Chapter 428

428 Bear-san, Partic.i.p.ates In A Match

[Well then, Yuna-san. Can you grant me my request?] Marcus

[Fine, but are we going to have a match as is?] Yuna

Marcus is wearing ordinary civilian clothes. Its not safe to have a match like this.

I dont intend to attack him seriously, but depending on how unexpected Marcus moves are, I might hit him hard. So, even if its just for practice, its better to have protective gear.

[Ive got my armor. Im just going to go change.] Marcus

Marcus went to change clothes.

[What about s.h.i.+a?] Yuna

[I dont have it today, so I guess Ill just go as I am. I didnt have protective gear when I had my first match with Yuna-san after all.] s.h.i.+a

Indeed, she didnt have protective gear at that time because I suddenly had to fight with s.h.i.+a. However, there is a difference in the level of danger between having no protective gear and having it.

When s.h.i.+a declares to do so without armor, Tilia comes over.

[Dont worry, s.h.i.+a. I knew you didnt have your armor with you, so I brought you mine.] Tilia

Tilia pulled out some kind of girls armor from her item bag.

[Tilia-sama, are you sure?] s.h.i.+a

[In return, Im going to enjoy your match with Yuna.] Tilia

[Im borrowing this then.] s.h.i.+a

s.h.i.+a thought for a moment, then picked up the armor and went to the changing room.

=====

[Bear-san, what are you doing?] Flora

As we were talking, Flora-sama, who was holding onto my bear suit, asked me about it. I placed the bear puppet on top of her head and explain.

[Just a little game, I think? It wont take long, so Flora-sama can wait with Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.] Yuna

I summoned the normal-sized Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.

[Swaying Bear-chan! Hugging Bear-chan!] Flora

Flora tried to run to the bears happily, but Tilia hugged Swaying Bear before she could.

[Its not fair, Onshama.] Flora (TN: Oneesama Elder sister)

And then, Flora-sama hugged Hugging Bear.

[Just stay here and be quiet.] Yuna

I lifted Flora-samas body and placed her on k.u.makyus back.

Tilia is riding on the back of Swaying Bear by climbing by herself.

[Yuna, can I ride around?] Tilia

[Okay, but dont overdo it.] Yuna

[Alright, were going to run, Swaying Bear. Your master has given her permission.] Tilia

Swaying Bear looks at me as if to confirm.

[Run around for a little while. But dont go too fast.] Yuna

Swaying Bear runs out of the training area.

[U~u, Onshama, thats not fair. Hugging Bear, me too.] Flora

Flora-sama sways her body back and forth on Hugging Bear.

[Hugging Bear, run slowly.] Yuna

Hugging Bear started running slowly with Flora-sama on board.

[So fast, so fast.] Flora

Flora-sama is enjoying herself on Hugging Bear.

Tilia comes from behind Flora-sama, riding Swaying Bear. Then, Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear run side by side, theyre going around with each other along the wall of the training ground.

[Swaying Bear. Faster.] Tilia

[Hugging Bear-chan, you too. Faster.] Flora

[Swaying Bear, Hugging Bear, dont speed up!] Yuna

They tried to speed up, but I instructed Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear not to speed up.

Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear followed my instructions and didnt increase their speed.

[Yuna ~] Tilia

[Why ~] Flora

The two complained amicably.

As expected, they are sisters. They look and act the same. I wonder if Flora-sama will be like Tilia when she grows up?

[Tilia and Flora-sama, if youre too selfish, Ill have to ask you to get down from the bears.] Yuna

I dont think theyll get hurt, but I dont want Flora-sama to become a speed freak.

[U~u, thats] Tilia

[Im so sorry.] Flora

They obeyed my words. Then they run around the training grounds at a moderate speed.

=====

As I watched Tilia and Flora-sama riding Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, Marcus and s.h.i.+a arrived, looking like theyre ready for the match.

[Yuna-san, what weapon should we use? Is a sword okay?] Marcus

[Marcus, s.h.i.+a. What do you usually use?] Yuna

[We use regular practice swords.] s.h.i.+a

Shes holding a sword that seems to be blunt.

[I brought Yuna-sans sword, as well.] s.h.i.+a

I received the sword that s.h.i.+a was holding.

I dont mind whether its a real sword or not. Since its a long-awaited match, Ill go along with what the two of them want.

[Then, Marcus and s.h.i.+a, Ill give you a match with the weapon of your choice.] Yuna

[?] Marcus

[What do you mean by that?] s.h.i.+a

[If you want a sword match, then Ill use a sword. If you want a knife match, Ill take out my knives. If you want a spear match, Ill go get a spear. And if you dont want to use a weapon, Ill play with you with my hands.] Yuna

[Yuna-san, are you that good with weapons?] Marcus

[Not everything. Just the weapons anyone can generally use.] Yuna

In fact, Ive never used a mace or any kind of hammer-type weapon, though Im sure

Id smash those if I did.

[But isnt it ridiculous to be weaponless?] Marcus

[As long as you dont get hit, youll be fine, and if you want to see how its done, the gloves will suffice.] Yuna

I made the bear puppet crunch.

Well, its thanks to the bear equipment that I can do such tricks.

[Id rather not go against someone without a weapon, so please use a sword.] Marcus

Marcus wants a sword match, so Ill use a sword as a weapon and deal with him.

I grabbed my practice sword and distanced myself from Marcus.

s.h.i.+a has moved away. Tilia and Flora-sama have stopped moving and are now watching us.

=====

Just as the match was about to begin, I heard a voice in the training hall that was not supposed to be there.

[What? Are you going to start the match now?] King

[Ara, Marcus, and s.h.i.+a are having a match against Yuna-chan.] Eleanora

When I looked in the direction of the voice, I saw the King and Eleanora-san walking towards us.

When Marcus and s.h.i.+a saw them, they looked at each other in surprise.

[Father.] Tilia

[Otshama.] Flora

Tilia on Swaying Bear and Flora-sama on Hugging Bear are on their way to His Majesty the King.

If people who dont know anything about Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear see this, it may look like a scene where a couple of bears are about to attack the King.

Well, that didnt actually happen, rather, Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear stopped in front of the king.

[Father, Eleanora, why are you here?] Tilia

Tilia asks them what everyone in the room is thinking.

Well, I have some idea. I remember seeing the gate guards running. But I cant see the queen.

[I was informed that Yuna had arrived and went to Floras room. So I went to the room. But when I got there, neither Flora nor Yuna was there. I asked Anju, who was still in the room, and she said that Flora and Tilia had gone to the training grounds.] King

[Same here.] Eleanora

I kept thinking about this, but are they really doing their job properly?

Well, the crown prince and his men will do their best, wont they?

[Why would His Majesty the King come to see Yuna-san?] Marcus

[I dont know.] s.h.i.+a

Marcus and s.h.i.+a are talking in low voices, but theyre speaking so close to me that I can hear them.

[So, are you going to have a match?] King

[Yeah, with these two.] Yuna

I looked at Marcus and s.h.i.+a.

[Im Marcus.]

[Im s.h.i.+a.]

The two of them nervously said their names.

[s.h.i.+a was Eleanoras daughter, wasnt she?] King

[Just like me, shes cute, isnt she?] Eleanora

[] King

The King goes through Eleanora-sans words. If he admits that s.h.i.+a is cute, he is indirectly saying that Eleanora-san is cute as well. But he cant lie and say that s.h.i.+a is not cute. He has such a conflicting expression on his face.

But the King seems to know about s.h.i.+a because of what happened last time. He doesnt seem to know about Marcus.

Marcus father is a knight and a captain at that, isnt he?

[Well be watching the match, so good luck to both of you.] Eleanora

Eleanora-san said and moved to the wall with the king. Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, with Tilia and Flora-san on board, also move to the side of the wall.

[Does this means were going to have a match in front of His Majesty the King?] Marcus

[Looks like it.] s.h.i.+a

Marcus and s.h.i.+a looked troubled.

I know how you feel.

In a company, it would be like the president coming to see a new employee at work.

I cant ask the King not to watch, so Ill just start the match with Marcus.

=====

[Well then, you can start anytime.] Yuna

As I said that, Marcus tightened his grip on his sword and stepped in. I parried Marcus sword. Marcus lost his balance, but he quickly adjusted his stance, and with a swipe, he swung the sword once more. I blocked it with my sword.

Marcus launches strike after strike, but I try not to attack too much.

[Its not working.] Marcus

After playing with Marcus for a while, he gradually started to get out of breath.

He looks very tired after swinging his sword so many times. You cant keep swinging your sword over and over again.

The more the swords clash with each other, the more youll lose your grip.

Its like holding a hard stick and hitting a hard object with all ones might.

Thanks to my bear puppet, My hands dont get numb and I dont lose my grip.

If it werent for the bear puppet, Im sure my sword would have flown and bounced off the ground after just one strike.

[d.a.m.n it, Yuna-san. Youre too strong.] Marcus

Marcus drops to his knees.

[Boy, is that all you got?] King

The King speaks to Marcus.

[No, not yet. I can still do it.] Marcus

Marcus was out of breath, but he couldnt say hes giving up in front of the king. He stood up.

Then, until Marcus collapsed, I fought with only a knife and gave him a handicap, so I did not move within a 1m radius.

As expected, he refused when I tried to fight him unarmed.

Marcus had reached his limit and fell to the ground, and the first body(corpse) had rolled to the ground.

Now that the first opponent, Marcus, was finished, it was s.h.i.+as turn next.

[Arent you tired, Yuna-san?] s.h.i.+a

s.h.i.+a asked when she saw Marcus lying on his back. Marcus was like a fish gasping for air,

.

Oh, Marcus seems to be alive.

[Im fine. We can start right away.] Yuna

[You look like youre having trouble moving right at the end.] s.h.i.+a

Well, thanks to this hard-to-move-looking outfit, I can play with Marcus and s.h.i.+a.

[So, what kind of match do you want to have, s.h.i.+a?] Yuna

[Same as Marcus, please.] s.h.i.+a

s.h.i.+a readies her sword.

As it was an indoor training ground, we couldnt use magic. Even if we could use it to some extent, it would be a disaster if we hit a wall and broke it, so magic is prohibited.

[Good luck, s.h.i.+a.] Eleanora

Eleanora waved her hand and cheered for s.h.i.+a.

[U~u, this is embarra.s.sing.] s.h.i.+a

I dont know if it exists in this world, but for s.h.i.+a, its like a parent visiting school day.

[Come on, s.h.i.+a, show us something cool.] Tilia

Tilia also cheered for s.h.i.+a.

Everyone thought of cheering for s.h.i.+a, but Flora-sama cheered me on, saying,

Im feeling a little more motivated.

s.h.i.+a and I began our practice match.

Shes not as strong as Marcus, but she attacks with precision.

If she couldnt defeat me by force, then maybe by pinpoint accuracy and speed.

I handled s.h.i.+as attacks and blocked her sword. I let her attack as much as she wanted, and when there was an opening, I would lightly thrust my sword to show her that there was an opening.

Every time I do this, s.h.i.+a looks either surprised or frustrated.

Then, a few clashes later, a second body rolled around the training grounds.

[Im not dead yet!] s.h.i.+a

The fallen s.h.i.+a read my mind and responded.

She can read my mind, apparently.

[No, I can hear what youre saying.] s.h.i.+a

s.h.i.+a replied in amazement.

Apparently, I was talking in a small voice.

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Authors Note:

I apologize for the inconvenience.

Im going to be absent for a while (about a week?) from this post.

Im sorry if it took a long time.

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