Chapter 56: Request to Fight II

"That’s the nicest thing you’ve said all day." Dustin said as he lifted one hand.

"Don’t make me out to be a villain. But don’t worry, this hero will be there to save you in your time of need."

"I take it back." Dustin said as his hand dropped to the floor again.

"I think we lasted longer this time." Raul said while glancing at the Great Swordsman.

"Yeah."

"And we actually forced it to move."

"A little." Leon said with a nod.

"Just say we improved." Raul said with a sigh.

"You improved."

"See? Was that so difficult?" Dustin asked, raising his head slightly.

"Look at two old men forcing a young feeble boy into telling lies, shameful." Leon complained, shaking his head.

Raul laughed again while Dustin looked like he regretted saying anything.

Linda remained near the entrance and watched them for a while. The atmosphere wasn’t what she had expected after seeing how the fight ended. Dustin and Raul had been beaten badly, but neither of them looked discouraged by it. If anything, they appeared satisfied with the result.

They had also improved since the last fight. Their coordination was better, and they reacted to the Great Swordsman faster than before. Leon had apparently placed restrictions on it as well, making sure it didn’t simply overwhelm them before they had the chance to do anything.

Linda looked at Leon again after realising that.

For someone who always seemed to be doing nothing, he had somehow turned his summon into something the people around him could use to improve themselves.

’Maybe he really isn’t as lazy as he looks.’ Linda thought.

Or at least, there was more going on than what she could see from the outside.

Her eyes moved towards the Great Swordsman. Linda had considered challenging it after watching the first fight, but the thought had gone away quickly since she didn’t have much reason to do it then... But now, that was different.

Linda now knew the Great Swordsman was Grade 3, and she had already seen some of what it could do. After thinking about Leon’s sudden improvement, along with her own performance in the tournament, she wanted to know how far she was from that level. After all, he has been the one to come out on top, defeating the very opponent that defeated her.

With that, her mind was made and she pushed the door open and walked inside.

"That was better than last time." Linda said.

"Huh?" Dustin knew that voice anywhere. The very fact that she was there was one thing, "you watched last time?" Dustin asked, blinking as he raised his head to look at her.

"For a while."

Raul looked between Linda and the door, probably wondering how long she had been standing there. Linda ignored him and turned towards Leon, then looked at the Great Swordsman beside him.

"I’ve been thinking about something." She said.

Leon waited for her to continue.

"Would you mind letting me fight it too?" Linda asked as she gestured towards the undead.

Dustin became still after hearing her, while Raul straightened his body despite how exhausted he looked.

"You want to spar with it?" Leon asked, glancing at the Great Swordsman.

"Yes." Linda answered, with a little more energy than before.

She wasn’t exactly excited, but she was interested. The thought had remained in her mind long enough that she didn’t want to ignore it again.

"I didn’t think much of it the first time I watched, but I’ve been wondering how I would do against it." She explained.

"Why?" Leon asked.

"...because I want to know." Linda answered after thinking about the question.

Leon continued waiting, as though expecting a little more from her.

"Do I need a better reason?" She asked, giving him a faint look.

"No."

"That’s a relief tgen." Linda said as she loosely crossed her arms.

It almost sounded like Leon approved of her reason, though it was difficult to tell from the way he said it.

"I’m not asking for it to go easy on me like it did with them." Linda added.

"Hey." Dustin said as he immediately sat up.

"It did." Linda said while looking at him.

"That’s not the point."

"She’s right." Raul said with a weak laugh.

Dustin turned towards him with a betrayed look, while Leon continued looking at Linda.

"It’ll still have restrictions." Leon said.

"Suite yourself."

"I don’t want it accidentally cutting you in half."

Linda paused after hearing that. She looked at the weapon carried by the Great Swordsman before turning back to Leon.

"You speak quite freely." She said with a small nod.

Raul covered his mouth while Dustin stared at Leon. Linda noticed their reactions, but Leon didn’t seem to.

"When do you want to do it?" Leon asked.

"Tomorrow works." Linda answered after thinking for a moment.

"Fine, tomorrow then."

Linda had expected there to be a little more discussion. Maybe Leon would ask why she cared, or bring up what happened during the tournament, but he simply agreed without making much of it.

She wasn’t sure if that was refreshing or irritating. It was probably both.

"Tomorrow, then." Linda said.

Leon nodded, and Linda turned to leave. She had only taken a few steps when Dustin called out from behind her.

"Wait."

Linda stopped and looked back. Dustin wasn’t looking at her, but at Leon.

"You’re seriously just agreeing?" He asked.

"Why wouldn’t I?" Leon asked with a somewhat confused look on his face.

Dustin looked at Raul, and Raul looked back at him. Neither of them said anything.

"What?" Linda asked as her eyes moved between them.

"Nothing." Raul answered quickly.

"Absolutely nothing." Dustin added with a nod.

Linda raised an eyebrow at the two of them, but she didn’t bother asking again and left the room.

Leon watched her leave before reaching for his phone. Dustin and Raul continued staring at him, and it took a moment before he noticed.

"What?" Leon asked, but neither of them answered.

Leon shrugged and looked back at his phone.

Linda continued walking through the corridor while thinking about the fight she had just arranged. She had stopped herself from asking the first time because she didn’t think there was much reason to.

This time, she wanted to know.

If there was something she was missing about Leon and how he had reached his current level, perhaps fighting the summon standing at the centre of it would help her understand. Even if it didn’t, she would at least find out how far she still had to go.