Interlude 11
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「Are you the Hero Ryūgūin?」
「That’s right, I am indeed the one called Hero Ryūgūin. So who are you, the one calling out to me, the Hero?」
Just a single exchange of words causes a small sense of unease to sprout within Orphelia.
「Pardon me, I am Orphelia… Orphelia Verite. I am a member of the《Seventh Blue》.」
「Ooh, mmhmm, very nice.」
Ryūgūin directs a vulgar gaze at Orphelia as she introduces herself. He then briskly circles around her, looking her up and down.
「You’re really cute! Want to come play with me?」
From the moment she opened the guild’s door, she had been observing him closely.
Orphelia boasts that her ability to see things, supported by her exceptional dynamic vision and unforgettable memory, is second to none.
This time, her forte of observation detects something like a stagnation deep in Ryūgūin’s eyes.
In the course of her clan activities, she has seen many different kinds of people. Based on that experience, she senses that within him is the same murky darkness common to vulgar individuals—except his is blacker than anything she’s seen before.
Orphelia’s unease gradually grows larger.
Was the person she witnessed at the training hall before really this frivolous and contemptible?
「Hero Ryūgūin, I apologize for the abrupt request, but would you be willing to cross swords with me once?」
Hearing Orphelia’s words, Ryūgūin grimaces.
「Ugh, not you too? I don’t even like all this slashing and hacking in the first place. Yet uncivilized, violent, uncultured primitives like you are always so quick to draw your blades at the slightest thing. Everything is violence, violence, solve it with violence. It’s just not civilized at all.」
Not you too—he’s probably saying that in reference to his earlier exchange with Eris, Orphelia surmises.
For some reason, Orphelia finds it terribly irritating.
That emotion instantly boils her anger-like feelings up near their limit, like an instant water heater.
Restrain yourself, she manages to bring herself under control.
「My apologies then. Hero Ryūgūin, even if we don’t cross swords or fight, I won’t object.」
Without betraying any of the anger or emotions concealed within her, she compromises and proposes what can’t even be called a negotiation.
But she feels that alone is sufficient when dealing with the man before her.
「I wish to burn the valiant figure of the Hero, whose name resounds with heroism, into my eyes. So even just once is fine. Won’t you take up the sword at your waist?」
Perhaps pleased by the first half of her words, Ryūgūin flares his nostrils.
「Very well! Feast your eyes! Upon this! The majestic visage of Hero Ryūgūin Ouji!!」
As if he were an actor putting on airs on stage, Ryūgūin raises his voice and draws his sword from his waist with a flourish (in his mind), shouting 「Haaaah!」
「——————」
Orphelia is rendered speechless.
No.
No no.
Putting the basics aside, there is only one teaching from Simmons, 「See with your heart, etch it in your heart, repeat it in your heart」—following this, she has replayed the training between Eris and her master that she witnessed before over and over again in her head until she felt faint.
You can tell from the stance.
The master she saw with Eris at that time—definitely wasn’t this lout, that much is certain.
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Something was happening.
Her memory tells her that Eris’ master at that time was Ryūgūin, the one currently displaying a foolish stance before her eyes.
However, her heart, her sword, tells her.
Eris’ master was not this piece of trash.
Something was off.
An alarm is ringing inside her head.
Should she leave Ryūgūin’s presence immediately or not?
Faced with this suddenly presented choice, Orphelia recalls her parents who lovingly raised her.
『If you can’t tell if they’re friend or foe, launch a preemptive strike for now.』
That’s right, this is how I’ve lived up until now.
She makes her decision and clenches her fist tightly.
Ryūgūin, still holding his foolish stance, turns to face her, flaring his nostrils and asking 「Well?」
She has no hesitation whatsoever.
With all her strength, she drives a body blow into the trash’s stomach.
「Ubwoeh!」 Ryūgūin’s body folds and he vomits.
Nimbly avoiding it, Orphelia sweeps his legs. Without even attempting to dodge, both his feet leave the ground. Losing support, his body starts toppling over in midair—his jaw falls at just the right angle, and she uppercuts him as if to finish him off.
「Vwaan!!」 Letting out a strange cry, Ryūgūin’s body takes the impact head-on, bouncing up higher than her height and bouncing on the ground two or three times like a rubber ball.
Even here, Orphelia hasn’t forgotten the teachings from her militant parents.
「『Once you’ve done it, do it till it’s done,』 right Dad?」
Orphelia kicks the collapsed Ryūgūin with all the leg strength of an S-rank adventurer, as if to say 「It’s fine as long as he doesn’t die.」
Ryūgūin’s body crashes into the wall of the training hall and doesn’t so much as twitch, accompanied by a thunderous noise.
「All right! That takes care of that!」
As if she’s eliminated any worries about what’s behind her, she approaches Eris, who has her face pressed to the ground with her knees on the ground.
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「Eris Gladius. Let’s do this.」
Orphelia tosses a wooden sword over to Eris.
Hit on the back by the thrown wooden sword, Eris raises her face.
「You are Orphelia Verite…」
Her swollen, tearful eyes look painful.
「With the two of us swordsmen here, this outcome is only natural.」
Orphelia holds a wooden sword in each hand.
She is a dual wielder.
「I have no reason to do this with you.」
「You don’t need a reason for something like this.」
Orphelia was always straightforward.
「I don’t have it anymore.」
Eris replied with a dispirited expression.
Even after punching Ryūgūin, Orphelia’s emotions haven’t settled down at all.
On the contrary, she realizes that it’s now impossible for her to suppress the magma-like passion welling up from within.
「Don’t have it anymore? What? You’re quitting being a swordsman?」
If that’s how it is───
「Then just die there!!」
She slams down the wooden swords held in each hand all at once.
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She acted out of anger.
It didn’t really matter if she hit her. She had launched the attacks with killing intent, but they’re just wooden swords in the end. Even if they hit, at most it would’ve cost Eris an arm or leg.
However, there was a strange trust.
「You’re noisy.」
Orphelia’s dual swords are blocked by Eris’ wooden sword.
「Got a bit of your fighting spirit back?」
No answer is needed. Orphelia goes on the offense.
It’s said that the flurry of attacks from a dual-wielding specialist move as if dancing.
In particular, Orphelia’s continuous attacks are praised as being elevated to the level of art, like a refined dance.
Orphelia skillfully wields her two swords, unleashing various techniques.
「《Acubens》」
Her dual swords, likened to crustacean claws, are deflected by Eris.
「《Laparotomy》」
A thrust from the sword tips, leveraged with both swords—being deflected is within expectations.
「《Cloth Pierce》」
Her strengths are her attack volume and speed. Each time an attack is deflected, she adds that to her own speed.
「《Helix》」
The high-speed thrust launched as if wringing—Eris barely avoids it, sticking her wooden sword in at the last second from an unwilling stance.
「《Double Helix》」
The rotating thrust assails Eris, who judged evasion impossible—she desperately wedges her sword in between at the last moment.
「《Bite》」
The dual swords in an unavoidable upper and lower pincer attack, modeled after a dragon’s jaws—Eris somehow repels them, and the speed of Orphelia the Sword Dance rises further.
「《X》」
Eris fends it off and Orphelia’s speed increases.
「《Duo》」
Orphelia’s wooden sword grazes Eris’ battle dress at the shoulder.
「《Delta Thrust》」
Orphelia’s speed rises even more.
「《Twin Peaks》」
The unending flurry of attacks unleashed with both hands while dexterously manipulating her long arms and legs could be said to know no limits.
「《Guillotine》」
In contrast, while Eris is somehow weathering it, she’s clearly lacking in energy.
And to think I considered her my rival.
With that thought, the anger welling up inside Orphelia reaches its peak.
「《Mortal Fate》」
As if to release the pent-up passion within her, Orphelia increases her speed even further.
Kakakakakakaka—the sound of the wooden swords clashing rings out in the training hall, almost like a typewriter.
The moment after Eris barely finishes parrying the onslaught and tries to catch her breath—
「《Fatal Fate》」
Kakkakakakakakakakaka—an onslaught of double the speed she thought she had withstood assaults Eris with even greater velocity.
「Ugh…」
As Eris groans in anguish, Orphelia asks as if wishing for it, 「You can still keep going, right?」
However, the culmination arrives quickly.
The 77th strike deflects Eris’ wooden sword, the 78th strike is launched in a sweeping motion and slams into Eris’ back—and then,
「It’s over.」
The 79th strike presses a wooden sword against her neck.
「Pathetic.」
「……」
「This is pathetic. To think I considered you my rival.」
「Noi…sy.」
「Noisy or not, too bad. I’ll only say this once. Open your ears and listen well.」
Orphelia’s had enough of feeling this way.
She doesn’t want to see Eris’ tearful face anymore.
「That thing collapsed over there is not your master.」
Orphelia gestures at that with her thumb.
「Wh-what…are you?」
Something is fatally wrong.
Orphelia doesn’t understand what’s going on either, but,
「Believe not in your memories, but in your own sword and your own heart.」
For Orphelia, that alone is enough.
「I will search for your real master my own way.」
I will find him before you do.
「And with that, I will reach the next stage.」
This is Orphelia’s way of forcing motivation onto Eris.
「Well then, until we meet again.」
Without even looking at Eris’ reaction, Orphelia turns on her heel and leaves.
Left behind, Eris ruminates on her words and remains standing there for a long time.
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