It is normal to be defeated and beaten in war, and it is impossible for me, as a professional soldier, to hold a personal grudge against themâŠâŠbut to be beaten by a girl like thisâŠâŠfor the first time I was shaken by an indescribable emotion.
ââŠâŠfight me again!â
I said without thinking.
âWhat, you want to playâŠâŠwith Nanami?â
âFight me in a mock battle!â
âHey, what are you talking about? Iâm not going to accept a match like that for less than a goldmine.â
The pointy-headed man interrupts the conversation, and I certainly donât see any reason to accept such a match, but my emotions wonât stop.
âAll right, Iâll pay you 500,000 gold coins just to play and another 500,000 if you beat me.â
âAll right, Nanami, give her a squeeze.â
âEw! No wayâŠâŠ.â
The pointy head was on board, but Nanami was having difficulty, and adding more money didnât seem to change her mind.
âWhy donât you want to fight me?â
âBecause youâre strong, and I know who you are, so itâs hard to fight you.â
You canât fight someone you knowâŠâŠ.Youâre still a kid, even for a mercenaryâŠâŠ.
âItâs a mock battle. Donât your friends fight each other in training?â
We do, butâŠâŠyou donât have a magicraft, so how do you fight?â
âPlease lend me someoneâs magicraft.â
As soon as I made my request, the red-haired woman declared, âIâm not lending you my Bercya.â
The girl, who is a beastie, refuses to budge.
âI donât want anyone to ride my Garuda.â
Itâs true that for mercenaries, the magicraft is an important tool of business, and Iâm well aware that they donât borrow itâŠâŠ
âIf itâs my Arleo, I can lend it to you, but I donât know if you can ride itâŠâŠ.â
âCan I borrow it?â
âYeah, but you probably wonât be able to ride it.â
âIâm a double Highlander, I can fly most magicrafts, so Iâll be fine!â
âBut, you know, my Arleo isâŠâŠ.â
âOkay! If you want to use it, you can borrow it, but whether you can ride it or not, youâll have to pay 500,000 gold coins for the loan.â
âFine, Iâll pay you 500,000 gold coins!â
âIf you canât ride it, you lose, is that okay with you?â
âOf course. In that case, Iâll take my loss.â
âNo, thatâs whyâŠâŠArleo isâŠâŠ.â
Yuta still wanted to say something, but the pointy-headed man went on and on.
âAll right! Letâs get to the hangar! Nanami, you get ready!â
âNo wayâŠâŠ.â
The magicraft that was loaned to me was the white one that I saw in Chiruni. I remember it was moving wellâŠâŠ.I can fight with thisâŠâŠ.
I opened the hatch and got inside. Then I immediately placed my hand on the control ball and tried to activate the magicraftâŠâŠ
âNo wayâŠâŠ.â
The magicraft does not respond at all.
âHey, whatâs going on? Hurry up and start it up!â
I can hear the pointy-headed voice from outside. Why isnât it working?âŠDonât tell me this is a dedicated triple Highlander plane?ăIâve been had! The pointy head knew I couldnât ride it, so he gave me those conditions.
âHey, you! You set me up!â
I yelled that at him as I opened the hatch.
âSet you up? What are you talking about?â
âThis is a triple Highlander magicraft! You knew that, and thatâs why you made the conditions you didâŠâŠ.â
âCome on, Arleoâs rider, Yuta, is not a Triple Highlander.â
âWhat? No way!â
âWell, why donât you ask him what his Ludia value is?â
When I asked him, Yuta replied in a matter-of-fact manner.
âMy Ludia value is â2â.â
ââŠâŠâŠâŠAre you kidding me?â
âNo one believes me, but itâs true!â
Itâs hard to believe that people with a single-digit Ludia value even exist, but what does it mean that I canât even start up a magicraft that a single-digit person can use?
âWell, the match is over, 500,000 gold coins for the match, 500,000 for the victory reward, and 500,000 for the Arleo lending fee, making a total of 1.5 million gold coins.â
The pointy head said this with a smirk and a disgusting smile on his face.
âIâll go to the nearest town and withdraw the money from the Ladl Bank.â
He was quick to act when it came to paying the bill, quickly drove us to a nearby town and dropped us off in front of a branch of a Ladl Bank.
When I entered the Ladl Bank, I handed my card to the receptionist to make a withdrawal. I decided to withdraw the money for the trip to Elysia as well, and told the receptionist that I wanted to withdraw 2 million gold coins.
âIâm sorry, but your card is no longer valid.â
âWhat? Why isâŠ..invalid?â
âYour account has been frozen due to your death. Where did you get this card?â
The receptionist looked at me suspiciouslyâŠâŠ.She said I passed awayâŠâŠ.
âOh dearâŠâŠapparently youâre supposed to be dead back home.â
Thatâs what the pointy-headed man saidâŠâŠ.Maybe he was rightâŠâŠ.What should I do? There are no facilities in Elysia this far south on the continent. It has become difficult to return to Elysia, let alone pay the 1.5 million goldâŠâŠ