Return of the Former Hero

[Excuse me? These people are…?]

Etna-san tilted her head in question when she saw Shia and Chiyu.

She was hiding inside the tent since I told her that the monster was coming. But once she came out, there are now two extra girls here. Understandably, she’s confused.

[These people… well, I mean… What is it again?]

I was even confused.

But that’s not the problem here.

[Excuse me~… I have a little question. Is that guy over there named Haruto?]

[Eh? Well… yes. Haruto is Haruto… right?]

Etna-san obediently replied to Shia’s question.

Ahh, that’s no good.

Well, Etna-san was not at fault since she wasn’t aware of the situation.

[Oh? Umm…?]

Feeling the subtle change in atmosphere, Etna looked at me with anxiety.

Nah, it’s fine.

In any case, the cat will come out of the bag eventually.

Etna-san taking it out right now made no difference.

[I see… hmm…]

Having recognized me now, both Shia and Chiyu turned to me.

Their gazes were full of emotion.

No, not at all, theirs were full of scorn.

…it’s too heavy to bear.

[Uhum…! That’s right. I am Amagi Haruto. So it seems that you two are looking for me. Is there anything I can do for you?]

I hurriedly attempted to rectify myself to cover up my ruse. But all I managed to do was placing the guilty stamp on myself.

[You, did you try to deceive Shia-sama?]

I’d prefer that we got to the point immediately, but it appeared that Chiyu couldn’t accept me deceiving them at the start.

The way she stared at me was scary.

[Wa, wait a minute. The name you mentioned was my name but in reverse, wasn’t it? It’s just a misunderstanding.]

It was just an excuse that I came up with on the fly. But theoretically sound, in a way, right?

…or is it not? Anyway it’s just an excuse. Whatever,

[I…see?]

[If you say it like that, I guess it’s true?]

Shia and Chiyu looked at each other’s faces and tilted their heads at my excuse.

Oh? I guess it would be a pass if I give it another push.

Un, that does it. Let’s just bullsh*t my way through. Guess that’s the way.

[…well, the details do not matter. You are Amagi Haruto, correct?]

[Ah…ye, yes?]

I thought I needed to spout some more bullsh*t, but I passed already. Hell yeah.

[Rafale sent a letter. It said that you are stronger than Shia-sama.]

[Rafa…who?]

Shia slipped her hand into her clothes and pulled out a paper. Is that paper the letter mentioned just now?

Nn, letter? Rava…le? Do I know someone with that name? No, is it a person’s name in the first place?

…no no. I don’t think I know anyone with that name, do I…?

Nnn~…?

Even so, I feel like I’ve heard that name before. Maybe it’s the name of a character in a game I played a long time ago or something.

[Therefore…]

Shia’s hand moved toward the sword handle strapped on her side.

Eh? Why are you reaching out to your sword?

No way, don’t tell me…

[I came to test you.]

Ehhh.

Shia’s lips formed a grin as her hand reached the sword handle.

I had a feeling that it would develop into this. So scary.

[Oy oy, hold your horses there. Are you telling me that you came all the way here to find me just because someone told you that I’m stronger than you?]

[That is correct?]

What’s with this girl?

Is she the main character of a fighting game or something?

Isn’t that too high of an aspiration?

[That is why… shall we have at it? I will prove that I am the stronger one between us.]

Shia said so cheerfully as she finally drew the sword handle out from its strap.

Now that I think about it, does her personality change whenever she wields that sword?

Her atmosphere had somehow gone from docile and cute little sister to that of a happy-go-lucky onee-san.

Thinking back, she had the same atmosphere when attacking that monster.

I see. I’ve heard something like this before. f𝑟𝑒ewe𝚋𝚗૦𝐯e𝘭.c𝗼𝓂

It’s like seeing someone act so differently than normal once their hands are in the steering wheel. Scary. Are you kidding me?

[Excuse me… what is going on here?]

I was rendered speechless by the situation, while Etna looked confused next to me.

[Ahh~…… Etna-san… it’s just as it seems. Can you please stand down for a bit. It’s going to be dangerous]

I finally sighed and instructed Etna-san to stay away.

[But, a, alright…]

As Etna-san walked away from us, I also moved to a more open spot.

[Ah! You are quick on the uptake. Motivated now?]

Shia responded to my actions with a happy smile.

No, you’re the only one who had fun here.

[If I were to say that I don’t like this, will you give this up? If so, what if I tell you if I don’t like this now?]

[Well, after coming all the way here, do you think I would give up so easily?]

She replied to me with an innocent smile.

At least I thought so. It looked that way.

[Haa…]

I could only sigh.

I’ve seen people who won’t listen just like her.

No matter what you say, this kind of person would just do what they want regardless. Good grief.

[Then… here I go…!]

Shia immediately entered into a battle stance when she saw me reaching out to my sword.

A blade of light appeared from her sword handle.

I smell a certain amount of trouble brewing. If I have to do this, I really should change my mindset.

Yosh! Let’s do this.

Now that I’m motivated, at first, I thought to approach and strike before her blade of light fully formed. But it’s too late now so let’s scrap that.

It would be a hassle later on if she thinks I cheated or something, so let’s do this in a more straightforward manner.

But the question is, can I clash with that sword head on?

……nah, it should be fine.

Certainly, judging from the previous fight with the monster, that blade of light carries a tremendous power. But if I can coat this sword made by Kagura-san specifically for me with equally strong magic power, it should be alright.

I can do it! I should believe in myself more.

[Yosh, alright. Let’s go.]

Holding my sword up, I quickly coated it with my magic power.

Seeing this, Shia grinned wider and charged in.

[Da!]

Shia moved so fast that it’s as if she was gliding above the ground.

She closed the gap instantly, then swung her sword from down upward.

It was fast. And carried a lot of strength to boot.

But it’s too straightforward of an attack without any feint or trick.

Avoiding it would be a piece of cake.

I avoided the attack with a light and simple sidestep. Following the momentum of my evasion move, I spun around and slashed at Shia as we crossed each other.

[Ha!]

Shia exhaled and pulled her sword back to meet my attack.

She recovered much faster than I thought. That strike might be simple, but she backed it up with an excellent reaction and speed.

Our blades intersected.

The moment our magic power collided with each other, it caused an explosive shockwave that engulfed the both of us.

Kuh…!

She’s also stronger than I expected.

I could feel considerable shock running through my sword arm.

[Kyah!]

A small scream reached my ears.

It’s not coming from Shia, of course.

When I took a glance at the source of that scream, there was Etna-san bracing herself, probably after getting hit by the shockwave from the clash just now.

The long skirt was flipped up by the shockwave, revealing… the unexplored region.

Slender legs, underpants… no, that’s cute looking panties.

Aah, what is this?

On a different occasion, I would’ve observed her some more.

Eh, it’s not the right time to think about this kind of thing.

[There…!]

It was only for a moment. I was distracted just for a moment.

The shockwave from our previous clash widened the distance between me and Shia.

[Eh… you can actually do that much. I guess Rafale wasn’t lying after all.]

Shia commented happily.

Who is this Rafale anyway? I don’t care anymore.

[…guess so!]

I could only reply so.

No, she might be correct.

Shia’s sword is pretty much a mass of magic power with considerable destructive strength, but I was able to contend with it.

What my magic power and Kagura-san’s sword could achieve when combined is really amazing.

Well, whaaaーat!!?

Just when I thought I could still win this and look at my sword, I realized that it’s melting on the spot where it collided with Shia’s sword.

Hii! What the hey!

[Haha! I wonder how long that sword will hold?]

Shia also noticed this, which means she had the advantage this time. Damn.

But this is really bad for me. Very bad.

At glance, the melted part wasn’t that big or deep… but enough to interfere with the black plate inner part that allows the blade to store my magic power efficiently. I could already feel the magic power level inside the sword dropping exponentially.

To have the black plate inside exposed like this, the shortcoming of the design has been revealed…!

It’s truly regrettable.

[Come, let us continue!]

Shia said while dashing towards me again.

What to do now?

It’s clear to me that I could no longer clash swords with her.

If I forced it out, her slash would definitely hit me.

[Doh…! Uh… kuh!]

[Ora ora! Come on, what’s wrong!?]

Since I can no longer meet her attack directly, I simply dodge Shia’s sword. Again. And again.

[…you!]

[Whoops!]

While dodging Shia’s sword, I attempted to strike at the opening. But instead of evading my attack, she tried to block it with her sword.

Although she looked like she was flailing around like a fool, Shia actually took note of my sword and could react accordingly.

At its current state, my sword would not survive clashing with her blade of light.

[Damn.]

I quickly pulled back my attack to avoid clashing.

[Hahaha!]

Shia laughed upon seeing my movement.

But… since it’s me!

I tossed the sword in my hand to the side.

[……!?]

It was obvious that I couldn’t meet the attack head on. But me throwing away my weapon was probably unexpected. Especially since Shia’s eyes were too focused on my sword, causing her sight to momentarily distracted away from me.

Not missing this chance, I struck Shia’s right wrist.

[Oraaa!]

Following that, I launched a kick directly at Shia’s belly.

[Guh, ah!]

Shea’s face was dyed with a little surprise and moderate amount of pain.

Hehe.

I might be at a disadvantage, but I scored the first clean hit anyway.