Middray stood there looking at me. "I haven't seen a knight like you before. What kingdom or empire are you from?".
How many times do I have to hear something like this?
"You might like fighting, Middray, but you must also be someone smart. You know I'm not exactly 'human'. You must have known I'm part dragon by now. And to answer your question, I'm not from any kingdom or empire, but I do know a thing or two about knights.".
"Well, let's see if your strength is anything like the holy knights.".
Oh man, if only he knew how…"dysfunctional", to put it lightly, that group is.
I focused back on Middray and he rushed toward me fast, throwing a punch at me. I easily dodged it and he followed up with even more punches, all of which I dodged.
"You have good instincts to be able to dodge, but you can't win a fight only by avoiding hits. You also have to attack!", he said as he unleashed another flurry of attacks toward me. He's still only using his fists. Once again, I dodged them all through a combination of sidesteps and swaying my body back and forth.
"Is that all you got, Middray? Your punches aren't doing too much. I've seen better swings at a children's playground.", I told him as I kept dodging. I could hear someone snicker and trying to hold back their laughter. I took a quick glance and saw that it was Hermes and Milim.
"Keep your eyes on me!". Middray looked really ticked off. He appeared behind me extending his arm for a punch. I swayed my body, grabbed his extended arm with both my hands, and threw him on the ground in front of me.
The ground cracked from the impact of his body, I looked at his eyes and said, "Sorry, but I have my eyes on someone much more dear to me.".
It appears he was having none of it since he used his legs from his lying down position to try to hit my head. I let go of his arm and stepped back to avoid it. He landed and taking advantage of the small window of his back facing me, I quickly moved forward and hit him with the palm of my hand. Of course, "quickly", actually meant very fast.
Middray was launched forward and he made an impact with the wall leaving a little crater in it. He got out of it and looked more eager to fight. "Impressive, but let's take things to another level!".
He started to take a stance and I could tell he was going to use his arts. He took a stance and he started using his fighting spirit in his attacks. He once again rushed forward but at a much faster speed. I was still able to dodge all his attacks with ease.
He attacked me with a combination of punches and kicks. He went for a flying sidekick, which I dodged by swaying my body to the side and then I grabbed his leg before I threw him to another wall. He twisted his body and landed with his feet on the wall horizontally before launching himself at me again.
He was coming at me like an arrow. A straight line, so I just dodged. Doesn't matter how strong your attack is if you can't land a hit. He missed me and landed on his feet after doing a flip in midair.
"When you will you go on the offensive? The way you're doging and anticipating my attacks, it's like you can you see what I'm about do before I do it.".
Well, he's not wrong. "You want me to go on the offensive? Try to keep up then.".
"Let me see your stre-". Middray tried saying something, but I didn't give him a chance. I blitzed toward him, so fast that it seemed like I was teleporting. To his credit, he was able to get a guard up, but I adjusted quickly and went for an unguarded spot. His side.
I kicked him and he went flying. A kick to his ribs and it might have affected his kidneys as well. Minor injuries, if any, for someone like him. A little inconvenience at best.
I saw him get up from some rubble. He wasn't looking as good. This is the first time I actually hit him instead of slinging him around the place.
"That was an excellent kick. I commend your strength. Hermes could learn a little something from you. Let's end it here. I just wanted to see the strength you possess.", MIddray said to me as he got himself back together.
"Hermes, fix everything here while we have a talk.".
Hermes just sighed as he got to work. Looks like this isn't the only time this has happened before.
After that little scuffle, Milim presented our alliance with her signature along with mine, and Rimuru's. Middray didn't try to show it, but I could tell he was surprised, not at the alliance but at Milim's signature and how legible it was. Was this necessary? Probably not, since he'll follow what Milim does, but it's a good thing to at least give him a heads-up. Just a courtesy.
Things from there went smoothly. Milim gathered up a crowd and gave her version of a speech. I very quickly learned that I should have taught her how to give a speech. Luckily, the crowd gave her a round of applause. Middray had to pick up where MIlim left off and he gave more of a breakdown of what was to come. Once again, the crowd didn't seem to give such a negative response. They didn't seem to really care. They just had that much faith in Milim and the Dragon Faithful.
It was a good outcome either way. From here, the news will spread throughout different places. Now that I think about it, it seems I might not be able to make it back the same day. I should use this momentum to go to Carrion and Frey and also try to make alliances with them. It should be a relatively short trip since their nations are next door to Milim. If I head west, from Milim's domain then I will encounter Frey and Carrion.
Frey should be easy. All I have to do is say stuff about Charybdis and whatnot. Carrion should also be a bit easy. I would try talking, but I'll be ready for a fight just in case. He will most likely want to fight me before securing an alliance to test the strength of the leader of a nation to see if they're "worthy" or something. I think I might be able to talk my way out of that one. Just more Charybdis stuff really.
Anyway, right now, me and Milim were playing yet another game of Go Fish. She has taken a liking to it for its simplicity and ease of play. She promised me she would beat me one day in whatever competition or game we had set. She even said that she had a prophecy that she would beat me. Whether she realizes that that's a self-fulfilling prophecy, I don't know, but things aren't looking good for her. I've been winning so much, I don't know if I'm just that good or my competition is a bit behind.
It was another win for me.
"How are you so good at this? You're not using any skills, right?", Milim said as she narrowed her eyes at me.
"Milim, I promise I'm not cheating or using any skills. Why would I? It would defeat the purpose of your grand quest to beat me one day in a fair and equal competition, without relying on skills or magic.".
"If I can't beat you in this, then let's play another game! Teach me another card game. Please?".
Oh, I know. A classic. Some Blackjack or 21. AKA, the one where the dealer always wins.
"Ok, MIlim. This game is called 'Blackjack'. The number cards are worth what they show. The face cards are also worth 10. The ace is worth either 1 or 11 depending on how you play it. Try to get exactly 21 without going over or at least as close as you can to 21. That's basically it. There are some other things you can do, but that's for another setting. We're just trying to have fun here.".
/\\//\\//\
I might have made a tiny mistake teaching MIlim this game. We played a few games and she lost all of them. There's a reason why the dealer always seems to win. I was really feeling bad about it. She had a 10 and a king on her opening and the way her eyes were glowing when she saw it was adorable, but then it came crashing down immediately. I placed down an ace and a queen. Maybe I should teach her another game.
After playing some card games, it was time to eat. Milim, for once, actually showed up to eat the food they were serving her. Shuna was making some food and teaching a bit of her skills to some of the dragon faithful. Middray wasn't there, but just one bite and he would go rushing in to learn.
Eventually, all the food was served. It was great and Milim for once actually ate the food with joy. I'm sure Hermes is finally happy about this change. Middray, after reluctantly trying some food looked as if his whole world opened. He was speaking as if he reached enlightenment.
As usual, I made sure to sneak some food to Milim. Mainly sweets and stuff like that. I feel like I might be spoiling her a bit. Nah, it's fine.
We were eating and spoke to Milim. "Hey, Milim. I plan to visit Frey and Carrion. Do you want to come with me or do you want to go back to our town while I visit them?".
"Are you going to beat them up or something for trying to take over the forest?".
"No. I think we both know who is the one that is really orchestrating things behind the scenes. Someone who clearly has some more ulterior motives in this whole little plan for the forest. You're smart enough to know who I'm talking about. Frey and Carrion seem like some good people. I just want to give them a chance.".
"I'll just continue to stay in your town. Middray can handle things when I'm not here.", Milim said while she ate. Maybe a bit of manners are needed, but it's fine.
"Alright, make sure to tell Rimuru that I won't be there for maybe a few more days.".
We all finished eating and normally it would be a chill atmosphere, but I was feeling something a bit weird. I looked around and everything seemed normal. Hermes was chill, Middray was fine and even Milim was eating away at some sweets I snuck in for her. I looked at Shuna and she was staring at me a bit differently.
I smiled at her and she also gave me a small smile, but it was…different. "Shuna, is there something going on or something on your mind?".
She shook her head. "Nothing's wrong, Artoria.".
Something's wrong. I remember my mom telling me that if a girl ever says that, then I have messed up to a catastrophic degree in some way, shape, or form. How do I go about this?
"Well is there a reason you seem so joyful? What or who has you smiling like that?".
"You...". She said with a "sweet" smile. She knows something or maybe 'm just overthinking things."...At how you thought I wouldn't notice you spoiling Milim a bit too much. The way you would sneak her sweets when she's not supposed to eat them so much.".
My face froze. If there was ever a time to hit the panic button, it would be now at this moment. The only thing going through my mind was to stay cool, calm, and collected. Don't act on impulse or make any action that could make you look more guilty.
"MILIM, WE'VE BEEN BUSTED! RUN!", I shouted at Milim and quickly tried jumping over the table to escape.
"Huh? What do yo- woah!", I turned and saw Milim was captured by some shiny-looking ropes that seemed to be glowing with yellow-whitish light.
'Sorry, Milim, but I got to ru-', I couldn't finish my thought as I tripped and fell face-first to the ground. I looked and saw that one of my feet was captured by those same ropes.
I looked and saw Shuna holding me and Milim with those ropes in her hand. They literally came out of nowhere. She started pulling me and Milim toward her. I just accepted my fate and allowed it to happen.
'When did she learn something like that? I don't remember her knowing a skill or magic like that. Scratch that, how long did she know and when did she act like this? Maybe I can de-escalate the situation.'.
"Shuna, listen to me. I can explain.".
"You can? Then explain. Why did you give Milim sweets. And I mean a lot of sweets.".
Oh man, she isn't messing around.
"Uh…um…because…I just couldn't help myself? Come on, Shuna, look at her, she can be cute and adorable sometimes. It's not my fault I can't control myself and give her a bunch of sweets.".
She just looked at me and shook her head. She was clearly unamused at my explanation. At least I tried? I don't know.
.
.
.
Yeah no, It's over.