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After naming each party, we continued to receive constant extermination quests starting from the next day that also served as training for Kuro.

While we were generally only going within a day’s distance, we occasionally encountered other monsters such as lower-ranked wolf and boar types, and even Kobolds, not just Goblins. So, we were gaining experience at a reasonable pace.

After finishing the extermination and returning to the town, depending on how many materials we had accumulated, we sometimes went to the guild to exchange them for money or didn’t bother.

Afterward, instead of immediately returning home, we went to a fighting space on the outskirts of town where we reunited with Kuro and Ryuu, and had a match against suitable adventurers. Well, when I say match, it’s actually just Arisa and Kuro who fight.

Lily and I were originally magic-user types in the rear guard position, so we weren’t suitable for these matches and mainly just watched. Occasionally, every few days, instead of watching, I left Arisa and Kuro there and went to bulk shop for ingredients and stuff with Lily.

…Well, to be honest, my [Storage] is filled to the brim with ingredients, so… yeah. With the current party size, it’s enough to last for about half a year to a year, give or take.

Huh? Too much? Well, you see, during the times of crop failure, it can get really serious if there’s a shortage of food. There were two years of crop failure when I was in the orphanage, and I seriously thought I might starve to death… This isn’t modern-day Japan with abundance, you know.

In any case, today I was watching the match between the two of them. And right now, I’m watching Kuro.

Kuro’s opponent today was a male adventurer, around 13 to 14 years old, a swordsman.

Due to the age and gender differences, there were differences in physique and strength, and if you think about it normally, Kuro was at a distinct disadvantage… but, how should I put it, yeah. Actually seeing them fight, Kuro dominated with speed and agility.

Firstly, the opponent’s attacks hardly ever landed.

The boy wielded a somewhat shorter b̲a̲s̲t̲a̲r̲d̲ sword, or perhaps a slightly longer longsword, with both hands… He attacked with big swings, small swings, or feints, but Kuro effortlessly dodged them all. It felt like Kuro could predict his every move.

On the other hand, when Kuro attacked head-on, she targeted the opponent’s hands, neck, and while maneuvering into the opponent’s blind spots, she struck with precision at areas not covered by armor or joints, steadily wearing down her opponent.

Kuro’s weapon was kept sheathed to avoid causing excessive injuries to the opponent. They’ve wrapped cloth around it with a rope, but you could still hear pretty painful sounds.

Yeah, there’s no way Kuro was losing due to the difference in strength. Kuro was kind of visually deceiving in that sense.

Kuro’s strong strikes. They’re delivered by flexing almost all of Kuro’s muscles like springs. Arisa has been teaching Kuro that since joining the clan. And those strikes landed accurately on joints and vital points. In game terms, it would be like a “Critical Hit!”

Almost all of Kuro’s attacks landed like that. I guess it’s a bit hard to understand, huh…

“Wow, that’s insane…”
“No, no, that cat girl should ease up a bit…”
“The opponent… isn’t that the one from Rob’s place that was the talk of the town a few times? Rob praised them for being pretty strong, right?”
“That should be the one… Hey, do you know who that girl is?”
“Hmm, I don’t know… Wait a sec. I think I saw her at Gim’s place, maybe…”

Thud!

“…Did she just block that like that?”
“Damn, that little one’s something else…”

Crash!

“Wow, and then she did that from there… Seriously, that’s too much…”

Hmm, the voices of the surrounding old-time adventurers were really painful to the ears.

By the way, regarding the conversation of the old-timers about Kuro’s battle, here’s what happened: the boy tried to use his size and strength advantage to forcefully throw Kuro and then tried to deliver a full-power blow. However, Kuro countered by striking the boy’s fingers holding the hilt with a powerful blow, forcing him to release his weapon. Then, from close range, Kuro used her entire body to thrust into the boy’s solar plexus, securing the victory.

The sound of the first strike, heard in the midst of the old-timers’ conversation, was when Kuro struck the fingers. The second strike sound was from the thrust to the solar plexus.

The opponent collapsed after receiving such merciless attacks.

…I hope the boy’s fingers aren’t broken or anything, right? Judging by the way he’s clutching his stomach, it seems he hasn’t lost consciousness, but… Is he really okay?

Oh, some of the old-timers are approaching him.

“Hey, kid, are you okay? Let me take a look… Oof, this is bad, a couple of your fingers are broken.”
“Damn, girl, you’ve done it now. There is gonna be a fine. Don’t you know you’re not supposed to cause such serious injuries?”
“Right hand, from the middle finger to the pinky, left hand, from the index finger to the ring finger… Fortunately, the joints seem to be fine.”
“Hey, show us your stomach… Wow, it’s bruised badly here too. Are your internal organs okay? Girl, you should have gone a bit easier.”

Kuro, looking disheartened by the scolding from the old-timers, returned to our side. Hmm, there’s an old-timer accompanying Kuro.

“Ren, I won…”
“Yes, congratulations. But you went a bit too far.”
“Ugh… I’m sorry…”
“Let’s be more careful next time.”
“Yeah…”

Wow, Kuro looks really down. It’s understandable since some strangers scolded her and gathered around her.

But it seems Kuro wasn’t very good at holding back… It’s like a playful cat suddenly biting hard. I should probably let Arisa know about this and include it in her training.

“Oh, can I ask you something? Are you here as this girl’s companion?”

Ah, the old-timer who came with Kuro just approached me.

“Yes.”
“It’s a bit awkward to say this, but… that cat lady over there went a bit too far, and she needs to pay a fine and medical expenses for this. Are you okay with that?”
“Yes, of course. How much is the fine?”
“It’s five small gold coins… Can you really afford it?”
“Yes, it’s fine… Here you go.”
“…Oh, indeed. And about the medical expenses…”
“Ah, about that, can I pay with physical potions?”
“Potion payment, huh… You can do that, but if it turns out that it doesn’t fully heal him, you’ll still have to pay for the remaining medical expenses, so I wouldn’t recommend it too much.”

I see, so that’s how it is. Well, let’s give it a try for now.

“In that case, let’s start by having him drink the potion, and judge based on the result…”
“If you’re saying that much, I don’t mind… But I won’t be responsible no matter what happens.”

Well, if it doesn’t work, then so be it. It’s my own intermediate-level potion, and even if it doesn’t work, it’s not like it’ll hurt my wallet or anything.