Chapter One Hundred and Fifty-Seven: A Duel Worthy of B-Rank
“You guys released your magical pressure, so of course, Sir Julius found us. What were you planning to do if Crimson Thunder refused to let go of the nobles?”
“We’d cross that bridge when we came to it.”
The alluring woman dressed as a mage giggled softly. She showed absolutely no sign of fearing trouble with nobles.
Gunther, who wanted to avoid such trouble, made a sour face.
“But I never imagined the leader’s big sister would actually be here.”
The woman looked down at Karen and chuckled.
Karen was curious about what kind of relationship this woman had with her brother. But more pressing than that was the duel between Thor and Julius.
Thor was a B-rank adventurer—someone who had conquered the twentieth floor of a dungeon. In other words, he was at the same level as Julius.
The clash of weapons that began appeared evenly matched.
Karen murmured softly:
“Thor’s weapon isn’t a sword?”
“It’s a war hammer. He said his big sister recommended it, but was that wrong?”
“Um, it wasn’t so much a recommendation as me saying it might suit him.”
Asked by the woman, Karen spoke while trying to recall.
To be precise, she had thought it would suit Thor’s name.
In her previous life, “Thor” was the name of the thunder god often mentioned in fantasy stories. When one thought of the thunder god Thor, his weapon was a hammer—a hammer of thunder.
She had told Thor that story before.
Now that she thought about it, while "Crimson" in the party name might be one thing, the "Thunder" part was probably influenced by the story Karen had told.
Karen thought that perhaps "Crimson" might be connected to her brother’s weapon. The war hammer Thor swung with ease gleamed a vivid crimson, like fresh blood.
“That weapon certainly suits him. The merciless, unforgiving way he crushes everything to pieces is perfect for the leader.”
“So Thor really is the party’s leader?”
This older woman with her voluptuous figure and alluring presence called Thor "leader." Her tone held traces of awe and respect that made Karen’s heart race.
“Yes, he’s a very strong and frightening leader. But he seems different in front of you, his sister. I’ve never seen the leader like that before… It’s disgusting.”
“What!?”
“I don’t mean it in a bad way. Well, the word itself is bad, but… it’s just such an unfamiliar sight that it makes me dizzy. I’m sorry. But I do respect him, truly.”
Even as she spoke politely, the woman genuinely pressed a handkerchief to her mouth and suppressed her nausea with an "urp.”
“I’m sorry the introduction was delayed because I felt so sick. I’m Wanda, a mage.”
“I’m Karen. Nice to meet you.”
“Likewise, nice to meet you. I’ll save introducing the other men for later. I don’t want to upset the leader’s mood.”
“Is there something that would make Thor angry?”
“The leader has such a terrible big-sister-complex that when it comes to anything involving you, there’s no telling what might upset him.”
Having the adjective "terrible" attached to "big-sister-complex" felt somehow wrong.
Even as she thought this, Karen couldn’t say anything to Wanda, who looked pale and muttered, "He’s really so disgusting." She seemed unwell, so Karen left her alone.
“It seems to be true that Mr. Julius conquered the Ehlertt dungeon. Among nobles, his strength must be exceptional.”
“But man, seeing Sir Julius fight really changes your impression of him.”
Karen felt the same as Sepl.
She had seen Julius fight before—at the Royal Swordsmanship Tournament—but his presence now was completely different.
“He moves like a beast.”
“To keep up with that nimble Thor, he’s got skill.”
The Julius that impressed Sepl was moving in a way Karen had never seen before.
First, his center of gravity was low. The way he swung his sword was different from the royal knight sword techniques Lyos practiced daily. To Karen’s eyes, his movements seemed erratic. But there were probably no openings. Thor appeared to be struggling to press his attack. Karen recognized that expression on Julius’s face—his ferocious grin, baring his teeth, clearly enjoying himself.
“…He’s drunk on magical power.”
That expression—his golden eyes glittering, enjoying nothing more than striking his opponent with his sword—was the same face he’d made when the cook who poisoned the curry at the Ehlertt mansion had thrown a magic stone at him.
He was surrendering himself to the euphoria brought by the magical power filling his body.
Julius’s longsword swept toward Thor.
Thor deflected the sword’s trajectory with his crimson war hammer as tall as he was, dodging with light, bouncing movements.
Even as his sword was deflected and avoided, Julius’s face remained terribly gleeful.
Even while recovering his disrupted stance, his eyes never left Thor, pursuing him as if biting at him.
It looked like the movement of a mindless beast chasing prey, and Karen swallowed hard.
Thor, facing this opponent, laughed raucously.
“Ahahahaha! You’re pretty strong, aren’t you!?”
“You too!”
“Those guys are completely high, damn. Hey, don’t overdo it, you two!”
Sepl shouted, but neither of them showed any sign of listening.
“Hyahahaha! This is crazy! I’d better be careful not to accidentally crush you, or Karen might hate me!?”
The moment Thor spoke Karen’s name, Julius’s gleeful face twisted with displeasure.
“Don’t speak Karen’s name so casually!”
Julius seemed to strike Thor with his sword at full force without mercy, and Karen swallowed a scream.
“Whoa, that was clo—!?”
For a moment, it looked like Thor had dodged completely.
One clash, then two—but on the third, the unseen edge of Julius’s sword suddenly extended, striking Thor’s war hammer.
It knocked the war hammer from Thor’s hands.
Julius pointed his sword tip at the throat of the off-balance Thor.
“This is the end, Crimson Thunder. With my victory, never approach Karen again.”
“Heh, so you wrapped magical power around your sword. By not giving it an attribute, it’s hard to see—a good weapon, but not suited for monsters sensitive to magical power, right? More for short-sighted humans, I’d say.”
“Enough excuses. If you’ll nod, I won’t deliver the finishing blow.”
“Either way, could you please not deliver any finishing blow!?”
Karen’s shout was ignored by both of them.
Thor looked up at Julius and grinned.
“Can’t do that!”
“Gah!?”
“Mr. Julius!?”
Suddenly, Julius pitched forward and fell, and Karen screamed.
On his back, Thor’s war hammer stood on its own, crackling with white light as it pierced Julius’s back.
“Both parties, stop! The victor is Crimson Thunder!”
Gunther declared, and Karen rushed to Julius.
“Thor, isn’t this stabbed in!?”
“I properly held back.”
From Thor’s hand, white light—lightning identical to what enveloped the war hammer—crackled and surged. When the light shone particularly bright, the war hammer flew toward his hand in an instant, as if drawn to it.
Julius was coughing in his fallen position, but there wasn’t even a hole in his back. After feeling relieved, Karen stared intently at the war hammer in Thor’s hand to solve the mystery of the flying hammer.
“Did you possibly pull it back with magnetic force?”
“Correct! As expected of you! My Hammer, made from an orichalcum alloy, is crafted to conduct lightning extremely well. So if I generate a magnetic force with lightning, it returns to my hand immediately, even when it’s away.”
“Wooow.”
He had apparently created lightning with magic, manipulated that lightning to generate magnetic force, and used that magnetic force to return the war hammer to his hand. Karen recalled the various stories she had told Thor and felt impressed. Even Karen herself, who had taught him, didn’t know the precise mechanisms of electricity and magnetism. So Thor had pieced together fragments of understanding he’d gained from Karen and reached this point on his own. Thor came over to Julius and crouched down to peer at his face.
“My alias is Crimson Thunder, you know? Didn’t you think I’d have lightning in my hand, Bro?”
“Grr…!”
Julius groaned in frustration and clenched his fist.
Next, Thor looked at Karen.
“I got stronger, right? Praise me, Sis!”
“There, there, there.”
As Karen petted the head offered to her, Julius, still lying face down, looked up blankly and said:
“Huh? … Sis?”
“Eek, Mr. Julius called me sis. I’m into it!”
“No way! Sis’s only little brother is me!”
“…Little brother… Wait, Thor—are you Karen’s little brother, Thor!?”
Julius sat up abruptly and shouted, then groaned while holding his injured back. The venom had drained from his expression, and he had his usual face. He had apparently pulled himself out of the magical power intoxication on his own by using magical power.
Karen gave Julius a potion to drink while breathing a sigh of relief.
His "true self," as Julius called it. While that Julius was fine by Karen’s standards, the usual Julius definitely gave her more peace of mind.
Taking the hand Thor offered and standing up, Julius said:
“When I investigated Karen before, I knew of your existence, Thor, but I never imagined you’d become a B-rank adventurer… I heard your Crimson Thunder party forcibly inserted yourselves into the dungeon investigation team, but could the reason possibly be—”
“Of course it’s to protect the town where Sis lives. When I heard the capital’s dungeon might collapse, I came running.”
“Ohhh!”
Karen cheered and clapped her hands, while Julius let out a relieved sigh.
“So that was it. Among the nobles, some were suspicious about why you would cooperate when you hadn’t even lost any comrades.”
“No need to call me Crimson Thunder, Julius—just Thor’s fine. You get a passing grade. I’ll allow you to date Sis… You seem better than Lyos anyway.”
“…You may call me big bro, if you like, Thor.”
“That’s not what I meant earlier!”
Thor protested loudly at Julius, who joked as if his earlier anger had been a lie.
Karen couldn’t help but burst into laughter at their exchange.
Thor's actually very reasonable for a siscon, if he's accepting of Julius and Karen being an item.
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