The Heavily Armoured Noble Girl Monette

When I asked them to please not come near me, they both nodded powerlessly……..*Plop* and a chunk of mud fell out of their hair.

The only sounds that could be heard in the forest after that was the sound of feet being dragged through the mud, the *kashan* *kashan* of iron boots walking, and the occasional chirping of birds alongside the mewling of a cat.

Soon the ground tilted downward, and the forest gave way to a deep valley. Once the valley was fully in view before us, Concetta started to stir. Her fur began to glow once again with magic power, and she jumped from my iron arms to the ground below. Taking a few steps in one direction, Concetta then stopped, turned back towards me, and meowed.

”Is it that way?”

”Perhaps. Let’s follow…”

I broke off midway through my sentence because the direction that Concetta was directing me to go with her tail was a place where people should not go. The rocks jutting skyward were clearly telling me to go away.

Obviously there was no staircase, but the rise was also lacking anything that could be used as a handrail. I blinked a couple times before taking a deep breath……..

”N-……..”

No way! I swallowed those words before they could be said.

If I outright refuse, then both of my arms will be grabbed and dragged because the muddy Alexis and Percival are standing right next to me. Both of their deep brown and blue eyes are set right on me. They will act the second I say something.

I refuse to be carried by some mud-covered guy……and so a tear comes to my eye as I realize I have no choice but to make the climb.

When climbing the rock, Percival headed up first.

He made it look so easy, grabbing hold of any odd rock, he was able to find his footing and scaffolded up the rock wall. Once he was at the top, he had us pack up the luggage, and we hoisted that up. Once everything was taken care of, it was Alexis’s and my turn to climb up by hand. Percival tells us it is easy, but obviously Alexis–who spent all his time perusing academics in the castle–and me–who enjoyed my solitude inside the old castle–would have a harder time than some muscle-brained guard.

Especially me with my full-bodied armor.

Although I had used magic to eliminate any weight that the armor has, there is still an issue with its size and hardness. For example, I can’t wedge my foot between these stupid rocks! This shape is really unsuitable for rock climbing.

Percival stretched his arm out towards me, offering to allow me bypass that last rock and help me up.

I grabbed hold. The appearance of a handsome-looking man reaching his hand out is a rare sight, and if it was a regular girl, their cheeks would surely be died crimson.

While pointlessly thinking about such things, I kicked off the dusty rocks as his thick arm pulled me to the top. Percival’s other arm wrapped around my back to make sure that I did fall backwards, but since I was covered in iron, he was directly touching anything, so there was no need for any embarrassment on that point.

If it was just that, then there wouldn’t be any problems.

”Ugh……..” But then Percival grunted while he was helping me up.

Even though with the luggage, and even when helping Alexis up, he did not leak out even a squeak–yet he grunted when picking me up. For a second there, I thought it might have just been a noise he made that just meant, ”Let’s go,” but no, it was definitely a type of sound you make when you are lifting something heavy.

If he was able to bear Alexis’s weight and held back because he was afraid of being rude to his prince, then surely he could have extended me the same courtesy.

”Percival, you are extremely rude.”

”What?”

”The way you grunted earlier, you were trying to say that I am fat or something right?”

When I confronted him about it, his eyes went stupidly round.

Was he the type that could only realize his own malice when it was directly pointed out to him? And even if there was no meaning in that grunt, then when he realized how I took his words, then he should have apologized for the misunderstanding and we both would have walked away. Instead, he does something else.

”I am saying that you’re fat?”

”Are you going to deliberately grunt and then just say it was nothing?”

”No, rather I think…….I pictured you more muscular than anything else.”

”Hah!?”

”Well, I just always pictured Miss Monette to be muscular with hard abdominal muscles underneath that armor.”

”Excuse me! This is no longer in the realm of just being rude!”

I shouted out.