I Will Be Unrivaled With The Skill [Sewing]! They Said It Was A Bad Skill, But With Effort, I will Make It A Hit~ - Chapter 18

Episode 18: A Vow to the Moon

Two days had passed.

Today was the Moonlit Festival.

It had been a year since Seneca gained her skill.
More children had begun acquiring skills as well.

Seneca left the bustling city behind and climbed a hill in the nearby forest.
From there, she could see the entirety of Baetica spread out below.

She wondered how Lucius was doing.
Not a single day had passed in the last year when she hadn’t thought of him.

Looking at the results alone, Seneca’s progress was remarkable.

She had reached Level 2.
Soon, she planned to apply for a promotion to Copper rank.
Beyond that, she hadn’t thought much about the future.

Her herb-gathering skills had improved immensely.
Thanks to the detailed critiques from Yulia, an expert in the field, her ability to discern quality had risen sharply, earning her high praise from the guild.
Maior, influenced by Seneca, had also become skilled, leading to an increase in direct requests for the two of them.

However, since Kito would no longer be around in a year, she planned to scale back herb-gathering work.

Her sewing skills had also advanced.
When it came to sewing, she might very well be the best in Baetica.
Her precision, speed, and accuracy were unmatched, making her an invaluable resource for difficult tasks.

Her ability to specialize in sewing proved to be highly effective.

“Good job,” she muttered under her breath.

She felt a sense of fulfillment, but that was only by general standards.

Seneca often thought that Lucius must have made even more progress. Surely, he was striving every day to get closer to becoming a hero.
When they met again, she wanted to be strong enough to fight alongside him. She didn’t want to be a burden.

“No, that’s not it,” she said aloud, her voice firm.

What she truly wanted was to be someone who could protect Lucius from everything—the malice, the kindness, the disappointment, and the expectations of this world…

To do that, she needed more strength.

“I have to become stronger. Much, much stronger,” Seneca said, clenching her fist tightly.

She had known for a long time that Lucius might not even be seeking such protection.
But without the option, he wouldn’t have the choice.

Seneca took a deep breath, letting the crisp air fill her lungs.

Surely, it wasn’t just Lucius moving forward at an incredible pace.
Kito was, too.

Seneca visited Yulia’s workshop once a week.
From what she observed, Kito’s growth was astonishing. She was constantly experimenting with new ingredients to create innovative medicines.

Kito had always excelled at anything she tried since she was a child. Seeing her now seriously dedicated to pharmacology, her rapid progress made perfect sense to Seneca.

And yet, it still didn’t seem to be enough for her .
Kito’s family wasn’t well-off, so her education had been minimal.
She devoured books wherever she could—in the village head’s house in Cordoba or the orphanage in Baetica—but it seemed she couldn’t compete with the aristocrats who had received elite training and education.

Even so, Yulia had bet on Kito’s potential.
She planned to have her attend a prestigious magical academy as a special scholar, a testament to the high expectations placed on her.

Seneca didn’t want to be left behind by Kito either.

Seneca, Lucius, and Kito—all three were pushing themselves beyond their limits, driven by a desire not to fall behind the others.
But none of them knew this about the others yet.

Seneca thought about Maior as well.

Maior was her first companion after acquiring her skill.
Her partner, someone she could entrust her back to.

Seneca had noticed that Maior was growing at an extraordinary pace, too.

Her combat skills were becoming increasingly refined.
Her detection range was expanding.

Maior was fighting in a world Seneca couldn’t even see.
And that was profoundly reassuring.

Suddenly, Seneca felt a presence behind her.
Someone might be approaching.

She drew her blade.

“It’s me. So, you’re here too.”

From the bushes emerged Maior.

“Maior…”

“You look genuinely surprised.”

“Of course I am. What are you doing here?”

“That’s my line. I came here last year for the Moonlit Festival, too. The moon’s beautiful from here.”

Both Seneca and Maior gazed at the moon.
Even though it was still evening, it was clearly visible.

“I felt the same. I wanted to admire the moon in a quiet place.”

Maior walked closer, her steps deliberate.

“Hey, Seneca…”

“What is it?”

“I’m taking the Royal Adventurers Academy exam this year.”

“Eh? Really? You said you’d wait until things were more settled…”

Seneca felt her heart sink. Another goodbye was approaching, and the thought made her feel despondent—on the verge of tears.

Maior gazed firmly at Seneca’s face.

“I’ve decided not to wait for opportunities to present themselves but to create them myself. I’ll become a Bronze-rank adventurer soon and enroll as a special student. If that doesn’t work, I’ll join the adventurer school anyway and explore other paths if needed.”

Maior had thought long and hard before coming to this conclusion.
She realized that if she continued taking her time, Seneca would quickly leave her behind.

“I see… But we still have a year before we part ways, right?”

Seneca smiled wistfully.

“What are you talking about? You’re coming to the capital too, Seneca! With me!”

“Huh?”

Seneca’s eyes widened.

“You’ll become a Bronze-rank adventurer too, and we’ll both enroll as special students!”

“Wait, um, I’m not going. I want to grow stronger here, in Baetica.”

“Why? If you become Bronze-rank, the tuition will be waived.”

Seneca paused and gave her answer after some thought.

“…I want to follow the same path as my father and the others. I want to become strong without attending school, right here.”

Maior, undeterred, countered boldly.

“Isn’t your goal to become a Gold-rank adventurer? Seventy percent of Gold-rank adventurers graduated from advanced schools. Going to the Royal Adventurer School is the shortest path to achieving your goal!”

“Yeah… That’s true.”

Maior was familiar with Seneca’s rare bouts of hesitance.

“Is there another reason? Even Kito is working hard to go to the capital. You should go together.”

Although Seneca knew that Maior and Kito had met several times, she was unaware that they were on such familiar terms as to call each other by name.

“That’s true… But if I leave, there’ll be no place for Kito and Lucius to return to…”

Seneca became even more dejected.

“You always get meek when it comes to this topic. Instead of waiting for someone you care about, why not go to them yourself? Isn’t that the kind of person you are, Seneca?”

Maior thought that bringing up something as profound as someone’s way of life might have been going too far, but she believed that momentum was key and pressed on.

“Lucius isn’t someone I care about like that…”

Seneca mumbled, her face turning crimson, resembling a young girl thinking about her first love.

“That’s what you react to?”

Maior felt her morale wavering.

“Seneca, let me tell you something interesting.”

With a mischievous grin, Maior played her trump card.

“What is it?”

Seneca looked at Maior’s smirking face with a sense of foreboding.

“You often murmur ‘Lucius’ in your sleep.”

Seneca gasped and froze in shock.
Her face turned even redder as she covered it with her hands and, letting out a small “hyaaaa,” bolted towards the bushes at full speed.

“Guess I overdid it.”

Maior, with the air of a triumphant warrior, brushed her hair back dramatically.

As Maior stood gazing absentmindedly at the moon, Seneca eventually returned.
Night had fallen, and it was growing dark.

Seneca pouted visibly, letting out a small “hmph.”

Maior found it endearing but tried her best to keep a straight face, knowing that laughing would be cruel.

Seneca approached Maior and spoke.

“…I’ve thought about it. If you’re going to insist this much, I’ll join the adventurer school. I’ll go to the capital with you and Kito, and I’ll meet Lucius!”

Maior jumped for joy.

“Yay! I knew you’d say that, Seneca. Kito will be thrilled too! Let’s start working hard together again tomorrow!”

“Yeah! Oh, wait. Did Kito say something to you?”

“Uh, well… yeah, sort of.”

Maior, like Seneca, wasn’t great at lying.

Seneca thought for a moment before composing herself and lifting her head.

“Fiiine. So, this means Kito wanted to go together, too.”

Hearing that, Maior immediately replied.

“Absolutely. But Kito said if she asked you directly, you’d decide before thinking it through. You two really are clumsy, you know?”

“That might be true. I’d hate for us to become a relationship where we can’t share important things. I’ll make sure to talk with Kito properly later.”

“Yeah, I think that’s for the best.”

After saying that, Maior stood before Seneca again, looked her in the eyes, and extended her hand.

“Seneca, I haven’t officially said this, but let’s form a party together. You’re aiming to become a Gold-rank adventurer, right?”

“Yeah!”

Seneca took Maior’s hand firmly.

“And you’re going to slay a dragon, right, Maior?”

“Of course!”

“And then…”

“”Become heroes!””

The two smiled at each other as they spoke in unison.

At that very moment, the moon in the night sky shimmered faintly with a white-green hue. Neither of them noticed.

That night, a legendary adventurer party, “The Moonlit Oath,” was formed.