Tensei Shite Inaka de Slowlife wo Okuritai Chapter 265

Published at 21st of April 2023 08:29:45 AM

Al and Eric's Rematch 

In the middle of the beach where the sea is spreading far. Eric and I are facing each other, assuming our stance while holding our wooden swords. www.ihavesinnedtranslation.com

The equipment of Eric - standing in front of me - is the same leather armor and wooden sword as mine.

He’s wearing standard equipment, unlike the armor that puts emphasis on the speed of the wearer and the easy-to-handle sword like Lunsan.

Even when we had our tongs battle back then, he didn’t make any strange actions, so he shouldn’t be the abnormal type like Lunsan.

However, he won’t be weak since he’s using standard equipment.

The swordsmanship that he’ll send out from the tempered lower body and torso on the beach will be sharp and steady.

The thrusting technique he showed back when we had our exchange with tongs was quite sharp.

I would have been defeated if it were not for Eleonorneesan’s thrusting technique I saw normally.

For someone who is weak in swordsmanship like me, he’s not an opponent with whom I can be careless.

「I won’t hold back y’know, Alfried. I will have my revenge for my loss before here!」

This guy is making such an evil face.

If I have the chance, I will send him flying to the sea or make him fall down and cover him with sand. I feel like I’m considering that sort of petty thing. www.ihavesinnedtranslation.com

If that’s what you want, then even I will also have that thought.

「I feel like the both of you are going to do something bad, so are you ready?」

「「Yes!」」

「Is it okay if the weapon is not tongs?」

「「No need!」」

「Then, start!」

What’s with that manner of starting the match?

While strongly thinking about it in my mind, Eric and I stamp on the ground at the same time.

The footing when I start running is softer and more unstable than the usual ground.

「Uooooohhh!」

While Eric is shouting like that as he approaches me, I observe the sand beneath my feet.

Then I dash to a place with the highest piled-up sand and stepped on the break suddenly.

「Drop dead Alfr――buwaaa!?」

Immediately after that, the sand flew toward Eric’s face with great force.

As Eric reflexively uses his arm to cover his face, I immediately send out a stab toward him.

「No you won’t!」

Eric is raising his arm to cover his face. And my stab - which was aimed at the center of his body, and an attack on a spot - should be difficult for him to deal with.

So I have a feeling that it was my victory but, my expectation fell short as my wooden sword cut through the air. www.ihavesinnedtranslation.com

No way, does he have a flexible body like Lunsan, and now is leaning his body to the back!?

「Muoooooh! Again, you’re using an underhanded method!」

That was certainly my imagination but the reality is different. The moment Eric realized that his sight was obstructed, before anything else, he immediately rolled to the ground.

They often do that action immediately. Since people will usually fall into a panic when their sight is obstructed.

So I thought to deliver the finishing blow after that, but as expected the opponent wasn’t an amateur either.

Eric quickly stood up, as though he doesn’t even have the free time to wipe the sand from his face.

Che, I failed. 

「It upset me you called it an underhanded method. I was just trying to separate myself from Eric though」

「Yeah, right! You won’t stop your feet over there if you want to separate yourself from me, right!」

Indeed, it’s as Eric says. www.ihavesinnedtranslation.com

If I want to separate myself from him at that timing, then I don’t have to stop. Even if I saw Eric’s move and decided to change course, it’s obvious that Eric’s attack will be faster.

However, people can’t always find the best solution. We sometimes make mistakes in judgment.

「Al, that was definitely intentional」

「Ahaha, that’s intentional」

「……different from Eric, clever」

「Good grief……」

The onlookers are saying things like that, but I don’t care about them. And Nord-tousan is also holding his head but I also don’t care. Everything is for victory.

Now then, what kind of move should I use to disturb him next? If Nord-tousan were not here, then I can use magic with the amount of power ordinary people can’t sense.

Like, I can stealthily blow up the sand or entangle his leg. Changing the trajectory of his sword with Psychic. Or pulling his clothes to throw him off balance.

Aah, I can use all kinds of tactics if I can use magic.

「Eeei, I really don’t know what you will do if you can move around!」

Just when I was considering what my next moves will be, Eric closes the distance between us, I guess he senses something.

Eei, he’s done something I hate the most.

So I stop thinking and intercept his sword that he swung down at me for now.

The sound of a wooden sword clashing against another wooden sword resounded, then a dull sound――.

「Eh, bueeh! There are sands on your wooden sword.....!」

「Hahaha, I got you now Alfried!」

This jerk, he’s rubbing the sand to his wooden sword when he rolled on the ground before.

Moreover, the place Eric standing on is upwind. So I’m the only one hit by the sand blown by the wind from our clashing sword. www.ihavesinnedtranslation.com

「You dirty jerk!」

「This is just an accident! And it’s a difference in our habits!」

「If you say it’s an accident, then you wouldn’t say ‘I got you now’, right!」

「Eei! Shaddup! Just drop dead for me!」

As I hit the bull’s eye in my guess, Eric’s face turns red and he starts to attack me with his wooden sword.

I rely on my senses and continue to avoid his wooden sword while removing the sand from my eyes.

Since I can’t see anything due to the sand in my eyes, I have no choice but to gain some time to remove the sand and evade him right now.

「Take this! This! Darn it! Why can’t I hit him!?」

I can hear Eric shouting like that when I avoid his attacks and take some distance from him.

I normally avoid the attacks that Eleonorneesan sent out one after another with such a fast speed, so I’m good at evading attacks. Besides, even if my field of vision is bad, I still have the ability to grasp the space around me developed due to Space magic.

So I’m confident in my sense of distance.

「……I’m surprised. Alfried-kun is really good at keeping a distance」

「That’s right. His swordsmanship is doubtful, but he’s good at keeping a distance and evading attacks for some reason」

「……that is because he usually spars with Eleonora. So rather than meeting Eleonora directly, he might think that it’s better to evade」

It’s exactly as Lunsan says. For me, exchanging blows with Eleonorneesan is a foolish act. That’s because instead of always thinking to win, I’m sparring with the thought of how long I can continue doing it without sustaining injury. www.ihavesinnedtranslation.com

「Ooh, that’s dangerous」

The wooden sword passed in front of my face as I was reflecting on that sort of thing. That was dangerous.

「Kuuh! It was so close!」

As I use the momentum from my collapse posture to retreat, Eric said that with a frustrated tone.

Though, there was still a distance of around 5 cm.

I lightly wipe the sand around my eyes.

I guess it’s because of my flashy movements that the sand had mostly come off.

There won’t be a problem with my sight now.

This time it’s my turn to attack.

After confirming that I have a good field of view, I start running toward Eric.

Then, Eric shows vigilance on his face, maybe he thinks that I‘m going to send sand flying to him again like before.

With Eric’s doubt and vigilance, then it’s going to be easier for my sword to reach him. I can swing my sword without worrying about his counterattack.

So I unleash pure swordsmanship without any particular trick in it.

Eric appears to be bewildered seeing that, but he still calmly deals with my sword. He met my sword without faltering, repel it, and divert my sword.

I guess I’m still not familiar with the sandy ground, I feel that the sharpness of my swordsmanship is bad.

Still, you can’t afford to mind your legs when you’re having a long exchange of blows like this, but my legs feel more tired than usual. And my breathing picks up a little.

On the other hand, Eric - who is familiar with the sandy ground - has a composed expression. His feet don’t get caught in the sand, and I can’t feel any fatigue from his expression.

His steady upper body makes his attack heavy and accurate.

Since we’ve exchanged our attacks for such a long time, the difference in physical strength, speed, and accuracy of our sword swings become more distinct. www.ihavesinnedtranslation.com

I felt like I was getting tired. And Eric is fiercely swinging his wooden sword and attacking me.

Then Eric holds his sword in his right hand, and he pulled it back greatly.

This is the stabbing move I saw back at the royal capital’s party.

Believing it to be so, I squeeze out what little stamina I have left and evade that. And then I focused on closing the distance between us quickly for a counterattack――.

Or so I thought, but Eric change the trajectory of his sword midway and changed it into a right diagonal slash from above.

No way. Even when I try to move my body, it doesn’t listen to me. And since my body is not extremely flexible as Lunsan, it’s impossible for my body to evade that now.

――ah, this is my loss.

「That’s it!」

As I stared at the wooden sword swinging down in front of me while confirming that in my mind, Egar-san’s voice resounded.

The wooden sword stops around 5 cm above my head.

As I was relieved that the sword perfectly stopped above me, the sword suddenly moved and hit my head.

「Ouch」

「It’s my win! Alfried! You thought that I’m going to use a stabbing move at that last moment, didn’t you? Hahaha, I thought that you would remember that move and become wary of it! Fuhahahaha!」

Eric says with a self-satisfied look on his face while hitting my back *banban*.

……I knew it, losing to this guy is kinda aggravating.

Chapter end