CH 22

“Ora ora ora ora!”

Ark charges at me, swinging his sword wildly. Its buffed attack are sharper, faster, and more powerful than before. However.

“Wut ……”

Hyoi hyoi hyoi hyoi. I was dodging all of its attacks by turning and bending over without using my spear.

“Tsk! F*ck, don’t evade!”

“Don’t talk nonsense!”

“You coward! Come on, attack me too!”

Ark seems to be quite annoyed that his attack isn’t hitting. He made a cheap provocation, but unfortunately, unlike him, I’m not dumb enough to take the bait.

Indeed, the buffs applied by Agranis to Ark proved to be powerful. And the debuff I received when I first repelled Ark’s attack also worked. But unfortunately, that doesn’t cover the level difference between me and Ark.

My level is 26, whereas Ark’s level is probably 11 or 12. That’s more than double the difference. Even with a few buffs and debuffs, Ark’s status is still not up to par with mine.

“Orah! Mega Flare!”

“!!!”

A large ball of fire shoots out from Ark’s hand, which he flips up into the sky with his skill ‘Spear Warding’. Humm, this attack does not have the debuff from dark magic in it. After all, it seems that the only thing that must be avoided is contact with the sword held by Ark.

Again, out of the corner of my eye, I see Agranis trying to cast a spell.

“There you go, oops.”

I used my spear and foot to successfully levitate the illegally dumped stone at my feet and kicked it towards Agranis.

“Kuu!”

Agranis dodged it in the nick of time, but instead the spell chanting was interrupted.

“Oops, sorry. My foot slipped.”

“Damn!”

“I wouldn’t want to raise my hand to a woman if I could, …… but if you’re to something again, my foot might slip again. This time for real.”

Agranis twists the edge of her mouth in frustration. Okay, it was a messy threat, but it seems to have worked. It’s too much trouble to get buffed any more.

“Don’t you dare play it safe, you f**king guard!”

Boom! I bend down to dodge Ark, who comes at me from behind with a sideways slash.

Well, it’s time to get on with it.

“F**king guard! You’ve been dodging and deflecting for a while now, what the hell do you think a duel is!”

“Oh, I’m sorry about that. But I’ m going to put an end to that now.”

“…… Ha! You mean you’re finally ready to be cut down by me!”

“No, no. I’ve decided how I’m going to win, that’s all.”

“Tsk! You’re so annoying, what can you do when you’ve been on the defensive since a while ago!”

Ark attacks again with his sword. I held my spear ready for him, waiting for him to attack me.

“What the do you think you’re doing, you fucking guard!”

“Huh? Because, you see, you’re a hero, even if you’re a rotten one. Wouldn’t it be a disaster if you got hurt?”

“You’re a fool! Hero Ax!”

I easily dodged Ark’s sword swing attack skill, and aimed with the tip of my spear hilt at him.

“This way I’ll be safe.”

I use my skill ‘Vortex’. With the speed of a lightning-fast attack, the spear, which has turned into nearly invisible, penetrates through the gap between Ark’s armor – into his [inner thighs].

“Ngggit?, you! Mega Slash!”

I dodge the reckless counterattack by going around to Arc’s back side. And this time, I hit the opposite leg, the inner thigh, with a “vortex”.

“Gahh?”

With just those two blows, Ark’s body collapsed.

“Hey, why ……! My legs, my legs don’t move….!”

“Well, you see, the thigh is a vital point where all the important muscles that support the body are concentrated. If you do fatal damage there, you won’t be able to stand up.”

But that’s only temporary. It will be healed by tomorrow. But I had intended to end this duel quickly. But it turned out to be quite unexpected.

“I had a hard time figuring out how to win without getting hit by your sword and still not seriously injuring you with the buffs and debuffs making you less powerful. I’m glad I came up with the idea of applying the ‘vortex’, which is inherently deadly.”

It wasn’t that I was on the defensive or struggling from the start. I was just being cautious about adjusting my moves.

“Are you trying to tell me that yo-you were serious at all since the beginning?!”

“Yeah, well. From now on, I’m going to need you to work hard to defeat the Demon King. Shouldn’t you be nice to Hero-sama?”

“You’re a fool, you know that? You, I’ll never forgive you…”

God! I hit Ark in the lower jaw with the hilt of my spear. Ark’s eyes go white. It seems to have fainted.

I didn’t see any point in continuing the conversation with Ark any longer.

“Hey, Agranis.”

“Tsk. You’re a useless hero.”

“Do you hear me, Agranis!”

“…… Yes, I can hear you. And I know the outcome. The winner of this duel is you, Gustav.”

Agranis walks over to us, looking disapproving. She then bends down to Ark.

“We will not touch Nina any more. Is that clear?”

“You, interfering in the duel…”

“Well then. I’m sure I’ll see you again somewhere. Sir Gustave.”

“What the ……?”

In an instant, Agranis vanished from the scene, along with Ark, just as if she had spread her own dressing gowns wide open. Was it teleportation, then? As I recall, sorcerers can learn to teleport from level 25.

“Missed huh? What was she really, that one?”

As I was grumbling that, Don! and something slammed into my back.

“Ggh, Gustav!”

“Whoa? Eh, Niña ……?”

Nina was hugging my back. Tightly and strongly, but also weakly, like a child clinging to its parents.

“Atashi …… how much do I have to give back to you ……?”

“Ni, Niña, what on earth?”

“Everything, everything, it was my first time. It was the first time I was praised by someone outside the slum, the first time I was recognised for my way of life, the first time I had someone protecting me like this. It was Gustav who gave me my first time. What can I give back to you ……?”

“……Ehh…”

It’s a little too sudden for me to fully understand what Nina is feeling when she says it. However, I can at least vaguely understand that she wants to entrust something very important to me in her message.

I have to respond seriously. So I turned around and looked Niña straight in the eye.

“Well, if you feel that way that Nina has received something important from me, …… don’t even think about giving me something back.”

“What ……?”

“Because I don’t think maybe that kind of thing is something you consciously receive or give back. I’d rather be by Nina’s side in a different way, rather than in a relationship where there is such a vested interest.”

At my words, Niña looks up at me with somewhat moist eyes and a blush on her cheeks. Her mouth crunches shut and opens like the mouth of an oxygen-deprived goldfish.

“Eh, eh ……! Um, is that, do you mean, …… that we are going out ……, going out……”

“Well, to put it bluntly, it means that we’re going to be [friends]. It’s a bit embarrassing to put it into words, isn’t it?”

“- Ah, yes, ……. I see. …….”

As soon as she heard this, she was crestfallen. Nina became as small as a wilting plant. What was that? Why?

“A friend, huh? ……”

“Um, Nina? Are you okay?”

“Yeah, yeah. I’m fine, I’m fine.. Well, we just met, and I’ve not done anything for Gustav, so it’s only natural… …… haha.”

She’s smiling so self-deprecatingly, she doesn’t seem all right at all. Did you not like me and being friends?

“Hah…… don’t worry about that for now. But more importantly, this is for you.”

“What?”

Niña throws two cloth bags at me with a pout. The one I caught was the one I originally had, and Nina stole it. And the other one is…

“That one is the wallet of that rude sorceress.”

“What? Agranis?”

“Yes. Yes. When she first approached me, she was a bit of a jerk. I was pissed off.”

Nina stuck her tongue out.

“Is this another one of those ‘caught red-handed’ things? But it’s okay, right? She’s been cheating. I’ll call it a penalty!”

“…… You’re a totally reliable one, Nina, But are you sure you want to give it to me?”

“It’s just a small thank-you for helping me. Don’t say you don’t want it. We can’t be friends if you keep on lending me one-sidedly.”

“I see. Well, if that’s the case, I’ll take it. Thanks.”

“Wow?”

Nina almost jumps when I pat her little head.

“Oh, sorry. Did you not like it?”

“No, not really..! I-I’d rather see how much money I was able to get from that magician!”

Nina’s face turned red and she pointed at the cloth bag as if to evade the question.

“I’m a little uncomfortable with the fact that it’s stolen, but. well, it’s okay.”

I opened the cloth purse Agranis was carrying. There are a few gold coins, and then some silver and copper coins. In addition to that -.

“What are these coins..?”

A few gold coins, not belonging to the kingdom, were stored in the bottom of the bag, hidden. Me and Nina both looked at each other and tilted our heads.

(TL: Slowly but surely, Gustav is becoming a gigolo.)