GILF Hunter

A space occupying one side of the building next to the dormitory. Rin and Lia stood facing each other in the training hall.

It wasn’t used frequently, but it was a place where the two of them occasionally trained together.

It wasn’t exactly a facility like the massive training grounds built on the outskirts of the city or a whole building used by larger mercenary groups, but it was a decent size for a few people to use.

Standing before Lia, Rin raised her wooden sword and shouted.

’This time, it’s really going to be different!’

’You always start like that...’

Rin shouted with a confident attitude as if she had prepared some new trick, but she was always like that whenever they sparred.

Lia, accustomed to such words, didn’t pay much attention and raised her own wooden sword.

’Then, here I come!’

Rin shouted as she lunged at Lia.

Since the two of them were the only ones using the training hall, there was no one to give a signal to start, so the sparring always began casually in this manner.

In the beginning, they had tried tossing a coin as a signal like they’d seen somewhere, but honestly, it was too much of a hassle.

Rin swung her wooden sword broadly as she charged.

Perhaps her practice hadn’t been in vain, as her posture was quite well-set. It was a level of progress that would have surprised Lia, considering when she first met Rin.

...And she’s fast.

Lia thought to herself as she watched Rin’s incoming attack.

Compared to their last spar, her speed had definitely increased.

It seemed there had been some development in that short interval.

However, the trajectory was still too honest.

Lia tilted her head and easily dodged Rin’s first strike.

’Hah!’

Rin had expected the first attack to be dodged. Without panicking, she immediately followed up with more strikes.

A fairly plausible series of consecutive attacks followed, but Lia evaded all subsequent strikes with only minimal movements.

It was something Rin might not fully grasp yet, but a swordsmanship duel was ultimately a game of reading moves.

While swinging a sword might seem to offer infinite options at first glance, the attacks that could follow from a specific distance, posture, and situation were actually limited to a few choices.

Rin’s attacks were certainly fast, but they were exactly the attacks Lia had anticipated.

’....’

A brief opening where the consecutive attacks broke off.

Aiming for that moment, Lia’s counterattack flew in from a spot just outside Rin’s field of vision.

Sensing it instinctively, Rin ducked to avoid it.

’...!’

’Oh...’

This time, Lia also wore a quite surprised expression.

She had thought for sure that Rin wouldn’t be able to dodge that. It was a remarkably unexpected move.

It seemed that saying things would be different this time wasn’t just the usual empty talk, but the truth.

Rin’s eyes sparkled as she saw Lia’s surprised expression.

The timing right after a failed attack. Emotional agitation. This was exactly the kind of ’opening’ Lia always talked about.

’She told me to aim for when the opponent lets their guard down and their posture breaks!’

Rin didn’t miss the chance and immediately launched a counter. Her wooden sword swung, aiming for Lia’s opening.

However, perhaps it was due to an unfamiliar posture.

Though she aimed accurately for Lia’s opening, the attack was too clumsy. Rin’s strike, lacking proper weight behind it, was easily parried.

Lia’s wooden sword, having easily brushed aside Rin’s blade, flew in lightly.

-Thwack!

’Ouch!’

Rin was struck on the head by the wooden sword and plopped down on the spot.

This spar was also Rin’s defeat.

’Ow, ow, ow...’

Sitting on the floor of the training hall, Rin dropped her wooden sword.

She thought she could win this time. It seemed that just her body becoming a bit lighter wasn’t enough after all.

’It’s still not working...’

’Did you think something that hasn’t worked until now would suddenly work overnight?’

Lia replied to Rin, who was muttering regretfully.

But even as she said that, Lia felt something strange about Rin’s movements.

Rin’s movements today weren’t just at the level of her being in good condition...

She knew Rin had been practicing a lot on her own, but could the results of training appear so drastically in such a short time?

She grew curious about exactly what kind of training Rin had been doing.

’Ah, you two were both here.’

While Rin and Lia were resting briefly after finishing their spar, someone opened the door to the training hall and entered. It was Tanya.

Seeing the two of them sitting and sweating as if they had just finished a spar, Tanya tilted her head and asked while looking at Rin.

’Did Rin lose again?’

’How can you tell just by looking at us sitting here!’

’Ah... sorry. Then, did Rin win?’

’...I almost won this time!’

’So, that means she lost...’

Tanya thought to herself as she shook her head.

’But what brings you here?’

’Oh, right. The Leader is looking for you.’

’Me? Or Lia?’

’All of us. I have to go find Mika, so you two head there first.’

’All of us?’

Rin and Lia exchanged puzzled glances.

＊　＊　＊

When the two entered the meeting room, Ian and Airi, who had arrived first, were waiting for the others.

Airi, whose face looked slightly flushed for some reason, hurriedly moved away from Ian’s side.

’Y-you’re here... both of you...’

Airi quickly wiped the corner of her mouth with her sleeve and greeted them with a flustered face.

Not long after, Tanya and Mika also arrived at the meeting room.

’Everyone’s here. Then...’

Confirming that everyone had arrived, Ian moved to the front of the table.

A large map was spread out on the table in the center of the meeting room.

...This is definitely that.

It was exactly as Rin and Lia had guessed while talking on their way to the room. It was an expedition meeting.

They had been expecting that it was about time to go on an expedition somewhere.

Looking down at the map, Mika asked Ian first.

’Where are we going this time?’

’We’re going to get a new weapon for Rin to use.’

’A weapon?’

They thought it was an expedition. Everyone tilted their heads as the talk of a weapon suddenly came up.

Weren’t weapons something you got from a shop or a blacksmith?

Tanya, thinking it wasn’t a topic worth spreading a map over, asked.

’Ah! Are we going to find a blacksmith in another city?’

’No, we’re going to get it from a dungeon.’

’A dungeon...?’

All the members looked puzzled at the mention of getting a weapon from a dungeon. It was a combination of two words that seemed to have no relation at all.

While everyone was harboring doubts, Rin alone jumped up from her seat as if she had realized something.

’Ah...!’

’What? Does Rin know something?’

’Is it possible we’re going to find an ancient magic sword sleeping in a dungeon?’

’Sigh...’

All the members listening to Rin let out an internal sigh.

They thought she had heard something in advance, but of course not.

When the reaction from everyone was lukewarm, Rin asked back.

’What’s with that reaction!’

’Listen to yourself...’

Mika and Lia refuted Rin’s opinion simultaneously.

’That kind of thing only appears in old stories. What kind of condition would a sword left abandoned for so long be in? It’d be better to just throw it away.’

’Exactly. And even if it’s a magic sword, if it’s not properly maintained, the magic evaporates. Even after just a few years, the repair cost would be at the level of buying a new one.’

’....’

Rin became dejected as she couldn’t find a logical argument to counter them. They were members who didn’t understand romance at all.

’I guess so... Magic swords deep within dungeons are things that only appear in old stories or novels after all.’

’Even if one did appear, it would likely be a worn-out item closer to an artifact.’

Ian saying they would get it in a dungeon likely meant they would find minerals to use as weapon materials... or receive it as a quest reward.

’No. This time, Rin is right. We’re going to bring back a weapon sealed in a dungeon.’

’...Pardon?’

When Ian belatedly said Rin was right, Rin jumped up from her seat once again.

’Really?! There’s such a thing?’

’Yes. I found it here.’

Ian held out an old map he had brought from the archives. It was a map that looked extremely ancient.

This was a map for a dungeon that appeared deterministically.

Of course, its location changed slightly each time, but since the place to find the map was always the same, it could practically be called a fixed dungeon.

The dungeon’s structure and the rewards obtained were always the same as well.

A few types of these fixed dungeons appeared in this game, and from each dungeon, one could receive unique equipment with special abilities as a reward.

Among them, this dungeon Ian had chosen was a place where he could obtain the weapon that suited Rin best.

It was practically at a level where it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say the weapon was made for Rin.

’Then, is it possibly... really a magic sword?’

’You could say that. It’s not an ordinary sword.’

’Kyaa!’

Since ’magic sword’ wasn’t a specific classification but a general term for swords with special abilities, it could indeed be called a magic sword as Rin said.

Rin let out a sound that was close to a scream upon hearing that.

From the side, she looked a bit like a fool, but in truth, most mercenaries would have a similar reaction if told they were getting a magic sword.

Mika, who had been watching this from the side the whole time, tilted her head slightly.

’Wait, didn’t the Leader just say ’sealed’? That’s a term used when locking away cursed equipment...’

Mika briefly considered that thought, but didn’t think too deeply about it.

’Well, the Leader isn’t a mage. He probably just used the term wrong. Surely he’s not planning to give Rin something like a demonic sword...’

Thinking about what Ian had said, Mika pondered for a moment and then let it pass as nothing significant.

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