While stretching his body, Ryner looked at the hero five meters away from him. The entire group had moved from the audience room to the training grounds. It was a large open space covered in soft earth, about as big as a football field, and he was standing in the middle with his opponent: Ryan. King Charles was watching them close to the wall with the nobles around him as well as the knights and heroes who were there to protect them from any stray attacks. Wishing to see the fight himself, he came to the training grounds along with his entourage. Maya was among them as she waved at her master with a smile. Furthermore, there were four new faces by the king’s side: his wife and his three children.

“Now Lillian, don’t let go of your brother.” [Jillian]

The queen, Jillian Dregory, was a beautiful woman in her thirties with long red hair and blue eyes. She reminded her daughter who took it upon herself to watch over her little brother.

“Don’t worry mother. If he does run off, I can always catch him before Lillian has time to react.” [Alex]

Her oldest son, Alex, who was in his early twenties, stood by his father’s side and had inherited all of his features: short brown hair, sharp green eyes and a handsome face. Having trained since he was young which gave him a strong body, he confidently reassured his mother that he would protect that bundle of energy.

“You don’t need to do that. I’ll make sure that he doesn’t suddenly run off. But you won’t, right Carl?” [Lillian]

Standing on Jillian’s side with a boy holding her hand was a cute sixteen year-old girl that had long red hair and green eyes, Princess Lillian. She leaned towards him as she warned him with a raised finger and a stern expression.

“I won’t elder sister! I’ll watch the fight from here, I promise!” [Carl]

The eight year-old boy, Carl, who had short red hair and blue eyes, watched Ryan with excitement. He couldn’t wait for the match to start to see the hero in action. While they were talking, Elena, along with her best friend, Aria, approached Maya who was standing a bit further away from the group.

“Um, Miss Maya?” [Elena]

“Hhm? Just Maya will do. What is it?” [Maya]

“Well, Maya, I’m really sorry about all this.” [Elena]

“Likewise. Our friend is causing you guys a lot of trouble…” [Aria]

The two apologized to her, but Maya waved it off with a smile, much to their surprise considering that the king took her master’s weapon and that Ryan was going to beat him up.

“Don’t worry about it.” [Maya]

“Is-is that so?” [Elena]

“Yes, my master will probably think of something.” [Maya]

“You seem to like him a lot, despite being his slave.” [Aria]

“Well, a lot of things happened, a lot of things.” [Maya]

She playfully answered them as they stared at her with question marks over their heads. Jayce joined them and asked them what they were talking about, but Maya splendidly laughed his question off. Eventually, Ryner and Ryan took a fighting stance, signaling that they were ready to begin. Everyone’s attention was on them as the knight commander stepped forward and shouted in a booming voice.

“REMEMBER! NO WEAPONS ARE ALLOWED AND SHOULD YOU KILL YOUR OPPONENT, YOU WILL LOSE AND BE SEVERELY PUNISHED! THE DUEL WILL END WHEN ONE SIDE ADMITS DEFEAT OR IS UNABLE TO CONTINUE FIGHTING! ANY INJURIES WILL BE HEALED RIGHT AWAY BY THE HERO, ELENA COLEAF! NOW…” [Cain]

He raised his arm over his head and swung it downward.

“BEGIN!” [Cain]

The match was over in an instant. Although they were surprised at first, they knew how it would end since it was the obvious outcome, so they either clapped their hands, softly sighed or smiled arrogantly, except for Carl whose eyes were sparkling. Ryner was on the ground after being sent flying backwards by a single punch from Ryan who instantly shortened the distance. His right arm that he used to block the blow with was broken and bent at a weird angle.

“WINNER! RYAN MAYER!” [Cain]

The winner walked towards the loser who was writhing in pain before declaring his victory in a commanding voice.

“I won. Now release Maya. She’ll be coming with us. And don’t worry, I held back enough so that you won’t die, but that pain is your punishment for everything that you put her through.” [Ryan]

He turned around and went to the spectators with his red cape fluttering in the air, not sparing another look at the loser. Most of the girls squealed when they saw his figure returning triumphant, though Elena and Aria, who spent the most time with him, were busy worriedly looking at Maya. At that moment, the freed slave left the group and walked in his direction. ‘Is she going to thank him now?’ was what everyone thought as they imagined her hugging the hero with tears of joy in her eyes. That scene had happened many times already. Once they got close enough to talk, Ryan stopped walking and smiled at her.

“It’s over now Maya. You’re free.” [Ryan]

“You’re right, thank you boy.” [Maya]

She kept walking, leaving the smiling Ryan frozen in place while the onlookers watched them confusedly. Ignoring the stares, she reached Ryner, squatted down and looked at his injury.

“Oh my, Master that looks serious.” [Maya]

“Thanks for telling me… Weren’t you set free? Why master?” [Ryner]

He answered her between groans and looked at her pleasantly smiling face.

“That’s because I am free to be your slave again, am I not?” [Maya]

“Pretty much… Well, I knew it would turn out like this.” [Ryner]

“Fufu, as expected of Master, you know me well. But still, why did you lose on purpose.” [Maya]

From his initial movement to his attack, she could tell that Ryan possessed great strenght, but Ryner didn’t even put up a fight and just took the hit. She wondered what her master was thinking and sure enough, he was up to something.

“That’s for the plan… Actually, I need you to set up another fight for me.” [Ryner]

“I don’t mind, but are you going to lose on purpose again?” [Maya]

She asked as she poked his broken arm with her smile never leaving her face.

“Ouch! Stop that! No, I won’t!” [Ryner]

“Alright then~. Let me help you up.” [Maya]

Lending him her shoulder, the two of them slowly made their way back to the spectators as Ryner gave her instructions. They met up with Ryan who had come to his own conclusion after seeing them together.

“Maya, you don’t need to keep fearing him. Even if you don’t help him, he can’t punish you anymore.” [Ryan]

The master-slave pair ignored the hero and kept walking until they stood before the group who was wondering what they were doing. The ignored young man followed behind while frowning.

“Elena~, could you come here and treat my master?” [Maya]

“Ah, yes!” [Elena]

Remembering her job in this match, she quickly ran to Ryner’s side and put a hand close to his broken arm. Her palm glowed softly and the glittering light moved to cover the injury, healing it up in a few seconds. Ryner moved his arm to check its condition.

“There. How are you feeling?” [Elena]

“There’s no problem. This is some really powerful healing magic, not bad kid.” [Ryner]

“Thank you. I’m glad to see you’re alright.” [Elena]

She said so with a dazzling smile, happy to have treated the wound he got from Ryan since she felt guilty about it. For some reason, seeing her made some of the boys glare at Ryner with jealousy.

“The fight is over. You are now free young lady. Ryner, remove her collar, a guard will guide you to the exit after.” [Charles]

King Charles spoke up, trying to wrap things up quickly as he glanced at Sorko who was examining the rifle in his hands like a kid. However, things didn’t go the way he thought.

“Understood your majesty. Alright Maya, time to give back the collar.” [Ryner]

“I refuse. You gave it to me, so I get to keep it.” [Maya]

“Don’t be difficult. Just give it back so we can get out of here. We can’t keep the king waiting.” [Ryner]

Just as he was reaching out for the collar, Ryan grabbed his arm from the side.

“Wait, didn’t you hear what I said? She’ll be coming with us. You lost.” [Ryan]

He was starting to get irritated, believing that this sleepy-looking man planned on going back on his words. The others were also thinking the same, ready to drive him out by force.

“Yeah and as promised, I will release her from slavery. But, we never said that she would join you guys.” [Ryner]

“What?! You! You’re really a despicable man! Taking slaves, ordering them around and now breaking your promise!” [Ryan]

“I never break my promises kid. Don’t you remember? ‘So, to confirm, if you win, I release Maya from slavery. If I win, I keep her as my slave. Right?’ Those were the conditions for the duel that you accepted.” [Ryner]

At his words, everyone suddenly realized that in the audience room, Ryan was the only one that kept saying Maya would become their comrade. Not once did Ryner agreed to it and he only spoke of freeing her.

“Besides, the person herself doesn’t want to.” [Ryner]

“I only follow someone stronger than me, so it can’t be helped~.” [Maya]

She told Ryan as she hugged her master’s arm and pulled him away from the stupefied hero.

“But I defeated him just now! Shouldn’t that make me stronger than him?” [Ryan]

“Boy, Master went easy on you and let you take the first hit. It proved to be a fatal mistake and he lost. But, if he fought seriously, he wouldn’t lose to you.” [Maya]

She sweetly told him with a smile which made everyone go silent.

“… Then, let’s fight again and we’ll see if he really is stronger than me!” [Ryan]

He declared with clenched fists to which Ryner started panicking.

“Wha-no wait! Maya!” [Ryner]

“What’s the matter? Scared?” [Ryan]

“L-like hell I am kid!” [Ryner]

Seeing his reaction, it was pretty obvious that what the beastman said was just lip service. After glaring at her, which made her avoid eye contact, Ryner took a deep breath and talked in an arrogant tone.

“I can beat you whenever I want to, so why don’t we raise the stakes? If you win, Maya will agree to join you. If I win… I get my gun back.” [Ryner]

He said as he glanced at the alchemist holding his rifle who went wide eyed from hearing the terms.

“But of course, you’ll have to get his majesty’s permission to bet it, right? By the way, I’ll only agree to fight if you accept these conditions.” [Ryner]

He smiled confidently at the hero with a ‘how’s that?’ look on his face. Apparently, he was trying to run away from the fight by having the king refuse it so as to not risk losing the weapon.

“There’s no way he’ll lose! We accept!” [Carl]

To everyone’s surprise, it wasn’t his majesty, but his youngest son that permitted the fight.

“Ryan would never lose to you! Stop making excuses!” [Carl]

“Carl! Be quiet, you’re causing trouble!” [Lillian]

“But sister!” [Carl]

“No buts! I am very sorry father.” [Lillian]

Ryner stared at the little boy that was being scolded by his older sister while tilting his head, wondering who he was until she called the king father.

“No, he’s right… We agree to the terms of the duel. Another match shall take place between the hero, Ryan Wayer, and Ryner!” [Charles]

The king raised his hand to stop his daughter from bowing to him and loudly declared for everyone to hear. Although he didn’t show it, his patience was nearing its limit. There was no way he could let him go after showing such disrespect. This time, he would leave without having his wounds healed.

“Thank you your majesty. Now then, let’s go.” [Ryan]

“… Crap.” [Ryner]

The strongest hero and his opponent once again went to the middle of the field, with everyone smirking at the insolent man who seemed to have already given up.

“Is this really going to be alright?” [Elena]

“Don’t worry, there’s no way Ryan would ever lose. You saw how he sent him flying with one punch.” [Jayce]

“She didn’t mean that you idiot.” [Aria]

“Oh my, I might have overdone it a bit.” [Maya]

The three friends, who were talking to each other, looked at the main cause for this second match as she put a hand to her cheek while casually smiling. She didn’t have any tension at all. Some of the boys were approaching her as they believed that that she would soon join them.

“Maya, once this is done, why don’t we go a few rounds as well? No weapons, just our hands.” [Random hero]

“You just want to grope her during the confusion. Don’t listen to him Maya, train with me instead!” [Random hero]

“Shut up! That wasn’t what I was planning!” [Random hero]

“Just ignore those two. I’ll show you around the place. Ryan doesn’t have to do it.” [Random hero]

“Alright guys, enough! Leave before I become your training partner and send you to the hospital!” [Aria]

They were all chased away by a glaring Aria. Ignoring this small commotion, Ryner and Ryan took their positions again and waited for the signal to start.

“This time, you better fight me seriously.” [Ryan]

“… Yeah, sure, whatever.” [Ryner]

They exchanged a few words which ended with Ryan gritting his teeth in frustration.

“REMEMBER! NO WEAPONS ARE ALLOWED AND SHOULD YOU KILL YOUR OPPONENT, YOU WILL LOSE AND BE SEVERELY PUNISHED! THE DUEL WILL END WHEN ONE SIDE ADMITS DEFEAT OR IS UNABLE TO CONTINUE FIGHTING! ANY INJURIES WILL BE HEALED RIGHT AWAY BY THE HERO, ELENA COLEAF! NOW…” [Cain]

The knight commander repeated the same things as before and raised his hand.

“BEGIN!” [Cain]

With his signal, Ryan dashed off, planning to end this in one hit like with the first match. Just as his fist was about to connect with that slaver’s chest, his vision suddenly swayed and everything around him started spinning. After a few moments of weightlessness, his back hit the ground. Staring at the sky, he wondered what just happened with a dazed expression. The spectators who saw the scene were also dumbfounded. Just as they thought Ryner was going to get sent flying, Ryan’s fist was caught and he was shoulder thrown instead. After a few seconds, the high schooler quickly got back up and tried again, only for the same thing to happen. He did it a third time with a flying kick, but still ended up soaring through the sky. The group by the wall simply stared at this scene with their mouths opened, not registering what it meant right away.

“… Huh?” [Carl]

The strongest hero would charge at his opponent only to have his attack parried and be thrown away.

“RAAAHHHHHH!!!” [Ryan]

Over and over again he would try as wrath and frustration built up in him.

“What the hell…?” [Jayce]

Over and over again he was easily thrown and rolled on the ground.

“No way… Ryan can’t hit him at all…” [Aria]

He stared at Ryner from a distance on one knee with disbelief covering his face. He still couldn’t understand why none of his attacks reached him.

“You… What did you do to me?” [Ryan]

The only thing he could think of was that Ryner had somehow managed to weaken him before the fight. After all, he was an S rank and his adversary wasn’t strengthening his body at all. There was no way he couldn’t defeat him.

“I didn’t do anything… You’re just weaker than me.” [Ryner]

“Kuh…! RAAAHHHH!!!” [Ryan]

Rushing while shouting, he tried to knock him out, but his arm was grabbed and he got thrown over his shoulder.

“If this was a death match, then you’d win for sure. But killing is forbidden, which means…” [Ryner]

Ryner threw him again and looked down on him as he lied face up.

“You can’t use your full power on me or I’ll die. It’s troublesome when you’re too strong, isn’t it? Especially when you start to rely on that power too much and your skills get dulled.” [Ryner]

The strongest hero could punch him and kill him in one hit. He could kick him and kill him in one hit. He could move fast enough that just a collision would kill him. However, in this match, he had to heavily restrict himself, especially since the opponent wasn’t reinforcing his body with mana. He had to rely on his fighting skills more than his raw strength, but there was no way someone who only trained for a few months could match up to Ryner, who fought since he was a child, in that department.

“E-even so… *Pant* This doesn’t mean that you can beat me!” [Ryan]

If he couldn’t take him down instantly, then he just had to keep trying until he succeeded. All it took was one good hit for him to win while Ryner couldn’t hurt him at all without any weapons to help him. Hearing the hero’s words, he shrugged his shoulders and talked with a laidback tone.

“You’re right. It comes down to a battle of endurance. So… How many days was your longest fight?” [Ryner]

The battle was a repetition of Ryan charging at him and Ryner throwing him in the air. It dragged on for hours with the audience getting more and more nervous. Their hero was slowing down with every minute while the sleepy-looking man, who should have fallen first, didn’t decrease his speed at all. They couldn’t believe how easily he was handling an S rank fighter. Eventually, their match came to an end when Ryan ran out of stamina and fell to his knees while gasping for air, sweat covering his face. He tried to stand up, but his legs gave in and he fell back down. Turning his head, Ryner looked at the knight commander who was deep in thought with a serious expression. Snapping back to reality from his gaze, Cain took another good look at Ryan before announcing the end of the duel.

“WINNER! RYNER!” [Cain]

“W-wait! *Pant pant* I haven’t lost yet!” [Ryan]

“But you can’t fight anymore either. It’s in the rules. You should listen sometimes.” [Ryner]

The kneeling loser weakly protested against the verdict while trying to catch his breath, but the winner quickly shot him down by reminding him of the rules the old knight declared at the start of the fight. Without sparing the hero another glance, he walked toward the crowd that was still shocked from the conclusion. The only one that was pleasantly smiling was Maya. Elena, who was watching by her side, saw her face and realized something.

“Could it be…? Maya? Did you know this was going to happen?” [Elena]

“What are you saying? I said it before, didn’t I?” [Maya]

The freed slave took a few steps forward before looking back and declared with a bold grin.

“If my master fought seriously, there’s no way he would lose.” [Maya]

*Author* Seriously, my squiggly lines keep turning straight. Anyone know what the problem is?