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Test Your Skills, Glory Awaits the Victor – Part 09

Having lived as an adventurer, Jillarte’s cooking skills were quite good. Not only was she proficient with a knife, she also knew the characteristics of vegetables that even Hikaru did not know.

“Wait.”

There was a problem, however.

“Not too much thought on the seasoning, huh?”

Hikaru was watching as Jillarte tossed meat and vegetables into a pot and seasoned it with rock salt only.

“Adding salt is normal,” Jillarte said.

“Yeah, but there are other seasonings available too.”

“You do it, then,” she huffed.

Hikaru took off his hooded cloak, but kept his mask on.

“Silver Face…”

“Hmm?”

“Your hair’s blue.”

“Yeah, well.”

The blue hair was a wig. Unless exposed under the light of the sun, his black hair shouldn’t be spotted.

Hikaru rolled up his sleeves and entered the kitchen. He didn’t have much experience in cooking, but he knew how to season.

Mutton had a strong smell and a lot of fat, so it should be pre-boiled with herbs and the water discarded afterwards.

Since the meat had been partially cooked, Hikaru boiled the root vegetables first. Consommé would’ve been nice to have. Fortunately, there was something that resembled soup stock so he put that in. The resulting soup had a spicy kick but lacked depth. He added the mutton and leafy vegetables and adjusted the flavor with salt and pepper.

“Wow.”

Jillarte let out a surprised gasp. Hikaru gave it a score of 40 out of 100, but she found it delicious.

“You can cook too, huh?”

“Let’s talk over dinner.”

Dinner was a simple meal of brown bread, soup, and fruit, but making it yourself gave it a different kind of flavor.

“Full disclosure: I like to eat,” Hikaru said. “So I’m quite knowledgeable about ingredients. But I don’t really cook myself, so I’m sure you’re much better than me with a knife.”

Hikaru brought the soup to his mouth. The vegetables provided a very rich flavor. The meat was also perfectly tender and tasty. He raised the score from 40 to 45.

Now I’m craving for oxtail soup or bacon.

Hikaru vowed to eat to his heart’s content once he visited a region known for livestock farming.

“So I guess we were just in the right place at the right time,” Hikaru said. “You cut, and I cook.”

“Was I even useful?”

“That’s what I’m saying.”

“I-I see. That’s good to know.”

Jillarte chuckled and continued eating. With this much knowledge, he must be much older than he looks, like over thirty or something, she thought.

Hikaru had no way of knowing what went on in her mind.

“So, about tomorrow,” he said.

Jillarte’s hand stopped.

“Selyse Lande is strong. There’s not a single adventurer who has worked in Ponsonia who doesn’t know her. I watched a little bit of her fight yesterday and today, and she still hasn’t shown her full power.”

Hikaru recalled her fighting style.

“She wields a one-handed sword and a small shield. The shield is used to deflect instead of blocking attacks. The same goes for the sword; she prefers a slim one to fight in a way that inflicts minor damage over time while playing with the opponent using speed, rather than crossing swords head-on. Of course, if there’s an opening, it’s sharp enough to take an opponent down in a single blow.”

Hikaru didn’t witness Selyse’s fight against the White Dragon, but Lavia and Paula told him that she wasn’t using her ultimate weapon, the White Ray Blade, in this tournament. That would cause some serious trouble.

“How do you think I should fight?” Jillarte asked.

“Let me hear your thoughts first.”

“I think I have to fight using numbers. She has one weapon, while I have two. Since we both rely on speed…”

“As far as speed goes, she’s faster. If you fought in the same way, you’d lose in swordsmanship.”

Hikaru didn’t have martial arts experience, but he had the Soul Board. Thinking back to Selyse’s Soul Board, she had 4 points in Power Burst and 3 points in Balance. Jillarte had 3 points each in the same stats. She also only had 4 points in Sword as opposed to Selyse’s 5.

“Then what should I do?”

“…”

Hikaru hesitated. He had a special ability that allowed him to access not only his own Soul Board but also that of others. Jillarte had 4 points available. He could put 1 point each in her Power Burst and Sword, or even play it safe and go for 2 points each. Giving points to a complete beginner would be pointless, as they would be overwhelmed by their own power. However, Jillarte had the foundation to fully utilize the points. If she fought normally, she could beat Selyse.

On the other hand, doing that would put her on the same level as the Sword Saint Lawrence, who had 6 points on his Greatsword. Lawrence had the mysterious Heaven Sword Skill, so it might be different, but still, wouldn’t it be a problem if Jillarte acquired enough power to be on par with the Sword Saint?

She was only eighteen years old. People would wonder how she got so strong, and Hikaru couldn’t be around her forever.

But without the power of the Soul Board…

She’s gonna lose.

That was almost certain.

Hikaru sighed. Fine. I’ll help her out.

He couldn’t abandon her at this point. He believed that Jillarte would put the power she’d been given to good use.

“Jillarte, I—”

“It’s okay,” Jillarte interrupted. “You’ve done a lot for me. You don’t even have any connection to Einbiest or the Dragonfolk, but you helped anyway. You were about to suggest something that would put a heavy burden on you, weren’t you? I’m fine. I can’t let you do that.”

“…”

“To be honest, I don’t know why you’re doing all this. As you can see, I don’t have any money, and we Half Dragons look like this. So, um, I know you’re not after my body or anything. I don’t know how to repay the huge debt I owe you. And it’s really hard.”

Jillarte put a hand on her chest. She looked on the verge of tears.

“I know it sounds crazy. I’m fighting for the minority races, but I can’t even repay a single person.”

“I don’t want anything in return.”

If anything, it was more like atonement. Hikaru was trying to dispel his regret of not being able to live up to his name.

It was simply self-gratification. But Jillarte didn’t know that.

“I can’t ask for any more than this,” she said.

“I understand. If that’s what you want.”

She was saying that if she lost against Selyse, then so be it.

Jillarte stood up and put a hand on the button of her clothes.

“S-Silver Face. I get that you’re not asking for anything in return. B-But this is the only thing I can offer.”

“Huh?”

She unbuttoned her outerwear, revealing a camisole-like undergarment. She wasn’t wearing any bra, which meant that she was naked underneath.

“W-Wait, wait!”

“Please, take me! I don’t have any experience, but I’ll do my best!”

“I don’t want that!”

Hikaru jumped to grab Jillarte’s hand. She was about to remove her undergarment, revealing her fair belly. As a characteristic of the Dragonfolk, it was dotted with dull scales.

“This might be the last time,” she mumbled.

At that moment, Hikaru caught a glimpse of Jillarte’s determination.

She was going to give it her all in her match against Selyse tomorrow. She was planning to put her life on the line.

“You idiot.”

Hikaru snapped back to his senses. It felt like he was doused with cold water.

“This isn’t the last Ruler’s Rumble. There will be another one six years from now. I bet you’ll have grown a lot by then, and Gerhardt will be past his prime. Don’t you dare say this is the last time.”

“But…”

“No buts.”

Hikaru lowered her clothes back down. Jillarte plopped down on the chair.

“Are you mad at me?”

She looked up at him like a puppy fearing abandonment. If it weren’t for her cloudy eyes and dull scales, Jillarte would’ve been an incredibly beautiful girl.

“I’m not, so don’t give me that look.”

Hikaru poked her on the forehead, and she whimpered.

“Changing the way you think and live is not easy,” Hikaru said. “Even if you win this year’s tournament and become the leader of the Confederacy, the discrimination against the Dragonfolk won’t disappear in about six years.”

“…”

“Your face says you already know that. Your efforts and attempts are not meaningless. But you’re too focused on what’s in front of you.”

“So you’re telling me to try again in six years?”

“Or even twelve years. And if there’s someone stronger than you, leave it to them. But you can’t die. Death is just running away. No matter the hardships, you must live until you achieve your goal. You know your responsibility, and you’re trying to live up to it, but promise me that you won’t die just to fulfill your duties.”

“Okay,” Jillarte said softly.

Hikaru wasn’t sure which one of them was older.

“It’s going to be a long fight,” he added. “Do you know what you need to survive?”

“Uh, power?”

“That’s only one aspect. What you need is heart.”

“Heart…”

“Keep wishing for it, no matter how long it takes. If you keep your faith, your dreams will come true. Every dream you give up on is a shattered hope. You need passion strong enough to blow away the curse of the Dragonfolk.”

“I understand. I will create a place devoid of racial discrimination. Where people can smile and laugh freely. And I won’t stop trying.”

“Good.”

Hikaru thought he might be able to lift the curse on the Dragonfolk by talking to the Fire Drakon again, but he didn’t know how to meet it, and he didn’t want to raise uncertain expectations. She already had a lot on her plate.

“One more thing,” Hikaru said. “Don’t carry all the burden alone. I’m here fighting too.”

“But… I have nothing to repay you.”

“All right, all right. I’ll tell you what I want after the tournament is over. I need time to think.”

“Are you sure? You better mean that!”

Jillarte’s face lit up. A weight had been removed from her mind.

She finally smiled. I don’t think she’ll advance any more in the tournament.

Hikaru couldn’t assist Jillarte any more than he already had. Editing her Soul Board was not an option. He couldn’t bring himself to do it. Jillarte had too much clout, and they would be walking entirely different paths in the future. The situation was completely different from Paula’s.

I know this means forcing her to lose.

He wondered if this was the right thing to do.

He couldn’t rid his mind of the doubt.

I wanna see Lavia.

They were together just a few hours ago, but Hikaru was already eager to see Lavia again.

He wanted to tell her everything and hear her opinion, her words. All of this was too much for him to bear alone.