Ch.164Chapter 164. How to Fight as the Weak

“Then let’s start with a practice match first.”

“A practice match?”

“Even for a simple lecture, experiencing it firsthand is the fastest way to identify problems.”

Indeed, experiencing something once physically is better than hearing about it a hundred times.

Understanding her intention, I wordlessly took the wooden sword she had prepared and positioned myself on the meadow.

And there was Francesca, taking a modest stance before me.

“I’ll only defend, so please attack as you wish.”

“…How intense should I go?”

“However you prefer.”

Though she appeared casual at first glance, my body was rapidly stiffening as I faced her.

This was due to memories from countless battlefields.

I instinctively sensed that the person before me had taken a perfect stance that could respond to any attack.

“Then, I won’t hold back.”

So I’ll go all out from the start.

Having decided this, my body became an afterimage, and a full-force swing of the wooden sword was directed at her head.

Abandoning all hesitation, with intensity comparable to actual combat.

-Thwack!

Francesca deflected that attack with ease, then took one step back to create distance between us.

Is she trying to escape?

-Swish!

No, immediately after deflecting and stepping back, the wooden sword that had blocked mine was now flying toward my head.

A counterattack following directly after defense. If I had been slow to tilt my head, it would have hit me between the eyes.

“Didn’t you say you’d only defend?”

“The best defense can sometimes be offense. A counterattack that intimidates the opponent and breaks their fighting spirit can also be considered a form of defense.”

“…That makes sense.”

Francesca created distance between us and raised her sword against me again.

The blade of the wooden sword was still crude, but the eyes beyond it were as sharp as a razor.

“Surely you haven’t lost your nerve after just one counterattack?”

“Of course not!”

-Clack! Thwack!

A series of sounds as wooden swords collided.

As the one-sided exchange continued without allowing even a single effective hit, I couldn’t help but think how this situation defied my common sense.

While she was certainly blocking all attack paths with her wooden sword, I didn’t feel like she was being pushed back at all despite my applying force.

It wasn’t just because she was stepping backward.

In terms of weight class alone, the difference was like that between a trained adult male and an underage girl.

Even with a doll’s body, without using concepts like mana or other supernatural abilities, the visible difference in physical build should be absolute.

-Thwack! Clack!

Nevertheless, finding gaps between my attacks, she was even counterattacking me multiple times.

With speed that made it difficult for even me, who had survived countless battlefields, to react immediately.

And with remarkably precise, efficient movements.

“…You’re thinking that my counterattacks are faster than expected, aren’t you?”

Unlike me who was becoming flustered, Francesca remained completely calm.

She gradually slowed her retreating steps, then stopped in place, deflecting my attacks while increasing the number of her counterattacks.

True to the saying that the best defense is offense, she was pushing me to the point where I hesitated to attack due to her fierce counterattacks.

“It’s not particularly difficult. It’s a concept simple enough for anyone to follow once they understand the principle.”

-Crack!

As the flat sides of our wooden swords met, her body weight shifted forward with a quick rotation.

“For example, when swords collide like this, if I twist my wrist while you’re trying to push forward…”

The force I applied to break through her defense extended forward due to the sudden movement, swinging past her side.

Meanwhile, the sword that pushed mine away thrust forward due to inertia.

Once again, it accurately aimed for my head.

“As a result, I can defend against the enemy’s attack while simultaneously using their own strength against them for a fierce counterattack.”

By the time I barely avoided that attack and stepped back, I realized my body was drenched in sweat.

Not because I was tense from her fierce counterattacks.

Each time I applied more force to break through her defense, she used it against me, forcing me to exert more effort to dodge—that was the result.

“In terms of physical specs, I’m far inferior to you. Yet this difference occurred because there’s such a huge gap in how we utilize our strength.”

“…Are you saying one of my weaknesses is that I waste too much energy?”

“Dodging when you can dodge, blocking when you can block, overwhelming with force when you can… That style is suitable for chaotic battles on the battlefield, but inappropriate for one-on-one combat like this.”

An accurate assessment.

In actual war, there’s no choice but to withstand attacks coming from all directions without the luxury of using the opponent’s strength against them.

I did it because I had to, and I continue to do it out of habit even in situations where it’s unnecessary.

“Of course, with overwhelming strength, you wouldn’t need ‘tricks’ like what I’ve demonstrated.”

Yes, before overwhelming power, technique becomes meaningless.

What she’s shown only works in combat using weapons alone; it would be unreasonable to expect it to work in battles using mana that transcends physical limitations.

“In that sense, feel free to use mana now… what will you do?”

“…What else?”

Let’s see what more you can show me here.

With that thought, my fighting spirit drew forth mana, and soon an aura enveloped my wooden sword as I swung it at her.

At that moment, she moved as well.

Unlike me who roughly gathered mana, she imbued only a tiny amount into her wooden sword.

-Swish!

But when our wooden swords collided, mine didn’t push hers back but instead twisted in place as if about to be repelled.

Because the minimal mana gathered in her wooden sword was rotating, creating a current.

The powerful aura on my wooden sword was being “drawn into” it.

“Wh-what…!”

“Strength flows, and flow can change direction depending on how the path is laid…”

After that collision, having pushed my sword away, she raised her sword above her head with power far greater than before, staring me down.

Its intensity was overwhelmingly amplified compared to when she first handled minimal mana.

But that power wasn’t generated by her alone.

It was the result of applying her technique of using the opponent’s strength against them—now extended to mana.

“When will collides with will, creating fluctuations in power… even a fool would understand which side attracts more mana—the one who understands this principle or the one who doesn’t.”

That was a realm beyond the comprehension of even a hero who had traversed countless battlefields.

There was no way I could devise a countermeasure immediately.

By the time I realized this, she had already prepared her counterattack.

-Rumble!

As the magical current in the wooden sword surged into a vortex, she pointed it at me and said with a resolute voice:

“This is the foundation of ‘how to fight as the weaker party’ that I will teach you from now on. Feel precisely the power you wield with that body.”

“Oh damn…”

-CRASH!!!

Finally, my body, swept away by the wave of magical power, crashed hard onto the middle of the meadow.

*****

After suffering a humiliating defeat in our first match, I spent time repeatedly challenging her out of stubbornness.

I recognized she was much stronger, but I felt I needed to land at least one hit on her to be satisfied.

“Huff, huff…”

But such stubbornness only led to repeated failures until my stamina was completely depleted.

Despite a life built on tenacity and adaptability, my body eventually collapsed flat in the middle of the meadow.

“Well done. We should end the first training session here.”

“You, aren’t you tired at all?”

“I’m a doll, after all.”

“…That’s quite an enviable body.”

Moving all day without getting tired, being sturdy, and on top of that, having precise movements and unwavering mental clarity.

The abilities I felt from her during our match were each truly extraordinary.

Damn, I thought I was quite strong, but I couldn’t even touch her…

Is this how amazing the protector of humanity is supposed to be?

“Let me wipe your sweat. Please lie down here.”

This fortress-like strong person then approached me as I lay collapsed, gently lifting my head.

Instead of handing me the water bottle and towel she had brought, she aimed them directly at me herself.

“Hey, wait…”

“Please stay still. Isn’t it difficult to wipe sweat otherwise?”

Francesca forcefully pulled my body toward her lap.

The moment my head touched her thigh, hidden by the folds of her skirt, I instinctively shuddered.

More than losing the fight, I felt strangely embarrassed to be reduced to resting my head on a girl’s lap.

“…Are you really Cheska?”

“Right now I’m Flan, not Cheska. And as I said before, I was born to serve humanity… comforting a tired body is also part of my role, so please don’t feel too burdened.”

“I understand that, but…”

“I’ve wiped off all the sweat, so next is hydration. Come, open your mouth.”

Francesca then took out a prepared water container.

As I thought it would be inconvenient to take it with my hands, my breath caught when I saw what was attached to the end of the bottle.

“…Hey, wait. That’s a baby bottle.”

“I borrowed it from the village in case your strength hit bottom. It’s useful in situations like this since you can drink water without using your hands and without spilling.”

“Hey, no matter what, a baby bottle is too much! You really have no common sense… mmph!”

“Please stay still. If you succumb to dehydration, it will affect tomorrow’s expedition as well.”

The infuriating maid forced water into my mouth by pressing on the baby bottle.

But with my strength already depleted, I had no way to resist, and ultimately suffered the humiliation of receiving a lap pillow from a younger girl while drinking from a baby bottle.

This person, did she knock me down just for this?

“Do you feel a bit better now?”

Despite feeling indignant, I couldn’t resist as Francesca began stroking my forehead after giving me water.

I thought she might be trying to manipulate me somehow, but after feeding me water, she simply continued stroking my head.

With careful touches, as if handling a child.

Even shielding me with her head and back, as if worried the sunlight might hurt my eyes.

“Or is there something else you’d like me to do?”

From the faint smile I encountered, I felt my heart gradually becoming at ease.

It was a natural progression.

Just by reviewing her behavior so far, I could immediately understand that this child harbored no hostility toward me.

“…No, this is enough.”

In this harsh world, the absence of hostility alone is reason enough to rely on someone.

Understanding this, I rested my head more heavily on her lap, and she too seemed to relax, closing her eyes.

“Very well, let’s stay like this until your strength is fully restored.”

We simply rested like that.

Lying my tired body on the meadow, using her lap as a pillow, and the gentle breeze caressing my skin as a blanket.

“…Hey.”

But perhaps because this situation felt too comfortable?

After some time had passed, anxiety began to well up, prompting me to speak.

The anxiety that there might be a price for the current kindness.

“What is it?”

“It’s nothing much… just something I wanted to ask.”

No, there would be no price.

She called herself humanity’s guardian and companion, and those she must protect would include me and the expedition members, and by extension, all of humanity.

“You said you would teach me how to fight as the weaker party, right?”

“Yes, that’s correct. If someone without strength wants to fight against the strong, they must also learn how to use the opponent’s strength against them.”

“That’s…”

But not demanding compensation means sacrificing oneself.

When that thought occurred to me, reflecting on her previous teachings, a worry began to emerge in my mind.

That she wanted to teach how to fight against the strong from a weaker position because she herself was in that position.

Was she repeating such a precarious balancing act even at this moment, without demanding anything in return from anyone?

“Hero!! There’s trouble!”

At that moment, a familiar voice called from afar.

Looking ahead, I saw Samson rushing toward me from beyond the hill.

My body, still not fully recovered from fatigue, shot up in an instant.

Worried that my previous actions might cause misunderstanding, I quickly composed myself and faced the approaching Samson.

“What’s wrong? Is there some urgent matter…”

“B-Beastmen!!”

But contrary to my concerns, Samson’s complexion was deathly pale.

“A group of Beastmen has descended upon the village!”

Through his subsequent words, I immediately realized that a new danger had arrived at our location.