“Damn it, a counter in the end… I give up.”
It didn’t take long for Lyall-san to get up after falling.
As he checked his condition, his breathing became ragged, as if he’d just remembered, and sweat poured out.
I approached Lyall-san, regulating my own breathing.
The arena was still noisy, but if we got close enough, we could hear each other.
“Lyall-san, are you hurt?”
“Yeah… No problem. I’m really glad I wore armor.”
The chest piece of his armor was shattered.
It was probably beyond repair.
“Don’t make that face. I can always make new armor. More importantly…”
Was it showing on my face? He seemed to like that armor… Lyall-san took off his helmet.
“Thanks for the fun fight. It’s been a while since I could go all out.”
“No, well, the pleasure was mine?”
“Hah, what’s that? Oh well. So, when will you fight me next?”
“…Huh?”
What was this person saying? Already talking about the next fight?
“Next, next. If you lose, you challenge again until you win, right? That’s normal, isn’t it?”
“No, no, your ‘normal’ is weird. Next time? …I’d like at least a week’s break, at the very least.”
“That’s too long! How about tomorrow?”
“That’s too soon! No way, I’m incredibly tired today, and you won’t be satisfied unless I go all out, right?”
Today’s fight was nerve-wracking. To do this every day? I really don’t want to think about it.
“Of course! Anyway, what was that counter earlier? What do you mean it’s not as good as Tim’s? It was just as good!”
“Eh, no way? Gramps’ counter is much sharper.”
“…Hopeless, she’s overestimating her master way too much…”
I don’t think so. I’ve been with Gramps longer. Oh, but when Lyall-san met him, Gramps was still in his prime. Hmm.
“Katia-san, good work.”
“Ah, Neil-san. Good work to you too, Neil-san.”
“No, no, compared to Katia-san. I don’t know what to say, but Katia-san, please just keep going straight ahead.”
“Eh, what’s that? Why did you suddenly look so enlightened, Neil-san!?”
Why is he saying something that makes me feel so distant…? Why is he looking so far away?
“Well, I just realized that I’m good with becoming strong enough to protect people’s backs in my own way. I just reconfirmed what I already knew.”
“What’s with the lukewarm attitude, Neil? You’re a man, how about saying you want to be stronger than anyone? Want me to put you through the same training again?”
“No, no, no, it’s not that I don’t have ambition! Really!”
“Are you alright…? Oh well. By the way, where’s Fina?”
Come to think of it, yeah. She usually comes right away.
“Ah, Fina-nee is over there.”
I looked in the direction Neil-san pointed… and saw Fina-san spreading out her art supplies.
She was taking up a lot of space in the cramped area, and the surrounding audience was looking at her, wondering what was going on.
Occasionally, I could hear voices of admiration. Many were praising the painting. Does that mean it’s almost finished?
“Ah, it’s the usual.”
“The usual. She’s completely lost in her own world.”
She was moving her brush with single-minded focus.
“What? …Oh, she said she was a painter.”
“I’m done!”
That was fast. Well, she always finished in one night or so, but this was especially fast. “Oohs” came from the surroundings. Fina-san came over with the canvas.
“Well, there’s still some finishing touches to be done. But it’s mostly complete. Here.”
She turned the painting towards us.
This painting… ah, it’s the moment the previous battle was decided, after all.
It was a dynamic composition depicting a red-haired swordsman delivering a thrust against a large, armored man.
“Whoa, this is amazing. You’re not just a loud, annoying woman after all.”
“Nuah, how rude! Hmph, but that’s fine. This, the picture of the moment you lost, will be circulating throughout the country!”
“Oh, are you going to make copies and sell them? Then I want one too.”
Surprisingly, Lyall-san seemed interested in the painting. But this isn’t the reaction Fina-san was hoping for.
“Huh!? Aren’t you frustrated, old man?”
“What are you talking about? Of course I’m frustrated. But a loss is a loss. That fact won’t change now, will it? Wow, I’m really flying through the air, hahaha.”
“Grrr… Katia-chan! How’s this painting!?”
“Eh, ah, yes. Well, it has more impact in the details than your previous paintings… Of course, that doesn’t mean the previous ones were inferior.”
“That’s because I was able to concentrate on watching this time! So, your opinion is mostly correct, Katia-chan. But you could be more straightforward with your praise, you know?”
“It’s as wonderful as always, no, even more wonderful than usual.”
“See?”
“Hey, why are you making that face at me?”
“The old man is always saying unnecessary things! Praise me honestly like Katia-chan!”
“Sorry about that. …Well, let’s pack up.”
“Ah, everyone, if you like the painting, please buy it. I think it’ll be available pretty soon.”
I could hear positive voices from the remaining audience. It seems like some of them will buy it.
When we returned to the dojo’s lobby, Lyall-san spoke up, saying he had something to discuss.
“I have a consultation for you. About going to the royal capital, would it be alright if I came along?”
“Hmm? Why?”
“Actually…”
“Ah, Great Sensei. I’ll take it from here.”
“Ah, Mizuho-san.”
“Actually, you see, Great Sensei is extremely bad with directions. Titled individuals are required to participate in the Martial Arts Tournament, so we, the members of the dojo, would feel much safer if you could go with him…”
“Is that so?”
“Well, yes… I also have business in Silas, the next place we’re stopping by. Please.”
“I’m also asking you. I’ve entrusted a letter for my older sister to Great Sensei, so I’m worried about whether he’ll be able to get there properly.”
“I don’t have any particular reason to refuse… What about you two?”
“If you think about it, it’s like hiring a top-tier bodyguard for free, right? I don’t mind. But if he causes any trouble for Katia-chan, we’ll leave him behind.”
“I’m also of course, or rather, grateful. I mean, lately, I’ve been having incredibly valuable experiences that are unthinkable for a single knight…”
I think in Neil-san’s case, it’s inseparable from mental strain, though.
“Then, Lyall-san, we look forward to traveling with you to the royal capital.”
“Really! I owe you one. …Last time, we left three months before the Martial Arts Tournament and still barely made it…”
Three months before…?
It should take about a week to get to the royal capital from here.
Where did you go, Lyall-san?
“Then, we’ll depart tomorrow.”
We have only one city left before the royal capital, the magic city of Silas.
We’re almost there.
For now, let’s get a good night’s rest.
That was a really tiring fight…
“Katia-chan, by the way, there’s actually another painting.”
That night, Fina-san secretly told me in my room that there was another painting. Neil-san was absent, having gone to take a bath.
“Eh, is that one rejected?”
“Yeah. If Lyall-ossan was too bothered by the loss, I was going to use this one.”
“What kind of painting is it… Ah, a picture of you two facing each other?”
It’s abnormal that she completed two paintings in that short amount of time, but I held back because the story wouldn’t progress.
“It doesn’t have as much impact as that one. Well, it seems like I worried for nothing. He was being all cool, saying ‘a loss is a loss’.”
Certainly, the impression viewers would receive would be different between the moment of defeat and the picture of them facing each other. Even though the fact that he lost wouldn’t change. However, that person didn’t seem like the type to care about the evaluations of those around him.
“What are you going to do with this?”
“When I showed it to Mizuho-chan, she said she wanted to display it in the dojo, so I’ll give it to her.”
“Eh… But in the end, it’s a picture of her own dojo’s Great Sensei losing a match, right?”
“It’s okay. That girl is a fan of Katia-chan.”
“Huh?”
“To be precise, those girls, I guess. This is a dojo, you know? What they’re aiming for is a strong and cool woman. In other words!”
“I-In other words?”
“For the female disciples of the dojo, Katia-chan is the ideal! An object of admiration! That’s what I mean.”
“I… I see.”
“She said she’d buy the paintings that come out later, so I thought it would be fine.”
“…I see.”
So that’s why I was asked for so many handshakes and received so many passionate gazes after the match.
Becoming a woman and being popular with women… it just makes me sad…