Product 72 - Cliche Novel

And the next day, she arrived. That noisy girl entered without any prior notice, flinging the door open.

"Ah, Senior! Hello!"

"Nephti."

"Yes! Do you have any food? I came to eat! Oh, snacks are good too, but do you have meat?"

"There's no meat."

I quickly prepared some food for Nephti using the 'cooking' skill I acquired at level 10. Assuming I know the recipe, I can create something reasonably edible.

After receiving a hastily made cream pasta and a smoothie, Nephti began to eat with exclamations of "Wow, wow!"

While those three colorful chicks are always nibbling on something, Nephti eats quickly, efficiently, and without mercy. It's a satisfying feeling for the cook, as there's no dissatisfaction, and she enjoys her meal with expressions that suggest it's delicious.

"Ah! I enjoyed the meal! Thank you!"

After eating, she would bow her head deeply and take the dishes to wash them herself. After the meal, we had a light tea time. For Nephti, it was just sipping the smoothie prepared for her, while I leisurely enjoyed a cup of bean tea.

"By the way, have you had any free time from work lately?"

"Hmm? I do have work. It's spring, so the construction sites are quite busy. There's a lot of work in construction too."

"But you have time to come here? Zone 8 is quite far."

"It's thanks to that black thing. It's really convenient thanks to that."

"It's not a black thing; it's a spirit wolf combined with a magical carriage, a wolf carriage."

"…Aha. Wolf carriage. That's a cool name! It's magic, not a horse!"

After a sip of the smoothie, Nephti smiled broadly. The wolf carriage, driven by Patrasch, is highly praised by regulars. Now even Nephti, who used to be too busy with site work to come to the convenience store, takes the regular service to visit like this.

Ah, Patrasch went back to driving the wolf carriage to the common faculty department. There was something to pick up. He rushed off as soon as I promised to give him one more hour of vacation.

"Am I alone today?"

"No, Aila is giving a lecture to Mille-feuille."

"…A lecture? Is Mille-feuille planning to apply to the magic department next year?"

Nephti's head tilted curiously. It's natural to wonder since Mille-feuille's publicly known status seems more suited for the knight department, and she doesn't even have the ability to apply for the magic department.

"No, she's learning physical techniques from Aila."

"...What?"

Her head tilted even more. That must be a surprising statement.

"Didn't you know? No… That's right. It's natural not to know."

"...?? Are you saying that senior Aila teaches physical techniques?"

"Um. Well, you'll understand if you see. She'll be back soon, so you can ask her then."

I pointed towards the convenience store door with my chin, and there was Aila, walking lightly, and Mille-feuille, trudging along looking a bit tired.

"I'm back, Wolfram!"

"Da, I'm back…"

"Hmm. Come in."

***

Having heard the whole story, Nephti nodded a couple of times.

"Aha, so that's what happened. So, the training?"

"Yes. It's been a while, Nepheterian."

"Ah, you can call me Nephti. Senior Tristar."

"Then you can call me Aila too, Nephti."

"…Hehe. Yes. Senior Aila. Oh, but I have a question."

"What is it?"

"Do you know how to use physical techniques, senior Aila? Considering you're from the magic department?"

"…Um. That's right. I know enough for self-defense."

Aila spoke with precision, and Nephti exclaimed with an

"Oh…" And Mille-feuille…

"…Is that really just for self-defense? Then what exactly… The physical techniques I know are…"

Shivering as if she had seen something frightening, Mille-feuille gazed at Aila.

"…From Mille-feuille's reaction, it seems it's not just ordinary self-defense?"

"Oh, it's not that remarkable."

"I'm curious, though. Um. Uh…"

Nephti regarded Aila with a curious itch.

Hmm.

Ah, this girl, perhaps…

"It looks like Nephti is curious about your physical techniques, Aila."

"Oh, is that so?"

"Ah, ahaha… Well, I try to learn all the skills of the department when possible?"

"I see."

In an era where no one ventures outside, seeing her learn a skill like the "Protective Magic Circle," this girl simply enjoys learning and is fond of shiny things.

"…Self-defense techniques, especially from the top senior of the magic department!"

Nephti's eyes sparkled.

Was she genuinely that curious?

With a stamina of 2, Wolfram would be sent flying with just one hit, so it's hard to tell.

And in response to Nephti's words, Aila reacted.

"Say that again."

"What? I'm curious about senior Aila's self-defense techniques!"

"Not that, what did you call me? What about the magic department?"

"The top senior of the magic department?"

"Hmm. Yes. I am the top senior of the magic department. The one who defeated Regina Ciel, who no one else could, and stood at the pinnacle!"

"Yes, yes? Yes. That's correct."

"Then, I have no choice. Since you're curious about my self-defense techniques, I should teach you!"

Oh, a self-defense showdown between Aila and Nephti.

If Aila uses magic to fight, she would win a thousand times over. But if it's just physical techniques… I wonder who will win?

"Then let's demonstrate right away…"

"Ah… That's…"

Nephti seemed disappointed, so I intervened with a suggestion.

"Instead of showing a form, how about sparring? Using purely technique without any battle skills."

"Oh, that sounds good."

"…Oh, wow! But what if it's dangerous for senior Aila? Even without using battle skills, there's the difference in status."

"Well, you can just hold back."

I said that, and although Nephti seemed a bit reluctant, the two ended up sparring with physical techniques in the open space right in front of the convenience store.

And the result was…

"I won, didn't I? Hehe."

"…Uh, uh? ...What?"

It was a minor victory for Aila.

***

Even with the condition of not using combat skills, Aila's decisive victory was truly an unexpected outcome.

She skillfully tripped Nephti's charging legs, twisted her arm to bring her down, immobilized her limbs, and then brought her hand close to Nephti's neck. That marked the end of the match.

After winning in such fashion, Aila turned her gaze towards us with a light-hearted laugh.

"Hehe. Little chick, did you see that?"

"Yes, yes! Wow, wow… A victory for Senior Aila…!"

"What about you, Wolfram?"

"…It was an impressive move. Truly remarkable."

"Hehe, you could praise me a bit more, you know?"

"Remarkable. Truly a rebel."

"Ehe. Ehehehe."

I shrugged my shoulders while observing Aila's delighted grin. On the other hand, looking at Nephti…

"I'm just a dung beetle… I'm a dung beetle…"

She appeared broken, seated in a corner of the open space, staring blankly up at the sky. I hadn't anticipated her taking such a blow.

"By the way… Senior Wolfram, did you anticipate this?"

"Hmm? I thought it would be a close match."

I nodded in response to Mille-feuille's question.

This was due to Aila's attributes.

Aila Tristar's magic power is 19. In comparison to Eve's 22, it's notably lower. Even compared to Regina Ciel's 21, there's a shortfall.

However, what makes Aila Tristar truly formidable is that her other attributes compensate for her lower magic power. Excluding magic power, her other stats all exceed 15 or 16. Specifically, her stamina is 16, and her strength is 14. What's astonishing is that Aila's dexterity reaches 17.

In essence, if the need arose, she could become a battle mage who could rapidly deliver a punch with an obsidian in her fist.

It was the same in the game.

When you face Aila in Act 3, if you deplete her mana with Mana Drain, she retaliates with a melee attack that's incredibly painful, using a black obsidian as a weapon.

Moreover, due to her high dexterity, her evasion rates skyrocket when you attempt physical attacks.

She was indeed a formidable boss.

In contrast, Nephti has a strength of 17, stamina of 16, and dexterity of 14. Of course, her strength surpasses Aila's, but that was because Nephti was taken by surprise and got caught off guard.

However, I couldn't explain it in that manner, so I decided to persuade Nephti with a different rationale, one that suited today's purpose. Something along those lines.

"The duration of time they've spent acquiring these skills is different."

"Duration?"

"Yes. Aila, at what age did you begin learning self-defense?"

"I started around the age of three. So, I've had quite a long time to refine my skills. On the other hand, Nephti, didn't you begin learning in Jephryn, right?"

"...Dung beetle… Ah. Yes. That's right."

"The disparity in proficiency in the realm of physical techniques spans over a decade. Plus, the Tristar-style self-defense can even reach tier 4 if mastered to the extreme. I'm still at tier 7, though." Aila said so with an embarrassed smile.

No… does it go up to tier 4?

And now she's at tier 7?

…It's higher than I thought. I'll have to be careful not to underestimate it in the future.

"I see. There's a period of acquisition… Yes! I really learned a lot! I'll refine it further! …Ahaha. I've really learned a lot."

Despite shaking off the injury and getting up, Nephti saluted and smiled broadly. If being positive even in situations where it seems like she would get hurt is typical of Nephti, then it's typical of Nephti. However, that doesn't mean that she isn't hurt, as there was a hint of sadness lurking beneath Nephti's smile.

"Ahaha. Ahaha… I'm just a dung beetle…"

Hmm.

Um.

The fact that I initiated the sparring makes that smile a bit heavy on my heart.

"Nephti, don't dwell on it too much."

"Yes? Are you comforting a dung beetle?"

"Who's a dung beetle? If you had used all the available methods in the duel and turned it into a dirty fight, you could have won. Isn't your physical technique also at tier 7?"

"Well, yes."

"Your downfall was underestimating a student from the magic department and charging in recklessly. Use tactics that suit you."

"...Ah, I see. Thank you, Senior!"

Only then did Nephti smile faintly, and I turned my head to look at the pink chick.

"Mille-feuille, what's on your mind?"

"…Ah, well."

The pink chick appeared quite serious, with a thoughtful expression.

"Tell me what you've realized."

"...Gale Strike, since he must have learned the greatsword technique of the Strike family from a young age, must have high proficiency like Senior Aila."

"That's correct."

"In contrast, my own proper training is very shallow. So… the difference in learning is absolute. But, it also means that the opponent might be too fixated on form…"

This one is truly intelligent.

She's great at grasping the intention right away.

But true intelligence goes beyond that.

"I must win by any means necessary. That's what it means."

"That's right. You've seen well."

She captures the essence of what she needs to learn from the situation.

That might truly be this girl's talent.

"Yes. Thank you, Senior!"

"Now, let's figure out all the means available to us. Just in time…"

In the distance, with a rumbling sound, the wolf carriage was heading our way.

"Seniorrrr! I've brought the item you ordered! Please give me some donuts!!!"

From inside, the yellow chick was waving at us.

"That's right. Just in time, one of the available means has arrived."

In the carriage's cargo space, there was a gauntlet crafted with all the might of the yellow chick for her friend.

***

And a few days later.

Mille-feuille, who had taken to heart Wolfram's advice to use 'all means necessary,' sat quietly during break time.

Normally, she would have been quickly joined by her friends Vanilla and Yogurt, but today they had 'deliberately' left her alone.

As a result, the pink chick was left by herself, and naturally, she became the target of carnivorous animals.

"Mille-feuille. Mille-feuille Phon Sabre."

Gale Strike.

The arrogant and impudent son of a count's family, who loved to look down on others, swaggered over to Mille-feuille.

"What do you want, Strike?"

"Oh? What do I want? I've said this before, but why don't you just join my group, huh? Let's stop sizing each other up."

"..."

"I've told you, if you join my faction, you'll be comfortable, right? After graduation, you won't have to return to your hometown, but you could have a chance to make it to the central city! Just lose to me big time once. What do you say?"

"..."

"If Mille-feuille Phon Sabre, who defeated the top rank, gets completely crushed by me, the second rank, it would work out well for the senior review, wouldn't it? Let's make that deal. I'm a man who keeps his promises."

Gale laughed smugly. Mille-feuille took a deep breath. Her heart was pounding. What she was about to do was something the usual Mille-feuille would not even dare to contemplate.

'-Don't betray me.'

But then, a nonchalant voice echoed in her head. A senior who usually seemed too cold to harbor any emotions but cared more for others than anyone. And her first…

At that moment, Mille-feuille's mind cleared completely. Her words were decided, and her racing heart calmed.

"Gale Strike."

"What?"

"I challenge you to a duel."

"...What?"

"In two days, at 1 PM, in the common faculty dueling room, I will face you fairly and squarely."

"What are you talking about, you…"

"A duel between first-year students requires the endorsement of at least two seniors. For this, I have obtained the approval of the second-year Knight Department top rank, [Knight of Belief] Senior Nephterian, the third-year Magic Department top rank, [Black Obsidian] Senior Aila Tristar, and another from the same year Magic Department, Senior Wolfram von Roengreen."

The names that were mentioned carried significant weight. Only then did Gale Strike's complexion pale.

Just an ordinary son of a count's family, nowhere near imagining real monsters.

"Uh, uh… What? Uh..."

"Weren't you saying you'd benefit from beating me in the senior review? I'm the one proposing the duel."

"Duel… Ah, I see, a duel…"

Then a smile returned to Gale Strike's lips. Even if those formidable figures were to come as witnesses, they couldn't interfere in the duel. Rather, it was an excellent opportunity to showcase his skills to the seniors and possibly gain recognition from the rising Wolfram faction!

"Fine. In two days! I accept your duel. In the name of Gale Strike!"

"Yes. I apply in the name of Mille-feuille Phon Sabre."

Mille-feuille removed the cloth glove from her right hand and threw it at Gale Strike's face, where it landed with a smack.

"...Let's meet in two days."

Despite the sudden duel causing a commotion among the students around, Mille-feuille's expression remained unwavering.

To be precise, in her mind, there was only one person, one voice that resounded strongly, leaving no room for any other sound.

[Mille-feuille Phon Sabre. Are you ready for a BANG?]

"…Yes. Senior. I'm ready to 'BANG'."