It might be that she was trying to talk about a prince she didn’t know.
Frennila quietly followed Werhe, who was following Svioha.
“In the not-too-distant future, Frennila, she will kill the prince, no, the Khan’s successor.”
‘I will kill the prince?’
It wasn’t her intention to eavesdrop, but she found herself crouching and hiding.
It’s really absurd.
Svioha, that gloomy woman, is now trying to drive a wedge between the prince and me.
Future events?
That’s ridiculous.
Frennila wanted to immediately kill that woman who was openly talking about something that could never happen.
But then came the words,
‘The prince also knows that fact.’
With that one sentence, she felt all the strength leave her body.
The journey to the north, the image of the prince having nightmares came to mind.
‘…Pl, please don’t kill me! Frennila, pl, please save me. Please. Ugh.’
Her breath caught in her throat.
It wasn’t a plea for help, but a plea for her life.
She had vaguely been angry at the empire’s people, but in reality, the cause was herself.
The anger with nowhere to go soon churned her heart, causing her pain.
Could it really happen that I will try to kill the prince in the future?
If so, what should I do?
“The fact that the future is changing means it can change for the better, right?”
Please say that’s the case.
If it’s something that can be changed with her efforts, she was willing to change everything except her bones and flesh.
“Well, I don’t know about that. But so far, that ending hasn’t changed.”
But the answer from the priestess who governs Tengri is negative.
She was scared.
Could a mere mortal like her defy Tengri’s prophecy?
If it’s impossible?
If it really happens, it feels like all the precious feelings she has for the prince now are being denied, like her presence is causing pain to the person she loves,
‘I don’t want that, I don’t.’
For the first time in her life, she fell in love as if it were fate, but it feels like heaven is saying this love can never be.
Frennila quietly returned to the barracks, hugged her legs, and cried.
Once a negative thought entered her mind, all sorts of random thoughts came up.
Did the prince really confess because he liked me?
Did he have some reason for giving up everything and coming here?
“Miss Frennila, it’s Kenneth.”
Why, why are you coming to see me?
They say I will kill you in the future.
But the prince always approaches me, who is powerless.
“Later, when you feel like it, I’ll come see you again.”
Even the always confident voice now sounds very tired.
She doesn’t want to lose him, she wants to support him.
“Prince.”
She belatedly tries to stop him.
He turns to face her, his expression filled with regret and worry.
Why are you sorry?
Why are you worried?
If you hadn’t cared about me from the beginning, I could have lived comfortably.
I should be sorry.
Thinking about it, it’s always been like that.
The distance between the two has always been one and a half steps, neither closer nor farther.
The prince places his trembling hand on her head and strokes it.
Her eyes widen, and she feels warmth in her chest.
She has spent her life serving Tengri and being grateful for nature’s blessings, but today she hated Tengri for giving her such a fate.
She knows it’s blasphemous, but the thought doesn’t leave her mind.
She can’t think of any way to defy fate other than keeping her distance from him.
The only thing left is to finish everything quickly and send him back to the empire.
“I won’t ask now. But promise me one thing. When everything is over, tell me everything without hiding.”
Later, when he tells her everything, she will leave his side on her own.
To avoid the tragic future she doesn’t even want to imagine.
The prince nodded calmly and promised.
Then all that’s left for her is to finish everything. That’s all.
“I’m looking forward to the Thousand Household Tournament.”
The prince’s words filled with expectation, she plans to win the Thousand Household Tournament and become the head.
“I will definitely show you good results.”
To finish everything quickly.
*
The day of the tournament to decide the head of the Thousand Household.
Many people were busily preparing for the tournament at the training ground.
The participants also started arriving, each holding their beloved weapons.
As seen before, Erka with a large sword taller than herself and Werhe with a huge axe that makes one doubt if it’s possible to wield, the two attracted the most attention.
On the other hand, Svioha’s armament is quite light.
Along with the usual staff, she has small bags filled with various talismans and potions tied around her waist.
She truly looks like a shaman.
The last to appear was Frennila.
With a round bow and a quiver of arrows, her usual armament, but her expression was so serious that she seemed like a different person.
“Prince, the medical team is ready.”
Rii also didn’t oversleep today and came on time.
“Everyone is here. Then let’s start the tournament to decide the head of the allied forces.”
The rules were simple.
A 1v1 match in a tournament format, free use of weapons, but one must not leave the designated area.
One might think that using ranged weapons would be advantageous, but this is a world where magic and shamanism exist.
It’s generally believed that personal skill is more important than the weapon used.
One example of the mystical is Pipi following Frennila.
At first, it was thought to be just a clever bird, but it turns out to be one of the spirits each tribe has.
It has the ability to enhance its owner’s projectiles.
My gaze is drawn to the bear, wolf, and fox that appear one after another at the scene.
These are also spirits representing each tribe, enhancing their owner’s abilities in various ways.
Therefore, the two using melee weapons against Frennila or Svioha had no objections.
“This will be fun! It’s been a while since I’ve been excited to fight young blood. But prince, how will you decide the sparring partners?”
“That will be decided by drawing lots.”
The bamboo tube prepared for today and the sticks inside with the names of the four participants, I lightly shake the tube to mix and draw the sticks to pair them.
Werhe – Frennila
Erka – Svioha
“….”
“Oh, my first opponent is the staff child. This will be fun!”
“Nila is my opponent? …I’m doomed.”
“Please take care of me.”
The reactions are varied.
The indifferent Frennila, the excited Erka, the devastated Werhe, the smiling Svioha.
After checking the matchups, everyone looks at the podium.
It seems everyone is ready.
“Then let’s start the first match. Miss Frennila and Miss Werhe, please come forward.”
Thus begins the first match of the Thousand Household Martial Arts Tournament to decide the head of the Thousand Household.
*
Werhe looks like an ordinary girl who likes girly things.
But no one on the battlefield treats her like a girl.
Wielding an axe, she fears no enemy on the battlefield.
Always leading from the front, warriors call her the Vanguard’s Guardian or the Iron-blooded Axe Maiden.
“Eh, sorry but I’m going all out this time.”
“…hiccup.”
But even Werhe is afraid of something.
That is her close friend Frennila in serious mode.
If they weren’t close, if she were her enemy, she might have died from anxiety not knowing when or where an arrow might come from.
Frennila, who has been exuding a cold aura since morning.
They’ve been friends for years, how could she not notice?
She felt the need to take this spar seriously.
To avoid a big mess.
With the saint and the best shaman present, it’s unlikely to be a real mess, but an embarrassing situation could arise, and she hated that more than death.
Gripping her beloved axe, Werhe communicated with her partner, Ura.
The spirit representing the axe tribe, the bear Ura.
“Kuu, kuwo!”
“Thank you, Ura!”
With the enhanced physical abilities from Ura’s blessing, she feels her blood boiling.
In the designated space, a battle between ranged and melee weapons.
Everyone probably thinks similarly.
A one-shot battle, the key is whether you can withstand the first attack or not.
“I will now count to three, and then the match will begin.”
One, two, three!
As the prince’s count ends, Frennila’s hand moves quickly, and Werhe’s legs move quickly.
Count to three now, an arrow will fly within that time.
Gritting her teeth, Werhe focuses all her energy on her vision.
She can’t dodge, but she can deflect it in that brief moment.
Haaap!
Werhe swings her axe with all her might, like swinging a baseball bat, towards the projectile.
Kwang!
“Hyaaak!”
It’s not the sound of cold weapons clashing, but the sound of something exploding, ringing in Werhe’s head.
Is this an arrow or a ballista?
For a moment, she thought she might have dropped the axe if it weren’t for Ura’s blessing.
‘But I managed to block it.’
It’s my turn now, she thought.
The distance has closed, huh?
She was sure she ran at her top speed, but why hasn’t she closed the distance?
Looking at the ground, there are marks showing she was pushed back from where she started.
Could it be that blocking one arrow pushed her back this much?
What kind of monstrous strength is that?
Even Werhe, who has witnessed Frennila’s monstrous strength before, was shocked to realize that Frennila had been holding back.
She sees Frennila knocking a second arrow.
It’s too late to block that attack.
No, even before that, getting hit by that would mean more than just lying in the infirmary for a day or two.
“I surrender! I surrender! Nila, you can’t shoot that! I might really die!”
Werhe raises her hand in surrender.
She has no attachment to her position, so she immediately declares defeat.
But Frennila still hasn’t lowered her bow, aiming at Werhe, whose face turns pale.
“The winner, Frennila! Both of you, put away your weapons and return to your seats.”
Only then does Frennila lower her bow and exhale the breath she was holding, while Werhe sighs in relief.
‘What’s going on? Erka said there’s no advantage or disadvantage, but why does the ranged weapon seem overwhelmingly advantageous?’
The difference in strength is too overwhelming.
At first, it seemed balanced, but now it seems the ranged weapon is overwhelmingly advantageous? She thought.
Does the balance need adjusting? She wondered.
But it didn’t take long to realize the reason.
There’s a saying.
If someone makes something look easy, it means they’re insanely good at it.