“Please train me hard!”
“Sure thing!”
After coming out of the divine chamber, the moment Natsuka lifted his eyes, he saw Cecil standing leaning against the wall by the corridor, both arms folded across her chest, looking very much like someone who had already been waiting for quite a while.
The girl tilted her chin up slightly, her tone laced with obvious impatience.
“Well, Captain?”
Natsuka’s gaze drifted for a moment, and he scratched his cheek a little awkwardly, his voice dropping noticeably softer.
“You mean me?”
“Hah?!”
Cecil instantly bristled, her willow-shaped brows shooting straight up.
“Don’t play dumb!
From the very moment you officially joined the Familia, you should’ve started obediently addressing me by my proper title!”
It was painfully obvious — for the sake of that one word, “Captain,” she had been keeping watch outside the door for half a day already.
Faced with that, Natsuka could only spread his hands helplessly.
“Sorry — something came up in the middle, and the captain seat…
probably can’t be handed over to you quite so easily anymore.”
“Mm——”
Cecil immediately puffed up her cheeks, her expression curdling into the absolute peak of disgust.
Going back on something they had already agreed on — how could a guy like that even be allowed into Lady Astraea’s Familia?
Putting a person who didn’t keep his word in the captain’s seat — she, Cecil, was the first one to object.
Right at that moment, Astraea also stepped out from behind, speaking up with a touch of apology.
“Cecil-chan, I’m really sorry.
Due to some special reasons, on Natsu-chan’s side…
there really are reasons why he has to be the captain.”
“What sort of reasons…” Cecil muttered under her breath, her whole face writ with displeasure.
“It’s related to his skill…” Astraea instinctively glanced at Asfi, as though she found it hard to explain.
“At any rate, that’s just how it is.
Please, okay?”
“Even Lady Astraea is saying that?!”
Cecil’s eyes went wide, and her whole self froze for a beat.
That expression on her face was, frankly, like that of some pitiful country wife who had labored to support her husband through his studies and exams, only for him, the moment he passed and made it big, to turn around and throw her aside — grievance practically about to spill out of her eyes.
Seeing her like that, Natsuka felt a little bit sorry too, so he took the initiative to propose,
“How about this — for the captain’s seat, the two of us have a fair competition.”
He raised his hand and held up three fingers.
“Let’s set a limit of three months.
Whoever can recruit more qualified new members for the Astraea Familia in that time — whoever wins, that person becomes captain.
How about it?”
“But let me say this up front: the people we recruit have to be approved by Lady Astraea.
Absolutely no padding the numbers with random nobodies just to put on a show.”
Cecil had originally wanted to throw back another retort or two, but the moment she looked up she saw Astraea standing right behind Natsuka, head tilted slightly to one side, hands clasped together, an utterly earnest pleading look on her face directed at her.
The little fire in her chest deflated all at once, like a balloon with the air let out.
“…
Fine!”
She turned her face away, her voice still carrying a trace of grudging dissatisfaction.
“Three months it is, and that’s a promise!”
After saying that, she shot Natsuka another vicious glare, then gave a heavy “Hmph!” and crossed her arms again, lifting her chin high.
Just some rookie who had only just stepped through the door — what was he going to fight her with?
She was a veteran blacksmith, and this place was the Sword Capital — it was her turf to begin with.
Whether it came to channels, connections, or familiarity, she had every advantage.
Not to mention she had also awakened a rare skill.
Cecil grew more and more confident the more she thought about it, and the image of her own ability surfaced in her mind.
[Sword Crafting]
· When forging blade-type weapons, proficiency increases at a rapid pace.
· When crafting blade-type weapons, equipment performance can be enhanced, and there is a very low probability that the material’s tier will be further raised. Find the original chapter at g.com.
Although she herself didn’t have the development ability [Forge], so most of the weapons she made were still ordinary white gear, unable to come with extra attributes by default.
Still, she was full of confidence.
With this skill, she could rely on high-quality blank-tier weapons to draw in more than enough adventurers.
On the other side, Natsuka was just as unflustered.
His eyes shone, that bold plan of his already gradually taking shape in his mind.
In this newborn Justice Familia, the two future candidates for captain, just like that, with a crisp slap of palms, formally locked in their competition.
“Ahem ahem.”
Right as the atmosphere had only just been settled, Asfi, who had been watching the show on the side this whole time, finally couldn’t take it any longer and gave a soft cough to remind them of her existence.
“You’re still here?”
Natsuka and Cecil whipped their heads around almost simultaneously, blurting out the same line in unison.
“Just now you two were looking like you were about to throw down with each other — how did you suddenly start clicking together so well!” Asfi rolled her eyes, an utterly speechless look on her face.
“Even though I was just delivering a certain someone here on the way, the fact that you use a person up and then leave them aside on the side — isn’t that just a little too cold-hearted?”
Heh.
Don’t you have an abacus of your own?
Natsuka tossed an eye-roll right back at her.
“Isn’t this just normal?
After all, we’re now comrades in the same Familia.”
Cecil immediately added,
“Of course we have to present a united front to outsiders.”
“Tch.”
Asfi gave a light click of her tongue, and didn’t bother to keep arguing the point.
____
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Walnut-chan for more chapters!🔥👻
🔥 New history: Danmachi: Summoning Ruri Gokou, And other Chuunibyou Brats
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