“He cut his opponent’s sword in two during the first round. Can he do it again?! He’ll be up against Ulmutt’s own perfect storm: the Maelstrom, Elza!”
Elza the Maelstrom? That was her nickname? How fitting.
“Well, aren’t you a handsome young man,” Elza remarked.
“…?”
“You’re going to burn me up with that fiery stare of yours.”
“E-excuse me for asking, but…you are a woman, yes?”
“How rude! How could you ask that of a fair lady?”
“I-I apologize…”
Jakusho sounded like a decent fellow. The poor guy probably didn’t know what to think, let alone focus on. Still, he proved his mettle when the match started. He discarded all confusion and treated Elza like any other foe, drawing his blade, which was as sharp as his battle aura.
“Prepare yourself!” he said.
“Oh, I’m ready any time you are!”
“Ergh!”
Well, maybe he hadn’t completely gotten used to Elza yet.
“Yeeeaargh!”
His fighting stance reminded me of the Satsuma Jigen-ryu I’d seen in comic books. The people here probably had a different name for it, but that was the image that came to my mind. Jakusho kicked the ground and charged forward, bringing his sword down on Elza. The samurai had become one with his blade. Even Elza didn’t have time to react. The crowd gasped with anticipation as Jakusho’s sword buried itself into her shoulder, but Elza proved herself to be one of Ulmutt’s finest. The blade should’ve cut her in half, so everyone was shocked to find that it stopped midway through her collarbone.
“What…!”
“Tee hee. Gotcha!”
That was the result of a perfectly timed Barrier and Steel Body, but that wasn’t all. She also braced her muscles, tightening her body’s hold on Jakusho’s sword. Try as he might, the samurai couldn’t pull the blade out of Elza’s body. Elza pulled him into a submission hold, and Jakusho immediately surrendered. Elza’s enjoyment was on full display for the audience to see. The contrast between Jakusho’s drained look and Elza’s revitalized appearance was a terrifying sight.
Best to keep your distance if you have to go up against her.
Hm. She’s strong.
Sure, but…uhh, never mind. Just don’t let her grab you.
“Hm!”
Two days after Fran fought Cruise, the third round of the tournament was upon us. As expected, Fran was going up against Colbert.
Despite predicting our opponent, I was quite nervous, but Fran seemed calm. I’d taught her some meditation exercises, and she took to them immediately. I was no expert, but I knew what it was supposed to look like. Sit on the floor, close your eyes, focus on your breathing. She had been sitting in this meditative state for well over ten minutes.
“Zzz…”
Wake up!
“Bwuh!”
Look, if you’re going to sleep, you might as well lie down.
“Didn’t mean to.”
At least she wasn’t nervous. Still, Gaudartha sure was taking his time. Usually he’d be done by now, and an attendant would be telling Fran to get ready, but it was another five minutes before Fran got her summons.
“Fran, please make your way to the arena.”
“Hm!” Fran fluffed Jet for good luck and got up. She grinned as she left the room. “Let’s do this.”
She wasn’t overly tense or overly relaxed. Perfect.
Teacher, we have to give it our all today.
Should I help from the start?
Hm. I want to finish the match as quick as possible.
The request was unusual for Fran. She wanted to skip the pleasantries of gauging her opponent and go right on the offensive. I agreed with her. Battle junkies tended to watch the opponent’s movements to gauge their ability. It allowed them to understand what their foe was capable of, but it came at the cost of their defense.
Colbert was likely to engage in this same practice. Fran would gladly exploit that for the sake of a formal audience with the Beast King. She had no more reason to hide from Rigdith. He wouldn’t mind her showing how strong she really was.
We walked down the familiar hallway and entered the arena. The crowd greeted Fran with more intense applause this time. I finally understood what people meant when they said an atmosphere was electric.
“The dark horse enters the arena. After claiming victory in the previous two rounds, will she continue her blaze of glory?! The rising superstar: Black Cat Fran!”
Fran was the first to enter the ring. The roar of the crowd echoed through the stadium. I could pick out a few distinct voices. Some of them were angry about money they’d lost on the first two matches. Even more cheered her on, having supported her from the start. Then there was the loud applause of her fellow adventurers.
The last group surprised me, but it made sense when I saw that they were Elza’s underlings. They probably got direct orders to support her. But the sight of macho adventurers cheering on a little girl was still odd, and the people around them watched with slightly disturbed looks.
Fran smiled back, clearly not minding the attention. The audience cheered at her display of cuteness. Why yes, she was cute indeed, thank you very much.
The crowd greeted her challenger with as much fervor as they had Fran.
“And now, the Swordceress’ challenger. He made a name for himself beating things up with his bare hands: Steelclaw Colbert!”
I checked Colbert’s stats again and found that they hadn’t changed from the last time we met. Of course, part of it might be concealed under the Dimitris Seal, and we couldn’t rule out the possibility of Fake Identity, either. We had to be on our guard.
“Hey, little lady,” he said. “Been expecting you.”
“Hm. You too.”
“Ha ha ha. I can’t go around losing to the lower ranks. I’m a B-Rank, remember?”
“Do I count as lower rank?”
“Not really, I don’t think… Still, I won’t lose to you on principle.”
“Agreed. I need to win this, too.”
“Guess we’re in the same boat.”
Sparks flew from their stares. While it wasn’t enough to create a fireworks display, their fighting spirit was heavy enough to quiet down the raucous
