Chapter 9
The morning of the third day.
The dirt floor of the backyard behind our lodgings was covered in layer upon layer of footprints and scrape marks.
Elena lowered her sword and caught her breath.
A trickle of sweat fell from the tip of her chin.
"Today's finally the day."
"I know."
Elena's eyes, as she answered curtly, were different from how they had been two days ago.
The determination in the hand gripping her sword and the confidence in the gaze she raised to my face had both changed slightly. Some unease remained, but she had firmly grasped the fundamentals of how to fight.
'She surpassed C-rank in only three days...'
It usually took at least two months just to learn footwork.
But she had brought it up to a level she could use in actual combat in a single day.
Genius didn't begin to cover it.
This was abnormal.
"One last thing."
I said as I sheathed my sword.
"Don't fall for his provocations."
"His provocations?"
"Darko has a nasty personality. He'll exploit your weaknesses and try to shake you. He may even have investigated your background without you knowing. For instance, why you're earning money for medicine."
"...."
When I alluded to her little sister, Elena's expression stiffened.
"No matter what he says, don't take the bait. Focus only on your sword. The moment your emotions take over, your rhythm will fall apart."
Elena's lips pressed into a straight line.
She had stiffened just from the brief mention of her little sister. That was her greatest weakness.
"You worry too much."
"But..."
"Don't pay attention to anything he says. It's all bluster. If he were really plotting something, it would already be over. So if he threatens you, just get angry at him."
"Get angry?"
"Imagine him threatening you over the reason you earn money for medicine."
"...."
Elena gritted her teeth.
"By then, you might not even have a reason to earn money for medicine."
"Th-then what should I do?"
"Get angry."
"Is that okay? That's different from what you said before."
"Well, you can decide that much for yourself. Do I have to spell out every little thing?"
"Hmm..."
"Whatever happens, don't be flustered by his bluster, don't let him intimidate you, and stand your ground. Got it?"
Elena let out a relieved sigh and answered, "Yes, I understand."
"Let's go."
We headed to the guild.
***
The guild's backyard was already abuzz with excitement.
The news seemed to have spread by word of mouth over the past three days.
The backyard, which would normally have been empty and peaceful, was now encircled by adventurers and ordinary citizens who had crowded in around its edges.
"I hear Darko's taking on Eck's girl?"
"They say Eck taught her himself. Is she really that skilled?"
"Who do you think will win?"
"Darko, obviously. That bastard Eck couldn't teach a thing."
Jeina set up the betting pool and collected the silver coins.
Darko had not arrived yet.
Instead, Jeina walked to the center of the yard and raised her voice.
"All right, before the main event! We need to warm up a little, don't we? Any novice adventurers here today who know how to throw a punch! Come on out!"
A chorus of whistles erupted.
It was entertainment.
In a world with so few diversions, people were starved even for small events like this.
The bookmakers made money off the bets, while the novice adventurers saw their chance.
One hot-blooded novice adventurer shot his hand into the air. Another stepped forward from the opposite side.
When the two faced each other in the middle of the backyard, the spectators showered them with jeers.
"What kind of lousy equipment is that?!"
"If you don't fight properly, we'll beat you half to death ourselves!"
Despite the jeers, the novice adventurers who took the stage sweated buckets, backed by the encouragement of their parties' seniors.
The youngest members of bitterly rival parties had been sent out.
A battle for party pride.
The novice adventurers collided with all their strength from the very first exchange.
But one of them swung his wooden sword with his eyes squeezed shut in fear, while the other tripped over his own feet trying to dodge it.
"Hey! Is this really a fight?!"
"Hahaha! A dogfight's the best kind when brats fight!"
Laughter erupted.
They rolled around, got back up, and clumsily thrust and blocked. There was nothing worth calling skill, but that only made it more entertaining.
The adventurers gulped down their drinks, cheering, applauding, and jeering as they used the youngsters' fight as drinking entertainment.
Elena was watching the novice adventurers spar.
Her expression had gone rigid.
"Nervous?"
"No."
"That's an obvious lie."
Elena could barely breathe properly and kept taking deep breaths.
"What do you think when you look at those guys?"
"...."
Elena answered, puzzled, as she watched the novice adventurers fight.
"Why are they fighting like that?"
"How does it look to you?"
"They're doing that on purpose, right?"
I couldn't help but chuckle.
"They'd be crushed if they heard you."
"They're not?"
I shrugged.
"That's an ordinary fight between F-ranks. Study it carefully."
"But I'm I-rank."
"Do you finally understand that you're not ordinary?"
I gave Elena a push between the shoulder blades.
"Go."
"Aren't you coming with me?"
"I have other business to attend to. I don't have time to concern myself with some pushover."
The corners of Elena's mouth drooped.
"Get a hold of yourself. If you've taken even a little of what I've said to heart, that guy isn't remotely your match."
Elena asked cautiously.
"Uncle."
"What?"
"If I lose, you won't abandon me, will you?"
"Hmm..."
Now that's a pleasant thing to hear.
"If you can't win a fight whose outcome is already decided, there won't be any point in investing in you anymore. Are you afraid I'll abandon you?"
"Th-that's not it."
"It's a pointless worry. Think about that after you win."
I left her in the guild's backyard and turned my back on her.
***
After the novice adventurers' entertainment ended, the yard fell quiet for a moment.
Jeina spread both arms in the center of the yard.
"Now, today's main event! The guild's swordsmanship instructor, Darko, versus Elena, disciple of Black Wolf, one of only three A-rank adventurers in the city! Come on out!"
Cheers erupted.
Elena made her way through the crowd and stood in the middle of the yard.
She took a moment to catch her breath.
A tall man entered from the opposite side at a leisurely pace.
It was Darko.
He stopped in front of Elena and swept his gaze around the yard.
"He's not here?"
Darko curled his lips in a mocking smile.
"Where's your master? I thought that bastard would at least show up to watch."
Before Elena could speak, Darko clicked his tongue.
"Don't tell me he didn't show up? Hahaha, you've got to be kidding me. His disciple is sparring with me, and he doesn't even show his face. Is that any way for a master to behave?"
Darko folded his arms and looked down at Elena.
"That bastard knows it won't do any good no matter how much he teaches you. He has no talent for teaching, after all. So he stayed away because he didn't want to watch, right?"
The spectators listened to Darko and let out low chuckles in agreement.
Elena did not answer.
She didn't know Eck's intentions either. Maybe he really had left her behind because he couldn't bear to watch her lose.
She gritted her teeth and stared straight into Darko's eyes.
'Uncle said he had something else to take care of.'
She didn't know what it was, but...
'Don't fall for his provocations.'
Uncle's words echoed in her ears.
She mustn't mistake the sincerity behind the lessons he had given her over the past three days.
'Don't get the wrong idea. If you lose, I'll be embarrassed, won't I? That's why I'm going to pound him into the ground.'
Elena drew her sword.
"Begin!"
Jeina declared the start of the match.
Darko drew his sword as well.
Slowly.
As if to show how relaxed he was.
Elena moved first.
She closed the distance with footwork.
Darko's sword came down diagonally.
Using her footwork, she evaded the sword and immediately drove in fiercely. Her wooden practice sword narrowly grazed the tip of Darko's chin.
'He's better than I expected... No, don't let your guard down. He only missed because he was careless!'
Darko's eyes narrowed.
His sword came hurtling at her.
'Deflect it... then thrust.'
Just as she'd learned.
She deflected Darko's sword and thrust her wooden sword into the back of his shoulder.
"That bastard Eck seems to have taught you pretty well. Did he even teach you my weakness?!"
Darko shouted loudly enough for all the spectators to hear.
"I'm not going easy on you anymore!"
Darko approached first,
and then he smiled.
He whispered softly, just loud enough for Elena to hear.
"How's your little sister doing?"
Elena's wooden sword stopped.
In that instant, Darko's wooden sword thrust toward her.
She pivoted on her ankle to avoid the wooden sword and retreated.
"What did you say?"
"Your little sister. The one lying in bed because she's sick. What was her name again? Ah, right."
Darko swung his wooden sword as he advanced on Elena.
"Ellis."
"...!"
"I heard you became an adventurer to earn money for your little sister's medicine. How touching. Your little sister must be so happy, too. Her big sister is working herself to the bone to earn money, and you're blowing it all on your medicine."
"...."
Her blood boiled.
Elena's hand trembled. The strength drained from the fingers gripping the sword hilt.
'How did he find out?'
She hadn't told anyone.
He might have dug into her past.
Eck had warned her.
Not to fall for Darko's provocations.
But what Darko was using to control her was none other than her little sister.
She was the reason Elena had become an adventurer—and her only remaining family. The precious name of her little sister came from Darko's mouth.
"Don't you dare touch her."
Her low voice trembled.
Darko tilted his head.
"Don't touch her? I've already done that. While you were busy fooling around with Eck, I checked where your little sister is, you know? By now, she should be getting along famously with my men."
Her heart seemed to drop with a thud.
The tip of Elena's wooden sword sank.
"You're lying..."
It had to be a lie.
"You wish it were a lie, don't you? But what can you do? It's true. If I say a single word now, what happens to your little sister... Well, I'll leave that to your imagination."
Darko swung his wooden sword at Elena.
She failed to deflect it and blocked it, only to be driven back by the difference in strength.
"Ah, of course, I'm not telling you to let me win. Keep suffering like this."
Darko kicked her.
She blocked with her wooden sword, but the arms bracing it trembled.
Elena's vision wavered.
The strength left her hands.
Her mind went blank.
Her little sister's face came to mind.
The image of her, pale-faced, clutching her blanket and coughing, filled Elena's vision.
Her footwork, her deflections, everything she had honed over the past three days drained from her mind.
Darko approached.
The distance closed. Elena could neither retreat nor raise her sword.
It was then.
'Don't fall for his provocations.'
Her trembling hand stopped.
She readjusted her grip on the sword hilt.
Uncle's words came back to her.
If Darko was threatening her with her little sister, then Ellis might already have disappeared into their hands.
Darko had said so himself.
That he'd already done something to her.
Ellis might already be dead.
Her lovely little sister, who had seen her off that very morning.
The thread holding Elena's sanity snapped with a sharp twang.