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🕑 Added 2025-03-29 05:38:05 +0000 UTCEP.6 [The Grand Duke's Second Daughter Jeanne d'Arc is a Crazy Woman]
'An ominous voice.'
Normally, when Jeanne calls me, her voice is the epitome of indifference.
But now, her voice reaching my ears in the dead of night is quite low and excessively earnest.
This is the feeling Jeanne usually gives off when she's determined to do something.
"I've turned off the lights and laid down, but I'm not particularly sleepy, so I'm just lying here. What's up? Do you need something?"
Thud!
In other words, it's not an everyday occurrence, but a flag I've experienced a few times.
So I wasn't flustered and calmly answered while raising my upper body.
"Then I'll come in."
Creeeeak...!
Despite being the same Jeanne who had so shamelessly opened my shower door while I was naked earlier in the day,
She now opened my bedroom door with a completely different feeling, making sufficient noise to announce her presence.
'What an enigmatic outfit. Is she planning to go horseback riding or something?'
I looked at Jeanne who had entered my room and approached my bedroom door.
Maintaining my outward composure,
I rolled my eyes so that Jeanne wouldn't notice.
This was because Jeanne's attire wasn't appropriate sleepwear for this time of night.
Nor was it the activity dress she usually wore at home,
She was wearing a medieval white blouse with black pants.
"Come out, Eugene. I have something to do with you."
Exuding such a mysterious atmosphere,
Jeanne dragged me outside as if no lengthy explanation was necessary.
'Wow...'
So Jeanne took the lead, and I followed her.
We left the 3rd floor, passed through the 2nd floor corridor, and then descended to the 1st floor,
During this process, I couldn't help but burst with considerable admiration.
'Jeanne, she really seems to have lived the mercenary life for about a year and a half. Like a woman of the Orléans family, she naturally had impressive lower body strength, but now her buttocks look like they're about to burst in her current state.'
During the day, I wasn't given the opportunity to properly observe Jeanne's backside.
After showering, when I came down for lunch, Jeanne was already seated at the dining table.
Also, throughout lunch, after our conversation about my awakening abilities, she seemed to have a lot on her mind, sitting like a statue until I went up to my room.
And finally now,
I could observe her backside from about four steps behind.
To express exactly what I see, with each step Jeanne takes,
That elastic activity pants looks like it might tear, unable to withstand Jeanne's lower body physique.
Not just her buttocks, but her thighs overall were in that state.
Furthermore, based on the movement pattern of her lower body flesh, I can assert
That her thick buttock masses were by no means mediocre flesh.
A combat-ready lower body with a high muscle ratio, that's what Jeanne's buttocks had become.
'Though she's flighty, she's always been diligent in whatever she does. Jeanne must have been doing strength training whenever she had the chance.'
From what I know,
In swordsmanship, arm strength, wrist strength, and grip strength are important,
But above all, core strength and lower body strength are the hidden measures that distinguish a master.
These elements are clearly fundamental and essential,
But active mercenaries and adventurers often neglect them, focusing only on practical skills.
However, despite carrying out the important role of a mercenary leader,
Jeanne has clearly not neglected this important training at all.
"This is the Orléans family armory. Why are we here at this hour??"
Continuously admiring and appreciating Jeanne's backside,
I suddenly felt that we had arrived at our destination as our footsteps stopped.
The place where Jeanne and I arrived in the middle of the night,
Was none other than the armory located in the basement of the Grand Duke Orléans' mansion.
It's called an armory, but it's actually more like a weapons museum in terms of class.
Grand Duke Antoine had been wielding swords since before he was a teenager.
Being a swordsman who was so serious about swords,
He had personally used and researched various swords for decades.
Then he left those traces behind.
The purpose was to provide psychological stimulation to the Grand Duke's daughters or disciples.
Thus, he collected weapons encountered during his research process like a museum.
"I heard from Sister Charlotte. You said you want to walk the path of a swordsman. So you need to own a suitable sword. Many swordsmen have their swords custom-made, but that's only when their swordsmanship has been well established."
"Hmm... That's right, I know that too."
When I showed a puzzled reaction,
Jeanne explained the purpose of bringing me to the armory in the middle of the night with quite logical reasoning.
Jeanne clearly has a smart mind.
But separate from that, her usual speaking style
Is honestly more forceful and argumentative rather than logical.
However, at this moment, she's showing a completely opposite side,
So while I still maintained some caution, I immediately agreed.
'There's no reason to refuse when asked to choose.'
Having chosen the path of a swordsman,
I was also planning to look for a sword starting tomorrow.
But if I wanted to find a truly usable sword, it would take some time.
And it was difficult to ask Sister Charlotte to give me a sword.
In the midst of this, if Jeanne brings up the conversation first like this,
I thought the realistic attitude would be to accept it gratefully.
Step...! Step...! Step...!
After that, I slowly passed by the numerous swords displayed on the wall, examining each one.
'I don't think a common sword would suit me. My physique has become quite uncommon.'
Knowledge accumulated from meeting not a few mercenaries and adventurers on the pilgrim's path,
Based on that knowledge, I was extremely careful in selecting a sword that would suit me well.
The average height for men in the Pedon Empire is about 173cm.
Of course, there are many mana awakeners, and if limited to nobles with good influence, it's a bit taller at 176cm.
Currently, I am 14cm taller than the noble average height.
Including arm length, hand size, etc.,
By perceptual standards, it could be seen as a physique that exceeds general specifications.
Therefore, I want to pass on commonly used types of swords.
'I've heard that psychological compatibility is as important as material and such things.'
The weapon size has been roughly narrowed down.
So after that, I started to focus on more detailed aspects.
Over the past 200 years, under the full support of the empire,
Institutions for training specialized personnel related to abilities, such as the Academy and Magic Tower, have been activated.
This led to a new era in the technological field, including the development of alchemy magic,
And as a result, as I mentioned earlier, the development of water and sewage systems and irrigation facilities was achieved.
However, the development of civilization is certainly not limited to the living sphere,
Over a long period, it has also had a significant influence on the development of weapons.
For example, systems that allow mana to be projected more efficiently,
Or the technology that transforms ordinary iron into special iron material,
'Iron Innovation' could be cited as an example.
The Elysium Empire makes weapons with that special iron mass,
And as a result, the efficiency of warriors' combat abilities has increased dramatically.
Of course, most of those who use such weapons are nobles,
Or commoners with established relevant professions.
So usually, people pay attention to the material aspect when choosing weapons,
But I want to pay attention to what's called psychological compatibility.
'I've heard that this way, there's a greater possibility of increasing creativity and breaking through limitations.'
Weapon compatibility can be seen as meaning an item that matches my tendencies.
Handling mana and projecting it onto a sword is
A very detailed level of physical and psychological action.
As a result, the unification between the person handling the weapon and the weapon is more important than one might think.
That is, even if one is technically skilled in swordsmanship, if there's less dissonance in handling a spear in the tendency domain,
The consensus is that choosing the latter is much more advantageous in securing the ceiling of final attainable ability.
'By that standard, there's something I've been drawn to while performing the pilgrim's path...'
A few months ago, in terms of psychological compatibility,
I encountered a battle class that stimulated my tendencies.
The pilgrim's path is active not only for healing purposes
But also for knights and adventurers performing warrior training.
The reason being,
The sacred sites designated by the Imperium Empire don't just have religious messages or places related to saints.
There are also numerous historical sites honoring mythical war heroes and superhumans who repelled monsters and divine beasts.
'Dragon-slaying Demon Race Great Swordsman...'
I also made pilgrimages to those places from the middle to latter part of my journey.
It wasn't originally planned, but I added it as a destination after achieving awakening.
Among them, there was a sacred site that particularly caught my eye more than any other,
None other than the sacred site of the Dragon-slaying Demon Race Great Swordsman, the only demon race warrior's sacred site.
The Demon Race,
As a race said to have inherited the blood of the Demon God,
They live distributed in the Iskandal Eternal Snow Mountain Range beyond the Millennial Wall located in the north of the empire.
The Northern Millennial Wall is a key defense line where 50 percent of the Elysium Empire's forces are stationed.
What this means is,
The Demon Race is the main enemy of the Elysium Empire.
Yet, a sacred site honoring the hero of this main enemy exists in the outskirts of Elysium.
'I could feel the empire's vigilance towards the Demon Race.'
Of course, there's room to argue that the expression "honoring" is incorrect.
I don't know if the greatsword is actually what the Dragon-slaying Demon Race Great Swordsman, who is said to have existed thousands of years ago, used,
But at that sacred site, there was just a heavy and enormous greatsword stuck in an altar, as if weighing down the world.
As a result, it was difficult to feel the sanctity being conveyed as a sacred site,
And the impression was strong that it was just a scene exuding fear and desolation.
Therefore, some argue that the empire has deliberately preserved the Dragon-slaying Great Swordsman's sacred site until now, despite opposition from many internal forces, with the intention of never forgetting the strength of the Demon Race.
'Is it because Demon Race blood is mixed in my body?'
But I was rather drawn to that desolate greatsword.
In my own interpretation,
I wonder if it's because half of my blood is Demon Race blood.
My mother, who passed away while giving birth to me,
I heard from my father that my mother was of the Demon Race.
Perhaps that's why there wasn't even a portrait, commonly seen in noble houses.
'Looking at the greatsword before me, that feeling from back then resurfaces.'
The familiarity and curiosity I felt at the Dragon-slaying Demon Race Great Swordsman's sacred site, seemingly a blood attraction,
It began to transform into anticipation at this moment.
And what led to that change was none other than an ordinary greatsword leaning in a corner of Grand Duke Antoine's massive armory.
A greatsword similar in size to my height including the hilt,
It made me realize that my emotions felt while looking at the Dragon-slaying Demon Race Great Swordsman's altar were certainly not a mirage.
'Alright. Let's walk as intuition, or blood, leads.'
Thud...!
After savoring the emotions boiling up in his heart for a moment, Eugene Schneider
Soon reached out for the Dragon Slayer placed in a corner of the Orléans Grand Duke family's large armory.
'A greatsword...?'
And standing near the entrance of the armory,
Jeanne d'Arc de Sel Orléans, who was watching Eugene Schneider's movements with her arms crossed haughtily,
Tilted her head slightly with a rather surprised expression.
'Great Swordsman Eugene Schneider, that is my class from today.'
Thud...!!!
Ignoring that gaze,
Eugene Schneider grasped the hilt of the dragon-slaying greatsword, which was shining like a seductive aura with its unrefined ruggedness amidst the ornate swords adorning the space.
"What are you doing in this moonlight, Jeanne?"
Fully aware of Jeanne's gaze on me,
I, Eugene Schneider, selected the Great Swordsman class while trying to set the mood.
It was an expression of my intention that today's event was over with this.
But it seems the end and beginning were not for me to decide.
"What am I doing? Exactly what you're seeing with your own eyes."
As soon as I decided on a weapon,
Jeanne immediately went to her room, changed into her leather battle gear, brought out her sword, and then dragged me out to the Orléans mansion garden.
"Eugene Schneider, let's test your awakening abilities. With this sword of mine, the mercenary leader."
Swooosh...!!!! Thud...!!!
Then, with eyes full of seriousness,
She drew the sword from her waist
And pointed its vividly sharp blade at me.
