Chapter 16
The knights moved the villagers who had gathered in the plaza aside, clearing enough space for Krena and the vice commander to fight.
"Please, I beg you, have mercy!!"
Gerda pleaded desperately. The knights carried Gerda over to the edge of the plaza as well.
"You still persist? Sword Saint Doberg-sama is said to have defeated a Red Dragon at the age of ten. And this girl is already five, is she not?"
The Knight Commander insisted she was more than capable of fighting. A knight escorted Gerda to the edge of the plaza and stood beside Gerda. Allen and Rodan hurried over to join Gerda.
(Seriously? This has gotten completely out of hand.)
Allen had no idea what to do, either. His level and Summoning Skill were still too low, and he couldn't imagine what he could do against the Knights. He'd probably be no match for them.
Krena and the man called Vice Commander Raybrand stood in the center of the plaza. It seemed the vice commander would be her opponent.
The two of them raised their swords. Krena, who stood a little over a meter tall, faced the fully armored Raybrand, who was nearly twice her height. Krena wore nothing but ragged clothes. The villagers, pushed to the edges, watched, convinced there was no way this could be a real fight.
Yet Krena alone seemed completely untroubled by the situation. She held her sword with a carefree expression, as if they were just playing. Then, as always, she introduced herself.
"I am Knight Krena!! Come, let us fight honorably!!!"
Allen had heard that opening line more than a thousand times. So it had begun.
"...I am the Knight Raybrand. Come at me."
Raybrand introduced himself in the same fashion.
There was no referee. The fight was already underway. Just like in her pretend fights with Allen, Krena charged first. She gripped the sword, far heavier than a wooden one, without hesitation and ran toward Raybrand.
Their swords clashed. Though it was her first time wielding a real sword, Krena swung without hesitation. The two exchanged a series of blows.
(Since my Swordsmanship is Level 3, I figure Krena's Swordsmanship is Level 5, or somewhere around there.)
Allen was the only one in Hell Mode. Based on his stone-throwing tests, the experience required to level up Krena's Swordsmanship Skill should have gone 100, 100, 1,000, 10,000, and 100,000. If she'd grown a hundred times faster than Allen through their pretend knight games, that should amount to a difference of two Skill levels.
While Allen analyzed the situation, sword strikes powerful enough to kill with a single hit crossed in the air. Metallic clangs echoed through the plaza.
Many villagers had probably expected Krena to be killed immediately, ending the fight. But three years of playing knights had helped her grow enough to cross swords with a real knight.
The Knight Commander watched the two fight with his arms folded and a grim expression, saying nothing.
How many minutes had passed? Dozens of sword clashes rang out. What had seemed like an even fight began to shift.
"Agh!!!"
Raybrand's fully armored foot connected squarely with Krena's stomach. This wasn't a fight with swords alone. His perfectly timed kick sent her flying.
"Krena!!!"
Allen shouted. Krena slammed into the wall of a nearby building and fell silent. The impact left a large crack in the wooden wall, splitting it apart.
The knights restrained Allen and Gerda as they tried to rush toward Krena, pinning them to the ground.
(It really was impossible. Krena's only Level 1, after all. No matter how many years that knight's been at it, she can't win against someone who's raised his level and Skills. W-what do I do?)
Allen struggled, trying to shake off the knight holding him down.
"What?! Hold still!"
"L-let go of me, you bastard!"
Allen was being held down by a knight far stronger than he was. He tried to get up, but couldn't budge. There was no way he could break free.
Raybrand didn't pursue Krena and remained where he was. With everyone in the plaza watching, Krena hung her head, completely silent.
Raybrand kicked her hard with his armored foot. The villagers stirred, wondering if she was dead.
The Knight Commander closed his eyes and let out a deep sigh.
"So it was no use after all. Hm?"
Just as everyone thought it was over, Krena slowly rose to her feet, her head still bowed. She raised the sword she'd held onto even as she was sent flying. Allen watched from where he was pinned to the ground.
Raybrand stood with his sword raised, facing Krena as she rose in silence. He seemed content to wait for her to come at him.
Krena raised her face and slowly looked at Raybrand. The villagers watched anxiously, wondering if she meant to keep fighting. Then Krena shouted.
"Yah!!!"
As she shouted, the cracked and dented wooden wall she'd crashed into burst apart from an impact centered on Krena's back.
Krena's outline wavered dramatically, like a heat haze or a distortion of light.
(Huh?)
With a fierce battle cry, Krena charged at Raybrand again. She leaped into the air, spun to build centrifugal force, and swung her sword down hard from above. Her blade came crashing down on Raybrand from overhead.
"Guh!"
Raybrand caught the blow with both hands on his sword, and the impact jolted him. The force was so great that his feet sank into the packed earth of the plaza.
"Haaa!!!"
Raybrand roared as well, and their swords crossed once more. Sparks flew clearly in the midday sun.
But the fight was clearly different now. Raybrand's sword was forced back with every clash. It couldn't withstand the impact. His entire body was driven backward.
The sounds of impact rang through the Pioneer Village plaza. This no longer looked like an even fight. Even an amateur could see that Raybrand was being pushed back. Krena swung a sword nearly as long as she was tall like a mere stick, with unbelievable strength.
(What is this? What's happening? Could this be... Is this an Extra Skill?)
Allen searched for a possible explanation. When he reincarnated from the real world into this other world, he'd read the description of Normal Mode. If he remembered right, it said you could draw one Extra Skill through a gacha in Normal Mode. He wondered if the people of this world had the same thing.
(Swordsmanship is just a Normal Skill that even I can acquire. Krena must have had some other Skill since birth. A special Skill befitting a Sword Saint.)
The difference in their strength was so great that Allen had time to analyze it. Watching them, he could no longer imagine Krena losing. Before he knew it, the knights holding Allen and Gerda had relaxed their grip. They, too, were staring at the battle in stunned amazement.
"Taaah!!!"
Krena's sword swung horizontally with her battle cry.
Clang!
"I-impossible!"
Raybrand's sword snapped in half. He couldn't help shouting as he stared at the broken weapon. The broken-off blade spun through the air and stuck into the ground. Even so, Raybrand held on to the broken sword, ready for another attack.
"That's enough!!!"
At that moment, the Knight Commander shouted, bringing the fight to an end.
"Huh? That's it already?"
Krena replied, sounding a little disappointed.
"Yes. The fight is over. Both of you, lower your swords!"
Krena ran up to Raybrand and bowed.
"Thank you! You're strong, mister!!"
Even during their pretend knight games, they always ended by thanking each other.
"I-I'm not old enough to be called mister..."
As Raybrand said this with a strained expression, he dropped to one knee.
"What?! Take the vice commander away!"
The Knight Commander hurriedly ordered the other knights to help Raybrand up and carry him somewhere. Judging by the way they had to support him by the shoulders, he could no longer stand on his own.
A knight kneeling in the dirt in front of so many villagers would look bad enough; losing to a five-year-old girl made it worse.
As Raybrand passed by, the Knight Commander patted him on the shoulder twice, probably praising him for fighting well.
Krena approached the Knight Commander, sword in hand. He stood with his weight shifted back a little, looking wary.
"Thank you!"
She returned the sword she'd borrowed. The Knight Commander took it.
"?!"
The Knight Commander desperately tried not to let it show on his face. The steel blade had been mangled in the fight, and its edge was badly chipped. More astonishing was the hilt. Like the blade, it was made of steel, but it had been warped into ripples. The steel bore marks as if a small child had squeezed it like clay. Just how hard had she been gripping it? Looking at the battered sword, he broke into a cold sweat despite the midsummer heat.
The Knight Commander handed the sword, now too bent to fit in its scabbard, to another knight.
"S-Sword Saint..."
"It was true! She beat a knight!!"
"I couldn't even see the sword!"
The villagers who'd witnessed something so shocking began exclaiming one after another. There were already more than a hundred of them, and nearly two hundred had come to watch the fight after hearing the commotion.
The battle, which had begun suddenly and without warning, ended in Krena's victory.