“Huh? Owen, where’s your weapon?”
I, holding the Jet-Black Shield Caspary, asked the unarmed Owen, who was standing defenseless in the Training Grounds.
Liliana, the meat-eating girl who loves belly punches, might be able to pull something off without a weapon, but I doubt Owen could do the same. Besides, even in EnHaza, the protagonist doesn’t have any bare-handed skills like that.
“Don’t worry. I’ve got something prepared. Marion.”
“Yes.”
Marion, who had been standing by, brought out a… seriously…?
Of all the weapons, Owen chose the SSR joke weapon, The Arrogant Iron Bat, instead of a UR weapon.
EnHaza has several joke weapons, and The Arrogant Iron Bat is one of them.
It looks exactly like a metal baseball bat, and its physical attack power is top-class among SSR weapons at 20,000.
However, considering that Wilfred’s Heroic Greatsword Caladbolg has an attack power of 30,000, it’s considerably inferior.
However, The Arrogant Iron Bat boasts a critical hit rate of ten percent, meaning one in ten hits will exceed the attack power of the Heroic Greatsword Caladbolg.
In that sense, it’s a weapon to be wary of, but its status as a joke weapon diminishes the tension. I wonder if he’s doing this on purpose?
“Alright! Let’s get started! Marion, give the signal to begin!”
“Understood.”
Owen, swinging The Arrogant Iron Bat and thoroughly warmed up, gave instructions to Marion.
Hmm… if I had known this would happen, I should have had Sandra and the others stay instead of sending them back to the Dormitory…
Considering Caz’s warning earlier, Marion is definitely planning something.
“Then… begin!”
“Oraoraoraoraoraoraoraoraaaa!”
At the start signal, Owen swung the bat around like a delinquent while yelling.
I wonder if he would look better in a gakuran or tokko-fuku than the Royal Academy uniform.
Well, still.
“Whoops.”
“Tch! You still block it so easily…”
I easily defended against Owen’s thoughtless bat attacks.
Rather, he’s just swinging it with brute force, so the trajectory is simple, and it’s full of openings. There’s no reason I shouldn’t be able to defend.
However.
“!? Ooh…”
“Oraoraoraoraaaa!”
That one critical hit out of ten is quite powerful.
It’s a combat style specializing in lucky hits, a one-hit-kill type. I don’t dislike characters with unique skills like that.
“But that doesn’t mean I’m going to lose!”
“Heh! That’s what I want to hear!”
After that, I just kept receiving Owen’s attacks.
Owen also put in various efforts, launching unexpected attacks that one wouldn’t normally consider, but I managed to deal with them all.
And, an hour later.
“Haa… haa… damn… I can’t hit you at all…”
“Phew…”
Looking at Owen kneeling, panting, and wiping away sweat, I let out a light breath.
Owen’s stamina is quite impressive, not inferior to the heroines.
Of course, he’s the protagonist, but unlike Wilfred, Owen started training after entering the Royal Academy, so it’s clear that his growth rate is considerable.
In addition, he grew up in the slums, so he has unconventional ideas. If he keeps going like this, he could become a fine protagonist.
Well, that doesn’t mean I’m going to let him win.
“What do you want to do? Still want to go?”
“Heh… of course! …is what I want to say, but…”
Owen grinned.
“Ah… I can’t go on anymore. I give up.”
Owen collapsed on the ground and admitted defeat.
“No, that was quite fun. I’d like to Sparring again.”
“Are you kidding me!? I just had my spirit crushed here!?”
How rude. I was just defending against his attacks.
Well, I might have said something similar when I trained with Carla before.
“But still, you’re amazing, bro. I was well-known in the slums, but I’m no match for you at all.”
“No way. Let me tell you, Sandra is stronger than me.”
“Ah… I can understand that about the master.”
I sat down on the ground and laughed with Owen.
We’re the protagonist and stepping stone of Engage Hazard, but building this kind of relationship… can I say that I’ve changed fate? I guess I can…
“Hal.”
“I know.”
At Caz’s words, I slowly stood up.
I noticed that Marion was also holding the Battleaxe Skydrive, staring not at me, but at the center of the Training Grounds.
“It’s coming!”
“Yeah!”
Suddenly, the Training Grounds were covered in a huge shadow.
When we looked up, we saw—
—a Demon Beast, a Chicken as red as flames, looking down from the sky.
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