"No, Big Brother. We're not actually dead," one of the downed men muttered.
"Shut up. It's just getting to the good part, so keep your mouth shut."
The voice that cut through the conversation between the woman, Rei, and Elena came from outside the dining hall door. A man entered whose frame was so massive that Rei could only think to describe him as a wall. He stood well over two meters tall, towering over even Elena and the dancer-like woman.
He wore blue-dyed armor over his enormous frame and carried a massive sword on his back. The blade was easily two meters long from hilt to tip. He likely carried it on his back rather than at his waist because of its sheer length. In terms of pure weapon reach, it was a weapon of the same caliber as Rei’s Death Scythe.
The weight of such a blade would be enough to make an ordinary person struggle just to lift it, but a man of his size would have no trouble swinging it.
"L-Lord Bosk!?" a waitress stammered, and the dining hall immediately buzzed with noise.
"Hey, Lord Bosk... does she mean from House Silwa?" "What’s the head of House Silwa doing here?" "Didn't you hear? He said something about his sworn younger brother earlier." "Wait, does that mean that woman took down... and that pile of people over there..." "Most likely." "Whoa, seriously? They were House Silwa's forces? That woman picked the wrong person to mess with." "Maybe not. Look at her. And didn't Lord Bosk call her the Mad Beast? Haven't you heard of the battle-crazed Mad Beast?" "Never heard of her." "Well, it's a name only known to certain circles."
Amidst the murmurs of the patrons, the situation remained in a tense deadlock.
For Rei and Elena, neither the woman nor the man called Bosk were enemies they needed to fight. They had only come to this dining hall because they’d caught a savory, mouth-watering aroma, not because they were looking for a brawl.
As for the woman, just as she’d found two exquisite pieces of prey in Rei and Elena, another target had appeared. If it were up to her, she likely wanted to fight everyone, but that was impractical. She seemed to be appraising them, deciding whom to prioritize.
Bosk had come to avenge his sworn younger brothers, so he had no reason to fight Rei or Elena. However, his gaze suddenly shifted toward them.
He had initially glanced over just to ensure they wouldn't interfere with his duel, but the moment he saw them, he froze. At first glance, the boy looked like a mere mage. Red hair peeked from beneath his hood. But his companion, Elena, was what truly caught his eye. While the dancer possessed an aggressive beauty, the woman beside the boy was every bit her equal in terms of striking looks.
The reports he’d heard from his subordinate the previous day flashed through his mind.
Crimson and the Princess General? Why are they here so soon? No, wait. I don't see a Gryphon outside the shop.
It was Bosk’s misfortune that Seto was more intelligent than he expected. Knowing its appearance terrified the citizens, Seto had tucked itself into a nearby alley with Iero, hiding from the public eye. Furthermore, by using its powers as an A-Rank Monster to suppress its presence, it had ensured that Bosk wouldn't detect it.
Bosk hurriedly poked his head out the door to scan the street, but Seto was nowhere to be found. Judging that the Gryphon must be at a stable, he breathed a sigh of relief. No matter how confident he was in his strength, Bosk had no desire to pick a fight with a Gryphon.
"Now then, I came here to go a few rounds with the sexy lady over there," Bosk said, turning back into the room. "But what about you two? You want a piece of me too?"
"No, I have no such intention," Rei replied. "We only came here to eat. We don't fight for sport."
"What about you, kid? Feel like having a go?"
For Bosk, Elena—daughter of a duke—was certainly a nuisance, but the more direct threat was Rei and his Gryphon. If Rei were to unleash the Large-scale Magic that had earned him his nickname inside Exil, the damage would be catastrophic.
"No," Rei answered. "I have no intention of attacking anyone unless I'm provoked."
Bosk inwardly sighed with relief.
"I see. Then you won't mind leaving this to me? And you, lady—I assume you realize taking on these two and me at the same time is a bit much?"
The woman pondered for a moment before turning a dangerously seductive gaze toward Rei.
"I suppose you're right. I'll give up on you for today. Fortunately, I’ve always been the type to save the best dish for last."
"Hey, now. What’s that supposed to mean?" Bosk asked, his brow furrowing. "Are you calling me an appetizer?"
Even Bosk didn't think he could fight everyone in the room and walk away unscathed, but he was confident he could hold his own against any one of them. Hearing himself dismissed as an appetizer was a blow to his pride.
The woman simply smiled and gave a small shrug. Her massive breasts swayed with the movement, pinning the gazes of the men in the room, but she paid them no mind as she walked toward the door.
"Well then, shall we go? We can hardly start a brawl in a place like this."
"...Fine. If you're going to talk that much trash, I can't exactly back down. Follow me. I know a good spot."
Bosk stepped out, and the woman followed. As she passed Rei, she leaned in.
"Let’s make sure to have a long, thorough fight next time we meet. Consider this a down payment of my thanks."
She quickly pressed her lips to Rei’s cheek. It was a light, brief kiss, but the reaction it triggered was instantaneous.
"What—!?"
Elena’s hand flew to the whip-sword at her waist. However, in the split second it took for her to remember they were in a dining hall, the woman had already danced out of reach.
"Ufufu. You two really are the perfect main course. Let’s meet again. Oh, I nearly forgot. My name is Vihera. Don’t forget it."
With a wink, she followed after Bosk. Even with a duel ahead of her, she showed no sign of nerves or hesitation.
Rei watched her go with a measure of admiration, but he quickly felt the aura of pure rage radiating from behind him. He sighed and turned around.
"Elena, don't look so cross. It's not like anything actually happened between me and that Vihera woman."
"That is not the point. You are far too careless. That is why a woman like that is able to close the distance so easily."
"Maybe I was a little off-guard, but that woman... Vihera? She's the real deal. You could feel it too, couldn't you, Elena?"
Elena gave a disgruntled, reluctant nod. To her, Vihera was little more than an exhibitionist, but her strength was undeniable. Elena didn't think she would lose, but it would have been a grueling struggle.
"...I won't deny that," she muttered, casting a cold, sideways glance at Rei. "But that is no excuse for letting her touch you so freely."
"I didn't exactly give her permission. Besides, she kissed my cheek. It's not like I 'let' her do anything."
"Oh? You seem quite pleased with yourself, Rei. Perhaps you're still thinking about that 'one night' she mentioned earlier?"
Elena took a heavy step toward him. The pressure emanating from her was exactly what one would expect from a woman hailed as the Princess General.
Seriously, why are you unleashing that kind of pressure now? Rei thought.
He looked around the dining hall, hoping to change the subject. Between Vihera’s initial brawl, her provocation of Rei and Elena, and the arrival of Bosk Silwa—the Head of House Silwa—the cafeteria had been a vortex of chaos. Most of the patrons were staring at Rei and Elena, the only ones left of the trio, but they clearly wanted no part of the Princess General’s wrath. As soon as Rei met their eyes, they quickly looked away and buried themselves in their food or conversation.
Rei caught the attention of a waitress. "Is it all right if we take that empty table?"
"Eh? Oh, yes! Of course! Please, right this way."
In truth, the waitress likely wanted them to leave, but she wasn't about to say that to Rei and Elena. She quietly led them to a seat.
In a park within the City of Exil, where locals and adventurers usually came to relax, the grounds were deserted.
The only things moving under the harsh summer sun were two figures that drew close, separated, and clashed again in a violent, rhythmic dance. Several other figures stood watching from a distance.
"Haaaaaa!"
Bosk’s claymore swung down with enough force to shatter the air itself. Vihera danced away from the blade, evading the strike that symbolized pure destruction.
She didn't stop at evasion. Because Bosk used such a massive weapon, his openings were equally large whenever he missed. Vihera seized the moment, conjuring Vihera's claws from her gauntlets and lashing out in a blur.
However, Bosk proved himself a first-class warrior. He evaded the rapid strikes by a hair’s breadth or blocked them with the handle part of the claymore. He relied on the hilt and handle because his armor made using Mithril and Flame Ore had been effortlessly shredded by Vihera’s claws in their first exchange.
Bosk’s armor was specialized for fire and magic defense, but it offered little protection against Vihera’s physical strikes. Had that first strike hit his torso instead of his shoulder, he would have been at a crippling disadvantage.
"Heh. Not bad for the head of House Silwa. I didn't think you’d be able to keep up with me like this. This is a nice surprise."
"Thanks for the compliment. Honestly, I didn't expect a woman called the Mad Beast to be this much of a monster, either. Now, here comes the next one!"
With a roar, Bosk kicked off the ground and closed the distance, drawing back Bosk's claymore.
"Haaaaaaaa!"
The massive blade came down with a thunderous shout. Vihera didn't even flinch. Instead, she lunged forward, closing the distance until there was no space between them.
Against an opponent using a greatsword like a claymore, this was the tactically sound choice. The base of a large blade is the hardest part to maneuver, and the tip is where the most cutting power lies.
"Too slow," she whispered with a seductive smile.
She punched the base of the claymore with her right gauntlet, forcing the blade off-course. Then, spinning toward his exposed flank, she prepared a devastating kick with her greaves.
"Think again!"
Just before the kick landed, Bosk used the momentum of his missed swing to pivot his entire body. Vihera's leg swept through the empty air where Bosk's body had been a second before.
Realizing that staying close would be dangerous against his superior size, Vihera ducked under a heavy fist and used his arm as a platform, leaping away to put distance between them.
"Amazing..." murmured one of Bosk's sworn younger brothers—the man who had started the mess by hitting on Vihera.
Under the watchful eyes of the gathered crowd, the battle between Bosk and Vihera continued for about 20 minutes—a lethal dance that finally ended in a draw when the growing spectators made further combat impossible.