CH 31

Chapter 5: Solretta

Section 4: Bout

The sound of hammers knocking against lumber echoed all over town as the carpenters continued their work rebuilding the village even as Carol continuously slashed away at Hadion over and over again.

“Oho, what an exchange…….although I don’t think it’ll amount to much.”

I’m not being overly dramatic when I use the word slashing. Carol is holding a real dagger in her hand, and she is constantly swinging it at Hadion in the hopes of cutting her.

“Wa, wa…….is this okay? This really is fine, right Toslin?”

Hadion was receiving every one of Carol’s attacks with the one handed sword she had just bought. Fundamentally it looks as if she’s staying completely on the defensive, focused only on receiving the attacks, but then out of nowhere she’ll swing down her sword with all her strength. Carol is able to just barely dodge those strikes, but if one of them were to actually land, the injury she would receive would be gruesome…….

“I can’t say for certain, but neither of them are amateurs, so it’ll be fine.”

Toslin told me I should just obediently watch, but this is bad for my heart.

“R-Rose-san~…….”

“It will be all right Iris-san. Should something go wrong, I will be able to heal them.”

Ah, that’s right. Rose-san is a priestess. Healing injuries is a piece of cake for her. ……there’s no way I’m going to be satisfied with something like that…….

“Iris-san’s worries are natural. However that person wants to understand our true abilities. That is why we must use the weapons we have grown accustomed to.”

“Hmm, I have a general understanding at least. You are next elf maiden. Feel free to come right at me.”

“Oh? You’re nominating me to be next? Well then Rose. I’ll leave Carol to you.”

“Haa, Haa……what was that……… None of my attacks would hit……”

Carol joined us as Toslin took her place. There were cuts all over her body that hurt just to look at.

“I will heal you right now, so please do not move.”

While Rose-san began using her healing miracle to heal up all of Carol’s injuries, Toslin’s bout with Hadion began.

“Ooooooooooooo!!”

Toslin released a gallant war cry as she rushed Hadion. While Carol had her short dagger, Toslin’s weapon of choice was a longsword. Even if they had grown brittle from a previous battle, Toslin’s sword flare was able to cut through a dragon’s scales, so even an amateur like me could tell how sharp that edge was.

“Your moves lack any hesitation and carry your full strength with each swing. It doesn’t look like you were self-taught.”

“I come from a long line of knights!! I have been training…….since childhood!!”

“Hoh, how splendid. Each blow is so heavy I wouldn’t imagine I was really fighting an elf.”

The sound of the carpenter’s mallets striking wood mixed together with the clanging of metal as the two swords repeatedly bounced off of each other. We picked a place a little out of the way, but people still started to gather because of the noise, and by now a good number of people had come after noticing the two of them.

“However your movements are still rough. You are so focused on delivering a strong strike that you neglect your footing.”

“……..thank you for pointing it out.”

After Hadion parried off Toslin’s sword, she lost her footing and started to stumble. After that the bout came to an end once Hadion had knocked Toslin onto her back.

“Then the gallant maiden is the only one left.”

With Hadion’s words, Rose-san stood up after finishing Carol’s treatment.

“Then, here I come.”

Drawing the mace that hung at her side in one hand, Rose-san readied her shield in the other. Hadion also picked up a shield off of the ground where she had set it earlier.

“My sword is likely to shatter if it receives an attack from your mace. Therefore I will use a shield as well, unless you mind?”

“Do as you wish”

Rose-san kicked off the ground in response. She rushed forward with her mace at the ready and aimed a powerful blow right at Hadion.

“Aiyah, I lost, I lost. It was my complete defeat.”

*GONG*……..a deafening noise cut through the air. As Toslin walked back to join us, just behind her, the shield Hadion was holding reverberated as it took on the blow from Rose-san’s mace.

“Hadion’s story is told not just in books, but in poems as well right? As you’d expect, I didn’t stand a chance.”

Thanks to the plate armor she was wearing, Toslin wasn’t covered in cuts like Carol had been. But after taking Hadion’s sword all those times, it was now in even worse shape than when they had started.

“And that’s with most of her power sealed away…….”

“It’s a foul right?”

Toslin sat down on a piece of carved out lumber. It was hard for Carol to remain standing as well, so she ended up squatting down right next to Toslin.

“Hii!? Uwa, wa…….right now, dangerous…….”

As for me, I was so worried over Hadion and Rose-san’s violent fight that I couldn’t even think about sitting down. I gasped when I saw sparks fly every time the mace pounded away at Hadion’s shield, and each time the sword shaved off a piece of Rose-san’s breast plate, I had to stomp my feet in place to keep myself from running.

“It looks like even Rose is having a hard time after all……”

“But hey, isn’t she really putting everything she has in this?”

“Rather, it’s more like she understands her limits and is moving accordingly. Look, normally you would’ve dodged an attack like that. If I had taken it like she just did, I would definitely be dead.”

“Eh, dead!?”

“Hadion probably understands that which is why this fight is taking a little longer so she can get a better look. That’s why it’s turned out like this?”

“Hold on you two……you’re talking about it so carefreely, but isn’t this not okay anymore? Haven’t they obviously been fighting a lot longer than you did!?”

Toslin and Carol’s fights had lasted around five minutes at best, but Rose-san and Hadion’s bout has already easily surpassed ten minutes.

“Haa, Haa……..”

Rose-san’s breathing has gotten ragged, and she’s having trouble standing in place. If they keep going like this, an accident might occur.

“Let’s keep it at that. I understand all of your abilities quite well now.”

“I, I can still……..”

“Rose-san, it’s over already!! You have to stop!! Any more is definitely no good!!”

The snow may have started to melt, but it is still cold outside. And yet, Rose-san is drenched in sweat.

“………Iris-san………”

“Your body is going to get the chills if you keep going on like this. Let’s quickly head back to the inn and take a bath.”

I snuggled up close to Rose-san in order to help prop up her teetering body. For some reason the current Rose-san isn’t acting like the usual Rose-san. She looks somewhat impatient. Does it have something to do with how irritated she looked before coming out here?

“I, I understand…….”

Rose-san nodded her head with my persuasion. Thankfully. If she insisted on going on, I’d have tied a rope around her neck and dragged her back home.¹ But not really. It’s a figure of speech? Of course there is quite a bit of rope lying around here, so I’m sure I could have convinced a carpenter to lend me some if I asked nicely. I mean I don’t have the strength it would take to drag Rose-san away if it came to that, but then again, maybe if I asked Toslin for some help, she’d……

“I understand, so……..could you let me go, just a little? My sweat, I would hate to dirty Iris-san, and……..”

“I don’t really mind though?”

“I, I do mind though. I can walk on my own, so please……..”

Seeing Rose-san’s face turn red as she starts looking a slightly troubled makes me feel a little happy. Because, it makes me feel like my usual Rose-san is finally back. It’s definitely not because Rose-san looks cute whenever she’s at a loss on what to do you know?

“I’ve thought this for a while, but Rose-san smells really nice.”

“I-Iris-san!?”

Ah, I really need to correct what I said earlier. This person is really, super adorable. Well, I’ve known that for a while now though.

1. Japanese figure of speech which means to force someone to do something they don’t want to do.