Eleanor shouldn’t be called a magic sword; she should be called the “Thrifty Sword” instead, since all Miss Eleanor talks about is money.
Even though she’s just in her magic sword form, the girl couldn’t help but picture Miss Sword Spirit with her hands on her hips, pointing and nagging.
But with Eleanor’s height and appearance, she didn’t have the slightest bit of intimidation.
“Oh, right, no more wiping the sword with your face. If you can’t find a cloth, just rinse it with water.”
“Okay~”
The girl responded sweetly, the corners of her mouth unconsciously curling upward.
Yvette was determined to wipe Teacher Eleanor’s sword spotlessly clean, from top to bottom, not missing a single detail.
Then—
Layers of halos began to appear above the girl’s head, stacking and then vanishing, turning into colorful light particles that merged into her body.
The buffs Eleanor provided were extremely comprehensive; she never held back her skills in dangerous situations.
In particularly dangerous moments, she’d even tell Yvette to stay back and directly cut down the enemy in her sword form.
Controlling the sword with aura, young one!
A mysterious immortal art from the East!
But in less dangerous situations, Eleanor would definitely let Yvette fight on her own.
Sword skills alone weren’t enough; her mentality had to keep up.
Some less dangerous real combat was still very necessary.
Thanks to the various top-tier buffs Eleanor provided, Yvette’s base stats had already reached close to Level 5.
“It’s a passing adventurer! We’re saved!”
Nelson shouted instinctively upon seeing a figure approaching rapidly from the distance, thinking it was a fellow adventurer.
But when he saw the newcomer’s face clearly, his expression turned to anxiety.
Damn it, it’s just a kid! What use is a kid here?
A pre-meal dessert for the tiger?
“Don’t come closer, little one! There’s a fifth-tier saber-toothed tiger here! Turn back and find a passing caravan for help!”
Despite their own dire situation, Nelson’s first thought was to warn this random adventurer girl away.
They weren’t even sure they could make it out alive, let alone this 14-year-old-looking kid.
But two of the Midar tigers charged toward her, and Nelson, surrounded by several others, couldn’t stop them.
“Damn beasts, one after another, so freaking annoying!”
Nelson cursed, slashing one down and shouting orders to his teammates behind him.
“Percy! Forget about me, take down those two chasing her first!”
Nelson roared exhaustedly. Percy glanced over, making the same decision in her heart.
“No need for you to tell me, useless captain! Watch me pull off something big today!”
The red-haired mage Percy snapped irritably.
The tiger pack’s hit-and-run, harass-when-tired tactics had gotten on her nerves.
“Multiple casting, useless captain! Keep your eyes wide open!”
Multiple casting was a difficult skill to master, and if mishandled, it could even explode in the caster’s face.
Percy wasn’t proficient at it, but with her temper flaring, she had to let loose with something big today.
Three soccer-ball-sized fireballs began to form in front of her.
Good news: The fireballs formed successfully without exploding.
Bad news: Percy couldn’t control them.
The fireballs scattered uncontrollably—two smashed into the tiger pack, and one flew into the sky, bursting into dazzling sparks.
The Midar tigers charging toward Yvette weren’t stopped, and Percy’s big move ended up a big mess.
It couldn’t be helped—most teachers at civilian schools were mediocre mages who only knew how to coast and read from textbooks.
Otherwise, they wouldn’t be teaching at a civilian academy.
Percy’s performance was lackluster, and Nelson wasn’t faring much better.
His sword-wielding hands were trembling uncontrollably, the magic on his blade completely drained, the cleric Jack’s buffs entirely faded, and muscle soreness fully set in.
He was truly at his limit—not only had he failed to kill the tiger pack’s leader, but he couldn’t even get close.
Percy wasn’t wrong; he really was a useless captain.
Young, reckless, and arrogant, their D-rank team had overestimated themselves and taken on a C-rank mission to hunt a saber-toothed tiger.
Now, the mission was a failure, their lives were forfeit, and they’d dragged a passing girl into it.
He was a sinner, and in the midst of the tiger pack, he likely wouldn’t make it out.
But at the very least, he had to let his teammates survive.
Exhausted, Nelson lifted his eyes and gave his final, heroic order to his teammates.
“All of you, flee north! I can probably hold them off for two more minutes. If you escape, remember to burn paper for me next year.”
Nelson delivered his tragic final speech, oblivious to the strange looks from his teammates.
Turning around, he stumbled over a rock and fell awkwardly.
Struggling to get up, he opened his eyes and witnessed a scene he’d never forget.
A flash of light, a brilliant sword gleam like autumn leaves, danced through the tiger pack.
The sword light stretched from a distance to right before him, blood spraying wherever it passed, the tigers’ pained howls rising and falling.
Clean, precise, with no wasted movements, it carried no killing intent yet struck vital points with deadly accuracy.
The blade sliced through the pack, cutting through iron like mud, splitting tiger bodies in two, their twitching halves unable to react before being cleaved by the girl.
Blood gushed like a fountain, splattering onto the girl’s body, hands, and face.
Until the saber-toothed tiger, with the few remaining members of its pack, fled in panic.
Autumn leaves rustled down behind the girl due to her sword light, as if a sudden leaf rain fell in the morning forest.
The girl stood with her sword, the decorative tiger ears on her head swaying lightly in the breeze.
In that moment, Nelson thought he saw the sword maiden from a bard’s tale.
Expressionless, Yvette sheathed the silver sword at her waist, wiped the blood from her face, and walked toward the stunned boy.
She extended her delicate hand.
Nelson thought she was offering to help him up and excitedly reached out his right hand.
“Thank you for saving us! You saved our lives. Whatever we can do, even if we have to sell everything, we’ll repay your kindness!
“Of course, if you’re traveling alone, miss, and need a squire… well, I mean, I could…”
Nelson babbled nervously.
The girl’s breathtaking swordsmanship had thoroughly captured his heart.
After all, Nelson was just an 18-year-old hot-blooded boy; it was normal for his heart to race, especially for a beautiful swordswoman who saved him.
Nervously, he looked at the girl.
She merely shook her head calmly, her delicate hand lingering in the air, her slender fingers pointing at the soft cloth in the pouch on Nelson’s chest.
She knew what the boy was thinking, but she didn’t like him.
His noble-like attire always reminded her of unpleasant things.
“Soft cloth. I need it to wipe my sword.”
Her tone was cold, devoid of any emotion.
Nelson had a hunch that if it weren’t for the cloth, she might not have even glanced at him.
Oops, looks like he got ahead of himself.
Embarrassed, the boy stood up, handed over the soft cloth from his pouch, and turned to call his teammates to gather something valuable.
You couldn’t just repay someone who saved your life with a piece of cloth, right?
But as he turned, he saw his former teammates huddled together, whispering.
Though their voices were low, Nelson could just make out the words. It was a familiar female voice, one that often made him flush with anger—the violent redhead.
“Look at that guy. He’s acting like such a simp.”