One month after returning to Sibyaku.Everyday life was horrifying. When school resumed, the tingling air that was initially radiated like body odor by those returning from the battlefield gradually relaxed, and normal life returned.
In the late afternoon after the morning practice, many students of all grades gathered in front of the dormitory.
“How is it? Can you move?” (Yuri)
I asked.
“Yeah.” (Dolla)
Dolla, who wore iron armor all over his body, stood up from a chair while making a squeaking noise.
He was wearing Kura’s plate armor. It was the one that was covered with dust at the corner of a warehouse of the antique store. He bought it for 200 Ruga and I had a blacksmith work it to fit Dolla’s body.
‘The hole in the heart position is probably a charm. The reason it gives a squeaking noise is because the joints aren’t joint properly and the iron is rubbing against each other.’
Since it was a bit of fun, I asked him to become a practice hit on the training ground, but it might have been a bad idea. It was making that sound a lot. The armor, which was covered with rust in many spots, had fresh traces of hammering after being heated in a furnace.
Dolla walked two to three steps lightly with iron all over his body.
“It’s so heavy.” (Dolla)
‘It seems to be heavy. It’s a cheap one, except that it’s used and likely cursed. Even with the same plate armor, those with corrugated armor have been devised to reduce the weight while maintaining the defensive power, but this isn’t the case at all. It just relies on the thickness of the iron for protection. If you’re not careful, you might weigh more than fifty kilograms.’
“Well, let’s give it a try.” (Yuri)
I held out a thick wooden spear made of a hard pole. It was the one that Dolla had been using for practice recently, with straw wrapped around the tip.
‘Why is there straw wrapped around it? Needless to say, the wooden pole as it would cause injury. No one wants to deal with Dolla unless he does this because there is a real fear of death.’
Dolla picked up that wooden spear and readied himself.
There was a feeling of intimidation. The thought of how to attack this iron fortress brought back the feeling of being at a loss that I once remembered.
I also held a thin wooden spear here and took a stance.
The students, who were interested in this event, surrounded us in a circle. They became spectators and made a great deal of noise.
We faced each other and pointed the spear’s tips at each other.
Dolla suddenly released his stance and lowered his spear.
“No, I can’t see it.” (Dolla)
The heavy helmet that Dolla wore had only a slit in the eye that was about the size of the tip of the little finger.
‘I thought it might possibly be a bit inconvenient, but… I guess he can’t see at all. It seems he really can’t see.’
“I see. Is it impossible?” (Yuri)
I also lowered my spear and asked.
“It doesn’t look normal. It’s unusually heavy, and no matter how I look at it, there’s something wrong with it.” (Dolla)
“But they are fighting with that. So, is it impossible for you?” (Yuri)
I tried to provoke him a little.
“…I’ll do what I can do.” (Dolla)
Dolla held up his spear again. I also set my spear up.
He took a step forward and thrust at me. I took a step back and he took another step forward, but this time, he thrusted the spear around my waist.
I lightly avoided that too.
What Dolla did was a basic combination of thrusts where he would lunge the gap of the lower body part when the opponent used a sway to avoid stabs on the upper body part.
‘Of course, the speed of his thrust is so fast that you can’t avoid it with your legs.’
However, Dolla was really slow. Compared to his usual movement, I thought that the fly would stop.
“Keep going.” (Yuri)
At the same time, I counterattacked and stabbed at the inside of the elbow joint. Dolla moved his elbow a bit and flipped the stab with his armor.
‘That’s difficult. No, but it will be good practice.’
Dolla wordlessly swung his spear. I avoided it and went into his range and this time I was aiming for his neck. This time, I tried to extend the spear from the blind spot of the slit, but Dolla put her neck on his chin to eliminate the exposure of his neck, which prevented my attack as well.
Dolla’s movement was generally very slow, but he prevented my attack with a little movement.
“Interesting. Let’s continue.” (Yuri)
—
After continuing for about fifteen minutes, Dolla suddenly lowered his spear.
He abandoned the fight and turned his back on me and sat down on the large chair he used to put on his armor. He roughly untied his chinstrap and took off his helmet. His sweat-soaked face was red, and he was breathing very hard.
“Haah… haah…” (Dolla)
“Is it so exhausting?” (Yuri)
I approached and called out to him. I was just a bit sweaty and didn’t breathe much.
“Haah… haah… it’s… exhausting. Are you… a fool?” (Dolla)
He was breathing hard.
‘Dolla isn’t having any problem with his stamina, and he is better than mine because he trains day and night, but he becomes so tired after fifteen minutes.’
“I’ve learned a lot.” (Yuri)
‘As expected, plate armor is troublesome. Even with half trash armor, it’s hard to attack.’
“Haa… haa… this is really… weird.. haah. It’s hard to move…” (Dolla)
“Maybe that’s why it didn’t sell.” (Yuri)
“Stupid… I already know it…” (Dolla)
‘Was it a decorative piece with no regard for practicality from the beginning? No, there’s a hole in the chest, so that’s not the case. I don’t know what kind of great man went through with it, but the wearer must be dead. Or maybe it was too heavy to move in, and he was finished off. Even Dolla becomes exhausting, so it’s easy to predict that.’
‘Bigger is better than smaller. but not the other way around. When he bought it, it was too small to fit his size, so the blacksmith adjusted it to make it bigger. This means that the original wearer was thinner than Dolla.’
“It’s good for practicing. If this is the case, even an average person can be a practicing partner.” (Yuri)
“This isn’t about swinging a spear here, you know.” (Dolla)
“It’s fine. You were swinging well.” (Yuri)
‘You could move. It’s just that it’s a bit hard to get me to my knees fast enough.’
“It will be your training. It’s also training for everyone. This is hitting two birds with one stone.” (Yuri)
‘How to fight against plate armor enemies is a very meaningful training. You have to stab through the gaps to get to the vital points. Therefore, you have to be precise, and you have to be quick. There’s nothing wrong with trying it.’
“Hah… anyhow, I’m done for the day.” (Dolla)
His gasp breathing was over already.
‘Is he a physical monster?’
“I wonder if you have a plan.” (Yuri)
“Yes, I do.” (Dolla)
‘He has a plan, huh. That’s very rare.’
“What are you going to do? Do you want to keep your outfit?” (Yuri)
“Are you a fool?” (Dolla)
Dolla called me a fool three times already.
—
When I finished changing my clothes and waited in the living room of the dormitory. Dolla came back to the room.
Perhaps, it was a good thing that he had sweated so much in that plate armor, but after bathing in the well, he looked refreshed and didn’t smell like sweat.
As for the clothes, he was wearing formal wear. It was one level higher than the formal wear that I was wearing now.
“You… what’s up with that?” (Yuri) Sᴇaʀch* Thᴇ Nʘvᴇl(F)ire.nᴇt website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of nøvels early and in the highest quality.
“I have at least one outfit like this.” (Dolla)
‘That’s absolutely a lie.’
“I think I got it when I went back to my parent’s house. I think this is my father’s.” (Dolla)
“…” (Yuri)
‘I’m not an expert in tailoring formal wear either, but he is a bit odd. It’s a fine formal dress, but it looks like there’s too much cloth on the shoulders and chest, and the choice is strange to begin with. Well, I have no doubt that this is the wear from his father, Galla.’
“…Is this not good?” (Dolla)
Dolla was a bit sullen.
“Hmm… well, it shouldn’t be a problem.” (Yuri)
“…It’s probably better than a uniform.” (Dolla)
Dolla said helplessly.
‘He doesn’t really take good care of his uniform, so it’s bad to use it. It’s fine if it’s just a stain, but his uniform is almost like ordinary clothes because the color is faded and there are some torn parts.’
“Yeah, I guess so. I think it’s good.” (Yuri)
I stopped thinking.
‘I mean, I have no idea why not only me but also Dora was called. It’s also unclear why Dolla, who would normally push through in uniform without worrying about clothes. So, it’s weird when he suddenly pays attention to what he is wearing. There is a sense out of place when a gorilla suddenly gets dressed. Since the gorilla is dressed, I should compliment first, and it would be tactless to point out his clothes.’
“Let’s go.” (Yuri)
With that in mind, I got up from my chair.
“Dolla-san?” (Myaro)
It was Myaro, who suddenly appeared in the living room.
“Are you about to leave?” (Myaro)
“Yes.” (Yuri)
Dolla turned around and faced Myaro. The cheerful smile disappeared from Myaro’s face when he saw Dolla’s face, or rather his appearance.
“Dolla-san, you shouldn’t be wearing that.” (Myaro)
With a straight face and furrowed brow, she immediately declared so.
“…As I expected, this is no good.” (Dolla)
“I don’t mean that, but… uhm, just to confirm, you’re meeting Her Highness Telor, right?” (Myaro)
“Yes.” (Dolla)
Dolla replied.
“Uhm… your clothes are a bit…” (Myaro)
It seemed that Myaro also found it too much.
“Say it clearly.” (Dolla)
“You look like an old man. It’s the clothes that old men usually wear.” (Myaro)
‘Aah, she said. Yeah, that’s it. When Dolla wears that, he looks like an old man. Speaking of a suit, there is a sense of incongruity similar to a freshman wearing an uncouth double suit. It’s fine if Galla wears it, but it’s not good for Dolla. No, it’s not that it’s bad. It just doesn’t fit his image.’
“…Is that so? But it’s already time to go…” (Dolla)
Dolla was probably enduring it since he couldn’t look at her.
“It’s true… what should we do? We have to do something about it.” (Myaro)
Myaro put her hands on his chain and thought seriously.
‘What’s that? They are so weird. I don’t get why Dolla cares so much about his clothes, or why Myaro is showing a strange commitment. I don’t care what Dolla wears. It would be bad if he wears gym clothes, or a pair of pants, or dressed as an armored warrior, but what he wears right now is a sufficiently formal dress and there’s nothing bad about it. There’s nothing wrong with having the atmosphere of an old man.’
“Yuri-kun, don’t you have clothes in the Hou Household’s secondary residence?” (Myaro)
“Eh?” (Yuri)
‘Eh, me?’
“Uhm… I don’t know. I wonder about that. Whether the size fits him or not…” (Yuri)
“Please go there and lend him your clothes. Please.” (Myaro)
“Eh, for Dolla? My clothes?” (Yuri)
“Yes. Can’t you?” (Myaro)
‘Eh, seriously? You’re going this far? That reminds me, why is Myaro on fire? It’s like she’s on some kind of secret mission. Has she awakened to the spirit of gorilla protection?’
“I don’t mind…” (Yuri)
‘It’s nothing more than lending clothes.’
“Please put some oil on the hair and comb it nicely.” (Myaro)
“Until that much?” (Yuri)
“Yuri-kun, it should be fine for you since you’re just an addition to this, but Dolla isn’t good at those things…” (Myaro)
‘An addition…? I’m the one with the message from the queen. Well, Dolla is cutting his own hair, so it looks pretty bad. Or rather, I was so used to seeing it that I didn’t notice, but when I look closely, it looks bad. It is pretty bad.’
“Dolla-san, why didn’t you go to a barber shop? Are you for real?” (Myaro)
“S-sorry. I forgot…” (Dolla)
“You can’t just forget about it. Please pull yourself together.” (Myaro)
‘She got kind of angry, huh. I’ve never seen Myaro like this before.’
“O-ouh.” (Dolla)
Dolla flinched, perhaps because of the unusual appearance of Myaro.
“Yes, I got it. Let’s do it quickly.” (Yuri)
‘In times like this, you better run.’
“Let’s go, let’s go.” (Dolla)
Dola sprinted and left the dormitory.