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“We have come this far together. I want to see how strong you and I have become.”

“You always traveled alone before.”

“Aye. And I mostly avoided combat. There didn’t seem to be any reason to poke my head into places that were dangerous… But my level has been raised after we started traveling together. I want to put it to the test. And I have all my armor now, as well.”

 

You needed a certain amount of power to be rid of all danger. Daniela had been weak and could not face it.

Back in Fhiraldo, Daniela had rarely even used magic. She had even been wearing a mask to hide her identity. Well, she still tended to do that every time we entered a new town… Regardless, it did seem that being partnered with me had made her less paranoid about the possibility of danger. I was happy about that. And of course, it allowed her to become stronger. It was no wonder she wanted to put it to the test. Besides, we would be wearing the decoy bracelets. This was really the perfect time for it.

 

And so I gave Daniela my word. She listened and then chuckled happily.

 

“Great. Now, to the next place!”

 

She said as she grabbed my arm and pulled me away from the course that would lead back to our room. Damn it…

 

　　□　　　□　　　□　　　□

 

I was prepared to wake up the next morning with a blinding headache, but found myself surprisingly clear-headed. My stomach felt fine and I hadn’t over-slept either. I was in good shape.

 

“Morning, Asagi.”

“Morning, Daniela.”

 

She had already been awake and now rolled on top of me.

 

“Hmm… I am still tired…”

“Don’t go back to sleep. We have to fight.”

“Yes… Ahh… All right…”

“Now, get off of me.”

 

She muttered something as I pushed her away and went to wash my face. When I came back, Daniela was up and putting on her armor.

 

“It looks good on you…”

“It was expensive. I would be angry if it did not.”

 

She was wearing the clothes made of wind dragon material that she had purchased from the White Lily. It had a wind magic boosting effect. And then on top of that, she wore the wind dragon armor from yesterday’s auction… Well, the gauntlets and boots from it. There would be a dramatic spike in any wind magic she used.

 

“I need to wash up.”

“Yeah.”

 

I started to get dressed as Daniela moved to the bathroom.

 

The wind dragon shirt. Poncho. Pants. Waist mantle… Daniela was all in wind dragon, but not me. My light armor was made of ice dragon. 

 

“As for my weapon…”

 

Schwarz Tempest, Glampanzer, Ashikirimaru, Cocytus Lance. I had a lot more to pick from now… I had been hoping to find something new at the auction, but that hadn’t happened. They were all just about looks… Except for the wind dragon armor and that bow.

 

“This one.”

 

Daniela had seen me fight with the one-handed sword many times. And so I decided to take the greatsword with me. As it was too big to unsheath from my back, I had it strapped over my shoulder like a bag. It was bulky, but what could you do.

 

“Hmm…the greatsword?”

“Yeah. I think I showed enough of the one-handed sword during my fight with the Manager.”

“Yes, you were quite a threat. I doubt I would have been able to block those attacks.”

“It’s not meant to be…”

 

But in my mind, Daniela was the strongest. I had to think of a way to beat her if I wanted to win.

 

It was almost time. I looked at the clock and saw that it was just past breakfast. I was still full from last night. Daniela was the same, which was very unusual. And so we left our room without eating.

We didn’t talk at all as we made our way to the arena. But it wasn’t because we were in a dark mood. I could tell that she was trying to concentrate and prepare.

 

“Well, here we go.”

“Come at me with everything, Asagi!”

 

And here we were, on the stage and facing each other. The companion I’ve been traveling with. We swore to live our lives together. And it was to this loved one that the point of my greatsword was now directed at.

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