Great O’Browns ④
Somehow, I recovered from being full and managed to make it in time for the Exhibition Match.
The Tier I VIP area had more noticeable empty seats than yesterday.
The Witch was at work. Munieca-san was at Tasan’s villa.
I hadn’t seen Chive-san since what happened this morning.
Oh, Celeste-san and ‘Sword of Swords’ were here.
Celeste-san looked at me, and then her eyes widened in surprise at my shoulders.
It was almost the same reaction as everyone else who saw us on the way here, so I gave a wry smile.
That’s because Ruriha-san and Mineha-san were sitting on my shoulders.
It wasn’t ‘a flower in each hand,’ but ‘a flower on each shoulder.’
Is it really that unusual?
Even Fairial, the Receptionist who helped me before and whom I happened to meet in the audience, was surprised.
‘Sword of Swords’ was unusually seated and glanced at me.
His Greatsword was placed beside his seat. For now, I greeted Celeste-san, who was sitting in the seat next to me.
“Hello, Celeste-san.”
“Yes. Ah, um…”
“You look well, Celeste,” Ruriha-san said.
“I-It’s been a while, Ruriha-san. Um…”
“Oh, but it’s unusual for you to be here, ‘Sword of Swords’,” Ruriha-san remarked.
Celeste-san, who looked like she wanted to say something, seemed to give up after being interrupted twice.
She said with a sigh.
“That’s because Ax-san is participating. Ax-san. He learned swordsmanship from Master.”
So she calls him ‘Master.’ It’s natural since she’s his disciple, but I wonder if he doesn’t have a name.
“Well, he’s still soft on his disciples, as always. Speaking of which, Ens is the same,” Ruriha-san commented.
Ah, I see. So it’s going to be a master versus disciple showdown.
“…He really is… a dog…” Mineha-san muttered. I whispered.
“According to The Witch, he’s apparently the oldest of the Tier I Seekers.”
“Eh, does that mean…”
His true form is ‘something’ that looks like a dog.
However, there’s no such surprise like him being a former human; it’s apparently been proven that he’s a real dog.
I don’t know how, though.
“Ruriha. Mineha.”
The one calling out to them was Emi-san.
Mineha-san immediately looked awkward.
“Emi. It’s been a while,” Ruriha-san said.
“Yes, how many years has it been?”
I turned towards Emi-san.
She offered me the seat next to her, so I decided to sit down.
Ruriha-san looked at Emi-san and then lowered her gaze slightly.
Emi-san sighed.
“You know… I heard the story from Mineha, and I’m just astounded.”
“I’ve been told that by many people already… But it can’t be helped, can it? Ruriha, if your husband were to return… you’d understand how I feel,” Ruriha-san replied.
“There’s a part of that I can’t deny,” Emi-san admitted.
“Mother!?” Mineha-san exclaimed.
She can’t? Well, I definitely won’t mention it.
Suddenly, Emi-san looked at me.
“Still, for you to be sitting on someone’s shoulder. That’s rare,” Emi-san said to Ruriha-san.
“It’s comfortable, you know. Besides, Mineha likes it, so I just went along with it. Then I found it more comfortable than I expected, and now it’s quite my favorite spot,” Ruriha-san explained.
“Mother?” Mineha-san questioned.
“Isn’t it fine, Ruriha? You. You’re still young,” Emi-san said to Ruriha-san.
“Eh?” I blurted out.
“Oh, Woff-san. Is something wrong?” Ruriha-san asked.
“N-No, it’s nothing.”
Ruriha-san. She was smiling, but her eyes weren’t.
Also, her face was close, which was super scary.
“No, no. You have to nod to things like that,” Emi-san said, chuckling.
“S-Sorry.”
“Oh my, what are you apologizing for, I wonder?” Ruriha-san purred.
“Um, well…”
Why are you cupping my chin with your hand? Are you caressing it?
And why are you blushing and looking entranced by it?
“Mother. Please stop. Woff looks pitiful,” Mineha-san pleaded.
“Oh, I’m sorry,” Ruriha-san said, pulling back slightly.
“Honestly,” Mineha-san sighed.
“You all look like you’re having fun,” Emi-san observed.
Emi-san said something like that.
Am I having fu— Well, it’s kind of fun when Mineha-san uses polite speech.
Besides, having Ruriha-san sitting there somehow makes me feel at ease.
While we were doing that, it finally began.
In the middle of the arena, Ax-san and Ens-san faced each other.
Come to think of it, Rell-san and Hoss-san weren’t in the VIP area.
But they should be somewhere in the arena.
“Ax-chan. He’s gotten so big. Just like Ens,” Emi-san remarked.
“Come to think of it, the last time I saw him was when he was little,” Ruriha-san mused.
“Yes, I still remember holding baby Ax-chan,” Emi-san said fondly.
Baby Ax-san, huh.
Come to think of it, The Witch also said she’d held him before.
“I even changed his diapers. For such a child to grow this big…” Emi-san said, her voice thick with emotion.
While saying that with deep emotion, Ruriha-san somehow snuggled against my cheek.
“Exhibition Match. The match between ‘Abyssal Walker’ Ens Heiland and ‘Fang of Thunder’ Ax will now begin. Victory is determined by surrender or knockout. Actions that would kill the opponent are prohibited. Understood?” the announcer’s voice boomed.
“Yeah. Ah, yes,” Ax-san replied, a little flustered.
“Un,” Ens-san affirmed.
“Then, begin!”
At the signal, both drew their swords.
And Ax-san instantly closed the distance to Ens-san to zero.
That’s One-Step! Right off the bat? But then he did something even more surprising.
Ax-san raised his sword right in front of Ens-san, feigned a downward swing, and then dropped it.
“!” Ens-san reacted.
“Take thaaaat!” Ax-san yelled.
Due to the sheer unexpectedness of it, an opening appeared in Ens-san’s defense, if only for a moment.
Ax-san didn’t miss it and sent him flying with a powerful punch.
“Whoa, he did it!” I exclaimed.
“Not bad, Ax,” Emi-san commented.
“That’s intense,” Ruriha-san added.
“But Ax. He threw away his sword, what’s he going to do now?” Mineha-san wondered.
“He did say he was only thinking about landing one punch,” Celeste-san reminded us.
“I know that, but for it to end like this… I really don’t think so,” Emi-san said.
“That’s true,” Ruriha-san and Mineha-san chorused.
Ens-san spat out some blood.
“Nice. That hurt.”
Ens-san, his cheek slightly swollen, smiled.
Ax-san said with a refreshed look,
“It’s a surprise attack ‘Sword of Swords’ taught me. He said it’d work if I was just aiming to punch. How about that?”
An unexpected stratagem from ‘Sword of Swords’.
“Master. Did you teach him something like this?” Celeste-san asked.
Even when Celeste-san asked, ‘Sword of Swords’ didn’t answer.
Well, he can’t answer because he’s a dog, to begin with.
Ens-san gave a wry smile and picked up Ax-san’s sword.
“It’s a good sword. A standard model, I see.”
“Yeah. I like it,” Ax-san replied.
“What a coincidence. My sword is also made by the same swordsmith. However, this one is a premium. If a standard is a masterpiece, one in a thousand, then a premium is a masterwork, one in ten thousand.”
Saying so, he tossed the sword to Ax-san. Ax-san caught it and looked puzzled.
“What’s this supposed to mean?”
“Saying it’s fine just because you landed a punch, well, that’s a bit of a letdown, I thought. Since we’re at it, I’ll show you, Ax. My sword.”
Ens-san took a stance. It was a ceremonial-like stance, with the blade in front of his face.
Ax-san also took a stance. A basic stance, with his sword pointed straight at his opponent.
“Here I come! Uoooooh!”
Ax-san attacked again. He closed in rapidly with One-Step.
Ens-san didn’t move. Ax-san swung his sword. Ens-san didn’t move.
He brought it down. Ens-san didn’t move. And yet, Ax-san’s sword was deflected.
“!?” Ax-san was shocked.
“Good swordsmanship,” Ens-san commented.
Ens-san swayed back as if turning transparent. What kind of evasive footwork was that?
Ax-san became wary, held his sword at his hip, and approached again with One-Step.
“Uooooooooooh! Daraaaaah!”
This time, he launched a fierce assault. Ens-san was forced onto the defensive.
The crowd roared. A storm of powerful yet precise sword strikes. I wouldn’t be able to handle it.
“He’s gotten stronger, Ax has,” Emi-san murmured.
“That guy. He delved into the Fire Dungeon and trained specially for this day,” Ruriha-san revealed.
“Is that so?”
“Hoss-san and Rell-san said it was tough,” Ruriha-san added.
I didn’t know that.
Seeing the results of his special training manifest like this is exciting, even as an experienced observer.
“Uooooooooh!”
Up, down, left, right, diagonally. A torrential downpour of sword strikes rained down from every angle without a gap.
Ens-san was somehow managing to block them all, but he was clearly struggling.
Amazing. He’s cornering a Tier I Seeker.
“Truly good swordsmanship… I’m at my limit just defending. Mu!” Ens-san exclaimed.
Ens-san’s eyes widened.
And no wonder. Ax-san suddenly unleashed that technique.
“Single Stroke Demon Slayer!”
Ens-san’s sword was severed, and its tip danced in the air.
As it fell with a clang, a huge cheer erupted.
Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!!
“Ax. Splendid,” Emi-san praised.
“Oh my, Ax-chan. You can use that technique,” Ruriha-san said, surprised.
“That’s Mr. Agaro’s…” Mineha-san started.
For some reason, I didn’t feel it was Gymnema-san’s Single Stroke Demon Slayer.
Celeste-san said, impressed.
“That powerful Single Stroke Demon Slayer. Is it Fire Fang Style?”
“? Celeste-san. Fire Fang Style?” I asked.
“You don’t know? The sword technique called Single Stroke Demon Slayer exists in each of nine different schools. That’s why even if it’s the same technique, it’s different.”
“Heeh~”
“Still, to cut a superior premium sword, he’s quite something, isn’t he?” Celeste-san added.
Nine of them, huh. Speaking of fire, could it be that there are sword schools aligned with each element?
If so, then Gymnema-san’s might be the Single Stroke Demon Slayer of a water-attribute school. But nine?
Mineha-san, who was listening, probably thought the same thing.
“In that case, isn’t there one too many?” she asked.
“There’s an origin stream. The origin stream before it split into eight,” Celeste-san explained.
“Ah, the original,” I mused.
Or the main lineage.
I see.
“How about that. I can do it too, right?” Ax-san grinned fearlessly.
Ens-san broke into a wide smile.
“Amazing, Ax. I was surprised… Truly astonished.”
“It’s embarrassing when you say it like that,” Ax-san replied, scratching his head.
“Yeah. In that case—it might be alright for you to know.”
“Huh?”
Ens-san took a stance with his sword, its tip now broken.
It was a one-handed, reverse grip. He raised it so his fist hid his face.
It was a strange stance for a sword.
“Ax. Remember this well. There is power that exists precisely because one doesn’t have a Relic.”
“What did you say…”
“The power of the soul that cannot be used precisely because one has a Relic. Such a thing, you see, exists in this world.”
What’s this? I can see a faint white light emanating from Ens-san’s body.
It gathered on his blade, and the sword he held began to shine white.
“You’re going to use that, aren’t you?”
Emi-san said, sounding somewhat worried.
Ruriha-san immediately responded.
“Emi. Ax-chan will be fine.”
“You’re right… After all, he showed such incredible skill.”
Emi-san gave a small nod.
“Okā-sama. What in the world is that?”
“The vessel of the soul. It’s said that Relics are engraved upon its surface.”
“Yes. I am aware of that.”
“In that case, what do you suppose is inside the vessel?”
“That is…”
“Power?”
I answered.
Ruriha-san nodded.
“That’s right. Relics activate by using that power. Some Relics have a cooldown period during which they cannot be used, right? It’s said that this is because the power within the soul’s vessel has been depleted. And when the cooldown ends, the soul’s vessel becomes full again. This is the mechanism of Relics that has been passed down since ancient times. It was also said that without a Relic, the power within the vessel couldn’t be used. But, you see, what if one could directly wield the power within the soul’s vessel, precisely because they don’t have a Relic? What then?”
“…Is that white light the power of the soul’s vessel?”
“I wonder about that, hmm?”
To directly use the soul’s power that is normally consumed by Relics.
That power is probably an immense energy.
Can a person even wield it? Should they even be wielding it in the first place? Without using it for a Relic.
“What’s that, huh? Some clumsy magic trick?”
“The fangs of a fangless sheep. The desperate struggle of one without a Relic.”
“…”
“This kind of power exists too, Ax.”
“…I didn’t know about that… But that doesn’t mean I’m gonna back down hereeeeeee!!!”
Ax-san used One-Step and then—Ens-san appeared in front of Ax-san.
It was One-Step.
Before Ax-san could use his, Ens-san used One-Step to close the distance to zero.
Even so, Ax-san didn’t flinch and quickly raised his sword.
“Single Stroke Demon Slayerrrr!!”
“Psyche Fang.”
Thunk. A blade of white light was thrust into Ax-san’s chest.
It was just like a fang, and Ax-san collapsed, downed.
“That’s enough! The winner, ‘Abyssal Walker’ Ens Heiland!”
The arena fell completely silent.
For a moment, it was enveloped in silence due to the all-too-anticlimactic and shocking conclusion.
“O-owwowwoww…”
Ax-san slowly woke up.
Huh? Even though his chest was pierced…?
He looked up and saw Ens-san. It seemed he understood then.
“…I’ll win next time.”
Ens-san extended his hand.
“I’ll be looking forward to it.”
Ax-san grasped Ens-san’s hand.
The arena erupted in thunderous applause.