Although it was late, Noah immediately went to the garden training ground, which was Zofia's garden—though she herself didn't tend to it at all, and it was so overgrown with weeds that one might question if it was a wilderness area.
To own such a large piece of land in the Great Knight Territory itself was already enough to prove Zofia's success in commercial activities. Strictly speaking, although Zofia's initial capital did come from knightly contests, her own ability to earn money was also top-notch. Although strictly speaking, Zofia was a member of the Nearl family, she herself was not named Nearl, because Zofia's origin was a collateral branch of the Nearl.
This was from a time when the Nearl family was still glorious. Given her assets, it wouldn't be difficult for her to take advantage of the situation and directly seize the Nearl name. However, Zofia wasn't that kind of person; she would only go all out to help Margaret and Maria. She was actually quite similar to Manner; having never left Kazimierz, when she stepped onto the knightly competition grounds with her whip-blade, perhaps she had already envisioned such an outcome.
However, the reason Noah was able to come into contact with the Nearl family, besides her grandfather being Cyril Nearl's comrade-in-arms, was another very important matter—
Yolanta Nearl.
Margaret Nearl and Maria Nearl's mother, Snitz Nearl's wife, her name was Yolanta Kielanlet before she married into the Nearl family. So, strictly speaking, she should call Margaret her cousin—but if this continued, the relationships would become too messy. Anyway, she and Margaret weren't far apart in age, so they simply called each other by their first names.
However, Margaret was the one who started calling her by her name first, wasn't she? If she remembered correctly, Margaret had always called her 'cousin' before that?
In the overgrown [Garden], pushing a wheelchair had become an impossible task. So, Kuro immediately lifted Noah directly from the wheelchair onto her back, pushed off with great force, and soared into the sky. In just a few leaps, she bypassed the overgrown area and found the two still sparring.
It wasn't the first time Kuro had carried Noah, so she was very skilled. Noah was also very light, which couldn't be helped. Noah was sickly all over, and her body was weak, so she certainly didn't seem like she would be heavy. Every time, Kuro felt as if she was only carrying a skeleton on her back, so light it made one's heart ache. However, she also knew that although Noah didn't eat much normally, she at least met the intake standards.
The main reason for her thinness was her physical condition, with the impact of Oripathy being particularly severe. Oripathy had taken away her sight and her ability to move freely. It was already quite difficult for her to maintain her current mental state.
After Noah and Kuro arrived, Maria and Zofia stopped their sparring. It was clear that not only Maria, but even Zofia looked exhausted. She hadn't expected that after Maria started using Stone source art in combat, her stamina had practically doubled, and she even became more energetic the longer she fought, while Zofia, as her instructor, was worn out. She breathlessly put down her sword and leaned against a fallen tree trunk with Maria, while Noah was placed by Kuro next to a tree stump.
After propping herself up with her hands, Noah could pretty much tell what was going on just by hearing their heavy breathing.
"I didn't expect you two to practice until now…"
"I didn't expect it either…" Zofia couldn't help but complain, "You sisters are truly cut from the same cloth… Your sister used to be like an unkillable cockroach."
"Sister… Sister, she beat Aunt a long time ago, didn't she?"
"What did you call me?"
"Sister…"
"That's more like it." Zofia puffed out her cheeks and put her hands on her hips. "I'm only five years older than you, calling me Sister is fine."
"Ahahaha…" The Nearl family's lineage was indeed quite convoluted. She was Margaret's cousin, and Margaret's Aunt—who was her father's sister's husband's sister… Well, even Noah didn't want to calculate what she should call Zofia. It was better to keep things as they were; after all, the relationships between ancient knight families were always tangled. The current situation was already quite normal.
"Oh, by the way, I have an announcement…" Noah had bought some bento boxes and other food on her way, bringing them in an insulated bag for the two. She knew they must have been fighting so intensely that they forgot to eat and sleep. She had brought food for Margaret during her training before, though the weeds here weren't as rampant back then. She placed the bento boxes on the ground for them to take, and as for the dishes, she had prepared those too. Spreading the tablecloth she brought on the ground, it immediately felt like a picnic. "I've become the spokesperson for the Commercial Federation."
"…"
"…"
The atmosphere had been quite good, but after that sentence, the entire garden fell silent. Zofia and Maria didn't speak, but their gazes were fixed on Noah. Noah was very sensitive to being watched and immediately showed a somewhat apologetic expression. "Ah… I'm sorry, I know you don't like the Commercial Federation, but I felt I should tell you."
"…No, no, Sister Noah, you didn't have the right to refuse, did you?" Maria quickly waved her hand. Indeed, both of them were surprised at first, feeling as if someone close to them had suddenly become an enemy. But upon reflection, they knew Noah herself had no choice in the matter. Rather, who the Commercial Federation chose had little to do with the person's own wishes; some people tried desperately to climb up but got nowhere, and the Commercial Federation didn't mind giving the title to someone completely unwilling.
So, questioning Noah was pointless, even a bit unreasonable. However, the change in identity still made Zofia, who had been deeply troubled by the Commercial Federation, feel slightly uncomfortable—
The competition where she had her accident involved the Commercial Federation's interference. She still remembered being thoroughly analyzed by them, lacking supplies and a logistics team, and the unwillingness she felt when she lost to the opponent's equipment advantage in a situation where she was not at a disadvantage.
She tried her best and only managed to snatch one of the opponent's swords, but her left hand—her dominant hand—was crippled.
Although she had now practiced right-handed swordsmanship, it was clear she could no longer return to her peak.
However, she quickly adjusted her mood and spoke. "It's fine, I don't mind."
—People who say that usually mind very much.
Although Noah couldn't see Zofia's expression, she detected a hint of disappointment in her words—