137 CHAPTER II JOINTENDANCE EXAMINATION (1) (2/2)

At the signal to begin, the man was blown away by an invisible attack and fell down, crashing into the same prospective recruits behind him .

I could see that Hermann had attacked him in the gut, but how many of these guys figured it out?

With that in mind, I resumed my explanation.

'Yes, sir. One person eliminated. Anyone else want to try next?

When I asked a question, nobody raised their hand.

I guess they all thought he was no match for Hermann.

Yes!

I'm disappointed in the applicants when I hear a cheerful voice and a hand raised a little low from the back of the line.

'Oh, well then, come forward.

d*mn. You thought this was the end of the day.

Good to know someone's brave enough to try.

Now, what kind of guy is going to challenge me: ......?

What's she doing here? What's a girl doing here?

How could a woman win?

'I can't believe this guy is a knight: ......

As the challengers who had raised their hands came forward, the prospective recruits began to buzz.

And when he stepped forward, I knew why.

To my surprise, the challenger was a woman.

And, from her youthful appearance, she looked like a girl not much older than me and Hermann.

”Hey. Whoever said anything about a woman, next time you say that, you'll all be rejected!　I don't like prejudice and discrimination, you know?

You don't want to pretend you're more gimpy than that girl, do you?

All right, then, you can start whenever you want.

And then I immediately sent a telepathic message to Hermann.

(Hermann, this time I want to see exactly what my opponent is capable of, so please don't kill him instantly like before.

(Yes!)

Well, I'll have to go.

Oh, you're fast!

I yelped at the girl's unexpected speed.

''Hmph!''

But Hermann caught the attack with plenty of time to spare and flicked the girl away .

Wow, that was relentless .

Well, it's just that I didn't end it right away .

That's what I thought, but ...... the girl thrust her sword into the ground and stood up.

''You have great guts.

This thing is going to be really strong if you polish it up.

I'm not done yet~!

The girl said that and attacked the helmsman again.

It seems that the strategy was to attack with great force and leave the helmsman no room for counterattack.

The strategy worked, leaving the Hermann defenseless.

”Is he faster than the bare Hermann?

Well, it's no match for the helmsman who uses attributeless magic.

Say!

Ug. ......

The girl goes down after taking a body blow from Hermann.

”What's your name, boy, what's your name?

I quickly ran over and asked his name as I soothed his pain with holy magic.

'I'm Alma.'

Alma. Where did you learn to use a sword?

I learned from the orphanage.

Did you learn that in the orphanage?　I only know of one orphanage that would teach you swordsmanship?

Could it be the little orphanage in the Imperial City?

'What?　Oh, yes. . yes.

I knew it. Is that orphanage a professional in training the best and brightest?

I'll have to go and see what kind of education I can get next time.

Yeah. Do you know the Bell?

Yes. She's one of the older girls in my orphanage.

One below Bell. So she's one step above me.

Okay. Why didn't you use your magic?

''Why? ...... I don't have any proper magic other than no attributes.

No, I know from the appraisal that it's only non-attribute magic.

No, you can't do non-attribute magic?

'What?　Oh, yes.

Come to think of it, Belle couldn't use non-attribute magic either .

''I see. ....... This is going to be strong. Hermann, you've got a good rival.

''No, if things continue as they are, I'll lose sooner rather than later. I had to use non-attribute magic to win.

Because. Well, I'll give you that as a reward.

I said and handed him the loyalty bracelet I had prepared for him.

This is: ......

It's my guys' stamp of approval. I'll give it to you for your bravery and potential.

'Oh, thank you. ......'

Alma received the bracelet from me, bowing her head as if she was about to get down on her knees.

Behind him, Hermann looked serious and thought about something.

Maybe he was just in shock after that battle.

Later, I'll tell you why you almost lost in the flesh.

Okay, anyone else want to challenge me?

Let me go!

I listened, and after a moment's pause, I immediately heard a thick voice.

And then out from the back, a guy with a hell of a vibe came out anyway.

”Hey, that guy ......

Definitely. That's an S-rated Bernhardt.

Is he even in here?

Huh. An S-ranked adventurer. Yeah, he's definitely strong .

I used my appraisal to check the man in front of me and said in my mind that this guy was stronger than Hermann .

I see. ....... Hermann, I'll fight this time.

'What?　Soooooooooooooooooo ......

Don't get me wrong. He's that strong. Just watch and learn this time.

''Wow, okay. ....... Master's fight, I won't miss a second of it.

Hermann stepped back, making it hard to tell whether he was a little frustrated or sad.

''Ho. It's a pleasure to be allowed to fight the prodigy of the Forster family.

It's an honor to be the one to fight an S-class adventurer.

Someday, I wanted to be one of those things.

With that in mind, I summoned Serena.

It's ...... a holy sword.

Yes, I have. Have you seen it?

Yes. Years ago, when I challenged the hero.

How old are you, man?　I was tempted to say, but I knew his age from the appraisal, so I wasn't that surprised.

Maybe he challenged me when I was a teenager.

”Wow, I didn't know that happened.

That was a youthful indiscretion, wasn't it? It was that experience that made me so strong.

That's good. All right, let's get to work. Come on out and play.

”Law. Am I the only one who wants to challenge you? Okay. I'll go now.

Gakin!

As usual, S-ranked, heavy on the attack.

That's what I thought as I took the first hit that most people wouldn't have recognized in Bernhardt.

”You take it easy for that.

Well, I'm strong enough to be called a prodigy or something.

As he said that, I lightly attacked him.

”Huh. I haven't felt like I couldn't win this much since I was a hero.

Bernold was saying that, but his body was backing away, desperately defending itself .

''That's a nice word . Say!

I slipped through my defenses and put my sword to Bernold's neck.