Chapter 152: Blind Date (4)

The two massive forces colliding erupted like a volcanic explosion, tearing the sky apart and creating a scene that looked as if the heavens themselves had split.

Ironically, we who had unleashed these forces could do nothing but struggle to avoid being blown away by them.

As I fought against the wind, trying not to be swept away, I glanced at Elaine on the opposite side. She was grinning from ear to ear, seemingly both amused and delighted by the situation.

‘What a ridiculous sight…’

It’s all because of this frail body. How absurd is it that we’re floundering, unable to handle our own power?

Struggling against the torrent of energy threatening to engulf me, I tried to propel myself forward.

Elaine, too, flailed about as she slowly advanced. Soon, the tip of her spear and Jinta’s blade, which had been kept apart by the immense force, began to clash.

“Ugh… Argh!!!”

A bone-crushing impact sent excruciating pain surging through my arm and into my entire body. My hand holding the sword hilt trembled involuntarily.

Elaine was in the same boat; her usually expressionless face was contorted with pain.

Yet no matter how much it hurt, she didn’t stop moving forward. The hands gripping her spear shaft didn’t weaken; instead, they seemed to grow stronger with each passing moment.

As Jinta and her sword-spear remained locked together, I heard a distinct “tick!” – the sound of metal breaking.

However, I had no time to figure out whether it was Jinta or Elaine’s weapon that was breaking.

All I could do now was trust in Jinta and keep pushing forward.

Gritting my teeth and enduring the pain through sheer willpower, I continued to advance.

Just moving forward wasn’t enough to win. I had to sharpen the energy imbued in Jinta’s blade like a razor and cut through that sword-spear.

The clash continued relentlessly, even as the sound of breaking metal persisted. Finally, with one last crack, the seemingly endless confrontation came to an end.

The broken sword-spear scattered into the sky like cherry blossoms in spring as Elaine plummeted to the ground. I too, unable to maintain my balance after the sudden collapse, tumbled down after her.

I’d hoped to use some kind of landing technique to soften the impact, but I’d spent too much energy and stamina in the recent clash to manage it.

“Urgh!!!”

Crashing to the ground without proper form, my head spun and my vision began to blur.

But I couldn’t lose consciousness yet.

Breaking her spear didn’t mean the match was over. I forced my aching body up and stumbled around, searching for where Elaine might have fallen.

Fortunately, Elaine’s fall had created an enormous crater, making it not too difficult to find her.

As I climbed down into the crater, I saw Elaine lying on the ground, covered in blood. She looked so bad I doubted if she was even alive.

I quickly pulled out the recovery potion Hori had packed for me a few days before our trip and poured it into Elaine’s mouth.

It wasn’t some miraculous potion that could instantly heal wounds, but it was better than doing nothing.

However, probably due to being unconscious, Elaine couldn’t swallow the potion I’d poured into her mouth.

Left with no choice, I took the potion into my own mouth and fed it to Elaine directly with a kiss.

My efforts seemed to have some effect. Not long after I’d given her the potion, Elaine opened her eyes groggily, like someone who’d just woken up.

For a while, she just stared at me blankly, unable to say anything. Then, as if she’d finally grasped the situation, she carefully spoke.

“…Did I lose?”

“Looks that way. How do you feel?”

“…The best and the worst at the same time.”

With those short words, Elaine closed her eyes again, her expression peaceful as if she’d fallen back asleep.

She might have dozed off right after waking up, but her breathing wasn’t irregular or anything, so it seemed fine to let her rest like this.

I picked up Elaine from the ground and started walking towards where we’d left the carriage, looking for a comfortable place to lay her down.

As I headed towards the carriage, I glanced around. The hill that had been full of sword-like tombstones and flowers had collapsed along with the fight, leaving a truly miserable sight.

Despite the hill crumbling and the flowers and swords being blown far away, the enormous sword stuck in the hill remained unbroken and intact. This gave me some idea of how strong the sword spirit must be.

‘…What a complete mess.’

Looking around and recalling the mystical scene from before the fight, I felt a pang of sadness. But what could be done now?

It’s not like the Sword’s Grave, now in shambles, would return to its original state just because we felt sorry about it.

“……”

When I reached the roadside where the carriage was parked, carrying Elaine, everyone except one person was staring at us with fear in their eyes.

“…Looks like you had quite a blast, acting like maniacs without a care for your surroundings.”

“Yeah, it was incredibly fun.”

Brushing off Jessica’s sarcasm, I was about to lay Elaine down in the carriage when I added one more thing to Jessica, who had been glaring at me the whole time.

“Oh, but it’s not like I didn’t care about anything. I thought of you, that’s why we fought up in the air.”

“…Don’t think I’ll always let you off the hook with that sweet talk.”

Even as she said this, her face turned slightly red, making me think this approach might work a few more times.

“Shall we get going then?”

We’d essentially accomplished our purpose for coming here, so there was no reason to stay at the Sword’s Grave any longer.

As we were about to leave, surrounded by fearful and awe-struck gazes, I spotted the sword spirit glaring at us from a distance. I waved goodbye to her.

“Take care!! I’ll come again!!”

“Don’t come!!! Don’t you dare come back!!!”

They say a strong denial is a strong affirmation, so this must mean it’s okay to come back.

I’ll probably never have to part with my beloved swords again, but I’ve made some good memories here.

Secretly vowing to return someday, I climbed onto the carriage.

——

“Here, say ‘aah’!”

“Aah…”

The wounds Elaine had sustained from that fight must have been quite deep. Even after several days, she couldn’t manage her body properly, so I had no choice but to take care of her.

It wasn’t that she was so weak she couldn’t even hold a spoon, but she wasn’t in perfect condition either. That’s why I was still feeding her.

Her mouth was so small that even when I fed her a little, her cheeks would puff up as she chewed. It reminded me of feeding a squirrel, which I found adorable.

I’d tried to help with other things too, like bathing her or taking her to the bathroom, but Jessica had kicked up such a fuss that I had no choice but to leave those tasks to her.

Jessica seemed quite jealous of me taking care of another woman. She’d glare at me fiercely whenever I was near Elaine.

Even now, she was glaring at me as I fed Elaine, but after doing this for several days, it didn’t bother me anymore.

After glaring at me for a while, Jessica seemed to dislike the sight of me devotedly caring for Elaine so much that she clicked her tongue and left the tent.

Her exit looked ominous, and I tried to stop her, but Elaine opened her mouth like a baby bird, urging me to continue feeding her, so I had no choice but to sit back down.

“I’m full now…”

Despite urging me for more just moments ago, Elaine closed her mouth after eating only a little more.

I wasn’t sure if it was due to her injury affecting her appetite or if she naturally ate little, but Elaine hadn’t been eating properly for the past few days.

Given her small stature compared to her sister Rain, it seemed more likely to be the latter, but seeing her eat so little worried me.

“Getting sleepy?”

“Yeah…”

A few minutes after finishing her meal, Elaine’s eyes started to droop, so I asked her. She nodded and slowly lay down.

It’s not good to lie down right after eating, but I figured it was better to let her sleep than to force her to stay awake when she was tired.

I tucked Elaine in and then carefully left the tent so as not to wake her.

“…Huh?”

As I came out of the tent, I saw Jessica sitting at the base of a tree that had been cut for firewood, crying sadly.

“Jessica, why are you crying?”

“Shut up… Just go back to Elaine…”

Jessica just sobbed and told me to go away, refusing to show her face.

This was my first time being in a romantic relationship, but I had a strong feeling that if I took her words at face value and left, it would be a huge mistake.

‘But what am I supposed to do?’

Even if I stayed, the only way I knew to stop a woman’s tears was to knock her unconscious so she couldn’t cry anymore.

But obviously, I couldn’t just knock out the crying Jessica to forcibly stop her tears.

As I approached Jessica, wondering what to do, I put my hand on her small shoulder and leaped over her as if jumping a vaulting horse.

“Hup!!”

“…!!”

Caught off guard, Jessica forgot to cover her face and stared at me blankly. But it didn’t last long. Realizing what I’d just done, she jumped up and charged at me.

“What kind of prank are you pulling in a situation like this?!”

“Jessica!! Are you angry?!!”

“Do I look like I’m not angry?!!!”

My spontaneous action had successfully stopped Jessica’s tears.

However… it had only made her angry instead…

“Stop right there!! I said stop!!”

“Hehe!! Try and catch me!!”

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