“Clang... crash...”
The crisp sound of clashing blades rang out continuously at the bar's entrance, blending with the shouts of the crowd.
Since waking up, this was Midir's first time fighting humans, and he wanted to see what it felt like.
But after two minutes of chaotic fighting, Midir's expression remained unchanged, and he hadn't even broken a sweat. In contrast, his opponents were all red-faced, cursing as they gasped for breath.
No one had been injured in this conflict yet. It wasn't because the men were particularly skilled, but because Midir realized during the fight that he knew absolutely nothing about swordsmanship!
Although he could easily dodge their swings and slashes based on instinct, he didn't know how to give them a “proper lesson.”
“If I use that feeling I had when dealing with the Cirrus Lion... these guys would probably be neatly sliced in half. Doing that in the city might be a bit much, right?”
Midir thought to himself as he swung Starflame to parry an incoming attack.
Even though he wasn't making any deliberate offensive moves, the gap between them was immense.
Before long, he found openings and used his fists and elbows to knock them to the ground, where they wailed in pain.
“How boring. Give her back the money! And pay for the bar's front door too!”
Midir kicked one of the two leaders aside and stepped firmly on another fallen man, speaking calmly.
The man under his foot didn't dare refuse. Trembling, he untied his coin pouch from his waist.
“Okay... okay! I'll pay, I'll pay!”
But just as Midir sheathed his longsword and reached out to take the pouch, the burly man who had been thrown out of the bar earlier suddenly leaped up and grabbed him tightly from behind.
The man holding the pouch froze for a split second, then a look of ferocity flashed across his face. He quickly snatched a sharp dagger from the ground and lunged it toward Midir's heart.
“Watch out!”
Seeing the man's sudden outburst, Rosal cried out in alarm.
Midir watched the tip of the dagger get closer and closer, and a surge of intense killing intent instinctively rose within him.
Just as he was about to summon Starflame again to cut the man in two, a slender figure flashed out from his side and blocked his path.
Aila gracefully parried with her hand, striking the man's wrist and sending the dagger flying.
She followed through by grabbing his wrist, pulling and twisting. The burly man's body was instantly jerked out of balance, and he fell face-first onto the ground. His arm joint dislocated with a sickening pop from the immense force, and he screamed in agony.
The dagger he had lost grip of finally fell from the air, plunging straight into the shoulder of the man holding Midir.
Warm blood spurted out, splattering across Midir's face.
The man instinctively let go of Midir in pain, his face contorted as he prepared to bark out more threats.
However, Aila's figure appeared behind him like a ghost. A short sword extended from her sleeve and was already pressed against the man's throat, the sharp blade drawing a thin line of blood over his carotid artery.
“I suggest you don't move... I'm doing this for your own sake.”
Aila's gaze moved past the trembling man toward Midir, her voice carrying a hint of warning.
“If we were outside, I wouldn't show any mercy! But this is Lionheart City, and since your identities are a bit... special, it's better not to attract unnecessary trouble. Don't you agree?”
Seeing that Aila had subdued both men in the blink of an eye, the killing intent in Midir's heart gradually faded, and he shrugged at her.
“Whatever, do as you like. Just have them leave the money and get lost.”
“Did you hear that? Leave the money and get out of here!”
With that, Aila sheathed her short sword and kicked the man in the back, sending him flying several meters.
“I just saved your lives, shouldn't you give me a little thank-you gift too?”
Terrified, the men dropped their coin pouches one after another and fled without looking back, dragging their companion who was still wailing and clutching his arm.
“S-Sir, what is your name? How can I ever thank you?”
Rosal walked over to them and looked up at Midir.
“What? You two don't know each other? After all that, you didn't even know his name? And you still went to help her?”
Aila raised an eyebrow, looking at the young girl in surprise.
“It was just a chance encounter. Is there something wrong with helping someone in need? My name is Midir. You can also call me by my adventurer name, 【Starflame】.”
Midir tilted his head and thought for a moment before answering.
“There's nothing wrong with it, I'm just surprised you'd do it. Was it to play the hero and save the beauty? I didn't realize your tastes were so... unique.”
Aila looked over the petite and cute Rosal, then bent down to pick up the coin pouches the men had left behind.
After weighing them in her hand, Aila tossed the heaviest one to the bartender who was watching the scene.
“Here, this should cover the door and our drinks! You two, follow me. Stop making a scene here.”
Having finished, Aila turned to leave and gestured for the two to follow.
Midir and the girl exchanged a glance, then followed Aila away from the street in front of the bar.
“This is your first time in Lionheart City, right? Do you have a place to stay?” Aila asked Midir as they walked.
“No, I just arrived this morning. I haven't decided yet,” Midir answered honestly.
Rosal hesitated for a moment, then spoke softly.
“Um... Mr. Midir... if you don't have a place to stay, would you like to stay at my place for the night...? Ah! I didn't mean it like that!”
Realizing her words might be misinterpreted, her face flushed bright red.
“Oh? Aren't you lucky? A beautiful girl inviting you over as soon as you arrive!” Aila reverted to her playful self, giving Midir a knowing look and teasing him.
“Oh? Is that okay? I heard inns in the Royal Capital are very expensive. It would be nice to save on lodging costs,” Midir replied seriously, looking at them.
“Huh? I thought you were going to say something else! And all you come up with is saving on lodging? I really don't understand your mental wiring. Can you stop wasting a girl's feelings?”
Aila pointed at Rosal, whose face turned even redder at the comment, looking as if steam might start coming out of her head.
“What else would it be? By the way, shouldn't you give us our share of the money you took?”
Midir didn't mind the teasing and instead looked at the coin pouches in Aila's hand.
“I know, I know. Are you obsessed with money? I don't get it, would a mage like you really be that short on cash?”
With that, Aila divided all the money between the two of them, not keeping a share for herself, claiming she didn't care for such small change.
Aila watched Midir put the coin pouch into his bag and suddenly asked.
“Hey... Midir, you're a mage, right?”
“Yeah. You've seen me use magic, haven't you? Why ask such a strange question?”
“Then what is that thing on your back? Some kind of performance art?”
Aila pointed at the massive, half-person-tall rucksack on Midir's back with a puzzled expression.
“It's a backpack. It's for carrying things. Can't you tell?”
Midir frowned slightly. For some reason, this elven girl gave him a sense of familiarity.
He had only met her twice, but it felt as if they had known each other for a long time.
“That's not what I meant! I mean, where is your storage space? Doesn't every mage have one? Regardless of the size, it's supposed to be the absolute basics, right?” Aila said, somewhat exasperated.
“What storage space? What's that for??”
Midir tilted his head at the unfamiliar term, looking completely blank.
Even Rosal looked at him in surprise and began to explain.
“Mr. Midir, it's that magical space every mage can control! It's the most basic spatial magic, where you can create a pocket dimension to carry things around!”
“Uh... I've never heard of it... sounds very convenient. How do you use it? Can you teach me?”
Rate on N.U.
