Chapter 16: Little Secret?

"Haa... haa..." Nadia panted, wiping the sweat off her forehead. Despite all the training she had done in the past, this was the most tired she had ever felt.

’That attack does take quite a bit of my Vitality... but it was worth it.’

If she couldn’t move Hilda the normal way, she would just uproot the ground beneath her. That way, she would have no choice but to move!

Nadia then waited for the dust to clear, hoping to find Hilda standing in a different spot. But when the dust eventually cleared...

"Not bad! Not bad at all, meine Dame!"

Hilda was standing in the exact same spot. And the ground beneath her wasn’t even the slightest bit damaged! But that wasn’t all that was strange about it, because, unlike before, there was now a translucent, grey wall in front of Hilda, in the form of a half-sphere.

Nadia’s pupils shrank in shock.

"W-what is that...?" She asked, baffled.

"{Barrier}," Hilda responded while picking up the clock hand, "It’s one of the first and simplest things you’ll learn when studying Spiritualism."

"B-... {Barrier}?" Nadia repeated before tensing up when Hilda suddenly dashed at her.

She hurriedly raised her sword in a panic.

But having used up so much Vitality—

CLANG!

—Nadia had now fallen into a weakened state.

Hilda struck Nadia’s sword out of her hand, causing it to go spinning through the air, landing and clattering against the ground a metre away from them.

’Not good!’ Nadia’s eyes flashed with worry before bringing up her arms.

With the Heroine now weaponless, Hilda quickly dropped the clock hand, discarding it in favour of her fists. She then began to deliver a rain of heavy blows onto Nadia, who could only helplessly endure.

And it didn’t take long for Nadia—

BAM!

—To be knocked to the ground.

Nadia scowled and quickly scrambled towards her sword, crawling. And Hilda, in response to this, made no effort to stop her.

Instead, she followed behind the woman with slow steps.

"How about I let you in on only a little secret? You know, as a reward for sticking to your ideals to the end, even if it’s a bit naive." Hilda chuckled, "After all, a lot of people would’ve given up right after losing their weapon."

’A secret?’ Nadia quirked an eyebrow, but still remained focused on getting her sword.

"Orrey Cross, the academy you’ll be registered into when you pass, was only constructed 3 years ago. Und in those three years, there were three entrance exams, just like the one we’re taking right now. Und in each of those exams, there was always someone from the LRM disguised in the mix of examinees."

Hilda stood over Nadia, who was now an inch away from her sword, and stepped on the blade of her sword. She then kicked it away, ultimately extending the distance Nadia needed to reach it again.

As a result of this, she garnered a hateful glare from Nadia.

And naturally, in response to that—

"Don’t be like that, meine Dame~"

—Hilda grinned back.

She then continued.

"Every year, there’s someone from the LRM disguised among the examinees. Und every year they do one of two things. It’s either protecting the examinees from something unforeseen, or..."

Hilda went silent for a split second before continuing:

"Or they go around culling the examinees that can be considered deadweight or a waste of resources, leaving behind only those that show value. Und since they were in a place infested with Predicaments, no one would suspect them of committing murder, would they? Pretty smart, right?"

"W-what...?" Nadia’s face paled in disbelief, "You’re... you’re culling these people? How can that be considered smart!? Or even reasonable!"

"Don’t quite see the view yet, I assume?" Hilda asked, having expected this.

She folded her arms behind her back and looked up towards the sky; her expression serene, as if she didn’t find the topic the least bit disturbing or immoral to her.

"In a world of limited resources and land, people who don’t have anything to contribute to society can only be considered waste. It’s better to drive out the worthless to decrease the population, so only those with value can get all the needed resources. No hard feelings, really. Just survival of the fittest."

Nadia trembled at the revelation Hilda revealed to her; an unbridled sense of hatred welling up deep inside her. Even more so when an image of Ben’s face flashed through her mind.

"S-so... is Ben the first victim of you... culling?" Nadia asked, her voice shaking with rage. Her hands were clenched so tightly into fists that her nails had begun to draw blood from her palms.

"Hmm... rather not say." Hilda responded casually. "But I can tell you I saw a few people die along the way before I met you."

"Heartless... all of you government and military bastards are all heartless...!" Nadia growled, feeling nauseated by Hilda’s cruel mentality.

"Yeah... I suppose we are." Hilda mused as she stood over Nadia again, finding the woman now an inch away from her sword. "But for the Good of Humanity, ideals won’t get us anywhere. It will only continue to keep us stuck on the same piece of land."

STOMP!

"Ugh...!"

Hilda stomped down on Nadia’s hand, preventing her from retrieving her sword. She then smiled down at her emotionlessly.

"So, now that I revealed this secret to you, I have two questions for you~" Hilda chuckled as she grounded her heel against the back of Nadia’s hand, "Out of the two options I’ve told you, what do you think is the one I’m more inclined to do?"

Nadia clenched her jaw, enduring the pain, as an answer to Hilda’s question already popped into her mind.

Hilda smiled in amusement, watching as Nadia clenched her hand in both frustration and rage. She then turned her back on the crawling woman, her arms folded behind her back.

"Now, for my second quest—"

SWISH!

Not willing to miss the opportunity, Nadia immediately grabbed her sword and got up. She then swung her sword in hopes of beheading Hilda right then and there.

But unfortunately—

Pinch!

—She was still too slow.

Hilda caught Nadia’s blade in between her fingers, which the Heroine could only process in astonishment. After that, she felt her sword being pulled out of her hand again, causing her face to contort in despair.

She then watched as Hilda grabbed her by the wrist and pulled her in, their faces now only a few inches apart.

"For my second question... what value do you think you posses in my eyes, Nadia Crane~?" Hilda asked with an unsettlingly calm smile, "You may have a Gift, a Relic, und some potential... but you have some ideals that could be considered detrimental und risky to have around."

These words caused Nadia to freeze up and her breathing to hitch.

’Is she...’

Planning on killing her right here?

Nadia gritted her teeth and spat at the woman’s face, unfazed at the thought of her possible demise.

Ptui!

Hilda avoided the glob of spit with a tilt of her head and stared at the woman curiously.

"Hm?"

"Go on, do it," Nadia snarled bravely, "You wanna kill me? Go on, you prick. I’m not scared of death, and nor do I regret that I’m going to."

She then leaned in with furrowed brows and eyes filled with intense resolve.

"My only regret and fear right now is that I’m not going to be able to stab my sword through your Heart."

Hilda stared at the Heroine with wide eyes, her gaze filled with incredulous disbelief at what she heard.

Then, she began to laugh, clearly amused by Nadia’s brave confession.

"Hahaha, my~ my~! You’re not bad! Und what’s this about killing? Where’s the fun in that?"

Hilda gave a soft smile before patting the top of Nadia’s head, which deeply aggravated the woman.

"Meine Dame~ don’t worry so much. Believe it or not, I have something like an attachment to you. So, I don’t plan on doing anything malicious to you~ but, of course, falling in line would do you good, don’t you think?"

Nadia then watched as Hilda pulled away. And once she distanced herself far enough, she watched as the woman, who was so domineering over her, suddenly took on a...

"Let’s head to the port~!"

... Silly and jubilant persona as she pointed south.

"We’ve spent too much time dilly-dallying here that the sky had already turned orange! I’m already starving, let’s find somewhere to rest on the way!"

With her pose and tone, the Hilda she was looking at now completely contrasted with the Hilda she was fighting just a few seconds ago.

’No... that couldn’t be considered a fight...’

Nadia stared at Hilda with narrowed eyes as she massaged her wrist, her blood boiling with bridled rage. The duel they had was no fight, but rather a total beatdown.

Hilda had completely dominated her in that fight.

"Are you certain?" Nadia whispered, immediately grabbing Hilda’s attention, "You’re making a huge mistake by not killing me..."

Continuing on with her childish persona, Hilda nodded exaggeratedly.

"Of course! I have nothing to gain if I kill you."

Nadia glanced at Hilda, then sneered.

"Very well... but I’ll let you know this. Since I’m in no condition, nor have the strength to match you, the moment it’s your turn to be left behind or killed, I’ll be the one to see it through. I promise it."

A subtle reaction flashed through Hilda’s red eyes, an indescribable emotion that she could not explain, in the face of Nadia’s declaration. Though...

It wasn’t a bad feeling.

"Then, I’ll hold you to that."

Afterwards, Nadia sneered and turned away before taking a look down at her hand, clenching a few times with a look of remorse.

’When I get stronger, I’ll eventually bring you solace, Ben...’

Noticing a glimpse of Nadia’s remorseful expression, Hilda decided to avert her gaze to stare up into the sky.

It was now clear to Hilda what kind of person Nadia was.

A person who ran on emotional impulses. That in itself wasn’t a negative trait to have; in fact, in some professions, it’s ideal for people to have that level of empathy. But to be like that in this kind of field...

It could not only bring danger to herself, but also to those around her.

While Hilda did admire Nadia’s near-unbreakable resolve...

She just wasn’t an ideal soldier.

And thus...

’System... I just don’t see what you see in her.’

Hilda had deemed her to be unremarkable.