CH 16

Then the girl unexpectedly makes a sharp step.

She closes the distance to Ren in the blink of an eye.

(Huh!?)

Ren saw her footwork as fast and sophisticated as the wind.

Of course, he was puzzled by the sudden start of the fight.

But the girl, in contrast, aimed at Ren’s shoulder with a dagger in her own hand, regardless of his bewilderment.

(She’s fast) 

Not as much as Roy. The power probably is too.

However, the sword’s line was sharper and more fluid than Ren had ever seen and this reminded him of his training with Weiss.

He read these things momentarily.

“In a mock battle, I think a wooden sword would be safer—-!”

He was on the back foot, but he easily parried the girl’s sword.

“………… Impossible!”

The girl took a few steps away and her beautiful face was stained with astonishment.

Ren spoke to the girl in a resolute manner.

“You can stand there if you want to. But it’s dangerous if we don’t make use of wooden swords, so if you want to continue, it’ll have to be after we get one.”

“No! The blade has been dulled, so it’s fine!”

The metal blade will still hurt if it hits you.

Ren swallowed these words and sighed as if he had no choice.

The girl was also closing in on him during this time, and with her brilliant swordsmanship, she was able to confront him. However, she was easily defeated, and her breathing gradually became erratic.

“Fufu……! This’s amazing! I’ve never had this much fun in my life!”

Still, the girl is fearless and doesn’t say a word of resignation.

The girl moves away from Ren and reaches for the dress that covers her.

Ren, who had been watching her, immediately couldn’t believe his eyes. The girl had taken off her dress.

But she’s not in her underwear. Underneath, she was dressed in a white, easy-to-move outfit reminiscent of a military uniform.

(That dress looked vaguely familiar.)

As I was trying to remember the clue, the girl was relentlessly closing in on me.

Whether it was because she was able to move more easily or because of a change in consciousness, she was faster and sharper than before.

“How about this!”

The sword’s line changed into a sword flash and struck Ren.

The sword was so sophisticated that it didn’t look like a young girl’s sword skill at all.

But even so, it was still no match for Ren.

“No, it doesn’t matter!”

Ren, who thought it was time to decide the match, put even more muscular strength into his hands and, unlike before, showed a stand-up move to break the girl’s position.

“…. No way!”

The girl’s center of gravity shifted to one of her legs as her body was pushed with the sword as a fulcrum.

Her body falls miserably backwards and she finally sits on the ground on her buttocks, still being pressed by Ren’s sword.

“—- I win.”

The dagger in his hand was thrust right next to the girl’s neck.

Her upper body was straddled by Ren and her arms were also weak. The girl was still and silent in the face of his powerful eyes looking down at her and his strength that said no matter what.

The girl’s cheeks begin to glow a little after a few seconds.

“…… close.”

“Hmm?”

“I said…. You’re too close!”

Ren rushes to his feet and moves away from the girl.

“I’m sorry about the situation. I was just trying to get you to admit defeat!”

There was no other reason.

The girl understood this, but she couldn’t hide her embarrassment.

Her cheeks, which had turned bright red, caught Ren off guard.

“I’m going to make you regret all the embarrassment you’ve caused me!”

The girl then stood up vigorously and swung her sword, her eyes moist with shame.

Her refined movements remained unchanged, but in fact, she was somewhat impatient and not without her messiness.

“What….? you’re still going to continue?!”

“Of course! You haven’t made me admit defeat!”

“What a violent argument.”

Anyway, I don’t intend to fight anymore.

Ren was afraid of injuring the girl.

So he wanted to end it quickly…….

(What should I do? Ah….. that’s right.)

If the girl won’t give up, then force her to end the fight.

For example, I could flick off her sword or take it away.

Although flicking it away is potentially dangerous because it also puts more force into it, there is hope that the latter can be done with regard to taking it away—-

(It should work with this)

Ren takes a glance at the Thief’s magic sword that was fitted on his fingers.

He wondered if he could use it to take the sword from the girl’s hand.

Then Ren thought of the thief’s magic sword as he also remembered the wooden magic sword. The special effect is only a random robbery, but he believed it was worth a try.

Then—-

“…….. eh?”

As soon as Ren swung his hand, the Thief’s magic sword took effect and a strange wind passed through the girl’s body.

Her fluffy hair floated in the air, and there was surprised on her neat face.

“I heard that you have a…… skill, but it looked like wind magic.”

(What is she talking about?)

Mistakes aside, Ren was confident that he took something away.

As if to prove it, he felt something gripped in his free hand. From the feel of it, he could imagine that it was cloth.

He also learned that the thief’s magic sword consumed more magic power than he had expected.

In this moment, I realized that the burden was much greater than when using the wooden magic sword.

“Young lady, that’s enough! Boy, you should stop too!”

Distracted by Weiss who arrived, Ren stopped to check what he had stolen. He decided to hide it because he wasn’t sure how he should mend the fact that he had stolen, even though he had used his skill.

(At any rate, that was the end of it.)

Ren exhaled with relief that Weiss had finally arrived.

He looks up at Weiss, who rushes over to her, tilting his head, he asked. 

“Weiss-sama, why are you here?”

I don’t want to be left holding the dagger.

Ren puts the dagger on the ground while he waits for a reply.

“Ah …… sorry for the sudden visit. Actually…”

“Weiss. Let me explain.”

“…. Understood.”

The girl started walking and stopped a few steps in front of Ren.

Then, she presented her curtsey.

Unlike the dress she had taken off, the curtsey was reminiscent of a military uniform, but it exuded a grace and integrity that could not be concealed.

Her behavior was as glittering as that of a party hall only around the girl.

The smile on her face was so beautiful that Ren almost fell in love with her without realizing it.

“I brought a letter to the Ashtons in my father’s name.”

Cold sweat trickles down Ren’s neck as he listens.

From the girl’s words, he had a bad feeling—–

“My father praised the Ashtons for defeating Thief Wolfen and said he had strong hopes for Ren Ashton’s future.”

“Ah, yes …… thank you …….”

Ren responds to her with an unclear attitude.

“What’s with that reaction? Aren’t you happy?”

“Young lady, the boy must be confused. Besides, you haven’t introduced yourself yet.”

“Ah… I see what you mean.”

The girl coughs and corrects herself.

She smiles gracefully as she introduces herself.

“I am Lithia Clausel, the White Saint.”

You know who I am right?

She asked Ren, who was too stunned, to catch up with her.

Ren nodded back with his cheeks twitching in response to the question and after confirming that Lithia was satisfied, he looked up at the sky.

His eyes gazed into the distance without focus.　

“Young lady, your dress.”

Close to the distance gazing Ren, Weiss picked up the dress Lithia had taken off and said.

“You’re sweating, let’s do this later.”

“I understand.”

The two exchanged calm exchanges, unlike Ren, who was startled.

Nearby, he thinks, stunned.

(I don’t understand …… why is this happening)

I didn’t expect Lithia to suddenly come to me.

I’ve been thinking about how I could somehow avoid having to show my face recently, but there’s nothing I can do about it except be surprised at the rate at which events were occurring.

“Young lady, I can’t allow you to take advantage of my absence.”

“You and the others were resting for too long. That’s why I came riding alone.”

Ren, who was stunned, turned his back to them with a huff of remembrance.

He looked at his palm, thinking that he had to check the things he had taken with the thief’s magic sword, and furthermore, wondering how he should return it.

Preferably a handkerchief or something I could claim had dropped during the fight. Since it felt like cloth in my hand, I couldn’t imagine what else I could steal.

But what Ren saw when he checked the palm of his hand was…

(…… underwear pants.)

They were mature red underwear, probably made of fine silk.

Ren, thinking this was no joke, hurriedly put the underwear back in his pocket and held his head in his hands in anguish.