People often say those who complain about lacking talent haven’t worked hard enough to even reach a stage where talent matters. The so-called talent gap is just an excuse for the lazy and quitters.
Lena had once believed that too. But was it really true? Before her stood a silver-haired, crimson-eyed little girl—looking at least six years younger—who mocked all Lena’s years of effort to become a Ghoul Hunter with her unparalleled talent. She did it cruelly, using her innocent childlike gaze.
As if highlighting the chasm between them, Lena’s sword never once touched Alice’s body. The girl named Alice dodged every strike effortlessly, like playing with a monkey. She didn’t even need to block. Now, this silver-haired, crimson-eyed girl stood on a training log. Unconsciously, she gazed down at Lena with condescension, hesitating how to end the fight.
Lena was still standing only because Alice’s brother, Lem, had asked the little girl to go easy on her. That’s why Alice watched her so arrogantly, searching for a way to end this without injury.
“Damn it!” Lena shouted with a sob, leaping onto the log. She swung her wooden sword at the silver-haired girl with all her might. Trapped on the log, Alice couldn’t dodge sideways—surely Lena could force her to block.
Yet it failed. Lena didn’t realize this attack was Alice’s doing. She didn’t know that while Alice fought wild rabbits and giant bears in Sylia Forest, she’d only practiced swings on stationary targets under a mediocre hunter.
So Lena fell completely into Alice’s trap. The silver-haired, crimson-eyed devil flashed a disdainful look as Lena swung—her eyes saying, “Ah, this is all you’ve got.”
Alice then closed the distance with eerie speed. Before Lena’s strike landed, she tapped Lena’s shoulder with her sword’s hilt, using her own momentum. Lena lost balance mid-air, crashing down before her sword even fell.
Alice pressed the advantage. Before Lena could rise, she pointed her wooden sword’s tip at Lena’s throat. Lena lay sprawled in humiliation. Alice grinned proudly at Lem, as if saying, “I defeated her gently, just as promised.”
“The winner is Alice,” declared Lem, Lena’s favorite brother, matter-of-factly.
“Damn it, damn it! Stupid Lem!” Lena sobbed uncontrollably on the ground.
Then, like magic, a powerful whirlwind erupted between them. It shielded Lena, blowing tiny Alice away. The little girl crashed into nearby wood. Another golden-haired, blue-eyed girl in an ill-fitting formal dress stepped between them.
This noble girl—who’d easily beaten Lena recently—picked up Lena’s dropped wooden sword. She pointed it at the wind-blown Alice, furious. “How dare you make my best friend cry! Unforgivable!”
This was Alice’s first encounter with Yulia-Flanrensa-Fox-Gulenna, the 67th in line to the throne of the Austrian Kingdom.
