Taming a Munchkin

Almost as soon as he swore, Kynemeia felt her vision rising higher.

“…?!”

No one could prevent the man from hefting Kynemeia on his shoulder, and he sped off at full tilt.

“Eh?!”

‘He’s kidnapping me?! Like this? So recklessly?’

“Eian—!”

‘Rikasha! Eian Krosch! Where did my bodyguard go off to!’

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‘Gyaaaaa!’

Even as she was in the throes of astonishment due to the abrupt abduction attempt, the backdrop started to blur rapidly.

‘Why is he so speedy?!’

‘Where did Eian go?’

She scoured the surroundings far and wide, but she couldn’t detect any black hair at all.

‘He couldn’t have abandoned me, could he?’

No, maybe…! At the hair-raising thought, her hands and feet went cold.

‘Wasn’t he actually lying when he said he doesn’t bear a grudge towards me?

‘Doesn’t he actually harbour a grudge that nobody knows against Grandfather, or Mother, or Father because of something?!

‘No, but still, he shouldn’t have abandoned a person on the streets!’

She flailed her legs and arms furiously, but the man didn’t even bat an eye and simply kept on carrying her calmly as he raced.

… Leaves me no other choice but to use this. Kynemeia held in her tears and rolled up her sleeves. When the lengthy incantation encircling her wrist became exposed, she promptly invoked the enchantment contained in it.

CRACKLE!

“Aaaack!”

His body having been struck by an electric shock, the man fell unconscious and collapsed. Kynemeia managed to break free from him and rolled herself away. She braced her back against the wall with a tearful expression.

“… Ow ow ow.”

She rubbed on her bottom, but then the man regained his senses and yelled,

“What on earth did you do?!”

“Right back at you! Do you know how painful it is to carve in enchantment?”

Usually, high-ranked nobles would have one or two enchantment spells engraved in them to protect themselves. Even though they were oh so very expensive and oh so very painful, they weren’t all that effective and so they were being consigned to oblivion. Nevertheless, they were serviceable during emergencies.

Like now for example.

“You’re really getting ahead of yourself. This cheeky imp…!”

The incensed man stretched out a hand. Tch! Kynemeia glared at the guy and made her way across to grab a long pole planted nearby on all fours.

‘What the, it’s a broomstick!’

She shook her head thinking that it couldn’t be helped, propped her weight onto the broomstick and stood up.

“I said stay in your place!”

As the scoundrel raised his voice, she slinked from beneath his reach and spun the broomstick around before pushing it against the man’s solar plexus.

“You’re the one who should stay in your place.”

Unlike before, the scoundrel recoiled under the subdued atmosphere.

“Don’t move. A stab to your solar plexus will be horribly painful.”

“Haha… Gosh… This tiny imp sure likes to make things difficult.”

But contrary to his words, the geezer couldn’t move easily. Kynemeia focused on the fellow’s eyes and arm muscles. Taking into account the fact that she was only wielding a broomstick and their vast contrast in strength, all will be over if she got caught.

“Let’s just go quietly. Yeah?”

When the man was about to snatch the broomstick away, Kynemeia twisted her hand in a fluid motion to land a solid strike on his inner wrist.

BAM–!

“Ouch!”

Once again, she hit his solar plexus with the broomstick.

“You…!”

Kynemeia chuckled.

“My mom wasn’t a run-of-the-mill swordswoman, you know.”

This was swordsmanship taught by the empire’s hero herself.

‘It was a very early education…’

While declaring ‘Our daughter doesn’t possess mana, so she should at least learn swordsmanship,’ Irea taught her how to hold a sword before she could even start walking.

“Don’t tell me, you’re… a noble…?”

“How else did I look to you?”

“Well, since the material of your clothes looked extremely good…”

He muttered some profanities and began to hesitate.

‘Judging from his reaction, it seems that he’s not a part of an organization.’

If he were, the moment he realised she was a noble, he would’ve summoned his comrades or tried to find a way to.

‘I guess it’s something I have to be grateful for.’

An individual touching a noble without consent meant suicide. He must be racking his brains over whether he should give up and leave it, or proceed with the kidnapping. He couldn’t have guessed that a child of the peerage would visit a countryside market like this. And anything with that great of a risk involved wouldn’t be good.

“There’s nowhere you can sell me off to. Will they accept a noble easily? Do you even know what kind of family I hail from?”

“You might not know it but there’s also a market that sells nobl—”

“You have connections to such an infamous market?”

A thug from the backstreet alleys having connections to a black market that trafficked nobles? He should’ve at least made his reasoning sound tenable if he wanted to spout drivel.

‘But the problem is that he carried me away so boldly because he was more dim-witted than I thought… What if he kills me because he’s afraid of any future trouble?’

Either situation was not favourable for the girl.

‘But it seems I can still get through to him if I talk, so should I try to persuade him out of it?’

Kynemeia drew out a gold coin and tossed it to the man. His eyes widened as he caught it.

“Take it. I’ll turn a blind eye to everything if you would just leave it like this.”

Realising that this small girl owned such a huge amount of money, the man clenched both of his fists.

‘Just leave it like this…?’

Having been barred from doing anything by force, he couldn’t break his hands free so easily. Rage brewed within his heart, but those steady eyes and mien— He had an uneasy hunch that she wasn’t just any mere noble.

… Like it would backfire at the slightest slip. Damn…! Damn it!

It was during the time when the lad lapsed into his thoughts—

KIKI EATS ASS

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kiki u suck

Eian sat on the rooftop, gazing down at the blonde girl. Hmm.

He was only observing to find out whether she was concealing her mana or not. But to think that she would possess swordsmanship in place of mana. And on top of that, with a broomstick.

‘Is she really not hiding her mana? If so, then how did she discern the pattern?’

He was so curious about the reason that he couldn’t help himself. The failure to comprehend stirred up a tumult in Eian’s calm heart. When he settled on a decision that he should find out more about the Miss Lady, a lark flew over from someplace and perched on his shoulder.

• Eian!

“I knew you would come.”

• To think you would hang up on your Teacher as you please! There’s a limit to how boorish you can be!

The pretty twittering voice that rang out ran counter to the harsh berating. Eian stared at the lark.

“Hmm, a lark… You should start to act your age, Teacher.”

Then, as if it were enraged, the lark jabbed Eian’s cheek repeatedly with its wings.

• Picking you up and raising you was my life’s greatest folly. To think that you would grow up to be such a devious rascal!

As he grumbled about picking up Eian when the latter had been abandoned at seven years old, Eian remained quiet and looked down.

“Teacher… Your words are wounding me considerably this time…”

His exquisite eyelashes quivered slightly as if tears would spill over at any second.

“If you wished that you’d just left me be that time… Then right now, I…”

And then the lark opened its mouth as if it were smiling.

• Ahem, Yan. That’s not what I mean…

As the Teacher delivered some excuses with care, Eian grinned.

“It’s a joke.”

• …

“Why do you get fooled every time? And with the same method even. Do you think I’m someone who would get hurt by those sorts of words?”

You! The lark pecked at Eian’s ear with its beak. Eian shook his hands, saying ‘It hurts,’ and ‘It tickles.’

To avoid his hand, the lark flapped its wings.

• You’ll meet someone who’ll drive you to a corner one day. You rascal.

Eian shrugged, dismissing it as mere trifles.

“Is there someone like that in this world?”

• But what are you doing here? What have you been looking at since earlier…

“That.”

Only

A man and a small girl stood facing each other at the spot Eian was pointing at. The girl had the man pinned with a broomstick pressed down on the top of his stomach and was keeping an eye on him without letting her guard down.

• Who’s that? That kid, isn’t it dangerous for her?

“I know right, it does look dangerous.”

Eian appeared composed as if it wasn’t any of his business. Even if the Teacher wanted to say ‘This brat has always been like this,’ he kept it to himself.

• So who’s that?

“She’s the Miss Lady of the Grand Duke that I’m guarding.”

• …?!

Strange, isn’t it? Eian tilted his head.

• You Einsane! What are you doing, not rescuing her immediately?!

The Teacher grew so frustrated by himself that he shoved Eian with his foot.

• Quickly!

“Alright.”

Eian drawled his reply before he jumped down.