Chapter 272

Guendalfa

Translator: SupremeTentacle

Editor: Exkalamity

Urushi, full of spirit, raced non-stop down the highway connecting Roserraccoon and Vestia . After a mere eight hours of travel, we spotted the capital city looming in the horizon . This was the first time I had travelled to any capital city since reincarnating as a sword, so I was absolutely stunned by the sight . Barbara was the largest city I'd been to so far and itpaledin comparison to Vestia . It was night time, so the whole city was illuminated by torchlight and magical fire . The flickering lights dancing on the massive 20 meter high ramparts were magnificent to behold . The Royal Castle could be seen standing tall over the walls and towering over the city . Its spire was easily the tallest building I had seen yet, easily visible even from a distance .

"You'll think they'll let us in at this time of night?"

"Nnn... Don't mind camping out . "

"Yeah but I'd rather we not . Let's just keep that in mind as a backup plan . "

Some cities closed their gates after dark as a preventive measure against thieves and monsters, and I wasn't sure if the capital had similar policies . As we approached, we thankfully found that the gates were still open . Merchants and adventurers were lined up outside the gate in an orderly fashion . There appeared to be some formal procedures that must be taken care of before being allowed to enter . As expected of a capital city, the security was much tighter .

We joined a line that was around twenty people long with Urushi once again in his smaller form . People were already nervous because it was night time and we didn't want to exacerbate that by having a giant wolf suddenly appear in front of them .

I wanted to casually join the line without drawing any attention but apparently Fran stands out a bit too much for that . We're getting a lot of stares .

It seemed people were surprised to see a girl her age travelling with only a wolf by her side . Even more so that she was a black catkin, which was supposed to be the weakest of the beastkin tribes . Those that curiously observed her would realize that she had evolved, which caused them to be taken aback .

"Huh, wha?"

"Are my eyes actually working?"

"No way! It's her, the..."

"Dude, it's the Black Lightning Princess . "

"Black Lightning Princess? Who's that?"

The merchants and adventurers around us whispered in hushed voices . But since we're already used to it, Fran, Urushi, and I paid no heed to it . After waiting in line for a few minutes, we were approached by three catkin .

"Umm... sorry to bother you . Are you perhaps the Black Lightning Princess?"

"Nn?"

"We call ourselves The Six Whiskers . We're a party of catkin . We're huge fans of you and your accomplishments . "

The speaker was a young red catkin . Standing behind him were his companions, another red catkin who looked to be in his twenties and an older blue catkin likely in his thirties or forties .

"Dang... She really did evolve . "

"Looks like those rumors were true . "

The two whispered to one another . I was on guard against the blue catkin . I expected him to try badmouthing Fran, but he did nothing of the sort . If anything, his face showed only a look of admiration .

Huh, I'm surprised to see a blue catkin that isn't a scumbag . Though, I probably shouldn't be, given the Beast Lord's black catkin-related reforms . [1]

In the end, the Six Whiskers didn't have any particular business with Fran besides wanting to greet her . They were mostly interested in her because she evolved . At first, I got a little nervous over questions that might expose the exploit we used to evolve her, but thankfully that didn't come up . Our discussions did however inform them about the conditions needed for black catkin to evolve . We explained to them that black catkin needed to either slay a thousand Evil Beings or defeat an A ranked one in single combat to evolve . It was good way to kill some time while waiting in line .

As more people started to approach us, a huge figure suddenly cut in through the crowd . The man stood two meters tall and was emanating a clear aura of hostility .

"Hey you," he said . "Are you the brat they call the 'Black Lightning Princess'?"

"Nn? Mhm . "

"Gwahaha! My shitty uncle must be losing it if he even lost to a brat like you!"

I was filled with an unpleasant feeling when he burst into laughter . I appraised him and saw that he was a white rhinokin, not yet evolved . His name was Guendalfa . Given his race and the similarity of the names, I could only think of one acquaintance that he could possibly be related to: Goldalfa, the white rhinokin and Beast Lord's guard that fought Fran in the tournament at Ulmutt and lost .

"Hey Fran . I think this guy's related to Goldalfa . "

"Goldalfa's acquaintance?" she said .

"Hah!" he snorted . "A little brat is addressing you without a title . Look how far you've fallen . " He pointed to his chest . "I am Guendalfa . The one you speak of, Goldalfa, is a coward . As much as I hate to admit it, he's my father's older brother . "

"Coward?"

Fran's face twitched in annoyance . Goldalfa was a warrior Fran came to respect through fierce battle . She did not like some condescending little shit disrespecting him .

"He's a fucking coward," said Guendalfa . "He threw away his position of patriarch of our clan just to become the Beast Lord's little bitch . "

"Not coward . Strong, brave warrior!"

"Strong? After losing to someone as fucking puny as you? What a joke . How about I kick your little ass and prove how much of a pussy he really is?"

"You're free to take him down but be mindful of our surroundings . "I tried to calm Fran down . "We don't want to be refused entry because we caused a scene . "

"Nn . Change locations . " said Fran .

"Haaaaaaah?" he sneered . "Why? You scared? Come at me, brat!"

"Don't wanna cause a scene . "

"Stuff your bitch-ass mouth and just fucking do it!"

Fran did not respond .

"Hey Fran . Calm down a bit . Rather, you're totally ready to go at it aren't you!?"

"No problem . Instant victory . "

Welp we've passed the point of no return .

The crowd began to shout .

"Don't worry Black Lightning Princess!"

"We'll testify that he started it!"

"Go kick his ass!"

Oi! Peanut Gallery! Don't encourage her dammit!

I quickly used Stonewall to enclose Guendalfa and Fran to block them from the surroundings .

"Take this . Awakening . Brilliant Lightning Rush . Serious Punch . "

"Guboh-!" Fran's lightning straight landed square on Guendalfa's chest .

"-GWUAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!"

ONE PUNCH FRAN!

Guendalfa was sent flying, crashing straight through the stonewall I erected . His armor was completely caved in and blood was flying from his mouth .

Fran shook her wrist .

"Hmph . So weak for talking so big?"

***

[1] For those that don't remember . The beast lord's reforms fought back against black catkin slavery and effectively ran a lot of blue catkin out of their original line of work . Master is stating that fewer of them are criminals because they had to pick up more respectable jobs .