46-Sword and fist

In the backstreets of the Adventurer's Street, there is a place where martial artists and martial arts practitioners compete with each other.

In the area known as the Dojo Street, nearly 300 dojos, large and small, still stand in a row.

If you walk down the street, you can hear the vigorous shouting of the students. The air is tight and tight, and it is easy to tell that this is a place where people who want to train themselves gather.

Mei Fan's dojo is located in the grounds surrounded by walls.

Once inside through the gate, there was a training hall on the right and a building on the left that was big enough to look up at.

This building must have been the residence of Mei Fan and Xiaolan. They were looking down on us with a magnificent appearance like a mansion.

On the other hand, the training hall on the right was flat. However, from the stuffy exterior, I could imagine the rigorous training that must have taken place there.

A little further into the grounds, Mei Fan and Meil were waiting for me.

The two of them noticed me and Gant and turned their heads towards us.

Mei Fan had a very stern look on her face.

........Well, no matter what, I don't feel good about dealing with Gant. The relationship, the emotions, and all sorts of things are sultry.

'You as a person...'

Mei Fan lets out a low, stifled voice. He seemed to be very angry and his fists were trembling with a tightly clenched fist.

It's not a good idea to get emotional when you're about to fight a duel.

I tried to calm her down by walking up to her and speaking calmly to her.

''Mei Fan. I understand that you are emotional, but it's not good to lose your composure before a fight.

Even after hearing my words, I can't get the sharpness out of Mei Fan's eyes. His ears and tail are both standing on edge, and apparently his emotions are quite excited.

''........If you're standing there so boldly, you won't be able to produce even half of your abilities. If you are tense, your body movements will be hard and your reactions will be slow. Even Mei Fan doesn't want to think about missing out on victory because of something trivial after having planned a strategy for this duel, right?

.....

It may be difficult, but you need to relax a little more. It's impossible to make a sound decision in a fight with all that blood on your head.

'It's you who isn't in your right mind, Mr. Gerald!

I kept calling out to him to calm him down, but for some reason, I was being shouted at by Mei Fan.

The corner of my eye was fished out of the corner of my eye, and Mei Fan was shouting at me with the very same emotions that were bubbling up from deep inside.

''There's no way you can calm down!　Of course I'm worried!　You know ... you make me think of you as my father!　........You were so worried, you thought your chest was going to explode and you were going to die from anxiety!

Oh, no, you know, Mei Fan...?

My father fought the demons, because he wanted to be able to fight them like that.

The back and forth connection was lost from Mei Fan's words. The anger that had exploded didn't last long, and the suspended loss of his eye socket became a wet eye, like a child who had been abandoned.

In the end, he began to cry as he clung to my chest.

The first time I saw him, he was in the corner of my eye, repeating my name and the word 'father' in turn.

........I see. I must have made Mei Fan very sad by sending her back to the city first.

I don't regret what I did because it was also for her safety, but I feel a little embarrassed when she cries this much.

So, how did it go? Gerald.

Meir, who approached, asks in a calm voice.

''Did you defeat the demon?''

Yeah. We got him down safe.

I see. Well that's what I'm talking about. Gerald is...

Hearing the report, Myl turns to me with a shy smile.

........Seeing that smile, I think. The way she laughs has a slightly different quality to it.

Hey, Millie. What's going on?

Hmm?　It's nothing. Why?

Oh, no. It was just my imagination.

'Hmm?　Weird Gerald.

Then Meir laughed roundly. Her smile at that time was the same as usual, a bright and cheerful laugh.

I feel a little relieved.

''It's amazing, Gerald-san. To defeat a demon...''

Mei Fan finally stopped crying and looked up from my chest.

He gave me a glittering look of respect.

''No ... even Mei Fan's dad is awesome. He's a wonderful person to look up to.''

Huh?　What do you mean, my father is great?

Tsk. I'm tired of all this bullshit and bullshit. Hey, pooch. Decide right now whether or not you're going to fight me or not, right here in this room. If you can't decide, I'm going to cut you down to size.

Gant suddenly interrupted and fought with Mei Fan.

''Well I hope so. I'll break that high nose of yours with my fist that my father gave me and take back the dojo!

You're a feisty dog as ever but they say the weaker the dog, the more barking you do. I wonder which one of us is the dog, huh?

Cursing, the two of us disappear behind the gate.

Me and Meir followed. I thought it might have fallen into disrepair in the past six months, but I could see signs of the manicured remains of both the dojo and the house attached to the dojo.

When they entered the dojo, they were already standing in the middle, facing each other.

The air in the wooden dojo was somewhat cool. As if to breathe in sync with the silence, Mei Fan was holding his fist and Gant was holding his sword.

''I wonder who will win this fight.

Meir murmurs next to me.

'Come on, man. Gant is superior in terms of strength alone, but Mei Fan has a secret plan that I've given her. The rest is up to Mei Fan's strength and will, but whatever the case, I'll just have to see that guy fight.

Yeah. It's not like we can't do anything about it, is it?

If all I have to do is defeat Gant and take back the dojo, that's exactly what I'm going to do.

You can turn your feet into a lake and drown them. You can make a pit and then bury it alive with dirt and sand.

But there was no point in reclaiming the dojo that way.

''Well, I want him to win. I want him to win. I've already taught him everything I can to make that happen, and I'm sure they'd like that as well.

Huh?　Who are these guys?

That murmur from Meir and--.

The sound of two steps, a dunk, was heard at the same time.

The distance between Mei Fan and Gant, who had been standing apart, was getting closer and closer.

And.

''Break aaaaaaaaah!

Ha, it's warm, pooch!

Fists and blades crossed.