Chapter 174 - Postlude 2 "Might is Power!"
Gokigenyou! I am Violia Nico Fortesia!
I am currently in the middle of an arm-wrestling tournament!
...The trigger was, well, the usual.
Since we had grandly crushed an enemy faction, we were in the middle of a celebration at the enemy's hideout. And then, from a bit of martial arts discussion over drinks... it started.
I was asked by Lital, 'Violia-sama, despite being a woman, why are you so strong?'
So I replied, 'I fight not with pure strength, but with physical enhancement magic and technique.'
Yes. In fact, that is the case. Of course, when it comes to fighting, pure muscular strength is important. However, with just that, one is no different from a mere beast. We humans have physical enhancement magic. There is no reason not to use it.
Besides, no matter how much strength you have, if you lack technique, you will lose. Conversely, if you have technique, you can easily suppress pure strength. On a small scale, it's about judgment at each moment during a fight, how to parry attacks, how to catch the opponent off guard... things like that; and on a large scale, it includes all the preparations leading up to the fight.
Well, for those reasons, the reason I am strong boils down to 'because things other than pure muscular strength also affect a fight,' and that's all. It doesn't matter if you're a man or a woman. Whether you're a man or a woman, if you're killed, you die!
...And, when I told that story.
Chesta started saying it.
'Then, are you weak when it's just pure strength?'
"I won! I won!"
"No way, hey. I lost?"
"Even without physical enhancement magic, I'm not one to lose to the flimsy arm strength of a drunkard! O-hohohohoho!"
Yes. And so, I won against Chesta in arm wrestling. Naturally, it was an easy victory. After all, Chesta is quite drunk and wobbly. He had absolutely no strength in his arm!
"Seriously... I'm going to go get some air."
Chesta left the room while limply waving the arm he had been competing with me with just a moment ago. My, my, was losing that much of a shock?
"...Once I've sobered up, another round, okay? Okay? It's fine, right?"
"Yes, yes, I understand."
...Unusually, the look he gave me was serious. Yes, well, if he's up for it, I don't mind accompanying him for another round.
Actually, 'winning and running away' is also one of the strategies for not losing... but well, it can't be helped.
"Hmm... I see. Hey, Giovan."
Now then. Doran, who was watching me and Chesta arm wrestle, suddenly grinned and called Giovan...
"Try competing against Violia."
"Eh?"
"Hah? Doran, are you sane?"
After all, Giovan is... Giovan is this skeleton, you know? Giovan, who is probably the one in this group with the worst compatibility for something like arm wrestling, you know?
"And I'm betting on Giovan."
...And then, Doran dropped gold coins clattering onto the table. My... you certainly have some nerve!
"You, stop throwing your money down the drain like that."
"Heh, Doran's gone crazy. Interesting. Then I'll bet on Violia."
"I-I'll also bet on Violia-sama!"
While Giovan was exasperated, Keeb and Lital each took gold coins out of their wallets and piled them on the table. My, my, my...
"What is this? Is it already decided that Giovan and I will compete?"
"Seems so. Haa, good grief, I'm definitely the most unsuited for this kind of thing in this group, you know?"
"I suppose so..."
While saying 'good grief,' Giovan sat down on the chair of the small table with a 'yoisho,' so I sat down opposite him. Now we can fight anytime.
...And there.
"Chris. What will you do?"
Doran even called out to Chris, who was waiting in the corner of the room. My, my, Doran is really getting into the spirit of things.
"...Why me?"
"It'll be more exciting with more people. Or do you lack confidence in your eye for judging combat strength?"
Chris had a suspicious and unpleasant look on his face, but he's not the type to stay silent after being provoked like that by Doran. Yes, Chris is still maintaining this halfway-decent pride even now as a slave. It's more interesting than him breaking completely and becoming dejected. Don't you think he's a truly master-oriented slave?
"...I bet on Giovan Bastorin."
However, I'd like to object to Chris's decision in two ways!
Eh!? Giovan!? You're betting on Giovan!? Are you serious!? Along with Doran, are you out of your minds!?
"Hey, Chris. You say you're betting, but what are you betting? Your head?"
"But Chris-niisama's head is also the property of his master, Violia-sama, so he can't bet it on his own judgment, can he...?"
Keeb and Lital are suspicious, but well, yes, that's right! Chris has nothing to bet! This guy is a slave!
"Then for Chris, let's make it so that if I lose, he has to do one thing Ojou-san says."
My, my. Then if I win against Giovan, I'll order Chris to go collect crystals from Namename Slimes. Namename Slimes are slimes whose hobby is crawling all over a human's body, as their name suggests. They are non-toxic and harmless, but they crawl around endlessly. However, once they've crawled around to their satisfaction, they drop a crystal as a thank-you! Those crystals are ingredients for magic potions and magic poisons, so they are known as one of the last resorts for dirt-poor adventurers without money or military power to earn a living!
And so, I arm-wrestled with Giovan, but.
"It's a lie! I'm losing to Giovan!?"
"Well, a man's pride is at stake."
I lost! An unexpected loss! It's me! It's impossible! Why!? Why did I lose to a skeleton!? Isn't there something wrong with this skeleton!?
"I can't accept this! Grrr!"
"If it's just pure muscular strength, well, my body is bigger."
It's true that I didn't use physical enhancement magic! But still! I never thought I'd lose in a match against Giovan!?
"Haa, good grief. This is definitely going to be muscle pain tomorrow and the day after for me."
"Oh, is that so? I've already fully recovered. Now, another match!"
"Give me a break. Look, you, go against Keeb next. It'll probably be a good match."
"Eh, me!?"
...I was going to pull myself together and go against Giovan again, but since Giovan backed out, it can't be helped. I'll compete against Keeb next!
"I won..."
"N-No way..."
And so we fought. I won. Keeb is looking frustrated!
"Keeb is, well, in his growth spurt. It's from here on. Hey, cheer up!"
"Shut up."
Chesta, who had returned from outside, was consoling Keeb, but Keeb found him annoying. Well, Keeb probably wanted to win against me. I don't intend to lose even to Keeb's thin arms just yet!
"...By next year, I'll be able to win."
"I suppose so. If you keep growing at this rate, I think I'll become unable to win."
Well, I think Keeb is right in his growth spurt now. Things that he couldn't grow when he was a slave due to poor nutrition are now growing rapidly.
So probably, the day I can no longer win against Keeb in arm wrestling is not far off. After all, I even lost to Giovan. Ugh, even to Giovan... Ah, it seems that was quite a shock...
"Well, it would be a waste if you grew up too quickly. Take it slow."
"No. I won't take it slow."
Keeb is sulking, but that face is also cute! Since he's cute, I'll pet him! I'll pet him! I'll pet him to my heart's content!
And so, after petting Keeb all over.
"Then next is Lital?"
"M-Me!? I understand. I shall be your opponent!"
Since I did it with Keeb, I thought Lital would be next, and when I called him, Lital sat at the table looking nervous and said 'Excuse me!' as he politely gripped my hand...
"Ah, ah, it's Violia-sama's hand...!"
...At that point, he started getting red and flustered... Um, are you okay? This is... not okay, is it!
"Um, Lital? You have absolutely no strength in your hand...?"
"I-I'm sorry! Please let me withdraw! I'm sorry!"
And so Lital hurriedly ran away. My, my.
"...You, just by gripping her hand, this happens?"
"Auuuuu... I want to crawl into a hole..."
...I wonder if Lital is really, well, okay...? Just gripping a woman's hand makes him this shy? Can this guy live in the human world from now on...?
"Then, Violia! A match with me! Okay! Okay! It's fine, right!"
"Yes, it's fine. It really can't be helped."
Now then. Chesta has returned, so it's a rematch. Well, I don't feel like I can win once he's sobered up.
"...Wait, oh? You're fighting with that one?"
"Yeah. Come on."
I thought so, but Chesta brought out his prosthetic hand. Ahhh, now I really don't feel like I can win.
"Then, ready... go!"
"It's not 'go'oooo!"
And I was defeated in a second! My hand was on the table almost at the same time as 'go!' It's impossible! It's impossible!
"What is with this prosthetic hand!"
"Heh heh heh, I recently asked Rugel to modify it. So, well, it's something like this, right?"
I didn't feel like I could win, but! Still! I can't accept this!
"...Or rather, if you were going to use the prosthetic hand, it didn't matter if you were sober or not, did it?"
"...I just don't feel like using the prosthetic hand when I'm drunk, somehow."
Oh, is that so? ...This guy is surprisingly dutiful. Rugel-sama would surely smile if I told him. I'll tell him next time I see him. Oho.
Now then... and with that, it's today's big match.
"Doran! A match with me!"
"Hou. Fine. Shall we?"
"Yeah, yeah! ...Hehe, I was looking forward to this a bit, you know?"
To my surprise! It seems Chesta is going to challenge Doran with his prosthetic hand! This is a bit exciting!
"I'll bet on 3 seconds!"
"My, Ojou-san, you're kind. I'll bet on 1 second."
"I bet on an instant."
"T-Then I'll go with, um, er... 5 seconds!"
We bet as we please! This kind of thing is fun for the ones fighting, but it's also fun for the audience...
"...You guys, what have you been betting on for a while now?"
"A bet on how many seconds it takes for you to be defeated. So be defeated in 1 second."
"Haaaa!? I'm going to win! If I win, you all lose!"
Chesta is barking, but hmm, it's Doran, you know? Is there anyone who can win against Doran?
"...Well, I'll give you credit for that spirit."
Doran sat at the table with a relaxed expression and opened his palm with a 'hira' as if to show off his thick arm and large hand.
"Here I go."
...Ah. Chesta is flinching.
And, well, the expected result came out.
"See, it was an instant after all."
"True. It was such an instantaneous defeat that I don't even feel like insisting on one second."
...Chesta was defeated in an instant. Yes. It was a quicker conclusion than when I was defeated by Chesta. I suppose that's expected of a werewolf.
"Dammit... it's a new moon today, right!?"
"Well, even on a new moon, I have at least this much strength."
Doran laughed and guzzled wine from the bottle. The wine of victory looks delicious...
...Somehow, that smug face is getting on my nerves!
So!
"Doran! It's a match against all of us!"
The five of us! Me, Chesta, Giovan, plus Keeb and Lital, shall challenge Doran! The referee is Chris!
"...Hey, Violia. Somehow, I don't feel like we can win."
"You mustn't lose in spirit before the fight, Keeb."
"No, this kind of thing has nothing to do with spirit, right?"
Is that so? Surprisingly, there are times when one wins through sheer determination... well, we won't know until we try! We'll do it! We'll win! This time for sure! This time for sure!
"I never thought we'd lose."
And so we lost. Yes. I never thought we'd lose even with five people. It's regrettable.
"Well, I enjoyed it somewhat."
Doran's relaxed expression is infuriating! Grrr! What is with this guy!
"Well, in terms of pure strength, our Doran is probably the best in the world."
"Because he's a werewolf."
"It's unfair, dammit, I thought I'd get close!"
Well, I suppose it was hubris for a human to think they could win against a werewolf in pure strength. It's precisely because humans can never win in pure strength that they feared werewolves and the history of werewolf hunting was born...
...But that is also a story of 'in pure strength.'
"Hey, Doran. Don't you think a fight is only truly a fight when you clash with your full power?"
I downed the wine nearby in one go and reached out my hand to Doran. ...Firmly clad in physical enhancement magic, of course!
"...Yeah, I think so too."
Doran also reached out his hand with a very happy, predatory grin. This one was also firmly using physical enhancement magic!
"Now then. Where are you betting?"
"I bet the table breaks."
"True. I think so too."
Even the bets mixed with exasperation from the audience sound like nothing but praise! So! Here we go!
...And so we played quite a bit, and since it was a good time, we called it a night. We're going home now.
"This is the advantage of having a party at an enemy's hideout, isn't it?"
"No cleanup required; that's easy."
"The ones who broke every single table are saying something, hey."
Yes. That's how it is.
There wasn't a single table that could withstand the physical enhancement version of arm wrestling between me and Doran. Since the tables were ruined with every match, well, it's a good thing we did it at the enemy's hideout. Ohohoho.
"Cleanup is also a one-shot deal if you burn it. A bonfire is also fun, killing two birds with one stone."
Additionally, to erase various evidence and grudges, we set fire to the hideout before leaving. Well, the broken tables will burn together, so cleaning up is easy.
"...When using physical enhancement magic, I'm about even with you, huh. I must train more."
"Oh. While you are training, I shall also be training, you know? Do you understand that?"
The match was about fifty-fifty between Doran and me. Since it was a match of reading each other's magic waves and the one who read them completely won... in terms of just the strength match, we were truly equal. My magic has also improved. I'm happy!
"Once we crush another enemy hideout, let's have an arm-wrestling tournament!"
"Eeeh, I've had enough."
"I'll do it again. I'll win next time."
"N-Next time, I shall prepare my spirit so that I can fight!"
Today's match was quite enjoyable! Praying that there will be a next time, I shall work hard at my job from tomorrow!
"By the way, how is Chris? Let's do it next time!"
"Probably better than Giovan but worse than Chesta. I'm willing to bet on it."
...Next time, I'll work hard so I can throw Chris into a swarm of Namename Slimes!
With that, everyone, gokigenyou!