"How fast—"
The catgirl's fist shot out straight, her movements containing no flashy variations or techniques.
Speed, power, precision—pure, direct violence, a complete overwhelming raw stats.
And this was even after she had suppressed her abilities to make the sparring match fair.
Unlike last time, when he was unilaterally beaten by a high-level adventurer from the Evilus, this kind of sparring allowed Shirou to truly experience the "violence of levels."
Shirou twisted his waist, his body suddenly leaning left, while his arm lashed out like a whip.
His fist struck the middle of the catgirl's forearm from the inside, slightly altering the trajectory of her straight punch under her slightly surprised gaze.
"Finally, I succeeded once."
Up until now, their sparring—or rather, what should be called a playful game between a boy and a girl—had been nothing more than Anya throwing punches while Shirou attempted to respond.
Whether by blocking, dodging, or counterattacking, he had been trying every possible method to deal with a simple punch from a Lv.4 adventurer.
After dozens of attempts and failures, after being knocked to the ground repeatedly, Shirou finally seized this fleeting moment.
Deflecting Anya's punch left her midsection exposed—a rare opportunity to counterattack.
The boy's right fist shot toward the catgirl's stomach.
He struck with full force, without holding back at all—at his level and strength, worrying about injuring her was nothing more than unfounded anxiety.
The corners of the catgirl's lips curled slightly.
Then, with an absurd level of flexibility and speed, she spun in place.
Something fluffy lashed against Shirou's midsection, sending him flying instantly.
What she relied on wasn't just the raw stats of a high-level adventurer, but also the natural advantages of the catfolk—dexterity, flexibility, agility, and their highly maneuverable tails.
"Anya is amazing."
"Right? Everyone should admire Anya more, nya~"
Finally, Shirou had exhausted all his strength, collapsing onto the ground, panting heavily, his body covered in bruises.
In contrast, Anya showed no signs of fatigue at all, not even breaking a sweat.
A newly blessed Lv.1 adventurer against a high-ranking Lv.4—the gap was like heaven and earth.
Even so, this kind of cross-level combat brought Shirou immense benefits.
"Shirou, you're really strong too. You don't seem like someone who just became an adventurer.",Anya praised,"Did you train in martial arts before, nya?"
"Yeah, I did."
"I didn't expect that just now—your punch landed right where I couldn't use any strength, nya~ Was that on purpose?"
"It was mostly luck and coincidence."
———
Meanwhile, Ryuu was so frustrated she was practically biting her handkerchief.
"Unacceptable..."
'I was the first one he came to. Shirou-kun originally asked me for guidance.'
'So why… why did it turn out like this?'
She had wanted to be his mentor, just as her former comrades had once guided her. If she could do that, perhaps… the friends she lost would feel a little comforted too.
But she had completely messed up. In their first spar, she had nearly injured Shirou severely. After that, she had no face to ask to be his teacher again.
"Sigh! Wait, if that's the case… doesn't that mean I'm completely inferior to Anya?"
Whether as a waitress or a mentor, Anya completely outclassed her. Anya even managed to sweet-talk vendors into giving her discounts, while Ryuu had been blacklisted for being mistaken as a thug demanding protection fees.
Not to mention, Anya was a top-tier Lv.4 adventurer.
On top of all that, she had fluffy ears and a tail.
'Ah~ It's over. I've lost completely. Anya-sama, I'm sorry I couldn't entertain you…'
The elf girl's despair was so strong that Syr started hallucinating.
"Ryuu… Ryuu-chan, don't turn gray."
"Shirou..."
"Miss Ryuu?"
"Shirou... I'm just a useless elf..."
Ryuu sat on the ground, knees drawn up, arms wrapped around them, her bare feet pressing into the grass of the courtyard, her long toes digging slightly into the soil.
"Don't think like that, Ryuu-chan.",The ever-enthusiastic Anya quickly tried to comfort her.
"You may be clumsy at work, your cold and stiff expression scares customers, you're stubborn to a fault, and it's bad that you don't let cats touch you… but your combat skills are really strong, nya~" Anya clenched her fists,"And… and… and… uh?"
Anya looked troubled.
Shirou, Syr: "..."
"And, and, Ryuu is really strong, nya~ Fast too! And since you're an elf, you must be good at magic, nya…"
'No, just breaking down "combat ability" into separate traits doesn't count as listing multiple strengths.'
Syr sighed,"Enough, stop talking. Ryuu is about to start shedding tears."
"Shirou, I really am useless. Even before, everyone called me the 'good-for-nothing elf'…"
"Miss Ryuu, do you think my cooking is good?",Shirou sat down in front of her, speaking gently.
"Of course. Shirou's cooking is delicious."
"I wasn't good at it from the start either.",Shirou said,"I remember the first time I cooked, I burned everything. My father ate it with a helpless expression and ended up having stomach trouble all night."
He continued,"No one is good at everything from the beginning. Syr and Anya are the same, right?"
"Ah… Anya still mixes up customers' orders all the time."
"Syr too—she occasionally breaks plates, nya~"
"People mature by accumulating experiences as they grow.",Shirou said, gently taking Ryuu's hand again,"And I think it's incredible that you're so skilled in combat."
"The reason you excel at fighting is because you've always been fighting, right? And your battles have always been to protect others—just like how you saved me back then."
"Eh?",Ryuu was stunned.
"Miss Ryuu, that's nothing to be ashamed of. You should be proud of it.",Shirou said earnestly,"You're strong. You've used that strength to save and protect so many people. I think that's amazing!"
The boy in front of her overlapped with the memories of her fallen comrades.
'Did you all… think the same way?'
"Miss Ryuu…"
"Call me Ryuu."
"Huh?"
"You call Anya by her name, so call me 'Ryuu.'"
Because Anya was too lively and carefree, it felt natural to drop honorifics. But Ryuu…
"Miss Ryuu—"
"Call me 'Ryuu.'"
Shirou once again witnessed the stubbornness of elves.
"Ryuu."
"Shirou, I—"
*Gurgle~*
The elf girl's stomach let out a poorly timed growl.
Right, she had been too upset to eat dinner.
People get hungry when they don't eat. That's an absolute truth.
"Ugh...",Her face turned red again.
"Speaking of which, Shirou, you promised me a grilled fish feast. I want it now.",Anya tugged at him.
"Now? But there's no fish. I was planning to buy some tomorrow."
"It's fine, Anya will steal some from Mama Mia's kitchen, nya~"
.
.
.
"Wow, smells amazing!"
"You're awake. Shirou-kun made soup for everyone."
"Awesome! I was getting tired of Mama Mia's breakfasts—wait… when did Mama Mia get here…?"
"By the way, where's Anya?"
"She got caught stealing fish and is now hanging on the laundry pole."
"And Shirou?"
"He left early for his Familia. Seems like he has a lot of work today."
"I will cheer for Shirou-kun."
In the morning, the [Hostess of Fertility] tavern was still noisy, with the girls chatting while eating breakfast.
Shirou, of course, couldn't cook for everyone, but before leaving, making a pot of miso soup was no problem, as all the ingredients were readily available.
When doing housework and cooking, he would feel an unusual inner peace. This state was just right for organizing the day's plans.
"Ryuu, Shirou-kun's cooking skills are indeed very good."
"Mm... I want to always eat Shirou's miso soup in the future too.",The elven girl said softly.
The surroundings suddenly fell silent for a moment.
Girl A whispered,"This is a marriage proposal, right?"
Girl B: "It's a marriage proposal, huh."
Girl C: "What a pity, Shirou-kun isn't here~"
Syr gently patted Ryuu's shoulder,"Ryuu-chan, from now on, you should be a little more careful with the way you phrase things."
Ryuu tilted her head,"?"
The "useless elf" of the [Hostess of Fertility] once again displayed her lack of social awareness.
——-
"Achoo!" Shirou touched his nose.
"Did you catch a cold, or is someone talking about you~"
"Probably not..."
At this moment, they were in Tsubaki's workshop, where Shirou was starting to learn forging knowledge from the very basics.
Maintenance, repair, polishing, recycling... One must first understand these to establish a foundation for becoming an excellent blacksmith.
Tsubaki's workshop was large. As the strongest in her familia and also the strongest blacksmith in the city, her workshop occupied an entire floor of a building. Including Shirou, there were six assistants in total, three of whom were Lv.2 blacksmiths.
The Hephaestus Familia had a near-monopoly on the city's equipment production and manufacturing market, and competition within was very fierce. Generally, only those who reached Lv.2 and possessed the development ability [Forge] could have their outstanding works marked with the familia's emblem and sold in direct-operated stores.
Works that failed to meet this level either flowed into lower-tier shops or were sold at low prices to the Adventurers' Guild for handling—incidentally, the guild seemed to frequently deceive rookie adventurers into buying overpriced, subpar equipment, but that was the guild's problem.
Some blacksmiths worked hard to reach Lv.2 but did not acquire the development ability [Forge]. If they didn't want to switch to becoming adventurers or continue making low-level equipment to scrape by, their best option was to become assistants to other blacksmiths, hoping to participate in the creation of high-grade equipment, gaining high-level experience, and betting on a future.
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