[Chapter 0]

-Boy and Girl-

Warm sunlight poured down from above as the sun ascend higher up the sky. There was still a sense of coldness that lingered in the wind, and in front of me, a single girl stood.

The distance between us wasn’t far. If either one of us decided to step forward, the short distance would disappear in an instant.

However, neither I nor the girl moved. Although we still held the thought of landing a blow of the other’s body.

She was a pretty girl with shining red eyes, and skin as white as snow. We were about the same height, and she was around ten years old. Stealing a glance at her superb facial features, I thought she looked very lovely.

Well, let’s make it clear so there will be no misunderstanding. We were here to have a spar, and I have never met this girl until today.

Therefore, we are not in any intimate relationship. Although it was my intention that we are to become close friend someday —— right now, we aren’t.

Then, this kind of relation——

“….Ahaha. Here I go, huff!”

Just as the wind calmed, it blew once again. The girl’s smile twisted into the shape of a crescent moon.

With an awfully joyful voice, and immediately following the sound of damped ground, she rapidly approached me.

Restlessness overcame her because neither of us made a move. To gain some distance from the troublesome girl, I kicked against the ground and leapt my body away.

Despite having a slender figure, her kick exerted lots of force, as seen by how the soil on the earth where she once stood was blown away and what was left behind was a scooped spot.

Virtually all of the force exerted onto the ground had been converted into speed, and in an instant, the distance which was supposed to be around five meters was soon closed.

As the distance continued to shorten until where we could reach one another, I readied myself. The girl came at me with astonishing speed which normal humans could not perceive, all the while having a twisted smile.

At this moment, for the sake of “sparring,” the girl threw a left punch.

The wind roared for just an instant, yet had turned so sharp that it almost scratched my cheek.

The girl who disappeared into the sky reappeared before me with her fist extended and aimed for my face.

In front was the roaring wind followed by the fist pushing it from behind, I formed my fists and put up a firm guard in front of my face, catching her fist at the center of my face.

The punch packed enough force to crush a skull of a bear let alone an adult.

“Hahaha! Wonderful, you’re wonderful Slava-kun!”

The power in her slender arm could not possibly be one of a little girl.

Swallowing up the gentle wind, the deadly punch created a violent storm.

“Then, how about this!?”

At that time, it was like fighting against a storm.

One strike, then two, then it increase to six. Within moments, it was over ten consecutive strikes.

Each punch in the storm of dozens of punches possessed clear killing intent, and she consistently threw out punches with more than enough force to kill.

So, since this was supposed to be a spar, there was only one thing to do —— fight back.

In terms of appearance, both of us looked around ten years old. In order to have a fight, I had come to face this girl named Sheryl.

To be more precise, in terms of age, I was twelve. Sheryl was fifteen. Both of us were elves blessed with long lives, and in any case, we looked younger than our actual age.

Confronted by such a girl, I was well aware of the consequences, however, I was still a dedicated martial artist. Given the situation, I intended to retaliate.

Observing each punch one by one, sometimes I dodged, while occasionally I had to neutralize and or parry the strike.

“It’s not broken, ahaha! It isn’t breaking! This is the first time, Slava-kun!”

In spite of being very young, the feeling behind Sheryl’s fists reflect that of —— a mentally unstable child.

For god’s sake, just how the hell was this girl raised. The child is innocent, but it is disturbing nevertheless.

The fists continued to fly at me as I thought to myself. For a brief moment, I sent a gaze at Sheryl’s acting foster parent, who was also her grandfather and my irresponsible old friend, and our gaze met.

On his face, I saw a familiar smirk, and couldn’t help but let out a sigh.

Good grief, even though it was never his hobby to meddle with others much less take care of a child, this time he really needs a scolding.

….Putting that aside, let wrap this up first.

Concentrating my thoughts into one, I calm my mind. It was as if a calm stream washed over and cleared my mind. With my mind cleared, I could perceive the world more closely.

Now I could see each of the violent punches slowly and clearly. I kept watching the flow of power and wondered to myself how much time had passed since I last experienced this.

This is going to be easy peasy.

Making up my mind, I pushed out my left hand and aimed for one of the incoming fists. Sheryl’s flow of power is like that of a muddy stream, but the punches kept on coming with the intent to kill regardless.

I didn’t dare to strike with the intent to kill, so as I pulled in her striking fist, I made use of it’s momentum and redirected it back at her.

Sheryl’s fist contained much more power than necessary, and so I pulled her entire body in —— then, I used my foot to swipe Sheryl’s leg and gave her a punch. Just like that, Sheryl’s body was sent flying.

Time seemed to flow very slowly for me, but while in the process of demonstrating how strong I was, Sheryl was sent flying because of it.

After she flew back several meters, she finally crashed into the ground.

She was a girl with a small physique but she was sent flying and ultimately crashed at the speed beyond the limit of those with the same aspect. Despite crashing on relatively soft ground, it was still quite bad, and could be life threatening.

“Ahaha! As expected of Slava-kun. The sensation of pain, it’s been awhile.”

Right, she can no longer be labeled as someone “ordinary.” This girl, looks like my concern was wasted.

Sheryl stood up as if it was nothing, turned around and faced me while having a happy smile on her face.

Honestly, that jerk took a really great disciple. The image of Sheryl’s grandfather, someone who was undesirable but inseparable for her, floated through my mind, I then adjusted my stance.

…..Well, you may be wondering why I am fighting her, and I do intend to tell the whole story.

It’s an old story, and it might be a little too lengthy —— anyway, this is a story about thirty years ago.

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Translator: Binhjamin

Proofreader: Zeke