Chapter 96
The Exchange Match
Translator : PolterGlast
Before the exchange
matches began, I decided to try killing myself.
I'm testing it because
I'm half in doubt about whether I'll really be revived, but precisely because
I'm half in doubt, I'm also scared to commit suicide.
"Well then, I
need you to collect my equipment and things. I'll be back as soon as I'm
revived."
"I don't think
you need to go out of your way to test it, but... if that's what you want to
do, I won't stop you. Leave the equipment recovery to me. You'll be revived
naked, so be sure to put on the clothes in the room."
"Yeah, got
it."
I replied to the Guild
Master, and while Ginia and Aoi watched on worriedly—I shook off my fear and
lopped off my own head.
The intense pain that
assaulted my body was only for an instant. It seems I was judged to be dead
immediately, and when I came to, I was lying in an unknown place.
"This
is............ really strange. And it was an interesting experience."
The moment I thought I
was dead, I was lying in this room, stark naked, and not a single wound
remained on my neck.
There was probably no
memory loss, and my body was in perfect health.
For now... it seems it
really is okay to die.
As the Guild Master
had told me, I immediately changed into the cloth clothes that were in the room
and hurried back to where I was before.
At the place where I
had just died, the Guild Master was holding my equipment, and I could tell even
from this distance that Ginia and Aoi were fidgeting nervously.
"Sorry to keep
you waiting. I died and came back."
"Thank goodness...!
Seeing your head go flying was pretty shocking, so I thought you had really
died!"
"I was able to
experience death for the first time; it was quite a valuable experience."
"...Did it
hurt?"
"It hurt, but it
was an instant death, so it wasn't that bad. What happened after I died?"
"There wasn't any
blood or anything; your body just turned into particles and disappeared! Then,
you just came back."
I see. As expected, it
seems to be related to magic.
While making such
small talk, I put on the equipment that the Guild Master handed back to me.
With this, my
preparations are complete, and I can fight seriously at any time.
"By the way, are
you not going to form a strategy? It looks like [Crimson Rose] is having an
in-depth discussion."
"We don't need
one. I'll take on four of them by myself, so Ginia and Aoi, you two just defeat
one of them."
"So we just need
to defeat one! Even if they're an S-rank adventurer, I feel like we can win in
a two-on-one."
"You can win
easily. To be honest, I'd like to have you two defeat all of them, but... this
is a fight I picked."
It's a shame I can't
give them a chance to grow, but if [Crimson Rose] is okay with it, I can just
ask for a mock battle with them again later.
I've decided not to hold
back in this exchange match, so sorry to Ginia and Aoi, but your turn will be
mostly non-existent.
"...Oh. It looks
like the other side is ready too."
"Well then, I'm
off. You can watch from these ringside seats, Guild Master."
"Yeah. I'll be
watching Guanza's frustrated face."
"If I can aim for
it, I'll hit him with a stray shot, too."
"Hahaha, a stray
shot on top of a hundred platinum coins? You're a real demon."
I gave a thumbs-up to
the laughing Guild Master, and we headed to the center of the colosseum.
In the middle was
Salis, who would be acting as the referee, and from the opposite side, [Crimson
Rose] approached.
As expected of S-rank
adventurers, the equipment they were wearing was all first-class.
Compared to mine or
Ginia's, it was like heaven and earth.
"Both parties are
present. This is the first match. Are you nervous?"
"Not at all.
There is no way we would lose to an E-rank adventurer."
"It's not E-rank;
we're D-rank. ...I'm not nervous at all either. We won't lose, even if heaven
and earth were turned upside down."
"How can you talk
so big? I've thought this since yesterday, but you should learn your
place."
The blonde woman who
seemed to be the leader pointed at me with perfect posture.
Well, if you think
about it normally, I guess you wouldn't expect to lose to a one-armed old man.
"Fufu, it's good
that there are sparks flying even before the fight. Well then, shall we
begin?"
"Yeah."
"Yes. We're
ready."
"Then take your
positions. First match—begin!"
With Salis's call, the
match against [Crimson Rose] began.
The ones who moved at
the same time as the start were [Crimson Rose]; the two in the rear began to
chant a spell.
The three in the front
charged, and the one a step ahead was the blonde woman who seemed to be the
leader.
Her weapon is a
rapier. She seems to be using some kind of skill, as her speed increases with
every step.
Their target seems to
be me alone, as the magic chanted by the two rear guards first came flying at
me.
At the same time as
that magic was unleashed, the blonde woman stepped into my range—and unleashed
a high-speed thrust aimed at my heart.
Their coordination is
perfect. There are measures to prevent me from responding, and they're not
holding back just because I'm a D-rank old man.
It was a series of attacks
worthy of an S-rank adventurer, but to finish me off... it's far too slow.
"That's one down.
An instant kill!"
The blonde woman
muttered that with a smug look, still in her thrusting stance.
She must have thought
she had finished me off because she felt her blade connect, but... as the smoke
from the magic cleared, the blonde woman and I made eye contact.
The blonde woman, who
had been smiling, seemed to have sensed something was wrong that I hadn't
disappeared, and her expression gradually stiffened.
And she slowly lowered
her gaze—and at the end of her line of sight was the blade of her rapier,
passing under my arm.
"That was a
better attack than I expected."
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