11 – Work and payment
“Shall we get this started?”
“What the!? Who the hell are you, bitch?
“I have no obligation to answer that.”
This is just a paid service to begin with. It's not like I'm a Hero who goes around announcing his presence.
“Kuh. You’ll pay for that. And since I am someone that usually can tell the strength of my opponent just from a glance, I’ll be using my full power from the start.
OOOOOOOOoooooooHHHHHHHH!!”
A small light show started. Does this guy think he’s in Dragon Ball or something, where shouting turns you into a super saiyan? After the light subsides, the guy was on one knee. He slowly stands up, as white smoke rises from his body.
“Yes…… this is the feeling…… power, I feel the power coursing through me!! I will try using my full power on you.”
Spiky disappears.
The next instant, he reappears behind me, his sword already in the midst of a mowing attack.
A high-pitched clang rings out, and the air surrounding us is blown away. I naturally made a sword of ice to intercept him. But as expected, it still can’t compare to a real weapon. Ice constructions can be tough, but having a real genuine weapon is still better. Although this guy won’t break my blade anytime soon.
“Hou, good job blocking that.”
Spiky pours more strength into his sword, but my hand doesn’t even tremble.
“It seems that I had underestimated you a little. How about this then?”
The adventurer disappears once more.
This time, the high-pitched clanging rings out several times in quick succession.
Every time the sound is heard, I shift the position of my sword slightly. Just the barest of movements, the bare minimum movement required to perfectly block each incoming attack.
“To think that you could block even those. Very well, I shall acknowledge your strength, miss.”
He raises his sword overhead, and begins gathering an enormous amount of magic. With blindingly white light, his sword becomes the eye of a whirlpool of magic.
“You may boast in the next life of having made me get serious.”
You've been shouting too much that you're using your full strength, and now you're saying you have more to spare and will get serious? Make up your mind, dude. His attack hurtles towards me. Please. Compared to Shamoa… Even this is something I can easily slice through. Just a bit of muscle tension and…
“What?!”
Sparks jump due to the clash.
“You can handle even that?!”
“Don’t tell me…… this is all you’re capable of?”
“Guh…… No, it has only just begun! UUUUUOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!”
The white sword flashes out in attack after attack, but everything is repelled.
“AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!”
“Playtime is over.”
I decided to go on the offense so I made a full swing and the adventurer was sent flying. His body crashes onto the ground.
“Guh…… h-, how can this be……!”
“You and I are miles away from one another. That’s why it’s pointless to drag this any longer.”
Fresh blood dances. I pierced his left wrist.
Immediately, Spiky jumps back and changes to using his right hand.
But…
“WHAT!!”
This time, it’s his right wrist that gets pierced.
“Guh…… gah……!”
Under an onslaught of stabs faster than his eyes can even follow, this dude cannot even react as his body becomes stained with blood. His armor is nothing more than paper.
“How……!! Who… are you!?”
“As I said before I have no obligation to tell you.”
“Darn it!!! Hey guys! Don’t stand there! Help me and…”
When Spiky turned around to ask for help.”
“Impossible!!”
“I already took care of those 3 during your little dance. Turning them into ice cubes was easy.”
They were literally frozen ice statues.
“What did… you do…?”
“Who knows? You’ll never find out.”
I punched him in his face while saying that.
“Gueh!”
The matter was settled with this. Spiky lost his consciousness because of the force behind it and due to blood loss. This way I could search his pockets.
“Ah, found it. Here.”
It was the village’s title deed.
The village chief took my hand and thanked me in tears.
“Thank you! Thank you so much!”
“S- Sure.”
“Y- You are quite a remarkable adventurer.”
“Aren’t these guys just too weak?”
“No, no, they are quite skilled adventurers. Although notorious.”
“Miss! If you’re that strong, you could have helped us from the beginning!”
The boy Kyle once again found his courage to speak.
“I told you, I’m no Hero. I don’t help people for free. The old man requested it this time with a reward, so I helped. Anyway, it was a one-time thing.”
“Wha!?”
Anyway, I decided to ignore the brat and turn my attention to Shamus.
“Now then, can I look around your store?”
“Y- Yeah, sure.”
After that, we headed towards Shamus' shop, and on the way… each villager I bumped into offered me thanks. Earlier I wasn’t welcomed, but now I was like a VIP. I guess this is just human nature.
“This is my store.”
“Oh, you have armor too, not just weapons.”
Looking around the shop, I roughly checked the products.
“So, you said you would give me your finest weapon, but which is it?”
“Fufufufufu. I’m glad you asked. This axe over here is my finest work!”
There was truth in those words. The quality is indeed superior. It matches my ice creations but… his statement is false.
"This doesn't seem to be the best."
"Eeh!?"
"That one on the top shelf. That katana is superior.”
“Aaah! You have an excellent eye. However I can’t sell that one. It’s a cursed weapon.”
“Cursed?”
“You see, that weapon harbors the soul of a Yuki-onna.”
Hmm? Now that’s a term I’ve heard in folklore before. Never thought I'd hear a japanese folk creature in another world.
“Literally meaning "snow woman", Yuki-onna appears as a beautiful woman in snowy, cold, or mountainous regions. They're typically depicted as pale women with long, black or blue hair that wear kimonos. Simply put, Yuki-onna are the spirits of women who died during snow storms. And that sword somehow absorbed such a spirit. As long as it’s sheathed it’s fine, but if you try to draw it, you’ll instantly freeze, or even worse, go mad from the screams you’ll hear in your head and… HEEEY! Don’t pull it out! Were you listening to me!?”
I decided to ignore the man and pulled the weapon. As soon as I did, cold air entered the room. An azure blade greeted me. Hmph. This is nothing more than a gentle breeze. And for real? These screams can’t even compare to the roar of the dragon. Trying to freeze me… I squeezed the handle of the sword.
“Silence.”
The sword calmed down. I completely suppressed it.
“Eeeeeh? You’re alright?”
“Yes. I’ll be claiming this. You got no objections, right?”
“Umm… of course not. If you can use it, then by all means. But seriously, just who are you?”
“Just a random adventurer.”