While listening to Rikard’s story, Tia had a thought.
The story of Rikard’s sister dying was a sad one, but the part about the performer was happy……. It was hard to put this kind of emotion into words.

“Sorry for dumping such a depressing story on you.”

“Piyo? Um, well…… hold on…… What I want to say now is coming out all fluffy.”

“Fluffy…..?”

It felt like when a beast’s fur was caught in her throat and she wanted to cough up that big, fluffy furball.
Tia voiced “Piropiro,” to try and straighten out her own feelings.

“You know. The whole thing about your sister dying was sad and all, but you were saved by the performer’s performances, Rikard.”

“…..Yes.”

“I never thought about singing and dancing as something you can do for someone else.”

As a Harpy, Tia had been singing every day for as long as she could remember.
It was not for anyone’s sake. She just sang because it was fun; because she felt like it.
And at times, songs would become a Harpy’s weapon. It was a tool for self defense or to hunt prey.

“That’s why I think it’s such an amazing thing that there are people who’ve been saved by songs and dances……. the kind of thing that I thought it would be nice if this happened.”

Rikard quietly listened to Tia talk, but eventually he mumbled out a response.

“Didn’t you sing a lullaby for Frederik earlier?”

“Yeah. It’s a charm to help you sleep better!”

“…..Wasn’t that singing for someone else?”

No way, Tia’s lips puckered to a diamond shape in surprise.
She had been happy that he let her ride with him as he used flight magic, so she had just thought of it as a way of thanking him.
She hadn’t put much thought into singing that lullaby, but did that really count as singing for someone else’s sake?

“Frederik smiles a lot, but he really is afraid of Monsters, more than anyone else……. He barely sleeps at night at all.”

“Piyo……. Frederik is afraid of monsters?”

Tia was a little surprised.
Frederik Lange was Oliver’s brother and a man who specialized in combining flight magic with his spear.
He could fly faster than a Harpy and wielded his spear with precision; to think he was afraid of Monsters.

“Because that guy’s a Lange……. well, this goes for me, too. Members of Monster-hunting families are more likely to be targeted by Monsters. ‘The Dark-Skinned Oks’ and ‘The Long-Limbed Lange’……. in a way, those traits make us stand out.”

Tia searched through her memories.
Now that he mentioned it, she felt like she had heard something before about humans with dark skin color being strong or humans with long limbs being scary.
But Harpies tended to forget anything that didn’t have something to do with songs. These kinds of legends tended to get muddied and change over the years.

(Piyo….. I think I heard something about there being a human with dark skin and six long arms and legs……)

However, Monsters who formed more organized groups or intelligent Greater Monsters probably had a proper concept of the Monster-hunting families.
For better or for worse, Harpies were a birdbrained bunch that had pretty poor coordination.

“Then, is Oliver going to be targeted by Monsters too?”

“That’s right……. That’s why I think Frederik hates the idea of his brother joining the Extermination Office so much……”

So Frederik was angry at his brother, Oliver, because he terribly disliked that he was going to join the Extermination Office.
Maybe he was just thinking about Oliver’s safety, then…… Thinking that, Tia groaned.
She remembered Frederik’s attacks that were far too ferocious to be minimized to a siblings’ disagreement.

“Piyo…… Is he really worrying about Oliver? …….He said he’d crush his throat and break his legs…….and made his blood rain……..”

“Um, if Frederik goes too far in the upcoming magic battle, I’ll do my best to hold him back…….”

Tia’s eyes widened.
She remembered what Hütter had said when the magic battle was announced.

(Gathering information for the magic battle!)

Tia and the others only knew that they would be having a magic battle with people from the Extermination Office a month from now. Nothing more.

“You’ll be in the magic battle too, Rikard?”

“Yes. It’ll be the three of us: Frederik, myself, and a classmate of ours named Helena. But Frederik is the only one who will be fighting; Helena and I will just be there for defense and crowd control…… Wait, don’t tell me you haven’t already heard this?”

“Director Hegelich didn’t tell us anything. Mr. Hütter told us he wanted us to figure it out by ourselves.”

“Ohh…..” Rikard made a strangely understanding voice.

“That’s very much like Director Hegelich. He’s set everything up so you can find things by yourselves……. But Director Hegelich hasn’t done anything to stop us from talking about it.”

“Piyo?”

He wasn’t going to tell them anything about the magic battle, but he hadn’t stopped other people from telling them everything.
Why would he do that? Tia couldn’t grasp Hegelich’s intentions, but Rikard smiled slightly as he spoke.

“He’s set it up so that if you think about it and do your research, you’ll be able to find the answer. That’s Director Hegelich’s assignment to you.”

“Then, can I get some information? Um… we’re only fighting Frederik? What kind of fighting style does Frederik have?”

“He fights with flight magic and by coating his spear with wind. It’s an application of magic sword techniques, so he occasionally makes a blade of wind on the end of his spear like a big scythe.”

“What about you, Rikard? Or this Helena person?”

“I block the opponent’s path and defend my allies with earth magic. Also, I use an axe for my weapon, so I sometimes make attacks directly and sometimes wait for the enemy to get close before hitting them with a counterattack.”

Frederik’s fighting style involves rushing towards the enemy with flight magic, so Rikard seemed be responsible for supporting Frederik, guarding Helena, and keeping an eye on the situation.

“Helena is especially good at water magic……. you can think of her as being good at attack, defense, and support — basically everything.”

In the magic battle a month from now, Rikard and Helena won’t attack. They’ll just focus on support.
Even then, Tia felt that they would be tough opponents to beat.
Most likely, all three of them — Frederik, Rikard, and Helena — would be plenty strong enough even if they were fighting alone.
On top of that, they were accustomed to fighting with Frederik out in front and Rikard and Helena supporting him. Taking them down wouldn’t be easy. — Considering that, Tia made a chirping noise with her throat.
It felt like Rikard was telling her too much.

“Rikard, is it okay for you to tell me all of this? They won’t get mad at you for not keeping it a secret?”

“I bet anyone you ask could tell you those same things…… In exchange…”

Rikard hunched over a little bit and whispered to her.

“Can I make a request of you?”

This must be what they called ‘making a deal.’
‘Don’t just nod to things like that!’ — Wren’s voice shouted in her head.
Following the advice of the pretty boy in her head, Tia stayed silent. Regardless, Rikard continued speaking with a grim expression on his face.

“In the magic battle next month, it seems like the rules will be that you win as long as you take down Frederik. So…… I want you to try your best not to attack Helena.”

“……Piyo?”

Rikard’s face was serious. As if he was concerned for someone’s safety.
Tia gasped.

“Does that mean Helena has a weak body? Is she someone important to you, Rikard?”

“No, that’s not what I’m talking about……”

Rikard stretched his neck and stared into the distance.

“If Helena gets pissed off, I’m not confident I’d be able to protect all of you Apprentices from what comes next…….”

He was worried about the Apprentices’ safety. That was a terrifying prospect.
“Pyohee……” Tia made a noise of dismay, when she heard the sound of footsteps approaching from behind her.
They sounded like rambunctious footsteps of someone who wanted everyone to know they were there.

“Oi Rikard. You’re getting awfully comfy with that Apprentice. Don’t tell me you’re leaking info on the magic battle, are you?”

The one who appeared with those words was a man with short shaved brown hair and an X-shaped scar on his face.
“Ah!” Tia raised her voice.

“The guy who worked as a counterweight for me! Hello!”

“………..”

The man fell silent with a fearsome expression.
It was a delectably tasty looking face, brimming with hatred.

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