The fifth day since the defeat of the Demon King. Four days remained until my death.
If everything followed the same path as the previous timeline, today was the day I was scheduled to have a mock battle with the Great Swordsmaster.
Great Swordsmaster Nidorg.
He was a Master-rank fighter holding the 10th Seat.
In the timeline where I had traveled the lands with Sage Nyau, Nidorg was remembered as the man who had lost his life during the dragon attack on the Royal Capital.
A little after noon, while I was lounging around the room, a servant came by with a request.
"A guest who is very eager to meet Lady Hero Ageha is waiting in the reception room. Would you be willing to grant them an audience?"
Ageha was initially reluctant, but I managed to persuade her to go, pointing out that a flat refusal would only make things difficult for the servant. Together, we made our way to the reception room.
"Yo. So you’re the Hero Ageha?"
Standing in the center of the room was a giant of a man. He was clad in armor and possessed a Herculean physique, with a greatsword strapped to his back that was as long as he was tall.
"Who… are you?" Ageha asked.
"I’m the Great Swordsmaster Nidorg. Surely you’ve heard the name?" Nidorg said, his lips curling into a smirk.
"I have. And what do you want with me?"
"I heard the Hero was in town. I couldn't just sit still, so I came running. Fight me."
"Why? I have no reason to fight you."
"A reason? What other reason do you need besides wanting to see who’s stronger? I just want to test myself against the best!"
He was certainly a battle-hungry man. Then again, he was the one who had played the most pivotal role in the Battle of Arianne, dealing a massive blow to the Demon King Army.
From what I recalled, he had been so badly injured during that conflict that he couldn't join the party in the Kataroff Dungeon for the final showdown. He had stayed behind to recuperate in the Royal Capital instead. Looking at him now, it seemed his wounds had fully healed.
"I said, fight me!"
"No."
"Argh, why are you refusing?!"
"Because I don't want to."
"You brat, what’s your problem?! It’s just a little sparring!"
"Um, please, take it easy," I said, forcing myself to intervene before their bickering turned into an actual brawl.
"And who the hell are you?" Nidorg growled, glaring down at me.
"He’s Kiska," Ageha introduced me before I could speak for myself. "He’s my precious person."
"Is he strong?"
"Kiska is stronger than me. Though that’s mostly limited to the nighttime."
Hey, didn't that sound a bit suggestive?
"I see, so you’re the stronger one? Fine! You, fight me instead!"
Nidorg’s target shifted instantly from Ageha to me.
In the previous timeline, I had eventually been pressured into this, and the results had been disastrous. I had lost and been thoroughly humiliated. This time, I intended to refuse properly.
"I’m sorry, but I’d rather not fight."
"Why not?! Do you not want to face the great Nidorg?!"
"That’s exactly it. It’s obvious that I’d just lose to someone like you."
"You won't know that until we cross blades!"
"No, I’m pretty sure I know."
After all, I had already lived through the loss once before.
"Fine, I get it. How about this? If you win, I’ll do whatever you say. Does that put you in the mood?"
Whatever I say? He was being remarkably generous. Just how desperate was he for a fight?
"Um, if I lose, do I have to follow your orders?"
"Nah. If you lose, you don't have to do a thing. I’ll be satisfied just having the match."
I stood to gain everything and lose nothing. In that case, maybe it was worth it.
"Then, I want 600,000 El. If I win, can I have that?"
"Ho, that’s a lot of coin. What’s it for?"
"Well… I want to buy a present."
"I see. Then you’d better beat me if you want to give her that gift!"
The mock battle was set to take place in the arena usually reserved for soldier training.
A rumor had apparently leaked that Great Swordsmaster Nidorg was going to fight the Hero, because a massive crowd had gathered to watch. In reality, it was just Nidorg versus a guy with no special qualities whatsoever. I felt a bit sorry for the spectators who had come expecting a legendary duel.
"Kiska, are you sure about this?" Ageha asked.
We were alone in the waiting room.
"Yeah, I’ll be fine."
"I’m sorry. I dragged you into this."
"Don't worry about it. I’m doing this because I want to."
"I see. But don't push yourself too hard. You’re fighting for the sake of those… rings, right?"
"Don't worry about that either. I just wanted an excuse to look cool."
"Is that so? Then I’ll be expecting great things."
"Yeah, leave it to me."
I stepped out of the waiting room to find Nidorg standing in the center of the arena. He gave me a grin.
In his hand, he gripped a wooden sword carved into the shape of a massive greatsword. I held a wooden sword shaped like a knife.
"No fancy rules," Nidorg declared. "First one to give up loses."
"Got it."
I nodded, and a soldier acting as the referee gave the signal to start.
In that instant, Nidorg charged straight at me.
He was fast! His massive body closed the distance with terrifying speed. If I had blinked, I would have lost sight of him.
However, I had seen this attack before.
If this were the first time, I wouldn't have been able to dodge it. But this was my second time fighting him. I knew exactly what was coming. And because I knew, I could move.
"What?!" Nidorg barked.
I evaded his strike with the absolute minimum amount of movement. By dodging so cleanly, I left him wide open. His flank was right in front of me.
"Uoooooooooh!!"
I let out a roar. Since I was using a wooden weapon rather than a real blade, I had to put every ounce of my strength into the strike to deal any damage at all—!
Crack!
A sharp snapping sound echoed through the arena. My wooden sword had shattered.
"Wait—what?"
I stood there, stunned. I had driven the wooden blade into his side with everything I had, yet the weapon was the one that had broken. Was his physical body really that hard?
I was bewildered by the turn of events. Without a weapon, I couldn't possibly continue. This was my loss.
"Kh-ha-ha-ha-ha!!"
Nidorg threw his head back and roared with laughter.
"Wait, did you know this would happen? Is that why you challenged me?" I asked.
If he knew his body was harder than the training weapons, his offer to grant any wish made sense. He had known from the start that I couldn't hurt him. The match had been rigged in his favor from the beginning.
"Heh, I wonder," Nidorg smirked.
It felt like I’d been played.
"Alright! It’s my loss!" Nidorg suddenly shouted.
"Huh?" I blinked, confused by the sudden declaration.
"T-The winner is Swordsman Kiska!!" the referee announced, sounding just as confused as I was.
"Man, that was something else!" Nidorg said, walking over with a satisfied look on his face.
"Um, what are you talking about?"
"I said I lost."
"But my weapon broke. By any logic, I’m the loser."
"That’s only because it was a wooden sword. If you’d been using a real blade, I’d be in bad shape right now. That makes it your win."
Is that really how it works? Well, I wasn't about to complain about a victory.
"So… about the prize?"
"Yeah, I’ll keep my word. 600,000 El, right? I’ll have it brought to you immediately."
It seemed he was a man of his word.
"Still, that was a hell of a lot of fun. We have to do this again sometime. I won't lose next time!"
"Sure. If the opportunity arises, I’ll look forward to it."
In truth, I’d had more than enough of fighting him, but I decided that was the most polite thing to say.