I Was Sent to an All-Female Frontline Unit to Get Rid of Some of the Trouble, but the Most Beautiful Girls Who Are Rumored to Hate Men Love Me So Much That I Have a Hard Time at Night - Chapter 38: Counterattack (3)

Chapter 38: Counterattack (3)

“Eh…? A one-on-one fight between you and me…?”

“Yeah. If you can win against me, I will quietly retreat with these hundred men… If you want, you can even finish us off—but if you lose, I will take the lives of the two of you.”

He wanted to say that, but then continued.

The man raised the corners of his mouth and said,

“I’m kind, you see. I’ll only keep you in custody… How about that? Simple, smart, and clever, right?”

It was certainly very simple.

If I won against this man, I could protect myself and Elena from their attack.

If I lost, I would only be captured by the Granzania Kingdom’s army, and Elena wouldn’t be troubled.

As I sorted out this proposal in my mind, Elena spoke up.

“It’s certainly a simple proposal, but isn’t it stupid? There’s no benefit for us to accept it.”

“Hey, hey, didn’t you hear what I said earlier? Or do you want to be attacked all at once by these hundred men and get torn to pieces?”

“Hah, that’s why commanders who only know about us through reports are useless… As I said, we have no reason to accept such a proposal. If you are so confident, go ahead and attack me all at once—whatever you want—right now.”

“W-Wait!”

“Fi-Finn…?”

Standing next to Elena, who was one step ahead of me, I spoke.

Elena called my name with a slightly troubled look.

To her, I expressed what I felt.

“Well… if I fight that man one-on-one and win, and if that stops their attack—then I want to accept this proposal.”

“Eh!?”

Surprised, Elena spoke to me with that same force.

“N-No, you can’t! Even with this many, we can defeat them in an instant. Even if they attack all at once, it’s absolutely fine—”

“Of course, I’m not doubting Elena’s strength! If it were Elena, I think she could handle being attacked by all of them.”

“If you think that, then why take on a one-on-one fight like this?”

“That’s because… no matter how much I know you’re fine, I don’t want Elena to be attacked by the enemy!”

“…!”

Having someone important to me get attacked by the enemy—

Of course, since we are both soldiers, I understand that there are times when that is necessary as strategy.

If it benefits everyone, I would gladly take on the role of a decoy who absorbs enemy attacks…

But this isn’t that kind of situation.

If it can be avoided, I definitely don’t want Elena to be attacked.

This proposal could make that wish come true.

“If winning against that man means stopping the attack itself, then I want to fight for Elena’s sake too!”

Then I added,

“If this is the first time I get to fight in a real battle, I don’t want to miss the chance to become someone who can protect Elena and everyone else quickly.”

“Finn…”

Elena looked at me for a moment.

Then, with a gentle expression, she said,

“That’s unfair… If you say it like that, I can’t say no!”

“Elena…!”

“…That guy doesn’t seem strong at all, and since you want to become stronger, you’ll have to fight in real battle someday. If you are about to get hit even once, I can forcefully intervene right before that happens…”

Muttering something I couldn’t hear, Elena nodded once and then spoke again.

“Okay! Finn! Do your best in your first real battle! I’m cheering for you!”

“Y-Yes! Thank you!”

With those words from Elena, I turned my back to her and stepped closer to the brown-haired man than before.

“Have you decided whether you’ll accept the one-on-one fight?”

“Yes—I accept.”

“Heh heh… I see. Then, Elena Endyheart! Don’t interfere in our fight! If you do, I’ll order my men to attack this brat all at once!!”

“Yeah, yeah, I won’t interfere.”

Elena said that in a very cold tone compared to when she talks with me or everyone else.

Together with the brown-haired man, I left Elena and the Granzania Kingdom soldiers behind and moved to an open area.

“So, this is really a one-on-one fight between you and me… Listen, since you accepted the fight, I won’t hold back. If you’re wearing a military uniform, then I’ll treat you like a soldier.”

“H-Huh…? Yes.”

Actually, how could he treat me as anything but a soldier?

I was a bit confused by his words, and the brown-haired man whispered softly.

“Still, it’s crazy that a kid who looks like he doesn’t know anything about war is really on the front line… I really do have some luck.”

“Did you say something?”

“No? Anyway, if we’re doing one-on-one, let’s start now.”

“Understood.”

My first real battle.

I don’t know his skill or fighting style.

He’s probably not stronger than Elena, Sephia, or Norn.

But since he said he’s in charge of the Granzania Kingdom’s front line, he might be quite strong from my trainee viewpoint.

Even so, for Elena and everyone, I can’t hesitate!

“Let’s go!!”

The brown-haired man said that and immediately swung his right hand at me.

It was a big attack.

Since he’s bigger than me, I didn’t want to take that hit.

I could easily block it with defensive magic, but since this is my first real battle, I thought it might be better not to show all my cards too soon.

So, I avoided the attack without using magic.

“Come on! What’s wrong!?”

He continued to swing with both hands.

I avoided those too.

The attacks were too slow, and I wanted to step in and counterattack, but I guessed he was slowing down on purpose to lure me.

So, I decided to wait a little longer.

As I calmly kept avoiding, he stepped back.

“Tch, you’re good at dodging… I wanted to enjoy this since I rarely get to mess with civilians, but I’ll show you a little bit of my true strength.”

“True strength…” This was the real start.

I got ready after hearing those words.

“Fireball Flame Ball!”

The man released a small fireball from his hand.

It was small and slow, so I easily dodged it.

He laughed loudly.

“Hahaha! How’s that! This is an attack magic! You must be used to soft life magic. This must be the first time you’ve seen something like this!!”

“Eh…?”

What is he saying…?

Fireball Flame Ball is a basic magic almost everyone who wants to fight in the army’s real battles can use.

Of course, maybe those without the right element can’t, but they can use basic magic of their own element.

It’s not something you’d say you saw for the first time.

As I thought this, the man smiled strangely and said,

“Why are you so quiet? Did that scare you? But since you accepted the fight, we have to keep fighting until one of us can’t move or dies!! Hey, you can try casting magic on me next! If you can use attack magic, that is!! Hahaha!!”

“Understood.”

I didn’t understand what he was saying, but since he said I could attack, I raised my right hand.

I put my magic power into my hand and released the spell.

“Explosion Explode.”

“Ah…?”

Right after,

The magic I released hit the brown-haired man directly.

A big explosion happened around him.

Smoke from the explosion covered the area.