Commendation

The crowd goes silent as they watch Friedrich declare his victory. His voice was high and triumphant and his chest puffed out proudly. "You have seen it in your eyes! Saki Nisshin has lost the duel! She will become my bride as per the deal upon the duel!" He made sure to face everyone in the crowd, turning around to see their faces as he spoke about his victory. "A marriage after a victory! There's nothing as valiant as this! Every warrior deserves their women!" After he was done, he faced Saki, who was still gritting her teeth in pain and anger.

"Alright, that's enough" They heard Abigail's voice, and every eye went to her. "If you accept to stand down and return to Saintsville, I will spare you of this transgression" She declared. Friedrich spreads his arms. "What do you mean, my lady?" He asks in an amused tone. Abigail crossed her arms and said. "Hurting an innocent village clearly addresses the law regarding unlawful aggression towards the innocent. And don't make me start with your insistence on marriage. You used your authority to initiate a duel to circumvent the law that prevents you from forcing a woman to marry you. You made it a losing condition, so it won't appear as forceful" Her explanations enraged the prince.

"Oh, and I'm sure there's also a law regarding dueling with a harmless villager" Abigail smirks. "Harmless villager?! She has a sword! She's armed! And didn't she say she wanted to be an adventurer?!" Friedrich yells, it is clear she has got on his nerves. "She has a wooden sword. Villagers can buy their iron swords, which are more lethal than wooden ones. And so what? What does her wish to become an adventurer have to do with your crimes?" She smirks.

Friedrich growls in anger and scratches his head furiously. "You will have your day! You Sylviana folks..." He grunts as he storms to his horse's back. "I've still won, though. I will come back" He reassured, but Abigail quickly denied him. "Be a man and accept your defeat. You've won against a harmless villager, and a young lady at that too... It's the lowest of all, even lower than hurting a bug. In other words, you've won nothing, not even the lady you wanted so bad" She gave her a mocking giggle.

Friedrich scoffs. "Hmph... If you wish to feel victorious, so be it" He then calls his guards and rides out of the village, passing through the crowd whom they created a way out. After they got out, the crowd suddenly cheered and applauded. The two looked around in surprise, everyone had happy smiles and grins on their faces as they cheered and clapped their hands. Abigail then turned to Saki to offer her a hand. As they stood, the crowd began to chant Saki's name. They watched the crowd show their astonishment and appreciation through their cheers and applause.

Later on, the whole village returned to its usual peaceful day as if nothing had happened. Saki was treated by the village's herbalist. Her wound was just a scratch and was quick to be treated. The lady tending to her wrapped a bandage around her wrist. "There you go! Your wound will heal in a matter of a few days. My treatment also prevents your wound from getting infected. You will be alright" She assured.

Once out of the herbalist's shop, they were met by the daughter, named Rumi, and her father outside. They were waiting for her to leave. "Your name is Saki Nisshin, right?" Rumi took both of Saki's hands and grasped them together with hers. "I'm very grateful to you for standing up against the prince earlier! You are such a great person!" She sounded very happy, her beautiful blue eyes admiring Saki's features. "I don't know what we could do to drive him away... He was insistent and he was starting to get rude with my father, I feared for the worst..." She sighs as she says that.

"You wish to be an adventurer, right? My father is the blacksmith of our village. He has something to give you" She let go of Saki's hands and moved aside, revealing her father carrying a sword in a sheath with his two hands. Saki's eyes went wide at the sight of the sword sheath. It's a high-quality leather, carefully crafted sheath. The sword handle is wrapped in leather, and through the small gaps, Saki can tell it is made out of sturdy wood. The sword and its sheath were as if it were a custom order, and she couldn't believe it was going to be given to her.

"I... I..." Saki couldn't let out a word to her surprise when she extended her hands as the father handed her the sheath. "Say no more. I know you would appreciate this. My gratitude to you goes beyond words. My daughter and her life are precious to me. If you had not gone to intervene, that wicked man would have taken away my daughter under the pretense of a law" The father's voice was very sincere and grateful.

"I... Thanks..." Saki pushed her shyness aside and properly thanked the father. The father smiles and nods. "At first, I thought you were an odd one, a young lady like you is out to become a sword-wielding adventurer? That's ridiculous. Ladies can't fight out there, I believed" He looked at the sheath and sword he gave to her. "But you've proven me wrong" He looks back up to her. "Maybe ladies can fight. You standing up against that prince in a sword duel, even with wooden swords, is worth acknowledging. That surely moved everyone's heart" He then turns to Abigail.

"Of course, you have my appreciation as well. It seemed like you had some sort of superiority over that prince. Are you from Cassery?" He asked. Rumi and Saki were anticipating her reply. "Yes, my family is from Cassery. But I don't wish to reveal more" Abigail kindly replied. "Of course, I understand. My apologies for intruding on your personal life" The father bows his head, and Abigail sways her hands dismissively. "No, no. You weren't intruding or anything. Don't worry" She reassured him.

"In any case, I once again thank you two for getting my daughter out of the trouble. I wouldn't know what to do if my daughter were taken away. Miss Nisshin, I wish you good luck on your path toward adventuring" The father and daughter bowed once more time before returning to their homes. Just as they started walking, more villagers approached them, the kids, the youths, and even the adults came to express their admiration and gratitude. Just like that, she had the entire village praising her name, and more people grew to support her in becoming an adventurer.

Later, they had to return to Shigure. They bid the villagers farewell and went outside Kire. On the way back to Kanna, Abigail was humming while Saki was melting as they walked. Abigail then speaks up. "You did well today. I wasn't expecting this day to be eventful" She turns to Saki to see her in a trance. Her smile was wide and her eyes dreamy. "They're so kind... I'm cool they said..." She keeps repeating the compliments she got from the villagers. "Hey~! Snap to reality, Saki!" She called out.

Saki cleared her throat. "I wasn't also expecting anything today. I thought I would have to listen to any more of your stupid jokes for the rest of the day" She gave Abigail a sneering glance. "I thought you liked them?" Abigail giggled. "When did I say that? I'm upset every time!" Saki sighs. "And also...!" She stopped in front of Abigail to flaunter off her new sword sheath with her new sword in it. She wore a proud smirk with a puffed chest as she rested her hand on her sheath. "Not only the people started to look up to me, but I also got a new sheath and a sword!" She pitched her voice arrogantly as she speaks.

Abigail gave her a short clap. "One step at a time in becoming an adventurer, huh?" She then lightly shakes Saki's cheap sheath with her wooden sword in it. "You also forgot to take this. You dropped it off the ground just like that to take that iron sword. I was quite hurt, you know? I made you this wooden sword" She feigned a pained expression. "S-sorry... I was overwhelmed that I forgot..." Saki was being sincere and Abigail laughed.

"Silly! I understand, no need to apologize" Though Saki knew Abigail understood her, she still felt bad for forgetting her wooden sword and its sheath. "It's also battered. It did well holding off that prince's attack, huh? I'm glad my sword could help you to that extent" Abigail told her. "Y-yeah... Now that you mentioned it, the sword should be in a horrible condition. His attacks were strong" Saki recalls the vibrations from her arms that she felt every time their swords collided. She remembered the wood splints scattering from her sword as she blocked Friedrich's attacks.

"They were? He was holding back" Abigail replied. Saki snapped her head to her. "Wh-what?! He was?! W-well, how can you tell?!" She asked her, trying to hear her wrong. "Maybe you would have not seen it, but it was clear as day that he wasn't putting all his strength into his arms, you know?" "Why would he do that?!" Saki immediately asked after hearing Abigail.

"Well... Despite his wicked personality, he understands courtesy toward women, you remember his behavior when talking to us. Men like him would naturally hesitate in hitting women with all of their masculine strength" Saki just nods at Abigail, her shoulders drooping low in her reluctance to believe the fact that the prince wasn't putting all his strength in his attacks.