Roy Vs. Nick (2)

He had caught me completely off guard, so I hadn’t had time to play dumb.

Seeing my face twitch, Nick chuckled.

“That reaction. I knew it. Even though we’d supposedly never met before, I kept thinking I’d heard your voice somewhere.”

“I’m surprised you remembered the voice of an old guy like me.”

“Yeah. I wanted to meet that bear again someday, so I made sure to remember your voice.”

“You sure took a liking to me.”

I never expected him to remember my voice.

It wasn’t even particularly distinctive.

I guess the leader of the strongest adventuring party in history really was different.

To build such a powerful party, he was constantly sharpening his senses and staying alert to every scrap of information.

“And then there’s Yuri Claudevel. Why does she admire you so much? I’ve been so curious about that, I can barely sleep.”

“I’d like to know that myself. No matter how you look at it, you’re more handsome than me, and you’re a higher-ranked adventurer too.”

“Thanks for the compliment. But in the end, she chose you. I can’t just accept that without understanding why.”

“…”

I see.

Nick Bluestar was now so powerful that people said he might even rival the Hero.

Many countries, towns, and villages had been saved by his exploits. There were probably countless adventurers who dreamed of joining such a celebrated hero’s party.

And yet Yuri had rejected his invitation within seconds.

If she’d agonized over it before turning him down, that might have been one thing, but she’d refused without a moment’s hesitation. No wonder he couldn’t accept it so easily.

“But now that I’ve come here, I’m certain… Roylotte Blake, you’re every bit as strong as I thought.”

“Why do you think that?”

“Because I didn’t sense you approaching at all. I’ve never met anyone who could hide their presence from me before.”

“I used Stealth Magic.”

“Even with Stealth Magic, I’d notice if the person using it were only an average adventurer.”

“…”

Looks like there was no fooling this guy.

It would be disrespectful not to answer him honestly.

I looked Nick straight in the eye and answered clearly.

“At the very least, I’m stronger than you.”

“…”

Nick still wore a calm smile, but his eyes sharpened.

Maybe no one had ever said something like that to him before.

But it was the truth.

“…I find that hard to believe. You’re known as the eternally B-rank adventurer, yet you’re saying you’re stronger than me?”

“What would it take for you to believe me?”

“Isn’t that obvious?”

Nick slowly drew his sword.

The blade gleamed blue. It was probably some famous sword with a name of its own.

I wasn’t particularly enthusiastic about this, but he probably wouldn’t be satisfied unless I fought him.

So I readied the greatsword I’d been carrying over my shoulder.

“Whoa… You can actually wield Diares?”

“You know this sword?”

“It’s a cursed sword that rejects every powerful warrior who tries to wield it. No one can even hold the thing. Weapon shops everywhere have been passing it around because they don’t know what to do with it, and I heard the old man at the weapon shop in Eto only recently took it in.”

So this sword was pretty famous.

Since I could hold it, did that mean the sword had accepted me?

“Anyway, let’s get this over with.”

“Don’t say it like you’re about to finish me off in an instant.”

My words must have irritated him.

Nick’s expression turned severe as he raised his sword and charged straight at me.

The pale-blue blade flashed in a sweeping arc.

GIIIIIIING!

Yeah, that was a nice, heavy strike.

It sounded completely different from the light clashing of swords I’d heard at the arena.

Nick attacked again and again, but I deflected every blow before leaping backward to avoid his final swing.

Once some distance opened between us, I launched a rapid series of slashes of my own.

He was barely managing to dodge them.

“How the hell are you swinging a greatsword that big so easily?”

“It’s just the right weight for me.”

“Are you some kind of monster?”

Nick muttered the insult before performing several backflips to put some distance between us.

Then he pointed his palm toward me and began chanting.

“How good are you with magic? Icicle.”

The next instant, a massive icicle came crashing down toward my head.

I swept it aside with my greatsword.

The icicle shattered into countless tiny fragments that scattered through the air.

There was no time to catch my breath.

Nick had already used the opening to leap into the air and slash down at me.

GIIIIIIING!!

Sparks burst from the impact as our swords collided.

The momentum of his descent added even more weight to the strike.

An ordinary person would have been cut clean in half.

Even if they’d managed to block it, an ordinary iron sword probably would have snapped.

Despite the sweat forming on his forehead, Nick grinned like he was enjoying himself.

“You’re the first person I’ve ever seen smash magic apart with brute force.”

“That’s thanks to this greatsword.”

“It’s not just the sword… You… are you really human?”

Instead of answering Nick’s question, I cast a spell.

“Wave Shock.”

“!?”

The moment I cast it, Nick’s body was blasted away as though he’d been struck by something invisible.

An ordinary person would’ve been seriously injured by now, but an SS-rank adventurer really was built differently.

Even after being sent flying, he got back to his feet immediately without a scratch.

Then he charged again and slashed at me.

He was faster than before.

As I deflected every descending strike, Nick asked,

“…Why are you content to remain B-rank when you’re this strong?”

“Because B-rank pays enough to live comfortably.”

“Don’t you want to defeat the Demon King? Once you reach A-rank or higher, you can take requests directly from nobles and royal families.”

“Unfortunately for you, I have absolutely no interest in status or fame.”

“I see.”

As we talked, our blades locked together in a contest of strength.

But it didn’t last long. You’re ten years too early to challenge me to a test of strength, kid.

I forced Nick backward along with his sword.

Nick fell onto his backside, but immediately raised his sword again.

That was because I was already swinging mine down at him.

Our blades collided, locking us into another contest of strength.

“Old man, how the hell are you this ridiculously strong?”

“You just haven’t trained enough yet.”

“You know I’m an SS-rank adventurer, right?”

“That’s just a rank humans decided on for themselves, isn’t it?”

Sweat poured from Nick’s forehead.

Looks like he was starting to lose against the weight of my sword.

Both hands gripping his weapon were trembling.

“Fireball.”

The moment I heard the fire spell from somewhere nearby, I immediately leaped backward and cleared the area.

A ball of flame shot through the space between Nick and me before smashing into a nearby boulder.

The rock shattered into pieces.

When I looked toward the direction the Fireball had come from… a lone girl wearing a green hooded cloak stood there.