“That’s enough!” [Sebasu]
The moment the scent of blood wafted into the air, Sebasu-san called the spar to an end.
“Looks like… It’s my defeat…” [Schieber]
“Ku… Are you sure? Isn’t… this more like… my defeat? Ow…” [Ryouma]
I found myself frowning because of the pain of my wounds, but I still made sure to examine my situation.
“I thought I’d just barely made it, but to think that you’d actually be able to respond in that manner in a situation like that…” [Schieber]
“My equipment played a large part in my case…” [Ryouma]
Our attacks were decided at almost the same time. Right in that moment when my katana cut Schieber-san’s armor and wounded his left shoulder, his halberd thrust out between my arms and pierced through my right shoulder.
Schieber-san managed to hurt my right hand through sheer persistence, so I pulled it back and thrust my katana at his neck with just my left, but the wind cutter he unleashed managed to slice through my stomach.
“If Ryouma-sama’s katana had gone through, Schieber-sama’s head would have undoubtedly been lopped off, but the wounds on Ryouma-sama’s shoulder and stomach are more than enough to threaten his life without immediate treatment; therefore, I believe this match should be a draw. Please put down your weapons and let’s have the both of you treated as soon as possible. Especially, you, Ryouma-sama.” [Sebasu]
Sebasu calmly declared as such, so we put away our weapons. Schieber-san immediately collapsed from his knees and sat on the ground, while I tottered, most probably due to the tension leaving or the pain getting worse. I would’ve collapsed too, but Sebasu-san caught me and helped me lie down on the ground.
I could tell that the bleeding from my wounds was quickly dyeing my equipment in red. My right shoulder was in a terrible state as well, but the biggest problem was my stomach… Based off the amount of blood coming out, it doesn’t seem like a major artery was damaged, but it’s a big wound no doubt. The bleeding needs to be stopped as soon as possible…
“Remilie-sama!” [Sebasu]
“Yes, yes, I’m on it! ”Mega Heal’! Good grief, what a match, you two…” [Remilie]
“One step wrong and one of you could have died. I was so nervous.” [Reinbach]
“My deepest apologies. As the referee, I――” [Sebasu]
“I don’t blame you, Sebasu. Even I couldn’t have interfered when they were fighting like that.” [Reinbach]
Sebasu-san was about to apologize, but Reinbach-sama interjected and Remilie-san agreed.
“‘Mega Heal’. Exactly, so don’t feel responsible, Sebasu-chan. ‘Mega Heal’. I couldn’t even keep up with that last exchange. Even the simple barrier I put up was broken. It turned out okay thanks to my healing magic, but the both of you still overdid it. I can’t believe you actually got so into it that you couldn’t hear us anymore.” [Remilie]
Huh, I’m surprised. She mentioned being able to connect our limbs even if we lost them, so I expected she’d be good at healing magic, but she actually made the pain go away instantly. Even my arm and shoulder don’t hurt anymore. It feels perfectly natural even. She didn’t just stop the bleeding, she healed everything completely.
It didn’t even take her any time to examine my wounds before casting healing magic. I’m not sure if I could pull that off even with my slimes at 100% and my senses completely focused. What unbelievable speed and precision. Moreover, she did all that while talking.
While I was being shocked by Remilie-san’s skills, Schieber-san joined in on the conversation. His wounds likely stopped aching because of Remilie-san’s healing magic.
“Sorry… I got too into it.” [Schieber]
“Ah, that goes for me too. My deepest apologies.” [Ryouma]
“Fortunately, no one died, and the bout ended with treatable wounds. You were much better than I expected too. I was planning on having you stay behind or take some security with you if I was still doubtful of your abilities, but… Since you’re able to make Schieber go all out and even fight him equally, then there’s no need anymore.” [Reinbach]
“Nah, this only turned out to be a draw because we were sparring. Were this a real battle, he would have been able to rely on his traps and slimes too. Besides, what I felt most lacking from him during the battle was experience. I believe it shouldn’t have been long since he started using spells and ki. The way he moved his body and handled his sword was great, but that last exchange was a bit sloppy.” [Schieber]
As expected, he saw right through me.
“You certainly possess a discerning eye, Schieber-san. When I use more ki than normal, my body ends up moving too much, and I can’t handle it as well. As for my magic, I was actually starting to become confident about it since I’ve been working as an adventurer wizard, at least, on the surface. The intensive training and live combat experience has made me much more familiar with magic, but it appears I still have a long way to go.” [Ryouma]
“It varies from person to person, but generally, it takes about 5 years of training for a person to go from sensing ki to covering his whole body with it. And then another 20 years to become an expert, and an entire lifetime to become a master. Ki mastery is a discipline that requires that much time, so I’m sure that once you’ve trained some more and gained more experience, I won’t be able to fight you to a draw anymore.” [Schieber]
A refreshed yet powerful smile surfaced on Schieber-san as he gently extended me his right hand. In response, I raised my body up and gave him a firm handshake to celebrate our hard fought battle.
Then a voice muttered from beside me.
“…Well, that’s a relief.” [Remilie]
“Huh?” [Ryouma]
“It’s nothing. By the way, what did you mean by working as an adventurer wizard outwardly? I can more or less get what you mean, but it bothers me why you had to put it that way.” [Remilie]
“Ah, about that… I’m confident in my combat abilities, especially, my close combat skills, but my age and my appearance makes it hard for people I’m meeting for the first time to believe that. I’m not good at negotiating or explaining, so it’s much easier to just put forward my familiars and magic instead of my sword.” [Ryouma]
I ended up in trouble at the last town too and was almost taken into custody. When I mentioned that, they asked me to elaborate, so I did. As far as I was concerned, it’s water under the bridge, but the four adults looked grim.
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