14-Episode 14: I don't cry!



 Defeated by me, Laina kneeled on the spot, her shoulders shaking as she plumped.


Huh?
'Aaaaahhhhhh!

 Suddenly, he shouted like a child.

'I lost again! Aaaaaaahhhh! I worked so hard, and now this guy has beaten me again!

 And just as I thought he stood up, he ran off at full speed.

''........Hmm. Looks like I've made you cry.

 This isn't the first time I've made a girl cry it's not the first time I've made a girl cry.
 You've made her cry many times before.

Hey, I'm not crying! I'm not crying!

 He could hear me muttering.
 Laina shouted that much and then left.

''I didn't expect to beat Laina, who's a top-ranked B-class student...! And he's that fast. Ho, are you really "unemployed"...?

 Lilia stands there stunned.
 Then she realizes I'm looking at her.

"...Welcome to Dragonfang! I would like to welcome Mr. Arrell as a new member of our team!

 He has a big smile on his face, as if there was no such thing as a leopardopard change earlier.

It's a great way to return the favor.
Ha-ha-ha, no? I believed in you from the beginning, didn't I?
'Hmm, that's funny. Who was screaming, "You're the reason you're here, a**h*le!
Isn't that an afterimage of me?

 Even I can't make an afterimage speak.

"Oh well. I've already signed off on it anyway.
Yes, that's right!
'That said, what do you mean by this stronghold being gone?
...well, that's the thing...

 When I asked her about it, she told me all about the situation this guild is in right now.

 To put it simply, she said that they have a large amount of debt.
 And if they can't repay the debt by the end of this month, they'll have to vacate this stronghold that they're using as collateral.
 Moreover, if they lost their headquarters, they would lose their guild status.
 Of course, they could immediately move to another headquarters, but with the debt they have, that would be difficult.

 Hmm.
 It sounds like you're in quite a pinch.

"Do you have any idea how to pay it back?
''In case you're wondering, I'm planning to participate in a guild competition in a week. If we can win that...''

 But apparently you need at least three or more people to compete.

''That's why I was desperately looking for recruits.
'So, currently, there are only three people in this guild, including me?
''Ugh ... that's right.

 No wonder it's such a big building and no one else has seen it but us.

'Well, there used to be a lot of them! But after his father became like that, everyone else became disenchanted with him and quit...
How is it that he's the only one left among them?
''Ra, Laina is a righteous child. Maybe it's because she came to this city when she was only ten years old, she was rejected by every guild and was at her wit's end. But then, my father called out to him and brought him home. He still seems to be grateful for that, and he told me he was going to stay until the end.

 You're a surprisingly disciplined guy, aren't you?

But that's easy to understand. We'll just have to win this rivalry.
Well, yes.
What's up? You look so weak before the fight.
No, no! That's not true! That's right! Yes, sir! We just need to win! If you win!

 That's just plain cheerful.

A strong opponent.
I'm not sure.

 Lilia hesitated a bit, then

The Black Blades, sir. ....is currently considered the strongest guild in the city.

 So that's it.
 I was the first guild to get kicked out.

...and they're probably up to ten men, and there are three of us. Whereas this one has three.

 Opponent battles are basically a winner-take-all system.
 This means that we have three of us and we have to defeat ten of our opponents.

''To top it off, there are eight A-class swordsmen in the Black Blade.
What's that A-grade or B-grade thing you say?
Simply put, it is a grade of strength of an individual fencer. At large tournaments, the more advanced a fencer is, the less likely he is to qualify for an individual tournament.

 There are four levels, A, B, C, and D. Class A is the highest, apparently.
 The higher the rank, the fewer the number of people are, and at the A level, there are only 20 swordsmen in the entire city.
 It is said that they are the ones who reign supreme among the nearly five hundred swordsmen of this city.

 By the way, Laina and Lilia are B-class swordsmen.

It's not likely that they'll be able to bring out all A-class swordsmen, but there's a wide range of non-A-class swordsmen as well, and there are even B-class swordsmen who are stronger than us. But of course, we have no intention of losing to them from the start!





 The day of the guild competition soon arrived.

 There were several arena in this city, and almost every day there was a gladiatorial battle taking place somewhere.
 In addition to swordsmen fighting each other, there are also battles between swordsmen and demons, and large group battles that are sometimes held.
 All of them are subject to betting, and our match was no exception.

 This was the main and final match, as our opponents were the largest guild in the city.
 Thanks to that, the amount of betting is said to be considerable.