I Became a Raid Boss-Chapter 172: He’s crazy (2)

Should I call it surprising?

From my experience, even knights who make a living with swords aren’t particularly keen on sparring with real blades.

Of course, I think it’s right to practice with real swords in order to get used to fighting.

But I know my opinion is quite far from the mainstream view.

Some say, "You’ll have to fight for real eventually, so why bother sparring like that for practice?"

Others argue, "What if you get hurt? That’d defeat the purpose."

And some say they don’t like it because swords and armor get damaged and need repairs.

There’s some truth in all of these arguments, so every time the knights under me said this, I’d nod my head in agreement.

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And then I’d say:

“Stop talking nonsense and come here. Or should I come to you?”

Discomfort, injury, money.

All of these are things you can only think about while you’re still alive.

A corpse with a pierced heart or a severed head isn’t going to complain.

Looking back on it now, aside from a few, whether the knights got hurt fighting the enemy or came back as cold corpses, I didn’t really care much about them.

If someone heard me say that, they’d probably ask, “How can you think that about your own subordinates? Aren’t you heartless?”

They might say that.

But, well...

Why would I have any reason to think well of those who constantly nitpick, badmouth me behind my back, and gossip?

If you plan to try to convince me with something like, “But human life is important,” I’d be happy to laugh in your face.

Most of the people who talked behind my back didn’t really value human life, and I wasn’t some saint who’d turn the other cheek when slapped.

The reason I pushed myself to save them, though, was because I didn’t want to be called an incompetent commander.

“To be scolded by those who do nothing but loaf around inside the castle, the epitome of incompetence? No way.”

That day, I had probably slept enough to say it was done.

No, it wasn’t just that day. I’m sure I couldn’t sleep for several days because of the shame.

So, the reason I saved them wasn’t out of affection for them or because I’d feel bitter if they died, but because of my own selfishness.

Definitely not.

‘...How did the conversation end up here?’

Without anyone asking, I found myself justifying my actions and scratched my cheek awkwardly.

Then, after a moment of thought, I shifted the blame to the person standing in front of me.

"This is all your fault."

"?"

Yuki, standing in front of me, blinked her eyes in confusion, not understanding what I was saying.

A perfectly natural reaction.

If you looked at her, she seemed no different from anyone else.

But the feeling was completely overshadowed by the sword in her hand.

Not a wooden sword, not a practice sword, but a real blade, its edge gleaming.

When I swung it as a test, it effortlessly cut through tough leather, so human flesh would surely tear open with the slightest touch, spilling blood.

"It doesn’t look like Kana should be saying that!"

"That’s right."

I agreed with Da-eun, who had butted in unexpectedly.

After all, I was holding a sword with a crimson blade in my hand too.

I didn’t want to admit it, but it wasn’t a common sight in Silia to see a young girl holding a sword bigger than her size.

Even if I chose the mercenary path to survive, how could a young girl wield such a sword?

It was already a rare sight in Silia, so you can imagine how much rarer it was from the perspective of someone from Earth.

"I’m scared just watching. I keep thinking, ‘What if she gets hurt?’ I’m constantly worried. You should at least wear protective gear..."

That was Da-eun’s remark as she watched us, forgetting about the training as she anxiously observed.

"Stop worrying about unnecessary things."

I dismissed Da-eun’s concern.

"I’m not going to get hurt."

It might have been an insulting comment from Yuki’s perspective, so I glanced at her, but she didn’t seem bothered at all.

If she scowled at me out of pride, it wasn’t something I cared about.

"Sparring is sparring, after all."

Given the difference in skill between Yuki and me, it was nearly impossible to get hurt.

Unless one of us deliberately stepped into the other’s blade, there was no way Yuki’s full-strength sword strikes would reach me.

Da-eun, hearing this, widened her eyes.

"Huh? I’m not worried about Kana. I’m worried about Yuki getting hurt."

"..."

I froze.

When I looked at Da-eun, she met my gaze with a serious expression.

That lasted only a moment.

Then,

With a twitch,

Da-eun’s stiff expression softened, and she couldn’t hold back her laughter anymore.

"Hahaha! Look at your face! It’s a joke, a joke. Of course, I was more worried about Kana. Are you mad?"

"...No."

"It was really just a joke. I’ll make you something delicious when we get home, so cheer up, okay?"

"I said no."

...Anyway.

I had the ability to subdue Yuki without hurting her, so there was no need to worry about her getting hurt.

That’s why I didn’t wear protective gear.

I pushed Da-eun, who kept being sarcastic, away and resumed the sparring, which had briefly slowed down as I was lost in thought.

How much time passed?

I’m not sure exactly how long, but it wasn’t very long, that much was certain.

Most of the attacks were coming from Yuki, and I was responding by either dodging or blocking her sword strikes.

But I wasn’t only defending.

Swordsmanship is about both defending against attacks and attacking the opponent effectively.

Just attacking without defending would be pointless, so I occasionally made moves that pushed Yuki to her limits.

Of course, I didn’t have to worry about my head being cut off even if I failed to defend against an attack.

Just like now.

"...I lost."

Clang!

The sound of a sword hitting the hard floor echoed sharply and distinctly.

The crimson blade of Yuki’s sword was right next to my neck.

The fine hairs on my neck stood up as the blade passed.

"If you lost, you lost. Why did you drop your sword?"

"Because a loser doesn’t deserve to hold a sword."

Yuki answered gracefully.

Naturally, it wasn’t an answer I could accept.

In my dictionary, admitting defeat and dropping your sword wasn’t even a possibility.

Either you live, or you kill.

Of course, there were exceptions, like the one-armed swordsman who came to me last time, but generally, it was one of those two outcomes.

"Now, it’s sparring, so I won’t say anything, but don’t do that in real combat."

Admitting defeat won’t save your life.

If that’s the case, you should keep struggling until the very end.

Just like I did when I faced the monsters long ago.

I’d said this many times already, so Yuki just shrugged and responded nonchalantly.

"Sometimes, Kana, you really are like an old man."

"Sometimes? I think I’m quite old-fashioned."

"I was just being polite."

"Aha!"

By now, Da-eun, who had recovered, was chatting away with Yuki.

"They really get along so well."

Their personalities are completely opposite, but why is it that they match so well at times?

I couldn’t understand, so I shook my head.

This was all supposed to be words that would be helpful, but they were calling me an old man.

And then when it was convenient for them, they treated me like a kid...

What am I supposed to do with this?

"People are complex creatures, you know. Judging them based on just one side is a bad habit, you know?"

"You should remember that."

"That’s nonsense."

I scoffed at Da-eun’s words and turned away, speaking to Yuki, who was fiddling with her sword.

"Still haven’t gotten used to it?"

"Hmm. I’m getting a bit more used to it. But it still doesn’t come naturally."

Woosh—

Yuki swung her sword aimlessly in the air.

The sword she held was a longsword.

Normally, longswords are meant to be used with both hands, but the one Yuki was holding was especially long and heavy, so she had no choice but to hold it with both hands.

"Too bad."

"You should have trained harder."

"Yeah, if I knew this was going to happen, I would have."

"...What kind of conversation is this?"

Yuki looked somewhat wistful.

At the end of her gaze, a large sword was sadly lying in the corner of the gym.

When I started teaching Yuki, I handed her the greatsword she used in Silia, bringing it to Earth.

She had eagerly tried to take it back with a happy face—

Boom!

"...Huh?"

Yuki’s body, weaker than that of Silia’s, couldn’t handle the weight of the greatsword.

It was possible to lift it with effort, but she couldn’t wield it, so I handed her a reasonably heavy longsword instead.

"Technically, this is what I gave you."

"But Yustina told me to give it to you. So it’s mine."

The sword, which had been entrusted to Da-eun by Yustina, eventually ended up in Yuki’s hands after the Crimson Aegis rendered it unnecessary.

Once Yuki became more accustomed to handling mana, wielding the greatsword like she did in Silia wouldn’t be impossible, but for now, it was beyond her ability.

That’s why I gave her the longsword instead.

I honestly thought the longsword was better in many ways.

Still, Yuki had her determination, saying she’d use the greatsword one day, so when I asked her why she was so obsessed with it, she gave me this answer:

"I like how heavy and satisfying it feels. Every time I swing it, it feels like I could cut off a limb."

"But the longsword does the same thing."

"It’s different."

I didn’t really understand the difference, but since she said it so firmly, I gave up trying to argue.

She really isn’t normal.