Chapter 388 : Fellow Former Gang Leaders
ーClack! Clack! Clack!!
「HAA!!」(Luard)
「ー!!」(Delica)
Delica and Luard were clashing their wooden swords.
At a glance, Luard had the upper hand, but Delica was able to keep up with him without breaking a sweat.
「Tsk! Your defense is irritating as usual!」(Luard)
「Not as annoying as your strikes!」(Delica)
Luard was on the offense; he kept swinging his wooden sword at Delica, but Delica didn’t seem to struggle at all. She elegantly blocked all his powerful strikes with her sharp and quick movements.
Delica might be on the defensive, but she was actually waiting for a chance to strike back.
When Luard started to breathe heavily after using all his energy for his heavy strikes, Delica saw an opening for a split second.
As Luard swung down his sword vertically, aiming for Delica’s head, Delica bent her knees, putting herself in a squat position instead of dodging to the side. Immediately, she put her strength into her legs to lift her body, and at the same time, swung her wooden sword upward, parrying Luard’s wooden sword with great force.
「Hya!」(Delica)
「Guh!!」(Luard)
Luard, who had lost most of his strength, was unable to withstand it and let go of his wooden sword. As a result, his wooden sword was thrown into the sky, spinning rapidly in the air many times before it fell to the ground.
Luard then fell on his knees and groaned as his hands were shaking in pain.
Seeing this opportunity to seize her victory, Delica held her wooden sword toward Luard’s face.
「I win!」(Delica)
「Dammit!!」(Luard)
Phew…
I exhaled in relief.
I’m glad that Delica won against this brat, but above all, I’m glad that this fight ended without anybody getting hurt.
「Luard-sama, are you alright!?」(Weikel)
「Stay away! I’m fine!」(Luard)
Weikel approached Luard, who was kneeling on the ground and looking at his shaking hands. He was worried, but Luard yelled at him.
Luard clenched his fists, trying to stop his hands from shaking. He then stood up and glared at Delica, but Delica grinned at him.
「So? What’s the score again? I believe I’ve been leading for quite some time.」(Delica)
「Hmph! To hell with the score! That was such a dirty move!」(Luard)
「Huh? Dirty?」(Delica)
「You were waiting for me to run out of energy before you attacked me back! That’s dirty!」(Luard)
「No, no. It’s not dirty at all. It’s called a strategy. It was your fault for attacking me so mindlessly. Our master told you to stop that bad habit. Have you not learned?」(Delica)
「Shut up! You talk as if you’re better than me!」(Luard)
「But that’s the fact. I’m better than you.」(Delica)
「Tsk…! Fine! I admit you won this time, but I swear I’ll make you cry next time!」(Luard)
After saying that to Delica, Luard turned around and walked in the direction from which he came.
「Oi, Weikel! Let’s go! I don’t wanna see her face!」(Luard)
「But, Luard-sama, that’s not the way home!」(Weikel)
「I can’t just go back home defeated! How can I take the top spot in the guard exam like this!? We’re going back to the forest!」(Luard)
「What? But I don’t think that’s a good idea. We’ve been in the forest for hours. You must be tired, right?」(Weikel)
「I’m not!」(Luard)
「Even so, it’s time for us to go home. I understand your feelings, but while I was in Sadola, I learned a precious lesson that rushing ahead when you lose your self-control won’t lead to anything good.」(Weikel)
Weikel seemed to have been regretting his careless actions that had put his party members in danger in Sadola Mine back then.
Seeing the reflection of himself on Luard, He tried to warn him, but his stubborn little master ignored him and continued walking toward the trees.
「You’re not in a position to lecture me! You’re paid to do what I say, so just shut the hell up and follow me!」(Luard)
「Hahh… He never listens… Well then, Mark-bocchan, Delica-chan, Nicola-chan, I’m going now. See you guys later~」(Weikel)
「Alright. Be careful.」(Mark)
「You’re slow!」(Luard)
「I’m coming!」(Weikel)
After saying goodbye, Weikel hurriedly chased after Luard and returned to the Kobold Forest. It seems that they’re going to explore more.
「Aa-ahh, I feel bad for Weikel-san for having Luard as his employer…」(Delica)
While seeing Weikel and Luard disappearing into the forest, Delica took a seat and put her wooden sword on the table.
「Mark, thank you. Thanks to you, we didn’t have to fight with real swords.」(Delica)
「You’re welcome. Speaking of him, I didn’t know you had made an acquaintance with such a rascal. Who is he, really?」(Mark)
「He is the fifth son of a wealthy merchant living in the northern district. He was born in a rich family, but as a fifth son, he can’t take over the family business, so he’s aiming to become a guard.」(Delica)
「Is that why he trains at the dojo?」(Mark)
「Yeah. He’s the most annoying and arrogant student there, you know? However, I have to admit that he has a talent for swordsmanship. He has the heaviest strikes among the students in the dojo, but, as you might have noticed from our fight earlier, he lacks technique.」(Delica)
Certainly, his strikes looked heavy. I even worried for a second that the wooden sword I made might break.
However, because of that, he ran out of stamina quickly and lost to Delica.
「Speaking of him, Mark, you had never met him before, but you must have heard about his gang, The Inferno Flame Dragon. He’s their leader.」(Delica)
The Inferno Flame Dragon…
Certainly, I’ve heard that name back in the day when we were still playing gang in the town.
The Town of Fatia was divided into four districts: east, west, north, and south, and there was a children’s gang in each district.
In the southern district, there was us, the Moonlight Wolf Gang, which was led by Delica.
In the eastern district, there was the Dark Skull Of The Night Gang, which was led by Jack.
In the western district, there was the Muddy Blue Serpent Gang, which was led by a boy named Mobro.
Lastly, in the northern district, there was the Inferno Flame Dragon Gang. They have never had a problem with us, Moonlight Wolf Gang, so I haven’t seen them often, but I see now. So that arrogant brat, Luard, is their leader, huh?
*/TL : Mark’s first encounter with the Dark Skull Of The Night Gang was in chapter 23, and with the Muddy Blue Serpent Gang was in chapter 88.
「I see. I’m surprised that we have never had a conflict with his gang, knowing that he’s such an arrogant kid.」(Mark)
「Actually, he wasn’t like that before. A couple of years ago, I accompanied my dad to build a see-saw in the backyard of a big mansion, which happened to be his home. That was when I first met him. He was chill at that time, but he became arrogant a while after he joined the dojo.」(Delica)
「Is that so?」(Mark)
「Yeah. I think he’s just desperate.」(Delica)
「Desperate?」(Mark)
「His older brothers seem to be talented people worthy of inheriting the family business, unlike him. So, he planned to take the top spot in the upcoming guard exam to prove himself to his family.」(Delica)
「I see.」(Mark)
Luard seems to have a family problem, but I don’t think that can be the reason why he’s so arrogant toward others.
「Speaking of the exam, I heard that the people who have the highest grade in the exam will be given the opportunity to work in the capital city. It seems that the feudal lord is currently recruiting a large number of soldiers.」(Delica)
Tryon is recruiting soldiers…?
Come to think of it, he did mention it while I was staying in his castle. He said that there’s been some shady goings-on involving the nobles.
I don’t know exactly what is happening, but obviously, he’s trying to strengthen his army.
「Delica, are you aiming to work in the capital too?」(Mark)
「I’d love to, but… I doubt my mom would allow it.」(Delica)
「I see…」(Mark)
Delica’s mom hardly let her take the exam. There’s no way she would let her work in the capital as a soldier.
「Well, even though I won’t be going to the capital, I’m still aiming for the top spot. I just don’t wanna lose to Luard.」(Delica)
「I’m rooting for you.」(Mark)
「Thank you, Mark.」(Delica)
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