Disciple of Immortal

Act 2: Chapter 31: Foul Play Plan

「《Sylph Sword》」

Pomera pointed her big cane toward Alfred.

Alfred easily defended against the wind blade that came from the magic circle at the tip of Pomera’s cane.

Alfred was trying to close in to Pomera as it is, but Pomera’s 《Fonesball》 kept going in between them, preventing Alfred from stepping closer to Pomera.

Meanwhile, Pomera jumped to the side and pointed her cane toward Alfred again.

「《Sylph Sword》」

「GUH!」

Alfred tried to deflect the incoming wind blade.

But since the distance between Pomera and him was closer than before, the impact of Pomera’s last wind blade blew him back.

Alfred fell on his knees, seemingly out of breath.

He was glaring at Pomera.

The 《Fonsball》 was swaying from right to left as if trying to block his line of sight.

Alfred frowned, seemingly annoyed by the fonsball’s movement.

「… I rushed over since I hear that there’s a A-rank adventurer duel, but it’s far more plainer than my expectations.」

I could hear one of the spectators speak like that.

Pomera might have been aiming for this to happen.

This duel was by no means a flashy one.

They might have had no idea that Pomera could easily burn someone like Alfred to a cinders with her high rank magic.

But, it seems she realized that she was bound to stand out too much if she defeated Alfred in that way.

I mean, the atrocious people with the 《Jinmaryuu》 were the first on the list of people hiding somewhere amongst us. Standing out too much would only invite unnecessary trouble.

Thus, she kept using plain yet effective weak skills to steadily build her way up to victory. This might be her best choice.

「What’s that, he can’t get closer at all. If I was in his position, I would be able to close in immediately.」

「Alfred is nothing more than a frog in the well after all. Getting all full on himself and even trying to get rid of another adventurer just because they killed more ragno than him… shame on you.」

Upon hearing those remarks, Alfred glared toward the spectators as he bared his teeth toward them.

After that, he pointed her finger toward Pomera who was being protected by 《Fonsball》.

「WHAT A COWARD! THIS IS A DUEL!! FIGHT FAIR AND SQUARE!!」

No matter how you look at it, Pomera was clearly a mage, while her opponent, Alfred, was a swordsman. This kind of fight was only to be expected if those two opposite types fought against each other.

Being unable to break free from Pomera’s interference magic should be enough to tell Alfred just how big the gap between them is.

… But then again, since Pomera used plain and low ranking, yet effective, magic to corner Alfred, the latter suddenly tried to act like he was being wronged.

Even when Alfred was trying to close in after useless provocations, his attempts were interrupted by Pomera’s 《Fonsball》, till finally, Pomera’s 《Sylph Sword》 struck him.

「Strange… why, why I… can’t get any closer?」

Alfred was complaining as he raised his sword again.

Pomera adjusted her strength, only using necessary magic to conclude the fight.

Even if it turned out that she was underestimating her opponent, she still left some leeway to turn the tables.

Even if for example, Alfred managed to close in faster than 《Fonsball》’s reaction, level-wise, Pomera’s level was more than twice of Alfred’s level, so she should be able to deal with any unexpected attack.

In short, Alfred couldn’t get any closer to Pomera in any kind of situation.

As if that wasn’t enough, it seems Alfred himself has yet to realize why he couldn’t get any closer to Pomera.

The gathering spectators were jeering as they saw Alfred desperately trying to catch up with the escaping Pomera.

「Oi, no matter how many monsters she hunted down, Alfred’s opponent is literally physically weak mage, right?」

「It’s still hundred years too early for him to look down on this magic city.」

… M-Maybe we should end this farce as soon as possible.

Alfred’s face was already flushed red, including his ears. He was extremely embarrassed right now.

「Her control of spirit magic is amazing. I’ve nothing but praise for her who can use spirit magic as if it’s her own limbs while maintaining 6th rank spirit magic… Her combat sense is equally splendid, it shows just how much combat experience she has under her belt. The wind blade that she fired from practically point-blank range made it look like everything is under her control. Her realm in inter-personal combat has entered the realm far beyond my reach. I can’t even imagine just what kind of hell she saw which forced her to reach such realm at such a young age.」

The man with a pointed hat who instigated Pomera nodded as he explained to the spectators.

「What the hell are you talking about? That conceited man is just too slow.」

「That’s wrong. That man’s swordcraft is faithfully following the basics, but well, it seems he’s weak against unexpected situations. Maybe he doesn’t have any special talent in swords, but he never neglects his training. It’s the proof of his combat experience. Monster hunting aside, he might be even stronger than 《Rosemonde of Extermination》 in a duel. And yet, Saint Pomera easily cornered him in a range where she is supposed to be at disadvantage situation on top of that…」

It was such a long, drawn and detailed explanation about the current situation of the battle, and yet, no one lent an ear to that man.

Poor guy…

I mean, hearing his analysis, I knew that he might be the calmest person amongst these spectators.

And then, I moved my line of sight from that man with a pointed hat.

「《Sylph Sword》」

「Urgh!」

Alfred, who received a direct hit, was blown back again and now rolling on the floor.

Though he tried to regain his posture in a hurry, Pomera had already pointed her cane toward him.

It was obvious for everyone that Pomera could fire her 《Sylph Sword》 at any moment to end the duel.

It’s a checkmate for Alfred.

「Y-YOU…!」

Alfred gripped his sword even stronger than before, but his entire body suddenly jerked and loosened as he heaved a sigh.

「… Yeah, it seems I was at fault. You’re strong.」

As if his condition from before was a lie, he suddenly said those words as if recognizing his defeat.

Maybe he realized that if he continued to pursue this matter, he’d only end up shaming himself.

No, I might be wrong, from the very beginning, his goal might be to test Pomera’s true ability. This duel might be nothing more than a means to measure that.

Maybe even his yelling toward Pomera was nothing more than an act.

Alfred stood elegantly as he dusted off the dust from his clothes.

Pomera still pointed her cane toward Alfred but she finally let her cane down after she saw Alfred’s actions.

The moment she lowered her cane, her 《Fonsball》 vanished too.

「Alfred-sama…」

Even Sarah who was acting as the referee was heaving a sigh upon seeing Alfred’s change of attitude.

「Let me apologize again. It’s such good magic.」

Alfred returned his sword into its sheath as he spoke, and then walked toward Pomera while offering a handshake.

Pheew.

Though the spectators look disappointed, this was the best conclusion for me.

It seems we managed to end this turmoil peacefully.

I mean, what I wanted the most was to avoid triggering someone else’s enmity, even if just by accident.

「S-Sorry, maybe Pomera was also a bit too emotional a while ago… But, rather than to Pomera, please apologize to Kanata-san.」

Seeing that Alfred had acted befitting of his age, even Pomera had no choice but to let go of her anger from before.

When the distance between them shortened, Alfred was tilting his head.

「Oh, is something the matter, Saint Pomera-dono?」

「Uhm, I’m… not used to handshakes…」

Suddenly, the tip of Alfred’s lips formed a cruel smile.

「What an idiot, to think that you let your guard down during the duel. The condition for victory is if one side got knocked out, or surrendered. When did I surrender to you?」

「… Eh?」

Pomera was still confused, she clearly had no idea what Alfred was trying to do now.

「D-DON’T TELL ME…!」

I felt my facial expression cramp upon realizing Alfred’s intentions.

He praised Pomera’s combat style, apologizing to her, sheathing back his sword to approach her for a handshake.

He was telling the truth, he indeed never surrendered to Pomera.

But, all of that was only an act to make Pomera lower her vigilance.

The one thing to praise was the way he acted and felt like it was real. He was definitely a genius actor.

「NOW YOU’RE INSIDE MY RANGE!」

Alfred unsheathed his sword again while Pomera had yet to recover from her confusion.

「LIKE HELL THIS GREAT ME WILL SURRENDER AGAINST A BRAT LIKE YOU IN PUBLIC!! THE MEANS AND PROCESS ISN’T IMPORTANT! THE MOST IMPORTANT THING IS THE RESULT!! EVERYONE WILL REMEMBER THAT I AM THE VICTOR OF THIS DUEL!!!」

It seems Pomera finally snapped back to reality once she saw Alfred raising his sword.

It seems Alfred had an even shi*ttier personality than what I expected.

Pomera’s magic wouldn’t make it in time.

The 《Fonsball》 that she summoned to aid her in the battle had already vanished too.

She was completely at the mercy of the swordsman.

「KYAAA!」

Pomera brandished her cane wildly as she let out an adorable scream.

「HEHEHEHE! EVEN IF YOU’RE A GREAT MAGE, THERE’S NOTHING YOU CAN DO AT THIS DISTANCE!! IN THE END, YOU’RE JU—- eh?」

Pomera’s cane struck Alfred’s sword, and sent it flying from the hand of its owner.

And then, it struck right into Alfred’s face.

That cane strike sent Alfred’s body flying toward a curious onlooker who stayed behind, and then thrown into the guild building, leaving behind a splendid human shaped hole on the wall.

The tip of Pomera’s cane broke, the splinters scattering around.

Her eyes opened wide, looking at the human shaped hole in the wall in silence.

「… I-Is he… still alive?」

I muttered so as an uncomfortable silence enveloped the street in front of the adventurer guild’s building.

Pomera’s level might be far higher than Alfred, but she was still a mage.

In this situation, the statuses that were rising along with her level came into play.

In short, her physical strength might not be strong enough to insta-kill Alfred.

「Pomera is sho amazi~ing!」

Philia was the only one who was praising Pomera while clapping her hands with an innocent smile on her face, such an adorable girl.

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