“Don't overthink it. I'm not an actual royal princess.”
Ilu seemed worried that Li Xiuman was getting the wrong idea.
In reality, the episode of “The princess escapes her wedding, and the king sends troops to pursue her” was already playing in Li Xiuman's head.
“Huh? Not a real royal princess?”
Li Xiuman was a bit confused.
“The title ‘Princess of the Sword.’ It's an honorary princess title bestowed by the kingdom.”
“I have no rank of nobility, no domain, and I don't accept commands from the kingdom either.”
That explained it.
Li Xiuman had been wondering why Mantield didn't sound like a noble family name from any of the duchies or kingdoms.
“Besides, princesses are all delicate and dainty. It doesn't suit me at all.”
“I'd rather be knighted as a Legendary Knight. The king really has no eye for talent.”
Now that was treasonous.
Seeing a princess curse at the king for having no eye for talent, Li Xiuman found it incredibly thrilling.
“Have you thought of anything yet? About your wish.”
Ilu changed the subject, steering it back to the main topic.
“Well... after I lost the slip of paper, I stopped thinking about it.”
Li Xiuman answered honestly.
He truly had nothing he particularly wanted.
What he wanted most was strength—power that would never be controlled by anyone else.
Having been backed into a corner by a petty noble to the point of a mass slaughter, wasn't it simply because his own strength was lacking?
If he had been strong enough to wipe out everyone in White Bear City, wouldn't the issue and all his troubles have been solved instantly?
“In that case, I'll write down the address for you again. I'm going to stay in White Bear City for a while, so if you run into any trouble, you can always come find me.”
“Oh, right, give me your address as well, so you don't lose it again.”
The two of them exchanged addresses.
Returning to the merchant association, he assured Tedela of his safety and explained that the trouble had been resolved by a passing, righteous purple-haired princess.
Afterward, he helped restore the messy association and collected the compensation sent over by the lord.
Then, he went home to get some sleep.
As for conquering the dungeon, he would think about that after resting for a while.
Early the next morning, a knock sounded at his door.
Who would be knocking so early in the morning?
Putting on his cloak, he pulled open the door, only to find Ilu.
“Have you thought of a wish today?!”
Were you Aladdin's lamp or something?!
He could tell that Ilu was a woman of action.
To her, having an unfinished task made her feel completely uncomfortable.
And having helped her draw the Glacial Seal Sword, he was likely considered her benefactor.
Thus, she had to quickly repay this favor to finally put her mind at ease.
What an incredibly upright person.
Li Xiuman felt that Ilu was practically shining.
“I really don't have any wishes.”
He felt a bit of a headache coming on.
“Then let me help you practice your swordsmanship. Consider it interest on my debt of gratitude.”
“When you were fighting yesterday, you seemed to have some foundation in swordsmanship, but it was very clumsy.”
Indeed, the skills he obtained from other bones were not honed step by step on his own; he had to adapt to them through combat.
But in Ilu's eyes, was [Swordsmanship Lv2] just some foundation?
But reflecting on Ilu's own skill with the sword, perhaps such an assessment was only natural.
“Then please wait for me a moment.”
Li Xiuman led Ilu into the living room, then went into the bedroom to put on his leather and light armor.
Otherwise, given Ilu's monstrous strength, his body probably wouldn't survive more than a few exchanges before breaking.
After all, even magical tools made of steel couldn't withstand her usage.
Having put on his armor, Li Xiuman and Ilu went out to the small courtyard.
“Are you ready? Here I come.”
Ilu raised her greatsword, which was still in its scabbard. She had not brought the Glacial Seal Sword with her this time.
Li Xiuman drew his bone sword and wand, then nodded.
“Come.”
In an instant, Ilu's body vanished from before his eyes, reappearing right in front of him as she executed a plain, unadorned slash.
Li Xiuman quickly raised his bone sword and wand, preparing to parry.
But Ilu suddenly lifted her leg and kicked him square in the chest.
His body instantly went flying, slamming hard into the ground.
“Don't just watch the sword. It's not like I can only attack with my blade.”
Ilu warned.
As Li Xiuman scrambled back to his feet, Ilu's voice rang out in his ear again.
“Here it comes!”
This time was a horizontal sweep. Li Xiuman raised his wand to block it.
The sheer force sent a violent tremor through his body. Following the momentum of her descending greatsword, Ilu executed a spinning high kick, aiming straight for Li Xiuman's head.
Li Xiuman hastily retreated to dodge the high kick, thrusting his bone sword toward Ilu's chest.
“Too slow!”
His sword wrist was instantly seized. Closing the distance, she drove a knee strike toward his chest.
“Don't just use your wrist when you thrust with a sword. What about your waist and shoulders?!”
Li Xiuman climbed back up and lashed out with his wand at Ilu.
Ilu raised her hand, swinging her greatsword to deflect the wand.
The heavy greatsword looked like a plastic toy in her hands as she swung it toward his neck.
“Tier 1 Magic, Wind Shield!”
Swiftly raising his left arm to block the greatsword, the Wind Shield slightly deflected the blade's path.
Seizing the opportunity, he lowered his stance and slipped into Ilu's guard, thrusting his bone sword toward her neck.
Ilu leaned backward, bending her body to an unbelievable angle, like a dancer doing a backbend.
Her exposed waist caught the light beneath her top, causing Li Xiuman to daze for a split second.
Seizing that moment, her toe kicked Li Xiuman's sword wrist. The bone sword flew out of his hand, and her greatsword was instantly pressed against his neck.
Then she kicked him flying again.
“Losing your focus in battle is a fatal mistake! Again!”
Over and over he was kicked away. Li Xiuman felt like nothing more than a toy, being played with by Ilu at her whim.
By the time the sword practice ended, Li Xiuman felt as though his bones were about to fall apart.
On the other hand, Ilu was completely unfazed, looking as if she had only just finished warming up.
Quietly offering a second of silent mourning for whatever man might end up with this human Gundam in the future, he pushed himself up from the ground.
“You're not bad. Though you're a bit thin, you've got plenty of strength.”
Being praised for having strength by someone who could flick him away with her pinky finger wasn't particularly comforting.
“Besides, you are the first Elementalist I've seen who has combined swordsmanship with magic.”
“But continuing down this path will be extremely difficult. You must be prepared.”
Ilu gave Li Xiuman a well-meaning warning.
Indeed, every time he leveled up now, his allocated stat points went toward Constitution and Spirit.
Even though his current level-ups granted strength points from his right arm bone, those remaining points would eventually be depleted as his level rose.
When that happened, his strength would lag behind other warrior classes, and he would lose his advantage in close-quarters combat.
Perhaps he needed to seek out other bones to find a way to keep his strength stats growing.
“Shall we go get some food? My treat!”
“No, I'm not hungry.”
Li Xiuman declined the invitation. After all, he was a skeleton.
Furthermore, Ilu's striking looks were guaranteed to turn heads on the street, and it would be bad if they were misunderstood while walking together.
With her status, any misunderstanding might bring her trouble.
It would also bring trouble for him.
“Alright, then I'll come find you again tomorrow.”
“Huh?! You're still coming?!”
“Are you not welcoming me?”
Her dragon-like pressure always slipped out unconsciously.
“No, I'm just too happy.”
Rate on N.U.
