We sat across from Juzo-san in Yuji’s family dojo. Before beginning our usual training, we laid out Hiiragi-san's predicament.
"I see how it is," Juzo-san grunted.
"So, that’s the deal, Gramps. Could you teach us some flashy stage combat choreography? Just something simple would be fine."
"Please, I'm counting on you," Hiiragi-san added, bowing deeply. I figured I should probably follow suit and bowed as well.
After a moment of consideration, Juzo-san gave a casual nod.
"Very well."
"Really?"
"Of course. Though, having you lot perform ordinary stage combat is a bit..."
"Is there something wrong with that?"
Juzo-san stroked his chin, a look of doubt crossing his face.
"If you were giving a demonstration at some public event, that would be one thing. But in this case, I think the sparring you do in your daily training is more than enough. I have to wonder if there’s even a point to you performing choreographed combat."
"We’re doing this to persuade them, though," Yuji pointed out. "Wouldn't it be better if it looked more impressive?"
"If you wish to show the results of your training as martial artists, then perhaps. But if you want to prove your actual competence as explorers, showing your usual training form is the best way. Hiiragi girl, your parents are ordinary civilians, aren't they? Not explorers?"
"Yes, they are."
"Then all the more reason. Your everyday movements will be more convincing than any flashy performance."
I could see Juzo-san’s point. If we were using this as a tool for persuasion, showing her actual, gritty reality—even if it lacked "flair"—would probably be more effective than something superficially polished.
"Besides, rather than showing civilians an exchange of intricate techniques, it’ll be faster to just let them see Hiiragi girl and the rest of you moving in earnest. Once they see how you move when you're serious, they’ll lose the will to complain."
"Do you really think so?"
"It should be fine. If you’re still worried, we can just add a sequence at the end where you shatter each other’s weapons. That’ll provide plenty of impact."
Juzo-san replied confidently to Yuji, who was still tilting his head in doubt.
The sight of their daughter engaging in a high-speed exchange right before their eyes, only to end with both weapons splintering into pieces... Yeah, that would definitely leave an impression.
"For now, let’s give it a try."
Juzo-san stood up, and the rest of us followed.
I brought my wooden sword down, striking the head of Hiiragi-san’s wooden spear. Rather than trying to force a block against the impact, Hiiragi-san used her right hand as a pivot to spin the spear, whipping the butt-end toward the crown of my head. I slid my body slightly to the right to evade the strike, then stepped in and snapped my sword upward, targeting Hiiragi-san’s right hand as it acted as the spear’s axis.
Hiiragi-san hopped back to dodge, shifting her grip from the center of the shaft to the very end. Moving faster than her own retreat, she thrust the spear forward, extending its reach to its limit as she aimed for my carotid artery.
"Shi!"
I slammed a backhand strike into the side of the wooden spear as it closed in, parrying the tip. The force of the blow sent the spear flying from Hiiragi-san’s hand, leaving her seemingly defenseless, but I didn't press the attack. The resistance I’d felt when parrying the weapon had been far too light. I was wary that it might be a feint, like the one Juzo-san had pulled on me in the past.
We reset, distance opening between us. I pointed my sword at Hiiragi-san, waiting for her next move. We both shifted our positions with shuffling steps, eyes locked, waiting for the perfect moment to strike...
"Stop!"
Just as we both began to coil our strength to clash again, Juzo-san’s voice echoed through the dojo.
We watched each other for a few more seconds before exhaling and releasing the tension simultaneously.
"Phew... Thank you very much."
"Thank you very much."
Relaxing our stances, Hiiragi-san and I returned to the center of the dojo and bowed.
"That was a decent enough performance. If you’re showing it to civilians, that’ll be more than sufficient."
"Haa..."
"What’s that? You look dissatisfied."
"Ah, no... I just... I was wondering if it was really okay to move that slowly," Hiiragi-san admitted.
I’d been thinking the exact same thing.
During that exchange, we were only moving at about half our usual training speed. To be blunt, it felt agonizingly slow. If the goal was to demonstrate her power to her parents, I thought moving more dynamically would have been better.
"I understand what you're getting at, Hiiragi girl. But if you move too fast, the eyes of an ordinary person won't be able to keep up. Even at your current speed, the tip of your sword and the head of your spear are likely just a blur to them."
"..."
Juzo-san looked at us with an exasperated expression.
Now that he mentioned it, he was right. If we were trying to show them something, there was no point in moving at a speed they couldn't even perceive. It seemed our baseline for "normal" had become warped. Of course, the main reason for that was the man currently looking at us with such pity. No matter how fast we moved or how hard we attacked, we’d never managed to land a single effective hit on him.
"Well, if they still aren't convinced after seeing that, bring them to me. I’ll help you talk them around."
"Is that all right?" Hiiragi-san’s eyes widened in surprise.
"I haven't lived this long for nothing. Sometimes an old man’s word carries more weight than youngsters like you explaining your own skill."
He was right. Someone like Juzo-san, who embodied the image of a master martial artist, would be much more persuasive than Daiki or Yuji. People tended to decide how much to trust someone based on appearances, after all.
"Anyway, show your parents that spar first. If they’re satisfied with that, there’ll be no need for me to interfere."
"I hope so..." Hiiragi-san let out an uncertain sigh.
Personally, I thought that seeing that level of skill would be enough. Surely it proved that she wasn't going to get hurt by common monsters.
"Are you still worried about something, Hiiragi-san? I think that spar makes a pretty strong case for your safety."
"Yes, I think so too, Kokonoe-kun. But..."
"But?"
"I have a feeling they’ll just say that training and actual dungeon exploring are two different things and refuse to listen anyway."
Wow, they sounded like a handful. I’d never met them, but I could already tell it was going to be difficult.
"If only I had one more thing to provide a bit more impact..." Hiiragi-san mused, racking her brain.
So she felt she needed one more piece of evidence to truly crush her father’s opposition. Something besides sparring and drop items...
Ah.
"Hey, Hiiragi-san."
"What is it?"
"Have you ever shown them footage of your combat against monsters in the dungeon?"
"...No. I didn't want the hassle of them telling me to quit before the price of orc materials settled down, so I’ve kept it hidden."
"Then why not show them now?"
If she showed them actual combat footage from the action camera—the same stuff I showed Mika and the others—it might help. It was definitely "high impact" material. Of course, there was always the risk it might backfire and scare them even more... I watched Hiiragi-san’s face for her reaction.
"You're right. The reason I was hiding it is gone now, so it’s as good a time as any. The price of orc materials has finally stabilized, so even if we stop hunting them ourselves, the restaurant can afford to buy them on the market. The timing is perfect."
"Then I’ll pick out some of the monster combat clips. I have a few saved on my phone."
"Could you let me check them first?"
"Of course. I’ll pick out the ones where you’re the star, Hiiragi-san."
Hiiragi-san gave a weak smile.
Most of her recent combat footage involved her absolutely dominating orcs. I was honestly a little worried about how her parents would react to the massive gap between the daughter they knew and the powerhouse explorer she had become.
"It seems you have a plan, then?"
"Yes. Thank you for everything, Juzo-san."
"Then we’re done for today. Go on and give it your best shot."
"We will!" Hiiragi-san replied energetically.
As we were changing back into our clothes and packing up, Juzo-san clapped his hands as if he’d just remembered something.
"Oh, that’s right. There was something I needed to tell you lot."
"What is it, Juzo-san?"
"Kyosuke-kun called me around noon. Since you were at school, he asked me to pass a message along."
"A message from Kyosuke-san?"
We’d commissioned him to reforge our main weapons, including Shiranui. The deadline was approaching, so I assumed it was about that.
"Kyosuke-kun said he needs to extend the delivery date by about a week."
That was unexpected.
"He said that working on the materials you gave him took a bit more time than he anticipated, so he won't make the original deadline. What on earth did you give him?"
"Uh, well..."
The reason was definitely that ultra-high purity iron we’d handed over. He probably wasn't used to working with something that refined. It made sense that it would take more effort.
"Well, whatever. I’ve delivered the message."
"Ah, yes. Thank you very much."
"Good luck."
With that, Juzo-san left the dojo. The three of us stood there in silence for a moment before letting out a collective sigh.
"I guess we’re not picking up the gear this weekend, then."
"Yeah. If they aren't ready, they aren't ready."
"It's our fault for giving him such difficult materials, so we can't really complain," Hiiragi-san added.
We’d been planning to pick them up this weekend, but that was canceled now. Which meant our plan to take the new weapons for a spin in the dungeon next week was also pushed back. I’d been looking forward to it, so I felt a bit deflated.
"Was it a mistake to give him that ultra-high purity iron so suddenly?"
"Maybe, but we agreed that using dungeon drops would be better since they might retain their level up effects compared to normal materials."
"Exactly. We just have to accept this as a necessary cost."
"I guess you're right..."
Since we couldn't exactly hand over fantasy metals that no one knew how to process yet, that iron was the best material we could realistically provide. I’d heard in the news that only a handful of university research institutes and national technical research institutes had the gear to work with fantasy metals. It definitely wasn't something a single blacksmith could handle. There was no point in giving Kyosuke-san something he couldn't even melt.
"Wait, if the delivery date is being pushed back, does that mean the price goes up too?"
"Ah."
At Yuji’s question, Hiiragi-san and I froze.
Would there be an extra labor charge? I could probably cover up to a million yen if I had to, but I really wanted to avoid any unplanned expenses. Hiiragi-san looked particularly pale. She’d mentioned before that her cash reserves were low because she’d been taking her rewards as orc meat for the restaurant. She was essentially borrowing the money for the reforging from our party funds.
"We should call him tomorrow to confirm. Depending on the answer, we might have to spend the weekend in the dungeon just to raise some extra cash."
"Yes, you’re right. Let's do that. I absolutely have to persuade my father tonight!"
"Right, yeah."
Yuji looked a little intimidated by our intensity, but Hiiragi-san and I didn't have the luxury of worrying about him. If push came to shove, I’d have to consider selling off some of the skill scrolls or magic items sitting in my Spatial Storage.
Contemplating my finances, I slung my bag over my shoulder.
"All right, we’re all packed. Ready to go?"
"Yes!"
"O-Okay."
With Hiiragi-san and me fired up and Yuji trailing behind us, we left the house. We walked along the sidewalk of the main road, now lit by streetlamps, heading toward the ramen shop owned by Hiiragi-san’s parents.
On the way, we passed the rival shop—the one that had driven Hiiragi-san to become an explorer in the first place. The lights were on and the "Open" sign was out, but the interior looked pretty empty.
"That place doesn't look like it's doing very well," I noted.
"No. It’s been like that ever since our shop started serving dungeon ingredients."
"I see."
So Hiiragi-san’s family had won the battle for customers. That was a direct result of her hard work; she’d been hunting orcs with enough fervor to drive them to extinction.
"Ah, there it is. That's the shop my parents run."
About five minutes past the rival restaurant, Hiiragi-san’s family shop came into view.