Roholan Village (4)

My duel with Luchi never happened.

Rubia was so… incredibly angry that the whole thing was shut down before it could even start.

Thankfully… No! Wait. Actually, it's a shame! I totally could have won!

I wasn't scared at all!

"Hah… well, you know, men just like to—"

"What did you just say?"

"A-ahem! Nothing, nothing, haha…"

Heinzel awkwardly rubbed his bald head.

Meanwhile, Luchi was a mess, practically half-dead on the ground. His stomach had been split open… I could literally see his ribs!

"S-seriously, are you telling me that if Noah had gone first, you would've done the same thing to her? Really?"

"N-no! If the little one went first, I'd have gone easy on her!"

"If Noah had gone first… I'd have taken it easy too…"

You didn't have to go easy on me, though...

I would've won, anyway.

Or... at least I think I would've?

Feeling awkward about the whole thing, I shuffled over to Rubia and started massaging her shoulders.

"A-Aileen… you're tired, right…?"

"Noah, you're the same as them. Were you really going to duel these crazy men? Luchi's practically dying over there, and what? You think real men don't worry about this stuff? That everything heals with a potion? Are you kidding me?!"

"Hehe…"

But… Luchi agreed with me earlier...

"Ugh, stop that 'hehe' nonsense. Go away."

Rubia brushed my hands off and resumed her healing on Luchi.

"Oh, and by the way. These guys already know I'm a priestess, so you can call me Rubia when no one else is around."

"Y-yeah…?"

Wait, what?

I wasn't the first?

"I-I wasn't the first to know…?"

"Well… it kind of just happened that way."

"O-oh…"

A weird sense of disappointment washed over me.

I thought I was special to Rubia…

"R-right. Got it…"

I sulked off to the corner and crouched down.

Might as well go over the duel in my head…

I replayed Heinzel and Luchi's fight in my mind, analyzing everything.

I processed all the sensory information my ability had gathered.

I started comparing myself to Luchi.

I had more strength but less speed.

Could he have figured out the secret faster because of that...?

"No, no. Focus…"

Skill-wise, I wasn't behind, but in real combat experience, I was lacking.

If the fight dragged on, it wouldn't go in my favor.

I had the longer reach with my greatsword, but my short stature put me at a disadvantage.

Our strides were different, so our movements would clash.

And Luchi… he had no hesitation about cutting people down.

In the end, I lacked the force of will to dominate.

I kept replaying the duel in my head, running through various scenarios.

The first time, I lost.

The second time, I lost again.

The third, the fourth… all losses.

I lost and lost and lost again.

Finally, after 38 tries…

I landed a hit on Luchi.

But even then, it wasn't a fatal blow.

I tried again, reviewing what I had done, refining my tactics.

On the 29th try, I managed to deal a deeper wound, but it still wasn't enough.

I kept going.

Again.

And again.

After countless iterations, I finally stumbled upon one scenario—just one—where I could win.

It was a long shot. The odds of success were nearly impossible.

But…

Rubia would probably get super mad if I tried this for real, wouldn't she…?

Still, if I wanted to prove the greatness of the greatsword…

As I sighed internally, a large shadow loomed over me.

"Little one."

It was Heinzel.

"Huh? Yes?"

"You saw the duel just now, right?"

I nodded.

"So, did you notice what went wrong at the end?"

The end?

Hmm…

"If you'd struck from the right instead of the left, what would've happened? Luchi's blind spot is on the right, after all…"

"That's true," Heinzel said, stroking his chin.

"But... don't you think that'd be a little pathetic? I don't have any weaknesses, so if I only exploited Luchi's, I'd feel kind of ashamed."

"Wait… so, you're saying you could've won for sure if you'd gone for his blind spot?"

"Well… I think it would've been easier than what we did, but yeah."

I reconsidered the scene from the duel in my mind.

Hmm...

"No, Heinzel. That's not right. It's because—"

I launched into a detailed explanation of Heinzel and Luchi's strengths and weaknesses.

This was advice from someone who had ranked second in PVP, after all! Heinzel should've been taking notes!

To sum it all up simply:

"Luchi is specialized for fighting against individual opponents. He's got a perfect counter against you, Heinzel. But you're better at fighting multiple monsters, right?"

"Hmm. That's true."

"Yeah. So that's it."

Luchi never trained to handle multiple opponents.

His swordsmanship developed specifically for one purpose.

The red wolf expedition.

That's why he fights the way he does—deflecting attacks, countering, whittling down his opponent's stamina.

Heinzel, on the other hand… well, he just smashes monsters with brute force, so there's not much more to say about that.

Plus, he uses a halberd.

"So yeah… I think halberds are way better than one-handed swords."

I mean, you've got two hands. Why not use them both?

One-handed swords are so inefficient!

And let's not even talk about how Luchi doesn't use a shield—what a waste!

The most important thing, though? There's no satisfaction in using a one-handed sword!

"Hahahahahaha! Is that so? You've got a good eye, little one! Hahaha!"

Heinzel burst out laughing, slapping me hard on the back.

My head bobbed back and forth with each slap.

"O-ow…! Stop it!"

I flailed, barely managing to fend off Heinzel's heavy hand.

"Little one!"

"W-what?"

He pointed a thumb toward Luchi.

"That weakling over there is out of commission, so how about I be your opponent in a duel instead?"

"No thanks."

"Huh...? Why not?"

I pointed to Luchi's limp form with my own short finger.

"If I end up like that… I don't want to get cut in half like him. No way."

"Oh... uh… I see… Well, if you really don't want to, I guess…"

Heinzel's voice wavered a little.

Wait.

Is he… crying?

"Hrng- snf… I-I'll just go back to the inn, then…"

His shoulders shook as he quietly sniffled his way toward the inn.

For a second, I felt a weird sense of… sympathy.

"A-hey, wait…!"

"...What is it?"

Heinzel didn't even turn around.

"What about arm-wrestling instead?"

"Arm-wrestling?"

He turned back, looking confused.

"Y-yeah! Arm-wrestling! You can't lose a hand or get chopped in half from that, right?"

"It's fine… You don't have to force yourself."

He turned away again, shoulders sagging.

Ugh. He looks so… pathetic.

I had no choice but to get up and chase after him.

"H-hey! Let's make it a bet! A bet, okay?"

"A bet? What kind of bet?"

"Well… If you win, I'll treat you to a stone-plate steak. But if I win… you buy me jelly."

Heinzel stopped in his tracks.

"A bet, huh? You really think a little kid like you can beat me?"

He flexed his arm, revealing a bicep about the size of my head.

Gulp… But I won't lose!

I raised my left arm, mimicking him, my sleeveless shirt showing off my own bicep.

"Pffft—ahahahahaha!"

Heinzel doubled over, laughing hysterically.

"W-what's so funny?"

I poked at my arm, trying to figure out what he was laughing at.

It felt… soft and squishy.

W-well… I may not look like much, but I'm strong!

I've maxed out my strength stat!!

"S-so, are you up for it? If I win… you're buying me a month's worth of jelly."

"Pfft! Fine! If you win, I'll buy every single piece of jelly that store has!"

"Huh…?"

I remembered the store piled high with jelly earlier.

That would be enough jelly to take a bath in…!

"B-but… I'll only buy one serving for you…"

"Make it two."

Two servings…? That's… 60 silver…?!

Just thinking about it made my hand shake.

"F-fine… But let's make this fair! Rubia can be the referee!"

I'll win.

No matter what, I'll win…!

Even if I have to bribe Rubia into rigging the match.

After all, we're close friends who share secrets, right?

She'll be on my side… right?

"Deal! Let's go!"

Heinzel laughed heartily and dashed off toward Rubia and Luchi.

I hurried after him.

"R-Rubia…!"

"What is it?"

She had just about finished healing Luchi, with no more divine power flowing from her.

"I-I'm going to arm-wrestle this guy! Will you referee for us?!"

"Oh! That's what happened? Please, referee for us!"

"Hah… You're really going to wrestle that little mouse of a girl…?"

"Little… mouse…?!"

I shot a glare at Luchi.

"Hrm. I mean, look at her. Heinzel's got this one in the bag. Do we really need a ref?"

"I'm stronger than him…"

Pffft—

I heard a stifled laugh behind me.

The only person behind me was… Rubia?

"R-Rubia…? Did… did you just laugh at me?"

"Hah? Me? When did I ever?"

Her shoulders were shaking.

Her body was trembling.

"N-never mind… You're not sleeping next to me tonight."

I don't need any help.

I'll beat Heinzel and win my jelly fair and square.

I turned away from her with a huff.

Though… Rubia then said something that made my heart stop.

"Noah, you know you've already eaten all the jelly, right?"

Oh… right.

"U-uh… I'll refund you the eaten portions…?"

"Nope."

Rubia's voice was cold and final.

"Ugh… F-fine… You're mean… You say we're friends, but you won't even take my side…"

I muttered, pulling away as Rubia reached out her hand.

I yanked mine back.

"I'm not taking your hand."

"Oh? What if you get kidnapped?"

"Then… I'll just let them…"

I mean, it's scary, but maybe if I play hard to get, Rubia will try to stop me.

Or so I thought.

"Heh—alright, suit yourself."

Wait… What?

She didn't try to stop me.

And with that, her tone became all business.

"So, I'll referee for you two. That's fine, right?"

Ouch… I-I'm actually hurt…

"R-Rubia…?"

"Yes?"

"N-never mind…"

"Alright."

She turned away from me and started scanning the area for a good spot for the match.

Traitor…

She was so nice to me just a little while ago…!

Why is she acting like this now?

Couldn't she at least pretend to care a little?

"Oh, this spot looks good. Come on over."

Her efficiency was making it all the more irritating.

"I-I don't like—"

"This spot looks great! Come on, little one!"

Ugh, my voice was drowned out by Heinzel's booming tone.

I'm so annoyed.

I trudged over to the spot Rubia had picked out.

She'd already laid out handkerchiefs on either side of a large, flat rock.

She's irritatingly good at stuff like this…

"Okay, take your positions. Are you both going to use your right hands?"

"Doesn't matter to me!"

"M-me neither…"

Heinzel and I both stood in position.

"Alright, grab on."

It looked like the rock was at a perfect height for me, but Heinzel… well, not so much.

He had to kneel down to get into position.

Then he extended his arm.

I reached out with mine.

"Well, this is kind of an automatic handicap for Heinzel, don't you think? You're both okay with that, right?"

"Doesn't matter to me!"

I looked over and realized Heinzel's arm was stretched out wide and awkwardly.

Guess the height really wasn't ideal for him, huh?

Hmph. He still thinks he's going to win like this?

Now I'm mad.

I'm not holding back.

If his hand gets crushed, that's his problem.

"You better not regret this…"

"Haha! Bring it on, little one!"

I gripped his hand as tightly as I could.

Or at least, I tried to. His hand was so big that it felt like I was barely holding it at all.

"I'll start the count."

As soon as the count hit zero, I threw all my strength into pushing his arm left.

CRAAAAACK—!

Heinzel's knuckles slammed into the stone as the boulder beneath us shattered to pieces.

"Huh…?"

Heinzel sounded confused.

"Wh-what…? How…?"

Rubia's voice was equally shocked.

But the moment brought my bad mood to a soaring high.

"See? I told you I'd win…!"

I turned around with my chin held high.

Oh, wait.

I turned back to them and said, in the coolest tone I could muster:

"Just buy me two weeks' worth of jelly."

"W-what…?"

"I'll leave half my winnings behind…"

Then I turned back and continued my walk toward Luchi.

Man…

I was so cool just now.

As I strutted confidently toward Luchi, though…

"Huh…?"

I suddenly felt a prickling sensation on the back of my head.

Rubia and Heinzel?

No, they were still talking to each other.

And Luchi was in a different direction.

So… who…?

The moment I extended my senses to figure it out…

The gaze vanished completely.

Like whoever it was had just teleported away.

All that was left was a faint trace of magic.