Chapter 85

Even though she had woken up, Kana remained leaning against Da-eun, checking her physical condition.

The condition… yep, it’s not bad.

Perhaps because she took a short nap, she felt that her mood had returned to its usual state.

“…”

After confirming that there were no issues, I looked forward.

A one-armed swordsman was blocking our path.

I had known for a while that someone was up ahead.

In fact, it was because of that presence that I had woken up.

‘Hmm.’

It wasn’t a face I remembered.

But judging by the way he was radiating fighting spirit, it seemed he knew me and wanted to fight.

Perhaps he’s someone I met on the battlefield.

Maybe he even lost that left arm of his during that time.

‘A one-armed swordsman, huh.’

In this world, it’s not uncommon to come across people missing a limb or having some physical impairment.

With wars against neighboring countries, battles against monsters and beasts, and invasions by Dimensional Creatures, Silia is quite far from being a peaceful world.

People had to wield weapons and fight to survive and protect themselves.

The scars left on their bodies were the evidence of the fierce struggles they had endured.

So I didn’t particularly mind the fact that the man standing before us had only one arm.

What surprised me more was that he still picked up a sword and stood up again despite losing one of his arms.

For most people, even minor wounds could be a deterrent to picking up a weapon again, let alone losing a part of their body.

Especially an arm, which is a vital body part even for mundane daily activities, let alone life-and-death battles.

Without an arm, you can’t hold a sword with both hands.

Even if you wield a one-handed sword, it’s hard to maintain balance during the swing without the other arm, making it inherently unstable.

For these reasons, it was extremely rare to see swordsmen return to the battlefield after losing an arm…

“It’s impressive.”

Yet, here he was, standing before me.

Losing an arm and still making it here must have taken an incredible amount of hard work.

The scars all over his body spoke of the struggles he must have gone through to get to this point.

“Y-you’re awake?”

“I’ve been awake for a while now.”

“Oh, sorry. Were we being too loud?”

“Mm…”

I shook my head gently.

“I’ve been awake since before that.”

“O-oh, I see. Then why were you pretending to be asleep all this time?”

“I wasn’t pretending.”

I was just closing my eyes, not trying to deceive anyone.

Da-eun chuckled softly and patted my head.

“If you’re still sleepy, you can sleep more.”

“No.”

I’ve slept enough.

“If a guest comes, you have to greet them.”

That’s the duty of a host, isn’t it?

Of course, technically speaking, this isn’t our home, and he’s not exactly a guest, but he did come looking for me.

Just as I was about to gather my legs and lightly jump off the horse.

A slender yet healthy arm gently wrapped around my waist.

“Kana, would you let me handle this situation?”

“…Huh?”

“I want to try my hand at this thing called ‘proving myself.’”

“Proving?”

She doesn’t know exactly what he said, but having spoken with him, she should have realized that he didn’t come with good intentions, and yet she says that?

Blinking in confusion at her strange words, Da-eun jumped off the horse.

“Here we go.”

She seemed quite accustomed to dismounting now.

Landing neatly on the ground, she drew her sword.

“That man said he wants to prove his strength. And since I’m curious about how strong I’ve become after learning the sword from you, it’s a perfect opportunity, don’t you think?”

“…Who are you?”

“Eh?!”

Da-eun is Da-eun, not the chick wielding a greatsword.

In other words, there’s no way she would say something that aggressive.

I narrowed my eyes into triangles and glared at her, and Da-eun feigned a hurt expression.

“You’re so mean….”

“Not mean at all.”

Naturally, I didn’t believe her words.

It was only a few days ago when she trembled at the thought of fighting mercenaries. There’s no way she could have changed overnight.

If human nature were that easy to change, then those aristocrats I had beaten up wouldn’t be walking around with their heads held high.

So, Da-eun’s true intentions must be different from what she’s saying.

Knowing that, I tried to read her mind.

“…Tsk.”

“…??”

To put it bluntly, it was impossible.

I could get a rough idea of a person’s mindset or what kind of life they’ve led by watching how they wield a sword, but I didn’t have the skill to read thoughts in a situation like this.

“Are you serious?”

“Of course! This is my chance to prove myself to Kana too. That I’ve become this strong! So, you don’t have to tell me to extend my training sessions anymore!”

“…”

I couldn’t speak for the first part, but I could sense her genuine feelings in the latter half of her words.

She had been so confident, but now that I was staring at her intently, she averted her gaze ever so slightly.

“…It’s Kana’s fault for making me go through such grueling training every day.”

She might have looked away, but she seemed unwilling to bend her stance.

While sneaking glances at me, she threw those reproachful words my way. When our eyes met, she flinched and turned her head quickly.

…There’s a lot I’d like to say.

“It’s too much.”

I could tell just by the way she held her sword that she wasn’t a match for that man right now.

Even considering the fact that he had only one arm, he was still stronger than Da-eun.

Sparring with a powerful opponent can be beneficial, but still…

I doubt that man will hold back enough to make it worthwhile for her.

“Why?! You made me fight those mercenaries before.”

“They were just nobodies, and I even let you choose your opponent.”

As expected of those useless fools who liked to cause trouble. Their skills were pathetic.

That’s why I had made Da-eun fight them back then.

“…Is he really that strong?”

“Yes, he’s that strong. Even if the Greatsword Chick came here, she’d lose.”

I explained it to her in a way she could understand, and Da-eun fell silent.

It seemed that she gauged strength based on me and the Greatsword Chick.

“Even so, if you really want to fight, convey this message to him for me.”

“…All of a sudden, I’m getting the feeling that I don’t really want to fight anymore…?”

“You said you wanted to prove yourself. Tell him, ‘When you fight me, I’ll spare your life, so you don’t kill me either.’”

“Can I… not do that?”

“Quickly.”

“Heeing…”

I never imagined there’d come a day when I would say something like this after fighting so many deadly battles.



Lost in these strange emotions for a moment, I watched as Da-eun, with a frown on her face, approached the man and spoke.

He listened to her with a puzzled expression at first, but then he nodded readily.

“Did he agree?”

“Yes. But he said there’s no need for you to go easy on him. He’s considering it as repayment for having spared his life before.”

“Hmm.”

What a confident thing to say.

It seems he came fully prepared to die, judging by the calm demeanor he’s maintained.

“Celine.”

“Yes?”

“Over here.”

“Yes?”

“…Come over here.”

“Oh, you mean, come over this way?”

“Yeah.”

I pulled Celine, who still hadn’t grasped the situation, and stepped back from the battlefield.

Though I doubted he would break his promise, I made sure I was ready to leap out at any moment in case he did. I then gestured to Da-eun.

“Good luck…”

“If you’re going to cheer me on, can’t you do it with a little more enthusiasm? Like a kiss on the cheek or something…”

“I can’t make myself more enthusiastic, but I can do something to boost Joanie’s motivation.”

“I’ll definitely win and come back!”

Da-eun, having dashed forward, now stood in front of the man.

At least it seems she’s got the motivation now.

***

“Huu….”

Her heart pounded wildly from the overwhelming tension.

Da-eun tried to steady her rapidly beating heart, gripping her sword tighter.

“What’s your relationship with the demon?”

“She’s my sister… not by blood, though.”

The man seemed curious about her relationship with Kana, so Da-eun answered.

This time, it was Da-eun who asked the question.

“Why do you call Kana a demon? Judging by your actions, it doesn’t seem like you truly see her as one.”

If he really thought she was a demon, shouldn’t he be attacking her without mercy?

The answer to Da-eun’s question was simple.

“It’s just a habit.”

“…Oh, I see.”

Well, okay then.

Da-eun had no intention of rebutting such a statement and closed her mouth.

An awkward atmosphere settled between Da-eun and the man.

…This is so awkward!

Da-eun’s eyes darted around as she screamed inwardly.

“…Well then, I’ll let you have the first move.”

“…Thank you.”

It seemed the man also felt the awkwardness, as he scratched his head sheepishly and broke the silence.

Da-eun gratefully accepted his gesture.

‘I can’t see his level…’

It wasn’t an uncommon occurrence, so she didn’t think much of it.

With tension wound tight, Da-eun charged at him.

Her first attack…

‘A downward slash…!’

She started the fight with the move she had practiced the most.

It was a fairly fast strike, but the man blocked it effortlessly with his only arm.

Clang!

Da-eun’s sword clashed with the man’s and bounced off with a sharp, screeching noise.

‘I expected this!’

She didn’t resist the recoil from the clash of their swords and took a couple of steps back.

She quickly regained her posture and dashed forward like a flash of light.

Although it didn’t seem like a flash of light in Kana’s eyes as she watched from afar, that’s what it felt like to Da-eun.

Clang!

Blocked again.

This time, Da-eun was visibly shaken.

Thrusting was the type of attack that she struggled the most to deal with during her sparring sessions with Kana.

It was hard to predict where it would land, and even if she could read it, it was too fast to block in time.

So, whenever a thrust came her way, she usually chose to dodge by throwing herself aside, but the man blocked it easily as if it were no big deal.

“Grr…!”

In that case, I’ll go even faster!

She clenched her teeth.

Her sword swung relentlessly.

At a glance, the man’s strength seemed greater, but surprisingly, there wasn’t much of a difference between them in terms of power.

Because of that, Da-eun was able to counter some of the man’s attacks as they flew at her occasionally—

However, as the fight continued, her steps were gradually being pushed backward.

Thwack!

“Ugh?!”

A kick following a sword strike.

Da-eun, who had been too focused on blocking the sword, didn’t notice the incoming kick and was sent sliding back.

A sound different from the usual light clashing rang out, and the surging pain made her grimace.

‘…He’s fast. And strong.’

She exhaled the breath she had been holding as she rubbed her throbbing abdomen.

Even if she aimed for his remaining arm, his legs, or even vital areas like his heart or throat—

The man seemed to know her every move and effortlessly blocked her attacks, countering them as if he could see right through her.

Even when Da-eun feigned an attack to his throat and then aimed for his arm instead, the man’s sword followed hers like a shadow.

The range of a swordsman is determined by the length of their sword.

Da-eun had tried every move she could within her range, but all of them were blocked.

As her attacks failed to land, she became increasingly desperate.

If she gripped her sword with both hands instead of one, the power behind her strikes would increase.

Given that his strength was similar to hers, if she landed a hit, his stance would collapse.

Having instinctively calculated this, she adjusted her grip on her sword and swung it down forcefully at him.

It was the strongest attack she had made so far.

“Haah!”

Clang!

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The man, who had always parried her attacks head-on, tilted his sword at an angle to receive her strike.

As Da-eun widened her eyes at the unexpected maneuver, her body, which had followed through with the attack, was now plunging toward the ground.

The man’s sword, with no hesitation, struck toward Da-eun’s exposed body.

Swoosh—

Thud!

“Ah, ugh…!”

She managed to twist her body at the last moment, avoiding a fatal blow, but couldn’t completely evade the strike.



Rolling several times on the ground, Da-eun rose to her feet, only to find crimson blood gushing from her shoulder.

‘Ah, it hurts….’

If the system’s reduced pain perception was making her feel this much, just how painful would it have been without it?

It was as if a second heart had sprouted in her shoulder, thumping intensely with heat.

Biting her lips, her face now clearly showed the signs of imminent defeat.