episode_0057

The barker’s voice echoed loudly.

I thought something was a bit strange from here on.

As I approached the arena, I saw large signs plastered on the walls that had been empty until yesterday, proclaiming [Maiden Swordsman Participates].

Naturally, I didn’t take kindly to that sight.

“What’s with ‘Maiden Swordsman,’ how childish……”

It seemed the organizers had decided to use me as a hot topic.

Still, the provocative promotion seemed to work quite well, as the arena was swarming with people.

If I had known there would be so many spectators, I would have chosen the application date more carefully.

I did feel a sense of regret.

I was guided to the waiting room for contestants.

Inside, arrangements had been made for watching the outdoor matches.

“……”

I put on my equipment and quietly sat in the stands.

I felt the gazes of other contestants on me.

To avoid looking nervous and getting intimidated, I crossed my arms and maintained a composed demeanor.

In the center of the arena was a dirt floor where matches took place.

It wasn’t as large as I had imagined.

When contestants stepped onto it, the referee would announce the start of the match, and they would cross swords and fight.

On either side were the judges.

They diligently scored as they watched the duels, and after the match, they would deliberate among themselves to determine the final winner.

After the tedious procedure of introducing each judge ended.

The announcer raised his voice to declare the contestants’ entrance.

“Alright, let’s begin now! First up! With five victories out of seven matches in the Rookie Ground, Krinek Wolf, ‘The Swift Blade’!”

A man ascended amidst shouts of cheers.

As soon as he stepped onto the arena, he bowed to the audience.

His weapon was… a longsword.

His armor was strange.

He only had plate armor on his shoulders and trousers, and his upper body was completely bare, exposing his chest.

It was as if he was begging to be stabbed in the heart, the most fatal vital point.

Hmm-.

If my Teacher-nim had seen that, he surely would have clutched his neck and collapsed.

Did he not have enough money to get full armor?

But then why was his shoulder armor properly worn?

I was dumbfounded by the man’s incomprehensible state of armament when.

“Krinek Wolf! And his opponent-! The new participant you’ve all been anticipating- and a beautiful breeze that will ignite this arena! None other than- the ‘Maiden Swordsman’! Tia- Anshier!”

“Waaah-!!”

An enormous cheer erupted.

People began chanting the awkward title ‘Maiden Swordsman.’

In a daze, I stood up from my seat and walked onto the arena.

The moment my feet touched the dirt floor.

I felt like I was suffocating.

Everyone gathered here was looking down at me.

“The match is about to begin-!”

I raised my sword and took my stance.

Waaah-!!!

Cheers pounded in my ears. The suffocating air.

The dirt floor where dust puffed up with every step I took.

I remained still, staring at my opponent.

He was smiling.

Showing off his pristine white teeth, his lips twitched as he approached.

It was clearly… a sneer.

“Knock her down!”

“Play with her! Hahahaha!”

The spectators whistled and yelled wildly.

They weren’t cheering for me.

It was a shout to the opponent, who was ten steps away, to abuse the ‘Maiden Swordsman’.

The opponent, and all the spectators.

They seemed to regard this match as a mere spectacle.

“……”

In their minds, there was probably an image of the male contestant mercilessly swinging his sword, knocking me to the ground, and tormenting me.

They must have paid for arena tickets solely to see that sight.

Stomp. Stomp.

My opponent approached.

Even at such close range, he didn’t raise his sword.

I couldn’t tell what he was thinking.

Just as his rough face and merciless eyebrows became fully visible.

Krinek chuckled.

“Ha! Looks like my reputation has hit rock bottom. To have to fight a girl in the arena.”

“……”

As if the very moment of facing me was unpleasant.

He didn’t even draw his weapon, just sneered.

“Ah-! Krinek Wolf! He’s provoking the ‘Maiden Swordsman’ Tia Anshier without even drawing his sword! Does this mean he believes his bare hands are enough-! Meanwhile, the Maiden Swordsman-! She’s frozen in fear!”

I see.

This was the reality.

Even if these many people looked at my body with lewd eyes.

At least they called me a ‘Swordsman,’ so I thought it was better than the shame I felt in the tavern.

But it wasn’t different.

Only the place and purpose had changed.

Men’s desires were always the same.

My breathing became shallow.

Sweat kept forming in my hands, so I readjusted my grip on the sword.

Was I really afraid, as the announcer said?

Of that defenseless opponent?

Suddenly, feeling infinitely small and getting a sudden fright.

“Ti-Tia-! You can do it!”

A clear voice, layered over countless other sounds.

It was so loud here.

Yet, for some reason, I could hear that clumsy cheer perfectly.

Casually, I looked back at that spot.

There, Fosao Ahjussi was sitting, occupying two seats in the spectator stands.

“……!”

Our eyes met.

Neither of us said anything.

But I knew just by Ahjussi’s gaze.

‘Ti-Tia can do it. I think Tia is st-strong enough.’

I nodded.

I thought all men in Deseo were the same.

But there was one person I knew.

Fosao Ahjussi was different.

“Where are you looking, rookie!”

Without warning, my opponent rushed forward.

Turning my head back, a large hand was reaching for me.

“……!”

I quickly kicked off the ground and moved away from the spot.

Whoosh-.

At the same moment my opponent grabbed at the dust.

I swung my sword directly and struck his ribs.

Thud!

“Ugh!”

The announcer shouted.

“Ah-! The attack has begun! Just as I was speaking… the Maiden Swordsman’s counterattack!”

“This… bitch!”

Krinek Wolf cursed harshly and grabbed the scabbard at his waist.

Now was my chance.

I ran with all my might and kicked the hilt that was just about to come out of the scabbard.

Clink!

The sword slid back into the scabbard.

Then, I forcefully thrust the blunt side of my blade into his chest.

“Ack!”

The man, reeling from a big impact, stumbled backward.

“What in the… Krinek Wolf still hasn’t drawn his sword!”

“You goddamn bitch! I’ll kill you!”

Shing!

Finally, my opponent roughly drew his sword.

Towards the charging opponent.

Calmly, I kicked the dirt floor.

Swish-.

The opponent clutched his eyes and screamed as the dirt poured over him.

“Argh!”

“W-wait a minute, this… what should we do! The Maiden Swordsman threw dirt! I’ve never seen anything like this before…”

Taking advantage of his obstructed vision.

I quickly approached and shoved my opponent’s body with my shoulder.

Thud!

Krinek’s body hit the floor.

Without hesitation, I mounted him.

The man stretched out his arms to push me away, but I kept thrusting the blunt sword tip alternately into his neck and chest.

When I had quickly jabbed him about ten times.

Krinek recoiled his arms and screamed wildly.

“S-stop! Stop!! I forfeit!!”

“……!”

I released him and stood up.

When I collected myself, the arena was silent.

Truly, not a sound was made.

“Haa, haa.”

Only my rough breathing could be heard.

The spectators, the announcer, and the judges.

They were all looking at me with astonished expressions.

The terrible silence was broken by the announcer’s flustered voice.

“Krinek Wolf has declared his forfeiture, but… it seems we’ll need to proceed with judging to get a result. The judges are currently in urgent deliberation. It seems there will be an opinion that the Maiden Swordsman… no, Tia Anshier, has committed a serious foul…”

Boos erupted.

People shouted something at me.

Some even threw objects into the arena.

I had moved away from the spot, but I couldn’t understand this chaotic atmosphere.

I had only fought as I was taught by my Teacher-nim.

But as if I had committed some great wrongdoing, the judges conversed with grave expressions.

A short while later.

The announcer, having received the judging results, came forward.

“The results have just come in! The winner of this contest is…! Ah, surprisingly, ‘Tia Anshier’-! Tia Anshier defeats Krinek Wolf and advances to the second round!”

The audience’s reaction was mixed.

Most seemed displeased and yelled loudly.

Later, Fosao Ahjussi told me that a major reason was that I ‘didn’t duel fairly.’

People wanted to see a fierce clash of swords.

But I had blocked his draw, thrown dirt, and used dirty tactics like mounting him.

Furthermore, the fact that a girl won created an overall unpleasant mood.

“But isn’t that how duels are supposed to be?”

Teacher Bin said that to win a battle, one should use any means necessary.

When facing an enemy, quickly raise your sword to protect yourself and stay alert.

It doesn’t matter if you throw dirt or stones.

It doesn’t matter if you pin them down and strike their vital points.

If you can surely subdue your opponent, you shouldn’t care about the means or methods.

However, there was a gap between my Teacher-nim’s ‘combat-based’ teachings and Deseo’s ‘recreational dueling.’

Here, the audience’s enjoyment was more important.

That’s why Krinek Wolf came up without proper armor, to show off his body.

When provoked, they would respond with provocation.

Fake stories would be created among the contestants, like “You killed my family” or similar.

And people would pay even more attention to that participant…

“It’s about the, ‘money’.”

“Haa-.”

In the end, it’s about money again. This city.

Since I had violated all those customs and thoroughly subdued my opponent with practical combat.

It’s no wonder there were complaints.

“You worked hard, so… d-drink this at least, Tia.”

“Thank you.”

I gulped down the apple juice and sighed.

I was happy to win, but an uncomfortable feeling just wouldn’t go away.

…But wait.

“Ahjussi. You’re giving me apple juice so naturally, where did you get this from?”

“I bought it from a fruit store. I h-heard it was tasty…”

“That’s not what I mean! Where did you get the money?”

“Ah, heheh. I… won money.”

“What? You ‘won money’?”

Clink.

Fosao Ahjussi shook a thick coin pouch.

Then he untied the string and showed me a pile of gold coins directly.

“Sixty gold. I, I earned it through gambling.”

On days the arena opened, a gambling den also opened where people bet on match outcomes.

Of course, it wasn’t legal, but people enjoyed gambling discreetly.

Fosao Ahjussi said he borrowed 10 gold and bet it all on my name.

Perhaps no one expected me to win, as the payout was high, and he earned a total of 60 gold.

“Sixty gold! Ahjussi, that’s amazing!”

“L-let’s have a party with this… heheh.”

“Wow- sounds great!”

We excitedly clinked our apple juice glasses.

We bought a lot of delicious food and returned to the lodging.

We had a party just the two of us.

We ate lamb and grilled fish with vegetables, and finished with dessert!

Last time I ate alone, but today, eating with Ahjussi made it even more delicious.

I lay down comfortably after eating my fill.

“Ugh…”

My right ankle still throbbed.

The opposing contestant had ambushed me, so I pushed myself a bit hard while running, and it seemed I had slightly sprained it on the thin dirt floor.

“What’s wrong, Tia?”

“My ankle hurts a bit. It’s nothing to worry about too much.”

“Oh no-. A-are you hurt?”

“I’m not hurt, it just aches a little.”

“But st-still, we shouldn’t let anything go wrong.”

Fosao Ahjussi approached my bed.

And he slightly bent his hands as if grasping something.

It meant he would give me a massage.

It really felt like it would be fine after just tomorrow…

But- as Ahjussi said, if it gets worse, it could be troublesome for the next match.

I subtly extended my right leg.

“……Then, will you help me?”

Ahjussi grinned.

“Hehe! O-of course.”