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Chapter 157: Mare vs Cherry

「Aun-sama, I have brought the two idiots.」

「Yo-ho! It’s been a while, Aun-sama!!」

「Yo! You’re as energetic as ever, Cherry!」

「…Long time…no see.」

「Are you doing well as well, Mare? Speaking of which, how is the weapon I gave you? Do you think you can master it?」

「Yes… I can move it… as I wish now.」

「I see! Well, since it’s been a long time, I’d like you two to have a mock battle. I want to see how much you two have grown.」

Their reactions to my words were the polar opposites.

The corner of Mare’s lips curled into a fearless smile, while Cherry smiled wryly as sweat formed on her forehead. Judging from their reactions, it seems that Mare has the upper hand in terms of the strength of the two.

「Don’t think… bad of me… Cherry.」

「Hmph! You think you can win easily? Then I’ll get serious too! You’re not the only one who wants to show Aun-sama her good side!!」

After taking a certain distance from each other, they faced each other and readied their weapons.

Cherry put on her Bullet Knuckles and took a fighting pose, while Mare let her hands hang loosely.

「Begin!!」

Cherry was the first to move when Shinku gave the command. She closed the distance at once by making use of her speed.

On the other hand, Mare crossed her hands in front of her chest without panicking.

「I already know that move!」

Immediately following that, Cherry changed the angle of her movement and stepped sideways by a few meters. The ground where Cherry was before she moved was suddenly gouged out.

「Wow… Magic Steel Thread can produce such firepower.」

When I unintentionally said what I was thinking, Shinku explained from the side.

「At first, controlling it was all she could do, but seems to have gotten the hang of it recently. Her offensive power and control have improved rapidly. It seems that with delicate finger movements and channeling mana into the weapons just like Aun-sama, she is able to make complex movements with the threads.」

「She is controlling all 10 threads attached to her fingers with mana!? That’s unbelievably dexterous…」

If it was me, I would surely get tangled in the threads in an instant. Moreover, unlike me, the amount of mana she is channeling into the weapon is probably not constant. She is also unleashing various attack patterns, such as bending the threads like a whip, stabbing like a needle, and blunt attack by bunching them up together.

Cherry, however, avoided the attacks by a narrow margin and waited for an opening to counterattack. She has grown into a different person from when she fought me for the first time. Instead of simply pushing through with raw power, she is dodging her opponent’s attack with minimal movement and waiting to counterattack. She is still a little clumsy, but I can see that her movement is similar to Shinku’s counter. It’s not a skill that can be acquired overnight, and even if you make an effort, only a few people with good sense will be able to acquire it. And judging from this, Cherry seems to have very good eyesight. I guess this is also a kind of talent.

「Found an opening!! [Boiling Blood]!」

Finding a gap in Mare’s attack motion when she swung her hands down from above, Cherry narrowly dodged the attack, activating a skill that emitted a shining scarlet aura from her whole body. She immediately captured Mare’s rear with a speed that was incomparable to before, and threw a punch with her right fist while rotating her upper body around the waist.

The attack power was so great that the wind pressure caused dust clouds to rise up to ten meters high. If that blow lands, the match will end with Cherry’s victory.

…If it lands, that is.

「Naive. Cherry…」

「Hey! Wait!! Put me down!!」

When the dust settled, there hung Cherry, hands and legs bound by steel threads, and Mare, who was controlling the threads from several meters away.

What happened a few seconds ago was Mare used [Shadow Movement] just before the attack landed to evade the blow, and activated a steel thread trap that was hidden directly under her in advance, and controlled it from the destination she moved to.

This girl… Just how many set ups did she plant at the same time while fighting Cherry? She even did it calmly with that speed. There is no doubt that she will definitely get stronger as she levels up.

Although Cherry lost, her close combat sense was astonishing. In the first place, compared to Mare, who was originally an S-rank monster, Cherry was only a B-rank monster. Of course, there would be some differences in stats as well. Even so, she persevered to this point and came close to victory. It’s clear that once she levels up and evolves, she has the potential to become a considerable monster.

It’s no surprise that Shinku holds these two in high esteem and encourages their growth.

「What do you think, Aun-sama? They’re still rough around the edges, but I don’t think the material is bad.」

「Well, I understand now why you’re trying to prioritize raising their levels.」

「Thank you very much. I will do my best to raise them so that I can show their growth to you, Aun-sama.」

「I’m looking forward to it.」

I was about to leave the floor after saying that, but I suddenly realized that I have never checked their status before.

(Since I’m already here, let’s just give it a check.)