Chapter 19

"Ha, the look on the defeated Black Blade's guild master's face was so hateful! Hehehe! I could drink a whole bottle of wine with that as my appetizer!"

It seemed she had a lot of pent-up resentment, as Lilia let out a malicious laugh. After that match, I met the Black Blade's guild master again, and he did indeed look quite regretful. He just glanced at me and left without saying a word.

We, the victors of the guild battle, are now back at our base.

"It's not just us, but in the end, only I fought, didn't I?"

"That doesn't matter at all! We couldn't have beaten the A-rank swordsmen anyway! Right, Rina!"

Suddenly asked for agreement, Rina vaguely nodded, saying, "Huh? Ah, yeah..."

Ignoring her reaction, the highly excited Lilia clung to my arm.

"Hehehe, with this, the debt is paid off, we don't have to sell the base, and we even have some change left over...! Mr. Alair, I really thank you!"

"Get off, you're being too clingy."

"Don't be shy! There's no man who wouldn't be happy to be embraced by such a beautiful woman!"

"Stop calling yourself beautiful."

"Is it okay? Even if you vent your youthful desires on an older woman?"

With a seductive smile, Lilia pressed her chest against my arm. Unfortunately, she's flat-chested, so it's not very pleasant.

"(With Mr. Alair around, our guild is safe... I absolutely can't let him go... And even though he looks tough, Mr. Alair is still a man... If I use my feminine charm to seduce him... No, I should just go all out...)"

She seems to be plotting something in her mind, but I can hear it.

"Mr. Alair! Please marry me!"

"I refuse."

"Immediate rejection? You don't even show any hesitation when a beautiful woman proposes to you!?"

"Why would I need to hesitate?"

"That's harsh! I've even been featured in the newspaper as 'a beautiful but too disappointing swordsman'!"

Is that something to be proud of?

"What's wrong with me!?"

"You're not my type."

"Wha—"

"Rather, I prefer women like Rina."

Unlike Lilia, Rina has a larger bust. I believe a woman's greatest charm is her breasts, and the bigger, the better.

"What are you saying, you!?"

Rina's voice grew harsh.

"J-Just stop joking! Are you teasing me!?"

"I'm not joking. As I said before, Rina is beautiful."

"!?"

I never thought the red-haired girl, whom I considered a boy, would grow into such a beauty. I'm still amazed.

"D-Don't make fun of me!"

"Why would I be making fun of you?"

"It's obvious! There's no way I could be beautiful! I've only ever swung a sword... I've been told I look like a boy! And unlike Rina, I've never even worn makeup!"

I don't think makeup is necessary.

"Ji-to—"

For some reason, Lilia made a sound effect while glaring at our conversation with half-closed eyes.

"Cough, cough, cough! Anyway!"

She deliberately coughed and forcefully interrupted our conversation.

"Let's all go out for a drink today! After all, we managed to save this guild!"

"I can't drink yet."

"I don't drink much either..."

"Then let's eat something delicious! Of course, it's on the guild! We've made a lot of money!"

Hmm.

If it's free, I'll gladly eat.

"...Damn, you're noisy."

At that moment, a drunk one-armed man entered. He's Lilia's father and the former guild master.

"Dad! Listen! We beat Dragon Fang!"

"Huh? Ha, you must have been the second or third team."

"No, that's not true! We didn't have our best members, but we had four A-rank swordsmen!"

"..."

The man gave his daughter a suspicious look.

"W-Well, I didn't do much..."

You didn't do anything at all.

"It's all thanks to Mr. Alair! He took out four A-rank swordsmen on his own! With Mr. Alair, our guild will regain its former vitality in no time!"

"Think about it, Lilia. A man like that won't be ignored by other powerful guilds. There will be a bidding war for him with good conditions. ...Do you think he'll stay here forever?"

"Wha—No, that's not a concern! Because Mr. Alair is going to marry me!"

Hey, don't decide things on your own.

I never made such a promise.

But still, this guy is really annoying to look at...

I couldn't help but speak up.

"Really. How long are you going to mope like that?"

"Wh-What?"

"You can still swing a sword even if you lost one or two arms."

Well, two would be a bit difficult. It's not impossible to swing a sword with your mouth or feet, but it would take a lot of time to become a competent fighter.

Compared to that, having one arm is much better.

"What do you know...?"

The man's voice grew harsh as he approached me. Lilia quickly tried to stop him.

"D-Dad, calm down...!"

"Get out of the way!"

"Kyaa?"

Lilia was pushed aside—she snapped.

"Shut up, you damn old man!"

Her right straight punch cleanly hit the man's face, and he collapsed unconscious on the ground.

"......Well! Let's go to the victory party!"

As if nothing had happened, Lilia announced.

Hmm.

This woman is indeed quite resilient.