There was no particular reason for suddenly pulling out the fork.
I really hadn’t thought about it, but I just now realized that I hadn’t brought out any weapons.
It’s not that I’m trying to hide my inventory completely, but still, showing it so openly in this situation felt a bit off… I was thinking about what I could pull out of my pocket and the fork just came to mind.
It’s a great tool that has already proven its worth by taking down the Crown Prince.
Rias is holding a mace, which is a blunt weapon, and this fork is also technically classified as a blunt weapon, so, in a way, it’s an appropriate weapon choice.
But… well, it still looks funny, doesn’t it?
“…What are you doing?”
“I don’t have a weapon.”
“I know. But why did you pull that out?”
Rias asked, clearly unable to understand why I suddenly grabbed a fork.
“What are you planning to do with that? Are you messing with me?”
“I’m always serious, Senior.”
Without my sincere dodges and parries, I’d really just be an insignificant person.
“…I thought you were a decent guy. But now I see you’re not.”
However, my sincerity didn’t reach her, and in the end, the good first impression I had built was shattered.
I couldn’t help it. I had tried my best to engage her, but if the opponent pulls out a fork and acts this way, it’s bound to make anyone feel uncomfortable.
Of course, it was obvious I was unarmed, but the fact that she initiated the fight made her position less firm… but it seemed pointless to drag it out any longer, as it would only cause more misunderstandings, so I kept quiet.
Then, Rias slightly frowned and began swinging her mace again.
This time, it was horizontal as well.
‘That pattern was nerfed pretty badly.’
The strength of blunt weapons lies in their heavy, powerful blows.
And usually, the weight of such a weapon results in downward strikes.
So, most downward swings with blunt weapons are judged to be impossible to parry… But what’s Rias’s situation?
If she strikes the ground, there’s no doubt it will cause damage to the environment. Everyone watching would be a witness, and she wouldn’t be able to deny it.
Likewise, magic was out of the question. The magic Rias uses is all very destructive.
So, with both downward strikes and magic sealed, she was essentially left with nothing but ineffective swinging from side to side.
Of course, her physical build and strength were formidable, and just that alone made her a threat, with the pressure from her swings being no joke… but still, the fact that her movements were vulnerable to parrying didn’t change.
After avoiding a few strikes on purpose, I finally found the right moment to clash the fork I was holding against her mace.
Thwack—
With a heavy sound, the mace Rias swung was knocked back.
“Uh, uh?”
As the direction of her swing suddenly reversed, her arm quickly twisted, and in a panic, Rias lost her balance and staggered.
But she quickly regained her footing.
Earlier, the Crown Prince was sent flying by a single fork parry, so it seems like there’s a big difference in our physiques.
I wonder how that moment looked to everyone.
The once noisy surroundings immediately fell into silence.
But the quiet didn’t last long, and soon the commotion started again.
“…Did I just imagine that?”
“Did you just deflect Rias’s mace with a fork? With that thing?”
“Why does it feel like every unbelievable rumor is turning out to be true?”
It was the same for dodging and parrying. Even Seria and Alkine, who saw it all the time, were amazed, so anyone seeing it for the first time would definitely be surprised.
And that’s true even for Rias, who experienced the parry herself.
After just one parry, I wonder what she’s feeling. She was staring at me blankly, not saying a word.
I didn’t want to say anything now, thinking it might come off as bragging, so I just quietly observed her.
After a moment, Rias, having regained her composure, cautiously opened her mouth.
“Do you know?”
“What?”
“You just reminded me of our grade’s top student.”
I didn’t expect the top student of the 4th grade to come up here. I don’t really know how strong they are.
Well, they must be strong since they’re the top student, but… since they don’t appear in the game, I have no point of comparison.
“Oh, that’s right. I had a spar with them recently. My mace was deflected by a tiny spear tip and bounced off, and I thought you looked like that.”
Not knowing how to react, I just stared at her, but Rias, realizing she might have said something wrong, quickly added more explanation.
Hmm, the 4th grade top student uses a spear. They have a technique that shoots a magical wave from the spear tip, and maybe that’s what they used.
But… wait, is she complimenting me? Is she acknowledging me as being on the same level as the top student now?
“Thank you for the compliment.”
“…I guess I ended up complimenting you, huh.”
“Does this mean I’m recognized as someone worthy to be next to the Princess?”
I casually threw that out there, and Rias’s face suddenly showed surprise as she hurriedly raised her mace again.
“Well, that’s a different story. I can’t accept that. I’ve been holding back this whole time. Let’s go again, properly.”
“You don’t look that confident, though.”
It wasn’t like I said it with confidence. In fact, her expression seemed a little more subdued than before.
Rias didn’t respond and fell silent, her eyes drifting to somewhere among the crowd.
“Ahh! Rias is looking at me!!”
Someone misunderstood the look and shouted, but in reality, Rias was staring at Seria.
“…Even if my image is already ruined, I want to show my best at the end.”
She seemed determined, looking at Seria, and I kind of understood how she felt. She probably wanted to show her fighting spirit in a glorious battle, rather than ending it in a pathetic way.
But the thing is, Seria probably wouldn’t care what Rias does.
If Rias were a friend or acquaintance, maybe it would be different, but from Seria’s perspective, Rias is a total stranger.
Seriana’s stance is to remain completely indifferent to others.
Even if Rias puts on some emotional performance, Seria wouldn’t care.
“I’ll go again. This time, I’ll really go all out.”
It seemed like she needed to do it for her own satisfaction, so I decided not to interrupt.
Rias’s attacks resumed.
As she said, this time there was a different momentum and power behind her swings. Just the speed added to her massive mace made the pressure much stronger.
Whoosh!
Whoosh!
Even though I was standing right in front of her, just the air pressure from her swings was enough to make my body wobble. It was no joke.
But… as expected, that was all she had.
Thwack—
Due to the limitations of the space, she ended up unable to perform a downward strike. Unable to use magic, she was merely a sacrificial offering to the parrying.
But… maybe she exerted too much force, as she flew backward and crashed onto the ground simultaneously with the parry. During this, the mace she was holding was flicked out of her hand.
“Ah.”
Rias had a surprised expression, but by then, the mace had already flown too far to reach, beyond her grasp.
From that height and at that angle, if it hit the ground… at the very least, it would create a small crater.
Thus, Rias’s massive mace ended up wedged into the side of the central square, becoming a landmark…
“What is this?”
“It’s floating in the air.”
…It didn’t hit the ground.
Seria, who had been watching, used magic to levitate the mace just before it could fall.
The mace landed steadily on the ground. The ground was unharmed.
“What’s going on here…?”
“Looks like the beloved Princess helped you out,” the senior added.
“…The Princess?”
Rias, who couldn’t understand the situation, was given an explanation. She then began looking back and forth between the mace on the ground and the onlookers.
Her expression shifted to one of deep emotion as she covered her mouth with both hands.
“The Princess helped me…!”
She trembled as she shouted, genuinely overwhelmed with joy.
“Even someone like me, who dared touch the people around her, was helped by her. How kind…”
She seemed like a relatively normal person, but seeing her like this made it easier to understand why she was the vice president of Seria’s fan club…
Hmm… more than that, it seems like this became a turning point in her fan devotion toward Seria?
‘Doesn’t really matter to me.’
Since we’ve already come this far.
“Does this even make sense?”
“Even though you didn’t use magic, senior, it wasn’t really something to complain about,” I said as I scanned the crowd.
I noticed Seria was talking with Alkine in the distance.
“Why are you staring at me like that?”
“I thought you wouldn’t really care. The damage isn’t that big of a deal.”
“What do you think I am? If things escalate here, the inconvenience will outweigh the fun, so of course, I had to help.”
“…Your way of thinking is exactly like Rudion.”
“Really? Thanks,” she said, though it seemed more like sarcasm.
“I don’t mind that personality either,” she added.
I wasn’t sure what they were talking about, but Seria’s expression looked quite bad. It seemed like she was caught in the crowd.
Why are they all so obsessed with watching this? Is it the power of popularity?
…Whatever questions came to mind, they were always answered with ‘Because of the high popularity,’ so I didn’t feel frustrated, though the pressure kept growing.
Anyway, what mattered now was how to deal with Rias, who had collapsed on the ground.
“Huff, huff… The Princess helped me… Hehehe…”
She started laughing weirdly after sobbing. It seemed wrong to leave her like this, especially with her having some fan following and everyone watching.
“Excuse me?”
“Huff, oh, oh?”
Thankfully, she wasn’t completely out of it. A gentle tap on her shoulder brought her back to her senses quickly.
“S-sorry. I made a fool of myself.”
She said this, standing up and grabbing the mace that had fallen to the ground, sighing deeply.
“I really lost terribly.”
“So now you’re going to admit it?”
“…No.”
…? But you lost. Why aren’t you admitting it?
“I lost to you, but I still can’t admit it. Sorry.”
So what was the point of this fight?
Before I could comment, she quickly continued.
“But… as a loser, I have no right to say anything. I won’t bother you anymore. I hope you can understand that I’m upset.”
“…I understand. Thanks for the effort, senior.”
“Take care, my talented junior.”
She said that and walked off, dragging her feet. Her large frame made it easy to see her slowly fading away, and she looked quite worn out.
…This was such a messy ending.
It wasn’t a clean acknowledgment, nor was it a satisfying end where I crushed her resistance.
But at least I had achieved my goal of showing something in front of everyone, and it seemed like the situation was over, so I thought I’d head back.
Just as I was thinking that, a voice called out from somewhere, stopping me.
“Where are you going? It’s not over yet.”
“Are you serious about doing this?”
“I’ve got my own plan. It’s definitely worth doing.”
“…Can I trust you?”
Two men appeared from the crowd.
Mitaine and Ratein. The crazy concept twin duo had arrived.
“Hey, we can’t really fight here. Follow us. Let’s settle it in the training hall.”
So it wasn’t over.
I had accomplished my goal of filtering through Rias, but I couldn’t back out now.
Ignoring these two would cause more trouble than not having the filter at all.
The situation seemed like it was about to end boringly, but it turned out to be fine.
“Alright, let’s go, seniors.”
I accepted their request readily and headed to the training hall immediately.