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Losing in a contest of raw speed or strength would already be disgraceful enough, but to not even be able to match a girl their daughter’s age in terms of technique and sense of combat was simply not something either of them could accept.
Even if it was the only reasonable explanation of Noelle being able to fend them both off like this, they would much rather believe that she was taking dangerous, reflex-enhancing drugs instead.
But even her ‘parents’ were able to subconsciously reject the reality around them, the same couldn’t be said for everyone else.
“Ohhh… It doesn’t really look like she’s following any of our clan’s standard movements, but I guess it must be because she was especially trained by the elders.”
“As expected of someone talented enough to be hidden away by them, huh?”
“But… isn’t our Nightingale clan’s first form considered the most perfect martial art to exist?”
A sudden silence befell the crowd as everyone just watched the three people continue trading fiercer and fiercer blows.
Even if someone wanted to deny it, there was no way to reject the fact that Noelle’s fighting style was able to cope with the almost perfect forms of both their top fighters at once.
“M-Maybe it is some secret part of our ancestral art that only the elders know of?”
Although it only sounded like a flimsy excuse, with the elders themselves remaining silent, the rest of the crowd could only assume it must be true.
The grand elder nudged the man next to him covertly. “Do you know what that is supposed to be, by any chance…?”
The man hesitated for a while, but after taking a look at Noelle’s dazzling performance again, he sighed. “I’m… not completely certain, but it does remind me of… certain people.”
His answer shocked all the elders to the point where they even stopped paying attention to the fight in front of them.
It wasn’t that the names he whispered next were too powerful or talented… but rather, they had nothing to do with each other, did they?𝑜𝓋𝗅xt.𝗇𝓔t
Some specialized in hand-to-hand combat, some focused almost entirely on using one’s legs to defend, and some even relied on making one’s movements more unpredictable to gain an edge, which was a type of behavior that would be considered disgraceful by many.
Of course, given that people like the Old Snake had been able to get to where they were using ‘despicable means’, the Nightingale clan was obviously much more lenient with these things than outsiders would expect… as long as the person involved was considered talented enough, that is.
Even if Noelle were to be fully trained by these individuals one at a time, the result should still never be so exaggerated.
After all, different martial arts often had different principles and techniques, and simply training in multiple ones did not mean that one would be able to perfectly merge the two together. If anything, their individual differences might just end up hurting the talent of the trainee instead.
But in Noelle’s case, several parts of all these completely unrelated arts seemed to have perfectly merged together, and the only reasonable conclusion was that she hadn’t trained in them all, but had simply created her own by taking inspiration from various sources.
“But… to be able to create her own style at such a young age, and then train herself to this level… that’s too exaggerated, isn’t it?”
Despite the grand elder’s doubt being completely justifiable, the rest of them could only stare at each other helplessly.
“Maybe this is what a real genius is like.”
“The difference is huge.”
“It would have been such a shame if we really ended up missing out on her because of past mistakes and prejudice…”
“All’s well that ends well, I say.”
Although they’d already made up their minds to support Noelle earlier, the conviction that the elders had for the cause was now even firmer.
Even with all her personality flaws, they didn’t believe there could be a better candidate for leading their clan forward. That would be asking for too much.
With her enhanced hearing, Emilia could naturally hear their discussions despite being focused on Noelle’s fight, and she couldn’t help but feel a little amused in her heart.
It wasn’t that long ago that these people were cursing at her gray-haired girlfriend so venomously, but looking at them now, it seemed like even if Noelle were to ask the elders for their firstborns, they wouldn’t even feel the need to think twice.
Obviously, they had no idea just how much effort the White Deer and her adoptive parents had put into training the girl.
Whether it was creating the custom style perfectly suited for Noelle or managing her initial training, it was all managed very carefully with no expenses spared. But Emilia didn’t think it mattered too much.
It was true that most of the results were from Noelle’s own efforts, after all. Had it been someone else in her place, Emilia didn’t think that they would be able to achieve the same results.
Moreover, these so-called elders were still only looking at the surface of the gem while being completely ignorant of what made it truly beautiful.
Even if her personal relationships with their family were to be disregarded, Noelle was a core asset of the White Deer Corporation not because of her fighting ability, but for her critical thought!
Being able to make the right decisions at the right time was an ability that too many wished to have, yet few did, and fewer still were able to think ahead and plan things out in advance.
Even after spending so much time together, the number of times Emilia had managed to make Noelle act on ‘impulse’ could be counted on two hands.
Cynthia couldn’t help but scoff. “That’s not true, is it? Although she tries to be calmer than all the other mortals you associate with, it’s definitely been way more than ten times that became just another primitive monkey operating on instincts.”
The crimson-haired girl giggled. ‘Who says you can only count to ten on your hands?’
Her partner frowned. “Okay, even if you count three or four times for each finger, what I said earlier is still true!”
Emilia smiled. ‘Actually, Cynthia dear, there’s this technique I found to count to over a thousand on just ten fingers, you know? You just need a little practice, and think of each finger as a power of two—’
The raven-haired girl interrupted her with a huff. “Forget it, I don’t need it! Anyway, for all her confidence and boasting, it doesn’t look like Noelle’s gonna get out of that situation without using brute force, is she?”
Anyone could tell that Noelle must be straining herself a lot when facing two opponents at the same time, and going by how she seemed to be accumulating both stress and exhaustion, things truly didn’t look good despite her being ‘even’ for now.
It was clear that she was ‘better’ than the two people she was facing, but if things kept going as they were, perhaps the outcome really wouldn’t be in her favor.
Emilia’s eyes flickered slightly, but her smile remained unperturbed as she hummed. ‘Just wait and watch, darling. Wait and watch.’
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