“Yuugo, I got all the rumors surrounding Mizari like you asked.”
“And I heard some things from the girls!”
“Thank you, you two. It’s a big help, because I wouldn’t be able to collect information.”
The next day, everyone got together except Phi, who went to the training area ahead of the others, and Yuugo heard what the others had to say.
Hercus went first, thinking about how somehow, he was settling into the position of information broker.
“What you wanted to know the most was who she looks up to… And I’m ninety percent sure it’s her father.”
“Her father?”
“Yes, Hunt Pym, also known as The Stinger, an excellent magic knight.”
“Pym… I see, I thought I heard that last name somewhere…!”
Marcos whispered, seemingly reaching a conclusion.
Needless to say, Yuugo had no idea who Mizari’s father was, and when he asked for an explanation with his eyes, Hercus began to explain what he learned and what he already knew.
“Mizari’s father was a commoner whose strength was recognized to the point where he was appointed to the capital. Basically, a self-made elite. He’s known for being the first to charge into combat, opening escape paths for his allies, and carving into the enemy lines with his needle. His achievements earned him the nickname of The Stinger.
After years of fighting, his wounds led him to retire from the front lines, but he’s pretty famous.”
“I see… So Mizari is trying to emulate her father’s fighting style.”
“Most likely, but I think it will be difficult for her, mostly because of the difference in a man and a woman’s bodies.”
Now that Yuugo understood Mizari was trying to emulate her popular father, he understood, and agreed with Hercus.
He knew from their sparring the previous day that she was proficient in her techniques, but they weren’t fit for her.
Surely this man named Hunt was a size or two bigger than her. With more strength and a better build than Mizari, the power of his thrusting attacks was no doubt a lot higher than her’s.
Mizari on the other hand was a relatively small girl, so a big disadvantage was born the moment she decided to adopt the same fighting style.
Even Mizari’s light left hand jabs that could practically be ignored would probably deal decent damage if they came from her father.
But naturally, making use of them before finishing things off with the main right handed attack was Mizari’s ideal fighting style she imagined.
“It makes sense that a person with a different build and muscles would make that thrusting attack stronger. The speed of her punches might not be too far behind, but the difference in power between her and her father is too great.”
“There’s the reach too. Mizari’s is shorter. I think extending Wasp Needle more than she should to make up for that is probably lowering her attack power too.”
Mizari’s fighting style was cooked up by her father, who wanted to make use of his build. A self-made style. But she could never match its creator in raw strength.
She was using a fighting style that did not suit her because she was chasing the shadow of her great father. They all understood her problem, but also where her drive came from. And as Yuugo nodded, Melt spoke.
“I heard the same thing in the girls’ dormitory. She joined this school this year, but she has plenty of friends, and talks to a lot of people, so I was able to learn quite a bit. But something stuck out to me.”
“What?”
“…I don’t think this is what led her to want to become strong.”
Melt lowered her head, looking like it was hard for her to say this.
This was one of the things Yuugo wanted to know. What prompted her to want to become strong? He silently waited for her to continue telling him the information he was waiting for, and she quietly spoke.
“This is going to sound really bad… Mizari was dumped by one of the students that are called hero prospects.”
“Dumped… Was she going out with someone!?”
“No no, I said it would sound really bad. She was kicked out as a possible party member.”
“A-ah, I see…!”
Yuugo was taken aback by Melt’s explosive statement, but breathed a sigh of relief as she clarified.
An then continued where Melt left off.
“Remember what Hercus said before? About those guys called hero prospects gathering partners to do tasks and train together… Party members. And the students being in a frenzy to try to get them to pick them.”
“Yes, I do. So she was one of them?”
“Not exactly. She did her best, but she knew her power was not on par. But then, one of these hero prospects spoke to her.”
To summarize what melt said, despite Mizari feeling like she fell behind compared to the other students, one of the hero prospects talked to her. And apparently he even gave her materials.
She was happy that a hero prospect who was looked at by many students with envy took an interest in her, and she felt maybe she could join his party… But one day, he suddenly stopped speaking to her.
The hero prospect started spending time with other students, and others who saw he was no longer speaking to her spread rumors that it was because of her subpar power.
“…Being left out for not being strong enough is bad on its own, but apparently he only talked to her because she’s a cute girl to begin with… Rumors spread that he wasn’t considering her fighting power from the start, and that’s what got Mizari feeling worried. That’s what I heard from other girls.”
“I don’t know what the hero prospects are thinking, but it’s pretty unfortunate from the point of view of the ones being excluded. But at the same time, they really do have to make a decision after looking at all those students, and there are always going to be people that are left out.”
“And then the ones that didn’t get picked, and the ones that were never considered in the first place take out their frustrations by bringing others down. Mizari was one of them.”
“So that’s what made Mizari want to get stronger, to get the better of people who did that…”
She wanted to stand above the hero prospect that abandoned her, and the students who used that to insult her… That was one of her goals.
Being fueled by that frustration and using it to want to better herself was better than wanting to beat them, so Yuugo said nothing about that.
However, he felt a pain in his chest, as he wondered how frustrated she must have been over being aware of the gap between her and the father she admired, and having it pointed out by people around her derisively.
But that was why he had to convince Mizari, and get her to realize there were other things she could do. Yuugo felt that was his responsibility as a master, but then, Phi ran in, out of breath.
“B-big brother! Trouble!”
“What is it Phi? Did something happen?”
The others all felt something was going on when they looked at Phi. And as he composed his breathing, he spoke to his big brother with a pale face.
“M-Mizari… Mizari is…!!”
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