| Author: Sasaki Ichiro | Original Source: Syosetu |
| Translator: Tony Yon | English Source: MadoSpicy TL |
| Editor(s): Crash, Liomad | |
“I guess this place will do.” The giant figure who wore dark blue robes–the Beast King, nodded and said that after looking around for a while.
“No problem. Or rather, this will end in three minutes, right? We don’t have to go this far.”
The one who said that lightly was Hiyuki who wore a short skirt lined above the knee with a rose arrangement—Rose of War Fire (Anne of Geierstein).
“Well, the lineup is a bit special after all. We can’t let others see.”
He looked at Hiyuki and the one who followed her closely from behind. It was a fair-skinned beastkin with nine fox tails, the divine beast Utsuho, who had transformed into her human form and was smiling wryly.
That said, the Beast King himself who stood at the top of beastkin will also draw attention even if he doesn’t mean to.
“Umm, lady divine beast…”
Asmina, the lionkin tribe’s shrine maiden, showed an unusually timid attitude while addressing Utsuho.
“What is it, shrine maiden of the lions?”
“After this tournament ends, by all means, I implore you, please visit our tribe. All the members of our tribe will welcome your presence with our utmost respect.”
“—Hmm. As long there will be a banquet of freshly harvested goods and sacred wine, I won’t mind, however…”
Pressing the folded fan to her mouth, she looked at Asmina in a pleased manner—by the way, she is pleased with Asmina, since she is a ‘piquant child,’ or so she said while squinting her eyes—and continued, “I am the Princess’ retainer, so I can’t do it without Princess’ permission.”
–In a flash, Asmina’s gaze fell (height-wise) automatically to Hiyuki’s beautiful face.
“Only if he can hold on for three minutes. If he can’t or if he does something unsightly, well, you know the answer yourself.”
Hearing Hiyuki’s answer the blood drained from Asmina’s face, and she quickly grabbed her brother’s chest tightly and shook it roughly, although Revan, who stood beside her, hadn’t caught up with the situation.
“Did you hear that! Did you get it, brother Revan!? Our tribe’s life or death is on the line, or rather the entire beastkin tribe’s reason for existence is in peril right now!! If Lady Hiyuki abandons us then our tribe will meet its end. If the divine beast abandons us you will be labeled as the one disgracing our tribe and those labels will stick onward with our descendants!! Do you understand!?”
“I know! I know! I just need to win, right!?” Revan broke free from her hands with force and answered as if they were troublesome things.
“Ah, this idiot brother of mine really doesn’t understand a thing! Do you think you have a chance this late in the game!?” In an instant, understanding his hopelessness, Asmina crumbled down in despair.
In a place a little bit away from them, Hiyuki uncomfortably talked to the Beast King.
“How should I put it, even the simpleton who didn’t think about anything (Joey) and the idiot who was too trusting (Prince Acyl) both have lovable parts in them, but this is the first time I’ve seen a nitwit that entirely doesn’t have a clear understanding of his opponent at all. Is this personality perhaps created by the environment?”
“…I am truly ashamed.” The Beast King lowered his head with a sour expression.
“I planned to only beat him up a little, but it seems if I don’t completely destroy him it won’t do. –By the way, since we study from the same mentor, though it’s not quite satisfactory, he’s still my senior apprentice. Is it fine for me to beat him to a pulp?”
“This is not a personal affair after all, so the two of you should show your full capacity and compare them for me to see. If you hold back I think it will disgrace me.”
“—Eh!? Lady Hiyuki is also grand-uncle’s disciple!? Then you’re senior and junior apprentices with brother!?”
Hearing their conversation Asmina said that in a hysteric voice. Revan also started to show vigilance in his eyes.
“Well I just received his training recently, so I think it’s still presumptuous to claim to be a junior disciple.”
Hiyuki shrugged her shoulders lightly.
“I see. –Also, it’s not a junior disciple but a junior sister disciple.” Hiyuki’s eyes avoided Asmina as she corrected her about it.
“…Ah, right. Junior sister disciple, yup.”
“That’s right. That is why there’s no need to hold back.”
Hearing the Beast King’s solemn voice, Revan took his stance with his two fists clenched and said ‘Understood’. However, as expected he was still looking down on her—she’s a new disciple and a girl—that kind of aura was still visible from him.
“Then I too am ready.”
Hiyuki also took her stance, however, she had her palms open.
“Princess, are you not going to use ‘Gilles de Reis’?”
Utsuho tilted her head in confusion.
“Well, today is just something like a greeting. –Then, here I come!”
“Come!”
In an instant, Hiyuki kicked the ground and closed the gap of 5 meters in almost 0 seconds using her leg’s strength..
And at the same time, she waved her right hand at Revan’s face, who was still dumbfounded. Asmina, who looked on from the distance, couldn’t even see the afterimage as Hiyuki’s palm traveled to and fro eight times.
One moment later, a clear slapping sound resounded.
“Ha!”
And the next moment, together with her yell, Hiyuki sent a low kick toward Revan’s right leg—at the backside around the ligament–and drove it upward.
Revan who lost his balance looked at his flank and saw Hiyuki’s right leg which was covered by her skirt was raised lightly,
Whoosh.
And a roundhouse kick flew at him.
GAN! Together with a heavy sound, Revan’s face was repelled and his feet even left the ground.
Furthermore, with her right leg still folded, she used her left leg as an axis and turned around like a comet. Without killing her momentum, she added centrifugal force to drive another roundhouse kick toward Revan’s abdomen.
DON!
A heavy and blunt noise as if beating a drum resounded. And Revan’s body was sent flying around 10 meters from the ground. And when his body finally landed, because he was unable to mitigate the force, he dug a trench with his body and in the end rolled into the ground like a rag before stopping.
“…It’s settled, huh.”
Utsuho muttered while covering her mouth with the folding fan, yawning in boredom.
“Far from three minutes, he didn’t even last ten seconds.” The Beast King offered his agreement blandly.
“Well, I guess so—?” Hiyuki sighed in lamentation.
Good grief, what a dull result. The three of them showed similar expressions.
At that time—
Rustle.
They noticed some movement from the cloud of dust.
And when they looked at it, they saw Revan who should have lost consciousness trying to stand up. He has a surprising amount of resilience—or not, the three of them glanced to their side.
The one who stood there was Asmina with both her hands open and aimed toward her brother. From her palms, a faint mist of light flowed toward her brother.
“…Ahaha, actually, I usually cast strengthening magic on my brother before he fights, but I completely forgot this time. That’s why I cast it midway… Is it perhaps not allowed?”
Asmina made an excuse with a troubled expression.
Everyone here can see what she used just now is not strengthening magic, but healing magic. However, Utsuho let it slide with no interest, the Beast King just shrugged his shoulder lightly, and Hiyuki—
“I see, well since it’s just an accident then that’s fine. I’ll allow it this time.”
But I won’t allow it a second time. Knowing what Hiyuki implied, Asmina nodded with a stiff expression.
“…Tch, I was unprepared…!”
Thanks to Asmina’s healing magic, Revan who recovered from the damage wiped the blood on his mouth and tried to stand up.
“Unprepared…? Please stop saying something like that, brother Revan!”
Looking at Revan’s attitude, he didn’t seem too willing to listen to Asmina’s reprimands. Hiyuki’s eyes closed halfway and she pointed her finger towards herself, “It seems I need to hit both sides or it will be meaningless. Previously I was the one who attacked, now it’s your turn.”
“Don’t get cocky–!”
Using something similar to thunder legs or echo step, Revan strongly kicked the ground and as if he was gliding, he reached Hiyuki’s range.
‘–Don’t screw with me! I’ve been training hard since I was five for more than ten years! There’s no way I will lose to someone who just started training yesterday!’ While screaming that in his heart, he used the skill he learned directly from the Beast King, a trusting technique used for beheading, toward Hiyuki with all his power.
“You have a lot of useless movements.” While lightly commenting on his strike, Hiyuki turned to the side when his attack almost hit her and caught his right wrist,
“What…?!”
Not giving him any chance to react, Hiyuki swept his leg and threw him to the ground with a one-armed shoulder throw.
“Gaaaaagh….!?!”
While Revan was writhing in agony on the ground, Hiyuki looked at the Beast King,
“Actually, about this technique’s weakness, if the opponent fixed their position at the point of impact or let it slide, it would be turned into a simple striking technique. –Well, since the current opponent is inexperienced I don’t even need to use parallel thought.”
“That’s true. Well it might indeed be better to learn the foundation rather than various small techniques when still young, since leaving it to power and speed is more effective…but to think his skill has become this dull.”
“Good grief, a loser who doesn’t understand their position is painful to watch.”
Hearing Hiyuki’s voice, the Beast King’s disgusted response, and Utsuho’s sneer…
“Damn you…!” With an angry expression he forcibly stood up and threw all the emotion he felt toward Hiyuki, “I won’t forgive you!!”
After shouting he ran towards Hiyuki. His movements can’t be called refined, having both his self-confidence and pride destroyed, he left it all to his emotions, just like a wounded beast.
However, towards that center thrust which was done half-reflexively, Hiyuki turned counterclockwise to evade it, then drove her left elbow towards Revan’s stomach, “There— we go!”
“Guha…!” Thrown a few meters by the impact, the air in Revan’s lungs left his body, and quickly his consciousness was covered by a veil of darkness.
…
“… -ther”
.
“Brother!”
.
“Hang in there, brother Revan!”
On the verge of falling into the darkness, hearing her sister’s familiar voice and feeling the warm drop of something fall from her cheek, Revan opened his hazy eyes.
It seems he was sprawled on his back. And Asmina was crying and calling while covering him up. Though he lost consciousness only for a few seconds, apparently it reset his anger and returned his emotions to a blank state,
She’s crying. For my sake…. I made her cry.
Asmina cared about him from the bottom of her heart. When he noticed her figure he felt something ripping his heart.
And then at that time, he noticed, while the Beast King reprimanded him, at the same time his strict gaze never abandoned him. Also, the consideration and worry in Hiyuki’s eyes, while she beat him up. Noticing all of that, he felt a shame he never felt before.
–what the hell am I doing…
I became conceited because I was called the ‘Beast King’s Successor,’ and believed that I was strong and could do anything if I felt like it. It is because of that pride that I disregarded the people around me and lived as I pleased.
And the result was that no one, not even me, cared about me.
And then because of my confidence in being strong, when I was defeated by this girl who was smaller than me, I couldn’t accept my defeat but resented her instead. What an unsightly person I have become.
Resenting others won’t make me move forward. Rather, what awaits me is only self-destruction.
When he noticed that, he felt a fire ignite in his body.
–I can’t let it end like this!
His eyes opened. There’s no longer any cloudiness in it.
“I am fine, Asmina. Don’t worry.” He smiled and patted her head like he did when they were still children.
“…Brother Revan?”
Resisting the urge to vomit, and the cold sweat flowing in his body, Revan stood up and bowed toward Hiyuki.
“Your Highness, may I ask for one more chance?”
“Sure. With pleasure.”
Toward Hiyuki who smiled happily, he once again expressed his thanks.
“The next head of the Nu Gruv tribe, Revan, coming!”
“Imperial Crimson Sovereign, Hiyuki. I accept that challenge!”
Finishing their greetings, Revan stepped in. Actually, his condition is no longer suited for battle, but with his remaining willpower he sent a straight thrust toward Hiyuki.
It’s different from before, his speed has fallen, and yet there are no more useless movements, a move faithful to the basics. Hiyuki smiled and sent a similar thrust.
And the time their techniques met, a dry slapping sound resounded between them.
Then…in front of Asmina who waited with bated breath, Revan’s body slowly slid and fell.
He already passed the limits of his mind and body, but the expression he showed is one of satisfaction.
Leaving the rest to Asmina who rushed towards Revan, Hiyuki smiled wryly from feeling the numbness in her left hand which was used to parry Revan’s strike.
“Then, did all of that reach three minutes?”
“There are many things I am not satisfied with, but I guess he barely passed.”
In response to Hiyuki’s question, the Beast King answered with his usual stern expression.
“—Hmm. Well, he did have the willpower.”
It seems Utsuho’s opinion of him changed slightly.
“Well, I think he won’t lose at the preliminaries at least.”
Hiyuki shook her head.1
