Riot Grasper

Since I took some useful skills from Cyrus and the others, a battle with Cecil-san won't be too difficult.

However, since I have activated my Riot Grasper skill 6 times already, I won't be using it again.

Well… in a fight against someone who genuinely enjoys fighting, stealing skills is against my style, so it's fine.

Let's see Cecil's status is–

Name: Cecil Atmais

Race: Mixed-breed (Lion/Human)

Age: 22

Occupation: Mercenary

Specia: Beast King's Pride

Skills:

I've checked before, but she is probably stronger than Cyrus.

Her spear and body techniques have reached level 3, and she can probably throw that spear just like she did when she pierced the Scorching Agni Tiger. I can't let my guard down even when she's far away.

And… when she said proudly that she is of the strongest Lion beast race, it seems she wasn't lying. She has incredibly high physical abilities. I'm not sure what to make of it.

For a human, my physical skills have improved greatly, but I can't underestimate that racial difference.

Next, I focused my attention on the large spear she was holding, and the general information came to light.

Giant's Spear – a spear that belonged to the Ogre Lord, a subspecies of Ogre. Very heavy and sturdy.

「Are you interested in this spear? It's pretty good, isn't it? It belonged to a monster that took a lot of effort to defeat.」

….. It was called a Lord, so it must have been a high-ranking monster. Was it stronger than that Blod Ogre that I defeated?

It seems too big for Cecil-san's physique to handle, but she wields it with ease. It's probably best to think of her as a small giant.

What I'm most interested in though is the special skill she possesses, Beast King's Pride.

Beast King's Pride – don't hurt the pride of the bearer, for the Beast King's fangs will surely approach come for their throat.

Hmm. What an abstract description. I guess that means Cecil-san is very prideful.

This is all I know about her capabilities at the moment though. Maybe I can figure out the details as we actually fight.

「You know what?」

「Hmm? What's going on?」

As I was facing Cecil-san, I heard Rei's voice from behind me.e

「From my point of view, you're a fighting maniac too, accepting that offer so randomly.」

「Guh!」

That's disheartening. I'm a man with a cool head who will do his best to avoid battle as much as possible…

「Because your face is smiling.」

「….eh?」

That's ridiculous.

Hmm? I touched my own cheek impatiently at Rei's point, but I wasn't smiling that much…

「Hahaha. You got me fooled.」

「Oh, geez.」

She also seems to joke around once in a while. Maybe it's just my imagination, but I feel like most of the women I've met have enjoyed playing jokes on me. Sienna, Illy, Belga…

To I seem that gullible?

Ahh, I miss the pure and innocent Lim.

But well, I can't deny that I wanted to give the dual-wielding approach a real try.

When everyone gets a new weapon or toy, of course they'd want to try it out. It's only natural.

I was feeling a little uptight, but Rei's joke managed to relax me in a nice way.

「….. Hmm. It's about time, isn't it? You'll eventually get tired holding such a big spear like that.」

Cecil-san spun the huge spear she was holding and it made a loud woosh sound.

You're definitely not tired, are you?

「Well, it's nice to meet you. I'm Seiji, by the way.」

She already knows my name, or rather, she's even taken the liberty to give me the nickname Se-kun, but I thought that was something I should say before a match like this.

「I like it. It's really nice. I like that a lot.」

The half-Lion beastman laughed happily with a beaming smile.

「Cecil Atmais. Thank you for this wonderful encounter.」

As she said this, the color of emotions drained from her face like a receding tide.

– She's coming!

With the benefit of my swordsmanship skills, the two swords are so familiar to me that they feel as if they are an extension of my arms.

Now that my physical abilities have improved, I think I can manage….

My body will be able to keep up with maximizing my swordsmanship skills.

「–Hah!」

She made the first move.

She wielded her huge spear horizontally and was about to hit my side. I dodged the initial attack by taking a few step backwards, and watched it fly past.

What a heavy blow! If I wanted to catch that, one arm likely wouldn't be enough.

「Uhh… riya!」

It's not long before I'm refocused on the battle.

Cecil-san threw the spear at me with all her might, leaving a slight distance between us. I jumped just enough to lightly life my weight and stepped forward with my left foot in a large, half-twisting motion. I wonder how much tension I created by squeezing my muscles so hard.

—-Kyun!

A projectile shot out from her, closing in on me with a slightly unfamiliar sound. Splitting the air and attacking me was a giant spear with a three-pronged tip.

「Ooohhhh!」

I crossed my twin swords and faced the flying spears head-on.

The tip of my blade collided with her spear, causing it to creak and squeak. A shock greater than I had imagined ran through my body, and I slid backwards. If I hadn't been wearing my sturdy boots, the soles of my shows would have been scraped off.

…. What amazing strength. In terms of just physical abilities, she probably rivals Belga.

But… it is not an unbearable blow. I've gotten stronger too.

I managed to block it, and the thrown spear fell to the ground with a thud.

Yes, it is a powerful attack, but if you throw your weapon, you may not be able to finish afterwards.

Now, let's go to…. from here!

I immediately focused my mind and started running.

I'm not going to prolong this fight. I have no need to see all of her skills.

「Nice!」

—- What, what?

With a shout that sounded like she was lifting something a little heavy, Cecil-san made a movement to pull something into her hand. At the same time, the Giant's Spear that was lying on the ground softly flew up into the air.

Is that…?

As I strained my eyes, I saw what looked like a thin thread between the spear and Cecil-san. So the spear wasn't disposable. That must be a very strong thread.

But I'm not going to stand by idly and watch this happen.

If I can get to Cecil-san before the spear returns to her hand, I can probably finish this.

「This is a disposable item!」

Hey….!

A thrown greataxe looms before my eyes as I run.

「Uoo… ohhh!」

The momentum of the rotation was so great that the axe couldn't withstand the impact of being flicked away by my twin swords, and it felt apart into several lumps.

Is this the axe that large man from earlier was using? Great way to take advantage of your surroundings and the situation. A bold move, or perhaps a great split second decision. I'm not sure what to make of it, but you can use whatever you can.

Returning my gaze to Cecil-san, I saw that she already had the Giant's Spear in her hands.

「I gave it my all from the start, but I couldn't finish it…」

I heard her start to murmur something.

「Do you want to end it here?」

She stomped on one of the axe fragments scattered at her feet and cracked it open.

「By the way… this was not my item.」

This is the best I can do to intimidate her.

「Haha. Se-kun, you're really strong, aren't you?」

「Well then….」

However, it seems that this has caused Cecil-san's fighting spirit to rise.

「End here? You're kidding….」

「Eh?」

「I can't believe you would quit halfway through this…. so much fun. If I were stronger, I'm sure it would have been a lot more fun. Don't you think?」

I'm so confused by what she's saying. It's strange that it was phrased as a question, but she doesn't seem to be looking for an answer.

「I'm so frustrated!」

The speed of her spear seems to be faster than her first blow. But as long as I have my dual swords, I'm not too afraid.

I parried with Silver Fang, and used the hilt of Red Noir to stop her from spinning her spear.

「Still…. not yet!」

I can feel the speed and power of her thrusts are increasing with each strike.

I'm pretty sure this is… This must be the effect of the Beast King's Pride

I don't know what Cecil-san's life has been like since's she's half-human and half-beastman. However, for her, who has continued to work as a mercenary, where strength is the only thing that counts, her "strength" may have become her pride.

If that's the case, then I must have hurt Cecil-san's pride.

It wasn't just that I was winning in strength, it was that I asked and then assumed that she wanted to quit. That was quite rude of me.

But… I didn't meant to do that, I just wanted to bring the curtain down on this fight peacefully.

「Kuh….」

I am still able to prevent her attacks, but if they continue to increase in severity, I will eventually be in danger.

Cecil-san's body will also have to deal with it's fair share of strain.

Let me decide it at once — here!

「Ooohhhhhh!」

Making the most of my two swords, I unleashed a series of blows that surpassed Cecil-san's continuous thrusts with a burst of energy.

The Giant's Spear is also quite sturdy, withstanding the sword blows that I unleashed.

Perhaps sensing that she was going to be pushed back at this point, Cecil-san took a step back and unleashed an all-out thrust with all of her strength, along with a shout.

Spears are not a good match to face with a sword, although I've fought a few wielders in the past. A spear is an excellent weapon that has a long range and can be swung to attack or defend quickly.

It's easier to deal with now that I have two, but it's still a bad match.

….. No, I'm not trying to be a wimp. This is where the custom specifications I asked Zig for come into play.

There is only one condition to trigger it.

Remember in your heart!

–Thank you, Zig!

The hilt of my Silver Fang has a rather unique shape, the design of which seems to be intended to hold something, and it is in no way only decorative.

What fits in there? The answer is simple and straightforward.

I pushed the blade of my Red Noir into the handle of Silver Fang. And after rotating it half a turn in that state, it locked into place, forming a heavy and long sword with a total length of over 2 meters. Now, no mater how I swing it around, it will not separate.

This is the reason why I had the two swords made in the same shape.

A beautiful curved twin sword of flowing black and white.

If the swords are united, the destructive power will not only double, but increase many times.

Double-edged sword twin blades – Red Fang

「Woah!?」

Cecil-san let out a squeal of surprise at the transformation of the weapon, but she could no longer pull back her outstretched spear.

….. Even though it is a long, double-edged sword, it does not necessarily help to increase range because it requires me to grip the center of the center. It's main advantage is that it can be easily rotated like a spear and used for both attack and defense, although it is not necessarily all that much better than a two-edged sword.

I caught her thrust with one of my blades and used the momentum to spin my double-edged sword around.

「Hyaaahh!」

I used the centrifugal force of the weapon itself in addition to the rotational force of my body to thrust Cecil-san's spear upwards with all my might.

Unable to withstand the powerful impact, the Giant's Spear flew upwards into the air.,

「Oh!」

Cecil-san's body stiffened at the looming danger.

It's already…. late!

I closed the distance and clenched my fist.

One of the main reasons I asked to be able to transfer my two swords into a single double edged blade is because I can then hold it with one hand.

I can use the double-edged blade to taunt my opponent and deliver a powerful blow. And then, when the enemy is weakened, I can use one hand to take their skills.

But now, instead of taking any of her skills, I will only be punching Cecil-san.

I won't go easy on you! This should be strong enough to knock her out.

—- Are you read to have your pride shattered? Beast King!?

「Ahhh…. so fluffy!」

—-sleepy. I'm extremely sleepy.

It is said that humans alternate between shallow sleep and deep sleep. In general, waking up at the moment of shallow sleep is considered to be a good way to wake up, so the timing of waking up is very important. If I were to wake up in a deep sleep like I am now, I would spend the whole day in a languid state.

So I want to sleep just a little longer. I don't care how many times the bell rings, I'm not going to move until I want to get up today.

I was reblling against the morning, slumbering in my bed at Feeder Pops.

If I think about it, I haven't had much time to relax since we arrived in the city of Merveille.

We went to the Volvo Volcano in search of the Agni Tiger, and after the sword was completed, I got caught up in the commotion when we received a new request and were unable to rest.

It's okay to take the day off, at least.

….. However, we can't just sit around in this city forever. We are not in a hurry to travel, but we have to make our way to the Suven Empire at least.

Plop, plop, plop.

Gradually putting together my consciousness like a puzzle.

–Yesterday. After dealing with Cyrus and the others, I fought with Cecil-san.

Feeling the soft, clean sheets on my back, I remembered the moment my fist caught her.

In the end, after all that, I couldn't leave Cecil-san unconscious from the final blow in such a place, so I decided to take her back on my cavalry beast.

On my way back, I went to the Paudal Wetlands to see how Prim's other half was doing, but she didn't answer my call. No matter how many times I exploded fire magic in the air, it only echoed in the silence of the swamp.

I don't even want to think that maybe the death of one of the Prims caused her to distrust me or…. somethi9ng like that. I don't even know if the consciousness of the split individual is shared, so I won't be too negative. It's also possible that they were tired of merging and fell asleep.

What I can't see is what I can't do, so I left the swamp, hoping to train my Origin Magic skills safely, and arrived in Merveille after dark.

After having dinner with Cecil and the twins at the inn, I was wondering if I should show up at the Adventurer's Guild. I didn't want to report o the guild that the request from the Leruno Merchant Association was malicious because I didn't want to cause any more trouble, but I did have to report to Sienna whether or not I was able to carry out the request. I can't afford to lie about it.

As i was pondering what to do, Cecil-san spoke.

「I'll go deal with the Merchant Association, so you can get some rest. I said I'd do anything for you if I lost, so it'll be fine.」

So she said, and then she disappeared into the night.

I don't completely trust her, but I don't think that the Leruno Merchant Association would attack us in the city like this. If they were to get involved with this inn and all of its guests, they might be even further exposed.

So, I took her word for it and got a good rest.

Thanks to her, I'm in this lazy state. But the act of reminiscing has made my brain much more active. I think I'll get up soon.

「…. hmm?」

With my eyelids still closed, I flipped my body over and felt something soft against my hand. It's not something I'm familiar with, and I reached out again to see if it was something familiar.

The feel is… very nice. The texture is good. The round, siulky soft and smooth surface is slightly warm, and when I pressed it lightly, my fingers sunk into it and were pushed back by the elasticity.

What is this? I don't know… but this… is very good stuff.

I explored the surroundings further, and my palm touched another equally rounded surface.

Would it be possible to recreate this feeling my sticking my hand in a unique liquid.

Hmm? Could this be…. One possibility pops into my head.

This is…. prims, isn't it?

I didn't see you yesterday, but I suppose you may have actually noticed me and came after me.

Two of them though? Did they split up again? I can't believe how small they've gotten, they can barely fit in my palm. They're so pliable.

Laughing lightly, I flipped off the bedspread in delight.

「What the…?」

「Oh….」

Time has stopped.

What, this …… what, what, what, what, what, what, what, what, what, what, what, what, what, what, what, what, what, what, what, what, what!

It wasn't Prim that the bedspread was covering, but —– Cecil, hmm…?

And why…. half naked!

Cecil-san, who was sleeping defenselessly, was wearing only drawers, and nothing else, although miraculously a messy sheet covered the upper half of her body. Her skin is slightly sweaty, and her black-and-white mottled hair clung to her back.

Wait, you mean….? Maybe that was…..! I'm not sure what to make of this. Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait.

I had a few drinks yesterday, but I shouldn't be able to get drunk because of my skills. Yeah, I'm fine.

「Oh…. Se-kun. Are you awake?」

I'm trying to get my mind back to normal somehow, and Cecil-sans sleepy words disrupted my thoughts.

I mean, don't get up! You'll be in big trouble with those breasts that you're miraculously able to hide!

Cecil-san wriggled her body, and I saw something that looked like a stain on the sheets.

It can only be described as "red" in terms of pigment, and I ahve no idea why it's stained like this. I have no idea. Someone tell me.

「It… it's the first time I saw this」

What are you saying? I don't know what's going on.

「There you go.」

Just because the other person said they would do something doesn't mean it was a good idea! Yesterday's me, you can't put all of the blame on today's me!

Cecil-san kept smiling as I got up from the bed and backed awway.

「Ouch, that hurt!」

—-When I saw it, I screamed in agony and cowered on the bed. I rushed over to check on her, and found that she had a cut on her side, and the bleeding had just stopped.

「Wait, are you okay?」

「Well, I had a little trouble convincing the Merchant Association last night, but don't worry, you won't be messed with anymore.」

Apparently, this wound was received when she went to go talk with the Merchant Association last night.

….. It was there that I finally realized Cecil-san was teasing me.

When I think about it calmly, there is no way that I, a healthy youth, would act in such a way and do something so reckless.

「This time no joking around. You have to tell me what happened. I mean… how did you get into my room.」

—-After all, I may be destined to be a pawn in the palm of an older woman.

Sienna, Illy, Belga, and…. Cecil.

My pride as a man is already in tatters.

As I activated the healing spell, however, I was somewhat relieved to think about it.

TN: I have multiple semester long projects going on and I really can't find that much time to do this. Sorry about that. Once they're done, I'll get back on it. My next semester shouldn't be nearly this rough.