Chapter 11: First Sparring Match

Author: Kurohitsuji
Raw: https://ncode.syosetu.com/n2086fk/12/
Translator: Lilia v4
Editor: Yuriko AYA

In the back courtyard of the Adventurer’s Guild.
Right now I’m facing guildmaster Glad.
Hmm. Fierce-faced muscleman with a practice sword and shield.
The intimidation is intense.

I mean, from the side, isn’t this a pretty bad look.
I’m pretty small. Glad is huge. His face is scary.
Having a sword pointed at me and getting glared at is pretty scary, actually.

“…If I screamed right now, I think you’d get arrested.”
“Funny. I was thinking something close.”
“Fuhe. You’re kind, but your face is scary.”

Why is that. The scarier the face, the kinder they all are.
He’s doing this for me right now, too.

“Drop it. All right, we doing this?”
“Uuh, for real… Ring, I’m counting on you.”
“—Yes, my master. Sakura-Drive Ready.”

“Ignition”

The world is painted over. Into a scene that isn’t everyday.
Fear goes out. What wells up instead is a strong lift.
In a vision colored pale crimson, I take one deep breath.
Now then, what to do. If it’s a test of skill, shooting right off the bat is a bad look.
So, close combat, then.

“It’s my first time fighting a person, so… go easy on me.”

I run in, spin. I generate centrifugal force and smash a gun butt in.
He stops it easily with the shield. I half-turn to slip the return cut, move in front of the shield, and cut off his line of sight.
I leap without a sound. The gun butt I bring down as I vault over is stopped—by the sword, of all things.

Amazing. He shouldn’t have been able to see that, and he still reacts. As expected of the guildmaster.
Glad looks up at me and grins. Villain face, as usual.
He looks vaguely pleased.
I kick off his arm, hop back, and I smile too.
Yikes. This might be a little fun.

I run. Left to right, to the shield side.
I kick up the rim of the shield. Another hit where it bounces. The shield leaves his body.
I take that and step in big.
This time straight. I tip my body, low enough to lick the ground.
I slip the descending sword with a gun butt, spin, put centrifugal force on it, and smash. Aim is the side.
But he stops it with his arm. A dull sound of bone creaking, a heavy feel.

I don’t stop at that nasty sensation; I spin and kick his arm up.
Then the other gun butt—dodged—I don’t kill the momentum, leap, and drive a knee into his jaw. That too is stopped with an arm.
I kick off his shoulder, somersault, and hop back.

He’s strong. The strongest so far. Monsters aren’t even a comparison.

I sink my hips. As usual: left hand forward, right hand reverse-grip beside my head.

All right. Shall we dance.

Seeing me take my stance, this time Glad charges.
I slip the sideways sweep of the sword with a gun butt.
I use that as a pivot and spin vertically, hang upside down, and kick for his face with everything I have.
He just barely blocks with the shield; I land on the recoil and bounce right back up.

An elbow from below into the sword arm, spin, smash a gun butt, spin again.
I kick the ground, use that force, and kick up.
The right arm floats. A face dyed with surprise.
I immediately aim at the rim of the shield in his left, smash it away with a gun butt riding centrifugal force.
Knocked outward. That opens the guard.

I advance crouched, center of gravity forward.
I use every spring in my body, put my whole weight on it, and send a kick accelerated to the maximum at his gut.

A hard gatsun, and it bounces off, easy.

The sudden impact stops me. At once the right hand that dropped the sword comes down.

And grabs me firmly by the back of the collar.

Dangle time, once more.

“You move scary, you know that. Ah, that hurts.”

Glad puts a hand to his stomach and makes a show of being in pain.
That isn’t where I kicked… well, whatever.
Match over. I return the handguns to my hips.

The sakura-pink comes apart, and my awareness switches.

…Whoa. This guy is strong.
He isn’t guildmaster for show.

“Don’t act like it hurts when it didn’t do anything. What kind of body is that.”
“Hmph. I train, but even then you’re just too small.
Well, if I took a shot from those, it might put a hole in me.”
“…What. If you knew that I should’ve shot. And put me down or I will.”
“Have a heart. I’m not a young man anymore.”

He lets go as he says it, and my feet hit the ground.
Lifting people like a cat over and over. I really will put a hole in him.

“You overreact when it’s about height, huh.”
“Shut up. I care about it.”

Don’t grin, you villain face.

“…Well, true, for your age your height is considerably—”

Chk.

I point a handgun at him without thinking.

“Haan? What was that?”
“That one was on me. I’ll apologize, so put that dangerous thing away.”
“…My growth spurt just hasn’t come yet.”
“Ah… well. Eat a lot, yeah?”
“Shut up. Honestly.”

I swallow the frustration and return the handgun to my hip.
Damn it. Don’t talk to me about height.
Nobody’s going to understand how I feel, losing to someone younger.
And I do eat properly.

“Anyway, that ends the skill test. The others should be able to relax.”
“…Then that’s fine, but.”

I don’t know. It just feels like I got teased.

“By the way, how’s your magic?”
“Nn? I can’t use it, though?”

I answer at once, and his brow twitches into a frown.

“…Can’t use it? At all?”
“I don’t really get it, but they said I can’t control it.”
“So much mana you can’t control it?”
“I don’t know the details. Well, I’ll be able to use it someday.”

This is one of my goals.
Even a simple light-making spell, anything is fine.
Using magic someday. That’s what I aim for, nothing else.
Apparently I have a hopeless lack of talent, but… if I work at it it should work out. Surely.

“Hmm… still, you’d better ask a specialist about that.”
“A specialist?”
“A magic scholar, or else, yeah. If you get the chance, talking to the Heroes who work at the royal castle wouldn’t be a bad idea.”

Eh, no way. There are Heroes in that castle I can see right there?

“For real. I didn’t know they were here.”
“I think both of them were mages.”
“Heh. There’s two of them. If I get the chance I might want to talk.”

They’re celebrities everyone knows, after all.
I’ve never seen them in person, but their deeds have even become picture books.

“Well, I don’t think you’ll get that chance. I’ve only talked to them a couple times myself.”
“Mu. I see… well, it’s fine.”

I kind of want to talk to the picture-book Heroes, but I have no idea about etiquette.
Even if I actually got the chance, I think I’d be in trouble, honestly.

Hmm. So I should try talking to a magic scholar, then?
…That’s its own problem: where do you find one.

“So, what are you doing after this?”
“Eh? I was going to eat lunch and take a request.”
“That so. Liza’s in today too; wouldn’t hurt to ask her all sorts of things. You’re way short on adventurer knowledge.”

Ah, I see. I did only become an adventurer yesterday.
It does feel like I don’t know anything.

“Hnn. If it looks all right later, I’ll ask.”
“See you, then. If you cause trouble, come tell me.”
“If something happens, I’ll report.”

He puts out a hand for a high-five; I jump and still can’t reach.
Kuso. He’s holding in a laugh.
I’ll remember this, you muscle dummy.

Gununu… anyway, shall I go back and eat lunch.