CH 115

Episode 115 – End Result of the Mock Battles

I had expected the match between Lyra and Nina to be even closer than the match between Byrne and Nina, but contrary to my expectations, the match ended with Lyra’s overwhelming victory. Nina may have been exhausted from her match with Byrne, but I also think that she was simply having a hard time fighting Lyra. If I had to say, Lyra’s movements were a bit like Ahmed’s in that her movements were based on intuition, although they weren’t nearly as wild.

As I had learned from fighting her myself, Lyra’s movements were unconventional and were a result of her choosing actions that she thought were effective in the spur of the moment. As a result, Nina seemed to be having a difficult time against this style of hers. Simply in terms of swordsmanship technique, Nina was probably better, but, from an overall standpoint, Lyra would be the winner.

“The victor of the first day is Lyra. You three did a great job.” (Porta)

“Yaaay! It’s just a little friendly competition, but it sure feels great to win!” (Lyra)

“…I suppose so. Surprisingly, I feel more frustrated than I would have anticipated.” (Nina)

“Me too… I’ll have trouble falling asleep at this rate. Tomorrow, I’ll definitely get my revenge!” (Byrne)

They were just going along with my suggestion at first, but I was glad the members of [Iron Gear] looked like they had fun with it. I had also picked up on a lot of things while watching their matches, so I really felt that this mock battle tournament was a bountiful harvest.

“Well, it’s getting dark already, so should we call it a night?”

“Yeah! Let’s decide on the shifts for the night watch and then get some sleep!” (Lyra)

After the end of the mock battle tournament for the day, I practiced my sword swings before going to sleep.

★　　　★　　　★

After the end of the fourth day of gathering, we returned to Grezesta safely. By the way, the final results of our daily post-dinner mock battle tournaments were…

First place: Lyra

Second place: Nina

Third place: Byrne

The top three rankings were really close, and there was a really interesting balance where Lyra was strong against Nina, Nina was strong against Byrne, and Byrne was strong against Lyra. In the end, Lyra had managed to luckily end up at the top of this power balance this time, putting her in first place.

Incidentally, when it came to Porta and I, we were always eliminated by one of the other three in the first round so we each ended up with only 4 points. The first day went well for me, but, from the second day onwards, everyone was already on guard against my overhead slash. I couldn’t get away with it anymore in a fight, so I ended up suffering defeat after defeat. This tournament really drove home the fact that I had to learn new sword techniques as soon as possible.

“Man, these past four days were even more fulfilling than usual! Even though it was just a friendly mock battle tournament, it sure was interesting! Seeing how much everyone has grown in their own ways… it was the most exciting thing I’ve done in a long time.” (Lyra)

“Even though it was Lewin’s suggestion at first, it was definitely the members of [Iron Gear] who had the most fun with it. Next time… I’ll definitely take first place.” (Byrne)

“Nope, I’ll be first place again in the next one!” (Lyra)

“….No, it’s actually going to be me who will take first place.” (Nina)

While the three of them bickered heatedly as sparks flew in front of the gates of Grezesta, Porta and I, who both only had 4 points, were shrinking back as we endured the shame of inferiority.

This is the thing with mock battles… or so I thought to myself jokingly, but in the end I was glad to have participated in those mock battles, and was looking forward to doing it again next time. I felt a little estranged, not being able to participate in their rivalry squabble, but next time I wanted to be able to manage even one victory against one of those three. If Porta could eventually improve his abilities to be on par with the others, I felt that that would be yet another meaningful result from these mock battle tournaments.

“Porta, you should also do your best so you can bring a good fight to those three. Even if you might think it’d be useless as a rear guard.” (Lewin)

“…..That’s true, maybe I should get a bit serious about training my melee combat. I’ve been avoiding it up until now… but after facing you head-on and seeing this time’s result, I’ve also gotten a bit fired up.” (Porta)

“Yup! The result was unfortunate for both of us, but… let’s do our best to push our way into the competition and maybe even influence the result of victory between those three!” (Lewin)

After deepening my bonds a bit with Porta as the fellow weaklings in the group, I parted ways with [Iron Gear] and entered the gates of Grezesta. On this one trip, I was able to gather a huge amount of plants, get a short break from my daily training in the calm repose of nature, and even participate in mock battles. I made my way back to the rundown inn, more than satisfied with the results this time.

When I arrived at the rundown inn, I caught sight of a figure drifting about aimlessly in front of the entrance. I approached slowly, eyeing this shady figure’s suspicious movements…

“………Kirty-san…?” (Lewin)

“O-Oh!! …It’s Lewin! Fancy meeting you here.” (Kirty)

The one who was loitering in front of the rundown inn turned out to be Kirty. She totally acted like meeting me here was some sort of outrageous coincidence, but… given where we were right now, I somehow got the feeling it wasn’t.

“…A coincidence, you say?” (Lewin)

“That’s… well, you see! …Isn’t it okay? Uh, anyway… It seems that you were able to return safely,” Kirty said with a sheepish smile. Perhaps she was worried about my safety and came here to see me?

“Yes! The adventurer party was doing a great job of escorting me, so there were no dangers whatsoever!” I said with a smile.

“I see… That’s reassuring. Then from tomorrow, we’re resuming your training as always, is that right?” (Kirty)

“Of course! I’m looking forward to it, Kirty-san!” (Lewin)

Smiling at each other as we confirmed our plans for tomorrow’s training, Kirty turned around to leave. It seemed like she really didn’t have much to do, huh…

“I really just happened to be passing by, but I’m glad that I was able to make sure that you were safe. About the details of your plant gathering trip, I’ll hear about it tomorrow. Well then, I’ll be back here tomorrow morning.” (Kirty)

After Kirty said that, I sent her off with a bow. Whatever her reason was, I was glad that I was able to see Kirty’s face as soon as I got back.

Tomorrow, my strict training would resume. I had had a pretty lame performance in the mock battle tournament, so I would have to do my best to improve my skills accordingly.