NOVEL ONLINE FREE Chapter 25
Chapter 25: Adventurer-San, We’re Going to Watch
“Franz, will you cut it out already?”
“Stop pacing in front of me! It’s irritating!”
While everyone else was leisurely enjoying their free time, Franz alone was walking in circles around the sofa.
“But…”
After breakfast, they had seen Cross head out in an unusually excited manner, but as time passed, Franz began to feel increasingly uneasy.
Since arriving in this town, this was the first time Cross was venturing out alone. Though it was hard to imagine him getting lost on the well-trodden path to the guild, the warning from the Guildmaster kept echoing in Franz’s mind.
“What a pain. If you’re so worried, why don’t you just go check on him?”
Mauri, while maintaining a bow, gruffly suggested this…
But Franz hesitated at the thought of being considered nosy if he went alone.
“Mauri, can’t you come along?”
“You’re not a kid who can’t go to the bathroom at night, are you? Even on our days off, I don’t want to show my face at the guild.”
This heartless man…
“But, is he really alright? There are a lot of cheeky newbies. I’m worried he’s gotten into a fight.”
“Even if he does fight, the instructor will handle it… right?”
“Probably if it’s a high-ranked adventurer…”
“Honestly, haven’t you heard? The mercenary group that guy dismantled was C-Rank. Specialized in combat and there were eight of them…and they ended up like that?”
“……”
It seemed even Mauri felt unsettled after saying that, and eventually, Franz and the rest hastily left the house as a group.
“Good afternoon, Diana-san. Is Cross at the training ground…?”
“No! I don’t know!”
Before Franz could even finish asking, Diana vehemently denied, turning her face away dramatically as if sound effects were about to accompany the movement.
Did Cross do something?
“Ah, hello there, guardians.”
“…Guildmaster.”
Diana, who was sitting behind Hermann going over some documents, acknowledged them. Though they knew he was someone who genuinely cared about adventurers, his perpetually grumpy demeanor still gave Franz a strange shiver.
“You all came to watch, too?”
There was a hint of artificialness to his tone, as though he’d expected their arrival. It carried the same sense of orchestrated foreknowledge as the punishment incident.
“Yes, we were a bit concerned… Hmm? You all, too?”
Hermann’s lips curled into a sardonic smile, and he nodded as though he had the full picture of everything.
“I was also about to check how things were going. Come along.”
—As expected, he’s an inscrutable man.
Guided by the Guildmaster himself, they made their way to the training ground behind the guild.
“By the way, who’s in charge of the training this time?”
” ‘Strong Strike’ and ‘God Speed’.”
Named adventurers, known by their combat style or legendary exploits, receive such honorary nicknames as a mark of respect, symbolizing the peak of the adventurer world and the aspiration of all aspiring adventurers. It was a nightly ritual for Franz himself to imagine his own nickname before sleeping, a guilty pleasure.
“Mr. Brandon… and ‘God Speed’? I haven’t heard that name before. Barth, do you know?”
“That’s Nenet. A B-Rank. She’s been causing a ruckus in the tavern since old times; no one in the blacksmith district doesn’t know her.”
As they entered the grounds, the mock battle had already begun.
“Next! Come at me!”
At the center of the expansive training field, a female voice rang out. Viewing her, Franz immediately understood the meaning behind “God Speed.” Nenet, her name unfamiliar until now, was a leonine beastfolk, a species renowned among beastfolk for their speed.
“Tea-Teacher… I can’t go on…”
“Not good enough! You’re still alive, aren’t you?”
“I’m dying… I can’t take another step…”
“Not dying yet means you’re still alive! Don’t give up!”
Around her lay numerous rookie adventurers, incapacitated, yet Cross was nowhere among them. Looking around, Franz found him alone, observing a mock battle with Brandon. His initial panic that Cross might have done something subsided, as Brandon seemed perfectly normal.
“…What are you guys doing here?”
“Eh, well, we were bored at home, so we came as a group to provide some moral support.”
“Why are you just watching then?”
“Unknown. This gold… Brandon told me to wait.”
Franz felt it was awfully disrespectful to badmouth someone who was right next to him, but nonetheless, Cross appeared deeply dissatisfied.
“Guildmaster. This guy only follows instructions.”
“Troublesome. How about the participants this time?”
“There are two outliers. Neither of these match their ranks. They’re exceptional talents.”
Hearing this, Hermann widened his eyes.
“…Two? There’s another prodigy besides Cross-san?”
“There’s a G-Rank named Julius currently tangled up with Nenet. It’s said bunnyfolk can be dangerous when they snap… He’s among the top grade in that. In firepower alone, he’s undoubtedly A-Rank. If I were to seriously go against him, I’d be in real trouble.”
Brandon pointed his chin towards a small young man who was being shaken by the scruff of his shirt, who now appeared unconscious. Recalling their own similar state, a bitter memory surfaced.
“Later, I’ll need to reevaluate his report.”
Hermann, with a solemn expression, said so and proceeded towards the center with Cross.
“Nenet, this one’s the F-rank you’ve heard about. Would it be alright if you took on him next?”
“Sure thing! Everyone was just sleeping anyway, got nothing else to do!”
“Cross, I leave it in your hands.”
“My name’s Nenet! Nice to meet ya!”
Nenet, with a friendly smile, shook Cross’s hand, swinging it around vigorously. Being a small-framed woman about the size of Mauri, the sight seemed somewhat peaceful.
“—Ah. I see. This indeed is the hand of a warrior.”
Still holding Nenet’s hand, Cross’s lips curled into a ferocious grin, dropping a bead of unease into Franz’s chest. Cross rarely smiled. Occasionally, he regarded Mauri or Pamela with a fond gaze, but Franz hadn’t seen this kind of expression since the day they first met—when Cross was battling the giant with a deranged laugh.
“Cross, just a precaution, remember: this is a training session, not a fight to the death. Understand?”
“…… Oops.”
“What’s this ‘oops’ you’re saying?”
“Cross, you there…”
“No, no. It’s just a slip of the tongue. I do understand that this is training.”
—No, you had definitely forgotten.
After hearing of Cross’s background and travels, Franz had to admit he found it abnormal. Cross, driven by a unique ideology labeled “Bushido,” had willingly wandered battlefields and engaged in deadly duels with the strong to survive.
By Franz’s logic, there was only one term to describe such a person:
A berserker warrior.
“Cross, look us in the eyes and promise not to kill Nenet-san.”
“What nonsense, Pamela. I am—”
“Cross, please.”
Moved by the sincere expressions of Franz and Pamela, Cross exhaled softly.
“I swear upon the Bushido that I won’t kill her. … Is that enough?”
“Are you really clear on this?”
“For a warrior, breaking a vow is disgraceful. Should I fail, I shall cut open my stomach to atone.”
He didn’t have to go that far, but with consideration to his character, they could trust that Cross wouldn’t break a vow once made.
“Cross, do you want to kill me?”
“Nenet. His remarks can be disregarded, he’s quite a peculiar adventurer. More importantly, though he’s a beginner, it’s quite probable he has extensive combat experience. Treat him as though you’re sparring with a B-Rank.”
“???”
“Meaning, no holding back. Understand?”
“Not too well, but understood!”
With everyone assisting to clear out the sprawled rookies, an arena was prepared. Nenet and Cross stood apart with weapons that weren’t training equipment.
“Since I’ve been instructed not to hold back, I’ll use my serious sword! Come at me!”
“Agreed. Then, I shall proceed.”
Without exchanging intense stares or any pre-battle discussion, the battle began quite simply.
The first to move was Cross. Running towards Nenet, he began to accelerate approximately ten meters away, right hand resting upon his sword hilt.
“Cho—!”
Was this the move that subdued the giant!?
Though Franz nearly screamed out of anxiety, Nenet easily evaded by leaping into the air, further retreating with a high backflip after landing.
Cross pursued, timing his sword strike with her landing, but Nenet deflected it with a sharp twist and backward roll.
It was an acrobat-like maneuver. Moreover, each movement had an explosive sharpness to it, and the speed was astonishing.
“Impressive! Alright, I’ll get serious too!”
Nenet drew two short swords sheared at her waist, wielding one in each hand. A double-sword style user.
“Huff!”
In the instant she exhaled, her figure vanished from sight.
“What?! Where…?”
For a brief moment, she was lost to view, but the clashing swords redirected Franz’s eyes to the sight of both combatants exchanging blows at speeds too great to follow.
Cross was standing still swinging his sword, but Nenet appeared and disappeared, reappearing and then vanishing again—each instance almost too fast to follow.
“Wow, she’s fast. Is it normal for a leonine beastfolk to be that quick?”
“Idiot. A regular leonine wouldn’t have this kind of speed. She must be using some kind of body enhancement miracle.”
“No, I didn’t feel any magical energy. That’s her natural ability. Cross-san is fast too, but Nenet-san is practically teleporting…”
“The Guildmaster, even I can’t visually keep up with their swords. Who’s currently gaining the upper hand?”
“…Incredibly, they’re even. Nenet has the advantage in agility, but Cross’s sword speed is superior.”
“His dynamic vision isn’t normal either. Nenet overwhelms her opponents with short and explosive battles through speed and attack volume, but… he’s handling her well.”
Even the former A-Ranked adventurers bore an expression of astonishment.
“Man, you’re impressive. No one has ever been able to keep up with my speed before!”
“You do honor me. It’s been too long since I’ve faced such velocity. First impression? I would’ve been killed long ago.”
“Someone as fast as you?!”
“Yes. That time, my first attack cost me an ear.”
—Did he just say he’d “lost an ear”? Probably just misheard.
As they watched in anticipation, Cross’s movement began to vary: slowing, speeding up, or even swaying, seemingly like he was fooling around.
“What’s he doing?”
“Nenet’s movements are being read. She’s fast, but too direct. Complicated motions like his are too difficult to respond to.”
As per Brandon’s words, Nenet’s flow began to falter. Unable to attack properly as Cross was in constant motion, she began to be overtaken.
“Damn it! I’m pissed now!!”
Nenet placed her hands on the ground with her dual swords, assuming a quadruped stance. She began bounding about the training grounds and even onto the walls and ceiling, her form now impossible to follow, with only the sounds of her sword’s clashes and her bounding footsteps audible.
Cross’s form began to take injuries as though sliced by the wind alone.
“What…the…?”
As Franz trembled in awe at the high-level adventurer’s abilities, a delighted voice rang out across the training grounds.
“Excellent!! This is magnificent! You’re entertaining me thoroughly!”
With that, Cross drew a short sword, a wakizashi, and raced toward a corner of the training ground. There, he stopped with his back against the wall, his right hand extended forward and the left raised to guard above.
So, that’s how—by positioning like that, he can narrow down Nenet’s direction!
From there, it would either be from the front or above.
The next moment, a tremendous sound like colliding rocks echoed throughout the training ground, and Nenet appeared, her dual swords attempting to sever the short sword Cross had held high.
Cross released his main sword with his right hand, seizing Nenet by the neck before slamming her to the ground.
“—Kharff!”
Cross swiftly drove his short sword into the ground right by her face as a finishing move.
“Ugh… I lose!!”
Nenet declared her surrender with teary eyes, and thus the match ended.
“Cross… wasn’t that a bit excessive against a woman?”
“Your words are impudent, Franz. When dealing with amateurs, you’re correct, but there’s no distinction of gender in those who wield a blade. To hold back would be disrespectful indeed.”
With that, Cross extended a hand to help Nenet up.
“Thanks, that was fun. My gratitude to you, Nenet.”
“Let’s do it again! I’ll get even stronger too!”
The two shook hands, celebrating each other’s efforts in battle.
“Alright! Let’s all go grab something to eat!”
Without waiting for Franz and the others to agree, Nenet dragged Cross out of the training ground, pulling him along. Hurrying after them, Franz was stopped by Hermann.
“Franz, your party is E-Rank, correct?”
“Yes.”
“In that case, I’ll promote Cross to a higher rank today under my authority.”
They widened their eyes at his words. They knew the Guildmaster held the authority for special promotions, but this was the first time they’d seen it exercised.
“……Is this alright?”
“Once E-Rank, Cross can no longer attend the new recruit training sessions. Diana was correct; it’s clear that he’s beyond the level of those newcomers. Besides, it’s more convenient for the party if all ranks align, though technically he could be placed even higher.”
With appreciation expressed to Hermann, they raced off to convey this good news.
As all the rookies had returned, the expansive and quiet training field left only two men behind.
“Brandon, how did you see it?”
“Something feels off… He’s unpredictable, like he might explode at any moment. Watching him reminds me of myself a while back; it irks me for some reason.”
“Would you call that a case of familial hatred?”
“It could be that. But, I certainly don’t want him to end up like me”
” …I ain’t asking for forgiveness on that leg thing. But, I truly regret not being able to protect ya back then.”
“Bastard. As I’ve said many times, this is all on me. I acted recklessly and got us into that mess. If anything, the party dissolved because of my actions, so it’s my fault to apologize for.”
“……You’re a genuinely noble man. I deeply respect you.”
“More importantly, haven’t you met with the Old Hag recently, over that fight grievance? Still the same?”
“Yeah. She’s still as strong and beautiful as ever. The sole unchanged thing that remains with the Red Dragon party.”
Hermann wore an almost dreamy expression, as if listening to distant music, but this was starkly contrary to Brandon’s expression of sourness, as if rotten food had been forced into his mouth.
“Helm, seriously… do you know how old that woman is? Your face and that aristocratic way of speaking, they’re more disturbing than anything.”
“Shut up, Bran. Age doesn’t matter in love. Sally will come back to me one day. It’s fate for us to be bound together.”
In the secluded training grounds solely occupied by the two, the carefree laughter of rough adventurers resonated and then disappeared.
*Clicking Heart* to easily send support.
You can support with just a click. (Login required)
To Support
Account holders please Log in.
Learn more about possible reading experiences on Kakuyomu.