Bear-san Fighting Juubei-san
“Yuna’s strength lies in more than that.” (Jubei)
“What do you mean?” (Shinobu)
“Yuna’s moves are ingrained in her body.” (Jubei)
“Does it mean that her body moves before she thinks?” (Shinobu)
“No, I move with proper thought in mind.” (Yuna)
I denied Juubei-san’s words.
“You certainly think about your moves. I know this because you were anticipating Shinobu’s multiple ranges of action and moving accordingly. But you also blocked Shinobu’s unexpected attacks without any delay or hesitation. That is evidence that your body moved before you thought.” (Jubei)
Indeed, as far as unexpected attacks were concerned, I moved my body out of instinct and prevented Shinobu’s attacks.
“It must have taken a lot of blood-soaked efforts and time to get to that point.” (Jubei)
Blood-soaked efforts or not, I didn’t even attend school, and I was spending all my time gaming.
I think I spent more time playing the games than most people.
After all, there were other people who were even more addicted to gaming than I was.
However, I was also making sure I was getting enough sleep.
Besides that, I was rarely invited to parties, so I could play the games at my own pace.
Furthermore, unlike in the real world, even if I got hurt in games, I could recover my strength and magic power by using recovery items or resting at an inn, so I (or my avatar) could return to fighting immediately.
If I died, I would just be sent back to my home.
But this world was different from a game, so they could not become strong in the same way I did.
“Blood-soaked training…” (Shinobu)
Shinobu was thinking about Juubei-san’s words.
No, I didn’t get to that point.
No, you didn’t have to make such a serious face.
“Shinobu, Yuna is not a genius or anything. She may have had talent, but what she had achieved was not based on talent alone. And even if she did have talent, it would never blossom if she didn’t do anything with it.” (Jubei)
“Yuna-san has been working hard to become stronger, right?” (Noa)
Noa said sincerely.
It was all in the game, though.
I did play the game all the time aside from when I was sleeping, eating, and going to the bathroom…
“Shinobu, I know you work out more than anyone else. But Yuna has done more than that.” (Jubei)
“You mean I have to do more than Yuna?” (Shinobu)
Jubei-san shook his head.
“What are you looking for beyond strength? Do you really need that strength?” (Jubei)
“If I had been strong, I would not have been injured by the wyvern. If I had not been injured, Sakura-sama would not have been forced to work so hard.” (Shinobu)
“Shinobu, you were thinking that? I never thought it was Shinobu’s fault.” (Sakura)
“Sakura-sama is kind…” (Shinobu)
“There are things one can do and things one cannot do. I cannot fight a wyvern, but I could channel magic power.” (Sakura)
“But if I had not been injured by the wyvern… If I had defeated it easily, I would not have put Sakura-sama in danger.” (Shinobu)
“That’s an ideal situation. There are no “what ifs”. Having said that, I have wished many times that I could fight myself and deal with all the troubles on my own, but I can’t.” (Sakura)
“…” (Shinobu)
“Everyone lives with regrets. But if you stay stuck in them, you will never be able to move on. You are strong. Be confident.” (Jubei)
“…Master.” (Shinobu)
I didn’t think I was the right person to point this out to Shinobu, so I didn’t interject until now. Thankfully, Sakura handled it appropriately.
Anyway, the practice match with Shinobu was over.
It was worth it if I could be a source of inspiration for Shinobu.
“Well then, where shall we continue our tour?” (Yuna)
“Well, before that, can you fight with me this time?” (Jubei)
My words and Juubei-san’s words coincided. We were saying the same thing in the beginning, but our last words strayed in the opposite direction.
“Huh, Juubei-san, what did you say? I thought I heard you say something about [let’s fight], but I must have misheard you.” (Yuna)
“No, you didn’t mishear me. I’m sorry, but I’m asking you to fight with me. I want to show Shinobu Yuna’s fighting style with swords. And most of all, after watching the fight just now, I would like to fight as well.” (Jubei)
This guy was a combat freak.
Me?