Chapter 104
The Phoenix's Origin
Translator : PolterGlast
Now that I've seen it
up close, I finally understand.
It's a self-destruct
skill, and at the same time it's used, it also heals any damage the user has
sustained.
It's an insane skill
that damages the opponent while fully healing oneself, but it's probably not a
skill that can be used repeatedly.
The proof is...
Julian's face is twitching in horror as he sees me withstand the explosion.
Besides, he doesn't
need to go to the trouble of self-destructing; I can just heal myself with
healing magic.
While applying strong
pressure by threatening to cut him if he got close, I took the opportunity to
cast healing magic on myself.
"Whoa... You...
can use healing magic, too?"
"Huh, I didn't
tell you?"
"All that
swordsmanship, and you can use attack magic—and even healing magic? What in the
world are you?"
"Just a normal
D-rank adventurer."
"What 'normal'
is... is starting to get confusing."
Julian muttered that
quietly, a cramped smile on his face.
"So what will you
do? Will you surrender now?"
"There's no way
I'm surrendering. I'm going to give it my all until the very end. So—please,
kill me for real."
"Yeah, alright.
I'll give you everything I've got."
In response, Julian
came at me, slashing frantically, and I met him with my full strength.
He was the strongest I
had fought today, but I can declare that he was not strong enough to threaten
me.
—Kill him with all my might.
Since that was what
Julian asked for, I held nothing back and cut him in two with a diagonal slash.
Julian, smiling even
as he was horribly mangled, was enveloped in particles of light and
disappeared.
A roar of applause
went up, and Salis declared my victory.
"The exhibition
match between Julian and Graham. The winner—is Graham!"
A round of applause erupted,
and I was even applauded by the S-rank adventurers I had defeated today, with
the exception of [Sakura Nostra].
I raised my hand in
response to the applause and returned to Ginia and the others.
"That was another
overwhelming victory in the end! As expected, you're so cool, Graham-san!"
"I knew you would
win all your matches, but... I never thought you would be this dominant against
the S-rank adventurers from each city! It's been a long time since I've been
this excited. Thank you so much."
"I knew it would
be an overwhelming victory, though! It's a shame I didn't get to fight at all,
but it was great to see your matches up close, Graham!"
I'm happy that they're
all praising me so unreservedly, but... it's also a little embarrassing.
It was a hassle, and I
hated being the center of attention, but it was worth fighting to see the three
of them so happy.
"The Guild Master
gave me a good opportunity, and because I had you two, Ginia and Aoi, I was
able to fight with all my strength. I'm the one who should be thanking
you."
"You would have
won overwhelmingly even without us!"
"No, I think I
would have held back somewhere. The reason I was able to fight all out was
because I had the trust that you two would treat me the same as always. Your
presence is a bigger part of me than you think."
"Th-that's making
me blush!"
"T-that's true! I
had an image of you trusting Ginia a lot, but I never thought you felt that way
about me too... it's making me grin a little."
Both Ginia and Aoi
look embarrassed, their faces breaking into a grin.
Their presence really
is a big deal to me, and I'm just grateful that they're willing to follow a
geezer like me.
"It's a
heartwarming sight. Watching the three of you really makes me want to become an
adventurer again."
"Are you going to
return to being an adventurer, Guild Master? If you are, we'd welcome you to
our party."
"..................That's
an incredibly tempting offer, but I'll continue to support you in a different
way, as I have been. I will never forget the debt I owe you for this, and I
swear to support you with all my might until the day I die."
The Guild Master's
eyes were serious, almost frighteningly so.
All I did was come to
the Royal Capital and fight a little; he doesn't need to feel that indebted.
...And I just simply
had a great time on this trip to the capital.
"You don't have
to feel so burdened. It was a good experience, and I'm glad I was able to make
some new acquaintances."
"It doesn't
matter what you think, Graham-san. I've decided that I will serve you with all
my might until I die."
"I-I see. In that
case, I guess I'll be counting on you."
"Yeah, just tell
me anything!"
As I was being
overwhelmed by the Guild Master's intensity, Salis, who had served as the
referee, came over.
Even though the representative
of the Imperial Capital, [White Phoenix], had lost, she was all smiles and
looked truly happy.
"Graham,
congratulations on your clean sweep. You've really shown me something
incredible."
"Thank you for
giving me this valuable experience. Also, I'm sorry for defeating [White
Phoenix]."
"It's nothing to
apologize for. It was a good opportunity for [White Phoenix]... or rather, for
their leader, Julian, and it was nothing but a plus. Thank you for crushing him
with all your might."
Her words were
straight, not sarcastic.
I wonder if it's
because of what he gained from the defeat.
"I'm not used to
being thanked for a complete victory."
"This may sound
like a brag... but I was undefeated during my active years. I know well the
importance of losing."
"No, that sounds
exactly like a brag."
"No, no, it's
really not a brag. I still think that if I had lost during my active years, I
could have become even greater. That's why I'm grateful to you for giving him
the experience of defeat."
I don't really get it,
but I can tell that her gratitude is from the heart.
Salis really is a
strange person.
"In that case,
I'll humbly accept your thanks."
"Yeah. I want to
thank you in some way, so please come to my office on another day."
"I don't need any
thanks. You've already done so much for me."
"It's fine.
There's also a favor I want to ask of you, so I'd really like you to
come."
"...Alright. Once
things have settled down, I'll stop by your office."
After making that
promise with Salis, we decided to watch the remaining matches.
With [Battenberg]
having returned, all the matches were able to be held.
The final rankings of
the exchange tournament were: our team, with a clean sweep, in first place.
[White Phoenix], with
one loss, in second place. [Battenberg], with two losses, in third place.
[Sakura Nostra], with three losses, in fourth place. And [Crimson Rose], with a
total defeat, in fifth place.
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