The Monk Saintess
Sigrun was a beginner Sword Expert.
But she's no ordinary beginner Sword Expert.
I already knew her skill stood far beyond any comparison with other fighters of that rank. The strength she had shown at Bramante Volcano had already exceeded every expectation, and the explanation she gave me on the road to Mineva only drove that certainty deeper.
She said she mastered swordsmanship and footwork first, then awakened to mana.
Sigrun had learned the sword style—and the matching footwork—of the knight who once saved her village. Only after she could execute both perfectly, even if she had yet to polish them to true mastery, did she begin walking the path of a swordsman.
An exceptional case. The kind of exception only a genius can pull off.
Most swordsmen raised their technique and their rank at the same time. That only made sense—mastering a sword style completely before advancing would take far too long. Even a generous estimate put fifteen years on perfecting a single high-level style. Fifteen years simply to learn the technique itself, not to refine it. Investing that much time and only then starting to climb the ranks would leave a person hopelessly behind, so most raised both together.
Sigrun was different.
Talent let her master the entire sword style and footwork in a mere three years. And because she began with that talent after laying a complete foundation, she reached Sword Expert at the tender age of twenty. Having risen with her groundwork fully set, she might have been only a beginner in rank, but her actual skill was anything but.
By her own account she could easily defeat a middle Sword Expert, and under the right conditions she could even claim victory against an upper one. If she ever reached Sword Master, she might well take her place among the three strongest swordsmen on the continent. Her talent was so outstanding that the thought came unbidden.
And as I watched Sigrun's back, I listened to the girl's voice that reached my ears.
"You introduced yourself first, so I should do the same. I'm Rafina Aselina, the next Saint of the Holy Kingdom—more precisely, the current Saint's successor. I'm the Saint's heir, sure, but I refuse to be so weak I can't even look after myself like the current Saint. So I've been training to become a great monk."
Ah. The girl's—Rafina's—words finally made sense of what had puzzled me until now. I had wondered how she could travel with holy knights like that and put Holy Water up as a prize. If she was the Saint's successor, it all added up. Holy Water might be enormously valuable, but that was only from an outsider's perspective. For the Saint's successor, staking a single bottle as a prize was nothing special.
Rafina wet her dry lips with her tongue and went on.
"You look like a pretty strong knight, but sorry—armor's banned while you fight me. Weapons like swords are banned too. I'd rather fight with swords since it feels more like a real fight, but that idiot Saint said if I did that she wouldn't let me go out anymore."
"Mm. Understood. I'll remove both."
At Rafina's words, Sigrun nodded and immediately unfastened her sword from her waist, then poured mana into her armor.
Clack— clunk—
The armor separated from Sigrun's body like a twenty-second-century suit and took the form of a shield. It was the function of her uniquely enchanted armor—something that could be called one of a kind on this continent. Rafina and the surrounding spectators let out gasps at a sight one might not see even once in a lifetime. Even the holy knights faintly behind Rafina looked startled.
And when Sigrun's armor came off, the crowd gasped again, if more quietly. If you asked why—it was because of the beauty revealed beneath the armor. Even I, a beauty myself, had to admit Sigrun's looks were truly striking, so the crowd's reaction was understandable. Yet amid those gasps, Sigrun simply approached me and Seolho without a care and handed over what she held.
"Elia, Seolho, look after my sword and armor for a moment."
"Leave it to us, Sigrun."
"Yes! We'll hold them for a bit!"
I took Sigrun's shield, and Seolho took her sword. They looked as if they should weigh a ton, but some magic must have been enchanted into them as well, because they were lighter than expected and no burden to hold. Having entrusted her sword and armor to us, Sigrun returned to her place.
Watching her, Rafina flashed a bold grin and settled into a stance.
"I might be the Saint's successor, but you don't need to hold back. I won't hold you responsible for hitting me, and with holy magic, healing is no problem. Broken bones, torn muscles—doesn't matter. Come at me with everything you've got."
"That's welcome news. Then I'll go all out from the start."
At Rafina's invitation to come at her freely, Sigrun too wore a combative smile as she took her stance.
Swoosh———
Oh. That looks better than I expected.
Whether the knight who had taught her swordsmanship had also taught her hand-to-hand combat, Sigrun's stance—which I had expected to be rough—had real structure to it, more than I had thought. Different from Rafina's stance, but it looked quite systematic. While I was admiring it, Sigrun moved first.
Whoosh——!!
A short, clean punch. If it had been aimed at me, I would not have been able to react without magic—it was that fast. But Rafina simply tilted her head to dodge and threw a punch of her own in return. At a glance the difference in reach from their arm and leg lengths made it look like it wouldn't connect, but the moment that thought formed, holy power burst from Rafina's fist.
Boom—!
"Hoh. Impressive."
"Not bad! Dodging that on the first look!"
Sigrun, who had instinctively bent at the waist, murmured a small note of admiration, and Rafina, impressed by Sigrun's reaction speed, shouted back. They had only traded one exchange each, but it was enough for a probe. Finished with the probe, Sigrun stepped in another pace and drove a fist at Rafina. She must have judged that if Rafina attacked with holy power again, she would lose on reach. More than that, this kind of brawl seemed to suit her temperament—Sigrun swung her fists so fast they left afterimages for an instant.
But Rafina only grinned at Sigrun's approach and closed in herself. As if to say she knew a thing or two about brawls herself.
Thud-thud-thud-thud———!!!
Their fists cut through the air, collided, and crashed together in a furious exchange. Most of the attacks were dodged, or blocked when they couldn't be. The exchange only paused when their rapidly crossing fists opened and locked into a contest of strength.
Crrrreek———
A vicious sound rang from their clasped hands, proof of how powerful both of them were.
"Hahaha, this is fun! Sigrun, was it? I like you!!"
"It's been a long time since I've met someone who fights this well. You seem to have tremendous talent as a monk."
"I've got a bit of talent, yeah! But looks like I'm a little short on power…?"
"I won't lose when it comes to talent either. And after all the time I've put into training, it'd be a shame to come up short on strength, wouldn't it?"
In the brief lull, Rafina and Sigrun exchanged what could almost pass for compliments. But the compliments were short-lived. Realizing she was losing the strength contest, Rafina gritted her teeth—then suddenly dove between Sigrun's spread legs.
"Kh—?!"
"We've done enough of the power game—time for a real fight again?!"
Forced to let go by Rafina diving between her legs, Sigrun released her grip. Bursting out between Sigrun's legs, Rafina used the momentum to leap into the air and packed holy power into her fist.
"Try blocking this too!!"
An unavoidable strike that perfectly exploited an opening. Sigrun's body was bent toward the ground, and Rafina was already driving her fist down from the air. In ordinary circumstances, the attack would have landed without question.
"Sorry, but I can attack from pretty much any position."
Yes—that was for ordinary circumstances. Landing a hit was only true for ordinary cases. It did not apply to Sigrun, who was anything but ordinary.
Thud—
Still bent over, she planted her hands on the ground as if to do a handstand, then spun her body and extended a leg toward Rafina in the air.
"Wha…?!"
Unable to dodge while floating in midair, Rafina let out a startled cry—
And right after.
Crack———!!!
"Guh—?!"
Kicked square in the chin by Sigrun's leg, Rafina's body snapped back in midair. The first clean hit of the fight. It belonged to Sigrun's kick.