“I’m not here to kill you.”

That was the only excuse she could give. She tried to explain something to Arnold.

But Arnold only shook his head. He showed that gentle smile she knew so well, yet now it felt utterly unfamiliar.

“You don’t have to hide it anymore. I already felt your killing intent just now. You tried to cover it up, but my senses are pretty sharp.”

No. My killing intent wasn’t aimed at you. It was aimed at that girl over there...

Then, all at once, Karin thought of a possibility.

From the very beginning, Arnold had believed she came to kill him. So even if the girl named Caro had invited him to drink, there was no way she would’ve handed him something that strong. He had done it on purpose. He had deliberately gotten Caro drunk, then waited to fight Karin.

That was Arnold’s decision.

Silently, she drew the two daggers at her waist.

“...Are you insulting me?”

She shouldn’t have said that. But it was the only thing she could say.

Since Arnold believed this was an assassination, then let it become one. If everyone was destined to walk toward death in the end, then dying by Arnold’s hand might not be such a bad ending.

If that happened... would she hold some special meaning to him?

Just like years ago, when he shattered the walls of her family and let that single ray of light shine in.

“If I use my sword, you won’t stand a chance,” Arnold said seriously.

“That’s exactly why...” Karin’s expression turned frenzied. “That kind of thing... is an insult to me!!!!”

It was almost a scream of despair.

“Draw your sword! Put away that useless kindness!!!!”

She was furious. She was so unwilling to accept it.

If the result of Arnold’s kindness was being abandoned by him, then she wanted none of it. She would rather be treated far more harshly.

Arnold froze for a moment. Then he gently shook his head. His hand reached behind him and gripped the hilt of the greatsword.

“I’ve made another mistake. People can’t always do the right thing just because they want to.”

At last, he drew his sword.

That pitch-black greatsword had once been bathed in the blood of countless powerful foes.

Karin vanished.

She slipped into the night. She no longer appeared within Arnold’s field of vision.

“Your stealth is a troublesome skill. You can blend into almost any environment. But unfortunately, you haven’t trained it to lv10. Otherwise, I’d really find this difficult.”

The standard for a Heroic Rank Adventurer was having at least one skill at lv10. For many Heroic Rank Adventurers, only one or two skills ever reached that realm.

Karin made no sound.

Arnold didn’t even breathe, because Karin also possessed quite a few poison-related skills. That was something he had to guard against.

Then, without a sound, a blade appeared behind Arnold.

It thrust toward his waist. That spot was the kidney. If it was pierced, a person could easily end up in serious trouble.

Even someone like Arnold...

Then the sword appeared.

That heavy greatsword, which looked so hard to move, had somehow already arrived there. It blocked Karin’s stab.

Then a violent gale, carrying crushing wind pressure, slammed into Karin like an air cannon and blew her away.

Karin adjusted her posture in midair.

This was Arnold.

He had only defended, yet the wind pressure from the speed of that swing alone was enough to send her flying. That nearly tyrannical strength was his.

As she fell from the air toward the ground, she saw it.

Arnold was rushing toward her at high speed.

Just as expected, before she landed, he would appear behind her. Then he would use that greatsword to smash her upward, sending a burst of agony through her back. After that, he would leap up and slam her back down to the ground. At that point, she would definitely be unable to move. Even if her body recovered quickly, she would still lose mobility for a short time.

Then he would bring the greatsword down from above, aiming at her waist—

and cut her in two.

That was Arnold’s fighting style.

She knew that.

And because she knew it, she understood—

Arnold truly saw her as an enemy. He was treating her with the intent to kill.

Ah...

She really must be broken.

Because in that instant, she felt happy.

Arnold was looking only at her. Arnold was thinking only about her.

In a battle like this, he belonged to her alone.

This was a duel that the sleeping girl over there knew nothing about. Even if she knew, she could never take part in it. It belonged to Karin and Arnold alone—

Struggle a little more!

The longer the fight lasted, the longer this “date” would last. And the happier she felt, basking in those moments when this man regarded her as the most important person in front of him.

Make this battle last a little longer!

So, almost twistedly, she changed her posture in midair and threw one of her daggers.

That simple action made Arnold stop at once.

The dagger had already stabbed into the ground, cutting off Arnold’s movement path. Because of that, Karin landed safely.

In the next instant, she slipped back into stealth.

She needed to find another opening.

What would Arnold think? That she would go retrieve that dagger?

Her body suddenly dragged out an afterimage.

This was one of her lv8 skills, Afterimage Slash. It was perfect for confusing the eye—

though for Arnold, it probably didn’t mean much.

Arnold swung his greatsword.

A huge golden arc appeared along the path of the swing, and then—

it destroyed every afterimage.

Only Karin’s real body remained, blocking that attack with her dagger.

Unreasonable violence.

That was the kind of violence that crushed everything.

Back when she first entered the Demonhunt Squad, she had fought Arnold once.

At that time, Arnold hadn’t even used a sword, and she had still lost to him. That was only natural...

She had never truly faced Arnold’s real power.

But now, she was confronting all of it for real.

Just standing there, he was enough to pressure anyone. Just a simple skill was enough to inspire fear—

and yet, these weren’t even Arnold’s “specialties.”

He had bathed in dragon blood, so he possessed terrifying defense and recovery. He could fight a dragon for an entire day and night. His strength and endurance were monstrous...

As an adventurer, he was too strong.

In fact, the very fact that he wasn’t the Chosen Hero felt unreasonable. If someone who wasn’t the Chosen Hero could become this strong...

then what did that make all those people who had placed all their hopes in the Chosen Hero until now?

Obviously, no one would answer her.

Her emotions surged higher and higher. She grew more and more excited. She felt her feelings for Arnold more and more clearly.

Those rushing emotions were like a blazing furnace, burning through her heart.

And the more that happened, the calmer she became. The more she thought about how to fight Arnold, and how to keep this battle going.

Until—

the moon sank, and the sky began to brighten.

She collapsed.

She didn’t possess Arnold’s strength. She didn’t possess his stamina. Assassins were meant to strike once and flee a thousand miles away. They pursued one-hit kills. A prolonged battle like this...

had drained everything from her.

Her sword fell to the ground, already battered beyond recognition.

“You’ve gotten stronger.”

Even Arnold seemed surprised by that. He had never imagined Karin could fight him to this extent.

Even though—

she hadn’t landed a single hit on him.

Still, she really had grown stronger. Far stronger than before.

Even though, compared to when he left, the levels of her skills hadn’t increased. But whether it was her will, or her thinking...

she had become much tougher.

Was this what growth meant?

For the first time, Arnold thought about it from that angle.

Maybe Cassipero had been right. Maybe his existence had actually suppressed the growth of these talented people. After he left, they had all worked hard to become stronger.

Arnold smiled in satisfaction.

This was good.

It made him look a little ugly, maybe. But if, after he left, the members of the squad all found even greater paths for themselves, then wasn’t that a very good ending?

He had found his true love, and planned to stay with her forever, moving toward the happy, ordinary life he had always wanted.

And the squad members had each taken another step toward their own ideals.

Wasn’t that a good outcome for everyone?

Arnold felt satisfied.

At that moment, he sincerely thanked Cassipero. She was always so wise. She had probably already realized this, and that was why she had expelled him.

They needed to grow, and he needed to grow too.

He really had misunderstood her. If he got the chance, he should apologize to her and thank her properly.

Karin had become this strong...

“Done fighting?”

Caro walked over.

She had actually woken up quite a while ago. After all, two absolute monsters had been fighting over there. Honestly, it was hard not to notice.

Come to think of it, the area hadn’t been damaged that much. Had they both held back? Or was it because of their classes?

Arnold nodded.

“Yeah, we’re done. I think we’ve already conveyed our thoughts and feelings to each other.”

He put the greatsword back on his back.

“That was a really satisfying fight. You’re going to work, right? I’ll walk you there.”

“...You’re seriously planning to just leave her lying there?”

Caro was stunned. She stared at Arnold in disbelief, completely speechless at this man of steel.

“You fought her all night. She’s exhausted now. And whatever else, she’s still a beautiful woman. If you leave her here, aren’t you worried something might happen?”

“Huh?”

Arnold looked at Karin lying on the ground.

Could anyone really do anything to Karin? Even if she looked like this...

Caro let out a sigh and asked helplessly,

“Are you sure that after fighting all night, you two really communicated your feelings?”

“I’m sure. The sword in my hand doesn’t lie.”

The sword in your hand doesn’t lie, sure. But that won’t help if someone’s just an idiot...

“Settle her somewhere first. I’ll go to work by myself. In a city this big, in broad daylight, who’s going to try anything with me?”

“If you put it that way, then no one’s going to try anything with Karin either.”

“...I seriously give up on you.”

Caro’s mind was going numb.

“Forget it. I’ll help you get her settled first, then I’ll go to work. I’ll just explain it to my boss.”

When the time came, if she said some scummy man had gotten her drunk and then things got out of hand... her boss would probably understand, right?