Chapter 9- My Daughters’ Precious Performance
This was on a certain holiday just about 2 weeks after my match with Chester.
I hated losing so much that, after losing to Chester, I renewed my pa.s.sion to reach the pinnacle of martial arts.
I trained fiercely day after day with the meaning of every exercise always in mind.
If there was no school, I would most likely forgo resting and simply train continusly. But even so, on such precious day, rather than training in the mountains, I stood on a street in Alfalia.
“…This was unforeseen.”
I stood still in front of a ma.s.sive structure, unmoving, completely at a loss at what to do.
My face was dyed with resignation as my long ears picked up the sound of someone shouting with joy. From what I heard, this building had an open roof. That must be how I could hear such enthusiastic joy from someone inside.
This building held an exhibit that had recently boomed within Mirafia, the country of elves. To be honest, the reason why I was standing there was also to see the exhibit. But–
“I never thought it would be this popular…”
No one was given preferential treatment. They all stood there in frustration. The purses from their pockets only had the simple function of letting them in or out.
It was a little too much for a kid to have. I checked inside and…as I thought, it wasn’t enough.
I checked the allowance that my parents sent me every month, but, no matter how many times I checked, it’s not like the contents would increase.
I even took a break from training to come here, wasn’t this a little too unrewarding. I got curious at the happy voices that spread out from inside the building.
“My daughter’s important performance, I really wanted to watch it today.”
I pictured my daughter, most likely at the heart of the cheerful voices, and heaved a heavy sigh.
…In the past, or so I say, but it was not that long ago. To the elves, it was something that happened recently.
It seemed that this country faced an unprecedented danger.
The cause was neither war nor disease. It was a completely new source. It was the appearance of a natural enemy—currently it is referred to as ‘Talisberg’. It was the appearance of a dragon immune to magic.
For the Elves, a race that naturally excelled at magic, the appearance of such a monster must have been catastrophic.
Villages were burnt. Roads were trampled. They had no way to stop it.
Many who were hailed as heroes challenged the dragon. Magic repelled, famous swords broken, a mountain of corpses formed.
It seemed that it was at that time that Alma appeared.
After crossing the sea to return to the elven country, Alma used her magic to strengthen her body and dealt with the dragon without even using a weapon.
Just like that, Alma came to be hailed as a hero, and now—
In order to prevent such a disaster from ever happening again, the elves had begun to train themselves in martial arts.
…Now then, after saying that much, it should be obvious what this building is.
The building was solemn and designed on a grand scale based around circular shapes.
An open ceiling. Merry voices came from within.
Yes, this building was the pride of Alphalia, the giant Coliseum.
The building was established for those that traversed the road of martial arts to polish themselves.
However, regardless of the fact that a martial art other than magic has begun to spread, it was still a relatively young practice. It was not every day that so many cheerful voices came from that splendid building.
Even so, I could hear the voices with my own ears. That was because today was the day came once a month: the day of the martial arts tournament.
I could hear the war cries of the martial artists that used these matches to show the results of their daily work as well as the excited comments from the audience mixed in.
The country may have been different, but the familiar scene made me smile. Unarmed martial arts tournaments had already become a form of entertainment.
–However, even so, it could be said that the amount of pa.s.sion was not the norm.
From what I heard from people that pa.s.sed by on the street, it seemed that this was the first time that the Coliseum had gotten so heated.
In which case, what was the reason? The answer was the martial artist that people who love martial arts tournaments most wanted to see.
…That’s right. Alma Shijima was partic.i.p.ating.
The people were excited to see Alma’s fight since she had travelled to many places.
A living legend. The strongest martial artist. The Azure priestess. Alma was called that everywhere.
People’s excitement reached the peak. Being her foster parent, no matter what, the fact that she was acknowledged brought a smile to my face… However, thanks to that, the coliseum was full this time.
I arrived an hour before the start and every seat was already taken.
That’s right, the only reason that I was here right now was to watch my daughter’s performance.
I thought I arrived with plenty of leeway but it seemed that my daughter’s popularity had far surpa.s.sed my imagination, leaving me in my current predicament.
Technically, it was not as if though there was no way to get in.
Shady men could be seen here and there selling tickets.
From what I could hear, it seemed that they had been standing in line for more than 3 days before just to get the tickets, or something like that.
And so, they sold the tickets at many times their original value.
They got the tickets not to see the show but rather to resell them. These people are called ticket scalpers. It seemed that these people were present even in the elven kingdom. It made me think that, unexpectedly, the elves were just undiplomatic and not actually all that different from humans.
…But in any case, I got caught right in the scalpers’ trap by being too optimistic.
Even if I did not see her here, I had seen her fight countless times, or rather, I had fought with her myself multiple times.
But I had to see my daughter’s precious performance with my own eyes.
Seeing as how the event was organized into what most people would call a tournament, the result was a given. I knew that Alma would win, but wanting to see it myself was only natural as a parent.
But in any case, there was no use in thinking about what one didn’t have.
If I had time to be depressed, I should just use it to train. And then, even if only one day faster, I could polish my martial arts and reveal my true ident.i.ty to Alma.
Now that it was decided, I should start right away. First, running. Now then, today would also be a busy day.
In order to get my spirits up, I started to stretch and loosen up my body. Before performing rigorous exercise, one could not avoid careful preparation. It reduced the risk of injury, increased the quality of the exercise, and even benefited one’s mental health. Stretching was truly full of benefits. I bent and stretched my legs several times then put my hands together and stretched them.
After finishing the careful exercise, I felt pleasantly warmed up.
…Alright, then shall I go? It was precisely when I turned around to head for the nearby mountains that it happened.
“A-ah! You b.a.s.t.a.r.d!”
I heard an unfamiliar voice tinged with surprise.
Well, if it were my previous life, that would be one thing, but… did I have a relationship with anyone in this life who would call me ‘b.a.s.t.a.r.d’?
The voice came from the direction where I was just about to head.
I was just about turn around and leave when I was unexpectedly stopped by that voice.
Now then, just who exactly was the owner of the voice? The face that I saw… As expected, I had no recollection of it.
“Excuse me but, who may you be?”
“Wha-! You brat! Looking down on me!”
Although, I may or may not remember this back and forth.
…Ah! I remembered. It was the person that tried to mess with me when I was walking down the street with Alma and the rest.
Since I noticed, it was not as if though I did not know him.
It was simply that I trashed him too fast for him to remain in my memory. Thinking back on it, he did have a face like this.
“Ah. I remember now. You were the guy that was trying to mess with me last time.”
“Your forgot?! As always, you are an annoying brat..!”
He still had a low melting point. As I thought, it was the same man.
However, for him to not only not reflect on it but to do the same thing twice… he was beyond saving. If it was going to be like this, should I punish him a little?
“…And? What do you want?”
“Well, nothing. Nothing really but … Since I saw your face, it’s not as if though I could just let you go home empty handed.”
He said that while clenching his fists and cracking his fingers. For someone who had just gotten beat up not too long ago, he sure was confident.
I understood why. His confidence must have something to do with the shady group standing behind him… wow, he really was a petty one.
“Huh? Do you intend to give me a souvenir or something?”
“Smart mouth little… But! Hehe, it’s fine…Soon you won’t be able to say anything anyways! Argi-san, this is the guy! The pompous little brat that got me last time.”
I guess I should have said ‘as expected’? The man turned around and called someone’s name.
From the group of nine men, which also included this pathetic man, a single person walked out.
As one would expect, this man looked shady… but, I heaved a sigh of relief at the familiar sense of shadiness.
For an elf, the man called Argi reminded me of someone I used to spar often with in my past life. There are many slender people among the elves. Looking at such an easy to understand body build made me feel like I just witnessed something rare.
This nostalgic situation reminded me of my mischievous period in my previous life. Looking at this group, they were totally itching for a fight, but I was also young once. I couldn’t hold back and let a small smile leak.
“Wh-What’s so funny, you stupid brat! Last month, this person was the runner up for the tournament that the adults are partic.i.p.ating in over there!”
The shady man spread out his hands as if to present this Argi.
The muscled man took in the fawning introduction and smiled boldly.
…However, rather than showing amazement, I muttered,
“…Runner up?”
The man’s bursting confidence… I was not sure if I could call it that but, those boasting words had a glaring caveat.
Ah, but it is not as if though I had any intention to look down onn being a runner up in and of itself, but…
I felt that it was somewhat lacking to be yelling it.
The nine men all stiffed at once… For some reason I understood that I had done something bad.
“Oi, Berry.”
“Wh-what is it, Argi-san?”
Argi called someone’s name. The one that answered was the ill-bred small fry. It seemed that the small fry’s name was Berry.
While thinking that I would just forget it tomorrow anyways, I stared at Argi, or whatever his name was, ready to burst a vein.
“He really is an annoying brat…! Oi, you guys, surround him! Don’t let him get away.”
Argi was most likely the strongest one. With one word from him, the remaining eight people seemed to be in a slight panic as they surrounded me.
I thought that this might happen. I was not surprised in the slightest. Rather, this nostalgic feeling was not so bad.
“Oi, count yourself lucky, brat. I will personally deal with you myself.”
The men intended to deal with me by forming a circle around me. For starters, it seemed that they would come at me one at a time. I raised my opinion of them.
However, the difference in stature between the man and me was literally that of an adult and a child. Even if on the inside I was an old man about his same age, the man did not know that. Getting so worked up against a kid… didn’t he feel any shame?
Although, unlike my past life where I was constantly entangled in fights, in this life such an opportunity was rare. Since he came to present himself of his own free will, I would devour him gratefully.
(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});The man clenched his fists and took his stance. He tucked his arms properly and concealed his real intentions with small movements.
He seemed to have mastered it to some extent. However, even so, I understood. This was a stance that specialized in offence.
Looking at the man’s stance, I took up the ‘flowing water’ stance that specialized in defense.
The atmosphere became even more tense.
However, the situation did not last long. Before a sense of stillness could even be born, the man kicked the ground.
It was not simple and straightforward, his movements were meant to disrupt the tempo. I wanted to give him points for covering his core.
However, moves aside, he was a little too slow.
It looked like he still had not made his movements a natural extention of his body. Consciously making the movements was inferior to acting on reflex.
“Fa-Fast! As expected of Argi-san.”
…Though, it seemed that from the perspective of this man’s lackeys, his movements were fast.
Hmm. As expected, the country was still within its growth period. Martial arts only became mainstream in the elven country after I died and Alma started being hailed as a hero. Its history was still shallow.
The distance between us was closed by Argi’s unpolished steps, and we entered into the effective range for fighting.
Argi’s right first flew a second too late. He did not seem to understand s.p.a.cing. I guess experience was absolutely necessary. When compared to Chester’s offense, this was just too green.
I met his fist with the back of my hand and drew it away in a circle.
Having his movements disrupted, he lost his balance and I immediately kicked him down. Argi’s body danced in the air.
Just as Argi’s face was dyed in surprise, I twisted his open right hand inwards.
Shijima style ‘Strength’… the impact would have been little too strong. I kneaded magic to a safe level and drove my palm into his abdomen.
Argi was blown away after taking such a hit directly with no support in midair.
Argi finally hit the ground after knocking over Berry who could not dodge him in time.
“What?! What was that?! What just happened?!”
Some nameless man from the group yelled.
Looking at it from his perspective, it seemed that he understood that something happened.
It was just that he did not want to admit that it was done by the kid standing right in front of him.
The leader of the group seemed to be the same…
Argi was hurt here and there as he stood up holding his stomach.
Did I hold back too much? But even so, it was impressive for him to be able to stand.
“s.h.i.tty Brat…! Oi, You b.a.s.t.a.r.ds! All of you, surround him! You too Berry, wake up!”
Argi kicked Berry awake as the men jumped with exaggerated movements.
Oh. Feeling powerful is fine and all but it seemed that he lacked the mettle to do things with his own hands. The fact that he chose to do things one-on-one at first was nothing more than conceit, huh?
It was not wrong to fight with many against one, but I wished he would show more pride as a martial artist.
Everyone but Argi drew their weapons and closed the distance towards me.
It was truly a pathetic scene. It seemed that these men could not view themselves objectively.
“That defense technique won’t work against multiple opponents, right? …Go!”
At Argi’s signal the men jumped at me with various expressions.
However, it was clear that they did not practice cooperation. Not only was everyone acting as an individual, they were not aiming for the same thing at all.
Like that, they could not even add their strengths together. Their movements hindered one another. One plus one did not reach 2 like that. Not only that but…
“Hggh!”
“Bgh!”
That my defensive techniques couldn’t be used against multiple opponents? I didn’t know if I should laugh at that joke. I took the hand of the men trying to attack me from the left and right with a knife and pulled to make them crash head first into each other.
A dull thump rang and the men collapsed into the ground. That made two.
A front kick was thrown to my back one beat too late. I twisted my body to dodge and, just like winding a yarn, moved behind him.
The rest was simple. Using the momentum from the man’s own attack, he took an attack from behind. That made three.
Next were the two men attacking together. I dodged the first one’s wild swing. It seemed that they really did not understand the concept of working together.
The knife I dodged cut into the other man’s nose leaving behind a red trail. While frowning at their stupidity I knocked out the man grimacing in agony with a palm strike.
I pivoted on my other leg and stepped on the idiot that cut his own partner. He tried to run reflexibly and collapsed as I drove my palm straight into his defenseless body. 5 people.
Now then, I tried to sharpen my senses but I did not feel any intent to attack.
When I looked around, it seemed that the other four people saw the situation and lost their will to attack.
“O-Oi, Berry, what is this guy?!”
Seeing half of his men collapsed the boss yelled in deep rage.
Being yelled at, Berry spoke inaudibly while looking at his collapsed friends and at Argi.
…Hmm. I may have been a little childish… Any more than this would have been a waste of time. There was nothing to get from it. I heaved a sigh and dropped my stance.
They must have had their guard raised to the maximum. The remaining men all trembled at once.
“This does not even count as practice. Any more than this would be a waste.”
I looked around and made it clear to the rest of the men by dropping my stance and voicing it aloud that I had no intention to fight.
It would have been in everyone’s best interest to leave it at that but…
“Don’t screw around you brat..! You think you won with just this much!?”
Putting the rest aside, Argi seemed to have no intention to leave it at that.
Seriously. Wasting my kindness like that. I seemed that I had to teach them a bitter lesson. I took up my stance again.
Looking at the situation, the rest of the men sighed. Even if they did bring upon themselves, being loyal to the higher-ups is ruff.
Though, his authority was not bad for them to come at me even after seeing the difference between us.
I wondered if they thought that they had a chance of victory? Either way, since they picked a fight, I would not let my guard down.
Now then, what could be the ace up their sleeve? I stared down the men.
From that look, Argi took a step back and called out to Berry.
“Berry, how many of the Crystals are there left?”
“Huh? … Ah! Yes, there are five left.”
“That’s more than enough. Oi, you b.a.s.t.a.r.ds, gather up!”
After taking orders from the leader, the scattered men gathered around Argi.
During that time, I could have taken down several of them but, I was interested in the men’s hidden ace.
Was it a strategy? A weapon? Or perhaps something else? When Argi gave the order, Berry took out a bag that seemed to have something inside.
Inside was a murky blood colored crystal. A cold aura wrapped around the men and Argi looked towards me.
He spoke as if to show off those murky blood colored clumps.
“Hehe… It’s your fault you d.a.m.n kid… I can’t have you looking down on us…”
Is it some kind of magic tool? I looked at the cautious men.
When I did, they swallowed the crystals. Their magic power instantly and violently soared. The quality and quant.i.ty were completely different from just a moment ago, just like a tiger cub changing into a ferocious tiger in the blink of an eye.
“…Just what is this?”
If we were to only look at the amount of magic power, it was enough to rival the masters that I met in my previous life.
Looking at the men’s personality there was no need to go to the trouble of hiding it.
In which case, the reason that these men were clad in magic power was those crystals after all.
“Huhu, Hahahaha. It’s your fault you snot nosed kid. There’s no stopping now.”
The men started to prepare to fight… Being hit by that output would really hurt.
Just like the burning a moment ago, the men jumped out at once.
Under the strengthening from the magic power their bodies physical abilities went up. Perhaps because of that but, their movements were extremely fast.
Looking at the men approaching, I switched gears in my mind. I raised the amount of magic power that I clad around myself. The scuffle changed into a real fight.
“Now then!”
The first one to take down was Argi after all.
As if to showing their power, the men kneaded their fists as they left behind a black wind. Just like it seemed, it had impressive force behind it. Taking it directly would be bad.
…That is only if I took it directly.
Their fists grew near along with a roaring wind. Their simple straight forward strength was swept up by a smaller force and came under my control.
There was no need to use much strength; all I had to do was direct it.
Almost as if a lead rope pulled his body, Argi lost his posture when his strength lost its aim.
After he lost his balance, Argi spun in midair like a runaway wheel.
His body spun rapidly. I put my hand on the most important part, the head.
–I slammed it.
His body was several kilos but he slammed headfirst into the pavement. After making a sound that a human should not make against the pavement, Argi stopped moving.
I am sure that I did not take his like but he should not be getting up for a while.
“…huh?”
One of his subordinates raised a wild cry.
A head slammed into the ground. He was too slow to understand the events before him.
“Huuuuh?!”
His voice rang and he blinked in amazement.
It was true that their magic power soared. Even I could take a fatal wound from taking it head on.
However, it was pointless if it did not hit.
Rather, for the Shijima style that controls the flow of strength, the enemy’s strength could become our weapon.
Their magic power soared but their actual abilities stayed the same. It was only natural. The crystals were impressive for raising the magic power of men of this level. However, at the end of the day what decided the battle was everyday training.
“…Now then, for the remaining three.”
I took my hand back after I slammed Argi and stood upright.
As expected, I could not let this power pa.s.s.
“Shall I have you taste a little punishment then?”
I showed my teeth and displayed an aggressive smile.
The men that surrounded a young boy were trembling pathetically at the shoulders.
Even so, the men did not run, whether it was because their legs froze or for some other reason, they saved me the trouble.
That is when I noticed the nine men taking a nap together.
Now then, the surroundings should have gotten noisy. Before it became troublesome I should have just taken care of it.
…and before that.
“It should be this man…This is it.”
I would just burrow one of these suspicious stones.
A stone that could raise magic power with a single dose. I had never seen or heard of such a thing before.
I was not looking for strength from relaying on an object. However, that demonic magic power caught my attention.
Chester who was more familiar with the underside of society might know what that stone was.
I would meet Chester at some point. I could just ask him about it then.
After hearing that the guards would be here soon from the noise of the people around, I ran off.
I was headed for Mt. Alback. My warm up ran longer than I thought it would but I could just begin my training from now.
I sped away as I regretted that I could not see Alma’s big moment.