The Perverted Hero Corps Is Born

I headed for the center of the training grounds. Facing Calsas, I steadied my breathing.

The garrison captain and the soldiers watching us held their breath, then started murmuring among themselves.

"They found His Lordship's corpse underground, right? Fuck."

"I still get dizzy just thinking about it..."

"This territory's finished now."

"Let's just think of this as the last show worth watching."

The somber mood wasn't for nothing. The good master they had followed with all their hearts had been found in that state. Anyone would lose their minds.

Calsas's ears twitched, and he laughed.

"People die eventually. They're being overly sentimental."

"That's the kind of thing you say when you've never met a real master. Find a leader or a superior who actually treats you like a human being, and you'll act the exact same way."

"Not interested in that sort of thing. You look like you're in rough shape, though."

"I don't think I'm in a position to be pitied. Or am I?"

"...In that short a time you reached early Expert. Seems you're not entirely without skill."

This pointy-eared bastard must have been bored. Well, trash talk before a match happened all the time in the WFC too.

I loosened up ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠lightly and raised my index finger, wagging it left and right.

"Let's drop the verbal sparring. Can't you see the audience waiting?"

"Fair enough."

Calsas grinned and gave his dagger a lazy shake. Then, like it was nothing at all, he slid it back into its sheath.

Was this guy insane?

Not that I was complaining. The aftereffects of the last fight still hadn't fully worn off. But still.

"What the hell are you doing?"

"Win or lose, I've got more to lose. If that's the case, I should at least even the odds."

"I'm genuinely fine. You're just taking out insurance, aren't you?"

"Think of it as a civil servant's intuition."

I stared at Calsas for a moment. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠This bastard was serious. He probably wanted a proper fight after last time.

"Intuition my ass. Fine. But you scored plenty of perks off me too, didn't you?"

"What are you getting at?"

I smirked. What was I getting at? I was going to ride this current — and it just so happened to line up perfectly with the plan.

"Let's make a bet. The loser grants the winner one wish!"

"Ooooh...!"

The spectators let out a low murmur of excitement. Calsas tilted his head, apparently unable to figure out what I was after no matter how hard he thought about it.

"A bet?"

"If you win, do whatever you want. But if I win, you become my guarantor."

"You want me to co-sign something?"

I shook my head. A little different from that.

"Not the kind where you borrow money. There's something I want to do, so I'm thinking of starting a foundation. And the fastest way to set one up is getting permission from a single civil servant, right?"

Understanding dawned, and Calsas laughed openly. He seemed to get exactly what I was after.

"I sheathe my dagger and you immediately throw a wager at me."

"You're welcome to draw it again."

"It's an interesting bet. Foundation, hero corps, whatever you like. I'll stamp my seal on it."

"You said it. Okay — shall we start?"

Calsas nodded. I glared at him and stepped back.

My sword hand felt heavy today. Still the aftereffects of the last fight, maybe. But my body felt light.

I feel like I can do anything!

I drew a breath and kicked off the ground. Calsas launched forward too, and the two of us charged at each other. At last our weapons crossed and slammed together — a ringing shriek of steel, then a deep metallic crack.

I dual-activated Aura and Lightning Aura. Life seemed to flood back into my exhausted body. Electricity snarled and popped as I sprinted forward in that state, the ground splitting with cracks beneath me as I surged ahead. I closed the distance with Calsas in a single burst and thrust my sword.

"Hmph."

He twisted his torso to dodge, then drove his rapier in from a bizarre angle. I shoved my shield forward. I didn't just neutralize Calsas's rapier — I shoved it clean backward, steel scraping and rattling as it gave way.

The moment he was pushed back, the crowd erupted.

"WOOOOOOOOH!"

"The inspector got overpowered...?"

"How is that even possible..."

"Is this the fight that'll mark the end of this territory?!"

Calsas smirked and gave his rapier a lazy twirl.

"Interesting. Full deployment."

"Yeah. Show and prove!"

A rush of air, then a ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠staccato burst of footsteps. Both of us went to full deployment. I closed the distance, ducking my torso as his rapier carved through the air like a guillotine. I casually swung my sword toward his upper body.

This is a feint.

I wanted to read Calsas's next move. But Calsas came at me head-on.

"Punte!"

A rapier came flying at a speed I could barely register. Startled, I reflexively blocked with my shield — but the thrusting blade didn't lose power. It pressed in even harder.

"Mezzani!"

With Calsas's shout, the rapier chained into a horizontal slash. I sprang back nimbly. The instant I landed, I kicked off the ground, closed the distance again, and thrust.

The corner of Calsas's mouth lifted.

"Quinte!"

Calsas raised his blade vertically and caught the strike. Just from that, you could tell his fundamentals were rock-solid. Blocking a holy sword with a rapier.

"Fendente!"

He knocked my sword upward and slashed down on a diagonal. I immediately twisted away and took his flank.

A sharp crack, then a ringing clash of steel.

"Sottani!"

Calsas flicked my sword upward with his tip and slipped into the opening. Before he could even move, I drove a front kick into him. A solid thud, then a cartoonish little whiiing as his head snapped back.

Last time he hadn't gone down. This time was different. I'd closed the gap in our levels, even if just a little. At last, Calsas blacked out.

"Urgh!"

I calmly closed the distance. An elf who shouted technique names while fighting — now that was a rare sight. I brought my sword forward.

Gripping the sword in one hand, I unleashed a furious barrage of consecutive strikes. Calsas had just come out of his daze when he shouted.

"Lunge."

He slipped forward, ducking his torso, closing the distance in a single gliding step. As my sword carved empty air, he drove an elbow into my jaw.

A sickening crack.

"Shift!"

And Calsas immediately faded back. The crowd gasped. Without hesitation I chased after him, swinging my sword. Don't give him an opening to use his techniques.

"Volta!"

Calsas spun a full, elegant turn like a ballet dancer, evading my attack. Then he reversed and took my back, thrusting with his rapier.

"Tch."

I twisted my body in a hurry. I felt the rapier graze past my arm by a hair. One wrong move and I would have lost the arm.

So a genuine mid-Expert really is a different beast? Fun. This is actually fun!

Fighting someone who's actually good is what makes it interesting. Just like a game. I let out a shout and deliberately threw messy, chaotic sword strikes.

My opponent has both technique and speed. Then I push forward with power — while hiding just one card up my sleeve!

I clenched my teeth and launched a wave of attacks. Calsas dodged or blocked, and we traded blows — ringing clashes, scraping steel, the hiss of displaced air. I pressed with raw power, but I kept my breathing and stance intact. I'd learned that from Mom countless times. That way I could maintain the strength to never fall behind, even in technique.

I predicted the rapier's trajectory and twisted aside, then spun a full turn and attempted a wide horizontal slash.

"Parry!"

Calsas deflected my sword to the side like it was nothing. Another opening. Before he could slip into that gap, I knocked his rapier aside as well.

A sharp, explosive crack. But Calsas didn't crumble. He moved with that same elegance and took my flank.

"It's over."

Standing at my side, Calsas leveled his rapier at me. The look in his eyes changed.

"Attaque Composée!"

A single strike gathering every ounce of mana. Then I needed something equal to cancel it out. Don't ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠forget — this was a cancel. To set up the next move.

Calsas charged with a terrifying momentum. I swung my sword at him with everything I had.

I'm staking every last bit of my energy on this!

A roaring rush of air — then a deafening crash. Our weapons collided, and a massive shockwave blasted in every direction.

"WAAAAAH!"

I saw the watching soldiers all get knocked flat. In the middle of that chaos, both my weapon and Calsas's went flying backward. I'd been aiming for this.

In a single burst I seized Calsas's lower body and hit him with a double-leg takedown. He went down immediately, of course. I was about to take the top position when Calsas grinned.

"Ha. You think I'll fall for that again?"

I was about to rain down unanswered ground-and-pound when I froze. Calsas desperately grabbed the wrist I'd extended and countered with a triangle choke. Even as my breath was being cut off, I laughed. Look at this guy.

"Huh. You've improved, Inspector... sir!"

"I don't know about other people, but I enjoy learning."

If I just sat here, the carotid artery would be slowly compressed until I blacked out. He'd already sunk it too deep to escape. Genuinely impressive.

I clenched my teeth and wrung every ounce of strength from my body. I hoisted Calsas up in one motion and slammed him down. A magnificent slam — a heavy whoosh, then a bone-jarring thud.

Calsas was stunned.

"What kind of strength is this...?!"

"This is my will! URAAAH!"

I hoisted him up and slammed him down again. Aura and Lightning Aura weren't just for show. Another lift. Another slam. A whoosh, a crack — Calsas's face twisted and the choke came loose. Getting your entire body piledriven into the dirt would hurt, yeah.

I'd been waiting for this moment.

"Brace yourself."

In a flash I took his back and wrapped an arm around his neck. The rear-naked choke sank in clean.

"Ghk, kack...!"

Calsas struggled to escape, but his movements gradually slowed. It was a technique clean enough to print in a textbook. Go ahead — try getting out of this one too.

Tap-tap-tap. Soon Calsas tapped. A clear signal of surrender.

The watching soldiers erupted.

"WOOOOOOOOH! The Hero won!"

"Holy shit, that was so fucking cool!"

"He wrecked him! Both of them are insane — they're insane!"

I released the choke and exhaled in relief. I'd finally won. If we'd kept fighting with swords I don't know how it would have gone, but I dragged it here and I won.

"Hah. I lost."

"You were still excellent, Calsas."

"Tsk. Follow me. To my temporary quarters."

Was it finally time to cash in my wish?

"Okay."

I followed Calsas. He brushed the dirt off his clothes and stepped into a temporary tent, then pulled official documents from a stack of papers.

"A foundation and a hero corps. That's what you want."

"Hmph. Understood."

Two official documents were drafted in an instant. One for the Perverted Hero Foundation, the other for the Perverted Hero Corps.

As he stamped the documents, Calsas frowned.

"That's a goddamn awful name."

"Don't you go breaking your promise, Inspector."

"I wasn't going to, you know."

Calsas stared at me for a moment, then stamped every seal with certainty. Then he spoke as if making a declaration.

"Okay, thank you!"

Calsas made one more copy of each document, stamped them, and handed them to me. I took them, and my hands trembled.

"MEEEEEEEEEW!"

I cheered with my entire body. From this day forward, I was the director of the Jja— I mean, the Hero Corps, and the representative of the foundation.

Ladies, I did it. I actually did it.

A dazzling rush of triumph wrapped around my entire body.