We Came to Fight
I came here to fight.
Her movements have changed. To be precise, it was Iana's gaze that had shifted. Gone was the noble righteousness of a textbook knight; in its place burned the tenacious hunger of a starving wolf. She kicked off the ground with explosive force and launched herself at me.
Another quick-draw slash? Surprisingly, her swordsmanship itself hadn't changed. Well, you can't overhaul a lifetime of training in an instant. I positioned my wooden sword to parry.
But Iana's approach was different this time. She feinted a swing, then suddenly ripped open the buttons of her outer jacket and hurled them at me.
"!!"
Pop-pop-pop! The buttons, infused with mana, flew toward my face like hidden projectiles.
"Hah."
Honestly, I was pretty shocked by that move. Who rips off their jacket buttons in front of a guy and throws them? The female knights here prized their purity and chastity like their own lives. Hell, even a man wouldn't think of something like that easily.
But that's exactly why it worked.
If I were my old self, I'd have tanked the hit and gone for the stab...
Tat-tat-tak! In the instant I whipped my sword around to knock away the buttons, Iana had already burrowed into my guard.
-Crunch!
But what she thrust forward wasn't her wooden sword. She rammed her shoulder into me with brutal force—a classic body tackle. Far from knightly chivalry; it was the kind of street brawl a mercenary thug might pull.
"Hngh...!"
My balance crumbled. Iana didn't miss the opening, spinning her body with fluid grace. It was light yet supple—a motion born from a woman's physique honed through years of training.
Slash!
She thrust her wooden sword out again.
"Haa! Haa!"
"......"
I slowly raised both hands as her blade touched my throat. Thud—the wooden sword slipped from my grasp and hit the ground.
"Impressive. That button toss was kinda inspiring."
"Save the praise. That means I win, right, my lord?"
I smirked at Iana, panting from her aggressive flurry. She was picking things up faster than expected. At the very least, her view of combat and her field of vision had widened dramatically.
But.
"Hey, Iana."
I leaned in close, whispering low into her ear.
"Didn't you say earlier that your underwear was white?"
"Huh?"
"So it is white, then. Matching the top?"
"Eek...!"
The moment her face flushed crimson with panic, I flicked one of the buttons I'd caught mid-air.
"Ow!"
It nailed her right on the forehead. As her eyes instinctively squeezed shut and fluttered open, I grabbed her wrist and twisted. My fist sailed forward, stopping just short of her face.
"......"
"Not a bad lesson. But your movements are still too rigid. Try leaning into that natural flexibility and speed of yours more."
Snap!
"Ack!"
I lightly flicked her forehead. By the time Iana glared up at me, I was already straightening my clothes like the session was over.
"That follow-up at the end wasn't bad, though. Keep replaying that last move in your head and drill it."
Iana puffed out her cheeks at the sight, despite herself. It was that same attitude—like she was my disciple or junior.
"Still, you're probably good enough to head out now."
"What? Go where?"
"Don't you want to get stronger?"
She nodded obediently at my counter-question, despite how out-of-left-field it was.
"Then follow me tonight. Second lesson."
With that, I turned and walked away.
"Th-that's it? Nothing else to say?"
"I'm busy. If you wanna mess with me later, grind hard now."
Iana stood there, deflated, watching my retreating back. She'd thought she'd landed a solid hit, but before she knew it, she'd been swept up in my pace again.
That guy's not just strong... he's straight-up weird.
She trembled with frustration, but bit her lip at the strange lightness in her shoulders. Infuriating as hell, yet she found herself looking forward to the next session.
****
That night, Iana and I stepped out into the darkened streets. Obviously not for a date. We both had swords at our hips.
"So, where are we going?"
"There's a crime syndicate in our territory."
"Crime syndicate?"
I explained further to her puzzled tilt of the head.
"Underworld types. Murder, robbery, fraud, smuggling—you name it. They're lurking in the shadows, expanding their influence."
"I didn't see many bad guys while I was here. Just ran into a sleazy lord."
"These are trash on a whole other level. That's why they're pros at hiding."
In truth, "Ian" was your typical romance-fantasy "pathetic villain"—the kind who struts around early on but gets humiliatingly crushed later.
These guys, though? Real deal.
In the original story, "Ian" was just a stepping stone for Iana to get properly tangled with the crime group.
"Especially now, with gates popping up and the territory—and kingdom—in chaos. They're laying low."
"Ah... so that's why they weren't around."
I'd been keeping tabs on them, too—whether they knew it or not. Using gates as an excuse, I'd deployed soldiers and knights to box in their movements. Crime rates had probably dropped since before the gates.
But now the knights are swamped with training...
The rats would be stirring again soon. Letting them run wild with gates looming was a hassle I didn't need.
"Gonna clear them out before we tackle any gates."
"Huh? So we're going after criminals right now?"
"Yep."
"Just the two of us?"
"Uh-huh."
Iana blinked in disbelief.
"...You already know where their hideout is, don't you?"
"Of course. Got a rough map of their spots and forces."
"Then just bring soldiers and bust them. Why sneak out alone at night?"
"Sharp observation for you."
"I'm getting mad?"
I chuckled and answered.
"One of the territory admins is in on it."
"What?! In your mansion?!"
"Vermin who sell out for cash and power."
In the original, sans gates, that crime group—working with those insiders—was the early main villain.
"How'd you figure it out? I wouldn't have noticed, and they must've been sneaky."
"Eh, I've got my info network."
Truth was, it was info the original Iana had busted her ass for. I'd just built on that with a bit more digging.
"Anyway, if I move openly, word leaks for sure. They'd slip away."
"Ah, so we hit 'em quick and quiet at night, just us."
"Cut off the tail, and the head bolts. Gotta blitz 'em and bag the whole lot."
Criminals like that were pros at the boss escaping. Things were diverging from canon already; no need for extra variables.
"Hmm~ But is it okay dragging an adventurer like me on a big op? Sure, you hired me, but I'm an outsider."
"You're the strongest person I know."
"Oh, uh, r-really?"
"Even the vice-captain couldn't take you."
The captain—who might've been a match—was still out on assignment.
Still bums me out thinking about it. With her around, I could've let Iana follow canon.
This purge doubled as Iana's training. Real combat before gates would do her a world of good.
"St-still, don't you have trustworthy knights?"
"Nope."
"What?"
"No one I trust more than you."
Iana, who'd risk her neck purging criminals for no gain. The romance-fantasy heroine who always fights for justice.
Skill-wise, personality-wise—no one more reliable at this point.
"R-really? Uh, ahem! Ahem!"
She made weird noises and cleared her throat.
"...So you see me as a real swordswoman, huh."
"What else? A mage?"
"Ugh! Not like that!"
Her face went beet red, even in the dark. That thrilled her so much?
Well, she's at that age.
My old junior back home got like that sometimes. Blushing and fumbling at nothing—fresh-out-of-training rookie vibes.
"Anyway, let's move."
"Ah, ahem! So where are these criminals?"
"Right here."
"Huh? Here?"
We'd arrived at what looked like an ordinary building. Nothing special beyond being a bit large.
"These are the big bads operating in the territory? Hiding in a dump like this?"
"Darkest under the lamp, right? The ones tucked in plain sight are the trickiest."
"Gotcha. Learn something new every day."
...Blame genre limits and rural territory scale. A backwater lord's crime ring in a romance novel? How big could it be? Honestly, even this size felt oversized to me.
Can't underestimate 'em colluding with territory officials, though.
No letting vermin like that infest the place. I knocked slowly and gave their code phrase.
"This damn rain shows no sign of stopping."
"...Perfect weather for rats to scurry."
"Feels like there's a pebble in my shoe, keeps digging in."
"Better sweep that shit away before it twists your ankle."
Straight from the novel. The door that should've been tough to crack swung open without suspicion.
The guy who opened it squinted at me.
"What the—new face? At this hour? Where you—guwaaack!"
I booted him once he was done talking. He flew back, tumbling across the floor before slamming into the wall.
The suddenly roused criminals' eyes locked onto us.
"Wh-what happened?!"
"Raid?!"
"Why'd you open the damn door?! Do you know how much that thing cost?!"
They were still piecing it together, panicking. Naturally, their focus zeroed in on us intruders.
"Who the fuck are you, barging in here?!"
"Me, you pieces of shit."
A few eyes widened as they recognized my face.
"L-Lord?!"
I drew my sword while they gawked.
"Even if you wanna surrender, don't give up. We came here to fight."