“An Oracle Knight… Ah, you guys must belong to that dangerous organization that’s been causing a ruckus all around in the world lately,” Paula said.
“So you’ve heard of us?” Wartrius asked.
“How could I not? You’re all over the radio and newspapers.”
“Heh, good point.”
They locked eyes and fell into a tense silence. The headstrong Paula spoke first.
“So…what does an Oracle Knight want with me?”
“We’re performing a background check on Allen Rodol under Emperor Barel’s orders. We’ve hit a snag, though… There’s a lot about his history that doesn’t make sense. We can’t return to His Excellency without first verifying what’s true and what’s not. That said, his records from middle school and earlier appear to have been heavily tampered with,” explained Wartrius. “So instead, we’ve decided to adjust our method of investigation by finding people who knew Allen Rodol in middle school and questioning them directly.”
“I see. And that’s where I come in?” Paula said.
“Pretty much. Allen Rodol stayed here during his three years at Grand Swordcraft Academy, right?”
“Sure. What’s it to you?”
“Phew… Finally, progress. I’ll cut right to the chase. Did you ever see a pompous old man around him? Or a strange button?”
Wartrius looked at Paula sharply, not wasting any time getting to the real reason he was there.
“Nope, can’t say I did,” Paula responded nonchalantly.
“…You’re sure about that?” Wartrius asked. “You have nothing to gain from lying.”
“Not the sharpest tool in the shed, are you? Even if I did happen to know what you’re talking about, I wouldn’t tell a group of dangerous thugs like you. You should try using that brain of yours once in a while.”
“Hmm… I can see we’re going to have to make you talk.”
Wartrius’s muscles bulged, and he radiated an incredible bloodlust.
“…”
“…”
The air grew thick with tension.
“…I like headstrong women like you, Paula Garedzall. That’s why I’m gonna give you a warning before things get messy: Our organization does not go easy on women. We’re going to take you to Berios Castle and subject you to all sorts of cruel means of torture. You’ll experience a pain worse than death, without even being spared time to sleep. It would be in your best interest to tell us everything now.”
“Hah, you’re wasting your breath… I looked after Allen for three years, and I care for him deeply. I’d rather bite off my own tongue and die than betray him! You underestimate me if you think I’ll bend to such a weak threat—and you never want to underestimate a dorm matron!” Paula roared, her voice echoing the pride she held for her station.
“…Well, can’t say I didn’t warn you. You only have your own bad judgment to blame,” Wartrius said before disappearing in a haze.
“Hrnn!”
He suddenly appeared in front of Paula and punched her in the solar plexus, the impact landing with an enormous boom.
“How…is this possible…?!”
Unexpectedly, Wartrius found himself gasping in confusion. He felt horrific pain and looked down in shock to see that his right arm was a broken mess.
“…!”
He did his best to cut himself off from the pain and leaped backward.
“Haah, haah… Paula! What the hell did you just do?!”
“Nothing. Maybe the world just punished you for punching a lady in the abdomen.”
“Gah, nonsense… Hey, quit your lollygagging! Grab her, now!”
“““Yes, sir!”””
Three Black Organization members rushed to follow Wartrius’s orders and charged at Paula.
“Stalk and Tear—Evil Spirit Severer!”
“Become Lost and Pure Forever—Wrath Oblivion Girl!”
“Spill Vermillion on the Empty Throne—Emperor’s Bloody Rule!”
These were Wartrius’s most trusted followers, each with the strength to conquer an entire village on their own; facing all three at once should have been hopeless.
“Geez, are they trying to insult me?” Paula muttered, her words carried away by the spring breeze.
She lifted her trusty frying pan…
“““…Huh?”””
…and swung it faster than the speed of sound, easily pulverizing their three Soul Attires.
“The hell… Blurgh!”
“What…just happened…?!”
“Impossi— Cough…”
Paula brought her fist down three times. She looked like an adult scolding misbehaving children, but her monstrous strength turned the strikes into deadly blows.
“…Garf? Grios? Dalton?” Wartrius couldn’t believe his eyes. His three most trusted subordinates had been incapacitated with a single strike each. Paula had knocked them unconscious and hit them so hard, their bodies had lodged in the ground. None of this made any sense, and he had to wonder if it was all just one big nightmare. “Who are you?!”
“The matron of this dorm,” Paula said without hesitation.
“Grk, don’t be absurd…!”
Wartrius ground his teeth in frustration and used his left hand to make a signal behind his back. One of the Black Organization members saw it and used the wireless transceiver in his ear to contact headquarters.
“Th-this is an urgent message from Liengard! There’s a monster at Allen Rodol’s old do—”
“Whoa now, I can’t let you do that,” Paula said. She flicked her index finger down, and a massive cage fell from the sky. Its impact shook the ground, and the immense spirit power it contained disrupted the transceiver’s signal.
“Crap, why can’t I get through?!” the man yelled, having lost contact.
“My ability tends to stand out a bit. Let’s end this, shall we?” Paula said, cracking her neck. Her frying pan transformed into a jet-black gauntlet.
Paula Garedzall—also known as Ironblood. With the strength to rival an army, she was one of the bladeless swordswomen who—along with Reia Lasnote—had carried Thousand Blade in its Golden Age, and the woman Happ Torne had gushed about to Allen in the hospital.
“…!”
Wartrius studied Paula. Her impossibly muscular body is a work of art, her presence is overwhelming, and she has an absurd amount of spirit power… She’s undoubtedly as strong as an Imperial Knight.
Exercising maximum caution, the oracle knight barked an order at his men.
“Surround her! We’ll overwhelm her with numbers!”
One hundred master swordsmen surrounded Paula, who looked around and sighed.
“Oh dear… Do none of you feel any shame surrounding a delicate lady like me?”
“‘Delicate lady,’ my ass…,” muttered Wartrius.
The battle that followed was completely one-sided. Wartrius’s men hit her with everything they had, but…
“Raaaaaaaah… Blurgh!”
“Hyaaaaaaah… Cough…!”
“Graaaaaaah…! Urk!”
…Paula cut them down like flies, holding them all off with tremendous ease.
This is impossible… No human could ever beat her.
The men felt as if she was another species that humanity was no match for. They all knew that she was the predator and that they were the prey. It took less than three minutes for Paula to defeat them all.
“Pierce and Rend—Beast King Flash Funeral!” Wartrius yelled, unleashing an attack with everything he had.
“Haah… You’re still not done?” Paula asked as his sword shattered on her abdominal muscles.
“How did that not cut you…?” Wartrius said in disbelief.
“You dummy… Did you really think a blade would be able to scratch my abs?” Paula asked.
“You’re a monster…!”
Paula countered with a body blow, knocking Wartrius unconscious.
“Sheesh… If you want to defeat me, at least bring a True Attire wielder! That’ll teach you to underestimate a dorm matron!”
Once the battle was over, Paula tied up the Black Organization members and contacted an acquaintance of hers in the holy knights, who promised to collect her assailants in a few days. Having just finished putting out one fire, Paula watched the distant horizon with a troubled expression.
“Hurry up, Daria… It’s only going to get harder for us to hide.”
Paula was looking out in the direction of Goza Village—which didn’t exist as far as the public knew—where Allen’s mother, Daria Rodol, was doing everything she could to further her plans.