Several minutes later.
Lynn had finally learned the approximate circumstances from Nanako's mouth.
He also finally understood her grudges with that girl named Juejue.
Juejue.
A girl who grew up with Nanako since childhood, also the granddaughter of Andre the Archmage.
If things developed along a normal course, these two girls who grew up together, even if they could not become best friends, their relationship would not be too bad.
But it was because of that electrically charged duel between Andre and his sworn brother, who during that time.
It directly caused the two girls to start eyeing each other with suspicion.
According to Nanako.
At that time, Andre the Archmage was the first to have a granddaughter, while Andre did not, so every time the former would mock and ridicule him because of this.
For instance:
"My son is a prodigious talent, now a mighty city-destroying sorcerer, he can beat your son with one hand!"
"Heh, I have a granddaughter."
"My daughter is proficient in all aspects, even a classical beauty, those who propose to my daughter line up for ten kilometers every day! What about you?!"
"Heh, I have a granddaughter."
And so, in this series of confrontations, Andre lost badly.
To turn the tide in this ordeal.
He directly took the father of Nanako, who was not yet the seventh steward and also his disciple, as his [close— closer than a real son——true·son].
Consequently, Nanako naturally became his [close·closer than a biological granddaugther·true·granddaughter].
Because having a "granddaughter" lacked the "grand" part compared to a "granddaughter", so Andre the Archmage suddenly seemed to take the upper hand.
"So..." Lynn was stunned.
He swore, he had never seen such stubborn and absurd people in his many years of life.
Nanako, furiously grabbing her own pigtails, said: "Hence, it is only natural that Nanako has been bullied by her!"
Nanako gritted her teeth, her two small fists swung towards the open air, with the hair on her head even more flamboyantly displaying its might against the empty air.
"At 1 year old, she stole Nanako's baby bottle, didn't get it, Nanako beat her."
"At 3 years old, she stole Nanako's pretty dress, didn't get it, Nanako beat her."
"At 6 years old, she stole Nanako's magic wand, she still couldn't get it, Nanako continued to beat her."
Lynn watched her swinging her small fists and speaking those stern words. He was dumbstruck.
This......
No matter how you look at it, it seems like, master, you were the one bullying her!
Aren’t you worried you might break her from beating her every day?
No wonder she's such a fierce loli, it turns out it was developed from childhood!
Nanako gritted her teeth, mournfully clenched her fists and said, "Everything was very harmonious and beautiful in the beginning, although there were occasional disputes, but overall, Nanako wasn't living too badly after all."
[Of course, you’re doing fine...]
Lynn was speechlessly unsure of how to even begin to retort.
Nanako angrily chimed in: "But after the age of ten, a very terrible thing happened, and then Nanako's good days came to an end!"
Lynn was stunned, looking at Nanako's expression of grief and indignation, he asked: "What terrible thing happened?"
In an instant, visions of scenes of violence, blood and fire, of steel and iron, swarmed Lynn's mind.
Invasion of mythical beasts? Farewell between life and death? Massive earthquakes and tidal waves?
Nanako grinded her teeth in anger, stretching her hand out to reveal a gap only as wide as between the thumb and index finger.
"She has grown two millimeters taller than Nanako!!"
Lynn: "......"
The room fell silent.
A flock of crows flew over Lynn's head, casting six dark spots below.
Lynn, with a sweatdrop, murmured: “It... it's really frightening......”
Nanako, with a scowl, retorted: "Indeed, it was at that point, when she outgrew Nanako by a mere two millimeters, Nanako’s good days came to an end. At the beginning, when the difference was just two millimeters, wearing some high-heeled shoes was enough to make up the difference, but the situation soon spiraled out of control!"
Lynn: "......"
Nanako paced back and forth, with knitted brows and a little hand propping up her chin, her ponytail fluttering.
"It started with two millimeters, then it became three, five, and after a few years, the gap had widened up to two, three centimeters. The difference kept growing and has become insurmountable just with shoes!!"
Lynn: "......"
Nanako, grinding her teeth, rushed to the table.
Thump, thump, thump——
She quickly unplugged all the lids of the milk bottles on the table, gulping them down.
Thump——
She slammed the table tipsily.
Nanako fiercely wiped the creamy white liquid from the corner of her mouth and angrily exclaimed,
"I've been drinking milk every day just like her. But apparently, it makes no difference for Nanako. I have miserably lost in every way concerning this!!"
Lynn wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and asked, “So... how tall is she?”
Nanako, grinding her teeth, replied: “Only one meter seventy, just a bit taller than Nanako, but she is so proud of herself!”
Subconsciously, Lynn turned his head, his gaze landed on the ruler marks etched into the corner wall.
Although the markings had been hastily erased, faint traces were still visible.
"One... Four..." Lynn hesitantly squinted.
Thump——
Nanako stood up, abruptly interrupting Lynn's wild guessing with her hair standing on end, "Height and such doesn't bother Nanako. So what if she's taller? Nanako doesn't care. What truly upsets Nanako is something else!"
Lynn, swabbing his sweat, asked: “What is it......”
Nanako's eyes suddenly became filled with sadness.
She looked down, towards her chest, her eyes welling up with tears.
"......"
"......"
The surroundings quieted down for a second.
Lynn quickly caught on.
The message was clear, left unsaid.
Lynn took a deep breath, wiped a mock tear from his corner of his eye and unsoundly said:
"Master, stay strong......"
【Indeed, this is undoubtedly a very sad thing to hear.】
【For a master who has been unable to develop for hundreds of years, this is absolutely the biggest sorrow for a loli.】
【I feel my heart ache just at the sight of my disciple...】
A vision suddenly appeared in Lynn's mind.
"Nanako has become a very powerful city-dismantling level mage, hasn't she? Even forbidden magic, she just needs a glance to learn it. What about you?"
"Well, I'm older than Nanako!”
"Nanako is a once-in-a-millennium magic prodigy, you know! She's slain ten thousand slimes, vanquished five thousand goblins. What about you?"
"Well, I'm older than Nanako!”
Every time Lynn thought about this scene in his mind, he felt exceedingly sorrowful.
He was thoroughly trampled from all sides in the blink of an eye.
Sadness!
Sadness!
Such immense sadness!
Nanako forcefully shook her head, her ponytail fluttering, and with slightly reddened eyes she clenched her small fist, saying:
"But Nanako will absolutely not admit defeat. So what if it's about an inch or two? Nanako has other strengths too."