Chapter 50 Aaron Gale
For Fiona, finding the man who escaped was easy.
She didn't even need to search.
Her ability――[Foresight]――could sense danger that was coming her way ahead of time. But not only that, it could also sense danger to people she was deeply connected to, to a certain extent. Just like when she foresaw the death of her father and brother in the past.
However, the true essence of this ability was not in sensing danger.
Its essence was an intuition that could be described as mystical.
It was a 6th sense much sharper than an average person's. It might not be as clear as sensing danger, but its range of uses was wide.
Fiona just had to follow her instincts to walk towards a place where she might meet the man who ran away.
And a few days later, she met the man once again on the 27th floor of [God's Remains Labyrinth].
As Fiona explored the labyrinth by herself, she constantly felt a thin "danger" that clung to her like fog. [Foresight] was probably making Fiona perceive the "possibility" of being attacked by a monster.
That fog suddenly cleared up at one point.
She turned the corner of a labyrinth that looked like an underground temple, led by a feeling of foreboding, and there she found the man she was looking for fighting a monster down the passage.
"――――."
Fiona was captivated by his figure for a moment.
The man was fighting several skeletons and 2 flesh meat giants.
Skeletons aside, flesh meat giants were a troublesome type of monster on this floor because of their large size and their undead characteristics, making them unable to feel pain. They required a powerful skill or a high-powered magic attack to defeat them.
The man used a sword radiating with aura in a seemingly carefree manner.
His movements were not fast. They could even be called slow. On top of that, there was no hint of enthusiasm in the way he swung his sword. It almost looked like he was annoyed.
Despite that, the monsters' attacks didn't even graze him.
His movements were half-hearted, as if he could not be bothered. He barely moved, but the monsters’ attacks passed by him harmlessly. The man leisurely approached the skeletons, using his aura-infused blade to finish each of them off. While his evasions were effortless, his sword swings were blindingly fast, leaving trails of light in the air.
It did not seem to be a skill or an ability granted by a job; it was pure combat technique.
The battle before him was undoubtedly executed with great skill. However, there was something more to it――a sense of familiarity.
It was as if he had fought thousands of monsters on this floor.
But his movements were efficient. There was a certain beauty in that efficiency, like a weapon designed for function.
――This is humiliating.
She was filled with nothing but shame for having these thoughts about his opponent, whom she scorned as weak.
She has to become strong. So strong she can defeat anyone. If she's not, she won't be able to protect those she cares about when they need it. Fiona Ackerman has no worth if she's not strong.
So, she cannot allow anyone to threaten her identity.
She has to make that man understand that she is the stronger one.
Once the battle ended, with no sign of struggle, Fiona called out to the man.
"――I found you! Fight me!"
The man, who had been collecting the magic stones from the skeletons, turned around.
He grimaced as soon as he saw her. He might have even said, "Ugh."
With a pained expression, the man slowly collected the rest of the magic stones. Then, he finally turned to face her.
"Why? I'm not going to. See you later."
He turned and walked away without waiting for a response.
He probably wanted to say something like, 'I'm not going to fight with a loser like you,' but got it all wrong. Fiona got really angry.
"No questions asked! Let's go!"
She drew her sword and swung it. The man naturally reacted, but his face was filled with astonishment and disbelief.
"Huh?! Wait, are you an idiot? Think about the place, think about it!!"
"You're the idiot! I'm called the genius beautiful Swordsman!"
She declared that she was a talented swordsman.
However, the battle was completely one-sided. They clashed swords a few times, but it was as if he was easily fending off a child's playful attacks. She was easily defeated, her sword being deflected. She didn't want to admit it, but there was a clear difference in skill.
But that wasn't what she couldn't forgive.
After the victorious man sheath his sword, he arrogantly exclaimed,
"Hmph, if you've learned your lesson, don't challenge me again."
She felt mocked and looked down upon.
Feeling that way, Fiona was furious.
Deep humiliation and anger sparked Fiona's [Foresight].
The next day...
"I found you! This time, I'll defeat you!"
"Are you an idiot?! Hey, are you an idiot?!"
Fiona found the man without delay and attacked him without question.
This marked the beginning of Fiona's relationship with Aaron Gale.
* * *
The sword she thought was a rare jet-black metal sword turned out to be a wooden sword.
Aaron Gale was a strange person who dove into the labyrinth with a wooden sword and fought with a calm expression on his face.
However, his skill was genuine.
Fiona challenged him many times and lost every time. It had been a while since she met Aaron, and even though she awakened as a Unique Job "Sword Dance Maiden" along the way, she still couldn't grasp victory. It was unclear whether the gap between them was closing.
Still, she no longer felt the same humiliation as before.
She hadn't grown accustomed to losing, nor had she given up. She still had the determination to defeat him someday. But more than that, her perception of Aaron Gale as an enemy had changed.
He always fights her, and now he even teaches her to get stronger. It was a bolt from the blue to hear him talk about her as his "disciple" in various bars, but she held back, thinking that now was the time to hid herself and improve her skills.
However, these things did not loosen her stubborn heart.
When fighting Aaron, she often attacks or challenges him in the labyrinth. This is because she can rampage or fight without worrying about the surroundings in the labyrinth, rather than in the guild training grounds.
And after fighting in the labyrinth many times, she noticed something.
When she is with Aaron, she does not feel any great danger. This is the same even during the fight.
But this is actually strange.
Fiona's [Foresight] perceives even the slightest danger that befalls her as a special sense. Whether she can completely avoid that danger is another matter, but she can try to avoid it. And there were many monsters in the labyrinth, and it was normal to feel not only slight danger, but great danger many times.
But that wasn't the case.
If it was only when she was with Aaron that this was especially the case, there was no need to guess why.
Not only was Aaron always paying attention to his surroundings ―― but he was also trying to protect Fiona. Otherwise, Fiona would have perceived the hostility of the monsters that had their attention directed towards her as a "possible danger".
――She was being protected.
When she realized this fact, an indescribable emotion was born within Fiona.
A rebellion that she was not weak enough to be protected. But the emotion was not that strong. More than that, an itchy feeling, a desire to lick her lips, a little embarrassment ―― that sort of feeling filled her heart.
The emotion she couldn't put a clear name to was not pleasant, but for some reason she didn't dislike it.
And then some time passed ―― a stampede occurred in Necronia.
* * *
As one of Necronia's explorers, Fiona also fought in the stampede.
Following the guild's instructions, she defeated many monsters and achieved great results. She was able to help many citizens with her own power and felt a sense of accomplishment, as if the scars on her heart had become somewhat lighter.
However, in the midst of battle, she didn't have time to think about such things. She was completely absorbed, swinging her sword without a care in the world.
And then, before long, someone she didn't know from anywhere defeated the "core" of the Stampede, causing the rampaging monsters to calm down and the Stampede to be suppressed.
Despite suffering great damage, Necronia began its journey towards recovery with generous support and assistance from the surrounding 3 countries and the Four Great Families of the Seals.
Thanks to her significant achievements in the Stampede, the name of the "Sword Dance Maiden" spread even further, and the estrangement between her mothers was resolved.
When she met her mother after a long time, she smiled wryly and said, "Do your best." Her grandparents and uncles, who inherited the merchant guild, seemed excitedly plotting to make her the face of the guild's advertisements. Of course, she refused.
Anyway, after the Stampede ended, busy days continued for a few more days, but finally, when the busyness had passed its peak, Fiona suddenly decided to go and see Aaron after a long time.
She remembered that Aaron was not among the explorers who were moving under the guild's instructions.
Well, she thinks he must have been fighting somewhere that she didn't see, but she was worried that he wasn't being specially recognized by the guild despite his active participation.
By the way, many explorers died in this Stampede, but she never even considered that Aaron had died.
It was because of her trust in Aaron's abilities, and as Fiona had expected, Aaron was alive. However, when they reunited, it became clear right away that he hadn't come out unscathed, even though he didn't seem to have any major injuries.
Aaron didn't want to talk about the Stampede, so even after it was over, she didn't know where he had been or what he had been doing. But she knew what had happened.
Even before asking Lion, she knew that someone important to Aaron had died. She couldn't help but realize it.
Fiona reunited with Aaron at one of the shared cemeteries in the northern district of Necronia.
Since Aaron wasn't at the guild, the labyrinth, or his home, she walked through the city, guided by a strange intuition. And that's how she ended up there.
As she got closer to the cemetery, a sense of unease grew.
So when she founds Aaron standing still in front of someone's grave, Fiona felt relieved.
He was still alive, and she froze.
"...Eh, no way..."
Aaron had his back turned to her, so she couldn't see his face.
She wasn't sure how much he was grieving. The reason Fiona froze wasn't because Aaron had a different atmosphere than usual.
――It was because there was an overwhelming sense of death.
It felt similar to what she had felt when her father and brother went to subdue a band of bandits when she was young.
Speechless, she stood there, receiving a big shock without realizing the reason. Fiona couldn't speak to Aaron.
If she believed in the sense of [Foresight], Aaron would die. And soon.
But she had no idea what the cause was. If she didn't know the cause, she couldn't change his fate of death.
But fortunately, or maybe unfortunately.
Fiona realized the cause, the "possibility" of death clinging to Aaron. No, it became the distant cause.
Suddenly, Aaron shifted his stance and turned around. Aaron started walking, slightly bowing his head.
"――――Huh!?"
Seeing his face, Fiona was shocked for the second time.
There wasn't even a trace of sadness on his face. No, there wasn't any other emotion either. If she had to say, it was a complete expressionless face. It was like a grotesque doll that closely resembled a human.
As if he had no interest in anything in this world.
It was as if he had lost interest in everything.
He had become such an empty existence.
Aaron passed by Fiona without noticing her.
After Aaron left the scene, Fiona slumped down as if all her strength had drained away.
She couldn't bring herself to speak.
She was scared.
She was afraid that if she spoke, she might be met with an indifferent gaze, as if he were looking at a stone on the roadside.
"...What should I do..."
She murmured in despair.
For some reason, Fiona understood what state Aaron was in.
He wasn't planning to commit suicide. He didn't even have that kind of motivation. But he wasn't trying to live either. No matter how strong Aaron might be, someone who didn't try to live couldn't continue living. If he were to venture into a labyrinth in that state, he would surely be killed by a monster.
"..."
For a while, she lost track of time as she pondered.
Her thoughts were focused on how to save Aaron. Fiona realized that she had no choice but to save Aaron within herself.
"Hey... you idiot...!"
She stood up.
There was a way. It was simple and obvious.
But she might be disliked even more than before. She might be considered more annoying than ever. There was even a possibility that he would leave, as if he couldn't stand to see her face. For Fiona, who had just realized her feelings, it was a painful choice.
But she made up her mind.
No, she had already made up her mind.
To become stronger in order to protect someone precious.
If her heart would be hurt in the process, then she would become stronger.
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