The girl didn’t refuse Nellin’s offer and brought over a chair to sit next to her.
“What are you gonna eat? I’ll treat you.”
“at. Anything.”
“Great, great! Hey! One order of your best at dish, please!”
“....”
Godrick’s party stared at Nellin in confusion at how fast she acted.
“S-Sister Marin?”
“Why are you doing this all of a sudden?”
“Hm? What?”
“No, why are you buying food for soone who just challenged you to a fight?”
“What are you talking about, Godrick? Are you deaf?”
“Huh?”
Nellin smiled and patted the girl’s shoulder.
“She said she’d give money. The prize money. How can I not feed such a sweet kid?”
Godrick’s party all fell silent and looked at Nellin, thinking the sa thing.
Oh, she really doesn’t think she’s going to lose.
“I never said I’d give you money.”
“Sure, sure, You said if I win, You’ll give your money. But the result’s the sa.”
“That’s not decided yet.”
“I already know~.”
The girl’s face was visibly full of annoyance.
But that didn’t change how Nellin treated her.
Godrick’s party, worried the girl might suddenly attack, began sweating as they watched the two.
Fortunately, the girl didn’t suddenly charge at Nellin.
“Here’s your food!”
“Ooh, looks good. Eat up.”
“…Okay.”
As soon as the at dish was served, the girl focused entirely on eating like nothing had happened.
“What are you guys doing, not eating? It’s getting cold—dig in already!”
“Yes, Sister Marin!”
With the tension slightly eased and Nellin urging them on, Godrick’s party resud their al.
After finishing their food, Nellin walked out of the restaurant with the girl and said, “Alright, I’ll go spar with her for a bit, so wait here.”
“Shouldn’t we co with you?”
“Nope. Just wait. Got it?”
She firmly told Godrick’s party not to follow, then told the girl to co with her.
As they walked with heavy steps, the girl asked, “How long are we walking?”
“Until we shake off the nosy ones sticking their noses in our business.”
The girl nicknad “Frost Fist.”
Claire was the winner of the Black Dragon Festival.
While she was talking to Nellin in the restaurant, so people recognized her and took interest.
“I don’t care who sees.”
The girl said she didn’t care who was watching, but Nellin only smirked and walked faster.
Nellin, who could sense exactly where their followers were, shook them off in under five minutes and arrived at a deserted part of the city.
“This should be good.”
“Why do you care so much about being seen?”
The girl questioned Nellin’s behavior, which she couldn’t understand.
“Hm? It’s for your sake.”
“For my sake?”
“Yeah. You just won today, and it’d be kinda pitiful to lose to soone else the sa day.”
‘She’s looking down on .’
Nellin declared she’d win without a shred of doubt.
To the girl, those words weren’t just confidence—they felt like mockery.
The girl’s eyes once again filled with fiery determination and suppressed killing intent.
“Look at those eyes. You’re just dying to fight. Alright then…”
Nellin pulled out a wooden sword from the inventory strapped to her waist and pointed it at the girl.
“Co at .”
Thwack!
The mont Nellin finished her sentence, the girl dashed at her like a gust of wind.
She unleashed the strength she hadn’t needed to use before the finals, as no one had been stronger than her.
Her golden eyes glead through the night.
In a flash, she reached Nellin and aid a punch at her face.
But—
Whoosh!
Nellin dodged the punch by simply tilting her head.
Even though the attack missed, the girl didn’t panic and imdiately transitioned to her next move.
“Haaah!”
Using her flexibility and power, she twisted mid-air and aid a spinning kick at Nellin’s face.
Thud!
Nellin casually raised her wooden sword and blocked the kick, grinning with her teeth showing.
Chill!
“!”
The girl’s instincts scread for her to create distance.
But it was already too late.
Thud!
Nellin grabbed the girl’s ankle with her other hand and slamd her into the ground.
The girl, thrown and rolling across the ground, quickly regained her posture and stood back up.
‘She didn’t chase .’
After tossing her, Nellin could’ve co after her to attack.
But she didn’t.
In other words—
‘She doesn’t even think I’m worth that effort.’
It was clear she was being completely underestimated.
The girl was furious.
But she didn’t recklessly give in to that anger.
Because the exchange just now had shown her how strong Nellin really was.
‘She’s strong.’
This woman was no weak opponent.
She had the skill to easily block her attacks and counter them.
But that wasn’t enough reason for the girl to give up the fight.
‘Faster… I need to be faster.’
“Fuuuuu…”
The girl exhaled deeply and began circulating mana through her entire body.
Following her will, the mana coursed through her muscles, reinforcing her body.
‘Whoa, she can do that at her age?’
While the girl strengthened herself, Nellin quietly admired the technique—not easy to master at such a young age.
“This ti will be different.”
Crack!
The mont the girl kicked off the ground, the floor cracked from the impact.
‘She won’t dodge this ti!’
She wasn’t planning to drag this out.
Thinking she’d end it in one blow, the girl threw a punch.
“Pretty intense.”
But that punch never reached Nellin’s face.
Thump!
Nellin blocked the punch with one hand as it ca flying toward her face.
“!?”
“Why do you keep going for the face? Your attacks are so obvious.”
“How…”
“You think you’re the only one who knows how to use mana reinforcent? And your control’s a ss. It’s leaking out—like here.”
Whack!
Nellin’s wooden sword struck the girl’s side hard.
“Guh!”
“Oh? Now you’re leaking mana over here?”
Smack!
“Argh!”
Nellin relentlessly struck the areas where the girl’s mana flow was unstable.
The girl tried to resist.
But Nellin had a firm grip on her fist and wouldn’t let go.
With one hand immobilized, the girl tried to block or dodge the attacks, but Nellin’s sword moved like a wriggling snake, slipping through her guard and landing solid hits.
“S-Stop! I give up!”
“Watch your tone.”
Smack!
“Aaagh! I-I give up!”
“There we go. That’s more like it.”
When the girl surrendered, Nellin let go of her fist and lowered her sword.
Then, smiling slyly, she looked at the girl—now rubbing her bruises—and said, “How about that? Didn’t I tell you?”
“…Yeah.”
The girl couldn’t deny it.
Nellin was much stronger than her.
And at the sa ti, she felt joy.
‘I’ve found her. Soone who can teach .’
Soone who could make her stronger.
‘Soone who can help kill more monsters.’
Soone who could teach her the power to slay more of those hated monsters.
‘What the… Why is she looking at like that?’
Suddenly seeing the girl’s eyes full of hope aid at her, Nellin was puzzled—but then quickly convinced herself.
‘Am I just that admirable? Haah… Even if I hide my reputation, I guess the grace just radiates off naturally.’
While Nellin was lost in self-admiration, the girl spoke.
“Please co with… .”
“Why?”
“I don’t have money… right now. It’s at the inn…”
“Oh, that? Forget it. I don’t need it.”
“Huh? But…”
The girl recalled how Nellin had changed her attitude the mont she said she’d pay if she lost.
“That was just a joke. Truth is, I wanted to see your skills ever since I saw you at the restaurant. You stood out to .”
“Stood out?”
“Yeah. For soone your age, your eyes were just brimming with hatred and killing intent. It made curious.”
“. . . . . . !”
“You’re way stronger than the average brat, but you’re still rough. Well, keep training hard.”
As Nellin turned to leave, the girl quickly called out to her.
“Wait! Please! Wait!”
“Hm? What, you want to go another round?”
The girl shook her head violently.
“No… I have a favor… to ask.”
“A favor?”
“Please take as your student. I want to get stronger…”
“A stu~~dent~~?”
To Nellin, it was a completely unexpected request.
She had only fought the kid for fun, not even knowing her full capabilities.
Sure, the girl’s eyes probably had a painful story behind them.
But that wasn’t a reason for Nellin to interfere.
If anything, getting involved might just lead to trouble—and worse, the girl herself might resent her for butting in.
“Nope.”
“I’ll pay for the lessons… with the prize money.”
“No, I don’t need tuition or anything. I just don’t want to.”
“Why…?”
Nellin’s reason for rejecting the girl’s request was simple.
It was a hassle.
She was already training Godrick’s party for fun, and adding this girl to the mix felt like too much trouble.
More than anything, the hatred and killing intent in the girl made Nellin feel like she might lose control and cause an incident if her skills improved.
“You seem like the type who wouldn’t listen to a word I say.”
“I listen well… I promise…”
“Yeah? Then why do your eyes look so violent?”
“Violent?”
“I can literally see the killing intent and hatred oozing out of them. People like you tend to be real stubborn and never listen. Besides—”
Nellin cut to the heart of the matter.
“Why do you want to get stronger?”
“To kill. To kill all the monsters.”
That one answer was enough to guess what kind of past the girl had been through.
“Did monsters get your family?”
“Not just my family… the whole village…They were all killed by monsters.”
‘So she’s the sole survivor of her village or sothing? Even more of a headache.’
“That’s why I want to get stronger. So I can kill all the monsters.”
“You do realize that’s impossible, right?”
“Even if it is, I’ll do it. I’ll kill… every last monster.”
Hatred and bloodlust burned in the girl’s eyes.
“Then that’s even more reason not to teach you.”
“Why not? I an, why…?”
“Because I’m looking for a monster. I’m traveling around to find it right now.”
“You’re looking for a monster to kill, too…? Don’t worry… I won’t steal your revenge target…”
“No, no, it’s not for revenge or anything. I’m trying to find it because I want to adore it.”
“You want to… adore a monster? That’s not possible. Monsters can’t be adored. They all have to die!”
“And that’s exactly why I can’t teach you. If we’re not careful, you might kill that monster on sight.”
“Ugh…!”
She couldn’t understand soone wanting to “adore” a monster.
But at the sa ti, she didn’t know if she’d ever et soone as strong as Nellin again.
Torn between her desire to beco stronger and her curiosity, the girl spoke.
“What kind of monster…?”
“A sli.”
“A sli?”
“Yeah, a sli. There’s this one I t before—super friendly… and smart enough to understand human speech.”
“A sli…”
Of all things, she hadn’t expected Nellin to say the na of one of the weakest monsters around.
The unexpected answer threw her off.
She hated the monster that had attacked her village.
That’s why, in her mind, all monsters were ant to be killed.
But she had never once hard a sli.
Because in her pursuit of strength, she only fought monsters that posed a threat to humans.
By her standards, slis weren’t even monsters—they didn’t qualify as opponents.
After quickly sorting out the confusion in her head, the girl asked Nellin, “If I find it…will you teach then?”
“What?”
“If I find that smart sli…will you teach ?”
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