NBAA Vol. 7 Chapter 2 Part 5
After hearing Shizune’s story, Reito just said one thing with a mysterious expression on his face.
“You’ve been through a lot, haven’t you?”
“…Wait. That’s all you have to say?”
Shizune looked disappointed by Reito’s casual reaction.
Obviously, he sympathized with Shizune’s past, but from what he had heard, it seemed that Gorai had defeated Gilan in a fair and honest manner. He didn’t kill Gilan by setting him up in a trap.
Reito told her the truth.
“I know you had a hard and painful past, but I don’t think Gorai did anything wrong… Well, I can’t tell you not to hate the man who killed your father lightly, but if he fought honorably as a swordsman and lost… then it can’t be helped, can it?”
“…Well, that’s true.”
Reito understood that Shizune had gone through a hard time, but it was not good to be asked to help avenge her enemies just for that reason. Even though he had agreed to listen to her story, Reito was not too enthusiastic about the plan.
However, it was also a fact that several suspicious points were present in Shizune’s current story.
“One of the reasons why I want to overthrow Gorai is to avenge my father. But that’s not the only reason. Because it is strange, isn’t it? Why did my father’s health suddenly deteriorate in the middle of the duel… and was he really defeated after giving it his all? That’s what I’m curious about.”
“Right… from what I’ve just heard, there’s something’s fishy about that queen.”
“She is notorious even among us mercenaries… and you should consider that the current kingdom of Baltros is practically in the hands of that gloomy old hag.”
“Gloomy old hag…?”
Shizune sullenly gulped down her tea, and Suramin put the teapot on her head and prepared a refill.
“Purupuru.”
“You’re such a thoughtful girl.”
Perhaps a little comforted by this, Shizune stroked Suramin’s head.
Then, as if she had regained her composure, she continued.
“In my opinion, the duel was clearly a trap. It is true that my father and Gorai agreed to fight each other, but I don’t think it was the queen’s comment that started it. The soldier who prepared the water is also suspicious. Without a doubt, my father fell ill immediately after drinking that water. It is absolutely strange that even after his funeral, no one bothered to investigate the matter. Why would the queen want to give the holy sword, which is an heirloom of the kingdom, to Gorai in the first place?”
“That’s right. It is unbelievable that she would give the sword to a mere adventurer…”
“Perhaps there was some kind of secret agreement between Gorai and the queen.”
At Shizune’s words, Reito tilted his head to the side in confusion.
“But Gorai is just an adventurer, right? It is hard to imagine such a person making a deal with the queen.”
“Don’t be so sure. According to my research, Gorai has been secretly meeting with people from the kingdom lately. I don’t know if it’s an old connection or not, but at least they have some kind of connection now… that much is certain.”
“What?”
“Anyway, I’m going after Gorai. The man has Durandal, my father’s most prized possession, in his hands. I want to get that sword back by any means necessary. To do that, I have to defeat him… I will do whatever it takes to get back the holy sword that my father guarded with such care.”
Shizune looked at Reito with determination in her eyes.
But he was only half-convinced.
There was no doubt that the queen was suspicious, but it was somehow hard to believe that Gorai knew that foul play would occur during the duel. There was also something strange about the story of the Gorai’s connection to the kingdom.
However, Reito could sense Shizune’s earnest desire to recover her father’s cherished holy sword.
Shizune’s voice was filled with emotion as she spoke, “I KNOW… I KNOW MY FATHER’S STRENGTH BETTER THAN ANYONE ELSE SINCE I WAS A CHILD. THAT IS WHY I CANNOT FORGIVE GORAI! AND THE PERSON WHO INTERFERED IN THE SACRED DUEL BY WEAKENING HIM WITH DRUGS OR SOMETHING! AND THAT MAN WHO TOOK AWAY MY FATHER’S SWORD, EVEN THOUGH HE DIDN’T WIN FAIR AND SQUARE! I CAN NEVER FORGIVE ANY OF THEM!”
Reito made up his mind.
“…I get it. I’ll help you.”
If Reito had been in her place, he would have been just as convinced of his father’s death as she was. That was the deciding factor for him.
Shizune calmly extended her right hand to Reito for a handshake. He accepted her request to work together.
She said, “I know I lost my cool… but you have to believe me on this. As long as we’re working together, I will do my best to be of service to you. I’ll do whatever it takes to achieve our goal… I won’t betray this feeling.”
“You don’t have to get so worked up. Let’s get this done… Shizune.”
“Purupuru.”
The two shook hands. She was surprised by the turn of events, but with a wry smile on her face, she patted Suramin’s head.
“Are you two done talking?” Kotomin called from the window.
Reito beckoned her and Ullr to come over.
“I’m done. Come here.”
“Yayy!”
“Woof!”
“Oh, and Ullr, make sure you wipe your paws off.”
Kotomin and Ullr came into the room, excited like children.
Shizune, with Suramin in her arms, was slightly taken aback by their carefreeness, but when she saw Kotomin, she frowned as if she had noticed something.
“You? Do I know you from somewhere?”
“…I don’t think so.”
Kotomin, who had been hugging Reito, looked over at Shizune and tilted her head curiously.
“It must be my imagination…”
Shizune almost remembered something when she saw Kotomin and held her temples, but she couldn’t put her finger on what it was.
“…Well, it doesn’t matter. I just need to borrow him for a few more minutes. I’ll be done with my business in no time.”
“Hmph… make sure you wash him before you return him.”
“Am I going to be washed?”
Kotomin reluctantly pushed Reito toward Shizune.
Shizune looked outside and urged Reito to accompany her into the garden with her eyes.
As Reito and Shizune stepped outside, Kotomin and Ullr, who had just entered the house, went outside with them, followed by Suramin and Hitomin. Shizune, who had gone outside, flicked her wrist lightly and stroked the handle of the “The Four Seasons” on her hip as if to check if it was still there, and she faced Reito.
“Since we have declared our intention to fight together, don’t you think we should get to know each other’s capabilities? Let’s spar a little bit.”
“I see… I understand.”
“Are you two going to fight?” Kotomin asked.
“You guys need to step back. It’s dangerous. Hold on to that slime especially. If you let go, she might freeze.”
“Purupuru (I’m scared).”
Frightened at the mention of the word “freeze,” Suramin and Hitomin hid behind Ullr’s back.
The weakness of any slime was freezing and evaporation, and if they were to be completely frozen or heated to a high temperature, they would die, being liquid creatures.
While wondering what Shizune was going to do, Reito activated his “Space Magic” and retrieved his Extermination Blade and Reflection Sword from the other dimension.
“May I ask you one question before we fight? That great sword of yours is made of magical metal, right?”
“Yes… is there a problem?”
“No, that’s fine then. If you’re able to wield it as a magic sword, you naturally have a high resistance to magic, right? But just as a precaution, let me give you some advice. If you can use fire attribute magic, activate the fire attribute magic sword.”
“…?”
Although Reito’s strongsuit was earth magic, it did not mean that he was unskilled in fire magic. Following Shizune’s advice, he placed his palm on the blade and applied “Enchantment Boost” to the Magic Mark engraved on the blade.
Fire magic flowed through the sword, and soon the entire blade was engulfed in flames.
“Like this?”
Yes… that’s a very beautiful flame. Well, then there should be no problem.”
Still a little confused, Reito increased his physical ability with “Limit Boost.” He used “Gravity Strike Blade” to cover the sword in crimson magic power, manipulating gravity and lightly lifting it up.
Shizune also slowly pulled out the Four Seasons from its scabbard.
“Let’s go… Thrust!!”
“Ngh!?”
Shizune took a big step forward and thrust her longsword at Reito like a rapier. The speed was tremendous, Reito flew backwards as fast as he could to avoid it. He barely dodged it.
She smiled at the speed of his reaction.
“Good move flying backwards. But, how about this!? Rapid Thrust!!”
“Whoa!”
Shizune then launched the battle technique that Mina, the Hailstorm Adventurer, had used so often.
In an instant, she unleashed five thrusts. Realizing that he would not be able to dodge all the attacks this time, Reito blocked the blows by using his Extermination Blade as a shield.
The blade of the sword had a sharp impact, and the blade grazed Reito’s left shoulder for a moment, tearing his clothes.
“Damn… you’re fast!”
“Did I surprise you? By the way, do something about that shoulder or it’s going to freeze.”
“Shoulder?”
When Reito looked at the shoulder that was grazed, he noticed that the wound was frozen.
Quickly, he brought the blade of his flame-encrusted Extermination Blade close to it and melted the wound.
“Hot, hot, hot… Okay, it’s melted.”
“You melt the ice in a very reckless way. But now you know the power of my magic sword, don’t you?”
“Magic sword?”
“This is one of the Seven Great Magical Swords, the Four Seasons.”
“Seven Great Magical Swords…”
Reito observed the longsword that Shizune was holding.
The blade was colored blue and every time she swung it, a residue of cold air resembling snow came out.
“Is this… the power of a magic sword?”
“To be precise, it is the power of this sword and myself. If I put my mind to it, I can freeze this whole area.”
“Oh… that’s cool.”
While healing his shoulder with the magic of “Ultra Recovery Boost,” Reito was secretly frustrated with the power of Shizune’s Four Seasons – a magical sword that emitted enough cold air to instantly freeze the place it cut. On top of that, she could freeze the entire surrounding area if she wanted to. Moreover, her skill with the sword was also considerable; in terms of talent, she was probably superior to Reito.
“I now understand what you meant when you told me to activate the fire attribute magic sword on my Extermination Blade.”
The moment he said that, the flames that had been enveloping the sword disappeared.
“Oh, I’m already out of flames?”
“It’s because of my sword. The fire magic power in the blade must have been extinguished.”
According to Shizune, intercepting her sword weakened the fire magic in the blade, shortening its effect time.
The sword was not only a fire sword, it was also a sword that could repel magic.
“Then how about this sword?”
“The Reflection Sword. You sure have some awesome weapons.”
Seeing the “Reflection Sword,” valued at three hundred gold coins, Shizune voiced her admiration.
It may not have been as good as one of the Seven Great Magical Swords, but it was still a formidable weapon.
She smiled and held up the Four Seasons.
“I’m going to go for it. This time I’m going to stab you, so put your life on the line to dodge the attack… HAAAH!”
“Wha-!”
Shizune unleashed “Rapid Thrust” without calling out her attack first.
Reito prepared his Reflection Sword to intercept her attack. He successfully dodged three of the five thrusts and blocked two of them with the blade of his sword.
Perhaps due to the magic-repellent nature of the Reflection Sword, the blade did not freeze when it collided with the Four Seasons, and the two crossed blades many times after that.
“Gale Strike!”
“Parry!”
Shizune lightly changed the trajectory of the blade and easily parried the fastest sword technique that Reito could execute.
Slightly flustered, Reito now took advantage of his physical prowess inherited from his mother and delivered a front kick.
“Kick Strike!!”
“Too easy.”
Shizune caught Reito’s kick with her scabbard, then stepped back and readied her sword again.
Reito wasn’t sure if her main attack style was thrust, but either way, she hadn’t slashed at him in a minute.
While holding the Reflection Sword, Reito used his “Observing Eye” skill to see what was going on.
Shizune stuck out her blade. Reito activated his “Interception” skill and repelled the Four Seasons with his Reflection Sword.
Shizune smiled and launched her next attack.
“Continuous Strike!!”
“Woah!?”
She was using a special type of combat skill that allowed her to perform the same combat skill at high speed. In other words, the speed of “Rapid Thrust,” which was already fast, was now even faster.
Realizing that he would not be able to intercept her attacks with just the blade of his Reflection Sword, Reito quickly invoked “Shrink Ground” and moved behind her.
“How about this!”
“I just saw that!”
“Ngh!?”
As he moved behind her, Shizune calmly kicked Reito’s knee.
Seizing the opportunity to hit Reito while he was off balance, Shizune elbowed him in the face.