Previous Chapter l Next Chapter

“Chaaa!”

A loud shout, signaling an intense battle, echoed through the Lanpeach Complex. The sound of clashing blows filled the air, tightening the atmosphere in the training grounds set up within the complex.

“Fumu, it seems like quite the fierce fight.” (Lanpeach)

Lanpeach remarked, coolly smiling as he sat cross-legged on a cushion, his elbow resting on the armrest. Chihiro sat by his side, making him resemble a feudal lord from the Sengoku era… No, a bandit chief surrounded by rogues.

A rabbit diligently fanned him with a small fan. It didn’t have the large fan to revere a Maharaja, so it can’t be helped.

Instead of looking impressive, it almost seemed like he was bullying the rabbit though. Animal right groups might be outraged and accuse him of mistreating a rabbit.

“Got bored-usa.” 

The rabbit quickly lost interest and started fanning itself.

What was this minor villain up to? The Hunter Guild’s admission and ranking tournament was underway.

For now, they were holding a tournament with three divisions -Heart, Mind, and Body- to decide the top ranks.

The Heart tournament, meant to test mental fortitude, had already ended, and they were now in the midst of the Mind tournament.

A large crowd had gathered, intrigued by the event, watching the tournament unfold with excitement. The savvy among them had set up food stalls and were selling meat skewers and candy, turning the whole event into a festival.

“Taah!”

It was the final match of the Mind tournament. 

The sounds of fierce battle continued to ring out. The genius who had already won the Heart tournament had taken the lead.

“I did it~! I turned two more of the pieces white-deshu!”

The stage the man was fighting in was on the game known as Reversi by the common populace, a strategic board game with boundless depth that tested the players’ intellect.

She placed a white tile on the board, flipping two black tiles to white, and jumped in excitement.

“Uh… Okay.” 

The man awkwardly placed his black tile, flipping a large number of white tiles back to black.

“Gah! My white pieces are gone…” 

The eyes of the little girl welled up with tears as she stared at the board, her lips trembling. But, determined not to cry, she clenched her tiny fists, her whole body shaking as she fought to hold back her tears. 

This sight drew sympathy from the crowd, and the man across from her found himself the target of murderous glares.

The man gulped and scratched his head awkwardly, looking up at the ceiling.

“Ah, if she takes this corner, I’ll lose~ What a blunder~! I can’t believe I made such a huge mistake here, right here!” 

“Here, right?! Teei!” 

The man pointed as he bemoaned his mistake.

The little girl, face flushed with excitement, placed her white tile in the corner, and flipped several black tiles to white. She jumped up and down, ecstatic.

She had spotted the man’s oopsie. There’s a whole lot of whites now. 

In the next turn, the man only managed to flip a single white tile back to black, and once again, the little girl claimed another corner. 

The match was decided at that moment, with white securing the victory.

“Kyaa~! Koume won! Did I win? Did Koume really win?” (Koume)

Indeed, white was Koume. The genius that always wins with a landslide in the Mind tournament. 

Overjoyed, she leapt into Lanpeach’s arms, who patted her on the head as she beamed with pride. Her genius lay in never missing her opponent’s oopsies.

“Congratulations, Koume! That’s two consecutive wins after the Heart tournament!” (Lanpeach)

“I worked hard! Koume did it! More pats, more hugs, and praishe me more!” (Koume)

“Congratulations, Koume.” (Chihiro)

Chihiro joined in praising her, and Koume, like a content kitten, closed her eyes and snuggled. 

In the Heart tournament, Koume’s fierce stare had caused her opponent to mess up their first Jenga move, instantly winning her the match.

Everyone congratulated Koume after Koume winning both the Heart and Mind tournaments, clapping as she nuzzled her head into Papa-shan’s arm with happiness.

Everyone expected her to compete in the Body division and take home the triple crown, but Koume, exhausted, fell asleep in Lanpeach’s arms, snoring softly. Mimi soon joined her, snuggling into Lanpeach’s arms as well. The usual sight.

“Umu, the champion of the Heart and Mind tournaments will be enshrined in the Hunter Hall of Fame. As for the Body tournament, let’s get serious, everyone!” (Lanpeach)

Thus, the Orichalha Hunter Guild saw its first Hall of Famer.

The atmosphere had finally warmed up, and it was time to get serious about the tournament. 

Why is everyone looking at Lanpeach with lukewarm eyes as if saying ‘you are such a doting parent’?

◇◇

The martial arts tournament was a real battle. Magic wasn’t allowed, and killing was prohibited. The rules were relaxed, aiming to avoid serious injuries as much as possible.

The Hunter Guild had drawn quite a crowd of participants, enticed by the promise of a grand prize, even if most weren’t sure what exactly it was.

But these were all people from the slums, and as expected, the competition quickly progressed with most slum residents getting knocked out. Now only Touka and Guy remained in the finals. Dry had lost to Touka in the semifinals.

Touka was equipped with Drifting Cloud, and Guy had donned a reasonably valuable spirit armor worth over a hundred million.

Yeah, for some reason, Guy had decided to participate as well.

“Now that I think about it, why are you participating?” (Lanpeach)

“That’s cruel, Lanpeach-don! It’s been ages since ya said ya would join me in spring! Ya haven’t shown up at the Explorer Guild, so I tracked ya down and found out what ya have been up to really easily!” (Guy)

The pitiful forgotten man, Guy, shouted in response to Lanpeach’s question.

“Liar. You just heard about my growing reputation and came to curry favor.” (Lanpeach) 

But that acting doesn’t work on Lanpeach. 

“Ugh… If ya already knew, ya coulda just let me off the hook.” (Guy)

Guy narrowed his eyes and shrugged his shoulders sarcastically.

Guy might look like a dense country bumpkin, but he is sharper than he appears. Seeing how well-established Lanpeach’s base was, he put Lanpeach and his partner until now on a balance, and decided it was the better choice to align with Lanpeach.

Things have apparently not been going well with his old partner, or maybe Lanpeach simply became too big to ignore. Possibly both.

“If yer onto me, no point hiding it anymore. I’ll just become the top dog at the Hunter Guild.” (Guy)

Guy declared with absolute confidence in his strength. He showed a bold grin that didn’t suit his unrefined face and raised his fists.

“Oh? Are you implying you can beat me? I’m strong, you know… Uhm… Guy-san?” (Touka)

Touka, bounced on her feet lightly, looking amused, her posture graceful as she prepared for the fight.

She also seemed to have confidence in herself with no intention at all to lose. 

“Unyu~ More headpats~” (Koume)

“Snoooze…” (Mimi)

Lanpeach nodded while gently stroking the heads of the sleeping Koume and Mimi in his arms.

“Very well then, begin!” (Lanpeach)

The two fighters sprang into action at Lanpeach’s signal.

“Ya might be tough in the slums, but yer no match for me!” (Guy)

Guy charged at Touka, who had momentarily left herself open. He closed the distance in an instant with a powerful step, slamming his foot into the ground as if causing an explosion.

“Mmgh!”

Guy drew back his right arm and unleashed a punch with a forceful straight aimed to end the fight in one blow, like the tank-like protagonists from anime, displaying his power. Except, it is also the kind of attack that would easily get avoided and get you defeated.

Touka excels in speed, so she easily sidestepped the attack with a small step, twisting her body gracefully as if performing a ballet turn.

Guy clicked his tongue as his left hook missed completely, but he quickly steadied himself, following up with rapid jabs from his right, aiming to chip away at Touka’s defenses. However, Touka’s quick reflexes allowed her to deflect his punches with her own arms as she twirled gracefully.

“Using a straight punch as a feint, huh? Nice one, Guy-san!” (Touka)

“Tch! You’re supposed to dodge the straight punch and then fall for the hook! That’s how this goes!” (Guy)

Guy cursed under his breath as he tried to maintain distance, and threw more jabs. Even though he mocked Touka with his words, he wasn’t letting his guard down for a second. 

If Touka had relaxed and let her guard down like an anime protagonist, she might have been caught off guard by the hook, and taken serious damage.

But Touka had quickly identified Guy’s feint and reacted accordingly. 

Guy didn’t give up though. 

He closed the distance again, launching a barrage of punches, right then left. When Touka dodged using a sway, he crouched low, attempting a sweeping kick.

“Whoa, not bad, Guy-san!” (Touka)

However, Touka leaped over the sweep, countering by planting her toes into the ground and extending her leg in a quick kick.

Guy crossed his arms to block it, regaining his stance before launching another hook, but Touka dodged again, maintaining their distance.

“Hnnng!”

“Taaah!”

They exchanged blows, neither backing down as the crowd cheered. 

Guy threw heavy punches and kicks, while Touka struck like a wasp, waiting for openings to deliver sharp blows. 

The back-and-forth rhythm of attack and defense made it difficult to determine who had the upper hand.

Chihiro tilted her head in confusion as the match dragged on.

“Uhmm, Lan… Which one of them is winning? I can’t tell at all.” (Chihiro)

From a novice’s perspective, it seemed evenly matched, or perhaps Guy appeared to be winning due to his imposing build.

“Guy’s got a 30% chance, while 70% favors the other side. But the profit’s with the 70%.” (Lanpeach)

Lanpeach muttered numbers that made no sense as he narrowed his eyes and glared at Guy with his minor villain eyes.

“…Hmm, if it keeps going like this, Touka will win.” (Lanpeach)

He also began contemplating whether to interfere, but ultimately decided against it. Touka seemed stronger.

“Yeah, think Touka will win. Even beat Dry, and Dry is strong.” (Dry)

“You’re awake? Are you okay now?” (Lanpeach)

“Yeah, I’m fine. Touka’s strong. Didn’t even think I could land a hit on her.” (Dry)

Dry puffed her cheeks in frustration, still upset about her defeat against Touka.

Dry had leveled up and gotten stronger, but she still wasn’t a match for Touka. She was probably even weaker than Guy.

“Even if your level goes up, it doesn’t mean anything without proper technique… I need to help Dry get better.” (Lanpeach)

Lanpeach thought as he brushed his chin that this is like a classic event where the overpowered protagonist finally meets their match and decides to hone their skills for the first time.

Touka attends the magic academy and Guy also learned techniques from the academy. It is probably impossible self-taught. 

He set those thoughts aside for now and returned his focus to the match, noticing a shift in momentum. 

Guy’s punches were all being dodged, and his breathing had grown labored. His movements were clearly slowing down.

“Damn it! So slippery! Huff… I thought I’d gotten stronger…” (Guy)

“Sorry, but I’m going to win! Training every day with grandpa wasn’t just for show!” (Touka)

Guy staggered from the exhaustion.

Touka capitalized on this opening and moved in for the finishing blow.

“Space Style: Cattle Mutilation!” (Touka)

Touka shouted and unleashed a flurry of strikes on Guy. Guy was too tired to dodge and was pummeled by the combo and staggered, about to fall on his knees, but Touka followed up with an upward kick, sending Guy airborne.

“Haaaah!”

She gathered mana in her legs, delivered an even stronger kick, and launched Guy higher into the air. She propelled him upward with a series of two, three kicks, before jumping herself, performing a moonsault kick that brought Guy crashing down.

“Gahah!”

Guy hit the ground as if it were in slow motion, bouncing before collapsing completely.

“You still gotta train more if you want to beat an alien!” (Touka)

Touka shouted a signature line, spinning around and striking a pose with a bright smile, looking like a character straight out of a fighting game.

“Wooah, the girl won!” 

“Guy lost to a moonsault kick!” 

“My life savings. Aaagh!”

The spectators were ecstatic after seeing the flashy finisher, while Lanpeach nodded with a knowing grin.

“His mistake was not spamming Sonic Boom and waiting for an opportunity to land a Moonsault.” (Lanpeach)

‘He could have won if he just spammed Sonic Boom’ -he said, understanding the value of cheap tactics in fighting games.

“We did it, Lan! We made a killing! We should do this every month!” (Chihiro)

Chihiro cheered, hugging him excitedly while saying ‘so bookmakers can profit big!’. 

Dry silently vowed to train even harder.

Thus, the Hunter Guild rankings were decided, and Lanpeach smiled in satisfaction.

Previous Chapter l Next Chapter