Chapter 26

Roberia sat in a relaxed position with her knees tucked towards her chest.

R: (It doesn't sound like a cart, more like... Stilts?)

Her green irises matched the slightly-moldy rock she was leaning against. Her brilliant red hair was tied into a ponytail behind her and tucked into her shirt so that it would not be grabbed easily. Roberia waited patiently for her next target, her huge sword securely clasped in her hands.

There was little for merchants and sightseers to stop by for. Rulid was better known as a pit stop, a place to spend the night for travelers who wished to transit between Bellpot and Eliasbury. The mountainous regions in Findel made it hard for people to travel about so the forked roads were necessary for transporting goods safely. One would have to decide between taking a left or right at a specific crossroad from Dermesten, the town next to Yhorfe to reach Eliasbury or Bellpot.

While the direct route from Dermesten to Bellpot was guarded and secure, Rulid was in a difficult spot with forests to a side and the mountain another. Travelers or merchants who stocked up enough for both Eliasbury and Bellpot would use the Rulid route to avoid congestions or paying tolls. Thus, the goods they harbored would be essential for crossing the winding trail with her diminishing supplies. Roberia waited on that route with that in mind.

*** ***

Katachi stopped in front of a small straw doll left on the roadside. On the out-of-place toy was a rather peculiar marking tagged onto it.

K: (A straw doll... Where did this one come from?)

Katachi couldn't understand the symbol at all. It was simply in a language he could not understand... if that mess of scribbles could be considered a word. Without the knowledge of foreign languages, Katachi could only scratch his head at the confusing squiggle.

K: (Some kind of good-luck charm? Best not to worry about it. I still have quite a way to go before I reach Rulid... I should hurry.)

Katachi put the doll to a side of the road and resumed the hike.

*** ***

R: (That's it... Keep walking. Almost there.)

Roberia picked up a small pebble on the ground and poised to toss it over the road to the bush on the other side. She held it between two fingers and her thumb, anchored her foot on the ground firmly while closing an eye to aim her shot with more precision. The loud clacking footsteps slowly and gradually got closer and closer.

R: (Now!)

Roberia sent the pebble zipping across the road but it didn't hit the bush on the other side. Instead, the legs of the traveler intercepted its trajectory.

K: "Ow! What-"

R: (Oh-! That's not good! I didn't think the person was still there!)

*** ***

K: "Ow! What-"

Someone in hiding flung a pebble at his legs. It wasn't a light throw either – The pebble slammed its entirety against Katachi's calf forcefully, sending goose bumps up his legs and right half of his body. Katachi placed his hands over the shin and applied pressure over the injured area to numb the stinging pain. He glanced at the ground only to find a small pebble that wasn't there at first.

K: (What the- A pebble? Who threw this?) "Who's there?"

Katachi turned to look at the huge rock to his right and withdrew his wooden dagger out of instinct.

R: (That voice... A child? Of course, he wouldn't have a cart or anything. I attacked a poor, beggar-like traveler... Well, it's better than waiting around pointlessly. I'll take the chance to refine my skills while I'm at it.) "I guess I have days where I misguide my throws."

From behind the rock emerged a red-haired lady with a slender figure holding a giant sword in her hands. Her eyes reflected the discipline of a knight, a chevalier of great respect. Her walking stance painted in her a calm warrior prepared to intercept any tricks that may be employed against her.

K: (She looks quite slender, but she has this faintly muscular outline about her at the same time. Did she conceal herself behind the rock? Maybe she was hoping for a surprise attack, so she was trying to toss the pebble to distract me instead of actually hitting me. A diversion tactic?)

If not for her ominous presence she would simply be viewed as a lady with an average face. The lady walked towards Katachi slowly, paced herself and tightened her grip on the pommel.

R: (Bony and short, tattered clothes and black hair. A battered Ohdean with an unscathed bag. Quite the jarring sight.) "I wonder how much money you have on you."

With tremendous power, she swung the blade down on Katachi hard.

K: (Direct attack when she fails a sneak attack? 恒定! Constant status – Self! Constant status – Dagger!)

A golden 定 formed underneath Katachi's tattered shirt and on the dagger's engraving. Using the dagger Katachi withstood the full impact of the blow with his body.

R: (Blocking it head-on?! That strategy should only be for people who can withstand a blow like this! Is he an esquire or retainer? For some reason, his wooden dagger feels a bit weird, like it's way tougher than it appears to be. Who is this child?) "Are you from Ohde?"

The lady pulled back her sword and distanced herself from Katachi. But the hostility had yet to fade – She held the sword upward, in a hybrid striking and stabbing stance. Katachi stepped back to distance himself, dropped his belongings spare the 1000-page book, raised his arms to cover his vitals and stood in a defensive stance.

He briefly saw the prints on the sandy path beneath his sabots and immediately understood the sheer amount of force from that singular swing. If she were to spear him with the sword despite its rather rounded tip he would be out cold like being hit in the gut with a gigantic hammer.

K: (That strength is inhumane! Is she a knight or a warrior or something?) "... No, I'm from Mielfeud. I'm Findeli."

R: (Findeli? He's from this country?! That's probably a lie to throw me off, isn't it?! I've never seen a Findeli warrior, let alone one that blocks my blow like this! It's more believable if he were from Ohde or Auser no matter how you look at it!) "That can't be right, you have black hair! That's exclusively from Ohde, isn't it?"

K: "I can't tell if I'm really from Ohde or not. All I know is that I grew up in Mielfeud."

R: "In that case, state your name!"

K: (My name? How would knowing my name help anything?... I better say it before she blindly attacks me again out of suspicion.) "Kotsuba Katachi."

His decisive answer was a bit too convincing.

R: (! His eyes didn't waver at all, his shoulders didn't shake. It's either the truth or a severely gambled lie. But it doesn't make sense!) "If you really are from Mielfeud, why is your name of Ohdean descent?!"

K: "How am I supposed to explain that?! I didn't choose my name!"

R: "I won't stand tomfoolery! If you refuse to answer me honestly, then fall by my sword!"

Roberia increased the grip strength on the blade and primed the tip of the great sword at the scrawny child in a purely stabbing stance. With celerity she kicked off the ground and plunged the sword downwards, vaulting over the pole-like sword-

K: "Wha- !?"

-and in turn letting the sword vault over her in an overhead cleave, carrying a momentum far more powerful than her first swing. The possible array of movements granted by the dull edge made her a fearsome foe even among warriors. Yet the boy took it head-on without a flinch. He grated the wooden blade of his tiny dagger against the great sword's blunt fuller, its durability betraying its wooden appearance.

R: (He definitely blinked a bit there, but he blocked it effortlessly. Strange... He can block my attacks head-on without having to move or compromise any excessive strength at all. How is he afraid of taking a hit like that? Is this his way of mocking me?)

Roberia's motivation fuelled from her anger and dignity, and right now both of them were at their highest peak from being physically challenged by the black-haired boy.

R: (So be it then!) "Rraaaarrgh!!"

The lady wound the great sword back slightly, dug her shoes into the sandy path and threw her body's weight with the sword in a twist. She sent a huge horizontal arc swing towards Katachi. Even when the sword's blunt sides was swung, even with the great air resistance similar to swiping a huge fan it was done quickly – Fast enough for the boy to not react in time. The sword's fuller clapped into Katachi's side and he was sent flying and tumbling toward a tree along the roadside.

R: (That should do it- !!)

As though rendering her efforts futile Katachi got back up after a few seconds.

R: "Incredible." (He's still standing even with a force that threw his whole body to a side. Did he jump in time with the swing? I didn't really see his feet move though. A magic of sorts, perhaps?)

K: "Please. I don't want to fight you."

R: "Don't want to fight me?! Have you no honor left in you?!"

Roberia, angered even further by his words, poised herself and vaulted over her sword again before swinging it overhead to cleave him once more. The swing this time was for cleaving so the bladed edge was used instead of the sword's fuller.

R: (His stance is broken! He will not be able to absorb the attack properly even if he manages to block the attack. I doubt he can block against this swing I've trained years for!)

Katachi unintentionally cushioned and caught the blade with his bare left hand.

R: "!!" (He... Caught my blade?!)

*** ***

K: "Why are you attacking me?!"

The lady withdrew herself and held the sword in a different, lowered position this time – Bending her body down a little, slinging the huge hunk of metal behind her right and holding it with both hands as if to horizontally cut the person in half with the next attack.

K: (Her physique is slender but her attacks are ferocious. Even with Constant Status applied on me, I felt its true, hammering impact from the way my sabots dug into the earth. She's not using strength to wield that sword – Rather, she's using the momentum of both her body and the sword to swing it about.)

That explained why she could wield that large cumbersome sword without using much strength. It was an ingenious strategy for saving stamina by utilizing more than just her arms to manipulate its position.

K: (But knowing that won't stop her attacks.)

Katachi changed his stance to one that was more assertive. His arms were more relaxed and further apart, his field of vision widened – The stance was more focused and reflexive, one more suitable for intercepting attacks instead of simply blocking and cushioning blows.

R: "HAAAH!!!!"

She struck with the pommel first as Katachi raised his left arm to block it. In response, the red-haired lady quickly pulled the weapon back, planted the tip of her greatsword into the road and vaulted backward.

K: (!? She's retreating?)

But this time, her grip wasn't as strong on her sword and her positioning as well as the way she vaulted over changed – Deliberately causing the blunt tip to claw and dig into the path, sliding its bladed portion through the area between Katachi's legs.

With an immense strength that betrayed her slender figure Roberia forcefully lifted the sword off the ground, hoping to throw her opponent off balance at least. Katachi took the opportunity of that perfect window. As the sword guard was lowered to ground level, right before she raised the sword pommel to strike his nether regions, he found the window.

K: (固定! Fixate object – Sword!)

Katachi placed a Word of Power on the sword's underside, effectively sealing the sword low on the ground. With that, she would not be able to see the sigil and decipher its limitations.

R: (-!! My sword's suddenly way heavier than it should be!? What the- What just happened? What did he do?!)

K: "I'll take my leave."

R: "Wait, you- !?"

Before she could even look up to get a good view of Katachi, he had long since snagged his belongings and sprinted off quickly, his wooden sabots clacking loudly as he ran away.

*** ***

Twenty minutes elapsed since Roberia fruitlessly attempted to move the sword.

R: "Curses! Forget it!"

Roberia kicked her comfortable boots against the sword's grip and placed her knuckles on her hips in frustration.

R: (Today's attack is an utter failure. Instead of earning more coin I'm stuck with this unmoving sword! Did he curse my sword or something? I've never heard of a spell that freezes a sword in place like this.)

She had been shockingly close to the answer despite her ignorance – There was indeed a Curse Word applied onto the sword which secured it in place.

R: (Maybe I'm looking at it wrong. He could be using magic that requires the sword to be at a certain height or position. Assuming that he somehow made the sword heavy to the point where it can't be moved... I'll need a new weapon that renders the magic ineffective. Getting one that can use the increased weight against him would be preferable.)

She turned around and picked up the deflated knapsack she hid under a heap of rock.

R: (To think that I would lose my weapon this early even when I've maintained it so well... How exciting. I have never fought someone the likes of him. At the very least, I now have a target to work towards rather than wandering about and fighting random strangers.)

Roberia stormed off toward Rulid in pursuit of the black-haired boy who wanted little to do with her.