Chapter 90: First Battle
ㅤ”Right, right, I’ll give Sherry-san and Heinlein-san this.”
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ㅤAfter meeting with Bearnov, I said that and handed Sherry-san and Heinlein-san the items I had stored in the Infinite Stomach.
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ㅤ”Th-This is, the Fire Dragon Sword, isn’t it!?”
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ㅤSherry-san was surprised to see the sword I handed her.
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ㅤ”Ah, yeah. It’s the one the Salamander dropped.”
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ㅤ”Dropped it you say… I hear it’s a one-in-a-million rare item, rarer than even rare drops, its existence is even doubted. I’ve only seen it once myself, in a royal museum when I was on official business in another country.”
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ㅤ”Ahaha… Well, I’d appreciate it if you didn’t press me too much on that.
ㅤHow to use it is… just as it looks. You just put your spirit into it and it breathes fire.”
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ㅤIt was a double-edged longsword with a blade that undulated like flames, a little too big for me to use.
ㅤWhen Sherry-san hesitantly swung the sword, flames enveloped the blade.
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ㅤ”I don’t know how it compares to Cretias’s dark flames, but it’s probably better than just a regular sword.”
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ㅤ”It’s not just on a different level… I want to make it a family heirloom.”
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ㅤ”I’ll give it to you as a souvenir if we survive. Just please don’t sell it.”
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ㅤ”Wh-What!? No, I can’t possibly accept something like this!”
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ㅤ”It’s fine with me since I won’t use it even if I have it… Well, we can talk about that later.
ㅤHow about Heinlein-san?”
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ㅤWhen I turned to him,
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ㅤ”…Hey, hey, this isn’t the Wind Feather Bow, is it…?”
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ㅤ”Ahaha… As a matter of fact, it is. Is it famous?”
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ㅤ”It’s more than famous! Isn’t it the legendary bow that shoots arrows made of wind!?
ㅤAh, let me say this first, I definitely don’t want it! If I had something this amazing, I’d be targeted by thieves, and worse, it might be confiscated by the higher-ups! I’ll use it because of this situation, but I’ll return it as soon as we’re done!”
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ㅤ”Well, I don’t think it’s as strong as people say. It’d be faster and more powerful for me to use magic. And unlike a physical bow, it doesn’t seem to be able to shoot curved shots either.”
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ㅤInstead, it flies straight forever though.
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ㅤ（Both of them flatly rejected Imsoda’s temptation.）
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ㅤSo I thought they wouldn’t go crazy even if I brought out something a little unusual.
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ㅤ”I’d like to give something to Bearnov too, but…”
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ㅤ”I have these claws.”
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ㅤBearnov said, extending his claws with a sha-kin sound.
ㅤEach one was about the length and thickness of a dagger, and the gently curved lines looked incredibly sharp.
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ㅤ”Alright, let’s decide on our roles.
ㅤIt can’t be helped that I’ll be dealing with Cretias━━”
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ㅤ”No, would you let me handle him?”
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ㅤSherry-san said something unexpected.
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ㅤ”He’s a man who has lost his honor as a knight, but his swordsmanship is first-class. It would be difficult for Minato, who mainly uses magic, to fight him.”
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ㅤ”That’s true, but is it okay with Lewis-san?”
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ㅤ”Minato is the best suited to restrain Lewis. They’re both magicians, and it seems Minato surpasses him in terms of aptitude. Lewis is stronger than his actual ability because he’s awakened, but based on my experience fighting awakened individuals so far, Minato probably still has the advantage.”
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ㅤ━━Hmm… That makes sense in terms of eliminating uncertain factors…
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ㅤ”But with Cretias and Sherry-san, it’s hard to say how things will turn out.”
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ㅤ”That’s where Bearnov-dono comes in. He will restrain the remaining two knights, and Heinlein will support Bearnov-dono and me with the Wind Feather Bow.”
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ㅤSo, in other words,
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ㅤMe VS Lewis
ㅤSherry-san VS Cretias
ㅤBearnov VS Remaining 2 Knights
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ㅤThat’s the situation we’ll try to create, and Heinlein-san will provide support as a free agent with the Wind Feather Bow… right?
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ㅤ”Yeah, that seems like the best plan.”
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ㅤThe judgment of Sherry-san, the Knight Captain, is more reliable than my own, as someone who’s a novice in battle.
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ㅤ━━We’ve somehow managed to come up with a plan… They’re approaching…
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ㅤAt the Dream Weaver’s words, we nodded to each other.
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ㅤ━━Gi-gi-gi-giii…
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ㅤWith a creaking sound, the doors to the hall were pushed open.
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ㅤThe large double doors opened inwards, and we were on the side waiting for them to open.
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ㅤResisting the urge to make a joke like, “Welcome, brave heroes━━”, I prepared Ether Shot turrets in the air.
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ㅤAnd the moment the doors opened completely, I fired countless Ether Shots at the figures that appeared beyond.
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ㅤHowever, the Ether bullets I fired were blocked and extinguished by the swelling dark flames.
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ㅤ”That’s a rough welcome, adventurer.”
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ㅤCretias slowly walked out from beyond the lingering Ether aftershocks.
ㅤThe sword he held in one hand was already wrapped in dark flames.
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ㅤTwo knights with hollow expressions entered the hall from behind him.
ㅤLewis also stepped into the room, as if being protected by those knights.
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ㅤWithout replying to Cretias, I fired more Ether Shots.
ㅤCretias used the dark flames as a wall to block them.
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ㅤTaking advantage of that momentary opening, Sherry-san ran.
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ㅤ”Ooooooh!”
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ㅤWith a war cry that ripped through the air, she swung down the Fire Dragon Sword, its blade clad in red flames.
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ㅤ”Hmph!”
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ㅤCretias caught the blow, which should have been quite heavy, with the sword he held in just one hand.
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ㅤ”I have business only with that rat. Get out of my way, vixen.”
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ㅤ”My mission is to eliminate awakened individuals. If you have lost your honor as a knight, then obediently offer up your neck. I’ll at least kill you without pain.”
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ㅤ”Tch, things didn’t go as planned.
ㅤWell, fine. Try and see if those pathetic flames can withstand my wrath!”
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ㅤCretias shouted, twisted his sword, deflected Sherry-san’s flaming sword, and slashed back with his returning blade.
ㅤSherry-san quickly pulled back her sword and received the attack.
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ㅤDuring that time,
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ㅤ”Beaaaaaar!”
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ㅤWith a roar, Bearnov charged.
ㅤBecause of his large size, his movements looked slow, but in reality, Bearnov’s movements were too fast to follow.
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ㅤ”━━Intercept him!”
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ㅤAt Lewis’s command, the two knights readied their spears.
ㅤIt wasn’t enough to be called a spear formation, but both of them were considerably skilled, and they prevented Bearnov, who had a short reach, from getting close.
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ㅤHowever, Bearnov subtly adjusted his positioning and led the two knights, who were positioned to protect Lewis, towards the corner of the hall.
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ㅤ（That’s what happened to me at first too.）
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ㅤLooking at it objectively like this, Bearnov’s guidance was very natural and skillful.
ㅤThat ferocious-looking Hawkhead Grizzly was a surprisingly clever tactician, unlike his appearance.
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ㅤI wasn’t just watching everyone fight either.
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ㅤ（Thanks to Bearnov, my line of fire is clear.）
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ㅤI unleashed a rain of Ether Shots towards Lewis.