A woman calling herself Ghislaine came to the Greyrat house.
She was a woman who looked very mature, with chocolate-colored skin, wearing very revealing leather clothes, and a body of strong muscles, with scars everywhere, wearing an eye patch, and with regular features, looking like a big sister.
She looked exactly like a female warrior from a fantasy story.
In addition, she had animal-like ears and a tail like an animal, and her fur was very thick.
She was a beast person.
The moment Ghislaine arrived, Shirou instinctively noticed that she was looking at him, but he didn't understand why she was paying so much attention to him, since he and Ghislaine were clearly meeting for the first time.
At the same time, Paul and Zenith were very happy to see their old friend and warmly welcomed Ghislaine in.
The three of them used to be members of the S-rank adventurer team Black Wolf Fang, and were close companions, so naturally they had endless topics to talk about.
But Ghislaine clearly didn't forget the main business. After exchanging pleasantries with Paul and Zenith for a while, she took the initiative to speak: "So, that red-haired boy over there is the son you mentioned who wants to learn swordsmanship from me, Shirou Greyrat?"
"That's right."
Paul nodded.
Shirou also walked forward at the right time and said, "Nice to meet you, Miss Ghislaine, I am Shirou Greyrat."
Shirou made a simple self-introduction and noticed that the beast person lady was looking at him with extremely sharp, even suspicious eyes.
Before he could ask, Ghislaine spoke first: "On the way here, I heard that this village was attacked by a red dragon, and that a lone red dragon was defeated by a twelve-year-old boy, and after confirming his features and identity, that boy seems to be you, Shirou."
"This…"
Shirou finally realized why Ghislaine was paying so much attention to him.
So she had heard about him defeating the red dragon.
But that matter was so famous that it had recently spread throughout the entire Fittoa territory, so it would be strange if she didn't know about it.
Shirou felt helpless about this inexplicable reputation. He tried to stay calm and slowly said, "I'm sorry, although I did do that, there were many reasons and coincidences involved, it wasn't due to my personal strength."
Shirou had previously explained the matter of activating his magic circuits to Paul and the others.
After all, his appearance when using magic circuits was so strange, it was clearly not a normal situation, not to mention that even part of his hair turned gray-white afterward.
So Shirou's explanation was that he possessed some kind of life-burning ability. With the blessing of that ability, his overall strength would be improved, but this was not a long-term solution. It could only temporarily improve his strength, and once the power was used excessively, it would lead to danger to his life.
The Greyrat family generally accepted Shirou's explanation.
After all, Shirou was only picked up by the Greyrat family at the age of five. No one knew what he had experienced before the age of five.
It was only natural that Shirou had some secrets.
Now, everyone in the Greyrat family regarded Shirou as an important member of the family. As long as Shirou didn't want to tell the whole truth, they wouldn't force anything.
However, Ghislaine was clearly not a member of the Greyrat family. She didn't have that level of recognition or closeness to Shirou.
So, regarding Shirou's vague answer, Ghislaine frowned and said, "Reasons and coincidences? What kind of coincidence can allow a twelve-year-old child to defeat a red dragon? Even I might not be able to kill a red dragon in its prime, I would need the assistance of my teammates…"
"This… because that red dragon wasn't in perfect condition?"
Shirou tried to find a reason.
In fact, the red dragon had been wandering for several days, fighting a large number of monsters and suffering injuries. In addition, with Paul's delay, its condition was not as good as before.
But this obviously couldn't convince Ghislaine.
The beast person woman shook her head: "Even if it wasn't in perfect condition, I find it hard to believe that you could defeat a red dragon head-on."
"…"
Shirou felt helpless about this. He couldn't prove it himself. After experiencing this incident, he wouldn't activate his magic circuits casually anymore.
To forcefully activate his magic circuits, it had to be in an extremely dangerous situation, and it had to be to protect someone important.
So, Shirou chose to speak to Ghislaine proactively: "Does it matter whether I defeated the red dragon? Even if I didn't defeat the red dragon, it shouldn't matter, right?"
"No, it is necessary to confirm this matter."
Ghislaine said silently, "Shirou, you want to learn the Sword God Style from me, right? As a Sword King, I consider my strength insufficient to eliminate a red dragon. In that case, you might already be stronger than me. If the disciple is stronger than the master, then wouldn't there be no meaning in teaching?"
"This… indeed."
"Moreover, I'm not the only one who wants to know if you killed the red dragon. My superior, the current mayor of Roa City, Philip Boreas Greyrat, is also curious whether the rumors of a young swordsman who can kill a red dragon are true. So he sent me here to investigate. However, I didn't expect my disciple and the young swordsman who killed the red dragon to be the same person."
Ghislaine slowly spoke, stating her thoughts.
Shirou then realized why Ghislaine had been staring at him with such strange eyes when she arrived.
Indeed, the disciple she was going to teach was actually someone who could kill a red dragon. This must be an extremely exaggerated thing for Ghislaine.
Shirou hesitated for a moment, unsure how to explain that killing the red dragon was not something he could do under normal circumstances.
However, Ghislaine didn't seem to care too much. She just said in a calm tone: "I only want to confirm whether you defeated the red dragon. So, the best way is to have a real fight, after all, the sword doesn't lie."
"The sword doesn't lie?"
Shirou couldn't help but feel awe for Ghislaine's words, which seemed to explain the meaning of the sword, and realized that she was indeed someone who had achieved the title of Sword King.
So he took a deep breath and said, "Is this a test of whether I can become a disciple?"
"I guess so."
Ghislaine said calmly, "To learn the Sword God Style from me, you need not only talent, but more importantly, the determination to give up everything for the sword and to study everything for the sword. Because the Sword God Style is a school that exists purely for the sword, the sword is everything we pursue. So, I don't really care whether you really defeated the red dragon or not. Because whether you defeated the red dragon or not, just show me your sword, and that will be enough to clearly tell whether you are, as Paul said, a child capable of creating miracles."
"…"
Shirou was slightly surprised that Paul had praised him so much in his letter to Ghislaine, and glanced at Paul next to him.
The head of the Greyrat family scratched the back of his head awkwardly, obviously feeling a little ashamed that his words had been revealed.
At the same time, Shirou didn't hesitate and nodded firmly: "I understand, please guide me, Miss Ghislaine!"
"Mm."
…
Ghislaine was clearly someone who didn't procrastinate at all. After making a decision, she didn't hesitate even a bit and took Shirou to the yard.
The sun was now hanging high in the center.
Shirou and Ghislaine stood opposite each other, their shadows reduced to almost invisible.
Paul, Zenith, Rudeus, Lilia, and the newborn Norn and Aisha were on the steps at the door, all nervously watching the battle.
Everyone knew that this battle would not only determine the outcome, but also Shirou's future.
As long as Shirou could gain Ghislaine's approval, he would become Ghislaine's disciple. At that time, he would naturally not stay in Buena Village anymore and would go to other places with Ghislaine.
That was certainly a happy thing, but for the Greyrat family, it would also be an extremely lonely thing.
Thinking that Shirou might leave, everyone in the Greyrat family couldn't help but show sad expressions.
At the same time, Shirou didn't have so many feelings to express.
At this moment, after coming to face Ghislaine, an unspeakable, unimaginable pressure was emanating from the woman in front of him.
That pressure even exceeded the pressure that the red dragon had given him.
Shirou then realized what a king-level Sword God Style swordsman really meant. Ghislaine's statement just now was definitely being modest.
She might very well have the strength to defeat a red dragon!
"Can we start?"
Compared to Shirou, who was extremely nervous, even trembling, Ghislaine stood calmly in place, without even drawing her sword.
Shirou frowned slightly at the woman's relaxed attitude, wondering if she was letting him have an advantage.
Although as a Sword King, she had the right to be modest, Shirou, as a user of the Sword God Style, also had the ability to strike her down in an instant.
In that case, he would take the initiative to attack!
Shirou made this judgment in his heart. He nodded: "We can start..."
Before Shirou could finish speaking, he suddenly felt that the space was strangely distorted.
Ghislaine was clearly far away from him, even so far away that she absolutely couldn't reach him, but his intuition told him that death was coming.
That was a kind of instinct that Shirou had developed through a large number of battles, combined with the fusion of Servant Emiya's soul.
Rather than reality, he trusted this instinctive feeling more. So, he decisively gave up the action of taking the initiative to attack and raised the sword in his hand to block.
"Clang!"
A strike that was so fast that it seemed to transcend imagination came from the right. Ghislaine's strike seemed to cross the light, or it might have been a visual illusion.
But that attack did hit Shirou, and with unimaginable force, it directly knocked the boy away.
"Bang!"
The latter barely managed to stop himself with great difficulty!
"I'm starting to believe that you defeated the red dragon."
Although she had the upper hand, after the attack just now, Ghislaine's eyes when looking at Shirou became obviously different.
Her pupils were filled with interest and playfulness, clearly wanting to see what kind of surprise this boy could give her.
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