Chapter 297 – Pointing Toward
“A duel? Is that a thing?”
“It is! You'd better not cower in fear!”
“Interesting.”
Her arrival here was very beneficial. It seemed my little trick worked even better than I thought. I gave her my best smile and calmly walked in her direction. As I approached, she seemed startled and took her rapier out of its scabbard.
“Why are you coming closer? Are we fighting?”
“No, no.”
I only uttered these two words, continuing to walk toward her, my face full of absolute confidence. When I was only a few meters away, she suddenly stepped back, as if to keep some distance from me.
“Why are you moving back? Scared?”
My provocation made her stop on the spot, her feet firmly rooted in place.
“Of course not! Come, I’ll destroy you!”
I neither increased my speed nor slowed it. We were now very close, and the tip of her blade was almost in contact with me. As expected of a skilled fighter, it was pointing toward my heart, ready to kill me most effectively. Crali’s confidence was far from what she claimed, though. The closer I was, the more she seemed uncertain about all this.
Eventually, just as the tip of her rapier was ready to pierce my chest, or more precisely, collide with my imperfect spatial armor, she hastily moved it away.
“You’re insane!”
I didn’t mind her words and closed the last distance between us. She was torn between standing her ground and retreating further. She chose the former, allowing me to whisper into her ear to avoid others hearing it.
“Are you sure you want to duel me? Spatial spells are ruthless. You’ll die before knowing what happened to you.”
This made her shiver, but she tried hard to stay stoic.
“I’m not afraid of you!”
“It’s not like I want to hurt you either. Instead of doing something meaningless like this, I have a better idea for a duel.”
This made her hesitate. After a couple of seconds, she asked in return.
“…What idea?”
“What about having a bed fight instead?”
She looked at me with incomprehension.
“A bed fight?”
“That’s right. A duel in bed. A sexual duel.”
“What!”
This time, she leaped away from me at full speed, trying to get as far as possible in one move. She was quite fast, being a rank 3 wind sorceress.
“You’re completely crazy!”
She was fully red in the face again, but for a different reason now.
“What’s wrong? You’re thirty. Why are you reacting like a teenage girl?”
“What do you mean!”
‘Could it be…”
“No!”
“No? Then, let’s go and do this.”
I walked toward her again, closing the distance.
“No!”
“Yes!”
“You’ve lost your mind! I’m out of here!”
She tried to dash away, but I was ready this time. I took hold of her arm, barely managing to stop her in her tracks. She was still stronger than I was, being a sorceress and all. Fortunately, she was so perturbed that she didn’t put a lot of strength into her limbs.
“Let go!”
“You can come into the shop as you want, but it’s not so easy to leave. Buy something before you go.”
“I’m not interested in the garbage you’re selling!”
“Garbage, huh…”
She realized she might have said too much because she calmed down a little, even though she was still trying to escape.
“I mean…”
“No need for excuses. What about this? Did you see the food on the first floor? Let’s have a meal together.”
“I don’t want to.”
“Should we have that 'duel’, then?”
“Not that! I… I have work to do.”
“Why are you here, then?”
“Ugh… I’m not hungry.”
“Of course you’re hungry, getting all worked up like this. You’ll have a meal with me… Right?”
I emphasized the last word, and she trembled a little. She truly was all bark and no bite, so easy to manipulate. She tried to avoid my direct gaze for a few moments, but eventually surrendered.
“O-Okay.”
“Good. Come with me.”
We fetched some food from the first floor, leaving the bewildered onlookers behind us. No doubt many would remember the scene. The very fact that Crali, the de facto city leader, came to my shop would be great advertising, even if it wasn’t really as a customer. Bad publicity was still publicity.
We then left the shop, going to a quiet place. I extended my hand to her again when no one was around.
“Take my hand, we’re going to teleport.”
She looked both afraid and curious.
“Teleport? That spatial spell? Why?”
“You don’t want to stay in the neighborhood after making such a scene, right? Let’s go to a quiet place.”
“I don’t trust you.”
“You know I wouldn’t hurt you. Hurry up.”
My words made her eyes widen a little. She took a few more seconds before finally giving me her hand. I instantly teleported us to my house in the bunnies’ village. Crali bent forward, feeling dizzy after the first teleportation of her life.
“Ugh… You tricked me… I’m dying…”
“Don’t be silly. Feeling like this is normal when you’re not used to teleporting. Sit down for a moment, it’ll pass quickly.”
She did as I suggested and was good in no time. After that, she stood up again and looked around.
“Where are we?”
“This is my house in the bunnies’ village.”
“Ah, the one you requested as a reward. To think we moved so far in an instant. Spatial affinity is cheating.”
“It’s practical. Take a seat.”
The house wasn’t fully furnished yet, but the dining room still had a large table and chairs, so I chose to come here. There weren’t any other residents, which made it quiet.
“Let’s talk while we eat.”
“…Fine. Why did you want to eat with me anyway?”
“I realized we’ve seen each other almost daily for a year, but we never took the time to have a good chat.”
“I’m busy with my work. And I don’t like you. I’m only here because you forced me to come.”
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