Fairy Tristan: Kiss My Foot

"Is that so... no wonder he lost..."

Examining Guiliniweier's status panel, Ba Wanxi quickly understood. After capturing Guiliniweier and Artoria, she could inspect their data. Her confusion over the huge gap in Guiliniweier's performance across simulations was resolved by checking his stats.

"Except for Luck, everything is E... I've never seen attributes this low. Sending him to the slave-swordsman duel was truly putting him in an impossible position... And this skill 'Bond Power'... How much gold did Artoria invest in him before?"

[At your request, before the slave-swordsman match, Guiliniweier came to your bedchamber.]

[Considering his current weak strength, you decide to rescind the requirement that he participate in the slave-swordsman duel.]

—but how to proceed?

"All right. Last time you said you wanted to refuse because the duel was too dangerous. Well, I'm not heartless. Here's the deal: if you come over and kiss the top of my foot, I'll count that as you having passed. Then I'll grant you any one request—if you want me to let you go, that's fine too."

"...Huh?"

Ba Wanxi lifted one leg lightly, raising her carefully washed, pale foot.

[Fairy Lord Tristan demands that you kiss the top of her foot. If you do so, you will no longer be required to join the slave-swordsman duel. Your choice:]

[A: Outrageous! A true man knows what is proper. Refuse Tristan's unreasonable demand and continue to the slave-swordsman duel.]

[B: What? Such a great offer? Sister, do you want to stab me again? Otherwise I can't feel secure getting this reward. I confess: I'm a foot enthusiast!]

Guiliniweier hesitated. How to say it? Though this request was humiliating... Fine, he'd admit it—he was a lecher! This perverted choice described him exactly. It was shameful but truthful. He was indeed a foot-lover; he wouldn't pretend otherwise!

"Also," the system added, "due to the special effect of the Chainsaw Man heart, selecting option B will immediately increase your Contract Gauge by 50%."

Even better—just as Chainsaw Man had advised! Guiliniweier felt an instant kinship. Yet with all these reasons to pick B, he paused only half a second, then chose option A:

"I refuse."

"Eh?" Ba Wanxi was taken aback. She had considered refusal might happen, but not so decisively.

"If I tell you your opponent is very strong... with your current frail strength, even if I pick the weakest possible foe in the duel, they could kill you easily—"

"That's precisely why I must join," Guiliniweier said, eyes lowered, in a calm tone. "Because I know I can't win, because I know I might die, I must take part."

Many reasons tempted him toward the second option, but they could not outweigh this single reason for choosing the first:

"If I don't challenge it myself, I will never accept it. I must fight this duel."

"Don't you understand? You can't win. You'll die—truly die!" Ba Wanxi stood, astonished at his stubbornness. But that very knowledge was his motive: he refused to accept a foregone defeat.

Had Tristan offered this choice before his last simulation failure, Guiliniweier probably would have chosen B without hesitation. But now, having witnessed that miserable defeat, he was determined to choose A.

Because he refused to submit. He died previously because he was weak, fearful, and ignorant of true combat's cruelty and horror; his scant battlefield experience meant he couldn't utilize his abilities. Though his opponent wasn't beyond reach, his cowardice led to shameful mistakes and an easy death.

Simulation fights were fake; only by personally enduring the crucible of life-and-death could he become a true warrior. So he told himself:

"Even if I don't know whether this version of me is the outermost layer of the box... if the real me exists outside, and you can see these words—do not take over the duel. I will rely on myself to win that fight."

Because he refused to accept defeat. He would not let fear bind him before an ordinary enemy. He knew his excuses, but believing them would be ridiculous. It's fine to fool others, but he would not fool himself.

He knew he would lose if he challenged directly, but that was yesterday's self—unprepared and ignorant of this duel. Today's self was one step further. Losing to you yesterday has no bearing on me today. Today's me must be stronger.

"So, unless there's something else, I will take my leave."

Ba Wanxi, at a loss for words, watched him turn away. After a few steps, he suddenly looked back:

"Oh, by the way, although I insist on joining that duel, if you won't demand a foot kiss in person— well, even without any reward, I'd still be willing to kiss your foot once..."

"?"

Ba Wanxi looked at him, puzzled.

................

"That fellow—what's wrong with him? Does he even realize kissing my foot would humiliate him? He could have just accepted that humiliation and been spared death! Why does he want both?"

After throwing Guiliniweier out of her bedchamber, Ba Wanxi flopped onto her bed, ranting angrily.

"I wanted to spare him dying again! I didn't bring him back just to watch him send himself to death!"

Halfway through, she sat up and called to someone in the room:

"Um... you there, the new maid—what's your name again?"

"Lady Tristan, my name is Lyco."

The maid, quietly waiting in the corner, bowed slightly.

"He refused my suggestion! Now what should I do? Should I simply cancel today's slave-swordsman duels at the massacre arena?"

"What suggestion?" Lyco asked with a gentle smile. "Since he wants to participate, why not let him?"

"But that means he'll die!" Ba Wanxi fretted. "I can't bear to see him die again—no, not again! I don't want him to die!"

Lyco shook her head, gently sighing: "But he is that sort of person, isn't he? Even knowing he'll lose, he still stubbornly chooses to try again. He doesn't turn back before hitting a wall... and even when he does, he still won't turn back."

"What a stubborn temper... Yet I find that very charming. Lady Tristan, don't you agree?"

............

[Ding: Because your shameless remarks to Fairy Knight Tristan fit the Chainsaw Man image, your Contract Gauge rises sharply; current charge: 90%.]

Just before stepping into the arena, Guiliniweier saw this line pop up.

"Oh? So I don't need to actually kiss—just say it... Right, Chainsaw Teacher said many times to be lewd, but how often did it really happen?" He shook his head, then turned his gaze toward the other side of the arena.

There stood the same Fang Clan fairy who had cruelly killed him in the last simulation.

"Not swapped out, then—that's excellent." Guiliniweier weighed his sword in one hand; in the other, Heavenfire (gun form) projected.

"If my opponent weren't the one who killed me before, this duel would hold no meaning!"

"Absurd, but it seems you're prepared to be slain by me?" The leopard-headed fairy sneered.

No referee signaled the start; as both stepped through the gate onto the arena floor, bloody combat began at once.

This time, Guiliniweier made no attempt at close quarters. He kept the sword pointed at the fairy, and in his left hand held Heavenfire, aiming at the fairy. First, he needed to acclimate to real combat's atmosphere. Though he excelled at melee, he began by keeping distance and probing with Heavenfire.

He squeezed the trigger: a flame-infused bullet shot out, striking the fairy's cheek and staggering it. Even the minimal burn was encouraging: Heavenfire's attacks aren't iron strikes and thus weak against fairies; inflicting any wound was a positive sign.

Realizing this, Guiliniweier began running around the arena, maintaining distance and continuously firing flame bullets. Fortunately, Heavenfire functioned like a self-aiming weapon for him; he only needed rough aim and the shot would land where intended, sparing him from precise aiming under pressure.

Yet despite this, his low attributes made Heavenfire's damage too weak—barely even a deterrent. And due to their speed gap, the fairy soon closed in. Recognizing this, Guiliniweier didn't hesitate: he raised the gun to his temple.

"I'll do it myself." With a bang, he shot his head, and Endless Trial reactivated.

"Ah... ah..."

Instantly revived from death, Guiliniweier returned to his initial duel moment, gasping heavily, pupils trembling, not yet fully recovered from the fear of death.

But... good. Things unfolded as he envisioned. Using Heavenfire to kill himself and restart allowed him to bypass most of the pain, barely registering it before rewinding. Thus the toll on his spirit from repeated failure was greatly reduced.

"Exactly as planned... let us begin anew." He addressed the fairy opponent as they prepared to resume the duel.