Shing.
Hera-san drew the rapier from the sheath at her waist and leveled its tip straight at Emilia-sama.
Emilia-sama, meanwhile, simply let her arms hang loosely at her sides, standing in a completely relaxed posture. A wide circle had formed around them. Everyone in the square—except for us—had retreated at least five meters away.
Not a single person spoke. Holding their breath, the townspeople watched to see how the confrontation between Emilia and Hera would unfold.
I exchanged a glance with Ao and, just to be safe, scanned the surroundings for any other suspicious figures.
Nothing.
No hidden accomplices.
The guards were probably already interrogating Hera-san’s bodyguards for the location of their hideout, so I decided to leave that matter to them.
Hera-san flicked her rapier through the air several times, the blade whistling sharply as she tested its balance. Emilia didn’t move an inch. Her stance remained perfectly natural, as if she weren’t facing an armed opponent at all. That alone made the difference between them painfully obvious.
The crowd swallowed hard.
“““Ooh…”””
A collective whisper escaped from the onlookers. Even without understanding swordsmanship, anyone could tell that the atmosphere had changed.
The next moment would decide everything.
The battle between the two began abruptly when Hera thrust her rapier at high speed. Hera-san’s rapier skills were quite impressive, as expected from someone who boasts so much, but even I could probably dodge at that speed.
In fact, Emilia-sama was easily dodging the rapier. Even in her dress and high heels, she seemed quite at ease.
The townspeople were watching the unfolding events with bated breath.
“Take this, ha! Ha! Ha! Ha!!”
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh.
As Emilia-sama continued to easily dodge the rapier, Hera-san gradually grew impatient. The situation had been at a stalemate for five minutes already.
“Hmph.”
Smack.
Clang, clang.
Bang!
“Ah!”
Then, the instant the opportunity presented itself, Emilia-sama moved. With a lightning-fast knife-hand strike, she chopped Hera across the wrist. The rapier flew from Hera-san’s grasp with a sharp metallic clang. Without missing a beat, Emilia-sama kicked the disarmed rapier across the ground toward me.
I caught on immediately and stooped to pick it up before Hera-san had any chance of reclaiming it.
Clutching her stinging wrist, Hera glared at Emilia, frustration written all over her face.
“““Wooooo! Emilia-sama!”””
“““Amazing!”””
The crowd erupted into thunderous cheers at Emilia-sama’s flawless display. Even Shiro and the others found themselves applauding enthusiastically.
“Damn it… Then take thiiiis!”
Fwoom!
Whoosh!
The louder the crowd cheered for Emilia-sama, the darker Hera-san’s expression became. Grinding her teeth, she swiftly conjured a blazing fireball nearly a meter in diameter.
With a furious shout, she hurled the roaring sphere of flames straight at Emilia-sama.
“Hmph!”
Crack!
BOOM!
“W-What?!”
Emilia-sama drove her fist upward in a powerful uppercut, striking the incoming fireball head-on. The blazing sphere shot into the sky before exploding high overhead in a shower of flames.
Hera-san stared in utter disbelief.
…Then again, anyone seeing Emilia-sama deflect offensive magic like that for the first time would have reacted the same way.
“““That’s our Emilia-sama!”””
“““She’s amazing!”””
The square exploded with excitement. The townspeople roared their approval, while Shiro and the others cheered just as enthusiastically.
Hera-san was undoubtedly a formidable opponent in her own right. But standing before Emilia-sama, her abilities might as well have meant nothing at all.
This is translated by Yume Neiji. Kindly read at yumeneijiworks.com
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