## Chapter 448 – 448: Gale And Blazing Flame
◈-Gracia’s SIDE
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
As usual, I swing my sword in the training grounds, honing myself.
I focus my mind and swing my sword according to the set forms, checking my condition for the day.
This is my habit every morning before I get up and eat.
“Gracia.”
I hear the voice of the person I respect the most calling me, and I stop my sword.
“Father.”
My father.
Galf Locke.
The hero knight of the Lycan race, holding the position of the 36th Linesalot of Bridan.
He is also the goal of my life.
My father is looking at me with a displeased gaze.
“Again… morning training, I see.”
“Yes, Father. Every day without fail, so I can be worthy of being your daughter.”
“…Haa. Gracia, didn’t I tell you to stop training here in the morning? I even prepared a private training ground for you.”
My heart grows heavy at my father’s sigh.
“…I’m sorry, Father. I am trying to use that training ground. But… this place, which I’ve been using since I was young, is more familiar, so I…”
This place holds many memories from when I was young.
It’s where I first learned to wield a sword from my father.
This place is not just familiar to me, but also a place of memories with my father… so I habitually come here when I wake up in the morning.
“Be more careful next time.”
“Yes.”
Recently, my father… has been reluctant for me to train in places where others can see me.
I can guess the reason why…
I am…
“Gracia, go wash up now, let’s go have breakfast.”
“Yes, Father.”
I leave the training grounds and enter the shower room to wash my body.
Shwaaaaaa…
As I wash my body with water, my reflection in the mirror catches my eye.
Hair that is not blue like my father’s, but golden.
Pointed ears, not the proud wolf ears like my father’s.
Green eyes, not the gray eyes like my father’s.
A different appearance from my father… no, an alien appearance different from any of the Locke family.
Not the appearance of a Lycan, but… the appearance of an elf.
Yes, I am a proud knight.
Not Galf Locke’s biological daughter… but an adopted daughter taken in by my father’s mercy.
◈
To shake off the gloomy mood from facing the unavoidable truth since morning… I came to the Adventurer’s Guild.
“Master, I’ll have my usual.”
“Yes, I understand. Miss Gracia.”
“Please don’t call me ‘Miss’.”
I swallow a glass of the liquor the master gave me… and sigh.
“Haa… am I really… someone my father wants to hide?”
“There you go again, saying strange things while drinking.”
I turn around at the mocking voice directed at me.
“…Lyfa. I’m serious. I didn’t say anything strange.”
“It sounds strange to me.”
A tiger beastkin woman, a member of the Hoin race, sits next to me with a smirk.
A knight family of the Bridan Round Table.
A woman similar to me yet different, with a father who holds the position of a Gwahin…
Lyfa Tizan.
Today, she is wearing the usual combat uniform of the Third Knight Order, which is also her everyday wear, with her hair rolled up behind her ears and wrapped in cloth.
“You wouldn’t understand my worries, Lyfa.”
She is the biological daughter of Grahpa Tizan, one of the great Round Table Knights holding the position of a Gwahin.
As proof, she has silver fur with black spots, tiger ears and tail, and blue eyes.
The only difference from Sir Grahpa is that her grandmother was from a desert country, so that bloodline has manifested in her brown skin.
“Aigoo, why are you so sulky today? Ah, Master, I’ll have my usual too.”
“Yes, I understand. Miss Lyfa.”
“I told you not to call me ‘Miss’.”
She is someone I’ve been close to since childhood… a friend, so to speak.
That’s why I end up complaining like this, even though it’s not her fault.
“So, what happened this morning?”
“I trained at the knight training grounds as usual. And… I got scolded by my father for not using the private training ground.”
“Is that all?”
“…That’s all.”
“Tsk… you’re still a daddy’s girl. It’s not like you got a real scolding, he just told you to use the training ground he made for you. Don’t get so down about it.”
“Ugh… but, but, Lyfa. I don’t understand why my father made a private training ground for me…”
Lyfa takes a sip of her drink and says,
“Isn’t it so you can improve your skills in a better place? I went there last time, and the facilities were great. It looked like you could go wild without any problems.”
“That’s not the issue. If it’s training, I can do it with the other knights in the usual place. Rather, if we think about the future, it’s better to train in conjunction with other knights.”
“Well, that’s true. But your father doesn’t seem to have any intention of putting you in the knight order, does he?”
“Ugh… I, I want to join the knight order!”
“But your father said it, didn’t he? That the knight order isn’t the only path. I was there at the time too. Isn’t he just telling you to live freely as you please?”
“I… I’m worried about that, Lyfa.”
“About what?”
“In the past, when I trained with the other knights, my father always watched me… but as I grew up, you know he’s been trying to distance me from the knight order more and more, right?”
“Well… I’ve seen signs of that?”
“And it’s gotten worse since five years ago. Especially after my younger brother… Alex was born…”
“I don’t think that matters? It’s not like you’ve been treated coldly just because Alex was born, right?”
“That’s right. But… it feels like he’s trying to distance me even more from the knight training grounds… no, from being a knight, and that makes me anxious.”
“What are you worried about?”
“I have a dream of becoming a knight like my father and standing by his side to protect this country. But… my father doesn’t seem to like my dream. It seems like he’s trying to keep me away from the training grounds… like he doesn’t want me, an elf, to be seen by other knights or people.”
“What? Do you think Galf is ashamed of you?”
“Don’t call my father ‘Galf’!”
“Ah, yes, yes, do you think Sir Galf is ashamed of you?”
“I didn’t say that… it’s just… I’m just an adopted daughter and an elf. I know that other nobles don’t look at me favorably. You know what other nobles call me, right?”
“The Locke family’s wooden doll?”
“Yes, I was taken in and raised by my Lycan father… and many see me as nothing more than a decoration with a pretty face. My father might be worried about those rumors.”
“Hmm~ is that so? You ended up beating all those guys who said that with your sword, didn’t you? Pfft, that was so funny! They were clearly insulting you, but you got all worked up saying they shouldn’t insult your father! Hahahaha!”
“D-don’t laugh! I got scolded by my father a lot after that!”
Lyfa laughs for a while at my words, then takes a sip of her drink and says,
“More than that, let’s go on a quest to change your mood. A quest.”
“Another quest, Lyfa? You’re a proper daughter of the Tizan family, why don’t you do some training with the knight order?”
“No, it’s boring. Besides, there’s no one who can properly spar with me except for my busy brothers and father. It’s so boring. I’d rather fight monsters with some thrill.”
“Haa… think about my position too, getting dragged into this.”
“What’s wrong with that? It’s good for you to improve your skills too, right? Let’s get an A-rank adventurer’s badge together.”
“I want to become a proper knight, not a high-ranking adventurer…”
“Gulp! Phew~! I’ve had my drink, so let’s go check the bulletin board! Come on, Gracia!”
“Haa…”
I suffer from being swayed by her cheerful personality, but she is my precious friend.
Besides… it was certainly a pleasure to confirm my own skills through adventuring.
“It was delicious, Master.”
I thank the master and follow Lyfa to the bulletin board.
“There aren’t any… good quests. The only ones are just Orc extermination nearby.”
“That’s a good sign of peace.”
“Really. Isn’t there a quest where we can go wild?”
Even after searching for more than 10 minutes, there were no quests that could satisfy Lyfa.
Lyfa, who was in a bad mood, comes back to the bar counter and sits cross-legged.
“Lyfa, you’re so sloppy. Your underwear is showing.”
The Third Knight Order’s uniform.
I don’t know who named it, but there are two types of what’s commonly called the Cheongsam.
One is a short design that only goes up to the knees, and the other is a design with a long skirt that goes down to the ankles.
Lyfa’s is the latter white design, but it’s specially ordered with a lot of slits on the thighs.
Frankly, it’s so revealing that I’m a little embarrassed to be with her.
The sides below her waist are almost non-existent, revealing the sides of her buttocks.
When she sits cross-legged in such clothes, Lyfa’s panty straps are clearly visible, and even the slightly red fabric of her underwear is visible.
“You’re the one with the more revealing outfit, aren’t you?”
“Revealing! This is a specially ordered combat uniform! What’s there to be embarrassed about!”
“It’s like a black swimsuit that clings to your skin. I’m at least covering the front, but you… pfft, the crotch area is also barely covered, isn’t it?
And your waist is completely exposed if you take off the magic barrier. What do you call that… a high-leg?”
“This is a design for mobility! And you know! It’ll be torn anyway when I activate my magic barrier, so there’s no point in covering it! And I’m covering it with my magic barrier and I’m wearing a proper cloak!”
“Ah, yes, yes~. You’re so lucky to have a cloak~. You know what? It actually makes you look more revealing?”
“Lyfa~!”
“The Gale and the Blazing Flame are bickering as usual, they’re so close.”
“Honestly, I think they’re both revealing.”
“Hey, don’t bring it up on purpose, they might change their eye-candy outfits.”
“Miss Gracia’s outfit is nice… it’s even better with the cloak.”
“I get excited every time I see Lyfa’s panties when she moves…”
“But what’s best is that they’re both incredibly strong.”
“Strong women… I love it!”
The male adventurers around us are talking while sending us both sexual and admiring glances.
It was embarrassing at first, but it’s become a daily occurrence after so many times.
And as usual…
“Hey, you guys! If you’re so horny and want to do it, try to beat me first! If you beat me, I’ll give you my first time, okay? I’ll even have your kids if you want!”
Lyfa provokes them in a seductive way.
“Do you want to challenge her?”
“No, I broke my arm last time, it was so hard.”
“Lyfa’s punches and kicks hurt so much. You can see her underwear while fighting, but the damage you take is no joke.”
“They’re the strongest in our guild anyway. How can we win?”
There are no S-rank adventurers in the Bridan Adventurer’s Guild.
In the first place, Bridan has a knight order that regularly subjugates monsters and even has a knight school to train knights, so there is no need for adventurers.
So, the skills of an S-rank adventurer in the Adventurer’s Guild would be the Round Table Knights.
The knights who stand at the top of our Bridan would be representative of that.
Most of the knight nobles enter the knight order or the knight training school, but…
Lyfa and I are exceptions, and we are doing adventurer activities directly in the Adventurer’s Guild.
“Really… you guys have no guts. Ah~ I wonder if there’s a strong male who can thoroughly defeat me, make me submit, and make me want to get pregnant~.”
“…Lyfa, do you want to be in a relationship?”
“Huh? Rather than a relationship, it’s about meeting a good male and having great kids. That’s how it is… ah, you’re an elf.”
“I grew up in Bridan too, so I prefer strong people. But… I think Lyfa is a bit extreme.”
“Really? Isn’t it natural for a woman to want to meet a strong male and be with him? That’s what my mother said. I’ve been taught the etiquette of meeting a strong male since I was young, but I can’t find anyone to show my etiquette to.”
Lyfa sighs.
“You and I are 25 years old now, right? Isn’t it about time we found a good male?”
“I… I think it’s better to find someone who is strong, but also someone I respect and who I get along with.”
Yes, like my father, a strong and respectable gentleman.
“Hmm~ is that an elf’s tendency?”
“I think it’s a general tendency, Lyfa.”
At that moment, I hear some male adventurers murmuring.
“How can you thoroughly subdue Lyfa of the Blazing Flame? Isn’t it impossible?”
“No, there’s one person who seems like he could do it.”
“Are you talking about Sir Gwahin?”
“Are you stupid! That would be incest! I’m not talking about that… I’m talking about the famous adventurer these days? The one who appeared after 130 years…”
“Ah, you mean the S-rank adventurer from Pladan who stopped the flood?”
“Yeah, yeah, the Dungeon Crasher.”
Dungeon… Crasher?
