93. Exam Preparation (5)
93. Exam preparation (5)
Back at the shop, we took a short break before heading back to the cave to pick up our loot. Excited, Denas tells Nishia and Sora what happened today.
“Senior, me too. I wanted to go play too!”
“You can’t leave the store empty, can you?”
“Me too. I wanted to go.”
“… I get it.”
It was Nishia and Sora’s complaint. I took a sip of strawberry tea and checked the situation. Nishia and Sora didn’t take their eyes off me, as if asking me to quickly answer this issue. I put down the glass I was holding and cleared my throat.
“Then let’s do this. After exams, we all go out to play together. I know a safe and pleasant place to play in the gray forest.”
“Really? Did you promise?”
“Yes. I should focus on the test first.”
“Sure. Sure!”
Nishia answered like that, excited. I also need to prepare for the exam soon. Even if you say that you get extra points by going to a competition, it is useless if you do not study for subject tests.
With that in mind, I decided to move slowly. I have to study after finishing my errands.
“Denas-senpai, then let’s go.”
“Yes! I am already excited to think that a new carving knife will be created.”
“The centipede shell will be enough for all of us to make equipment one by one. We will dispose of the rest in a judicious manner.”
After saying that, I rented a cart at the market for a fee. Then he moved to the cave, packed all the loot, and whimpered. Even though there is a handcart, Denas and I both lack muscle strength, so even though we haven’t moved in a while, we’re out of breath.
At that time, the heavy cart suddenly became light. Someone started pushing the cart from behind.
“Woros senior. Hello!”
“It’s Sotia. Nice to meet. Were you on your way to District 3?”
“Yes. It is very nice to meet you seniors here. Hello, senior Denas.”
“Goodbye, Sotia.”
Our location was in the forest of District 3. Luckily, this road is in District 4. In other words, it is a forest that leads from Melgard’s area to Shaiza’s area in District 3. It is also a shortcut that only those in the know know.
“I think it is more efficient if I pull it from the front rather than the senior.”
“I appreciate the help, but you don’t have to go that far.”
“No. This is also an opportunity to train. You can’t miss it.”
Sotia Sonia quickly stands next to me and stops me. She ties her brown hair behind her and gets into the driver’s seat of her cart. Rather, she ended up with Sotia in a narrow position.
“There is something I want to ask of you. So please let me do it.”
“Was the reason you headed to District 3 to meet me?”
“Yes.”
I nodded and got out of the driver’s seat. Sotia then begins to pull her cart vigorously.
“Sotia. Thanks.”
“No. Can we head to your senpai’s shop like this?”
“Yes.”
“Okay.”
Denas Yeseul jumps up with her gun and stands next to Sotia to say thank you. More than when Me and Denas whimpered while moving the cart. It’s faster to turn off Sotia alone.
Indeed, for a girl of monstrous strength who wields a shield weighing over 10 kg as if she were swinging a cotton bat, a cart like this would be light. Thanks to Sotia, we were able to get to the store earlier than expected.
“Sotia, welcome!”
“Nicea, hello. And… hello?”
“Hello.”
Upon arriving at her store, Sotia greets Nishia and Sora. I introduced her to her conch. So, putting down all of her loot, she and Sotia headed to the table while the members of the shop were preoccupied with the loot.
“So, what do you want to ask of me?”
“Yes. The truth is. For this test, I’m supposed to go to the Melgard Tournament.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes.”
The Melgard Tournament is a tournament where you can freely apply for participation regardless of class, and the goal is to show off your martial arts skills by having a one-on-one match with your opponent. It is said that in the past, as the name suggests, tournaments were played in a tournament style to win.
However, students got injured one after another, and now only one duel is required. Show your skills in just one duel. Evaluated by the judges.
In other words, even if you lose, you can get a high score depending on the content of the sparring. Brackets are determined by internal meetings, but participating students may challenge specific students if desired.
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Of course, it’s not 100% repairable just because it’s a challenge.
“So?”
“Actually, it is. My opponent has already been decided.”
“Who is that?”
“Irina Blood. I am your senior’s younger sister.”
Because Irina’s name came out of nowhere, I narrowed my eyes without realizing it. In the first place, Irina was the opponent, so what was the reason for coming to see me?
“Even if I don’t win, I want to be evaluated as a good fighter.”
“Sotia, you are not weak enough to worry about that.”
“… Actually, I came here because I was bored. Ever since the opponent was announced, I’ve been thinking about it. For some reason, I thought it would be a little more comfortable if I confided in my senior.”
Sotia says so and bows her head. If she were Sotia by nature, she wouldn’t even worry about something like this, and even if she did, she wouldn’t come to me. I wonder what she was worried about and why she did it.
“So, what would you like me to do? No, before that, I’m not even an uninhabited person. Still, I wonder why you came to see me.”
“The first reason, as I just said, was that it would be lighter if I told my senior. Second, I started to question my abilities.”
I tilt my head at the sudden remark. The Sotia Sonia I knew was the girl who went straight ahead without the slightest doubt on her part, towards her own dream of being her Guardian Knight. But why?
“Actually… Sometimes even in my dreams. About the Guardian Knight case.”
“Ah. Understood.”
“…… “
In short, it seemed that I was still holding in my mind the day I had been beaten by Federik.
“If you were a senior, you wouldn’t take the incident seriously. I’m trying to do that too, but it’s not easy.”
“… So, you want to regain your confidence in this match against Irina?”
Sotia hesitates for a moment at my question.
“Yes. It would be nice if we won, but even if we lost, we want to achieve satisfactory results and lose. But lately, I’ve been in a slump. Thinking about it like that reminds me of a senior. Somehow, it felt like meeting a senior would get her out of her slump.”
“I understand.”
Sotia I don’t know who I am on the inside of Sonia, but she could tell that she was completely trusted by Sotia’s words.
In addition, I could see that he wanted to lean on me to some extent. Putting Sonia’s words together, I was thinking about a slump, but I suddenly thought of a senior! Because that’s what it means.
In other words, she wants to lean on me as a senior.
Sotia, who dreams of becoming a righteous knight, please tell us the weakness of her Irina! There’s no way she came to visit me to say that, so she must be right. If her junior comes to lean on me, accepting is my way.
“Sotia, come to the store by 7:00 tomorrow morning. I’m thinking of going to my master, so let’s practice together.”
“… !”
“With clothes that are comfortable to move in. It seems like you just need to bring a sword and shield.”
“Thank you. Thank you very much.”
“No. I have to practice spearmanship anyway.”
If you hang out in this way, Sotia Sonia will regain her energy like never before and do well in her tournaments. It seems to me that now Sotia wants you to sympathize with her own troubles.
One thing I’m worried about is that the opponent is Irina. If she asks if Sotya is weak compared to Irina, that’s not the case either. What I am concerned about is the difference in method.
Irina is an assassin whose strengths are swift movements and elaborate hand movements. In other words, she is a melee dealer, and on the contrary, Sotia is a typical tanker who is slow but hard and has heavy hits.
The same goes for the defense part. If Irina is focused on her personal evasion abilities, Sotia is a warrior who specializes in holding up her shield and defending her allies.
Irina will stand out more if she must take down her opponent in a one-on-one situation, and Sotia will be more powerful if she moves as a team while protecting her party members in a party situation.
The test that Sotia takes is a duel, not a team movement like the joint battle test. That means Irina has an advantage. All of Sotia’s equipment was heavy.
Her main weapon is a sword and shield. Both are heavy equipment. It is said that Sotia wields that heavy lightly, but it is literally faster for her weight, it cannot be said that her shield is faster than Irina’s dagger.
The compatibility is not good. But since her junior trusted me and came to visit me, it seems necessary to help her at least in order not to betray her trust in her junior.
“It would be better to come prepared.”
“Yes! Thank you!”
“On the way back, take some strawberry tea.”
“Yes!”
Sotia Sonia smiled as if her heart had become much lighter. Practicing with her Sotia tomorrow, I will have a lot to learn from her too.