A space like water is truly difficult to fight in. It is because there is water resistance, and since there is no foothold, it is impossible to put proper strength behind a strike.

But as they say, if you don't have teeth, chew with your gums.

We eventually figured out a way to fight in the water.

BAAANG!

Right, if the lack of a foothold was the problem, we could just step on the bottom of the lake to fight.

BAAANG, BANG!

Having grasped the depth of the water while removing the weeds at the bottom of the lake was a godsend.

I found a relatively shallow spot and exchanged blows with the Berserker. Attacking while clad in mana, it seemed the water resistance converged to zero solely on the striking body parts.

Thanks to that, fists striking at speeds not much different from outside slammed into each other's guards.

Every time that happened, water was pushed away with the sound of bursting air bubbles, creating a slight opening, which probably wasn't just my imagination.

BUBBLE!

The Berserker's arm grabbed me and threw me backward. Since the resistance only decreased when attacking, and we couldn't act like we were in the air even at this moment, I wasn't pushed back that far.

Of course, this wasn't necessarily a good thing either. Because I wasn't pushed back too far, the time it took for the Berserker to approach me was also short.

I dodged the somewhat sluggishly approaching fist, placed my foot on her solar plexus, and pushed her away just like that.

The Berserker was pushed back with a thump, and I, too, retreated from the reaction.

Now was the time.

I exhaled my last breath and went upwards. I could tolerate everything about this damn underwater stage, but breathing was the problem.

If I knew this would happen, I wouldn't have returned the underwater breather! A brief regret soared to the surface along with my body.

GRAB!

However, the Berserker did not let me go easily. She grabbed my ankle and pulled me downward.

In her faintly visible face, not a hint of intention to go up could be seen. She looked extremely confident that her lung capacity was better than mine.

CRASH!

A dull sound echoed, and my legs collided with the sand-covered bottom. The sand that heavily spread out around us looked exactly like a dust cloud.

THWACK!

With her cheeks puffed out to hold her breath, the Berserker threw a punch. The forearm I urgently raised barely blocked the fist, but my body was pushed back two and a half steps.

A subtle pain remained in my forearm. From experience, with this level of pain, it would bruise.

BLUB!

Having landed a solid hit, the Berserker kicked off the ground with a giggling face. It seemed she was also running out of breath.

But was this concept one to just take a beating?

I snatched her ankle without hesitation and slammed her into the floor, just as she had done earlier. My breath was really at its limit now.

If so?

If I wasn't confident in holding my breath and going all the way up there, I would just clear away the obstructing water.

I gathered a massive lump of mana in my hand and shot it upwards.

BOOM!

A black pillar shot up in a straight line, pushing the water away. It was so powerful that a volume of water much larger than the black pillar was pushed back, enough to separate me and the ground around me from the water.

The Berserker, who was pushed back by the current, widened her eyes.

Then see if you can swim out of that yourself.

I slightly furrowed my brows due to the sunlight that momentarily shone down and kicked the ground.

At the moment the pushed-away water tried to fill the space back in like a whirlpool, my body surged upwards clad in mana.

Huu. The displaced breath hurriedly filled my lungs as my body rose above the water's surface.

"...!?"

And when my body began to fall and enter the water again, a black shadow rapidly soared and rushed toward me.

"Keuhat!"

BAAANG!

The water's surface broke open in a circle, and the Berserker sprang out. A halberd was held in her hand.

Weren't we only fighting with our fists!? The use of weapons was in what we agreed on earlier, but since she rushed in with her fists, I thought we were only doing a bare-handed fight today!

I furrowed my brows in bewilderment. Of course, that didn't mean I wouldn't react.

My hands steadily gripped the True Two-hander.

CLANG!

The two mana-clad weapons collided, scattering something akin to a shockwave in all directions. The water's surface gouged out in a circle as both our bodies were pushed in entirely opposite directions.

SPLAAAAASH!

The force behind the strike was so strong that, instead of sinking into the water, we both split the surface with our feet. This happened because the force pushing us backward was greater than the speed of falling due to gravity.

THUD!

Something eventually touched my back. A quick glance revealed it was the pillar of the bridge leading to the Magic Tower.

Was it because I clad my entire body in mana? I didn't feel much of an impact, but... I felt a bit guilty seeing that the railing was heavily crumpled.

Along with the financial worry of how much the repair costs for this would be.

"C-Crazy."

But would worrying about it now change anything? Instead of fretting over repair costs, I tried to calculate where I had flown from.

Judging purely from the marks, it definitely seemed like we fought around there.

Was I pushed all the way here just by clashing weapons once? No joke.

I hooked my arm over the bridge as I looked at the spot where white foam and whirlpool marks remained from the mess I made.

My gaze was naturally fixed in the direction the Berserker was thrown.

While I was pushed toward the Magic Tower's bridge that crossed the middle of the lake, she had been thrown toward the water's edge on the opposite side.

"A, a person?"

Anyway, at this point, the fight was practically over.

I placed the Two-hander on the bridge first, then put strength into my arms to pull my body up.

"S-Sword!"

Because of that, the person who had been on the bridge shrieked and ran away, but...

Um, I'm sorry. I'm not a dangerous person. I didn't mean to do this.

But what could I say to someone already running away? I just shook off the water instead of bothering to make excuses.

Somehow, I felt a sense of relief.

As for the reason it turned out like this, well.

Because I got out of the situation without worrying about breaking character?

Because the surging emotions were crushed by absurdity and evaporated?

Or because the refreshing lake washed away the traces of my reddened eyes and the few tears I eventually shed.

Because I successfully threw punches heavily laden with personal feelings, as if needlessly venting my anger when I struck the Berserker.

Because when I focused on the fight, let alone having distracting thoughts, even useless thoughts entirely disappeared.

It could be all of that, or perhaps not.

Before thinking of all that, I felt that fighting was enjoyable for the first time in a very long while.

Well, it wasn't a strange feeling.

This was a fight that started by mutual agreement—outwardly I was swept up by the Berserker, but in reality, I allowed it, so it was indeed an agreement.

In other words, it meant I could engage purely out of competitive spirit without worrying about killing the Berserker or her killing me.

Just like playing a round of a game.

And did anyone other than us die because of this fight? Was there something I obsessively had to protect?

No. Regardless of the outcome of this fight, someone's future wouldn't change, nor would the state of affairs shift.

That meant there wasn't a single factor that would cause me stress.

It felt like I was playing a game for fun for the first time in a while.

"─Huu."

Of course... yeah. The sight of the platinum-blonde figure, who seemed to be the Berserker, sprinting fiercely along the edge of the shore was a bit ridiculous.

Her speed was quite fast, which made it seem like she didn't want to chat about concluding the fight.

I thought the fight was over with this.

But I didn't hate it. Right. I didn't hate it.

In the first place, I chose to play action RPGs precisely because I liked exchanging blows and fighting like this.

When we joined up, I avoided her because I thought it would be annoying to get tangled up, but now that we were already tangled up, there was no reason to be self-conscious at all.

"De─mon─Knight!"

Therefore, I properly gripped the sword I had let droop.

As long as the Berserker burned with fighting spirit, the concept would absolutely not back down, and I also had no intention of avoiding it.

"Come at me, idiot."

Ah, but doesn't this slightly feel like PvP (Player versus Player) with a friend?

It really feels like I'm playing just for fun.

"I'll teach you the difference in our levels."

A stream of water, turned lukewarm by body heat, trickled down my cheek.

Fierce White Wind lay down on the sofa as soon as he finished his important task. It was because even an Archmage couldn't do anything about the fatigue accumulated from going back and forth from the Great Forest.

KNOCK KNOCK!

But how could the world be so cruel?

Not even an hour had passed since he closed his eyes when a knocking sound pierced through the soundproofing magic.

It was somewhat inevitable that White Wind, who was trying to sleep while snoring, woke up halfway and floundered before rolling off the sofa.

KNOCK KNOCK!

"Uh, uhhh."

Ouch, my back. White Wind groaned and flicked a finger. The door clicked open.

"... Were you sleeping?"

However, the person trying to enter hesitated for a moment at the dark room. It was only natural for White Wind to be dumbfounded by the voice he heard.

"... Then do you expect me not to sleep after going through all that chaos?"

They had camped out twice on the way, and since they arrived in the city during the day, of course, it wasn't exactly time to sleep.

But was the journey to get out of the Great Forest over two days easy? They had lessened the discomfort thanks to magic, but was camping outdoors something that could fully relieve fatigue?

White Wind found the perfectly fine-looking Archmage to be even more amazing.

He was younger, probably had stamina built up from adventuring, and lastly, there was a racial difference, but wasn't this too much?

"Mm. When you travel with the Demon Knight, this level of thing is an everyday occurrence, you see."

"Just what kind of marches have you been doing? More importantly, does the Demon Knight make the decisions?"

"That's not it, but... there are many times when he darts out on his own like this time."

To think it looked like a party member was dragging them along rather than the Hero leading the party.

However, considering the Demon Knight's temper, it wasn't a very strange picture.

Where would the temper that would snap at even the Hero go? It didn't seem like the Hero himself had the personality to lead—strictly speaking, it seemed like he hadn't experienced much of the world, making it hard for him to find his center yet.

"Right, so what's your business?"

White Wind clicked his tongue in pity.

He was also at the age where he could slowly take over a branch or set up a lab and take it easy, but he was just suffering for nothing. Then again, considering what happened back then, it seemed unlikely he would ever set up a lab again.

Setting that aside, they were already awake.

To cement his fully awakened mind, White Wind turned on the light and heated water. Tea leaves with an awakening effect floated gently in the air, following a hand gesture.

"I just came to ask a minor favor. It's nothing serious, nor will it take long, so you don't need to brew tea."

"Oh, really?"

Then he wouldn't decline.

White Wind set the tea leaves down again and brought honey. The water he had been heating was changed to milk. There was no better cure for sleep than honeyed milk.

"If I knew you were sleeping, I would have put this off for a bit later."

"Forget it, I'm already awake. More importantly, a minor favor from you."

White Wind ruffled his messy hair with his hand like a comb and tapped the table with his other hand.

"Would that be related to what I was going to ask you about?"

"... Did you have something to ask me? You?"

"Yeah."

The milk was fully heated. White Wind scooped a large spoonful of honey and dipped it straight into the white liquid. The golden liquid submerged into the white.

"It's nothing much, but there's an item I gave to the Demon Knight, you see? But this is a sliiight bit dangerous, so to prevent ordinary people from getting harmed, I wrote a formula on it that makes anyone other than magic users reluctant to touch the item, you know?"

"... And?"

"But surprisingly enough! He said it vanished without a trace while he was bedridden with injuries. Isn't it truly fascinating?"

"..."

It had all melted. White Wind scooped the spoon out. Ting. The spoon and teacup slightly clinked, producing a clear sound.

"It was you, right? You took it, didn't you?"

Matching that, the Archmage also put honey into his heated milk. Plop. The milk rippled.

"Why do you ask when you already know?"

"Ahahaha!"

The moment the answer entered his ears, White Wind burst into laughter.

Right. A warrior wouldn't recognize its value, and a Mage wouldn't necessarily need to take a bomb. Thus, he had suspected him, but who would have known it was actually true.

Let alone coming from a person who had acted somewhat coldly toward the Demon Knight until just recently.

"I thought you had softened up a bit in the Great Forest, but it was really true. Did what I said bother you that much?"

"Of course. How could I not be bothered by it?"

"Haha. Then the favor you're trying to ask this time must be related to that, too."

"If the Demon Knight asked you to make a heart guard again, then yes. It's similar. I came to ask you to remove the explosion magic from it."

"Ahaha!"

White Wind laughed loudly once more. Truly, he was someone who defied expectations on some days, and didn't deviate an inch from predictions on other days. The Archmage was.

"But what should I do. This time it's not a gift but the price of a contract, so it's a bit awkward for me to carelessly remove it."

"Is that so? Then leave the subcontracting to me."

"Then the Magic Tower would become an organization that doesn't even properly check its deliveries. From the standpoint of making a living on trust, isn't that a difficult thing to do?"

However, he liked him because he was that kind of person. Such humanity was what was most desperately needed in the Magic Tower, known as the spire of intellect.

"Trust stemming from principles. Of course it's important. But is that truly above a single life?"

Indeed, knowledge was a sword without eyes, and power without ego.

"And if it goes out of control?"

"It won't. I became certain of that through this incident. That is my belief. I'm talking about the mutual trust between people, which seeks to take priority over principles."

If someone who knows benevolence like the Archmage does not wield knowledge, where would that blade be aimed?

"To tell me to give up my trust for the sake of your mutual trust. That's too much."

"I'm sorry."

"But... it's not bad. I decided not to trust your eye when it comes to people, but what the hell, I'll trust it one more time."

Above all, no separate contract was drawn up for the heart guard issue. It meant that even if the Demon Knight argued, no evidence existed in the world.

So there was no loss in accepting it. White Wind granted his friend's wish with highly calculating thoughts.

"In exchange, give back the one you took. So I can dismantle it and use it again."

"As much as you want."

Additionally, he even saved on material costs. It was a perfect profit.

BANG BANG BANG!

"...?"

However, it seemed that karma existed in the world.

"Where did they learn the habit of knocking like that?"

"I apologize, Great Sage. It is an extremely serious matter, so..."

"If it isn't as serious as this matter, I'll cut your department's research funding. Speak."

"T-Th-That... the Demon Knight and his companion..."

"What about them?"

"They completely smashed the bridge connecting the Magic Tower and the village into pieces."

White Wind, who was trying to pull a scam just because a contract hadn't been written, ended up spitting out the milk he was holding in his mouth due to the sudden disaster.