Published: January 22, 2026
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Fuuka Shinonome.
She belongs to the clan called "Red Copper Twilight," which boasts an s-rank party, and is known by the nickname "Sword Princess."
Despite her position as a defender, she is also the ace of the s-rank party, making her an exceptional explorer.
She possesses an extraordinary supernatural ability called "future sight," and it is said that no one—neither humans nor demonic beasts—has ever touched her during battle.
Indeed, her supernatural ability is overwhelmingly powerful compared to others.
However, I believe her strength does not depend solely on her supernatural ability.
At the core of her strength lies her swordsmanship, which could be called a masterpiece technique, as well as her high physical abilities like agility.
No matter how much you can see the future, dealing with it requires your own physical and cognitive abilities. If those are low, having future sight is just a wasted treasure.
The first time I saw her fight up close was during a joint subjugation, and her refined, efficient movements convinced me that she is the perfect example of the evasion-type style that Carole aims for.
Moreover, she hails from an island nation in the eastern continent—Kyokutō.
The clothes she wears originate from Kyokutō and are called kimono.
They have a certain charm, and I think they suit her very well.
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Fuuka and I moved to a relatively quiet spot, and the two of us ate skewered meat together.
"Is it delicious?"
In response to my question, Fuuka nodded her head vigorously.
Although her expression barely changed, she gave off an incredibly happy vibe.
If she had a tail, I bet she’d be wagging it wildly.
"Orun, thank you for the treat."
The meat on her skewer disappeared in no time, and Fuuka expressed her gratitude.
"You're welcome. But why didn’t you have any money?"
"When I was walking with Kati, they confiscated my money. Then she just went off somewhere on her own."
I wanted to ask so many questions...
Kati refers to Katina Oldham, who also belongs to the "Red Copper Twilight" clan.
She gave me the impression of being quite responsible.
I wonder which one of them actually wandered off on their own...
"Why did they confiscate it in the first place...?"
The thing I most wanted to ask slipped out of my mouth.
"I don’t know. I was just buying what I wanted to eat."
Fuuka once again gave off a somewhat downcast vibe.
She really is skilled at keeping her expression almost unchanged...
"I see... Well, anyway, I’m glad you’re satisfied. Just don’t bother the street vendors from now on, okay? They basically work on cash on delivery."
"Yeah, this time I realized Kati was gone after I talked to the uncle, so I overdid it, but I’ll be careful next time. Also, I want to do something to thank you. Haruto told me not to hold back at the martial arts tournament, so not that."
So Fuuka will participate in the martial arts tournament as well.
And she definitely won’t go easy.
I have some countermeasures in mind, but whether they’ll work or not, I won’t know until we actually face off. It’s tough.
"Hmm, nothing in particular... —Huh? What’s wrong?"
When I said there wasn’t anything I wanted her to do, Fuuka looked toward the crowd.
"A pickpocket is about to happen..."
When I asked what she meant, Fuuka replied.
(It’s not "happened," it’s "about to happen," right?)
Thinking that, I looked in the direction Fuuka was watching. There was a suspicious man nervously glancing around.
That shady man snatched a woman’s bag walking ahead and forcibly pushed through the crowd to escape.
The woman whose bag was stolen screamed loudly, "Kyaa! A pickpocket!" and the surrounding people turned their attention to her.
What a bold crime...
Well, if Fuuka hadn’t been there, I might have missed it too... so in that sense, it makes sense...?
No, crime goes against reason itself.
"Orun, should we catch him?"
Fuuka asked.
"Yeah. After seeing such wrongdoing right in front of me, I want to at least grasp the situation."
Although the criminal was already far away, I had already activated my original magic, "target marking," so as long as he was within several kilometers of me, I could track him without any problem.