The Labyrinth City Exil held a significantly larger population than the frontier city of Gilm. Yet, even here, few places remained lit after dark. While magic items designed for illumination were not inherently expensive, the sheer quantity required to light a city meant the costs added up quickly. As a result, they were generally restricted to areas where people congregated, like the entertainment districts or the guild.
Furthermore, House Marstchel and House Rebisole were currently buying up magic stones across the city, driving up the price of even the smallest stones used to power lighting items.
Consequently, the darkness of the park, situated a short distance from the bustling entertainment district, was pierced only by moonlight rather than any artificial glow.
"Well, this much light is more than enough," Vihera said with a melting smile, her eyes fixed on Rei.
"I keep thinking this... our languages might sound similar, but they clearly don't mean the same thing. 'Taking a liking' to someone, 'something good happening'... though, obviously, I wouldn't have followed you if I thought you meant those in the literal sense."
"Oh? Then again, wouldn't most men be thrilled to follow if a woman like me invited them?"
"...Well, I won't deny that," Rei admitted, nodding with a sigh.
In all his travels, Vihera possessed a beauty that easily ranked among the top three women he had ever met, paired with a body designed to allure. She was clad in a provocative, dancer-like costume made of multiple layers of fabric so thin they were practically transparent. Most men—and likely many women—would find it impossible to refuse her. Rei was no exception to that rule.
"However, I’m not sure they’d be so happy if they knew this was the kind of 'business' you had in mind."
Though Vihera wore an enchanting smile, she wasn't projecting a seductive aura. It was pure, unadulterated Fighting Spirit.
The reason it didn't feel like murderous intent was likely because her goal wasn't to kill him, but to revel in the act of combat itself.
Sensing the prickling tension in the air, Rei shifted his gaze to her limbs—limbs that possessed a bewitching whiteness under the moon's glow.
However, the sharpness of his look made it clear he wasn't merely entranced by her seductive appearance.
"Even if we're going to do this, are you really okay without your Gauntlets and Greaves? Those were high-level magic items, weren't they?"
"Yes, you could say they're quite literally my hands and feet. But I've left them at a Blacksmith Shop for some adjustments, so I don't have them on me. If I'd known I was going to meet the boy I've taken a liking to in a place like this, I would have told them to wait until tomorrow."
The way she sighed regretfully made her look like a maiden lamenting that she wasn't wearing her favorite outfit when running into her beloved.
The only difference was that her regret centered on combat gear rather than fashion.
Vihera brushed back her reddish-purple wavy hair and let out a listless sigh.
In the next instant, her eyes sharpened, transforming into those of a bird of prey—or a apex predator.
"But just because I lack my weapons doesn't mean I should pass up a precious tryst with you, right?"
"...I'm telling you, your definition of a 'tryst' is definitely different from mine."
Letting out his third or fourth sigh of the evening, Rei locked his gaze onto her. It wasn't a romantic look; it was the wary stare of a hunter monitoring a dangerous beast.
"Hehe, isn't it wonderful? Just the two of us in a quiet park, illuminated only by the moon. By any normal logic, this has to be a tryst, right?"
"...Strictly speaking from the vocabulary used, I suppose."
"Right? Oh, and come to think of it, I've introduced myself, but I haven't heard your name properly yet. May I hear it?"
"Why bring that up now? You've heard Elena calling me plenty of times."
"That's just that girl Elena saying it. I haven't heard it from your own lips yet."
"You're weirdly persistent about that. ...Fine. I'm Rei. A B-Rank Adventurer of Gilm. I've also got the alias of 'Crimson'."
"Yes, I've heard the stories. Didn't you burn the entire Bestia Imperial Army to ash all by yourself?"
Her smile was dazzling, but the topic was anything but. Rei offered a wry smile at how much the rumors had grown.
"The stories have been exaggerated. It wasn't nearly that grand. At most, I burned the lead unit, and even then, I didn't destroy everything with my magic alone."
"Really? But the fact that you possess such power remains. ...In that case, please, show me that combat ability for myself!"
With those words, Vihera closed the distance with footwork so smooth she seemed to slide across the grass. The five-meter gap vanished in a heartbeat. Before Rei could fully register the transition, Vihera was in front of him, smiling as she reached out with her right hand.
Just as her hand was about to seize his left shoulder, an expression of disappointment flickered across her face—as if she believed her target was too slow to react.
"Heh. Not bad. I've never seen a movement like that before."
Before she could grip him, Rei’s right hand shot up and caught her wrist.
"...Eh? ...!?"
For a second, Vihera looked genuinely stunned. The shock was intensified by the fact that she had just downgraded her opinion of his skill.
Still, her recovery was impressive. She didn't try to rip her arm away with brute force; instead, she used a refined technique to parry the direction of Rei's strength, slipping her wrist free through the resulting gap.
She leapt backward and landed with cat-like grace. Her thin garments fluttered in the air, their movement seemingly designed to dazzle and distract her opponent.
"Perhaps I underestimated you a little too much?"
"I wonder. I'll admit that sliding movement of yours surprised me. It's incredibly fluid."
"Hehe. That's not something you should be saying so casually, Rei, considering you handled it with ease."
For the first time, she called him 'Rei' instead of 'boy.' It was a sign that she finally recognized him not just as a person of interest, but as an individual she had to face with everything she had.
Noticing the shift, Rei flashed a fierce smile and watched her with sharp eyes.
"Well, since you took the first shot... it's my turn!"
He kicked off the ground, rapidly closing the distance. While Vihera's movement was fluid and graceful, Rei's was explosive and linear. It was a charge that utilized his sheer muscle mass and the magical power of his Sleipnir's Shoes. Curves versus straight lines—and in a race to the destination, the straight line was always faster.
"So fast!"
Vihera cried out in genuine admiration at the speed of the fist flying toward her face. Even as she shouted, her reflexes took over. She judged the trajectory and gently extended her own hand to brush against Rei's right arm.
"Whoa!"
The next cry of surprise came from Rei as he was suddenly launched into the air.
He understood the physics of what had happened. She had redirected the sheer momentum of his own punch, using his speed to flip his center of gravity.
Knowing his own physical limits, Rei marveled even as he performed a mid-air rotation to stabilize himself. The principle was simple, but he wondered how many people in the world possessed the god-tier timing Vihera had just displayed.
He landed on the grass. Thanks to his mid-air spin, he had negated most of the impact. His feet skidded across the turf for several meters before he finally came to a complete halt.
"I didn't expect to be thrown by my own strength."
"Hehe. I'm just a delicate woman, after all. Since I can't beat a man with power, I have to rely on technique, don't I?"
Her enchanting smile was identical to the one she'd worn before they started, but her eyes were different. A fierce light, like that of a predator intoxicated by the thrill of the hunt, burned within them.
Rei gave a wry smile at the sheer contradiction between her words and her gaze.
"Now, let us continue. Our Bloodstained Ball under the moon!"
Vihera charged again, using that same inscrutable, sliding movement.
Rei, however, was already adjusting. He had seen the trick once.
She reached out again, but this time her target wasn't his shoulder—it was his flank. Rei swung his fist to parry her arm, but the moment they made contact, Vihera used the momentum of his strike to spin her body like a top.
Using the centrifugal force of the spin, she unleashed a Backfist strike aimed directly at his jaw.
"Whoops!"
Rei reflexively leaned back, letting the fist whistle past his face. He moved to launch a counterattack, but—
"Guh!"
A powerful impact slammed into his abdomen, blasting him backward.
(What? I actually felt that through the Dragon Robe!?)
While flying through the air, he snapped his eyes toward Vihera.
She was standing where he had been a moment ago, her arm extended. It wasn't the right hand she'd used for the Backfist strike; it was her left hand, positioned in a perfect Palm strike.
Noticing that he was calmly analyzing her even as he was being blown away, Vihera’s eyes widened in surprise. She immediately gave chase to follow up.
Rei forced his body to stabilize mid-air. A dull, throbbing pain radiated from his stomach.
Ignoring the discomfort, he touched down. He dropped to one knee for a split second from the force of the blow, but the pressure of her approaching Fighting Spirit forced him back to his feet instantly.
(Dull pain is the worst. I could handle being sliced open, but this internal stuff is a pain.)
He waited for her. With her dancer's silk and reddish-purple wavy hair trailing behind her, revealing her alluring figure as she closed in, she looked like a maiden of death.
"This is getting serious... Hah!"
Her movements still lacked any tell-tale preparatory signs, but Rei had seen enough to adapt. He dodged a punch that carried the full weight of her momentum by tilting his head just a fraction of an inch. The sheer wind pressure from the fist left a small scratch on his cheek.
He didn't counter immediately. Instead, he pivoted his body.
Vihera's next fist whistled through the space where his ribs had been.
It was her pattern: use the first strike to draw the eye, then strike the resulting opening.
Sensing it instinctively, Rei pivoted again to evade, then used that momentum to continue the rotation. He aimed his elbow at the side of her head—and stopped a hair's breadth away.
At the same time, Vihera's right hand was resting against Rei's throat.
The head and the throat. Both were lethal targets.
"A draw, then," Rei muttered.
Vihera shook her head slightly.
"I specialize in hand-to-hand combat, but you don't, do you, Rei? So, it's my loss... though I hate to say it. I certainly had the disadvantage."
They were so close that their lips would have touched if either moved an inch. Yet the air between them wasn't romantic; it was thick with the tension of two warriors.
"Besides, you held back, didn't you?"
"Held back? I don't remember doing that."
"You didn't use your weapons."
"If we're going there, you didn't have your Gauntlets or Greaves either."
"That was my own choice. But you could have drawn that knife at your waist if you'd really wanted to win, couldn't you?"
"That's..."
Rei went silent.
Since she wasn't using her primary weapons, he had decided to meet her on her own terms in a fistfight. It had been a rule born of a Tacit Agreement. But Vihera, a martial arts specialist, clearly wasn't satisfied with a draw against someone whose expertise lay in weapons.
"But fine. Next time, let's fight when we're both at our best. I'll have my Gauntlets and Greaves, and I won't hold anything back. You use every trick and weapon you have too, Rei."
"...Personally, I’d be fine if we never did this again," Rei muttered with a sigh.
Vihera shrugged as if exasperated. Because they were still pressed together, the movement was transmitted directly to him. Her ample chest, thin fabric being the only barrier, pressed firmly against Rei's body.
"You really should learn some modesty," Rei said, his face turning a deep shade of red.
Vihera noticed his reaction and a playful light returned to her eyes.
"We weren't at full strength, but a loss is a loss. ...I can't spend the night with you after a performance like that, but here's a reward."
She leaned in and pressed her lips against his.
It was a soft, brief kiss that lasted only a few seconds. The suddenness of it made Rei's face turn even redder.
"Hehe. Be grateful. You just had my first kiss. Let's fight again soon. If you win then, Rei... we'll spend the night together for real."
She gently patted his bright red cheek and turned to walk away.
Rei stood frozen for several minutes, unable to move.
He remained completely oblivious to the other presence that was quietly slipping away from the park.