Ch.212211. Special Forces (3)

# 211. Special Forces (3)

A father and son running eagerly toward me.

Still, I was grateful for the fact that they came.

I thought about those who were still nowhere to be seen.

‘Some people didn’t come at all, so what’s the big deal…’

That’s what I was thinking as I looked at them.

Then there was Chris, turning his head this way and that, deliberately avoiding my gaze.

I didn’t mind, but the very fact that he was late had made him like that.

“People can be late sometimes.”

“I’m… sorry… and, congratulations.”

“Thanks, I appreciate it.”

If he had made some unnecessary excuse, my thoughts might have changed, but he didn’t. He apologized simply and offered his congratulations just as plainly.

Because of that, far from being angry, I actually felt good.

“But… it’s been a really long time.”

“What do you mean? It hasn’t even been half a year.”

“Still, we used to see each other every day before.”

That was true.

Certainly, we weren’t meeting as often as we used to.

Of course, that was natural and how things should be.

“I hope you all haven’t been slacking off while I was gone?”

“Want to test us? It’s been a while.”

“Sure, if you insist, let’s have a match.”

Watching that scene made me laugh.

It reminded me of our school days, bringing a smile to my face.

“Yeah, it’s been a while, so let’s fight.”

“…”

She and Aelin gave a hollow laugh as if finding this situation ridiculous.

But they still seemed to be quite pleased with it.

From her perspective, it had been about two and a half years, so that made sense.

“Everyone, follow me.”

She personally guided us to the training ground.

That training ground from my memory, the place where I remembered getting beaten up by her.

An incredibly spacious area.

I stood in the exact center of that space.

Then I spoke to them, who were all extremely tense.

“Don’t be surprised, you guys.”

I held my sword as always.

And they too each took up their weapons.

‘Chris and Raicle fight with their fists anyway, but why did she bring that…’

Unless she always carried it just in case, it seemed like she really brought it for this purpose.

I pointed my sword at them and said:

“You’d better prepare quickly.”

With those words, Chris began buffing Raicle and Reina.

After receiving Chris’s buffs, they all pointed their weapons at their opponent, just like I did.

Still, they didn’t seem to want to fight seriously, as none of them activated any skills.

“Not using them?”

When I asked that, Raicle answered in his characteristically calm tone.

“You’re not using any either, so why should we?”

“And it’s been so long since we’ve seen you, going all out seems a bit much. Getting our clothes dirty would be annoying too.”

Hearing Reina’s answer, I thought it made some sense.

Of course, that didn’t mean I wasn’t going to do anything at all, so I slowly walked toward them.

“Who do you think you’re underestimating?”

“I’m right, aren’t I?”

“I was planning to take it easy since I got hurt pretty badly yesterday… but I guess that won’t work.”

Raicle steeled his resolve.

As if denying what he had just said earlier, he activated his unique skill.

Then he rushed at me with a speed clearly different from before.

“Just take one hit!!”

Shouting like that, Raicle swung his fist toward my left shoulder.

I caught that fist with the tip of my sword.

-Clang!!-

It sounded like two swords colliding.

After blocking his fist, I struck his face with my remaining left hand.

-Thud!!-

However, perhaps because I hit him rather lightly, Raicle didn’t budge at all, and instead seized that moment to swing his fist.

His fist came right up to my nose.

And at that moment, I felt a cold, sharp sensation right behind me.

“This won’t do.”

I had originally planned to just go through the motions, but that wasn’t going to work in this situation.

So I took drastic measures.

-Woong!!-

For that brief moment, his fist and Reina’s sword strike seemed to lose their way, unable to move forward.

I seized that moment to plant my fist in Raicle’s face and Reina’s abdomen.

-Thud! Thud!-

Only then did they fail to hold on and tumble to the ground.

And in their place, Chris entered my field of vision.

Chris had rushed up to me, taking advantage of the gap when both my fists were occupied.

“Excellent judgment.”

Chris had precisely targeted that opening.

He concentrated all his strength into one fist and struck my face with all his might.

-Thud!!!-

It hurt.

A deep pain felt throughout my entire face transmitted to my whole body.

Because of that, for just a moment, the magical power in my body fluctuated.

But… that was all.

“But you’re still quite weak.”

No matter how Chris wasn’t holding any weapon, his strength wasn’t weak.

Moreover, my defense could be described as pathetic, even disastrous.

Yet I was standing here perfectly fine.

“You aimed well, but your strength is quite lacking.”

With those words, I also handed Chris a gift called a fist.

And I gave it with all my might.

-Thud!!!!-

Then Chris fell down right there, quite spectacularly.

Looking at these weaklings who collapsed with just one hit, I said:

“How can you go down after just one hit? Shouldn’t you try harder?”

Then Raicle, who clearly looked displeased, objected to my words.

“I could have continued, you know. I was just lying here.”

“That’s pathetic, seriously.”

“But… it really hurt so much… You hit me while holding that thing..! And with full power too!”

It must have hurt quite a bit, as there were clear tear marks around Reina’s eyes.

She had even cried a little, it seemed.

“Did it hurt?”

“You call that a question…?”

“You should have dodged it then.”

“How could I in that situation…”

Despite what she was saying, if she had tried to dodge, she could have done so sufficiently.

She had excellent basic reflexes and also possessed some decent skills.

“Still, it wasn’t bad. You were going to fight without using skills until the end, but you ended up using them and taking a hit too.”

I thought I had put quite a distance between these guys and myself, but it seemed to be my misconception.

There was a difference, but it wasn’t much different from what I felt when I was attending the academy.

“You’ve been working hard, I see?”

“Of course, now I can’t help but do so even if I don’t want to.”

“Same here.”

Instead of continuing the conversation about the sparring match that had ended, I brought up another topic.

That topic was their recent situation, which I was most curious about.

“Why didn’t any of you reply in the group chat?”

“Oh, that? It was bothersome.”

“I didn’t even know you sent anything.”

“I replied! You just didn’t check!”

Raicle and Chris were one thing, but Reina said she had replied.

I immediately turned on my phone and checked the group chat.

Then I saw Reina’s message right below mine.

-Right now, I’m clearing a dungeon with my party members! Working hard!! What have you been up to these days!?-

I looked back and forth between the screen and Reina.

Then I said in a low voice:

“It’s true…”

“You invite us and then don’t even reply…”

“I’m sorry…”

There definitely wasn’t anything when I checked after sending it.

And the actual time Reina sent her text was quite different from when I sent mine.

‘Still, I’m the one who didn’t check…’

I was genuinely sorry, so I immediately bowed my head.

“I’m really sorry.”

“Well… it’s okay, at least we can talk face to face now.”

She seemed to understand, probably because she’s kind.

Even so, she must still feel disappointed.

Reina asked a question as if wanting to erase that feeling:

“So what are you doing now? Are you going to the Orion Kingdom with the princess?”

“What are you talking about? I need to get trained. I just became a special forces member.”

“Neither.”

Hearing that, they showed the exact same reaction as she did back then.

I explained to them very kindly:

“They judged that I don’t need education, so there won’t be any, and Alli said she’ll be staying here for the time being, so I’ll be staying here for a while too.”

“Alli…?”

“Oh… Alli?”

Everyone seemed more interested in that nickname than the actual fact.

Far away, she was looking this way with the emperor, not knowing what was going on.

I looked at her as I spoke:

“Of course, I don’t call her that much in front of others, just occasionally? That’s how I use it.”

“So you do call her that?”

“We’ve been dating for years, so this much is natural. If anything, shouldn’t I be calling her ‘honey’ or ‘darling’ by now?”

“Please stop talking nonsense… But now that you mention it, that’s true.”

We’ve been dating for a really long time.

We were apart for about 2 years, but it’s been about 3 years.

In terms of calendar years, it’s 4 years.

During that long time, we’ve made progress in our relationship, but there hasn’t been much change in terms of nicknames.

“Just suddenly calling her ‘honey’ seems a bit off, doesn’t it?”

“It doesn’t matter, really.”

“I think so too.”

These men just wanted to see that cringeworthy scene, it seemed.

I looked at Reina, hoping she would give better advice than these guys.

She was stroking her chin.

“Um… what do you think? Good? Bad?”

By my standards, it’s not particularly bad.

But women’s standards might be different.

And Reina’s answer didn’t disappoint my expectations:

“Why don’t you just propose? Then she’ll really be your ‘darling.'”