A wandering bard was singing an entertaining tale, drawing a large crowd.

“The Sword Saint of the Donghui Kingdom ventured into the underground tomb of the King of the Undead. Surrounded by countless Death Knights, he stood alone—and without a trace of fear—”

Fio stopped, and Leon stopped beside her. They stood tucked away in a hidden corner of the crowd.

The bard continued his tale. He even began casting a spell, conjuring a miniature theater. At its center stood a black-haired young man, surrounded by a host of armored skeleton knights.

“The Sword Saint’s beloved blades answered his call. All five swords leapt from their sheaths at once! Like gods descending from the heavens, they flew forth without a thing to stop them, cutting down the monsters—one against a hundred!! In the end, only the mightiest of them all remained: the King of the Undead!!”

The scene the bard described came to life within his spell, drawing wave after wave of cheers from the crowd.

“Leon, is that story up there about you?”

Fio watched, completely engrossed.

Leon seemed not to care much. “It’s me, but half of what he’s saying is made up. There weren’t that many Death Knights—just a dozen or so… And it wasn’t an easy victory, either. I was nearly beaten to death.”

The little figure onstage drew a golden sword before the Skeleton King, driving away the darkness underground.

“Face-to-face with the King of the Undead, Leon drew the holy sword bestowed upon him by the Crown Prince of the Donghui Kingdom and unleashed his ultimate sword technique! Come, everyone! Let’s call out the holy sword’s name together!”

The bard kept the excitement going, getting the crowd to shout along.

“EX-Curry Stick!!”

A torrent of gold swallowed the King of the Undead, dissolving him into golden particles that drifted away. The Sword Saint put his weapon away with a dignified air, slung it over his back, and continued on his journey.

Fio stared, utterly baffled.

“Don’t look at me. I really can’t do that. I killed the King of the Undead with plain old sword swings. Maybe they thought that’d be too boring, so they embellished it,” Leon explained.

“I want to keep watching,” Fio said.

“All right. Honestly, it’s weird hearing them make stuff up about me…”

The crowd changed again and again as the bard told one of Leon’s stories after another. Fio listened, completely absorbed, while Leon grew more and more uncomfortable until his expression stiffened.

As time passed, Fio sneaked a glance at Leon. A small question suddenly surfaced in her mind.

Most of the stories were probably exaggerated, but this man really had done those things. What had let him survive alone, time and again, when he was backed into a corner?

It was closing time. The crowd dispersed, and the bard finally noticed Leon. Seeing his idol, he lit up with joy.

“Lord Sword Saint!!” The bard grabbed Leon’s hand, so moved he was nearly in tears.

Leon looked awkward, but he couldn’t very well snap at him. So he stayed polite. “Mm-hmm. Hello. Thanks for your support. I’m glad to hear it.”

“Thank you! I’ll make sure your stories are sung far and wide!”

“By the way, when are you going to challenge the Ice Dragon King?”

“Huh?” “Huh?”

Leon and Fio said it at the same time.

“Surely you’ll defeat the evil Ice Dragon King and show those foolish, arrogant dragons that, in your eyes, they’re nothing worth mentioning.”

Fio angrily smacked the bard’s hand away. “Shut up! The Ice Dragon King is the greatest! The Ice Dragon King is totally overpowered!”

“What are you talking about?” The bard laughed, taking Fio for a kid throwing a tantrum. “Even putting the Ice Dragon King up against Lord Sword Saint aside, the Ice Dragon King is the weakest of the Dragon Clan’s Four Heavenly Kings, isn’t it?”

“Urgh!”

An arrow struck Fio.

“And the current Ice Dragon King isn’t exactly the brightest, either, right? Can’t even manage their own people. The Ice Dragon Clan abandoned them, leaving them a king with no subjects and no authority.”

“Urgh!”

Another arrow struck Fio.

“I heard they’ve been single for a hundred years and don’t even have an heir. Probably nobody likes them, so they’re a lonely old bachelor.”

“Urgh!!!”

By now, Fio was covered in arrows like a pincushion. She knelt on the ground, utterly dejected.

…

Fio and Leon rode in a carriage they’d hired for transportation. That way, they could get back to Leon’s house before dinner.

“What’s wrong? Still mad?” Leon asked.

“Hmph.”

Fio hugged her knees, looking utterly aggrieved.

“Bards exaggerate to get popular. Don’t take what they say seriously. None of that is the whole truth.”

“Is that how everyone sees me?”

“Not everyone. I don’t see you that way.”

“Then can you name one good thing about me?”

“…Uh.”

“You hesitated! You really did! You think I’m an idiot too, don’t you?!”

Leon’s first thought had been to say that Fio was really cute, but saying that outright didn’t seem appropriate. It might sound like he thought she was just a pretty face.

But, on second thought, was there really anything else to her besides being cute and dumb?

“Oh, right. There’s something I wanted to ask you. How did you get so strong all by yourself?”

“…It’s nothing much. I guess it was for… a woman…”

Leon still didn’t have the courage to confess that he meant Fio.

“Y-You mean… you got this strong just to satisfy your own lower half? Figures, you really are a scumbag Sword Saint. Honestly, why did I ever expect anything from you?”

“Huh?”

Leon looked completely innocent, as if he’d been misunderstood again.