Another Promise

Chapter 4

With audiences of diverse ages and races sitting far from the stage, the two of us are currently standing in the middle of the arena. Some people appear perplexed as to why Albert-san is engaging in combat with a child of just 10 years old.

"Shiiiiroooooou! Best of luck!"

With her mother seated alongside her, Aiz cheered for me. I waved my hand at the girl before turning my attention to the man, whose aura grew darker. He prepared his grips and drew his silver longsword.

Despite the fact that we have just recently met, I sometimes feel sorry for this man. His wife won't let him beat me up lest she gets angry at him, and her daughter doesn't even say a word to him.

I sighed and shut my eyes, attempting to relax. I took several breaths in and out and then focused on all my senses. I hadn't had time to adjust my mind to my present body because it had only been a few hours since I had arrived in this world.

"Trace on."

The masses made a tiny gasp as I murmured those words before tracing the same silver longsword in my palm, shocking both the man and them. I made the decision to try and use the sword against him because I immediately saw how he would use it and wanted to see how he would respond to a his usual sword technique.

I open my eyes and repeatedly swing the sword. I had to maintain balance with the sword because it is actually taller than I am in order to avoid being pulled by its weight.

A little taken aback by what he had seen, the man questioned, "You can summon the same sword as mine?"

"Most weapons that I've seen, actually."

After giving him an honest answer, I assumed Albert-position, san's with my left hand on my side and my sword hand held forward, followed by my right leg. Evelda, the referee, was holding a coin when she looked at Albert and then at me with interest.

We nod at her and she grinned, but her eyes were fixed on me like a predator sizing up its prey.

She tossed the coin into the air and jumped out of the arena.

The minute the coin landed, Albert-san and I simultaneously kicked the ground and rushed in the same direction. Because of his higher speed than mine, I had to adjust my timing somewhat so that our swords met at exactly the same moment. Our height disparity also caused me problems because he could utilize his weight to overcome me.

*CLANG!*

Our swords crossed in the center of the arena, filling the space with the sound of grinding metal. I didn't stop like Albert-san, instead, I let go of one of my grips from the handle and traced another silver longsword in my left hand before I swung it hard toward his abdomen which was not protected by anything except for his shirt.

I anticipated what he would do next: he would push my right hand away and then jump back from the incoming swing. He did this effortlessly, but I stopped the sword in my left hand in mid-swing and changed it into a thrust, which he blocked with the surface of his sword. He grunted at it, but my right hand didn't idly around while my left hand was busy. I raised my sword hand high up, leaving a huge opening for him to use, then swiftly swung it down with my now-reinforced limb as he widened his eyes in surprise.

With remarkable speed, Albert-san batted the tip of the sword in my left hand aside before raising his own blade to intercept the one coming at him from my right.

'As expected of the strongest man...he effortlessly copes with my speed if he needs to...'

But his right was open because he had lifted his sword to intercept my sword coming from his left. However, he refused to give me another opportunity to attack and instead used additional force in his arms to shove my right hand away, whirl completely around, and deliver a roundhouse kick that I narrowly missed.