Casting aside his bewilderment, Naoya was worried about Kedra's safety, wanting nothing more than to jump in headfirst to her rescue.
However, his worries were quickly dispelled by the sight of his lady's swordsmanship; each of her opponent's blows was masterfully deflected, and every opening was met with a devastatingly precise attack.
The bandit could barely keep up with her onslaught, the expression on his face growing more and more concerned as the fight pressed on.
Eventually, in a bout of frustration, after blocking a particularly heavy attack, the man reached out his left hand in a desperate attempt to grab Kedra's loose hair.
Kedra had seen such a frantic move coming and had already pulled a magic circuit from the breast pocket of her uniform with her left hand.
She placed a finger in the center of the circuit before sticking the piece of paper onto the man's hand. In an instant, a blade of ice fired out of the circuit, impaling the man's hand.
The sudden pain provided an ample opening to Kedra, who immediately slashed at the bandit's main hand, making him drop his weapon.
With a swift motion, the girl quickly maneuvered her blade and resolutely placed it against her opponent's throat.
"You should surrender now, unless you want your head to go flying." She threatened.
"Alright, alright, I get it, fuck!" He groaned, kneeling and holding his hands up.
Kedra quickly turned her attention to the woman and child behind the man; the pair had been watching the fight play out with baited breath.
"Are you two alright?" She asked.
"Yes, we're fine; thank you so much." The woman replied.
"Of course, taking care of such lowlifes is only natural."
Suddenly, Kedra heard a low mumbling from the man's mouth. Curious, she leant in closer.
Behind Kedra, Naoya was snapped out of his amazement by a sudden flow of ambient mana directed to the man's arm.
Without wasting a second, he sprang forward, shouting out to Kedra.
"Get back, my lady!"
Before Kedra could react, the man lowered his right arm and pointed his open palm towards her. On his arm, she spotted symbols that she immediately recognized.
His forearm had been tattooed with a large magic circuit with a single output circle on his palm.
Kedra failed to make out the specifics of the engraving in time, but she noticed the distinctive five-pronged star of a fire-based circuit.
"Burn!" The man exclaimed as the circle on his palm began glowing an incandescent red color.
Suddenly, a stream of flames spewed forth from his hand; before they could reach Kedra, Naoya quickly grabbed her by the collar and threw her backwards, putting himself in the path of the flames.
A great ball of fire quickly enveloped him as the man quickly got up.
"Naoya!" Kedra cried out.
The bandit tried to bash the burning soldier out of the way in an attempt to escape, but he was quickly met with the haft of his bardiche.
As the flames died down, Naoya's form made itself clearer. Other than some singing on his hair and armor, he had barely been affected by the flames.
Before the man could express his confusion, Naoya quickly brought down his weapon onto him, cleaving cleanly into his right shoulder and through his ribcage, stopping at his heart.
Naoya ripped his bardiche out of the man's lifeless body, making it fall limply to the floor.
"Worry not, lady Kedra; we hornfolk are quite resistant to these petty things." Naoya proudly said.
"Ugh, you had me worried there." Kedra sighed.
"Anyway, now that that's settled, can you two stand?" She asked, reaching out her hand to the two victims.
The woman nodded, taking Kedra's hand and getting up from the ground, then helping the boy up in turn.
"You were amazing to think you took on that bandit at such a young age! How may we ever repay you?" The woman asked.
"Again, don't worry about that. If you truly wish to repay me, just tell me where I can find an engraver." Kedra replied.
"Wait, is that why we are here, my lady? To find an engraver?" Naoya inquired.
"Indeed, now then, do you know where we can find one?"
"I believe there is a small smithy set up in the central plaza that does engraving. It's apparently run by a dwarf, so many guardsmen and adventurers sing that shop's praises."
"Thank you; that is more than enough in terms of repayment. Come on, Naoya, let's not waste too much time."
"Yes, my lady."
The two walked out of the alley after brushing the blood and soot from their outfits to the best of their abilities. Luckily for Kedra, most of the blood had gotten on Naoya and not her.
'Phew, it really would've sucked to show up to the first day of class covered in blood.'
As they reached the central plaza, the smell of grilled meat and spices immediately filled their noses, and a cacophony of different merchants yelling to advertise their stalls rang in their ears.
On the opposite side of the plaza from where they were, Kedra spotted a hanging sign depicting an anvil and hammer.
"That must be the smithy; let's go."
Naoya got in front of Kedra, clearing a path for her through the dense crowd of shoppers and merchants alike.
Eventually, the two made it to the front of the smithy; through clouded windows, they spotted intricate sets of plate armor and exquisitely decorated weapons.
On a few of the weapons, Kedra managed to make out various magical circuits of unknown utility that were all embossed onto the weapons with gold.
"At the very least, we know that he does in fact do engravings; that's good." Kedra remarked.
As Kedra reached for the door, Naoya quickly stepped in front of her and opened it, holding it open.
"After you."
Within the smithy, the two were immediately hit with the smell of charcoal and steel shavings. The walls of the building were lined with various racks, each holding a weapon or tool.
In the center of the smithy were two large displays, featuring armor and weapons alike.
At the very back of the building, a small counter was manned by a short woman with rounded features and shoulder-length swept-back brown hair.
"Do you think that's the dwarf Naoya?" Kedra whispered.
"No, my lady, I believe she is a gnome; the dwarf might currently be working the forge."
Kedra stepped closer to the counter and greeted the woman.
"Excuse me, do you engrave weapons?" She asked.
"Indeed, we do, young lady, but that service is expensive; are you sure you can afford—"
Before the woman could finish asking her question, Kedra placed three golds onto the desk.
"Would that be enough?"
The gnome's eyes immediately lit up.
"Of course, dear customer! Let me just call my husband over and we'll discuss the details!"
'She sure changed her tune fast... Man, money really is the best.'