Mushoku Tensei (LN) - Volume 9 - Chapter 12

Extra Chapter:

The Mad Dog Rages 

T HE PLACE KNOWN only as the Sword Sanctum lay to the far north, in a harsh and unforgiving region covered in snow the whole year round. This was where the first Sword God had chosen to establish his school, and where he’d spent his final years training his students. In modern times, it was a destination of choice for many swordsmen and women, and a place from which many new talents emerged. Anyone who truly wished to study the sword was encouraged to make at least one pilgrimage here. 

Young masters in the making were continually gathering here in great numbers. Many were youths who’d first revealed their talents with the blade in their teenage years. At present, there were three true prodigies staying at the Sword Sanctum whose talents outshone even their gifted peers. 

First of all, there was the daughter of the current Sword God—Nina Falion. Nina was currently eighteen years old, but even at sixteen she’d been called a peerless talent. She’d already earned the rank of Sword Saint. Most believed she was certain to become a Sword King before the age of twenty, and a Sword Emperor by twenty-five. No other student in the Sanctum was thought of so highly. 

Second, there was Nina’s cousin, Gino Britz. Gino was a second son of the Britz family, a branch of the Falion clan that led the Sword God School. At present, he was fourteen years old. He’d earned his current title of Sword Saint at the tender age of twelve, and remained the youngest student to hold that rank. While he was still a step behind his cousin, there was no telling which of them would ultimately prove superior. 

And finally, there was Eris Greyrat. 

Eris was a seventeen-year-old who struck terror into the hearts of everyone she encountered—a mad dog known to viciously savage anyone who annoyed her. She’d come to this place two years ago, accompanied by her teacher, the Sword King Ghislaine. 

This girl was utterly uncompromising in every respect. Every single day, she subjected herself to a brutal, death-defying training routine, torturing her own body relentlessly. Her arrival at the Sword Sanctum had been a very memorable one. So much so that it remained a popular topic of discussion, even years after the fact. 

Roughly Two Years Ago 

E RIS FOLLOWED IN Ghislaine’s wake as they stepped into the Sword Sanctum’s Ephemeral Hall for their audience with the Sword God. The hall was lined with high-ranking students of the Sword God Style, all Sword Saints or better. Nina and Gino were among them. Ignoring the others who surrounded her, Eris did not bow her head as she approached the Sword God—much less kneel. 

“I’m not interested in a lightweight like you!” 

And the first words she spoke to Gall Falion, known to be the strongest living swordsman, were unthinkably rude. 

“What?! How dare you insult the master!” 

“On your knees, girl! Do you know nothing of our precepts?!” 

“What are you teaching this little fool, Lady Ghislaine?!” 

The Sword Saints began to stir, their faces twisted with anger. But then the Sword God said “Sit,” and they fell silent. Gall Falion was going to cut this insolent mutt down. All of them believed this. No one had ever spoken to him so arrogantly and left this place alive. Even Ghislaine, who was infamous for her insolence, was looking at Eris with a shocked expression. Her ears and tail were standing on end. 

But for some reason, the Sword God was simply grinning. 

He alone understood what the little beast in front of him was seeking in this place. He alone understood why she would insult a man she’d just met. Why she was trying to provoke him. 

And so, there was a smile on his face as he spoke to her. “I like the look in your eyes, girl. Tell me—who is it you want to kill?” 

Eris answered immediately and decisively. “The Dragon God. The Dragon God Orsted!” 

Everyone in the room recognized the words Dragon God. But none of them had heard the name Orsted before—with one, and only one, exception. 

“Haaahahahaha!” Slapping his knees, the Sword God laughed uproariously “Well, hell. Compared to Orsted, I guess I am a lightweight! You want to kill that old bastard, huh? And here I thought I was the only one!” 

The other swordsmen in the room took in this bizarre spectacle with bated breath. The Sword God was laughing. He’d been insulted to his face, provoked by a young girl, and he was laughing. It was incomprehensible. 

But the Sword God understood something they didn’t. This girl wanted to kill the Dragon God Orsted. That meant she wanted to become the strongest single person in the world. 

“But you know…” Suddenly, his laughter stopped. For a moment, silence fell over the Ephemeral Hall. “Talk’s cheap, girl. Can you do it?” 

“I will,” Eris replied at once. There was no hint of hesitation or doubt in her voice, or in her eyes. 

The corners of the Sword God’s mouth twitched upward. “Good. Let’s see your sword, then. Gino, dance with her.” 

“Huh?! Y-Yes, sir!” Gino Britz rose to his feet at his uncle’s call, his heart beating quickly. This girl wasn’t much older than he was, but somehow, she’d made his uncle laugh with her insolent jokes. Now he had the chance to humiliate her. 

“This kid’s my youngest student,” said the Sword God. “You’ve got a couple years on him, and he’s still soft as hell, but he ain’t half-bad with a sword.” 

Without a word, two of the other Sword Saints tossed wooden swords to Gino and Eris. 

“All right. We’ll start at the—” 

“Raaaah!” 

The instant she caught her sword, Eris swung it viciously down at Gino. Caught totally unawares, he had no time to defend himself. The wooden blade struck his right wrist, and his sword fell from his hands. Before he could even understand this, much less surrender, Eris knocked him down with a second blow. The sheer violence of her attack was such that Gino felt he’d been cut down with a real sword. He lost consciousness at once. 

“Wha—?!” 

Most in the Ephemeral Hall were too shocked even to speak. This was absurd. Unthinkable. A duel was supposed to begin with the combatants facing each other at the center of the hall. Gino hadn’t even been looking in Eris’ direction. The Sword Saints thought her sudden attack an act of unspeakable cowardice. Nina was one of them, of course. It enraged her to see her cousin and fellow pupil brought down by such a cruel sneak attack. 

There were four in the room, however, who saw the situation differently: one Sword King, two Sword Emperors, and the Sword God himself. 

“Ah, yeah. See what I mean? The kid is soft, isn’t he?” 

“No kidding.” 

Eris shook her head disdainfully, letting her short hair swing back and forth. But her eyes were carefully watching the movements of everyone else in the hall. The girl was ready and waiting for one of them to take a run at her. She was fully aware of her surroundings, and her body was tensed to move at any moment. 

The Sword God had not condemned her actions. He’d simply called his fallen student “soft.” If you let down your guard while you held a sword in your hands, there was no one to blame but yourself for the consequences. Only a fool would disregard the possibility of an immediate attack. This was the unspoken message. 

“Right. You’re up next, Nina. This time, go face off at the center of the hall first. Nothin’ wrong with sneak attacks, girl, but I’d like to see how you handle someone who’s ready for you.” 

As the Sword God spoke, Nina rose to her feet, and one of the Sword Saints tossed a wooden sword to her. When she caught it, she glanced back over at the man who’d thrown it. The sword was oddly heavy. It had a metal core. 

The Sword Saint who’d thrown the weapon nodded almost imperceptibly. Kill this impudent outsider. 

Q uivering slightly, Nina nodded back. 

Nina was a Sword Saint in her own right. She’d taken lives before. To use a wooden sword with a metal core was cowardly, perhaps, but this girl had been the first to violate the rules of propriety. Given the humiliation Gino had just suffered, she deserved her fate. 

The two of them faced each other at the center of the hall and assumed their stances. 

“Begin!” 

At the signal from a nearby Sword Saint, Nina swung her blade. She’d practiced the forms of the Sword God Style tens of thousands of times. Her execution was flawless. She was going to strike down this impudent red-haired girl with the very style she’d insulted so brazenly. Her anger and determination made her even swifter than usual. 

The two swords met. 

With a dry crack, Eris’ wooden sword shattered into a thousand pieces. 

Nina’s victory was at hand. All she needed to do now was land a ruthless strike on the girl’s head as she stood there dumbfounded. 

But just as she was reveling in her victory, a fist slammed into her face. 

The next punch caught her on the chin. And as she staggered backward, a sharp kick sent her flying to the ground. All of a sudden, the girl was on top of her. Before Nina even knew what was happening, her arms were pinned beneath Eris’ legs. Looking up, she saw a demon with murder in its eyes swinging its fists down at her. 

“S-Stop! Stop! That’s enough!” 

By the time the Sword Saints called the fight, Nina had taken perhaps a dozen punches to the face. Her nose was bleeding freely, several of her teeth were broken, and she was totally unconscious. A puddle of steaming liquid spread out on the floor beneath her lower body. 

Eris stood slowly and picked up Nina’s suspiciously heavy wooden sword. “Hmph.” With a snort, she kicked her unconscious foe over to where Gino lay. “Do you have anyone who isn’t soft here?” 

“How… How dare you!” This time, the Sword Saints lost their temper. Cries of “Coward!” went up from all around the hall. Those ranked Sword King and above, however, looked down on their angry students coldly. They understood who was in the right here. Eris had been fully justified once again. A true duel didn’t end when a sword was broken. It ended when the swordsman was. 

“Sorry, girl. Guess I underestimated you a bit. I’ll play with you myself.” 

But when the Sword God himself stood, the two Sword Emperors in the hall looked at him with surprise on their faces. 

“Surely there’s no need for you to handle this personally, Master.” 

“Ghislaine could… Ah, but I suppose the girl is her student. Shall I, then?” 

Ignoring their words, the Sword God picked up his weapon. Its blade was real. 

At the sight of this, Eris kicked off the ground, jumping backward to where she’d left her own sword. She seized the partner that had accompanied her throughout her travels, and pulled it quickly from its sheath. 

“Don’t get too worked up, girl. I’ll give you a handicap… Oh, hey. Nice sword you got there. Ain’t that one of Julian’s?” 

“I don’t know. A member of the Migurd tribe gave it to me.” 

“Ah, okay. Well…this here’s a Julian too, as it happens.” 

The Sword God drew his sword deliberately. Its blade shone with an eerie golden light. This was one of the Seven Sword God Blades. It was also one of the 48 magic swords created by Julian Harisco, a legendary craftsman of the Demon Realm, from the bones of the King Dragon Kajakut. It was known as Windpipe. 

The Sword God held it loosely in his hand, letting it dangle downward. The Sword Saints watched with bated breath. The Sword God almost never held a naked sword, except in his mock duels with the Sword Emperors. 

After a moment, the Sword God casually murmured three words: “Okay, let’s go.” 

All but simultaneously, Eris was sent flying through the air. Her body crashed through the doors at the entrance to the Ephemeral Hall and kept going, landing in a massive pile of snow outside. 

The Sword God stood where she had been, perfectly still, his sword fully extended. No one in the room had seen him move. 

“Splendid!” 

“Astonishing!” 

“Splendid, Master!” 

The Sword Saints all around him complimented his skill effusively. This wasn’t his sword’s power. It was his own overwhelming battle aura that had sent Eris flying through the air. All of them believed that the brazen interloper was finally dead. 

“Ugh… guh…!” 

But then they heard groaning from outside the hall, and the signs of something stirring weakly in the snow. Had she somehow survived a strike from the Sword God? No, that wasn’t it. He’d simply taken it easy on her. But of course, there was no need for Gall Falion to take that stray dog seriously. Now they would simply banish her from the Sanctum and toss her out into the snow. 

And yet, the Sword God’s next words betrayed their expectations. 

“Ghislaine, tend to Eris’ injuries. As of this moment, she’s a Sword Saint. I’ll train her, starting tomorrow.” 

The smiles faded from the faces of the Sword Saints. This meant the girl would become a direct student of the Sword God himself. There had been no student so highly honored since Ghislaine herself. 

“That’s absurd! Sword Saint is a special title, granted only to those who master the Sword of Light technique! That’s girl’s nothing more than a wild, vicious—” 

One man raised his voice in objection, only to fall silent when the Sword God turned his blade toward him. “She took down two kids who know the Sword of Light. That’s good enough for me.” 

“But Master…” 

“Look, you don’t get to be a Sword God by memorizing something or other, right? I’m a special guy, but there’s nothing special about my title. Why should your s be any different?” 

“…My apologies, Master Falion.” The Sword Saint fell silent. He’d realized that he was speaking out of simple jealousy. All those of his rank knew that such emotions only slowed their blades. 

This was a misunderstanding on their part, however. The Sword God’s combat style was fueled by raw emotion and desire. When made use of properly, even the ugliest of motivations could make your sword swifter and more deadly. 

But of course, Gall Falion had no intention of spelling out such crucial truths for every student who wandered through his halls. Those who needed to be told these things would profit nothing from the knowledge. 

And thus, in a rather memorable fashion, Eris attained the rank of Sword Saint. 

Present Day 

N INA HAD HATED Eris from the start. Understandable, perhaps, given the girl had beaten her so severely that she’d pissed herself in front of her fellow students. She’d been shamed. Humiliated. 

Eris was nothing but a wild dog who wandered in off the streets. When her sword wasn’t up to the task, she lashed out with her fists like an angry child. Such behavior was unworthy of any student of their style, much less a Sword Saint. This was Nina’s firm opinion on the matter, and she shared it freely with anyone who would listen. 

For nearly two years, she’d barely spoken to Eris herself. In fact, she’d worked with Gino to ensure that none of the younger students would give her the time of day. 

However, Eris spent most of her time training single-mindedly with the Sword King Ghislaine, anyway. The two of them even shared a sleeping chamber. She had no connection to Nina or the others, and no need to speak with them. She certainly didn’t make any effort to do so. The only words they exchanged were sardonic insults, when they were paired off against each other during the monthly general training sessions that all the in-house students were obligated to attend. 

The two of them were evenly matched in these contests. Nina, at least, believed she won more than she lost. As long as there were proper rules in place, where a dropped or damaged sword meant the duel was over, she thought herself superior to Eris. 

It would take a little longer for her to realize that these very thoughts were the “softness” her uncle had identified in her. For now, she was still lacking in real experience. 

Eris and Nina were rivals in the eyes of those around them. But as far as Eris was concerned, Nina wasn’t even worth thinking about. 

One day in the late summer, Nina was speaking with a few girls around her age. The topic had turned to romance—which students they thought were handsome, and which of the girls had spent their first night in bed with someone. 

Nina had devoted her life to the sword from the very beginning; it was hard for her to imagine ever pursuing a relationship with anyone. She always found these conversations awkward. The only boy she was even close to was her younger cousin Gino, but they’d essentially been raised as siblings. The idea of taking him as a romantic partner just made her feel uncomfortable. She was going to keep living for her sword. If she let herself get distracted from her purpose, Eris would surely leave her in the dust—and there was nothing she hated more than losing to that girl. 

By sheer coincidence, Eris happened to pass by as their conversation was ongoing. There was steam rising from her body. She’d obviously been training hard while they chattered away out here. 

Nina felt a twinge of anxiety about this. And so, she called out to her reflexively. “Hmph. Do you ever do anything except train? You’ll be a virgin until the day you die, I’m sure. Too bad your sword can’t keep you warm at night!” 

These were big words from someone who had no experience herself. But Nina had chosen these words precisely because they would have hurt her deeply. She assumed they would have the same effect on Eris. 

“Heh!” To her surprise, however, Eris simply snorted with laughter. 

The smug look on her face made Nina blanch. “Wh-What?” 

“Sorry, but I’m not a virgin.” Her voice was slightly proud, and there was a hint of a blush on her face. Nina and the other girls knew at once that she wasn’t merely bluffing. 

“What?! You can’t be serious! Who was it? Who would sleep with you ?!” Unable to disguise her shock, Nina pressed Eris for the details in a flustered tone of voice. 

“A guy I knew since we were young.” 

Normally, Eris barely spoke a word to anyone. But on the topic of this young man, she could babble on at some length. She spoke of how they’d grown up together, and how they’d travelled from the Demon Continent back to their homeland. She spoke of how they’d met the Dragon God, who he’d managed to land a blow on. And she spoke of how they’d spent a night together. 

She explained that she wanted to be stronger for his  sake. 

It was a heartfelt tale, delivered with the passion of a girl happily in love. It left Nina utterly stunned. She’d been defeated. Totally defeated. They were evenly matched in their skill with the sword, perhaps. But she was older than Eris. And Eris had a boyfriend. 

The only defense remaining to her was to deny his existence entirely. “You’re… You’re full of it, Eris! Father says the Dragon God is protected by some sort of Holy Dragon Aura. An ordinary spell can’t even scratch him! You made this up. This man doesn’t even exist, does he? Admit it right now, before you really embarrass yourself!” 

“I’m not lying, and Rudeus isn’t ordinary. That’s why I’m not fit to be with him right now, you know? I’ve got to get way stronger…” 

As she spoke, Eris clenched her hand into a fist. There was a fire burning in her eyes now. She turned suddenly from Nina and the others, and walked right back toward the Tempering Hall, where she’d been training up until now. 

Nina watched her go in astonished silence. Eris was the last person she would have expected to be ahead of her in this department. The news about this boyfriend had left her reeling. 

That wild dog had a partner in her life, and Nina didn’t. That sounded ridiculous on its face. It had to be a lie, surely. This Rudeus didn’t really exist. 

On the basis of this assumption, Nina used her next day off to travel to the nearest town, where she paid an information broker to look for information on Rudeus Greyrat. She fully expected—or hoped, at least—that he’d find nothing, given that Rudeus had to be fictional. But to her surprise, it didn’t take long at all for him to put together a report. 

Rudeus Greyrat: born in Buena Village, Fittoa Region, Kingdom of Asura. At three, he began studying under the King-tier magician Roxy Migurdia. At five, he became a Saint-tier Water magician. At seven, he took a position as the tutor of Eris Boreas Greyrat, the daughter of the mayor of the Citadel of Roa. After this, he went missing in the Displacement Incident. However, he’d later reappeared in the northern part of the Central Continent, earning a name for himself as the adventurer “ Q uagmire Rudeus.” He was currently staying in the Magic City of Sharia. The Ranoa University of Magic had invited him to enroll as a special student. Additionally, he was respected by many of his fellow adventurers. Rumor had it that he’d even slain a stray dragon single-handed. 

The bottom line was simple enough: This was a real person, not some fantasy prince from Eris’ imagination. Nina found that fact depressing. But at the same time, she wasn’t that impressed. His achievements up until the age of seven were incredible, yes, but he hadn’t amounted to much in the end. There was no mention of him attaining any rank beyond Saint-tier, and he made his living as a common adventurer. The nickname “ Q uagmire” didn’t strike her as particularly complimentary, either. His talents had clearly faded after his childhood. 

This line of thought led her to a deliciously wicked idea. 

How would Eris react if she tracked this Rudeus down, beat him in a duel, and dragged him back here as her prisoner? The look on her face ought to be priceless. 

The plan appealed to her greatly, and so she put it into action. Nina was just as impetuous as her father had once been. That very day, she’d packed for her journey, leapt onto a horse, and set off for the Kingdom of Ranoa. 

Fortunately, her destination wasn’t far away at all. In winter the trip might have been more challenging, but at this time of the year it was simple enough. With one of the Sword Sanctum’s finest horses at her disposal, she could make the trip there and back in less than three months. 

Nina’s six-week journey to Sharia went off without a hitch, and she arrived at the University of Magic right on schedule. What she found there surprised her somewhat. 

In all honesty, Nina had always looked down on magicians. She’d thought of them as arrogant weaklings who felt that knowing how to mutter a few incantations made them strong. But inside the University of Magic, many of the people on the streets were brawny men. There seemed to be an oddly high number of beastfolk, and the majority of them were dressed like warriors. 

She did see some smaller pedestrians who wore robes or a cute uniform of some kind. On the whole, however, there were far more muscular people here than she’d expected. They obviously trained their bodies as earnestly as their minds. 

Nina felt a bit ashamed at her own ignorance. For all of her eighteen years, she’d apparently been harboring unfair prejudices toward magicians. 

After looking around for a little while, she approached a man who happened to be passing by. He was a muscular young beastman who dressed very much like a warrior. When she asked him where she might find Rudeus, the beastman said that he was looking for the very same person—and had a good idea where to find him. 

How convenient, Nina thought, and tagged along. 

Before long, the beastman spotted a boy who wore a uniform. Rudeus looked more or less exactly how Nina had pictured him. He wasn’t quite as skinny and weak-looking as she’d expected, but he certainly wasn’t intimidating. And while his face wasn’t unattractive, his insecure body language made him very unappealing. A good match for that mangy Eris. 

All right then, time to beat him down… 

But before Nina could speak, the young beastman strode up to Rudeus and began to bellow at him. “I take you to be Q uagmire Rudeus, the A-ranked adventurer who cut down a stray Wyrm single-handedly! I challenge you to a matrimonial duel, sir!” 

Nina was startled, to say the least. The beastman hadn’t mentioned anything about challenging Rudeus to single combat. 

“You know, I’ve actually got piano practice today…” Rudeus, for his part, declined the duel in the least manly possible way. But the young beastman spouted off some confusing justifications, jumped right in front of him, and instantly attacked. 

Nina assumed Rudeus would be torn apart in a matter of seconds. This beastman was clearly a competent fighter, although perhaps not on her level, and Rudeus was a magician. Every swordswoman in the world knew that his kind was helpless up close. There was nothing a mage could do when someone got the drop on them. 

And yet, things somehow turned out very differently. Rudeus defeated the young beastman in no time at all. The fight lasted all of three seconds, by Nina’s count. If you blinked your eyes, you might have missed it. Without so much as a backward glance in her direction, Rudeus promptly walked off, leaving his unconscious foe lying on the street. 

It took a few minutes for Nina to recover from these startling events. She had to take some time asking around again, but eventually learned that Rudeus was now in the library. 

By the time she’d gotten directions and headed over there, there was a large group of beastfolk lined up neatly outside the building. Nina found this curious, but it clearly had nothing to do with her. She headed straight for the entrance. 

But as she passed by the crowd, a beastman called out to her. “Do you intend to challenge Rudeus to a duel as well?” 

“Uh, yes… that’s right,” Nina replied thoughtlessly. 

“Then get to the back of the line!” shouted the man. “You don’t get to jump ahead!” 

Apparently, this entire line consisted of people who wished to challenge Rudeus to a duel. Confused and astonished, Nina turned around and headed toward the back. There seemed to be at least thirty people ahead of her. 

As she went, a beastman near the front of the line called out “Sorry, kiddo. That’s too bad.” She didn’t know what that was supposed to mean. 

In any case, waiting seemed to be her only option, so she waited. Morning gave way to afternoon, but Rudeus gave no sign of emerging. 

And then he appeared. 

A demon with obsidian skin and rippling muscles suddenly stood beside them, looking down at the group with an arrogant smile on his face. “Hoho! What’s this line for, friends? Is there a festival going on?!” 

“This is the line for those who wish to challenge Rudeus Greyrat to a duel!” 

“Is it indeed?! And there’s so many of you, too! Bwahahaha! The boy’s in great demand, I see! I’m a patient man, of course, but is there any way I could get a shot at him first?!” 

The beastfolk didn’t take this question well at all. Shouts of “Get in line!” and various insults came flying from all directions. Nina was furious too. She’d come a very long way, and she was waiting patiently. She told the demon to wait his turn like everyone else. 

But then, in the midst of all the jeering… one fool said something he definitely shouldn’t have. “You want to go first, big man? Then you better defeat everyone who got here before you!” 

“Bwahahahaha! Lovely! I like the sound of that! Come at me, all of you. As a reward for your boldness, I’ll let you take a free shot before I crush you!” 

The unbelievable arrogance of this remark drove all the others mad with fury. 

“What the hell did you just say?!” 

“You’re gonna regret that, shithead!” 

Moving almost in unison, the beastfolk leapt to the attack, eager to teach this pompous idiot a lesson. Before she really even understood what was happening, Nina found herself joining in as well. 

Long story short: she lost. Badly. 

She hit the demon with the Sword of Light, fully intending to kill him. And he shrugged it off. Her blade hadn’t penetrated his skin. She’d made a shallow surface cut, but the wound healed instantly before her very eyes. 

“I am the immortal Demon King Badigadi! Bwahahaha! I’ll bestow the title of Hero on anyone who defeats me!” 

Compared to many of the others, Nina’s effort was fairly respectable. But the Demon King was on a whole different level. Before she could even think up some sort of plan, he’d caught her, smacked her brutally to the ground, and broke her beloved sword apart. 

As she lay there groaning in pain, her mind was full of terror and bewilderment. Why was she fighting a Demon King in the middle of some school for magicians? What was a ruler from the Demon Continent even doing all the way out here? 

Everyone else was thinking the exact same thing, of course. 

Mere moments after Nina fell, Badigadi finished off the entire group of beastfolk. Somehow, although most were injured, none seemed to be dead. He’d taken it easy on them. 

The moment she realized this, Nina shed bitter tears onto her quivering fists. But no matter how deep her frustration, she couldn’t do a thing now that her sword was lost. 

“…What the hell?” 

In that exact instant, Rudeus had emerged from the library. He spoke with the Demon King for a time, after which they moved elsewhere. 

Grimacing, Nina forced herself to stand and dragged her battered body after them. Rudeus and the Demon King were standing at the center of a huge open courtyard, sizing each other up. They appeared to be talking about something. Sometimes she could hear snatches of booming laughter, but it was impossible to make out any of their discussion. 

The duel finally began after a strangely quick-footed boy brought a staff to Rudeus. 

Nina saw the whole thing from start to finish. Not that it took very long. Rudeus took his staff, unsealed it, mouthed a few words, and pointed it at his foe. And a split-second later, the Demon King’s entire upper body exploded violently. 

The man had defeated an opponent Nina couldn’t even compete with. The man her hated rival loved, the man she’d assumed to be worthless, had destroyed a Demon King with a single attack. And Eris was trying to ascend to his level. 

Faced with these facts, Nina’s mind went blank with shock. She didn’t remember what happened after that. Before she knew it, she was back on top of her horse, heading for the Sword Sanctum. 

But when she made it back there, and saw Eris swinging her sword with single-minded focus, Nina felt something. Something that she hadn’t felt before. 

*** 

After that fateful day in Sharia, Nina Falion turned over a new leaf. 

She devoted herself to her training with even greater vigor than before, and began to carry a second sword, in case her first was ever broken. She stopped mocking Eris for her tendency to lash out with her fists. She grew more distant from the other girls her age, who she’d never truly been that close to. 

And when she looked at Eris, whose determination never seemed to flag, her gaze was not so harsh as it had once been. 

In time, the two of them would become true rivals. But that’s a story for another time. 

Incidentally… 

Rumor has it that the Sword God, who’d been sharpening his sword excitedly after hearing of the Demon King’s arrival, sheathed it with a disappointed expression after Nina reported what had happened.