CH 98

Instead of Goodbye

The days were getting shorter these days, and the sun sinks into the mountains at dusk. Even as the orange residue was swallowed up by the indigo, Sheila continued to swing her sword.

It helped that the training hall was dimly lit at night with the lights of the magic tool.

The sweat that dripped down her cheeks was exposed to the cold wind, and her body quickly cooled down. If Sheila didn’t finish soon, she would catch a cold and be late for dinner.

Even though she knew this, she couldn’t let go of her sword. Sheila swung her sword as if she were trying to clear away the distractions that flickered before her eyes.

She couldn’t help feeling new emotions that she rarely felt since she was in the village.

In Denan Village, farewells only happened once or twice a year. Since they had all reached the end of their natural lives, the adults would rather see them off with a big party.

No one left the village except for the farewell caused by old age. That was why Sheila was confused by this new type of farewell. It was also why the reason why she cried.

“Not good at all, I’m….”

Sheila swung her sword mindlessly. As her nerves sharpened more and more, she suddenly picked up the sound of two pairs of footsteps.

“Eh, is it just you?”

Sheila assumed that Cody and Zechs had come to see her because they were worried about her, but she was wrong. The unexpectedly low voice made her turn around.

“――Dorm leader. And even Seiryuu.”

It was Axe and Seiryuu who came to the training hall. Sheila unconsciously lowered her sword.

“What are you doing here?”

“Cody and Zechs called us to spar here. But they’re really outrageous underclassmen to back out after calling out to us.”

“….”

Sheila’s eyes widened wordlessly.

Both Axe and Seiryuu were busy, so she didn’t have a chance to talk to them. So, Sheila had given up on the idea that it couldn’t be helped, and that she couldn’t say what she wanted.

Sheila was silently venting the bottled-up feelings in her heart alone, but her friends could see right through her worries.

‘I can’t compete with those two.’

With a wry smile, Sheila walked to the armory. She switched her imitation sword to a serious one as the two men looked at her suspiciously.

Sheila was searching for a weapon that fit her fighting style. In the end, she chose a slender long sword, which was the best match for her at the moment, and tightened her grip on it.

She pointed the sharp tip at the future graduates who were silently watching her movements.

No matter how much she didn’t want it to happen, farewells would happen in life.

So, at the very least, Sheila would put her feelings into this sword.

She wished to congratulate them from the bottom of her heart on their bright new start.

“Dear seniors. ――Please have a serious match with me.”

The first to move was Axe, who showed a fearless smile.

“…. That sounds like fun.”

Turning on his heel, Axe went to retrieve his own weapon. The graduates already had their own personal weapons and kept them in their rooms.

Seiryuu’s voice echoed after Axe, who started to move without thinking.

“Axe, aren’t you adjusting to this too quickly?”

“In the face of battle, detailed reasons are meaningless.”

“… You’re saying all this cool stuff, but you just want to have a real fight with Sheila, don’t you?”

“You could say that!”

Seiryuu stifled a sigh as his friend left with a broad smile on his face.

“I’m really sorry for being so abrupt.”

“No, I don’t mind. I’m sure Cody and Zechs already have an idea when they talked to us about this.”

Seiryuu walked over to Sheila and placed a large hand on her head.

“…. Are you alright?”

His gentle gaze made her heartache.

He had encouraged her like this many times. That, too, was coming to an end.

“――Yes. I’m fine.”

Sheila forced herself to pull up the edges of her mouth and laughed.

Eventually, Axe returned, carrying a large sword.

They faced each other with Seiryuu as the referee.

“Let the match begin!”

Sheila went head-on first.

Axe’s greatsword was three times wider than Sheila’s. His sword was pretty impressive, and his physical strength to wield it so easily was astonishing.

If Sheila were to get into an arm-wrestling contest with him, she would have no chance of winning. She pretended to attack head-on and quickly moved behind Axe.

However, Axe turned around and delivered a thrust, forcing Sheila to defend herself. Sheila’s arm went numb from the blow, which was aimed precisely at the vital spot.

The thrust was so strong that she couldn’t hold her ground. Sheila bit her lip as she was forced backward slightly.

Axe’s onslaught continued. Sheila knew he was fast despite his heavy hits, but it was more than she imagined.

Perhaps because it was strengthened by magic, Sheila’s fine sword lost its sharpness with each of his attacks. If it continued to wear down, it would break in no time. It seemed she couldn’t take him head-on so many times.

“I’m impressed that someone as thin as you can handle my sword!”

“I can’t catch your hits, that’s why I’m flinging it away! There’s a limit to how stupid one can be!”

“That’s right! Long live muscles!”

“I didn’t mean it as a compliment!”

Sheila finally caught his sword at one of his attacks. As they were brought closer because of that, Axe laughed, showing his white teeth.

“I entrust the future of the Muscle League to you!”

“I don’t want to be entrusted with that!”

Sheila threw Axe away with all her strength.

He had both strength and speed, but his only weakness was his size. He was a large man and therefore not very maneuverable.

Stooping low, Sheila dared to leap near him. He easily stopped her by reaping her to the side. However, it was a decoy.

Before Axe could move on to his next attack, she dived again further into his space. Now was the perfect time.

Sheila, who had been attacking him low, suddenly jumped.

The unexpected movement made it difficult for Axe to keep up with her. At that moment, every muscle in his body tensed.

Sheila brought down her sword. The blade glinted in the faint light.

But the blow, which followed a crescent moon-like trajectory didn’t reach.

Axe didn’t see through her plan. It was just that he was more steadfast and serious than Sheila had imagined.

His large body size wasn’t a weakness. He had accepted it as a weakness and had long since conquered it.

He had probably been targeted many times that his reaction time was fast and precise enough to counterattack her. Sheila gritted her teeth and tried to keep a distance.

However, when she took a step back, his sword approached her with a roar. Unable to avoid it, she was forced to meet it head-on.

Just as Sheila aimed at his weaknesses, he also knew about her weaknesses.

She misjudged the length of Axe’s greatsword and the arm that wielded it. The smaller Sheila had missed the distance by more than half a step from what she had imagined. She thought she had escaped, but she was still in Axe’s line of sight.

Her sword was defeated by the impact and finally snapped off at the base.

“――I give up.”

As Sheila closed her eyes and muttered, Axe finally retracted his blade.

“That was a good match, Sheila. You’re a lot stronger than when you first entered here.”

Sheila honestly couldn’t be happy with the compliments that spilled out of his mouth. She grumbled while frowning intricately.

“But I lost in the end, didn’t I? And I broke my equipment. I’m going to be scolded by Clauschezade-sensei.”

“Don’t be so sullen. At times like this, the upperclassmen are supposed to be given flowers.”

A large, thick-skinned hand ruffled Sheila’s hair. She grumbled at the strength that felt like it could twist her head off.

“Hey, stop it! What will you do if I become incapacitated before the match with Seiryuu-senpai!”

“Hahaha, muscle!”

“I don’t understand the language that the dormitory leader uses!”

Seiryuu timidly spoke to the two who were in high spirits after the battle.

“You know, Sheila. Are you really still up for it? You’re probably still worn out, and we can do it again another day….”

“No!”

Sheila boldly cut off his words.

“Let’s do it.”

Her yellow-colored eyes were like the brightly shining full moon. It was like something that drove people crazy.

Staring straight ahead, the belligerent light influenced Seiryuu as well.

“――All right.”

He smiled slowly, and Sheila also returned a ferocious smile.