Arifureta Vol 3 Chapter 6 (1/2)

Chapter 6 : The Empire and the Heroes (Cla.s.smate Side 3 Part II)

Continuing from the previous…

3 days later, the imperial envoys finally arrived.

Currently, Kouki, the dungeon clearing members, leaders of the kingdom, and a delegation of priests led by Ishtar were out in full force to receive the five envoys, who were standing in the middle of the red carpet opposite King Erihid (TN: is this his name?)

“It was good of you to come, sir envoys. Do well, therefore, to make certain of our heroes’ surpa.s.sing valour.”

“Your majesty, you have our thanks indeed for accepting this sudden request for an audience. That said…may we know the ident.i.ty of the Hero?”

“Mm. We will introduce him first. Sir Kouki, would you step forward?”

“Yes.”

The unveiling of Kouki and the others followed immediately after the formal salutations between the king and the messengers, with the King calling him to appear before them. Despite the fact that not even two months had pa.s.sed, his look was utterly fearless, quite unlike when first summoned.

While they were not here, if the palace maids, n.o.ble ladies and Kouki’s fans in the stay-behind group saw him now they would without a doubt start going red in the face and releasing heated sighs of fascination. Those who had made advances on Kouki already numbered in the double digits…but due to his extreme denseness, their approaches were just those of “warm and friendly people” to him. A naturally dense hero was walking the earth.

(TN: This is one of the things I think the author absolutely has to fix if this webnovel becomes an LN – these asides that are basically like ‘wut, what, where?’ moments in terms of plot. I know he’s trying to funny, but still…)

After this the heroes were introduced, starting from Kouki.

“Oh, so you are the heroes. Quite young, I must say. Pardon my rudeness, but did you truly break through the 65th floor? If memory serves, a monster known as the Behemoth appears there…”

While scrutinizing Kouki, the messenger also took in Ishtar’s open manner, and cast a suspicious gaze upon him. One of the envoy’s bodyguards also looked the Hero up and down in an appraising manner.

Being discomfited by their gazes, Kouki answered them.

“Well, may I speak? As to whether we defeated it…ah, would you like to look at a map of the 66th floor?”

Kouki proposed various proofs, but the envoy shook his head and allowed a smile to drift onto his face.

“No, thank you. There is a quicker method than that. Would you have a mock battle with one of my guards? That way, I would be able to see your strength immediately, Sir Hero.”

“Well, I don’t mind, but…”

Kouki looked back at the king, slightly puzzled. Having caught that look, the king himself turned to Ishtar for his approval. He nodded. With Ehit’s authority behind him, it would have been an easy matter to convince the empire to accept Kouki as humanity’s leader, but a real battle was the quickest way to make the meritocratic empire truly recognize him as such.

“Very well. Sir Kouki, show them your strength as you desire.”

“It’s decided then. Well, we will impose upon you to prepare a location.”

So it was in this abrupt manner that the mock battle between the hero and the envoy’s bodyguard was decided.

Kouki’s opponent could not be a more ordinary person. He was neither particularly tall nor short, bereft of any notable features, and had a face one could easily lose sight of in a crowd. At first blush, there was nothing “strong” about him at all.

He held his large edgeless sword downward casually – a stance that may as well not have been one at all.

Kouki was a little angered by this. He would give this person a taste of his spirit with the first blow, and make him devote himself seriously as well.

“Here I come!”

Kouki came in like the wind. His swift “High Speed Movement” narrowed the s.p.a.ce between them at once as he swung his bamboo sword down with a powerful whipping sound. If this was an ordinary warrior, he would have had trouble even perceiving it. Of course, Kouki intended to stop just before hitting. But there was no point worrying about that. Rather, it was Kouki who was going to get a taste of ‘proof’ from the outcome.

CRACK!

“Guh!”

The one blown away was Kouki. The bodyguard readied his sword after that swing, glaring at him. At the instant where he had stopped his simulated attack and relaxed, his opponent had casually knocked his sword upward, causing him to be pushed back.

“Haaa…Hey, hey, hero, is that all you’ve got? Everything? What happened to your motivation?”

Rude words that ill-befit an ordinary face came from the bodyguard as his expression showed first astonishment, and then gave way to rising disappointment.

Indeed, Kouki had made such a casual thrust from the front because he had judged the bodyguard based on his appearance, and he had clearly been repulsed in his present state. Having come to a realization about himself due to this experience with his opponent, he was once again angry – but this time the anger was self-directed.

(TN: Not sure about this paragraph, because the author uses the term ‘composition’ for some reason that my lousy j.a.panese won’t let me perceive; I replace it therefore with ‘state’, which I can see fitting into the English)

“I’m sorry. Please take care of me once more.”

This time Kouki’s eyes were serious, even as he apologized for his poor manners. Seeing him like this, the bodyguard made a displeased face and said,

“There are no ‘next times’ on the battlefield.”

Nonetheless, he resumed his natural stance, indicating that he would continue.

Letting out a battle cry, Kouki charged.

Enhanced by “High Speed Movement”, the bamboo blade swung diagonally down, upwards, and then forwards in a thrust. The swiftness was such that wavering afterimages were left behind in Kouki’s wake.

But even against such a storm of sword-blows, the guard seemed to dodge using only the bare minimum of movements, looking for a chance to counterattack. Even when he lost track of Kouki’s movements and was attacked in his blind spot, he could still fend the hero off.

The guard’s movements caused Kouki to remember something – Knight Captain Meld. There were already considerable differences in their specs, but so far he had been unable to surpa.s.s him in a mock battle. The reason for this was an overwhelming difference in combat experience.

Most likely, the guard was the same, having stood on many battlefields before this one, and his combat experience could fill up the gap in their specs. In short, this person was on the same level as or even above Meld.

“Hmm. I guess at this level of physical ability an ordinary man wouldn’t be your match. Still, there’s something missing. You didn’t have any affinity for battle originally, right?”

“Huh? Um, yes, that’s true. I was a mere student at first.”

“And now you’re the ‘Apostle of G.o.d’, huh.”

Ishtar and his a.s.sociates from the church snorted in displeasure at the guard.

“Hey, hero. Prepare yourself, I’ll be going at you from here on out. Don’t go easy on me, or you might get killed.”

So declaring, he charged. This charge was a not high speed movement on Kouki’s level. Instead, it felt almost slow…and yet,