The (Alleged) Villainess' Dad 4 - (Original Otome, VillainessDad!Reincarnator)

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Meryall fidgeted in her new dress. It had been a mere week since she had been taken away from the Academy and, while her dad had stressed enough how this move was not meant to be a punishment but rather a chance to pull her away from the politicking, the girl was feeling a bit unsure on what was going on.

A teleportation spell here, then another there - the father-daughter duo was moving between the manor, some shops and then... Andolir, the 'City of Beginning'.

It was dubbed as such due to its crucial role back during the 'Age of Legends' centuries ago. The Paladin Ardos, the forefather of the Royal Family, was born there when it was still a humble village; from this place, he would start his adventure in reclaiming Malica from the forces of evil. It was a tale as old as time itself for someone like her, but Meryall knew that this place wasn't one her father picked out of history itself.

She remembered him telling her that he was born there as an orphan and how he started his adventure in a party in this place - where all grand figures find their start to their greatness.

Is- is this what dad wants? Me being a... great adventurer?

Maybe. Meryall couldn't see the future or within the minds of others, but she could now assume that was what drove the man to 'put her on a learning adventure'.

Still... why did she have to leave her prized blade back home?

"You will need an adventuring blade. Yours is a sword for duels."

True, but it was odd that she was expected to start her career as an adventurer mere days after leaving a political scandal that destroyed her betrothal. Meryall wanted to feel a bit annoyed by this, but the sudden change of air and the opportunity to not think about Pirte and Delilah gave her the means to not worry as much about the Academy.

So, she focused on the task at hand, which was-

"We're getting you an adventuring sword!"

That was the first step, yes, but then there was going to be an enlistment to the local Adventurer's Guild. Surely getting a sword wasn't going to be that important but-

She was wrong. Very wrong.

As they arrived at the local blacksmith, Meryall flashed a surprised look over the numerous caches filled with unique weapons. Each looked of impressive quality, and some of the swords in display swiftly caught her interest.

"Well, well, well, if it ain't the Primy himself," A loud gruff voice called from the deepest counter of the shop, causing Meryall to look as her father had approached what appeared to be the owner of the shop.

A dwarven man, that was roughly two third her height, stood up and grinned at the staff-wielding mage. He had dark-red hair, that reached down to his upper back, and it was braided to the side. Two sharp blue eyes instantly aiming at the oldest of the humans, yet keeping track of Meryall's approach. Unusually so, the Dwarf didn't have a full beard like many of his kin would pride themselves to keep, rather he had merely a stub by his chin and nothing else.

"Yursatin Mudfury, the fiercest axe-user in the entire kingdom. How's my littlest friend?"

"Ready to kick yo' ass if ye try to call me 'littlest' again, ye magical prick," He growled before grinning in delight at the meeting, then turning his attention to Meryall. " 'suppose that's your lil' lass, ye?"

"My daughter Meryall and... I wish to have a blade forged by you as she will become an adventurer."

"Dat sounds sudden as heck, Fy. What's up with dat?" The dwarf asked, yet he gestured Meryall to step closer to him as he readied a measuring string. He started to take note of some measurements about her wrists, shoulders, hip and even her neck. Confusion flared at that last bit, but her father seemed fine with this and merely sighed.

"The kingdom's finest place for education is a nest for politics. And my daughter got trusted in a bit of a mess due to her betrothed."

Yursatin paused momentarily, then frowned at Meryall's father. "Betrothal? The heck ye mean? Ye gave her to some wimps or sumthing?"

"I thought the 'wimp' was salvageable-"

"And he was not," The dwarf interrupted, then grinning at Meryall. "Tell ye what, missy. Ah have a daughter too 'nd Ah would nevah have her given to any wimp. Whoever wants her better know how to beat mah ass with them fists."

"Would it make it better for me if I said the king was involved in this?" Meryall thought it would, but the blacksmith scoffed at her father.

"Nope, ye're still a magical prick. But ye ain't dumb as rocks, so that's sumthing."

Her father sighed, and Meryall was... surprised that this was the way he used to talk with others before becoming a noble. She always heard or seen her father behave like other aristocrats but this was... unusual. And yet she didn't hate it due to how genuinely 'pleasant' it felt on a more subtle level.

"Ah, before I forget," Her only living parent hummed, turning to her. "Meryall, this here is Yursatin. He was one of the members of the party I worked with before I retired from adventuring. I suppose you remember the tales I had about the 'little axe-man', yes?"

Meryall felt the nickname tickle some fuzzy memories, and she heard Yursatin snort. "Of course! Ye really have a knack in givin' me grief with my height issue."

"Your height isn't an issue, Yursatin. It's your lack of grammar when talking that may be such."

"Ar ar, Ah'll have ye know Ah read books. At times."

Her dad merely rolled his eyes. "So, how's the sword-making faring?"

"Already done," Yursatin huffed, revealing a seemingly normal sword to the two humans. "Might take a while to get 'accustomed'. She's a stubborn gal, just like her owner."

These words puzzled Meryall for a moment, yet she got a glimpse of what the dwarf meant as she grasped the blade by its hilt and felt the material reacting to her magic.

"This... what is the alloy used for the sword?" The blonde asked, and the dwarf chuckled.

"Ye noticed already? That's a little spice of mine- Ah call it Magnil. Mythril that has been 'tainted' by magical fire and thus acquired an affinity for fire users such as yerself."

Meryall nodded and-

"WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAWWWWWWWWWIIEEEEEE!" A pointy-eared girl with sandy blond hair in twin-tailed curls and sea blue eyes squeaked loudly as she suddenly half-tackled her.

Meryall's eyes went wide open as the short girl was ogling at her blade and-

"Skali! What did ah tell ye 'bout jumpin' on people?"

"It ain't a fun habit- ah kno' that, pops," 'Skali' replied with a huff, then shifted her focus back on the sword Meryall was holding. "What's the name of tha' beauty?"

"...Name?"

"Ye, what's her name?"

...Was she supposed to name it so suddenly?

"And you are... Skaloline?" Meryall was glad her dad came to her rescue, the sudden question had the shorter girl turn her eyes to the nobleman.

"Yep, who're ye?"

"I am an old friend of-"

"Magical prick!"

Meryall held back a giggle as her father's eyes darkened and he turned to glance at a grinning Yursatin.

"Yes, but my name is Fiall."

"Oh, nice to meet ya, Fiall- wait! That means big sis here is yer... wife?"

"D-Daughter!" Meryall squeaked in shock at such mistake. "My- my name is Meryall, nice to meet you-"

"Skaloline Mudfury. But ye can call me Skali. And I shall call ye..." Skali hummed thoughtfully, tightening her hug on the poor blonde. "Mery!"

"Okay...?"

"So, what's the sword's name?"

"I-I haven't picked a name yet.

"Let me help ye with dat~!"

Meryall shuddered at the situation, expecting to be saved again but... her dad merely smiled, exchanging fond looks with Yursatin over the interactions between their daughters - unaware that Skali would soon become her first party member.

It's been a very intense day for yours truly.

Admittedly, I had rushed a bit in giving Meryall a new focus in life to learn from as adventuring in this peaceful time meant having a relatively safe opportunity to build her skills through live experience. I could have given her more time to grow accustomed to her new status quo, but I knew that letting her mind sink into the troubles of being without a new path to follow (one as illustrious as the Academy offered, that is) would have made her difficult to bring into a new career.

And I also trusted my daughter's capacity to adapt in sudden predicaments such as this one.

With a limited budget to share with Skali, the two girls had been enlisted to the local guild (while I kept hidden away out of fear of being recognized and ruining their chances of being anonymous through the process) and then paid to stay the day at the local inn to get ready for their first day of missions starting tomorrow. I left them by the late evening, teleporting back home and reporting to my modest batch of paperwork that I had yet to endure.

The bundle was smaller than usual, mostly because the king was probably trying to 'appease' me by taking more burdens off my desk. A bit rude, but I knew Gert would do this anytime that he had to 'ask for forgiveness'. He complied with the council's requests as he had promised, and I was told that Princess Elena was getting brought back to the capital to 'be educated' on the duties as Crown Princess.

And with this pressing topic in mind, I read a report I had received earlier that day about the girl which I could only read now that I was done helping my own daughter in setting herself up for her current goals.

Princess Elena de Malica was two years younger than her brother. At the age of 15, the girl is known to lack a talent in magic which is an unusual aspect for the royal bloodline and one that tended to push those 'unlucky' members to pursue other careers such as diplomats or... military officers.

Elena was one of those rare martial geniuses in regard to combat. While lacking an impressive repertoire in strategic skills while operating as an officer, she was praised in her prowess in combat and her excellent swordsmanship and... axemanship. And archery. Actually, the girl had invested so much time around all sorts of weapons, that it would be a lie to say she was a simple warrior.

The young princess had been coined by some of the soldiers she commanded by the Border City of Mabbinis as 'The Sharp Princess', a curious nickname born by her tendency to owe a tongue as sharp as her weapons when it came to blunt exchanges. Alas, she was not a diplomat, and she had spent most of her life out of the royal palace by her own decision.

She didn't like her brother and the reason was Pirte being a little shit around his sister since the two were very young. The solution was to follow Elena's desire to train in combat with some of the strongest, and most lived in Mabbinis since that was where our border with the Eastern Lands.

The Iron Shogunate was a land where honor and wisdom were highly praised, which means that their brand of scummy thugs such as Ronin and Bandit-nins rendered trading troublesome for us and it demanded some of our best warriors to protect caravans making it to the Shogun's court. Hence why Elena had lived most of her days there, learning how to fight but also enjoying the relatively quieter life that existed in Mabbinis.

Her return was one that promised some oppositions and 'regrets' by the nobility. I knew the girl was unaccustomed to etiquette regarding how to behave around the high court, but that wasn't going to be a problem if I managed to get a talk with her.

From what I could find about her attitude as of recently, the girl 'showed some strong-willed determination and a deep sense of integrity that will clash with any corrupt member of our kingdom'. So yes, an incorruptible queen was now making her way to the capital and... I couldn't tell if she was going to support reforms or prefer the status quo to them.

It was all complicated, but I was planning to tackle this one step at the time. I couldn't draw any lasting plans before making first contact with such an unusually 'well-protected' princess and... I was soon to learn that there was more to her.

Something a bit more 'sinister' that her parents were foolish enough to have never brought to my attention, of course.

AN

Two plotlines are now opening up after the 'Academy Tutorial Arc': the 'Meryall Party Arc' and the 'Princess Elena Arc'. Many of the readers have mentioned that I want to ship Elena with Fiall, but I have something less sexual and romantic, and more unique for these two. The girl is aimless despite her skills, and while her family says she lacks magic... the truth is darker than that.

Worry not, all she needs is a headpat and some simple directions. (And you will all love the reference pic I have for her.)