Great O’Browns ⑫
W-why are these two grappling and fighting while insulting each other?
What happened to the heartwarming mother-daughter story?
“If it’s come to this, it’s a duel!”
“Fine by me. I’ll enjoy seeing your defeated face again.”
“Hah?”
“Huh?”
“W-what are you two doing?”
They started glaring daggers at each other, so I couldn’t help but intervene.
“Perfect timing. Wof. You. You’ll be the witness!”
“Good idea. And the winner gets Wof-san…”
“You damn old hag!”
Eh? What did she just say? Or rather, what in the world happened?
The two didn’t answer my question, and it was decided they’d duel in the courtyard.
It wasn’t as big as an arena, but it was reasonably spacious.
Ruriha-san had her black spear, ‘Shadow Dancer’.
Mineha-san had her blue spear, ‘Phantom Star Spear’.
They glared at each other, and I, bewildered, gave the signal.
“Begin!”
Ruriha-san immediately summoned many shadow Ruriha-sans. Does she intend to settle this in one go?
But Mineha-san, undaunted, bravely charged at the shadow Ruriha-sans and took them down.
“Daaaaaaahhhhhh!”
She closed in, wielding her spear, which has high thrusting power, as if it were a sword.
A spear has a pointed tip, but the shaft isn’t sharp like a blade.
Swinging it sideways would only deliver a club-like blow.
However, strangely, the shadow Ruriha-sans were being defeated two or three at a time.
“W-what’s going on?!”
Even Ruriha-san was flustered by its sheer power.
Looking closely, I saw nine ‘stars’ attached to Mineha-san’s spear.
Moreover, the eight stars themselves were rotating, spiraling along the shaft of the ‘Phantom Star Spear’.
The ninth star was at the tip of the spear, and it was spiraling.
When the whole thing rotated at high speed, it was like a drill. No, it was a drill.
There’s no way they could stand up to a drill. The shadow Ruriha-sans were being eliminated one after another.
“You weren’t using that earlier!”
She certainly hadn’t. Was this Mineha-san’s trump card?
Also, her momentum was completely different from before.
Come to think of it, Mineha-san lacked momentum in the exhibition match earlier.
To put it more strongly, she wasn’t her usual self.
Hesitation, or perhaps bewilderment. Or maybe she was nervous.
She wasn’t very aggressive and had been on the defensive.
Probably because her opponent was Ruriha-san. Her Mother.
But now it was different. Completely different.
Was it because she’d called her own Mother a ‘damn old hag’? She was absolutely determined to win.
The shadow Ruriha-sans were annihilated, and Ruriha-san was cornered.
“Kuh! What is this? You’re completely different from before!!”
Ruriha-san’s spear flashed with a bachi sound. Mineha-san instantly retreated.
What was that?
“You weren’t using that either, were you?”
Mineha-san pointed out.
Ruriha-san had changed her spear.
From ‘Mother’ to ‘damn old hag,’ and now ‘you.’ What a dizzying change.
It was a yellow spear with round, translucent orbs on the pommel and tip.
The shaft had a yellow and black striped pattern, and the spearhead had barbs like a harpoon.
“I don’t really want to use it. ‘Sandersonia’s Donner’ doesn’t allow for holding back.”
As Ruriha-san said that, lightning suddenly struck her spear.
A massive current flowed with a baribaribaribari sound, and the orbs at the tip and pommel discharged fantastically.
That’s it. It’s like the discharge phenomenon of a Tesla coil from my past life’s memories.
Could it be that Ruriha-san possesses the Relic [Lightning]?
“Let’s settle this.”
Mineha-san also steeled her resolve.
The eight stars revolving along the ‘Phantom Star Spear’ and the ninth star at its tip surpassed high-speed rotation.
Finally, they scattered sparks, which looked like the twinkling of stars.
Having played their trump cards, the two glared at each other and took their stances.
“This is the final blow, Mineha.”
“Yes, this will decide it.”
U-uhm. I wish they’d shown this in the exhibition match.
No, that’s not it… I can feel power from both their spears.
It’s an extraordinarily immense power.
I had a bad feeling and used [Danger Detection]. I was speechless.
This place is pitch black. Th-this is bad!!
“—Starlight—”
“…Thunderclap…”
Ah. The two of them dashed forward simultaneously.
“—Braverrrr!!!”
“…Indraaaaa!!!”
Just as they screamed and were about to clash, I stopped both their spears.
I moved between them using [Rêve Move].
I stopped Ruriha-san’s spear with the ‘Gauntlet of Still Saint’.
It shattered from the electric current. Again!
I stopped Mineha-san’s spear with the ‘Thick Knife’.
It was torn apart by the drill. Damn it!
“Eh?”
“Heh?”
The two looked adorably dumbfounded. The power drained from their spears.
I’m glad I managed to stop them.
“Oh my, what are you doing, Wof-san?”
“What do you think you’re doing?!”
“I-it was a close call.”
“Oh dear, what was?”
“Huh? What do you mean?”
I told them that if they had clashed, this whole area would have been annihilated.
Annihilation might be an exaggeration, but we might have died.
Mineha-san, who had been wearing an unsmiling smile, gave a wry laugh at my explanation.
Ruriha-san, who had been sullen, gave a faint, wry smile to brush it off.
Good grief.
The ‘Gauntlet of Still Saint’ will restore itself automatically, but I’ll have to buy a new knife.
Haa, another audience with that goddess draws near.
“So, why were you two fighting anyway?”
“That’s a secret.”
“There are various reasons.”
It seems neither of them intends to tell me.
“In that case, please fight more amicably next time.”
“You’re right. Let’s do that, Mother.”
“Yes, amicably, indeed.”
Mineha-san. She called her ‘Mother’ naturally.
Ruriha-san looks happy. That’s good.
After that, the two of them returned to the Watchtower’s rooftop.
It seems they want to talk a bit more. I wonder if it’ll be okay.
I left the house and stopped by Arifa-san’s shop.
After talking with Arifa-san about today’s meeting, I consulted her about a knife.
“You sure break a lot of knives.”
“Indeed. So, do you have any sturdy, thick knives?”
“Hmm… Ah, wait a moment.”
“Y-yes.”
Arifa-san went to the back of the counter.
After a short while, she came back carrying a wooden box.
She placed the wooden box on the floor. It had a lid.
“This is an unsorted item Mr. Agaro sent over quite a while ago.”
She said as she opened the lid of the wooden box.
Various things were jumbled inside.
“Speaking of Mr. Agaro, is this loot from a bandit group?”
“Who knows? There might be some finds from a Dungeon too. I think there were several knives, and, ah, look, it’s written on the lid of the box.”
A tattered piece of paper was stuck to the lid of the wooden box.
In messy handwriting, things like ‘Strange Ring,’ ‘Silver Necklace,’ and ‘Iron Lump?’ were written.
Among them, faded, was ‘Thick Knife?’.
Still, it’s so rough. Just like Mr. Agaro.
“It’s true. Um, may I look for it?”
“That’s why I brought it. Feel free.”
“Thank you.”
I used [Wheel of Fortune].
I can see several green lights. No yellow or blue lights, huh.
The thick knife was found immediately.
It was because it was emitting the largest green light among the contents of the box.
When I took it out, the handle was curved, and it had a shape like a hatchet.
It was housed in a leather sheath, and when I drew it, a pitch-black, rectangular blade emerged.
The blade was like a thick iron plate.
It felt a little heavy when I held it. Yep. The shape is odd, but it’s just right.
I’ll take this one.
“How much is this?”
“Let’s see. [Appraisal]… In that case, 5000 Oro will do.”
That reaction just now. Could it be that it was surprisingly expensive?
I feel like I got a pretty good discount.
Wondering if it was okay, I paid 5000 Oro.
“Don’t break it right away this time. If you break too many, the Goddess of Knives will appear in your dreams.”
Arifa-san said, laughing.
“Eh, the Goddess of Knives?”
“That’s right. It’s an old superstition that you’ll get scolded by her in your dreams. I heard it often when I lived in the slums of Abdra.”
“Abdra…?”
“The Abdral Empire. It’s mine and Agaro’s homeland.”
“Heeh…”
“It’s quite far from here.”
“Could it be the desert one?”
“Oh, you know it well.”
The name somehow sounded Arabian.
Besides, Arifa-san and Mr. Agaro also have that kind of appearance.
“A street vendor wearing a turban told me.”
“Many ethnic groups live in clusters around there. The large ones are called principalities. Abdra. Abdral is the largest among them and calls itself an Empire.”
“Heeeh… That’s informative.”
“Though, even using a carriage, it would take over a year to get there from here.”
“That’s far.”
“And it’s not all flat roads either. You have to cross a Great River and go over mountain ranges. Not only that, but vicious monsters and bandits are lurking there too.”
“That sounds tough.”
“Yeah, it was life-threatening. I’m glad we made it to this country, Hydrangea. Abdra back then was ravaged by continuous civil wars, though I hear it’s become much quieter now.”
“Don’t you ever want to return to your homeland?”
“Nope. It’s not like I owned a house in the slums. I barely had any possessions. On top of that, when I fled, I got separated from my friends and acquaintances, and now they’re missing. There’s nothing left for me back there. For me, this place is my hometown.”
“I see…”
“What about you? Wof, aren’t you going back to your hometown?”
At her words, I replied immediately.
“I don’t, no. My hometown is a village in the boonies of some remote frontier, about a two-month journey from here. I believe my father, mother, and siblings are all alive and well. But I’m not the eldest son, which is why I left, so there’s no place for me in that village anymore.”
“I see.”
I’d decided to leave the village from the start.
I came to Hydrangea because my uncle has a hideout here.
I came because he said he’d give it to me.
“So, in a way, you could say this place is my hometown too.”
I have a house, and I have friends and people important to me here.
Lately, every day has been a huge ruckus, but there’s a part of me that finds it fun.
It’s tough, though.