[Never pay attention to a man weaker than yourself.]
This was the golden rule passed to all the females of our clan. Mainly, it was to prevent the case of their husbands not being able to return after a war. But it was also mainly because the birthrate of males in our clan was too low that we can't afford to lose them.
However, the females of our clan was strong in essence. In other words, there were not too many men who could marry into our clan. Some males even treated marrying into the clan as an indication of being strong enough to return alive after a war.
Ironically, it was the main cause of the decline of our clan.
Since the number of passable suitors weren't satisfactory, the bloodline couldn't propagate continuously. The result, the number of the next generation was always lower than the previous.
When I was born, the remaining members of the clan wasn't even near a hundred.
Two generations before mine, the clan decided a new rule. Every female of the clan would need to leave after reaching the age of 15. This is to have more interactions with males and to have access to many challengers for suitors.
This plan would make the bloodline continue but it would also scatter the next generation far away from the village.
I too wasn't an exception to that rule.
When I reached 15, a year before the coming of age, I was permitted to travel far and wide in search for a suitable partner.
There's only 10 of us in our generation and all of us are females but amongst us, I was treated a genius.
I managed to master all elements before I reached the age of 10. I even managed to create several new applications of magic circles that helped the village greatly. Even in mock battles, I don't have a record of loss even when against an adult.
I was treated like the jewel of the clan. A perfect representation of the clan's ideals. That boosted my confidence and made me a star amongst our generation.
I, and the other 9 girls, travelled away from the village. Of course, we were all alone in each of our travels. I was headed north to where the farthest of all the near villages are located.
On the way there, I felt gazes towards me. After checking their presences, it was bandits as I suspected.
The lust lingering in their gazes is something I was accustomed to. As for a 15 years old girl, my body has developed too far. Even the few men in our village couldn't help but gaze with lust when seeing me.
The bandits blocked my path. They even went as far as threatening me. However, it didn't even take 5 minutes to eliminate them all. This is the first time I took a fellow human's life. But I didn't feel anything. After leaving the mangled corpses of the dozen bandits, I continued my travel.
I reached the village I was headed to after 3 days. Other than the occasional wild animals that attacked, the travel was peaceful.
When I entered the village, the countless gazes I felt was varied.
Lust was of course, but there were even some mixed with fear and awe. Even some females were gazing at me with yearning in their eyes.
I ignored most stares and went to the nearest branch of the Adventurer's Guild. There, I applied as an adventurer and took requests. This is not only to provide me with earnings but also for me to have access to information on possible candidates as my partner.
Days passed quietly. However, the number of men who looks at me with fear increased. The reason for that is a disappointing truth.
Not even a single man can beat me. Even when I was attacked by a full party of 10 strong men, they all died to my hands. The knights didn't capture me as it was treated as self defense but still, they were now vigilant towards me.
I was disappointed. And because of that, I decided to head out of the said village and head towards the capital.
During my weeks of travel, the total headcount of the men I killed reached 70. Still, I didn't feel anything about their deaths. Maybe my heart was slowly turning to stone? I don't care either way.
When I reached the capital, the same event happened. Many men with lustful gazes approached me with ill intentions but not a single one was left alive. Even after a leading hunting party set their sights on me, the whole party vanished from the earth on the next day.
It took me 4 years to finally reach a conclusion.
[There's no man stronger than me anywhere.]
When I realized that, I lost all interest towards men. When I see one, only irritation welled up inside of me.
When I reached the age of 20, I decided to leave the capital. There's nothing for me to earn there anymore.
I headed south from there and started a journey. I plan on finding a suitable village to pass the remaining time of my life.
After a week of travel, I reached a village. It was a unique village where houses were within trees. I learned a bit later that the village was named Mujyara.
When I reached the said village, I thought the same thing would happen. However, to my surprise, the men in here were quite tough.
Even after I retaliated when men approached me with ill intent, none of them died. Yes, they were on the verge of death but still, they survived. I found promise within this village albeit a little.
Therefore, I decided to stay there. I was given a house for myself by the village chief named Marco as an apology to the previous incident. Though it may be my imagination that he was sweating like a fountain when interacting with me.
A year after my stay, a change in my life appeared.
Two girls were left to my care. They were named Mary and Nina. It seems that they were survivors from different settlements that got decimated by demons.
At first, our interaction was a bit awkward. The two didn't even speak a word for a week.
However, after months, their shattered hearts slowly recovered. It was mostly thanks to the warm welcome they received from the whole village.
Still, to provide living expenses for the three of us, I decided to take jobs as an adventurer again.
Due to that, I leave from time to time. But in respect to that, I taught Mary about Magic Circles. I was aiming to make her a magic artificer too.
And just like that, 2 years passed without much events. Though when my headcount reached over 200, I stopped counting.
Still, this world still has surprises left for me.
That day, I arrived earlier from a commission as it was finished quicker than expected.
However, when I reached home, Mary and Nina were nowhere to be found. I asked the Gust's if they know where the two girls are. Despite them being blue on their faces, they told me that the two were at the training fields.
I ran fast to greet my cute disciple.
However, what greeted me was an unknown man getting close with Mary.
My irritation quickly went over the top of my head. I quickly spoke to the man. However, to my surprise, instead of lust or fear, all I felt from his gaze was awe. It was the first time that a male had that reaction towards me on the first meeting. Still, my irritation won over.
I can't remember what I said but when I exploded, I activated my best magic «Air Cutter». Still, with a hair's breadth, he managed to dodge. He got quite some reflexes but not enough to win against me.
I dropped the now used up magic circle from my hand and swiftly drew a new one from my pocket. I threw it towards the ground silently. Then, I stepped at the falling paper intersecting with the new paper I threw. In response, the ground shook lightly but enough to cause everyone to lose balance, the magic «Earth Shaker».
The man in front of me lost his balance but he still looks composed. I felt irritated that even when he's pushed this much, he's still relaxed. I pulled a sure-kill magic «Explosion» from my pocket and threw it towards him. For sure he's dead with this.
The spell exploded and a large amount of dust and smoke rose. When it cleared, I was shocked. He's still alive?!
Within my agitated mind, I couldn't clearly hear my or his words but still, I continued the offense. I pulled one of my trump cards, one of my original magic I called «Lightning Strike». I threw the three pieces of paper and all three of those quickly spun around him.
The look of confusion in his eyes lasted for but a moment and turned to his relaxed gaze shortly after. I don't know why but I felt a shiver down my back after seeing a glint on the edge of his crystal-like eyewear.
I gritted my teeth in frustration. Me? Being afraid? Don't screw with me!!!
Together with my thoughts, a large amount of light fell to where the man was standing. Everyone was blinded for a short moment but I was prepared so it didn't affect me that much.
However, the sight in front of my eyes ran different to my thoughts… How come he's still standing after that?!
Still, I can't lose!!! I focused the remaining magic power I had and performed another «Air Cutter». However, this time, instead of backing off and dodging, he ran towards me.
My reaction was delayed for a short moment due to the sudden action he did. Then, after he dodged the invisible wind blades through unknown methods, he rammed straight towards my body.
I fell back as I lost balance. I closed my eyes and gritted my teeth in response the impact of the fall. When I opened my eyes, his face was what blocked my vision. I felt my heart skipped a beat after seeing his face up close.
However, as a proud warrior of the Goldbell clan, I can't lose here!
But before I could act, his next words made me shiver in fear.
"…If you move, you know what will happen right?"
His short words sent my calm mind into a wild rampage. Multiple possibilities ran through my mind. I can't help but blush at the thoughts that I had. I struggled to break out of his grasp but his position was favorable. I can't even move my hands.
In response to my actions, he inched his head closer. I unconsciously turned my gaze towards his shiny pink lips. Fear and another foreign emotion ran berserk and made my whole body shake fiercely.
"I warned you."
He said with a fierce grin. His eyes, through the crystal clear eyepiece, was filled with intense light. I felt my whole body tense up. His head inched even closer.
As I couldn't control my wildly beating heart anymore, I turned my head to the side and closed my eyes. I shut my lips tightly and braced myself on what's to come.
A few moments of silence passed. Then…
"*Phew*"
He did something and a warm burst of air violated my right ear. I don't know why but I felt something other than discomfort. My whole body shivered along with this foreign sensation. And in response, I let out a weird voice.
"Hyahhh!"
It was a somewhat foreign feeling but it didn't feel wrong. Or rather, I felt relief. My whole body lost its strength and together with it, my consciousness. However, in a corner of my mind, something clicked… For the very first time…
[I lost to a man.]
The words that meant everything to me.