92 - Episode 18: Preparations for the March and the Three Idiots' Scheme ~And the Dangerous People Begin to Move~
In the courtyard of Radock Castle, illuminated by the morning glow, stood a pair of a man and a woman carrying weapons.
One was Later, carrying the Rig Veda transformed into a spear, deep in thought. The other was Shannon, lying spread-eagle on the well-maintained lawn, breathing heavily.
The Three Idiots' morning practice had become a daily routine, and normally Geoglyph and Marianne would be here as well, but as a result of yesterday's scheme, they had started moving busily since morning and were absent today. Since Later was not very helpful regarding the preparations for that scheme, he was carrying out his daily routine alone when Shannon joined in. And she was defeated quickly.
Actually, such things had happened several times during the journey to Radock.
She likely fundamentally loves moving her body. Whenever she found free time, she would challenge the Three Idiots to a match and lose, but she was particularly obsessed with Later.
(Well, she probably has some pride since we're both close-combat types, but you can't win with just that)
From what he could see, Shannon's physical ability was between mid-Silver Rank and high-Silver Rank. Just one step short of being the strongest among the unaffiliated. However, such stats are merely a guideline and not the entirety of one's combat ability.
(This girl is too used to one-on-one interpersonal combat. Also, the Albert Style doesn't suit her body, and she hasn't fully shaken off her reliance on the Magic Spear. For a fifteen-year-old, these physical specs are quite high-end, but how should I put it, the gear ratio is fundamentally mismatched)
The Albert Style is, so to speak, a school leaning toward magic swordsmen. However, it is similar yet different, using magical power as auxiliary firepower rather than simple raw power. Shannon, who calls herself a member of the Albert Style Centaur School, can use Afterglow just like Richter. Additionally, with the abilities of the Magic Spear, she is strong enough to easily defeat an opponent seeing her for the first time.
However, that is strictly a sensation based on soldiers assuming human opponents.
For adventurers who face monsters, whose basic specs overwhelmingly surpass humans and who use principles close to magic, facing a superior opponent is a common occurrence. Of course, this is possible because they generally deal with them in groups or have the option to flee, and for that very reason, their instinct for battle is sharp.
Later also calls himself a warrior, but he is fundamentally closer to a hunter. Rather than attack methods limited by the human body, namely the range of motion, he is more accustomed to dealing with the myriad attack methods of beasts. Human attacks do not deviate from the scope of imagining a beast's attacks. On top of that, he already knows her tricks. With her Combat Pattern exposed and her repertoire not being that extensive, there is no reason for Later to lose.
"You shouldn't use the reversal so much. If I know it's coming, I can react. If you're going to do it, use it as a surprise attack on a first encounter or to catch them off guard, but either way, it's not something to use habitually."
"You're saying the same thing as my master..."
"Master... was that a Gold Rank adventurer?"
"Formerly, yes. Now the commander of the First Knight Order. I was told that often. That my repertoire was small."
I bet, Later thought.
To be precise, Shannon herself, having reached Master status in the Centaur School, has a large number of moves if you include the techniques and forms she learned. However, almost all of them are desperately mismatched, and her combat construction depends on the reversal. Since she specializes in first-time interpersonal combat, from the perspective of a veteran fighting game player, she is close to an amateur swinging around character power. If one deals with her calmly, she may be tough, but there is no way to lose.
"If you say you can't win, shall I do it for you?"
"That, is..."
And in three days, they will depart from here for the final battle in the royal capital. At that time, her master will undoubtedly appear. It is unknown who she will face, but if it becomes a master-disciple showdown, undoubtedly────.
"I... probably can't win, can I?"
"Who knows. I've never met this Richter person, so I can't say. However, if they're the same as the Gold Ranks I know, you'll probably never win, you."
"Why is that?"
"Because you're trying to stand in an open-weight battlefield using a man's principles with a woman's body. Against lower-ranked soldiers it might be different, but going in without a plan against a superior who is ahead in experience and study is like going to your death."
I'm glad I'm in another world, Later chuckled. If it were the original world, this would be a flame-war topic.
"Martial arts are rational, you know? Even if a woman uses martial arts created by men in the same way, there's no way she can catch up. Simply put, they're different."
Yes. This is the reason why Shannon, who had mastered almost all techniques as a form and reached Master status in the Centaur School, has poor compatibility with all those techniques.
"Muscle strength is different, flexibility is different, skeletal structure is different, the basic physical strength required for the techniques is different. If you forcibly apply something created based on a man's body, it's natural that it'll be strained. Even if you push through it, there's no reason you can win against a man doing it naturally. This isn't a story. Giant Killing doesn't happen conveniently every single time. The world isn't so sweet that a difference in strength can be overturned by feelings."
In martial arts, having a smaller or weaker body than the opponent is a handicap in itself. Martial arts are about filling that gap through trial and error, but if someone with a blessed physique uses those principles with the same level of proficiency, it's like giving a club to an ogre. Unless there is an extreme compatibility difference between the principles, it is not something easily overturned.
"Then..."
And that was.
"Then what am I supposed to do! For me! I also...!"
Shannon herself understood it well.
She moves between man and woman. She can be a woman during the day, but at night, she is forcibly turned into a man. That is why she knows. That her body is sharper during the training she does at night than the training she does in the morning. That the practice of forms and the familiarity of techniques are significantly better at night.
However, her gender identity is female. That identity is the pride necessary for a living being to survive, and it is not something that can be easily changed.
At the same time, she cannot help but think. If she could have become a man from the bottom of her heart, would she have been able to hug Lumilia, who was trembling her shoulders yesterday? That hesitation and regret appeared in the tip of the spear she wielded, and today's training was handled by Later even more easily than usual.
She unconsciously vented that stress, but Later shrugged his shoulders in exasperation.
"Oh boy, I'm giving you the answer kindly and you're hissing at me. Your mental discipline is lacking."
"The answer...?"
"I told you, didn't I? Martial arts are rational."
Yes. All martial arts are a general term for principles that push the rationality of the human body to the limit, based on their respective systems of thought.
Therefore, if one has a body, it is logical that they can be used by women as well. However, the theoretical limit is higher for men. If they compete on the same playing field, the chance of victory is slim.
If that is the case.
"Muscle strength is different, skeletal structure is different, basic physical strength is different. If you forcibly apply something created based on a man's body, it's natural that it'll be strained────then, you should just use a woman's way of fighting."
"A woman's... way of fighting...?"
"Yeah. If you don't create performance differences for compatibility characters, it's hard for them to stay in the series. Derivative sub-styles are essential."
It's just a matter of finding a different strength and dragging the opponent into that playing field to fight.
"Normally, the Princess would be more suited than a man like me, but right now I'm a bit busy with the preparations to break the serious with Sensei────"
And then, Later readied the spear on his shoulder and told Shannon.
"Get in your stance. I'll reproduce it and teach it to you now.────I'm telling you now, it's not some drag-queen kenpo, okay?"
●
"Right, now it's time for the costume fitting!"
"Eh, um, that...?"
Meanwhile, in a room in Radock Castle, the yuri-pig was wearing a very suspicious smile, holding fluttering clothes in both hands. Lumilia and Julia, who were called there, were at the height of confusion.
"Hey, little raccoon dog. What are you planning?"
"It's not a matter of what I'm planning. We'll use them in the battle to seize the royal capital. Of course, you too."
"And what on earth does that have to do with these flutters?"
"Naturally, it's part of the strategy. If you've entrusted the role of strategist to me, just obey honestly."
Julia looked toward Geoglyph, who was in the same room, but he let out a hmph and wore a smile. Julia cast a suspicious gaze at that composure, but it was nothing. A Demon King who had already decided to act like a fool no longer has any self-restraint.
Besides, Geoglyph continued.
"Is it okay? If we do it normally, many people will die. Especially if I step forward. I think you know, but the Artificial Evil God attacked the Triad two months ago. I'm the one who defeated it."
"..."
Julia remained silent in response. To not let it show on her face even though a sore spot was hit was, as expected.
"Honestly, it was tough, but I can defeat something like that if I give it my all. I'm a mage who can defeat a monster over a hundred meters long, you know? If such a person directed all their attack power toward humans────you, as a fellow mage, know what would happen."
Just as it was for his family in the previous war, a mage who reaches the extreme is a strategic weapon in their own right. If the Far North, who can even manipulate the terrain, exerted their full power, ordinary soldiers would be helpless. Of course, it is naturally necessary to establish a system capable of operating that.
"Even if they are the enemy army, the majority of the opponents are just citizens following their nobles. If we just kill them because they are the enemy, you're not the type who wouldn't know what happens after the war, right? If we look ahead to the post-war period, it's better if there are fewer dead."
And this time, the opponents are not people of an enemy nation. They are the people living in this Alberstein. Manpower is necessary for the reconstruction of a state that collapsed in a civil war, and for the national defense during that time. It is still unknown what position Julia will take after the war, but that is precisely why it's better if there are fewer deaths.
"U-um, Julia-sama? Um, I am embarrassed too, but I intend to do my best."
"Lumilia-sama...?"
While she understood the logic, she was hesitating, unable to honestly nod to the plot of the little raccoon dog who was scheming something, when Lumilia spoke to her.
Julia had also noticed that Lumilia's behavior had been different since this morning. In the first place, she thought it was strange that she had visited her bringing Geoglyph and Marianne along. She wondered if something had been whispered into her ear.
"There's nothing to be gained by just sitting around, right? Marianne-sama."
"Yes. We shall be at the forefront of humanity. We must lightly brush off a little bit of impossibility, recklessness, and rashness."
Julia hesitated at the girls smiling at each other. It seemed something had been resolved, and it didn't look like a bad influence. But at the same time, a doubt arose as to whether it was okay to leave them unchecked.
"Phew. Good grief, even though the master she serves has steeled her resolve. You're quite hesitant, aren't you?"
"You..."
However, the Demon King, anticipating her reaction, provoked her with a nasty smile. Since they had been clashing intensely until recently, he was in high spirits.
"For your sake, I've called him."
"B-Bertoni...?"
In the end, he even summoned Julia's secret weapon of specialized attack into the room.
"Mother? I heard I get to wear cute clothes. I want to see Mother's cute appearance!"
"────Now, measure the size. There is not a single unsightly part of my body."
She abandoned all her previous political thinking and transformed into a doting parent.
"Good grief. A secret weapon indeed. Well then, let's step out. One shouldn't stare intently at a lady changing clothes."
"Where are you going, Demon King?"
"To prepare to incite the crowds who are too weak to be of any military use. They have an important mission.────Hmm, you were going to inherit the Earldom of Radock someday, right? Then, shall you try learning? The Demon King's way of grasping people's hearts."
As the Demon King led his son away with a chuckle, Marianne remembered a passage from Schubert, but she decided to turn a blind eye, prioritizing her own desires.
Next time, again next week.