The list of participants acting as Father's proxy was quite concise.
Other than the names of the top four knights under his command, only Miranda's name felt out of place. Rather, her name shouldn't have been there in the first place!
"Father, you—"
But before I could blame him, he raised a hand to stop me while shaking his head.
"No, it wasn't my idea to put her there," he said, his voice sounding tired. "Rather, she herself begged me to do so. Her reason was to make up for her mistake of exposing you to danger while she escaped, it seems."
"..."
That's absurd!
Back then, letting her go was the most optimal choice. After all, I could handle myself well enough (although I almost died in the end). Rather, if I hadn't done that, she would've just ended up dying as collateral damage instead! A wasted life, with no reason or purpose!
"Couldn't you just stop her?" I said, shaking my head.
"Despite her wishes, in the end, it's you who decides who will fight, right? Then you could've just dismissed her request as nonsense and moved on!"
After hearing my words—probably the most common sense in this entire conversation—Father sighed.
"I know... And that's what I tried to do," he said. "However, as a warrior myself, I saw her resolve. She's not accepting a no, no matter what. That's what her eyes told me back then."
Father stood up from his seat, walked in front of me, and crouched—placing his gruff hand on top of my head.
"You truly picked a wonderful servant... You must treasure her, Rex."
"Of course I will..." I grumbled, pushing Father's hand away. "But Father, don't you dare touch her! If you do, then I'll hate you till the end of time...!"
"W-What?"
Father's smile stiffened, clearly not expecting my words.
"I have your mother, so I won't... haha..." he said, laughing bitterly.
Well, the current Miranda was nothing but skin and bones... definitely not to Father's tastes. Still, I'm sure she'll be a drop-dead beauty in the future.
A wonderful servant... heading straight toward her death in a week's time...
I know she has talent, and I know she has guts, but still, the current her is lacking in many ways. There's no way she could beat knights who've trained for decades so easily!
"Speaking of..." I paused, realizing something. "Where's Miranda right now?"
Father stood up, coughing a few times before answering.
"She should be with the knights, training. She's only been going to two places these past few days—your bedside or the training grounds."
"I see..."
So her interest in learning the sword is also related to her wish to fight for my sake... Although I appreciate the thought, I don't really appreciate her acting on it!
Still, if Father couldn't stop her, I doubt I could.
Well, technically, I could "order" her to rescind her participation, but that might lead to her harboring resentment toward me. And thinking about our future together, I'd rather avoid that... But I'd also rather not see her as a corpse in a week.
What a dilemma...
"...Ah!"
Then, the perfect idea hit me.
"Father!" I said. "Can I take Miranda with me for a few days? I want to go somewhere!"
"Huh?" Father's expression soured immediately. "You... did you forget how you were kidnapped a week ago? And how you almost died? The answer is NO!"
"Ehh?!"
I cried out in discontent... but didn't give up.
I moved to Father's side, leaned against his thigh as he sat, and looked him in the eye with my ultimate move—puppy eyes!
"But... I don't want my first slave, Miranda, to die... I want to make her stronger... I want to take her to the dungeon!"
"Urk...!"
'It's working!'
Father looked conflicted.
After all, this move is something I usually used to ask for the impossible—and it had only failed once so far. This request wasn't as dangerous as that, so I was sure he wouldn't stop me...!
"Father...!"
I intensified my puppy eyes, letting tears well up as I whimpered softly. Father's expression shifted from pained to guilty.
"A-alright, alright!" He cracked under pressure almost instantly. "I'll allow it!"
"Yes! Thank you, Father! Then I'll go get Miranda!"
"Ah, wait, Rex—!"
Of course, I knew Father would relent.
After all, the "dungeon" I mentioned is within our territory, not somewhere far off and beyond his reach.
Even in the worst case, with guards stationed at the entrance, nothing bad could happen to me. Rather, given the dungeon's structure, I'd be safer inside than in the middle of town.
Huh? Dangerous monsters?
It's not my first time going there, so there's no problem.
With my Dominator's Hand, no monster could even touch me. How else do you think I raised its level so high in such a short time?
Well, the dungeon here is quite weak, after all. It should be perfect for brushing up and leveling!
Ah—but even if I say leveling, it's not like we gain experience points when we kill monsters like in games. No. Such a thing doesn't exist (unfortunately).
The "level" I'm referring to isn't for the body, but for skills—the mind.
Compared to training against dummies or mock battles with other knights, fighting and killing monsters is far more efficient for raising skill levels.
In fact, Father himself took my advice and has the knights of our viscounty clear the dungeon once a month to increase their levels as well.
Not only does it let us gather dungeon resources, raise skill levels, and serve as practical training, it also ensures safety for the surrounding lands by preventing monster stampedes.
After running down the stairs, I left the house and continued along the cobblestone path.
The wind brushing against my cheeks was cool and refreshing, carrying the faint, sweet scent of ripe fruit from the nearby orchard.
Our territory truly is growing larger and more prosperous.
And knowing that half of it is thanks to me... doesn't feel too bad.
"Miranda!"
Reaching the training grounds, I raised my voice and called out.
After all, it wasn't hard to find a single maid among a group of gruff men in training clothes... No, let me correct that.
"Miranda...?"
A single maid standing on top of a pile of gruff men.
They're still breathing... right?