by Aneko Yusagi
And then Nadia disappeared into the back alleys of Zeltoble, followed by the tapping of her footsteps.
“I really hope you give up before that, if at all possible . . .”
Those were her parting words. What was that supposed to mean? She had tried to poison me, and yet she still told me all about—and even showed me, in action—the risks of the underground coliseum, and then she disappears before I can figure out if she’s flirting with me or worried about me. Then, to top it all off, she tells me to give up? I’m sorry, but giving up wasn’t an option for me.
I left the back alley and headed back toward the slave market to meet up with Raphtalia and the others.
“Did you see any of the villagers?”
Raphtalia came out to meet me.
“There weren’t any today.”
“I see. That’s good.”
Rishia finally returned, accompanied by one of the slave trader’s assistants who had been acting as her bodyguard.
“Fehhhh . . . That was scary!”
“Rafu!”
“I hear it can be dangerous for you, if people think you’re involved. There are people out there who will do anything to win, apparently.”
“Fehhh!”
Keeping our safety in mind, I used my portal skill and we returned to the village after that. I don’t know if it was our scent or what, but Filo came running up immediately.
“Master! Welcome baaaack!”
“Thanks. It’s late already. Are the brats asleep?”
“Yup. I sang them a lullaby and they started saying they couldn’t eat any more.”
What a stereotypical dream . . .
“What about you, Raphtalia, did you have any problems? I found out that coliseum tournament participants apparently get targeted for attacks.”
“Huh? Oh, so that’s what that was? I did cut a few people down to protect myself . . .”
So she had already taken care of it. She had beaten them at their own game. I guess our match tomorrow would be a win by default. Even so, cut them down? I was a bit worried about the path Raphtalia was headed down.
“Did you polish them off?”
“That makes it sound so violent . . . I only injured them. They should be able to move again after two or three days.”
I had to wonder about that. After all, Raphtalia had grown up to be pretty tough.
“What about you, Mr. Naofumi?”
“Me? Umm . . . Someone I met at the tavern warned me to watch out for ambushes if I wanted to advance in the tournament. I didn’t really get any good info other than that. How did things go with you, Rishia?”
“Huh? Me?! Umm, I managed to get a look at some documents related to matches in the underground coliseum.”
“Oh . . .”
We could probably use that info to check which opponents to watch out for, like high-profile fighters that were always winning.
“There are all kinds of fighters, it seems, but there is one in particular competing in this tournament that we need to watch out for. If we end up facing this fighter, it’s almost certain to be a difficult battle.”
“Difficult doesn’t mean impossible, right?”
“Umm, right . . .”
Rishia had seen the kinds of battles we had faced with her own eyes. The underground coliseum tournaments might show you just how formidable people could be, but surely that was child’s play compared to something as dreadful as the Spirit Tortoise. Not to mention, having seen Kizuna, Glass, and their crew in action made even the strongest people seem weak. That’s the kind of company we had been doing battle alongside, so I sure wasn’t afraid.
“So? Who is the fighter?”
“Umm . . . The one we need to watch out for is a person who fights alone—even in team battle tournaments—and almost always wins, or at least places near the top. There was one other similar fighter, but that one isn’t participating in this tournament.”
Taking on a team battle tournament by yourself . . . Just what kind of hero was this? Maybe one of the seven star heroes was secretly participating in the underground coliseums? It was possible. Honestly, I wouldn’t have been surprised if one of the other three holy heroes that had gone missing showed up in the tournament.
“So? Who is it?”
“Umm . . . The person goes by the ring name Nadia, apparently.”
Say what? It was that drunkard woman, in other words? You’ve got to be shitting me. Then again . . . I had only seen one of her attacks, but judging from her skill with magic and the way she moved, it kind of made sense. It had only been by coincidence, but to think I had become acquainted with someone like that.
“Is something wrong?”
“Nah, it’s nothing.”
Either way, if we ended up fighting her, we would have to be careful.
Chapter Sixteen: Nadia
After all was said and done, the coliseum schedule was changed so that we would fight twice per day, due to a relative decrease in the total number of matches. We had gone on to win for several days in a row now. The day after the ambush had been a win by default, as expected. It even made me consider the idea that going out and waiting around to be ambushed might be a surprisingly good strategy.
Under normal circumstances, our competitors and their backers would be using all kinds of dirty tricks to interfere with our advancement. But I had the accessory dealer and the family of slave traders backing me. Their support also came with their extensive connections throughout the Zeltoble underground.
Speaking of the accessory dealer, I’d dangled the topic of the materials we’d gotten from Kizuna’s world in front of him and he’d pounced on it. That guy could smell a profit from a mile away. I wanted to use him to my advantage and figure out a way to mass produce the items that emulated the drop functionality of the holy weapons and their ability to summon people to the waves.
The slave traders and the accessory dealer . . . Thanks to these two entities, the usual underhanded, roundabout efforts to get in our way had been nipped in the bud. Also, the slave trader had apparently heard some kind of strange rumor going around about everyone backing off of us, because we had ties to Nadia.
We had gotten a lot more recognition and ended up being considered one of the more notable teams. We did tend to end our matches pretty much as soon as they started, after all. The guy that threw in the morning star, that had become Filo’s new toy, started rooting for us at all of our matches. He’d thrown in a different weapon just recently, too, and Filo had been flinging that one at our opponents as well.
That pretty much summed up how we had been advancing in the tournament. Most of the competitors had already been eliminated, and with only a few fight cards left, we were now in the semifinals.
“Who’s our opponent for tomorrow’s match?”
“This is the featured fight card for tomorrow. Yes sir.”
The slave trader wiped the sweat off his forehead as he handed me a piece of paper. It had our opponent for the next day’s match written on it. The name on the paper was . . . Nadia. It looked like she had been placed in the bracket as a seed. I guess the time to fight that woman had finally come.
“Is that the participant that Rishia mentioned?”
“Yeah, it is.”
“Huh? The person we fight tomorrow?”
Filo was staring intently at the paper in my hand, like she was really interested.
“She uses lightning magic, but she’s not a magic user, so to speak. She’s a formidable opponent that can handle herself in close combat, too. She’s been fighting her way through team battle tournaments all by herself.”
“I wonder just how strong she is.”
Then again . . . The way we had been fighting up until now was pretty atypical, too. Defeating the enemy as soon as the announcer screamed “begin” was the norm for us. That was pretty much how all of our matches went. It was only natural that we would end up becoming famous.
“If we can make it through this one, all that w
ill be left is the championship match. The money to buy the village slaves back is almost within our reach!”
“Yes! But . . . lightning?”
“Fehhh . . .”
“You’ve done a lot to make this happen too, Rishia. You and Raph-chan better be rooting for us.”
“Rafu!”
Raph-chan jumped up on Rishia’s shoulder and howled. There was no avoiding it. In the end, winning this match and advancing to the next round was our only option.
The next day, we were getting prepared for our fight in the waiting room at the coliseum. Outside it had been erupting into cheers all day. Our next opponent was an infamous freak of nature that had fought her way up through the team battle tournament all alone. Still, surely she couldn’t be stronger than Kyo or the Spirit Tortoise, right? Even so, there was no denying that letting our guard down for even a moment could prove to be fatal.
If we won today, tomorrow we would be fighting in the main event—the championship match. They publicized the event ahead of time. The schedule was ridiculous.
“Maaaster! Can we gooo yet?”
“I guess it is about time. Alright, let’s head out, then.”
“Yes, and then if we win tomorrow, we can finally rescue the village children.”
We had to be careful when facing our opponent today. There might be some kind of catch. I could think of several possibilities.
Here’s one . . . What if there was some kind of unspoken rule about who would win that was decided from the start? We hadn’t really had to deal with any interference so far, since we had a pretty powerful bunch backing us. But you never knew what kind of obstacles might show up during the middle of a match. Like . . . what if some kind of ceremonial-level support magic was cast on Nadia during the fight? It wasn’t unthinkable.
“Let’s not take any chances today. Let’s finish this . . . and let’s make it quick!”
“Agreed!”
“I’ll do my beeest!”
We dashed out into the arena, which was surrounded by hordes of nobility, who had come in search of stimulation. They burst out into a roar of cheers. Nadia was already waiting in the arena.
“Oh my, you ignored my advice and showed up anyway, now didn’t you?”
“Sorry, but there’s a reason that I have to win this match and move on to the finals.”
Before the match began, Nadia approached and extended her hand out as if to shake.
“I guess there’s no choice then, is there? I don’t plan on holding back, though, so you better show me what you’ve got.”
“I don’t plan on losing, even if it is you.”
We shook hands, and Nadia gave me a friendly hug and whispered in my ear.
“Might that reason be to buy the Lurolona slaves . . . I wonder.”
Huh?! This woman knew all about my plan! I couldn’t imagine how the information had been leaked, but that meant that she knew what we were after.
“This is the perfect chance if you’re looking to make a lot of money quick, isn’t it? I’m afraid I’m not going to let you win, though, darling.”
She seemed to be under the impression that I was planning on buying the slaves so that I could resell them and make a profit. There was no point in correcting her. In the end, we still needed the money to get Raphtalia’s fellow villagers back.
“You took the words right out of my mouth.”
After I responded, Nadia gave me a quick nod and put some distance between us.
“And now, a faceoff between Roooooock Vaaalllleeeey’s Party . . . and . . . Naaaaadiiiiaaaaaaa! Are you ready?!”
The announcer was shouting like crazy. Every time it made me wonder if that screaming messed up his vocal cords.
“I expect a fair fight, you two! Let the semifinal battle . . . BEEEEGGIIIINNNN!!”
Gooooonnngggg!
A huge gong sound echoed throughout the coliseum, taking the whole thing one more step over the top.
“Alright then, darling, here I come!”
Nadia held her harpoon up high out in front of her, about to cast her magic.
“We won’t let yooouuu!”
“That’s right!”
Raphtalia and Filo moved in to strike first, just like we had discussed beforehand. The two of them moved simultaneously, closing in on Nadia rapidly. Raphtalia lifted her katana up over her head and swung it down hard, while Filo struck from the side with both of her claws in an attempt to get inside Nadia’s guard.
“Careful now!”
Nadia took several steps backward and . . . she dodged that?! She evaded Raphtalia’s and Filo’s attacks by a hair’s width, as if she had seen right through them.
“We’re not finished!”
“Take thiiiis!”
Raphtalia followed through with her katana, continuing the swing upward while thrusting forward. Filo crouched down, slipping in another strike.
“Your swordsmanship sure is straightforward, isn’t it? Sorry, but swings like that won’t work on a girl like me!”
Nadia brushed Raphtalia’s katana off to the side with her harpoon and then used it to vault up into the air, dodging Filo’s attack before spinning around and leaping over her back.
“Wha . . .”
“Oooohhh!”
Raphtalia was at a loss for words, but Filo seemed genuinely impressed. The way Nadia responded to their attacks made it obvious that she was a highly skilled mercenary. There was a good reason she had become famous! She’d seen through all of our attacks so far. That was the only explanation for the way she moved.
“Wow! Woooow! Master! I’m gonna do that thiiing!”
“Go for it!”
Filo quickly jumped up on my shoulders and began preparing to use haikuikku. In the meantime, Raphtalia continued to attack Nadia.
“Hiyaaaaa!”
But Nadia continued to dodge every attack at the last moment, as if she could easily predict the path of Raphtalia’s katana.
“I can tell you’re not used to using a katana. Your lines are all too straight, like you’re fighting with a sword, you know? That poor katana is capable of so much more.”
Just how strong was this woman? Damn! Did that mean our stats were too low to defeat her head-on? I guess I had no choice, then. With Filo still on my shoulders, I quietly began reciting the incantation for my support magic, Zwiete Aura.
“As the source of your power, the Shield Hero commands you! Let the legends be revealed once more! Support her completely!”
“Zweite Aura!”
I would cast my support magic on Raphtalia to increase her stats and then wait for an opening to cast it on Filo, too, so that we could end this right away . . . or so I thought. I finished reciting the incantation and the instant the magic took its effect on Raphtalia . . . Nadia glanced my way and . . . cast a spell.
“As the source of your power, I command you! Let the legends be revealed once more! Dispel the power that supports her!”
“Anti-Zweite Aura!”
“What?!”
I realized that the Zweite Aura support magic I’d cast on Raphtalia had been erased. That’s right . . . I conjured the magic myself and successfully cast it on Raphtalia, and yet it had been shattered into pieces.
Hold on now! I’d heard that even drifa-level magic could be obstructed, but to block zweite-level magic with such a short incantation . . . Just how skilled was this woman?!
Nadia had rendered my Zweite Aura ineffective. It took a few seconds before I fully understood what had happened, and Raphtalia had also made her attack under the assumption that her stats would be increased, so she ended up missing by a long shot.
“Wha . . .”
“You’re wide open!”
With her harpoon in hand, Nadia crouched low and thrust at Raphtalia. The attack was powerful and heavy, just like the one she had delivered to the mercenaries back when we got ambushed.
“Ugh! Ahhhh!”
The attack connected, and Raphtalia went flying and smashed into th
e arena wall, which let out a loud cracking sound.
“Ra—Shigaraki!”
That was close. If a monster skilled enough to nullify support magic figured out who we really were, there was no telling what kind of attacks she would come at us with.
“I . . . I’m okay.”
Raphtalia wobbled to her feet. She had her hand on her shoulder, where the harpoon had connected.
“Ugh . . .”
Nadia went right into casting another spell, as if to say she wouldn’t let an opening go to waste.
“Should I throw jingle-jangle?”
“Let’s not do that. It would be no joke if that weapon ended up getting used against us right now.”
We were already struggling against a single harpoon. We could end up forcing ourselves into a corner if we let her steal that morning star from us. Right now, we had to focus on making sure Raphtalia could continue fighting. I pulled some healing medicine out of my pocket and ran over to Raphtalia. I rubbed it on her wound while casting healing magic. Surely healing magic cast at point-blank range couldn’t be obstructed, right?
“Thank you, Mr. Nao . . . Mr. Rock.”
“No worries. Anyways, that woman is a monster!”
Our stats may have been lower than normal, but we were undoubtedly still far stronger than your average adventurer. And yet she had easily dodged all of Raphtalia’s and Filo’s attacks. She must have been ridiculously strong. I had expected the fight to end with Raphtalia’s and Filo’s opening attacks.
I checked my status screen and several sections were blurred out. I’d suspected this might be the case, but apparently the arena area was under the effect of some kind of magic. I wasn’t sure if it was Nadia’s doing, something paid for by the spectators, or if the organizers were secretly interfering, but I guess I was going to have to get out in front and restrain Nadia myself.
“Is it my tuuurn?”
Filo’s question signaled that she had finished preparing for her haikuikku-Spiral Strike combo.
“I guess so. It looks like we can’t afford to hold back with this one.”
I’d hoped to make it through this thing without revealing our secret, but this wasn’t the kind of opponent that would let us off that easy.
