Labyrinth city Exil had a much larger population than the frontier city of Gilm. Even so, there were few places in the city that were lit up at night. Even though magic items that provided lighting weren’t expensive, if a large number was needed, the cost would inevitably increase. Because of that, such magic items were basically only installed in the red light districts and at the guild, where most people would gather at night.

Adding on to that, because the Marschel and Levisor families were currently buying up magic stones, the prices of even the small magic stones used in such magic items had risen.

Because of that, it was mostly moonlight and not magic items that illuminated the darkness surrounding a park a short distance away from Exil’s red light district.

「Well, this is enough light.」

Vihera had a seductive smile as she looked over at Rei and called out to him.

「I think this will do. It seems you and I both think similarly, but we’re definitely different. I see why you had your eyes set on me. No, of course, if you had meant those words in their original meaning, I wouldn’t have followed you here.」

「Oh? But normally, if a woman like me were to invite someone, they’d be happy to come with me.」

「……Well, I can’t deny that.」

Rei nodded with a sigh.

She was one of the top three most beautiful women he had met so far and had a body that men would love. She also wore a sensual outfit made up of multiple layers of thin translucent cloth giving off the vibe of a dancer. Most men……or even women would not be able to refuse Vihera if she invited them out. Rei couldn’t dispute that claim.

「However, I don’t know if they would have followed you if they knew it was for something like this.」

Even though Vihera was smiling at Rei, it wasn’t a smile with amorous intentions. It was a smile containing pure fighting spirit.

It wasn’t filled with murderous intent either, her aim wasn’t to kill Rei but to enjoy the struggle of the fight.

Feeling the sense of tension in the air, Rei looked over towards Vihera’s arms and legs.

Maybe it was due to the moonlight, but her limbs seemed to have a glossy whiteness to them.

However, it was clear from Rei’s gaze that he wasn’t distracted by her seductive body.

Rather, Rei called out to Vihera.

「Even if you want to fight, are you sure without the weapons on your hands and feet? Aren’t they decent magic items?」

「Well, you could almost literally call them extensions of my hands and feet. However, I don’t have them with me right now because I left them at a blacksmith for maintenance. If I had known that I would meet you in a place like this, I would have shifted the maintenance to tomorrow.」

Vihera gave a sigh of regret, similar to that of a young lady lamenting the fact that she wasn’t dressed at her best when encountering someone she loved.

However, the big difference was that she was disappointed with her lack of weapons and not her outfit.

She gave a sorrowful sigh as she brushed her wavy reddish purple hair.

However, the next moment, her gaze towards Rei turned sharp, like that of a bird of prey……or a carnivore.

「But just because I don’t have my weapons doesn’t mean that we can’t have a tryst right?」

「……So, you do know that the tryst you’re talking about and the way the word tryst is used are two different meanings, don’t you?」

Even though Vihera had sighed several times today, Rei did not take his eyes off her.

His gaze wasn’t that with amorous intentions though, but one like a hunter who was wary of a dangerous carnivore.

「Fufu~, it doesn’t matter. A quiet park at night, only the moonlight illuminating the two of us alone. If you think about it normally, it has to be a tryst no matter how you see it.」

「……If you’re only considering the word.」

「Is that so? ……I’ve introduced myself, but I don’t think I’ve heard your name. May I ask for it?」

「Why are you only asking that now? Haven’t you heard Elena call my name?」

「That’s just what the girl, Elena, called you though. You haven’t properly introduced yourself to me.」

「Don’t get stuck on such a strange point. ……Well, that’s fine. I’m Rei, a B rank adventurer from Gilm. I’ve been given the title of Crimson.」

「Yes, I’ve know your title. I heard that you burned the whole army of the Bestir Empire on your own.」

She said that with a brilliant smile, but her words were quite disturbing.

Rei gave a bitter smile at the rumours that seemed to get more exaggerated each time he heard them.

「It seems like the story keeps getting more exaggerated each time, it’s nothing that exciting. I only burned the vanguard and they weren’t all destroyed by my magic either.」

「Really? But it’s true that you have at least that much strength. ……In that case, please show me that strength.」

With those words, Vihera dashed towards Rei, her feet seemingly gliding across the ground.

The 5m distance between them vanished in an instant, the next moment, Vihera was smiling as she stretched out her right hand towards Rei.

Rei seemed like he couldn’t respond to that as her hand almost touched his left shoulder. At the same time, Vihera’s face started to fill with disappointment……

「Heh, that’s quite neat. It’s the first time I’ve seen such a move.」

Just before her hand reached Rei’s left shoulder, Vihera’s wrist was grabbed by Rei’s right hand.

「……Eh? -!?」

For a moment, she seemed to have no idea about what had happened. Especially because she thought she had overestimated Rei’s ability, her surprise was even greater.

Still, she immediately pulled her arm out of Rei’s grasp. She didn’t use all her strength to pull her arm away. Instead she used her technique to disperse Rei’s strength as she withdrew her arm.

Jumping backwards, she landed softly.

The thin clothes she wore danced in the wind as if they were an illusion.

「Did I underestimate you?」

「Who knows, what do you think? It’s true that your movements surprised me though. It was very smooth.」

「Fufu~, that’s not something you can say, Rei, after how you responded to it.」

For the first time……Vihera used Rei’s name when she called out to him. It meant that she recognised him as an individual she needed to confront properly and not just someone she held expectations of.

Rei too looked back at her with a fierce smile on his face.

「Well then, that was your first attack……now it’s my turn!」

Along with his shout, Rei dashed towards Vihera. Rei’s movement was linear and powerful, as opposed to Vihera’s smooth flowing movements. It was a method of movement that made full use of his physical strength and the Shoes of Sleipnir he wore on his feet. Unlike Vihera’s movements which were sleek and curved towards her target, Rei went straight for his. A curve or a straight line. Which one would reach their destination faster……

「Fast-!」

Vihera unconsciously raised her voice in surprise at straightforward and fast speed of Rei’s fist.

However, she was still able to take evasive action immediately despite voicing her surprise.

Watching the movement of Rei’s fist, she gently reached out for his right arm. And, immediately after that.

「Woah-!」

It was Rei’s turn to voice his surprise. From in the air.

Rei realised what had happened. Using the momentum from Rei’s fist, Vihera had thrown him into the air.

Knowing his physical ability, Rei was impressed as he rotated his body in mid air and regained his posture. Although what had just happened wasn’t particularly difficult, how many people could do what Vihera had done just now?

Rei landed on the ground while thinking of that. Thanks to the rotations he had made in the air, he succeeded in softening most of the impact.

But, because Rei’s force had been so great, even after landing on the ground, he still slid several meters before coming to a stop.

「I never thought you’d be able to throw me with my strength.」

「Fufu~, I’m a weak woman. I can’t beat men with force, so I have to fight with technique, right?」

Her smile was just as glossy as before the fight had started. However, the light in her eyes was different. It was like a ferocious beast, rejoicing in combat and growing stronger and sharper as she stared at Rei intensely.

Rei gave an unintentional smile when he saw her glowing eyes, showing the opposite of what she had just said.

「Come then, Rei, let you and I dance a bloody ball under the moonlight!」

As Vihera said that, she closed her distance to Rei with movements so fluid you couldn’t even see when she started to move.

However, Rei had still be able to handle that after seeing it just once.

Her arm stretched out to Rei as before. However, the difference was that her target was not Rei’s shoulder, but his side.

Gently reaching out towards a punch Rei threw……in that moment, using the momentum from Rei’s fist, Vihera made a full turn on the spot

At the same time, she threw a backfist towards Rei’s chin……

「Tch!」

Rei reflexively bent his upper body as he saw Vihera’s fist pass in front of him as he tried to counter her counter.

「Guh-!」

Rei felt a strong impact at his abdomen as he was blown away from his initial position.

(What? I was hurt through the Dragon Robe?)

As he flew through the air, he quickly looked towards Vihera.

He saw her arm placed where his body had been. However, it wasn’t her right fist, which had been swung like a back fist, but her left hand, which was in an open palm

Vihera must have noticed Rei calmly looking at her as he flew back. Her eyes widened in surprise as she chased after him.

Seeing that, Rei tried to forcibly correct his posture in the air. As he moved his body slightly, he felt a dull pain in his abdomen where he had been hit just before.

Rei ignored the pain as he landed on the ground. His knee went down for a moment at the unexpected hit, but sensing the imminent struggle, he got up at once.

(It’s awkward to deal with a dull pain. I’d rather deal with sharp pain that goes away right after.)

Rei thought to himself as he waited for Vihera to reach him.

Her dancer like outfit and reddish purple hair fluttered in the wind, revealing her sensual body as she approached, like a maiden bringing death.

「This is no joke……at all-!」

Vihera’s movements had no sense of when they started, but it wasn’t hard for Rei to deal with, having seen them several times already. He avoided Vihera’s fist, which was thrown with speed in addition to her strength, by tilting his head to the side. However, he still received a cut on the cheek due to the speed of her fist.

Instead of trying to respond with a counter, Rei rotated his body half a turn instead.

The next moment, a fist passed through where Rei’s side had been earlier.

Like before, it was an attack that caused him to focus on the first attack while striking a different gap in his defences.

Instinctively sensing that, Rei forced his body to make a half turn to avoid the attack. Using that momentum to complete a full rotation, he tried to slam his elbow into Vihera’s head……before stopping.

At the same time, Vihera’s right hand touched Rei’s throat.

The head and throat, both vital points of a person. What that meant was……

「A draw, is it?」

Rei muttered, but Vihera shook her head.

「I specialise in close quarters combat, but that’s not the same for you, right? I don’t want to say that I lost, but I am at a disadvantage.」

They were at a close distance where their lips would make contact if either of them moved their head a few centimetres closer. However, the atmosphere between them wasn’t a sweet one, but one filled with tension between warriors.

「Besides, you went easy on me, didn’t you, Rei?」

「Went easy? I don’t recall doing anything like that?」

「You’re not using any weapons.」

「You say that, but you’re not using any weapons either.」

「That’s my own business, but you could have taken out the knife at your waist if you wanted, right?」

「That’s……」

Rei was at a loss for words.

Since Vihera wasn’t using the weapons on her arms and legs, Rei also fought without using any weapons. In a sense, it was a rule decided by tacit understanding. However, it seemed that Vihera, who excelled in unarmed combat, was not satisfied that Rei, who specialised in fighting with weapons, was able to fight her to a draw.

「But, that’s right. We should fight each other in our best conditions. I’ll use the weapons on my arms and legs and Rei can use all your means of attack.」

「……As for me, I don’t really want to fight.」

Vihera shrugged her shoulders in amazement at Rei, who responded with a sigh.

With their close proximity, Vihera’s movements were naturally felt by Rei……her huge twin hills, wrapped in thin clothes, squished up as they pressed against Rei’s body.

「You should be more modest.」

Rei said that with flushed cheeks. Vihera smiled as she seemed to think of something.

「We didn’t do our best, but I lost. ……It’s impossible for us to spend a night together because of that, but this is your reward.」

Saying that, Vihera gently place her lips over Rei’s.

It was a kiss that only lasted several seconds. Still, Rei’s cheeks turned redder than ever at her sudden action.

「Fufu~, thank you. That was my first kiss. Let’s fight again sometime. If you win then, let’s spend a night together.」

Vihera gently stroked Rei’s cheeks, which were now a bright red, before leaving.

As for Rei, he was frozen solid for a few minutes.

He didn’t notice a presence softly leaving at all.

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