I Became a Childhood Friend With the Villainous Saintess - Chapter 156



156 – The Dirty Cabin (1)

The two swords clashed lightly.

The sound of metal clashing resonates cleanly. I grab Edwin’s arm, who appears behind me, and throw him, and before I know it, his sword is slashed down from the sky.

“I didn’t know that because I didn’t experience it when I was young, but it’s so annoying.”

“Of course it’s just your sword. You’ve tamed such an ugly thing so well.”

“I’ve lived a strange life.”

“That’s true too. Anyway, it’s gotten a lot better. I can’t just ignore it like I used to.”

Edwin’s sword was a new experience for me too.

Even among the Demon Tribe, there were those who often used this fighting style that utilized the entire space, from front to back, left to right, up and down.

But I have never faced a top-level sword master, and one with this level of spatial control.

Well, now I know Edwin’s true identity.

He is the guardian of the Hybras sect, who stood at the forefront in the holy war against the god of time long ago.

A hero whose name isn’t even recorded. Naturally, he’s bound to be difficult to deal with.

“You’ve grown in a good direction. I hoped you wouldn’t rely too much on your sword skills, but I didn’t think you’d show off such perfect sword skills.”

“I guess it looks okay to Edwin?”

“Generally speaking, yes.”

“generally?”

Edwin’s mood changed.

Until now, it felt like they were just clashing moderately, but now it seemed like they were focusing on finding my weak points.

The extremities, such as the hand holding the sword, the feet stuck to the ground, or the knees that are difficult to move at once.

Rather than dealing with me, it felt like I was being subtly eaten away from the outside.

It doesn’t seem like he’s intentionally hurting himself now, but if it were a real fight, very minor injuries would have accumulated.

Even if it takes a long time, if things continue this way, I’ll be the one who’s at a disadvantage.

“It may not seem like much of a problem so far, but you lack finesse. At first glance, you may seem flawless, but there are surprisingly many weak points. Well, as you can see, there’s not much you can get out of it.”

“I can’t eat it because of my personality. No, this is really annoying.”

“I’m telling you, you’re annoying. Aren’t you the kind of person who won’t fix a bad habit unless you experience it with your body?”

“That’s not wrong, but… … use it.”

The duel with Edwin was something I had been looking forward to when I came to the sanctuary.

Because once my level gets higher and I become a sword master, there won’t be many opponents who can help my skills.

The Knights of the Spearhead are usually the ones I have to teach, and most of the Swordmasters of the Empire have their own responsibilities.

I can’t just call out to them to swing their swords whenever I feel like it.

Although Isha was the one I sparred with frequently, we now knew each other’s swords too well.

I would say it has become somewhat entrenched.

It was a time when new stimulation was needed in many ways.

I was able to overcome a wall once in my fight with Eligos, but once you overcome a wall, another one appears.

In that respect, Edwin caught me off guard in a nice way.

“It would have been okay until then. It seems like you know your strengths well, and on the other hand, you know your weaknesses well. So I think you chose to erase them with your overwhelming strengths.”

“Then it sounds like you’re saying things won’t be okay from now on.”

“That’s right. This small weakness will one day threaten your life.”

Edwin keeps trying to exploit my weaknesses.

I used to think that the power to move through space was a power granted by Hybras, but since I can’t do something similar, it must have been something Edwin honed through his own efforts.

I thought about reading the flow of magic power… … but I couldn’t even begin to interpret it, let alone follow it, so I decided to give up on the idea.

It was clear that I was only dealing with one enemy, but I had the illusion that there were multiple enemies.

If you block the front, the sides become dangerous, and the attacks that started coming from behind suddenly start coming from the front again.

“At least among those I’ve met, there were few who could stand up to you head-on. I don’t think things would be much different in this day and age.”

“It’s not like there aren’t any at all. But even so, it’s a bit overwhelming against a rampaging Demon King.”

“The fact that you even say something like that is a little too much means you are out of the norm.”

Edwin has been helping us steadily since we reunited at this sanctuary.

Not only did he become my sparring partner like he was now, but he also answered any questions I asked him as best he could.

In particular, the answer to the question about the divine power used by the Demon Tribe was so easy that it made me feel disappointed after struggling in the Pantheon.

It seemed that Edwin knew more about the Demons than the humans of his time.

Most gods do not accept demons as followers.

But there was one god who was an exception.

The god of darkness. He was an evil god who perished at the end of the temple along with the god of time.

If the lineage of the God of Darkness was secretly passed down among the demons, there was no law that said the demons could not use divine powers even in the contemporary era.

This was especially true for high-ranking demon lords like Eligos.

For humans, the era of the temple may seem like a distant past, but for some high-ranking demon lords, it was a time they could look back on and say, ‘That was how it was back then.’

Edwin took a step back.

I was just trying to sneak a peek at you on purpose, but it seemed like you had no intention of getting caught.

There have been a lot more water fights. You’re not the type to use your head well, you know,” he said, scratching at my insides.

“A sword master like you doesn’t die easily. I can’t imagine you being defeated from the front. What about you?”

“Well. I just… … live with the mindset that it’s somewhere.”

“Good attitude. But if one path is blocked, you should know how to find another path. If you are going to be killed by someone, there is a good chance that he will exploit your weakness in this way.”

There was nothing to refute.

Maybe in the original… … um, should I say past now? Or future?

Both the future and the past are a bit unsettling. I can’t think of any words to express it.

If what Hebras said is true, then it must have been close to the past, but I don’t have any direct memories of it.

It seems like having complete memories depends on causality or something.

Anyway, in the original, I probably would have died like this.

A war of attrition through the joint attacks of several male protagonists. Or a war of wheels.

I wouldn’t have died easily either, but defeat was defeat.

And my death will ultimately be a tragedy for Sirien as well.

That much was unacceptable.

I shouldn’t have created a situation where I was surrounded by enemies like that, but even if that happened, I had no intention of dying.

We must desperately search for an answer.

“Fuck. I know what you’re saying, but it’s really frustrating to be in this position.”

“Isn’t that what practice is all about? Be thankful you don’t experience it on the battlefield.”

“That’s true, but… … .”

The opponent’s sword seems to touch but doesn’t.

It felt like cutting water with a sword. It was similar to the feeling I had when I was a child, when I tried to catch small fish with only a harpoon.

It felt like I was dealing with something that didn’t exist.

What on earth is missing that you can’t cope with?

What exactly does meticulousness mean?

It’s not just a lack of swordsmanship.

Edwin and I just had different development paths, but it wasn’t a difference that made the situation this frustrating.

So is it lacking in speed?

No. You can follow the opponent’s sword with your eyes from start to finish, and you can even deal with it to some extent.

If the problem was simply because I was too slow, the results would have been much more dire.

“The strongest one I know was Baal. Specifically… … Hmm. My memory is blocked on this part too. Sorry.”

“You don’t have to be sorry. I’m sure there’s a reason why God blocked everything.”

“That part has strangely become more faithful. Is it because of the experience of being a priest?”

“Yes, well. I don’t think you’d do something like that for no reason.”

Edwin tried to answer everything he knew, but sometimes there were things he couldn’t remember.

It was a golden sign that Hybras had placed.

He is not a living person, but the real power of Hybras.

A memory that should not be recalled. To be exact, it seemed that he could not say anything that would change the cause and effect by saying it.

Still, it was a big harvest.

Well, there is something about Baal.

However, Baal is a character who never appeared in the original work.

Although his name and rumors were rife, he never once showed his face in person.

The strongest demon lord. And the oldest demon lord. Only these vicious nicknames were passed down.

“Still, there are some things I remember.”

“What is it?”

“Baal is strong.”

Oh, yes. I guess so.

The Demon King of the first place. I didn’t know that Baal was so strong.

I thought I was weaker than Eligos.

If we had attacked Baal thinking he was weak, we would have been in big trouble.

Thank you, Edwin!

“… … Don’t look at it that way. Even at your or my level, I was incredibly strong.”

“Even Eligos was so damn strong, Baal must be even stronger.”

“You can’t defeat an enemy with weaknesses. You’ll have to hone yourself a little more… ….”

After that, Edwin continued to focus on gnawing.

But I felt like it got a little better after experiencing it, and as I continued to deal with it, I felt like I was starting to get the hang of it.

Our sparring continued until Sirien returned from her prayers.