Chapter 148: Jinta (2)

The moment I felt Jinta’s warm body temperature and heartbeat as she embraced me, it really hit me that she had returned.

Almost simultaneously, I flinched at the sharp gaze I felt on the back of my head, presumably from Jessica, but I had no intention of letting go of Jinta.

What swordsman in the world could coldheartedly push away their beloved sword that had just returned from the brink of death?

“Master, for a moment…”

After a few minutes of Jinta clinging to me, just when I thought she’d never let go, she suddenly pulled away and turned to look at Wolffang, who was wallowing in despair behind us.

“Hey, you bitch.”

“……?!”

Everyone, including myself, was startled by her suddenly different tone, but Jinta just smiled as if nothing had happened.

“Master, I have some unfinished business with that mutt. Could you wait for a moment? Since we’re here, I’d like to show off my abilities too…”

“Oh, sure… I don’t know what’s going on, but if you need to sort something out, go ahead.”

I’m not sure what happened between them, but if there’s a conflict, it’s better to resolve it cleanly here rather than carrying it forward.

Plus, I hadn’t seen Jinta’s new abilities yet, so I wanted to check them out.

“You insolent…”

As Jinta pointed, Wolffang, who had been slumped on the ground, stumbled to her feet and placed her hand on her sword hilt.

“You defective sword… You think you can beat me just because you’ve become human?! You’ll always be a defective sword, no matter how many times you’re reborn!!”

“Wolffang!! I told you not to use the term ‘defective sword’!!”

Outraged by Wolffang’s discriminatory language, I was about to step in with my fists clenched, but Jinta stopped me, shaking her head.

“It’s alright, Master. I’ll make sure she never runs that arrogant mouth again.”

“…I don’t know what you’re planning, but don’t be too harsh. And Wolffang, you shouldn’t hurt her needlessly either, okay?”

“Got it!!”

“I never intended to kill her from the start. I just think this mutt needs to learn her place, being a beast and all. I’m just going to set things straight.”

“P-place?!! You’re really dead now!!!”

With that, Jinta and Wolffang spread out, hands on their sword hilts. It was now a given that they would clash.

As both Jinta and Wolffang were my swords, I couldn’t cheer for either side. I just watched quietly as the hot-headed Wolffang made the first move, approaching Jinta and starting the fight.

“Why aren’t they drawing their swords first?”

“Huh? What are you talking about?”

Jessica, who had been watching the whole thing unfold from behind, pointed at the two and asked me.

“I mean, it’s one thing for you to be obsessed with the Baldo technique, being a bit off in the head and all, but why are those two using it too?”

“What? Off in the head?! You’ve got some nerve talking to your future husband like that!!”

Outraged by her insulting words, I jabbed Jessica’s chest. By chance, I hit her nipple directly, causing her to let out a suggestive moan.

“Ahh…!! Wh-what are you doing?!”

“What? Isn’t it common sense for a wife to get spanked by her husband when she misbehaves?”

“W-wife…!! You have the nerve to say that when you’re openly cheating…”

“Anyway, forget about me, you’re wondering why they’re using the Baldo technique too, right?”

“…Yes.”

The reason why Jinta and Wolffang only used the Baldo technique wasn’t anything special.

It’s partly because they’re the humanized forms of katanas optimized for the Baldo technique, but more importantly, it’s because I, their user, only use the Baldo technique.

Even if they wanted to use other sword techniques, it was natural for them to only use the Baldo technique since I, their master, don’t use any other techniques.

Moreover, if these two beloved swords of mine used any sword technique other than Baldo, I might not beat them, but I’d certainly hold a grudge.

“…So in the end, it’s because of you.”

“Not because of me, but thanks to me. More importantly, why is she suddenly backing away?”

Wolffang, who had been slowly closing the distance, suddenly retreated significantly.

Wondering what she was thinking, retreating to a distance where her sword couldn’t reach, I watched as Wolffang’s sword began to transform into the tachi I had used before.

‘Looks like she’s going to use that…’

Soon after, the side of the scabbard opened like a beast’s maw, and Wolffang’s hidden blade extended like rubber, lunging at Jinta.

I had almost forgotten since I didn’t use this feature often, but Wolffang could freely change the length of her blade.

When you don’t know your opponent’s skills, rushing into close combat isn’t a great strategy.

If I were Wolffang, I’d also create some distance to gauge my opponent’s abilities before deciding whether to approach or do something else.

“This…!!”

While Wolffang probably intended to use a long-range attack to assess her opponent’s skills, Jinta dodged Wolffang’s attack with a slight twist of her body, without even drawing her sword.

Jinta’s movements, dodging the sword with its ever-changing length that was hard to gauge, were so graceful yet simple that I couldn’t help but gasp in admiration.

But the fact that she wasn’t drawing her sword even with blades flying at her made me wonder if Jinta’s ability had a daily usage limit, or if it got stronger the longer the sword stayed in its scabbard.

There was also a possibility that she didn’t draw it because she could handle it after seeing it once, but judging by Jinta’s confident expression, it seemed like no ordinary ability.

“Ugh!!”

No matter how many times Wolffang unleashed her Baldo techniques, she couldn’t even graze Jinta’s clothes. Eventually, it was Wolffang who started panting first, not Jinta who was dodging.

Wolffang, who had been randomly unleashing Baldo techniques, realized this couldn’t go on as she started to run out of breath. She returned her sword to its scabbard.

Then, just like before, she slowly closed the distance, looking for an opening in Jinta’s defenses, but Jinta didn’t show any easy openings.

This was natural. Although Wolffang had lived longer as a self-aware sword, Jinta had spent more time with me.

In terms of pure skill, Jinta was by no means inferior to Wolffang.

Frustrated that Jinta wouldn’t show an opening no matter how long she waited, Wolffang leaped forward and unleashed a sword energy attack.

The wolf-shaped energy was so lifelike it could almost be mistaken for a real, living wolf.

Although Jinta had dodged Wolffang’s attacks well until now, this time the attack seemed too large to avoid with a simple body twist. Instead, Jinta threw herself to the side to dodge the energy.

However, the energy that had flown in a straight line turned its head and lunged at Jinta again.

As if her earlier impatience had been an act, Wolffang smiled triumphantly while Jinta leaped high into the air this time to dodge the energy.

Although she avoided the attack, jumping high was a mistake unless she had the ability to fly.

Unlike on the ground, there was nowhere to dodge in the air, and even if she could kick off the air, it would consume an enormous amount of energy, making it a poor choice.

As everyone held their breath, anticipating Jinta’s defeat…

“Huh?!”

Jinta’s body, floating in mid-air, suddenly vanished with a sound so loud it felt like it might rupture our eardrums.

It wasn’t a spatial ability like teleportation. Judging from the air-ripping sound and metal friction we’d just heard, she had definitely drawn her sword.

‘Then, considering the direction, Jinta should be above…’

Looking up at the sky, I saw Jinta slowly falling, having jumped even higher using the recoil from her Baldo, with the sun at her back.

“Ugh…!!”

The distance itself wasn’t a problem, but with the sun behind her, it was difficult to aim due to the light.

While Wolffang was flustered, unable to decide what to do, Jinta drew her sword once more, using the recoil to fly towards Wolffang at an incredible speed.

Wolffang couldn’t react to the speed, which was so fast that even I might have missed the moment of the Baldo if I hadn’t been concentrating.

Jinta, who had closed the distance to right in front of Wolffang in an instant, drew her sword without hesitation. Wolffang’s body floated up and flew far away, crashing into one of the swords stuck in the hill before collapsing limply.

“Kuh…!!”

Thanks to her ability to recreate her blade even when it breaks, Wolffang quickly got up despite her dramatic fall, but she didn’t look fit to continue fighting.

Jinta approached Wolffang, who had just managed to stand up, and without using her sword, slapped Wolffang’s face with her bare hand, knocking her down again.

Then she started stomping on Wolffang’s fallen face with killing intent, repeatedly trampling her face without regard for Wolffang’s screams.

It wasn’t just stomping – she was putting her full weight into it with her heel, clearly intending to cause harm.

“Ah…”

Even though I knew I should stop this, the atmosphere was so brutal that I couldn’t bring myself to say, “That’s enough.”

It wasn’t just me – everyone here felt the same way. No one could bring themselves to say a word to stop it, we could only pray for this time to pass quickly.

After stomping on Wolffang’s face for a long time, Jinta suddenly stopped, bent down, and whispered something into Wolffang’s ear.

I couldn’t hear what she said from here, but seeing Wolffang flinch when she hadn’t even moved during all that stomping, it must have been something significant.

“Is it all over now?”

“I’m sorry for showing you such an unsightly scene. The resentment between us has now been fully resolved. As proof of that, though it might seem odd…”

Jinta extended her hand to Wolffang, who was sitting on the ground unable to get up, and said,

“Doggy, paw.”

Wolffang stared at Jinta’s outstretched hand for a long time, then finally placed her trembling hand on top of Jinta’s, looking like she might burst into tears at any moment.

“You see? We’re fine now.”

“…Y-yeah.”

“Uuu…!! Master!!”

Wolffang, tears in her eyes, looked like she wanted to rush into my arms, but when Jinta next to her glared sharply, she gave up and hung her head.

And so, the conflict between Jinta and Wolffang was resolved, and for the first time, a hierarchy was established among my swords. But I wasn’t particularly happy about it.

—