Chapter 49: Mirialia 2 (Part 2)


TL: Scaramochi


***


[Mirialia's POV]


After a long wild ride, we finally find a decent town. 


They say that once they cross this mountain, Barontark is right in front of them, so they will take a break in this town before crossing the mountain. 


While eating at a teahouse, a group of "sanshoku" (a group of three men who are said to be "the three heavenly kings") start to harass the waitresses. 


It spoiled the good mood I was in. Frey defeated them, but they were weaker than I expected. I wonder if there are many idiots like them in this town. 


After that, we went up the mountain to meet Dale's acquaintance. 


About halfway up the mountain, I was exhausted and had to be carried on my back by Frey. I think I'm a little stronger than I was before I started the trip, but it's hard to climb up these steep stone stairs. 


After arriving at the dojo, grandpa Pai and Frey had some things to do, and then Meimei of the Beastmen tribe arrived, and this time Meimei and Frey had a fight. 


To be honest, I thought that Meimei would be no match for Frey, but she was defeated. 


Hmmm...she's pretty good for her looks, isn't she? 


After the match was over, we talked in another room and were told about the quarrels between Kikage-ryu and Haten-ryu. As far as I was concerned, it was not important, so I was half listening to the conversation. Interestingly, Dale suddenly asked Frey to become a disciple of Kikagei-ryu. 


Frey was angry, but in the end she decided to become a disciple. 


Perhaps, though, Frey also senses that Dale must have an idea. Since losing the match with Dale, Frey has mentally matured a bit and started to use her head a bit more. 


The next morning. 


When I went to the hall to have breakfast, I saw Frey in her street clothes. 


"Bwuhu...... didn't look good on me at all. It was so uncomfortable." 


After finishing breakfast, Dale took me into the mountains with Athena. 


Apparently Athena and I are going to do another workout. 


I thought I was going to be able to take it easy and rest, but now I have to train again. 


As I let out a sigh, Dale gives Athena a lecture. I don't know the details, but simply put, it's about raising your strength by getting angry on purpose. 


I know that anger increases power, but I wonder if it is really possible to do it. 


When I was skeptical, I suddenly felt an unbelievable gush of killing energy from Dale. A different kind of fear comes over me from when I faced the demon god, and I cower in fear. 


I wonder if it is possible to generate this much anger without being in such a situation....... 


This guy is not just an adventurer after all. 


My suspicions turned to certainty. It must have been Dale who defeated the demon god. 


I had a hunch. For a mere adventurer, he was far too skilled and knowledgeable. 


Monsters, martial arts, magic. 


Dale has a lot of knowledge. He knows a lot of things that ordinary adventurers would not know about. Even Tom, a higher spirit, didn't tell me about it. 


If you call it experience, that's fair enough, but it's not the kind of knowledge that a silver-level adventurer would have. 


That's why I can't understand it. Why would he do something like hide his true power? If he had that power, he could have become a gold...... or even a platinum platinum rank, of which there are only a few in the world. 


Why settle for silver when you can have wealth and honor that anyone would envy? 


Well, if he...... doesn't want to say, I won't pry. 


I'm not interested enough to really want to know. 


I'll leave Athena to her own training, and Dale and I will move on from there. 


After walking for quite a while, Dale's foot suddenly stops. 


"So, what's in it for me?" 


"Well, of course, right? Hell, physical training." 


Dale smiles a broad smile. 


Are you kidding me...... I have to do something tiring again? 


"What you're going to do is simple, you're going to play demon's play with me." 


"Play demon's play? What's that?" 


"What? You don't even know how to play it? I'm amazed~ kids these days don't even know how to play with demons. Well, I guess it's just because you're an elf. You know, playing with demons..." 


Dale explains to me about playing with demons. 


To summarize, there is a demon and an escaping demon, and if the demon doesn't catch the escaping demon, the escaping demon wins. If the escaping side is caught by the demon, the demon wins. 


"How can such a game be a training?" 


"Yes, it is necessary for Mirialia. This is a training to strengthen her physical strength and develop her ability to judge the situation." 


Is that really true? 


I'm not quite sure. 


My reluctant attitude prompted Dale to make this suggestion. 


"I'll be the demon, and you be the one who escapes. I'll shoot a light magic while I'm chasing after you, and you'll have to shoot them down while you escape until the time limit. The time limit is five minutes. Yes, I'll give you a prize to motivate you. If you can outrun me for the full amount of time, I'll do you one favor, anything you want. As long as I can, of course." 


"Heh ..... sounds good. I'm in." 


"Oh, I'm glad you're motivated. No offensive magic and no flying. Other than that, you can do whatever you want. Let's go!" 


A moment after Dale gave the signal to play demon's play, I ran around the mountain. 


It's so otherworldly that all I have to do is run away for five minutes. I seem confident, but Dale licks me too much. I've been getting overpowered lately, so I'm going to show him what I can do. 


(Now, let's see where he is.)


He searches for the enemy with wind magic. When I sent it out like a ripple, it was caught right next to my position. 


(Already so close!?!?)


When I was surprised to catch Dale's reaction unexpectedly close by, something came flying at me. Immediately, I deployed a wind barrier to block it. 


"Sand......? No, mud dumplings?" 


"Yes touch." 


"--?" 


While I was distracted by the mud dumplings, Dale approached me from behind and touched my head. 


I was hit...... The mud dumplings were destroyed by the wind barrier, which scattered sand and blindfolded me. I was paying attention to the direction it flew, but the dal was already in motion when I threw it. 


"You're out of sync." 


"......one more time." 


"Oh, I'll go with you as many times as you want." 


I want a rematch. I just let my guard down. Next time I'll really go for it. 


I fled from the spot, and then he searched for the me. If I keep searching from the beginning to the end, I won't lose sight of Dale. I can also use magic in parallel. 


Dale will soon follow. I know where he is, and it's okay, no problem. 


(Funny...... why he doesn't come closer.)


In a complete change from before, Dale keeps a certain distance from me and doesn't come any closer. What on earth is he thinking? 


As I was wondering, he suddenly approached me at a high speed. 


"Here it comes!" 


Dale was coming where I could see him. I create a large wall by earth magic while running away. In addition to the obstacle, he would have lost sight of me. Let me gain distance while I still can. 


As expected, Dale makes a large detour and chases after me, avoiding the wall. 


"How about this?" 


I deploy several large walls as I run away. This will make it easier for him to get close to me. If I keep doing this, I will be able to escape until the end of time. 


--That was the moment I thought so. 


"Whoa!" 


Suddenly, I lose my footing and fall. I thought it was a cliff, but soon my buttocks hit the ground. 


This is....... 


"It's a pit. You've been caught in the middle of it." 


A voice came down from overhead, and I looked up to see Dale holding out his hand. I took his hand and pulled myself up. 


"When did you set up this trap?" 


"Not just this one. In fact, I set up simple traps like the one you see now all around this area. I'm not that good at magic, but I can make a trap like this in no time. And I was driving you into a corner, leading you to escape to where the traps were." 


"Gnu...... cowardly." 


"Cowardly and shit. You never know what you're going to find on the battlefield. You never know what's going to happen on the battlefield, or in the dungeon. What are you going to do now? Do we give up? Or do you want to keep going?" 


"Of course I'm going to do it." 


I was pissed. I'm going to make him say "no way!" for sure. 


I told him so without a pause, and he smiled happily and said, "That's the way it's going to be." 


***


"hah...... hah......" 


"Well, that's about it for today." 


Dale says contentedly, looking down at me, who is lying down on my big bed, exhausted. 


In the end, no matter how many times I tried, I could not get away with it until the end. I tried many different methods, but Dal would break through with a lot of time to spare. 


The bottleneck was that it was very heady. 


I had to constantly activate my search magic while running away from Dale, while also dealing with the occasional attack that flew at me. Besides, Dale uses a lot of nasty cornering methods. 


Besides, the more you do it, the more stamina you lose and the less time you have to be touched as you get later and later. 


And running in the mountains is so much more tiring than running on flat roads. 


I mean, I don't understand how this guy can move so fast in these mountains. 


What I have learned this time is that when I am tired, I can't think straight. 


"How's that, didn't you have fun?" 


"Well...... I'm tired and just plain stressed out." 


"Ha ha, that's great. But it's a good workout, don't you think? It's good physical training, and it also develops your ability to read your enemy's thoughts and assess the situation." 


"Well ...... it's a good way to learn how to experience different things." 


I've never had to use my head so much in a fight before. Monsters are less intelligent, and there's no such thing as a fight between humans. It was a new kind of intellectual warfare. It was infuriating every time I lost. 


"I'm going to get away with it tomorrow." 


"Oh, I'm looking forward to it." 


We'll see. I'll get it over with soon, and you'll have to do what I say. 


I, unable to take a single step, was carried down the mountain on Dale's back, thinking about what kind of wish I would ask for.



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