Eris

Arrogant, haughty, rude.

That was what I thought the instant I first saw her.

She was two years older than me.

The corners of her eyes tilted upward, and I noticed her hair was curly in waves.

Its color was bright red, so red it looked as if someone had splashed it with primary-color paint.

My first impression was that she was fierce...

She looked exactly like the kind of kid I hated.

"Nice to meet you. I'm Rudeus Greyrat."

In any case, she hadn't made me angry yet, so I greeted her the way I had just learned.

"Hmph!"

She only glanced at me before immediately giving a snort exactly like her grandfather's.

Then she stood with her arms crossed and her feet planted apart, taking an obviously condescending stance as she looked down at me.

She was taller than me.

As soon as she looked at me, she spoke with a blatantly displeased expression.

"What the hell! He's younger than me! You're actually making someone like this my teacher? What kind of joke is this!"

Of course she would say something like that... She looked like she had a lot of pride, after all.

Still, I didn't really care.

"I don't think this has anything to do with age."

"What! You got a problem with me?"

Her voice was so loud it felt like my ears were ringing a little.

"Yes. As my student, you should learn to respect others, and most importantly, to respect me, your teacher."

When I said that, it felt as if the young lady's hair was standing on end.

So anger really could be seen with the naked eye...

"You're too arrogant! Do you know who I am?"

"No, but judging by our family ties, you should be my cousin."

"Cous...? What does that mean!"

"It means the daughter of my father's cousin. You could also say you're the granddaughter of my great-uncle."

"What the hell! I don't get it!"

This young lady might have been even more simple-minded than I thought.

Or maybe she simply wasn't using her head.

"Have you heard the name Paul?"

"Of course I haven't!"

"I see."

She actually hadn't...

Hmm. Then how should I explain it to this brainless young lady...

While I was still thinking, the young lady raised her hand high.

Smack...

She swung it straight down. Though I blocked it with my hand, judging by the force, it seemed like she really intended to leave me with some kind of trauma.

"What are you doing?"

That really was a little sudden.

The young lady had abruptly tried to slap me. Although I blocked it, wasn't that a bit too rude?

Hmm... Thinking back to what that old man had said about etiquette lessons, I suddenly felt like laughing.

The girl before me still said arrogantly, "I'm going to beat you up!"

"Why?"

"Because you're obviously younger than me, and you still dare to act so arrogant!"

"I see."

What a rude child.

She wasn't half as cute as my little sisters.

But my sisters were only one year old... They wouldn't turn into rude women like this too, would they?

No, better not think about it... It was too terrifying.

Once I focused my attention on what was in front of me, I said, "Then I'm going to fight back."

"What!?"

I didn't wait for an answer. I slapped her across the face.

Smack!

A pleasant sound rang out.

"Now you should understand that being hit hurts. You should put yourself in other people's shoes."

I had only just finished speaking when the young lady before me flung her messy hair around and raised her fist high.

She looked like a Nio guardian statue... She really did.

"Do you know who you just laid a hand on!? I'll make you regret this completely!"

The young lady swung her fist at me, but after I dodged, I grabbed her arm and threw her to the ground with a shoulder throw.

When she still refused to accept it and tried to get up, I activated magic and froze both her feet. Of course, it was the kind that wouldn't cause any real injury.

"Lesson one: when you don't know anything about your enemy, you should first learn to control your emotions. As your teacher, I also need to teach you some combat techniques. My close-quarters combat isn't that great either, but it should be enough to deal with you."

"You despicable bastard! You actually used magic!"

"Hm?"

So that was it. In her mind, beating her with magic was cheating.

In that case, no matter how many times I beat her with magic, she would never submit. And I couldn't kill her, either.

When that happened, she would definitely think of every possible way to do me in, like throwing a vase at me from the stairs, or assassinating me with a knife while I was asleep in the middle of the night.

"All right, then. I'll make you submit with strength."

I released the magic.

"If you lose to me in hand-to-hand combat, then..."

Before I could even finish, she had already rushed right up to me.

First, she raised her leg high and kicked at me, as if she had really put all her strength into trying to kick me to death.

After I reacted and caught it, she suddenly bear-hugged me in an unreasonable manner.

It seemed she knew she wasn't my match in terms of fighting technique, so she started using brute force.

After hugging me, she kept slamming her knee into my stomach.

"Urgh...!"

The blows knocked spit out of my mouth.

Was she kidding me!? How could I let a nine-year-old brat beat me up like this!?

I also gave up on any notions of dignity and started brawling with her outright.

Just like that, an hour later, both of us lay exhausted on the ground.

Gasping for breath, I said, "Heh... heheh, now... now do you know you should respect your teacher...?"

When she heard me say that, it was as if she found her strength again.

Although she was very weak, her momentum didn't diminish at all.

"Wh-what a joke! I'll... I'll beat you until you submit!"

"Heheh... Holy power is fragrant grain. Grant those who have lost their strength the power to stand once more—[Healing]."

I cast healing magic on myself, and after my strength recovered, I stood up.

"Well? Want to fight again?"

"You're cheating! You despicable man!"

She shouted that last sentence as if she had used up all her strength.

"Do you admit defeat? If you don't, I'll beat you again. If you admit defeat and acknowledge that I'm your teacher, then I'll heal you."

After a moment of silence, she spoke.

"I admit defeat... You... you are my teacher..."

Heh... So she did understand how to bend when she had to...

"Very good... Holy power is fragrant grain. Grant those who have lost their strength the power to stand once more—[Healing]."

After using healing magic on her, I let out a breath.

That really wasn't easy...

That thought had barely appeared before my back was struck by a violent blow.

"You!"

I turned back and looked at the red-haired girl who had kicked me.

"You cheated first!"

She shouted that, but she didn't attack me again afterward.

"I admit it! You... you are... you're my opponent! Also, I'll allow you to call me Eris now! This is special treatment!"

After saying that, she turned and left.

Watching her back, I couldn't help but sigh.

"Seriously... there's still a long road ahead."