Kays Translations

Chapter 94: Moon and Sun

Finally, the second match — my personal highlight of the day.

It was time for the match between Mika and Sheila.

Both are pure swordsmen, and both are simply strong — it’s impossible to predict the outcome.

Despite being from a fantasy world, Sheila fought with a technique-focused style. Mika, on the other hand, though an otherworlder from Japan, used a more fantasy-like combat style.

Both are skilled swordsmen, but their fighting styles are completely different, which made this match really exciting.

“Well then, Sato-san, I’m off.”

“Yes, good luck! I’m rooting for you.”

“Hehe, thank you. That’ll help a lot.”

With a smile, Sheila made her way to the match venue. Just then, Mika came running from behind me.

“Hey, don’t just root for Sheila — root for me too! Favoritism is cheating!”

“Of course I’m rooting for you too, Mika-san.”

“Really? You’re a huge Sheila fan, though!”

Laughing teasingly, Mika made her way to the match as well. Standing side by side, the contrast in their appearances was striking and interesting.

Sheila, with her pale skin and elegant, graceful aura, looked completely different from Mika, whose tanned skin and slightly “gal” appearance made her look more energetic than anything else. The contrast between them was like the moon and the sun — they were eye-catching.

“Sheila, let’s do our best! I’m not losing!”

“Let’s do our best. I won’t lose either.”

“Alright then — let’s begin!”

After a quick exchange of pleasantries, the match began.

Given that both were incredibly skilled, I expected the fight to resemble the stalemate between Rozzo and Mash. But as soon as the match started, both rushed to strike.

At first, the fight was evenly matched, and the audience was impressed by their high-level swordplay. But Mika seemed to shift gears with a skill, and started attacking with acrobatic movements, which made Sheila go on the defensive.

Mika jumped, spun, and used stylish but practical attacks. Sheila, in turn, became fully focused on defense.

When Mika took the lead, her attacks became more varied and came from different angles, building momentum.

However, Sheila remained calm. In contrast to Mika’s sun-like smile, Sheila’s cold, watchful eyes never wavered as she blocked and observed.

Then, in a split second before Mika could jump, Sheila took the opportunity to land a horizontal slash to Mika’s abdomen.

Despite Mika’s aggressive attacks, Sheila was the first to land a clean hit, which created an interesting turn of events.

At this point, I thought Mika might stop, but instead, she smiled even more brightly and quickly upped her speed. It was as if she was dancing, and this time, one of her attacks landed on Sheila’s right arm.

The crowd cheered loudly as the battle raged back and forth.

With every strike, both fighters seemed to be improving, their movements getting sharper and faster.

Then, Sheila landed another counter, and Mika retaliated with a fierce strike that landed cleanly.

It was the kind of match that felt like it could go on forever, but the end came suddenly.

Mika’s movements, which had been rapid and relentless, suddenly slowed. It seemed that she had pushed her body too far and had injured her leg.

Normally, with Yui, the healer, present, Mika would’ve had support and could’ve kept fighting, but there was no outside help this time.

Out of breath and with no energy to run, Mika tried to evade while limping, but Sheila finished her off with a swift strike.

“Winner — Sheila!”

“…Ugh, that’s frustrating! But it was so much fun! Thank you, Sheila!”

“Phew, you were really strong. Thank you for the great match, Mika-san.”

“No, it’s me who should be thanking you! You were way too strong — it was almost unbelievable!”

Mika’s loss didn’t seem to bother her. She looked satisfied, despite the defeat.

Sheila, on the other hand, had become even stronger than when she fought Donnie. I couldn’t understand how she had gotten so strong, especially considering the farm work she helped with.

“Thank you for the compliment. It’s an honor to be praised by a hero.”

“Sheila, would you come join us? I think you’d fit in perfectly as a member of the heroes!”

“No, I have an important role in protecting Sato-san.”

“I figured you’d say that! If I were in your shoes, I wouldn’t join the heroes either! Well, good luck in the semifinals!”

Seeing Sheila, as usual, turn down my invitation made me feel relieved. Despite her immense strength, I often wondered if it was okay for her to be helping us with farm work, but since she had made that decision, I would respect her choice.

If Sheila wanted to leave, I would happily send her off with a smile; if she stayed, I would accept her with a smile.

“I lost! But I was pretty strong, don’t you think?”

“Mika-san, great job! You were really strong. I had a lot of fun watching your match.”

“I’m glad to hear that! I had so much fun too! I pushed myself too hard because I was enjoying it so much. It was a total defeat, but I’m satisfied! Make sure you hold the second tournament, okay?”

“Yes, I’ll definitely hold the second one when the time is right.”

“Thanks! I’m going to go get Yui to fix my leg!”

Mika, limping, headed towards Yui’s side. Despite losing, she looked content, and that was a relief to see.

“Sato-san, I won again.”

After Mika left, Sheila returned with a peace sign.

“Sheila-san, great job in Round 2! Beating Mika was really impressive.”

“Honestly, it was touch and go. If Mika hadn’t injured her leg, I don’t know who would’ve won. She was completely pushing me back the whole time.”

“But it was Sheila-san’s skill that blocked her attacks. That counterattack was brilliant. The match was like the moon and the sun — it was really interesting.”

“Moon and sun…?” 

Sheila chuckled. 

“Sato-san, you really have a way with words.”

I couldn’t help but blurt out what I was thinking while watching the match, and I blushed a little in embarrassment.

“Ah, sorry for that weird comment. Hm, next up is Thread and Lime, right? Let’s cheer for both of them.”

“Yes, it looks like it’ll be an interesting match either way. I’ll watch and analyze it as I go.”

I felt relieved that I could relax and watch the match, but after seeing Sheila and Mika’s fight, I couldn’t help but want to fight myself.

…Alright, from today, I’m going to spend a bit more time practicing with my sword.

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