“What are you doing...?” Linze spoke up, looking all confused.
“Just a little something for future reference.” While I replied, Elze took on the role of the referee and took her place between the fighters.
After confirming they were fully ready, she signaled the start.
“Now then... begin!” As Elze’s voice rang throughout the dojo, Yae dashed toward the viscount with the speed of a bullet. He stopped the first strike head-on and neatly parried each of the numerous attacks that followed.
Yae momentarily backed away and attempted to adjust her breathing. However, despite the golden opportunity, the viscount didn’t attack her. Instead, he just watched her movements.
Facing one another, they closed in on each other as if drawing an inward spiral. Little by little, the distance between them shrunk until it reached a point that summoned another exchange of wooden swords... beginning another vicious chain of blows.
However, Yae was the only one actually attacking. The viscount merely parried, evaded, and deflected, not showing any sign of going on the offensive.
“I see... So that’s how it is.” He shifted his sword into a lower position. Yae fixed her aim and breathed as her shoulders moved up and down in quick succession. It was apparent that she was running out of stamina.
“Your swordsmanship is proper. I would even go as far to call it exemplary, as I don’t see even a single wasted movement. It’s just like how Jubei taught me.”
“Is there a problem with that, is there?”
“Not in the least. However... you don’t have anything beyond that level.”
“Wha—?!” The viscount shifted his sword into an overhead position and displayed his first act of aggression. Even I could feel his electric aura.
“En garde!” He took a step forward, and before I even noticed, quickly leapt and closed the distance between him and Yae. The sword he held above his head quickly went down toward her head. Yae responded by positioning her sword above herself.
However... the very next moment, she fell to the floor with a highly unsatisfying sound. I could hear her moan as she held on to one of her sides.
“E-Enough!” Elze proclaimed the end of the match. If this was a real battle, Yae would have been neatly split in half.
“Guh...”
“Please, refrain from moving too much. I probably broke some of your ribs. If you give them the chance, they may pierce your lungs. You there! Come and heal her.”
“Ah, right.”
As Yae writhed in pain, I placed my hand on her side and cast a Healing spell. Sooner than later, likely due to the fading pain, her expression turned calm.
“I’m fine now, I am...” After thanking me, Yae stood up and gave the viscount a sincere bow.
“I am grateful for your guidance, I am.”
“Your swordsmanship has no real dark side to it. You mix feints and actual attacks, charge and back away when needed... It’s both fierce and open-ended. However, a proper manner of the sword like yours doesn’t break the limits of dojo training. Now, I’m not saying that’s a bad thing. After all, true strength differs person by person.” The viscount’s sharp eyes pierced Yae.
“What do you seek from your blade?” She offered no answer to his words. Instead, she just looked up at her wooden sword.
“That is the first thing you must learn. Then, you will find your true path. And when you do, feel free to come back to me.” With those words as his last, the viscount left the dojo.
“Hey, well... You shouldn’t mind it too much! Battles are all about luck. If you lost, you were probably bound to lose anyway!”
“...Elze-dono... you are not helping at all, you aren’t...” Yae looked at Elze with a stern expression, which made her let out a dry laugh.
Linze took control of the carriage to get us to the checkpoint through which we could leave the noble district.
“What’re you gonna do from here, Yae? We’re headed back to Reflet,” Elze proclaimed.
“What is it I should be doing, I wonder...”
Damn, she looks seriously low. Reminded me of some useless salary man who had lost all hope. Sitting on the side of our luggage, Yae was looking at the distant sky with her chin resting on her hands.
“If you’ve got nowhere to go, you should come with us to Reflet! Then you can join our guild, form a party, and even train with us sometimes!” Sometimes? Well, I kind of understood what Elze was going for. We became good friends, so it would’ve been a bummer if we split up at that point.
“That may not be a bad idea, it may not.”
“Alright, it’s decided!”
“My, you’re so forceful...” Elze’s forcefulness made me adopt a wry smile. She took full advantage of Yae’s downer... or maybe she was just being considerate in her own way? As I thought about that, our carriage reached the checkpoint. The soldiers at the post came up to us, and when Linze shyly showed them the medal we got from the duke, they didn’t hesitate to let us through. Man, the duke sure is something.
“The world is a very big place, it is... I did not think I was facing someone that strong... I have a long path ahead of me, I do...” Yae slowly muttered those words.
So she was still hung up on that... Must’ve been quite a shock.
“The final strike especially... I do not understand how it happened, I don’t. I thought I was going to parry the sword as it came from above... but it somehow hit me on my side...”
“That was something! I was right next to you, but even I didn’t see what happened! It was like I blinked and you were suddenly lying on the floor, y’know?” To help Yae process it, Elze started excitedly explaining what she saw.
“It is such a shame... If only I could see that attack one more time, if only...”
“But you can,” I explained.
“...Excuse me?” My nonchalant words made Yae put on a rather silly expression and blink repeatedly.
I took out my smartphone, brought up the match I just recorded, and played it for her.
“Wh-What is this?! Ah! W-Wait! That is me! And Viscount-dono! Elze-dono, too, she is!”
“Whoa, what the hell’s this?! It’s moving! But I’m right here! Eh? Wait, is that actually Linze?! Sis?! No, she’s right here, too! What’s going on?!”
“Calm down.”
“Ow!” “Ouch...!” I dropped a light chop on the top of their panicked little heads. They really needed to calm down. Not like it wasn’t funny, though.
“This is... sort of like my personal Null magic that allows the recording of events so you can see them again later. I used it to record your match.”
“That magic is amazing, it is!”
“Eh? What’s that spell called?”
“Ah... smartphone, I guess?”
“Smawtforn... never heard of that one before. Well, whatever. It is non-elemental magic after all.” Elze folded her arms and tilted her head. Yae, on the other hand, took my smartphone and intently gazed at the screen. Soon enough, she got to the scene where she was defeated.
“Right here, yes!” The sword that was supposed to go down on her head was actually going for her side the whole time. Huh? I was quite sure it was an overhead strike...
“What does this mean...?”
“Dunno...” I asked Elze, who was watching it by my side, but she seemed as clueless about it as I was.
“T-Touya-dono! Is it possible to see it again, is it?!”
“It is, yeah. As many times as you like. Should I go from the start? Or just before you were defeated?”
“Before I was defeated!”
I set the start point and handed the phone to Yae. The viscount approached Yae and hit her straight on the side. He never did go for her head. But I was quite sure that...
“Shadesword...”
“Shadesword?” I was confused by the word she quietly muttered.
“It’s a technique that turns high fighting spirit into a blade. Being an illusion, it doesn’t have any substance. Howeve
r, since it is made of spirit, it has a presence you can feel, it does... That’s why, before you realize it, you acknowledge its existence. The viscount likely set the shadesword to attack from above while he struck his real blade into my side. The shadesword was clad in a distracting amount of fighting spirit... while the real one, which I couldn’t feel, came from the side, it did! Yes... I took the bait that he set, I did!”
So she was shown an illusion? I’d thought a cold dose of reality would make her even more depressed, but she was actually smiling. And it didn’t look like the smile of someone who gave up... It was like she had come to realize something. Her muttering seriously creeped me out, though.
“My swordsmanship has no dark side, it doesn’t. Now I see what he meant, yes. Sometimes, you don’t wait for openings in your enemy, but create them yourself... That is interesting, it is...”
“Hey, Yae. You okay?”
“I am, yes. Thank you, Touya-dono. You truly helped me, you did.” Since Yae looked satisfied, I took back my smartphone and placed it in my pocket. Well, it was good to help her cheer up.
“I shall train lots and grow even stronger... With all of you by my side, I will!”
“That’s more like it! I wouldn’t have it any other way!” Yae and Elze exchanged a high five. Ah, the joys of youth.
“H-Hey, don’t forget about me...” A slightly bitter voice came from the front of the carriage. Oh. I-It’s not like we really forgot about you! Sorry, Linze.
◇ ◇ ◇
Since we were already in the Royal Capital, we decided to not waste the opportunity. We certainly weren’t short on money, so we decided to spend some time shopping. Or, rather, that was decided for me. I lacked what it took for me to resist the will of the three girls.
We left our carriage at the inn, though it cost us because we weren’t planning on staying the night, and decided that we’d gather there in three hours.
The three girls went somewhere together, but I chose to do something by myself. I really didn’t want to be their baggage handler. Not to mention that there was something I wanted to buy for myself, as well.
So I took out my smartphone, found where I was on the map and... realized the Capital was huge. Wouldn’t have expected less, really. Is there a search function? Alright, a-r-m-o-r-s-h-o-p...
Soon enough, several pins fell on the map, showing the locations of the armor shops in the area. The closest one was... right in front of me? I raised my head to see an armor shop with a shield sign in front of it. I didn’t even have to search for it...
“Welcome!” I entered the shop to see an absolute bounty of shields, armor, gauntlets, and helmets. Behind the counter at the far end of the room, I saw a friendly-looking shopkeep smiling at me.
“Excuse me, can I have a look around?”
“Please, feel free! Try on anything you like, as well.” Permission granted, I started intently looking at the armor pieces. I was set for weapons since I bought a katana for my first guild assignment, and I kind of postponed getting armor at the time. But being here gave me the perfect chance, and I wasn’t about to miss it. It was the Royal Capital, after all, so I figured I might as well get something good.
Alright, now... I valued mobility a lot, so I didn’t think I’d be suited for any kind of metal armor. Moving in full plate was probably bound to be a nightmare.
That’d leave me with lighter types of armor, such as leather...
“Excuse me, what’s the best armor you have? Ah, non-metal, I mean.”
“Non-metal? That’d probably be this spotted rhino armor.”
“Spotted rhino?”
“Exactly, a rhino with spots on it. Armor made from its hide is tougher and longer-lasting than ones made from standard leather.” I tried rapping my knuckles on the armor and it felt very tough, indeed.
“And it’s still weaker than metal armor?”
“Well... unless it’s enchanted in some way, that’s how it is most of the time.”
Enchanting... That’s the thing where they add magic effects to equipment, right...? I’d heard that some highly coveted enchanted items could be found in ancient ruins, but the magic kingdom in the Far East actually produced them in large numbers.
“Do you sell enchanted armor?”
“Sorry, but we don’t. Equipment like that is really expensive. I think Berkut, the armor shop on the eastern avenue, sells things like that, but it’s exclusive to nobles.” The shopkeeper replied with a troubled expression.
Exclusive to nobles, huh? Quite a predicame— Wait. “Would they let me in if I showed them this?”
“What is this...? Th-This is the duke’s...! You are close to the duke, sir?!” Upon seeing the medal I got from the duke, the shopkeeper instantly changed his expression.
“Everything should be fine, then. If the duchy approves of you, there will be no trouble at all.” I tipped him with a silver coin to make up for the time I had wasted, then left the shop. After that, while referring to my map, I went off looking for that shop named Berkut.
Walking through the Royal Capital, I couldn’t hide my surprise at all the non-human races that were roaming about here and there. There were many non-humanoids, all with their unique traits, but what really caught my eye were the beastmen.
I didn’t see a single one back in Reflet, but here, you couldn’t miss them if you tried. Those beastmen weren’t the ones with human bodies and animal heads, like, say, the minotaur— they were like the fox beastgirl walking in front of me. Ears and tail aside, she was no different from a normal human. Long, blonde hair with fox ears just as bright except for the black tips. A large, fluffy tail with a white end. She also had another pair of ears. Human ones, just like ours. Linze said something about both pairs having a main-sub relationship, but I didn’t really understand the details...
Oh? That foxgirl seemed really lost and confused... Was she looking for someone? Her expression looked really troubled. And yet no one was helping her. The big city folk here seemed just as cold as the ones in my world.
Alright, guess I’ll talk to her.
“Er... is everything alright?”
“Y-Yesh?! What ish it?!”
Whoops, I startled her so hard that she forgot how to pronounce words. She looked at me with wide open eyes. Had to get her to calm down. After all, I wasn’t some weird pervert or anything... At least, I thought I wasn’t. With her being so scared, I began to lose confidence in that conviction.
“Well, it seemed like you were in a bit of trouble. I just wondered what was up.”
“Ah, u-uhm... I-I... lost my companion...”
Ah, so she was lost after all.
“W-We decided where we’d meet if we ever got split up, b-but I don’t know where the place is...” The little fox’s voice gradually turned weak. I could swear I just saw her ears and tail sag in a profoundly sad manner.
“What’s the place called?”
“Uhm... I think it was a magic shop called Luca...?”
Magic shop named Luca... got it. I took out my smartphone, ran a search on the map... And there it was. Right on the way toward Berkut as well. Convenient.
“I can take you there. It’s on the way to where I was going, anyway.”
“Really?! Thank you sho much!” Oh, she mispronounced again. What a charming little thing. She was probably younger than Elze and Linze. Twelve, maybe thirteen years old...?
Following the map, we walked through the streets. On the way, I found out that her name was Arma.
“Are you a tourist here, Mr. Touya?”
“Nope, had some work to do. Already finished with it, though. What about you, Arma?”
“My sister had work to do here, and I joined her. I wanted to see the capital.” Arma let out a bright smile. It was almost like the troubled expression from before had never even existed.
As we made the simplest of small talk, we soon arrived at the magic shop. There was a beastgirl standing in front of it. Upon noticing Arma, she quickly ran up to us.
“Arma!”
“Ah, Sis!” Arma ran straight into her big sister’s chest. The lady instantly hugged her back. As obvious as it might seem, she was also a fox beastgirl. Clearly older, too. Likely an adult. The aura of dignity around her made her seem somewhat soldier-like.
“I was so worried! How could you get lost...?!”
“I’m so sorry... But it’s okay! Mr. Touya helped me get here.” Finally noticing my presence, the lady gave me a sincere bow.
“You helped my sister? Thank you so much.”
“It’s nothing, really. I’m just glad to have met her.”
She offered to repay me, but I refused because I had business to take care of. What I did wasn’t worth any kind of repayment. After a short introduction, I took my leave. Arma just couldn’t stop waving her hand at me as I walked away.
As I headed toward Berkut after leaving the two behind, I couldn’t help but notice that the buildings and shops around me were gradually becoming fancier. After a while, I finally reached my destination.
“Damn, this place looks real expensive...” The formal, brick-built building made me feel a bit timid. It was like some brand name shop.
I didn’t feel like I belonged. It seemed like they’d even take an entry fee. Well, not like there were guards or anything. Knowing that standing around wouldn’t get me anywhere, I took a deep breath and walked in.
Upon passing through the grandiose door, I was quickly greeted by a young lady.
“Welcome to Berkut. Is it your first time here, sir?”
“Ah, yes. Never been here before.”
“Well, then. Might you have something that proves your social standing or an invitation permitting you to shop here?”
I see. No chance customers allowed, huh? Nobles and those invited only. I took out the duke’s medal and showed it to the shopkeeper. Unlike the man from the previous shop, the lady wasn’t perplexed in the least and merely bowed her head.
“All is well, then. Thank you very much. Now, on what business have you come here?”
“I’d like to take a look at your enchanted armor.”
“Understood. Right this way, please.” I followed her to one corner of the shop, where I was met with an array of various armors, from shiny plates with a mystifying glow to cheap-looking leather gloves that didn’t seem special in any way at all.
In Another World With My Smartphone: Volume 1 Page 9
