Chapter 438 – 438: Fanatic
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There was an incident where Lelia screamed in shame, but afterwards, she apologized for screaming.
Then, the food came out right away, so we ate first.
While we were eating, Ninya asked how Lelia ended up in Miss Solario, and Lelia, sweating profusely, replied,
“It’s, it’s because of the High Priest’s recommendation.”
That was all she said.
I told Ninya that we should refrain from asking any more questions, as Lelia might scream again if we did.
Ninya was disappointed, but I thought it was best not to poke at that particular sore spot.
After lunch.
Noah looked at Lelia with curious eyes and asked,
“Hey, hey, Lelia~.”
“Y-yes… Noah-nim.”
Lelia seemed anxious that Noah might ask about Miss Solario.
But thankfully, Noah’s question was of a different kind.
“Lelia, you’re the captain of the Holy Knights, right?”
“Ah, yes. I am the captain of the 13th Order.”
“Then how strong are you, Lelia?”
“Strength… you mean?”
“Yeah. I was wondering how strong you’d be if we compared you to the Platoon. We’re going on an investigation mission together tomorrow, right? I’m curious how strong you are.”
“I see. Haa…”
Lelia sighed in relief and said,
“Of course, I am nowhere near Rent-nim’s level.”
“Well, that’s true for everyone, isn’t it?”
“Hahaha, that’s true. There are very few people who can compare to Rent-nim, who made a great contribution to resolving the Flood. So, if we exclude Rent-nim… I think I’m probably about as skilled as an A-rank adventurer in the Platoon.”
“Ooh, I see.”
“Yes. It’s not arrogance, but I believe I am quite strong. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have been able to obtain this position.”
Indeed, I thought that someone who was the captain of a country’s knight order would have at least the skill of an A-rank adventurer in the Platoon.
“I see~♪”
Noah had a sly yet curious and combative expression on his face.
“Hey, Lelia, can we spar sometime?”
“Spar, you say?”
“Yeah! I think we’ve done enough sightseeing… We have time until dinner, so I want to experience how strong you are, Lelia!”
“N-Noah. Suddenly asking for a spar…”
“It’s okay, Elsie-nim. Very well, let’s spar. It’ll be good for some exercise after the meal.”
“Oh my, then I’ll join too. I’m curious how strong Lelia-unni is…♪”
“N-Ninya-nim as well? Yes, of course, I’ll take you on anytime.”
Lelia hesitated at the term “unni,” which she wasn’t used to.
But since it was about sparring, she immediately accepted Ninya’s request as well.
“Then, I’ll guide you to a good place for sparring.”
After paying the bill, we followed Lelia.
And the place Lelia led us to was…
“This is the best place for sparring.”
It was the training ground in the Sol Adventurer’s Guild.
“So, it’s here…”
“Well, it would be here, wouldn’t it?”
“Usually, adventurers don’t use this place, but the staff manages it, so the environment is good. Do you two use the training ground often?”
“If anyone uses it, it’s probably us the most in the Platoon~.”
“Noah and I spar a lot.”
“I see. That attitude of trying to improve your skills not only in dungeons but also outside is very commendable.”
Lelia’s expression brightened as the topic completely shifted away from Miss Solario.
“Then, let’s start the spar. Who would like to go first?”
Lelia had already taken out a shield and a one-handed sword and was in a stance.
“Huh? Lelia, that’s…”
“Yes, it’s an inventory. It’s an item given to captains.”
So, even a 5,000 gold inventory is given to captains by the higher-ups.
But there was something a little strange.
Lelia’s main weapon that I saw in Miss Solario was clearly a bow.
“Lelia, aren’t you using a bow?”
“Ah… a bow is not suitable for sparring. Of course, my main weapon is a bow. But as a Holy Knight, I have a lot of experience, so I can handle most weapons at a high level.”
“Ooh, so you’re a weapon master. That’s cool!”
“W-weapon master… I’m, I’m embarrassed.”
As Lelia scratched her head, embarrassed, Noah raised his hand.
“Me! I’ll go first!”
“Noah-nim is first, then. Please take care of me.”
“You too~!”
Since Noah and Lelia were going to spar, we moved back to keep our distance.
“Noah, should I cast a support spell?”
“No! I have to do this with my own strength!”
Noah smoothly drew a dagger from his waist and took a stance.
“Come at me anytime, Noah-nim.”
“Then, here I come~! Haaah!”
And Noah charged towards Lelia.
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“Haa… haa…”
Thirty minutes after the spar began.
Noah was panting, breathing heavily.
“Ugh, she’s so tough…”
Noah had attacked Lelia relentlessly.
But Lelia blocked and deflected all of Noah’s attacks with her shield, and sometimes even used her sword to keep him in check.
Even when Noah used Shadow Step to increase his speed and momentarily enhanced his magic to attack from behind, Lelia skillfully blocked all of Noah’s attacks.
It was truly like an iron wall.
“Noah-nim, you have good movements. But your tendency to try to finish with one blow is too noticeable in your movements. It will be effective when facing monsters, but you need to think more about enemies that your attacks won’t work on or that can dodge.”
She even gave him appropriate advice.
“Ugh… I thought I should do that when hunting harpies too. I guess I developed bad habits again since I can catch harpies in one hit.”
And Noah accepted Lelia’s advice and reflected on his mistakes.
“Wow, but Lelia, you’re really strong. Aren’t you stronger than Ninya?”
“I definitely think Lelia is much stronger than me right now. Rent, can you get my spear?♡”
“Yes, Ninya-nim.”
I took Ninya’s spear out of the inventory and handed it to her.
Ninya twirled the spear and approached Noah.
“Noah, take a break for a bit. I want to spar this time.”
“Haa… okay. Good luck, Ninya.”
“Hehe, as Noah’s teacher~ I’ll do my best♪”
“Next is Ninya-nim, then. Please come at me anytime.”
“Okay~ Lelia-unni♪”
“Ah, the word ‘unni’ is still not familiar…”
Wouldn’t it be even more so since the reason she’s being called that is what it is?
“Hehe, maybe it’ll be good once you get used to it?”
Ninya twirled her spear and took a serious stance.
“I can tell just by looking. Lelia-unni is much, much stronger than me. She could probably beat an A-rank adventurer in the Platoon, right?”
“Thank you for saying that.”
“So~… Lightning Enchant.”
Zzzzzzzzzzz!
Ninya instantly surrounded herself with lightning.
“I’m going all out from the start!”
Thwack!
Ninya moved like a bolt of lightning and attempted to thrust at Lelia.
“Huu… Hup!”
Kkkkkkkkkkk!
But Lelia deflected Ninya’s spear with her shield and immediately swung her sword at Ninya.
“Ugh!”
Ninya rotated her body greatly, using Lelia’s shield as a support, and tried to dodge the attack by swinging her spear.
But just as Ninya was about to put maximum force into her swing, Lelia slightly pulled her shield back, disrupting Ninya’s balance.
“Ha!”
She pushed her shield forward with force.
Clang!
Ninya grabbed her spear with both hands, blocked Lelia’s shield strike, and flew backwards, landing with a roll.
Ninya said, with a slight sweat on her forehead,
“Strong. Really.”
“I think Ninya-nim is strong as well. The boldness of not backing down from that stance and instead trying to use my shield for a follow-up attack. And the calmness of not panicking and holding onto your spear to block my shield even when you lost your balance is not something my subordinates can easily do.”
“Any advice?”
“Not yet. Show me more of your skills.”
Ninya’s smile turned combative for a moment.
It was a rare, cool smile from Ninya.
“Got it.”
And Ninya charged towards Lelia, still surrounded by electricity.
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And thirty minutes later.
“Haa… haa…”
In the end, Ninya couldn’t land an attack on Lelia either.
Still, compared to Noah, Lelia was clearly dodging more than blocking.
When Ninya stopped attacking, Lelia spoke to Ninya like a training instructor.
“Ninya-nim, I think you have good overall balance. But your movements are too risky in some parts. Bold attacks are good for catching your opponent off guard and creating openings, but they are also risky.”
“I didn’t mean to catch her off guard…”
“Then, do you usually spar while maintaining a precarious distance? For example, with Rent-nim?”
“…You’re right.”
“Hmm, I see. Given Rent-nim’s skills, I believe he can attack without hurting Ninya-nim. I’m saying this because I think you have a sense of complacency that you won’t get hit, even though you are being cautious in your movements.
If you fix that, you will become sharper and more accurate… and you will be able to increase your own safety.”
“I’ll take that to heart.”
Ninya didn’t argue and accepted Lelia’s advice.
“Ninya-nim already has a firm style of her own. So, if you train diligently, you will be able to grow in that state.”
“So, you’re saying I just need to increase my physical abilities?”
“No. As you grow, you will surely realize your own shortcomings that only you can discover. Going through that process is how you become more complete.”
Ninya bowed her head after hearing Lelia’s words.
“Thank you for the advice. It was very helpful.”
“I’m glad it was helpful to Ninya-nim.”
In the end, neither Noah nor Ninya were a match for Lelia.
I thought Noah had grown a lot, and Ninya was stronger than before, even if she wasn’t as strong as an A-rank adventurer.
Lelia was truly stronger than I had expected.
I guess being the captain of a country’s knight order means you have that much skill.
“Wow, it’s the first time I’ve seen Ninya get completely overwhelmed like that since I saw her spar with Rent.”
“Lelia-ssi… you’re really strong.”
“She’s not the captain of the knights for nothing. Even from my perspective, not being a vanguard, she’s amazing. And… her presence is also incredible.”
Come to think of it, Tikia had once said that she could see the degree of presence.
“Tikia, how strong is Lelia’s presence?”
“Hmm… you know Craig and Amanda, right? That A-rank adventurer couple who almost always have their shirts off or wear clothes that are practically underwear.”
“Yes.”
“I’d say her presence is stronger than both of them combined.”
“Ooh.”
That meant Lelia had skills above A-rank.
“The Platoon already has Rent… and of course, she can’t be compared to Rent… but in other regions or countries, she could be recognized as S-rank, right?”
“Thank you for saying that, Tikia-nim.”
Lelia walked towards us.
“Tikia-nim, can you see presence?”
“Ah, yeah. It’s an incredible presence, isn’t it? Not as much as Rent, though.”
“Even though I look like this, I’ve overcome many missions and hardships to become the captain of the knights. I’ve also been promoted a lot along the way… so I’m confident in my presence. Of course, I can’t compare to Rent-nim.”
“Wow, so Ninya and I actually sparred with someone who’s practically S-rank? No wonder we were so helpless.”
“Noah, that doesn’t mean you should give up or think it can’t be helped, okay?”
“Hehe, of course! A desire to improve is important, right?”
Noah and Ninya seemed to have learned a lot from their spar with Lelia.
It makes me very happy to think that this will help them grow even more.
“Rent-nim.”
“Huh? Yes, Lelia-ssi.”
As I was looking at Noah and Ninya with a pleased expression, Lelia spoke to me.
“If you don’t mind, would you like to spar with me?”
It seems like it’s my turn to spar with Lelia this time.
