Chapter 8 (1/2)
ru
Fighting Skills
Uneventfully, three days pa.s.sed.
We advanced on stone pavement. Ria was in front on foot, with Lulu on the donkey’s back behind her.
The journey was peaceful. Though a destination had been decided on, it wasn’t urgent. While enjoying the surrounding scenery, you could enjoy the true pleasure of travelling.
“Since this is your so-called journey to increase your fighting skills, I thought that you’d be in more of a rush.”
“Hmm? That’s a pain so let’s take our time. Even though I said this is for training, it wouldn’t be smart to do that the entire time.”
Ria was in a good mood. Although she was only walking, she was in a good mood.
The reason was the katanas visible at her waist.
They weren’t wooden swords nor an imitation swords, they were genuine katanas of different lengths. If it were j.a.pan, lethal weapons like this were an out.
She carried herself in a dignified manner walking during the day. Just this made her glad. After all, up to now she had only been using the wooden sword for a weapon.
This was because wearing a j.a.panese katana was a man’s romance. Of course Lulu was a woman and couldn’t understand a martial artist.
By the way, the wooden sword for beating people to death was in the magic pouch as well. Katanas were too good for the likes of goblins. Maintenance was immense.
They ate their various rations, peacefully spending the afternoon, however a figure suddenly flew past overhead.
“Oh, a dragoon.”
“A pursuer?”
A dragoon is a soldier that rode on a wyvern. Although a wyvern was more or less cla.s.sified as a sub-dragon, it looked completely unlike a dragon. As for the differences between a dragon and a sub-dragon, they were about as different as mice and humans.
That dragoon, after revolving around the two, returned to where it came from. Its direction was directly towards the royal capital.
“We were found.”
“Yeah, looks like it.”
“Think they’ll come to bring us back?”
“If so I’ll beat them.”
“I’d prefer a peaceful method.”
“Then I’ll beat them peacefully.”
Ria grinned and laughed, though that doesn’t mean she was joking.
Anyways, if they were enemies she had confidence to moderately wound them and make them give up.
However, the situation exceeded Ria’s expectations.
They didn’t change their route. Lulu only glanced back sometimes.
Sensing that it wasn’t the shaking luggage on its back, the donkey continued walking slowly.
Before evening, in Ria’s ears that had the Gift of Keen Senses, was the sound of horses’ hooves.
“They came. Three of them.”
“Understood. Though I also have good hearing.”
Even though she’s a half-elf, an elf is an elf. Although her eyes and ears were certainly superior to a human’s, Ria’s were beyond even that. It was the Dragon’s Bloodline.
“What do we do? Are we going to continue hiding?”
“No, although its been simple and most of the time travelers would just pa.s.s by, being searched by magic would happen sooner or later. In any event, this is a bit of a bitter experience.”
Folding her arms, she stood in the center of the road. Fortunately other travelers hadn’t come for a while.
Before long, three knights riding horses came in to sight. However…
“Geh-, Reyas.”
“Geh-, Carlos.”
Changing their motives, the two’s faces strained.
That the vice-captain of the knights would personally pursue them was unexpected. And for Lulu, the other knight was someone she wanted to avoid.
By the way, the last person was inconsequential.
“Carlos the Elf Lover huh…”
“That person, he only sees my ears.”
He was the best young soldier in the chivalric order, though while his personality and pedigree couldn’t be criticized, his dream to embrace an elf was famous. Was he twenty years old this year?
By the way, Lulu turns twenty-four this year. Because she is a half-elf, she looks much younger than him.
Lulu got off the donkey and we waited for our pursuers’ arrival.
Reyas arrived first, dismounting a small distance away. The other two followed his lead.
“Princess…”
Reyas had a stunned expression on, his fighting spirit unable to be seen.
“Please return as soon as possible. His Majesty is worried about you.”
“From this cute child’s journey, you mean, huh. Could you stop persuading me, Reyas?”
“Although you left the message and disappeared, not searching for you would be impossible.”
“Since I’m going to the labyrinth city for now, I’d like it if you didn’t worry and reported that back.”
Haah, Reyas let out a sigh.
“With all due respect, does the princess understand what is happening to the court right now?”
“I know. For that reason, I did it to separate from the court to not be used.”
As she said that, a tinge of praise appeared in Reyas’ expression.
“That’s unexpected. I thought that you were certainly uninterested in such things.”
“Well, I don’t want to be involved.”
Ria shrugged her shoulders. The atmosphere was calm.
“Still, please return for now. If you’d like, I don’t mind if you accompany us to the labyrinth city.”
“Since Rufus-jiichan isn’t there anymore, it would probably be bad if the strongest knight in the kingdom disappeared.”
“That is correct, there is a dissension.”
The air became heavy.
“Even if you have to go through a bit of a painful experience, I am bringing you back.”
“Yeah, it’s good that’s easy to understand.”
Reyas drew his sword. Not the wooden sword usually used for training, but a s.h.i.+ning mithril sword.
Of course, getting hit by that would cause bleeding. If Ria wore nothing but her leather armor, it would be easy for the blade to reach her body.
Honestly, Ria had the odds in her favor.
The defeated element couldn’t be found.
First of all, his prepared weapon was bad. With his magic mithril sword, he had no choice but to go easy on her. Though it would be stopped if Ria’s Hard Body Skill was used, Reyas didn’t know that.
In other words, he would aim at the ends of her limbs, avoiding her vitals. In that case the wooden sword would have been better.
Even if he said that they may have a painful experience, he could not afford to greatly injure the princess. At that point he was already at a large disadvantage.
As for Ria, in an extreme case she didn’t mind going so far as killing Reyas. Of course she didn’t have the intention to kill him, but aiming at his vitals was an option.
“I’ll say this, Reyas. Until now, while training with you, I’ve never once used my true strength.”