Atou was always complaining about Yu and his companion’s relationship, going on about how indecent and immoral it was. A piece of that might have stemmed from her wariness of them as potential enemies, but it seemed more due to her dislike of the fact that their relationship deviated from the wholesomeness she expected.
The problem was that the logical side of Takuto always pointed out how his relationship with Atou didn’t differ much from that of the boy and girl before them, so he was relegated to only giving vague responses every time the topic came up.
What Atou was to Takuto was probably what the slave girl was to Yu. For all he knew, Yu might have the same exact motives Takuto did when he first arrived in this world. If nothing else, this reminded Takuto that the slave girl was incredibly dear to Player Yu, which increased her overall importance.
“All right, I don’t see a point in you continuing this, since I doubt we’ll run into any opponents worthy of testing your skills,” Takuto said. “So, what should we do next?”
Should he consider that a pleasant surprise or within expectation? They were carrying out the Barbarian extermination under the pretext of testing their abilities, but they quickly ran into the problem that the Dark Continent Barbarians were not a suitable test for Yu.
It goes without saying that the hostile Demi-humans living on the Dark Continent were incredibly dangerous. For any normal country, they posed enough of a threat that they would cause casualties to your army if you didn’t bring enough force to eliminate them.
But that only applied to what was normal.
They were nothing more than sand before the wind when it came to Takuto, a skilled Commander with a powerful army at his disposal, or Yu, a bona fide Hero with a vast array of spells and techniques in his arsenal. Ultimately, they were left feeling disappointed, even after showing off to each other a little bit.
“Hm, if only I were better at doing it on command, I could have shown off a buncha stuff for you, but I suck at that kinda thing. Sorry!”
“I get it.”
Takuto couldn’t really complain when he put it like that. All the more so when he wouldn’t know how to handle the situation himself if he were in Yu’s shoes.
Perhaps sensing his disappointment, his reliable confidant flashed a feisty smile and proposed an idea of her own. “If I may, King Takuto? How about I have a mock battle with this Hero? I’m sure there are some things we can only learn about each other by fighting…”
“Hmm…”
He couldn’t have asked for a better offer. Yu would have an easier time calling on his abilities if he were up against Atou, and she would be able to better gauge his strength that way. However, Takuto still didn’t trust the RPG faction, so he wasn’t keen on the idea. And most of all, he had a terrible feeling about the maniacal gleam in Atou’s crimson eyes.
Atou hasn’t had the chance to let loose lately, so maybe she wants to let out some steam? Or maybe she’s still holding a grudge from when he interfered with her fight with the Elfuur Sisters? I doubt she’ll forget herself, but she might go out of control a little. Takuto was hesitant to make a decision.
“I don’t mind it myself,” Yu said. “Mm, we just need to keep from going overboard, right?”
“Yes, exactly. But please be aware there may be unforeseen accidents. Of course, that shouldn’t be a problem if you are powerful enough to parry all of my attacks.”
“Oh boy, am I glad to hear that! I was a tad worried about what would happen if I accidentally hurt you.”
“…Hurt me?”
The conversation progressed without Takuto’s input. And in a very bad direction at that. It seemed that Yu, who’d naturally brushed off Atou’s provocation, had instead succeeded in rubbing her pride the wrong way. Atou was so angry right now, even Takuto was reluctant to talk to her. Takuto gave up then, thinking her anger would never abate unless he let her get it out of her system.
Takuto sighed. “…All right, let me repeat, this is only a mock battle to gauge each other’s strength. Don’t forget it. Begin!”
The two Heroes charged at each other at Takuto’s signal. Yu wielded his katana, and Atou her Holy Sword. The fight began with the peel of metal clashing, and Takuto knew at once that both sides were testing each other’s strength and self-restraint.
“Wowie… A-Amazeballs!”
Takuto nodded in agreement with the slave girl’s exclamation.
Swords sliced through the air and collided in a cacophony. The swells of battle were so violent and fierce, they didn’t allow an outsider’s interference, even though it was a mock battle conducted with a modicum of restraint. Any superficial attempts to stop them would end poorly. Takuto certainly didn’t want to get in their way.
Both are still not even breaking a sweat, and they don’t miss a beat, eh? Guess this means he’s strong enough to match Atou at her current level, Takuto deduced.
Sludge Atou’s skills were the type that paid off in the end game. Her strength grew with time, and she could build up an extensive list of skills by plundering them from the enemies she defeated. And although Takuto tended not to think about it much, her combat abilities increased with the amount of mana Mynoghra had.
Atou was being strengthened by the amount of Ruin Mana Mynoghra’s Palace produced. She should now be able to instantly react to situations where she’d lagged behind before—like with the TRPG’s surprise attack. That was how much stronger she had become.