The maid led me into a large room, in which there was a long table, which was covered with various foods.
At the head of the table sat a man in a suit, most likely it was Dole François, next to him sat his beautiful and elegant wife Melia, next to them on the left side of the table sat their daughter, Clare, whose eyes lit up when she saw me.
The man saw me, got up from his chair and came up to me.
"So it was you who saved my daughter?" he asked in a stern voice, which was most likely intended to scare me.
But I was not scared and simply nodded to him.
"Yes, it was me." I simply said.
He looked at me for a few more seconds and then extended his hand.
"Thank you." he said, I simply extended my hand too, shaking the man's hand.
"I'm sure my wife said my name, but my name is Dole François, and I am the Minister of Finance of the Kingdom of Bauer." the man said.
"Nice to meet you, my name is Hoshimi Miyabi, or just Miyabi." I said.
"Then Miyabi, would you like to dine with us?" he asked.
"With pleasure." I replied.
Quite soon, he took his seat again, and I sat down on the right side of the table opposite Clare.
Clare kept looking at me, occasionally glancing at her parents, as if expecting something.
At this time, I began to eat, trying to observe the etiquette befitting a noble, and hoping that I hadn't confused the forks with spoons, of which there was clearly more than one…
To be honest, I didn't understand why there were so many different forks, I always ate with a regular fork, and didn't complain.
"I heard that Clare admires your swordsmanship so much that she even wanted to learn it." the man said, wiping his mouth with a napkin.
I put down the cutlery, looked at it, then turned my gaze to Clare.
"It was Clare's wish that I could grant, since her birthday is coming up." I said.
"Are you sure you can teach my daughter? Normally, I wouldn't let her pick up a sword, but the way she wants to learn from you says a lot." the man said, not taking his eyes off me.
"Yes, I'm sure your daughter is capable of becoming a master swordsman. I can teach her." I said with determination in my eyes.
"Very well, but before I hire you as a teacher, can you answer a few questions?" the man asked.
"Dole…"- Melia would have started, but the man stopped her.
"Melia, I just want to understand her."- the man said, to which Clare's mother simply nodded.
"Okay, ask."- I said.
"Then where are you from, where is your home?"- he asked.
I shook my head.
"I don't have a home. I don't know who my parents are, but I know that the mentor found me in the forest."- I said, making up a story.
"The mentor? Did she teach you everything?"- he asked.
"Yes, everything I know, she taught me everything."- I answered.
"Then, what are you doing here? Where is your mentor now?"- the nobleman asked.
"I'm traveling, and the mentor has already… died… She was already many years old, so age has taken its toll…"- I said in a slightly sad tone.
"I see… You haven't been to the Empire by any chance?" he asked.
I shook my head, remembering what I knew about the Empire and its Empress.
"If you want to ask me if I know the Sword Goddess, but no, we haven't met." I said.
The Sword Goddess, that was the Empress' nickname, because of her unrivaled swordsmanship.
"If you were to face her, how confident are you that you could win?" the man asked.
"50/50," I answered, which caused genuine surprise on Clare's parent.
"That's a bold statement… Are you sure about it?" the man asked me.
"Yes." I simply answered.
To be honest, I was 100% sure that I could defeat the Empress, whatever her name was, but he definitely wouldn't believe me then.
There were no more questions, so we continued with dinner.
After a while, they finished eating, I saw the man nod to his wife.
She stood up and walked over to Clare.
"Clare, dear, let's go study."-she said.
"Okay, mother."-Clare said and took her mother's hand.
As soon as they left, the man's face immediately became serious.
"I'll be honest with you, first of all, I want to hire you to protect my daughter. But for everyone, you will be just a fencing teacher."-the man said.
"Why does she need protection, who is threatening her?"-I asked.
He sighed and looked out the window.
"The Empire." He simply said, which didn't surprise me at all.
"Why, they want her dead?" I asked.
"They don't want her dead, but the nobles dead, so they can destroy the country from within, which would make it easier to take over." He said.
"And you decided that I could protect your daughter?" I asked.
"If you had told me this earlier, I would never have believed you, no offense, but you're a rather strange-looking girl who appeared out of nowhere." He said, and of course, he stared at my ears.
"I feel a 'but'." I said.
"But, my scouts have already inspected the scene of the attack, and they reported that all the people who wore black clothes are dead, due to sword wounds." He said, looking at the sword hanging on his belt.
"Just like yours." He added.
"I see…" I said.
"In any case, I will pay you well, and you don't have to worry about housing. The room the maids took you to will be your room while you protect Clare." He said.
I simply nodded at him.
"And one more thing… Please don't feel sorry for Clare." He said, which surprised me.
I looked at him strangely, which he noticed.
"Don't get me wrong, I love my only daughter very much, but I want to test my daughter's determination. In the future, I want to pass my post to her, so I need to see if she can handle it." The man said.
I simply sighed.
"I'll try, but I'm not promising anything," I said, since I didn't want to hurt the girl.
"Thank you." He said.
After the conversation, he took me back to my room, which would become my home in this world for the near future... I wonder how long I'll stay in this world... If I have to work as Clare's bodyguard, then finding another portal will be difficult for me, but I'll think of something, but for now...
I threw off my clothes and jumped onto the bed, burying myself in the blanket, and immediately felt my eyelids grow heavy, and then I fell asleep.