honed my pest control skills until I stood alone among a sanctuary devoid of caterpillars! A garden built upon a battlefield of my tears, until I could nap on my sides with no risk of waking up to see my precious orchard devoured before me!
These beetles may be hideously large and ugly, but that only made them bigger targets!
“That's why … behold the fruits of my suffering!”
Starlight Grace left my sheath.
But I didn't use its keen edge. Not for this.
Instead, I raised my blade high into the air, pointing towards the woodland canopy, then began to spin the tip.
It was a technique I used to wonderful effect when dispersing the swarms of summer caterpillars hiding amidst the leaves. Through years of trial and error, I found that by swinging my sword slightly fast in a small rotational motion, I could generate a tiny puff of wind!
“Ooh … let's go, let's go~” cheered on an enthusiastic voice behind me. “Yay, yay, go go~”
I only permitted my embarrassment to stall me for a moment before continuing.
To be clear, it obviously wasn't a proper or efficient gardening technique. Or at least, I'd never seen any of the official gardeners use it. But it suited me who only ever had my sword on hand and rarely any tools.
Granted, these beetles were slightly bigger than caterpillars. I actually doubted if the little gasp of wind I made would be enough to lift them away as I did caterpillars. But if nothing else, I could shock them into retreat. Big or small, fire breathing or otherwise, all beetles were characterised by their cowardice!
… Or was that cockroaches?
“H-Here we go! One blade, one will, ten thousand caterpillars upon the wind! Gardening Form, 7th Stance … I think? … Anyway, [Spring Breeze]!”
Hmm.
Truthfully, that was a bit off-script. I usually didn't invoke any words other than the silly name I gave my gardening technique out of simple fondness. But I had an audience. And a princess must deliver.
The branches around me began to bend as both wind and leaves coalesced around the tip of my blade. Even without looking, I could feel that this was going to be one of my finest puffs of wind yet!
Normally, I punted the caterpillars away after gathering just enough force needed to launch them over the Royal Villa's walls without damaging the orchard. This time, I needed to do away with insects considerably larger. They had to be a hundred … no, a thousand times heavier.
That meant I needed at least that much more force!
It wasn't particularly elegant, but necessity demanded that I spin Starlight Grace as rapidly as I could, whisking the air as though I was beating the meringue of a Mont Blanc cake.
As I whisked faster and faster, every beetle came to a halt, their appendages digging into the ground to either anchor themselves in place … or to escape.
“Ohhhoho! Too late!”
In a familiar motion, I brought my blade down and pointed the gathered vortex towards the nearest beetle. What was less familiar was the sheer weight of the swirling mass of pulsating wind. It seemed ... well, awfully violent?
And wait—what were those sparks?
In any event, I released [Spring Breeze].
The next sound I heard was that of a thousand birds taking off in flight.
I left the camp dragging a small cart weighed down by several sacks behind me.
The clinking of crowns mixed with jewellery, trinkets, weapons and at least one broken wheel trailed haphazardly across the endless rows of overgrown roots, nettles and shrubs that plagued this unspeakably uncultivated stretch of the woodlands.
Of all the crimes that those hoodlums had committed, not building critical infrastructure while they were here surely ranked among the top.
I was appalled. It was a dereliction of duty. Why, if outlaws had the time to squat in a forest, then surely they also had time to pave roads in said forest?
Maybe then I wouldn't be forced to drag a cart over mounds and weeds like some mule or oxen or … or …
I came to a stop.
Where was Apple?!
“Uff … where is … huff … that gluttonous … geh … layabout ...”
I'd left him at the stream with explicit instructions to eat anyone who attempted to touch him. And while I hadn't also told him to meet me on my return journey, the unspoken bond between horse and rider should have been clear on the matter.
I groaned beneath my laborious breaths. Had this been a prized chestnut mare from the villa stables, I would already have been met with the sight of a galloping steed laden with pots of fresh tea acrobatically balanced on its saddle.
As things were, I'd be lucky to share a drop of water from the same stream!
“This is … ufff … fine … I am … bleh … stupid leaves … hahh … a dignified … princess … ughh ...”
An unsightly drop of sweat dripped from my brow.
I was no stranger to physical exertion. During balls, I was regularly required to dance with the sons of uppity aristocrats, and sometimes the aristocrats themselves. Not that it was the effort required to avoid my feet from being stomped on by portly men with wine dribbling down their chins that made me athletic. Rather, it was the effort required to evade the attendants sent to find me in the first place.
I was willing to sacrifice much for my kingdom. My ability to sleep at night due to recurring nightmares was not one of them.
“This … uff … is for … uhhu … the sake … uuuu … of my … hahh … quality of life ...”
Yet even I had to admit that dragging the misbegotten gains of a gang of ruffians was taxing on my delicate frame.
Reminding myself why I was forced to trudge through this untamed wilderness, I gritted my teeth and tugged the stash of stolen goods over a particularly errant root, then held my breath as a tear threatened to squander all my hard work.
The goods would be requisitioned to the treasury. Of course, these meagre proceeds wasn't enough to off-set any of our financial woes, but it was a start … and one I'd need to have delivered.
Was it possible to hire a courier to deliver these items? If they could deliver a book, then I was certain they could deliver sacks of loot. Or perhaps I could turn the items over to the nearest garrison for safekeeping? In any event, I'd need to have everything accounted for. If so, I may as well—
“Boo.”
“Hiiee?!?!”
I dropped the cart—falling straight into the pile of sacks as I instinctively took a step back.
“Ahahahahaha!”
Embarrassment, alarm and then indignation hit me in that exact order as I was promptly assaulted by the sound of laughter.
Laughter.
The … The nerve!
To be waylaid twice in one day! And then to be mocked for it! This is precisely why I never left the Royal Villa! Anyone who laughed at me there was either one of my siblings or a traitor!
Raising my head, I saw my assailant immediately come into vision.
It was a girl, no older than I was, sitting on a branch, her legs swinging idly as she gazed down at me with a smile filled with mischievous intent.
Long, fluffy golden hair. Bright, discerning eyes the colour of turquoise. She had the look of a well-heeled daughter. Not as upscale as me, even with half my back submerged beneath a pile of sacks, but possibly lesser nobility at a stretch. Her shoes, at least. Those rosy shoes were quite delightful. But her starry black skirt was far too unorthodox.
Of particular note was her lack of dishevelment. Despite sitting atop the boughs of a tree, her clothes lacked the tell-tale stains of damp leaves and mossy bark of someone who'd climbed it.
With the laughter still echoing in my ears, I righted myself from my embarrassing position, then fixed my hair back into place before readying my displeasure.
“Y-You! How dare you accost me in such a manner! Do you not plainly see the burden I'm forced to pull through vine and thicket?! It is … It is extremely rude!”
The furious scowl that I presented should have rendered the girl's smile mute. Instead, she merely looked even more amused.
“Sorry, sorry,” she said, making a poor show of hiding her smile with her hand. “I didn't mean to accost you or whatever. I just wanted to help. Or actually, that's a lie. Have you seen a book?”
“W-What … ?!”
“Yep. A book. Say, are you okay? You were huffing and puffing like a fruit slime fresh out of watermelons. Good thing you're finally catching a break, huh? How's a big sack of filthy lucre feel these days?”
I didn't know if my confusion was due to this girl's odd questioning or the fact I landed on some tableware.
It was very uncomfortable.
“I … I do not huff and puff!” I replied, answering only what needed to be. “And you have no right to know the contents of my possessions! Are you associated with those vagabonds?!”
The girl crossed her arms.
“Noooope. No way. Never. I mean, I have a passing interest in entomology, but that's all. Definitely not enough that I'd subject myself to that kind of research.”
I looked at the girl in confusion.
“Entomology? I'm not familiar with that field.”
“It's the study of insects.”
I thought back to the bewildered queue of hooligans, many with tears in their eyes as they reluctantly handed over their ill-gotten gains.
I nodded in understanding.
“O-Oh. I see. Well, I doubt there was anything noteworthy to learn from a band of second-rate brigands other than the rate at which one forgets how to bathe ...”
“I know! A true ordeal, right? I mean, I was sitting in the trees most of the time, so I got the worst of it. That sort of smell isn't happy to just stick around. It rises like a fume. Pretty impressive, don't you think? Also, have you seen a book?”
I looked at her with overwhelming non-understanding.
Who was this girl, perched on a branch like an owl?!
“Who are you! And why are you in a tree?!”
“Coppelia.” She pointed at herself, as if that would help. “You?”
I watched her with growing apprehension as she offered a bright smile.
A sweet, girlish voice. And pretty. Very pretty. Enough to wash all misdemeanours away with a smile. Here was a girl that page boys and squires would surely fawn over. And yet I wasn't able to place that smile. A rarity. I'd become accustomed to the smiles worn by the daughters of nobility and the attendants serving them. Some wore the sweet beam of innocent maidens, and others the hidden smirk of a coiled viper.
Hers was both.
As she idly swung her legs while peering down at me with those astonishingly bright eyes, I couldn't help but feel the distinct impression that she'd never held a single concern in her mind.
Other than this book, that is.
“Juliette,” I said, momentarily forgetting my ire out of sheer confusion. “My name is Juliette … full name and title undisclosed in the name of subtlety.”
“Mmh, mmh. Got it. So, have you seen a book?”
“... Well, that depends? Which book are you searching for?”
“It's one of those you'll know it when you see it things. Don't worry. You definitely haven't. I tracked it down to this forest, but I think it's long gone now.”
I nodded.
Yes. That is indeed some of the least helpful information I've ever heard.
“I … I see? And why is it that you're searching for this book?”
“I'm an assistant librarian. It's what I do. I retrieve books that haven't been returned.”
“Truly?” I perked up with just a sliver of curiosity. “Being a librarian is a noble calling. Which library? I happen to be familiar with quite a few.”
“That's classified.”
I stared wordlessly at her.
“Your library of employment is a secret?”
“A huge secret. Like you wouldn't believe. That's the most I'm allowed to say. Rules and stuff. I'll get bonked on the head otherwise.”
“B-Bonked?”
She rapped her head with her knuckles.
It was all I could do to barely follow this conversation.
This strange parlance. This bizarre introduction. Her highly animated way of movement. Aside from her way of dress, there wasn't a shred of refinement to her. She was most definitely not nobility.
In that case ...
It was time to lord my status over her!
“Yes, well, Miss—”
She held up her hand.
“Coppelia. Just Coppelia.”
“Uh, y-yes, well … Coppelia, this is no place for a mere librarian—”
“Assistant librarian.”
“—for a mere assistant librarian to be searching for unreturned books. As you yourself are aware, there are unscrupulous individuals about. I've dispersed the rabble for now. But there's every chance they'll return to their crime-ridden ways until I can bring enough soap—I mean, guards—down to apprehend them. I advise you to leave.”
The girl, Coppelia, clapped her hands together and beamed.
“Spoken like a true heroine. I'm glad you defeated those good-for-nothing malcontents. What are you going to do about the beetles, though?”
“Beetles?”
“The man eating fire breathing death beetles. They have a colony here. Underground. Mostly keep to themselves, though. Well, until they're woken by something loud. Like a whole bunch of footsteps. Or people fighting. Or a bad singer. Or someone tugging a cart through the forest.”
A very, very small part of me wondered whether she waited until she saw the first antenna poking out of the ground before she listed the final example.
Every other part of me was wondering which part of their name I needed to worry about more. The man eating bit or the fire breathing bit.
I turned around just in time to witness the creature's huge crimson carapace emerging from the ground to an explosion of steam and scalding soil. In vivid detail, I watched as each of its clicking, serrated limbs stabbed into the air, before its bulbous mouth spat a short jet of flame between its pincers.
At that moment, I came to the conclusion that it was the death part which I should feel most concerned about.
“You good?” called down the voice behind me. “I can help.”
I looked at the grotesque creature with a sense of both revilement and fascination.
And then I looked at more, a considerable amount more, as small explosions of steam began erupting from the earth all around me.
I heard a rustle from above. The sound of the girl preparing to abandon her branch and the safety of the tree boughs. At least until the beetles decided to start climbing.
“Stop,” I said resolutely. “You may stay where you are, mystery girl in the woods. I'm quite capable of handling a minor beetle infestation.”
A noticeable silence followed my remark. I felt a note of satisfaction at the awe almost certainly being directed at me.
“... Really?”
“Really.”
Indeed, be mesmerised by my overwhelming confidence! Did she think the mere appearance of carnivorous insects capable of killing, cooking and then dining on their own prey as cause for me to flee?
I may be a princess, but I had experience beyond my peers!
“Really, really?” said the girl, her voice curious. “You've dealt with man eating fire breathing death beetles before?”
“No.”
In defiance to the explosions of soil occurring around me and the scuttling of razor sharp appendages heading towards me, I gave a confident smile, then placed my hand around Starlight Grace.
Indeed, I was no swordswoman. But dealing with beetles didn't require one.
Because when it came to pest control, I was in my element!
“I've dealt with caterpillars … and they are much, much, worse than beetles.”
“... Eh? You mean acid caterpillars? Tunnel maw caterpillars? Or the armoured caterpillars raised by trolls as pets?”
“No. The common garden variety.”
My teeth grit together as I recalled the scene of devastation in my mind.
A single caterpillar, smaller than my nail.
In a moment of uncharacteristic weakness, I'd allowed it to go about its day, munching on the stem of an apple.
The next day, it was all gone. A withered husk of a once beautiful tree stood in the centre of my orchard. All I remember as I fell to my knees, clutching at the rotten skeleton of a single leaf, was the sight of that one small caterpillar emerging from the tree's hollowed out trunk, and then the sight of hundreds of its comrades following suit in a victory procession.
From that day on, I honed my pest control skills until I stood alone among a sanctuary devoid of caterpillars! A garden built upon a battlefield of my tears, until I could nap on my sides with no risk of waking up to see my precious orchard devoured before me!
These beetles may be hideously large and ugly, but that only made them bigger targets!
“That's why … behold the fruits of my suffering!”
Starlight Grace left my sheath.
But I didn't use its keen edge. Not for this.
Instead, I raised my blade high into the air, pointing towards the woodland canopy, then began to spin the tip.
It was a technique I used to wonderful effect when dispersing the swarms of summer caterpillars hiding amidst the leaves. Through years of trial and error, I found that by swinging my sword slightly fast in a small rotational motion, I could generate a tiny puff of wind!
“Ooh … let's go, let's go~” cheered on an enthusiastic voice behind me. “Yay, yay, go go~”
I only permitted my embarrassment to stall me for a moment before continuing.
To be clear, it obviously wasn't a proper or efficient gardening technique. Or at least, I'd never seen any of the official gardeners use it. But it suited me who only ever had my sword on hand and rarely any tools.
Granted, these beetles were slightly bigger than caterpillars. I actually doubted if the little gasp of wind I made would be enough to lift them away as I did caterpillars. But if nothing else, I could shock them into retreat. Big or small, fire breathing or otherwise, all beetles were characterised by their cowardice!
… Or was that cockroaches?
“H-Here we go! One blade, one will, ten thousand caterpillars upon the wind! Gardening Form, 7th Stance … I think? … Anyway, [Spring Breeze]!”
Hmm.
Truthfully, that was a bit off-script. I usually didn't invoke any words other than the silly name I gave my gardening technique out of simple fondness. But I had an audience. And a princess must deliver.
The branches around me began to bend as both wind and leaves coalesced around the tip of my blade. Even without looking, I could feel that this was going to be one of my finest puffs of wind yet!
Normally, I punted the caterpillars away after gathering just enough force needed to launch them over the Royal Villa's walls without damaging the orchard. This time, I needed to do away with insects considerably larger. They had to be a hundred … no, a thousand times heavier.
That meant I needed at least that much more force!
It wasn't particularly elegant, but necessity demanded that I spin Starlight Grace as rapidly as I could, whisking the air as though I was beating the meringue of a Mont Blanc cake.
As I whisked faster and faster, every beetle came to a halt, their appendages digging into the ground to either anchor themselves in place … or to escape.
“Ohhhoho! Too late!”
In a familiar motion, I brought my blade down and pointed the gathered vortex towards the nearest beetle. What was less familiar was the sheer weight of the swirling mass of pulsating wind. It seemed ... well, awfully violent?
And wait—what were those sparks?
In any event, I released [Spring Breeze].
The next sound I heard was that of a thousand birds taking off in flight.
