<"Rock-paper-scissors, a fitting choice for a warrior.">
Just as I was staring confidently at Frey, sure of my victory, the old man suddenly spoke.
A fitting choice for a warrior?
What does that even mean?
What’s the connection between rock-paper-scissors and a warrior?
<"Do you not understand?">
"Rock-paper-scissors is a game of luck."
If there’s any skill involved, it would be in psychological warfare, but in a single round, luck plays the biggest role, right?
That’s why I suggested a single round to Frey.
<"What nonsense. Rock-paper-scissors is a game that tests your reflexes and reaction speed. You watch what your opponent is about to throw, make your decision, and win.">
"...What? That’s ridiculous."
I started to think the old man was teasing me, but then I remembered—I’m in a fantasy world.
In this world, where skilled warriors are expected to react to incoming arrows, reacting to hand movements in rock-paper-scissors is probably just as natural.
<"Of course, there’s a psychological element. Before making your move, you have to keep moving your fingers so your opponent doesn’t figure out what you’ll throw.">
When I think about it, even I’ve reached the level where I can respond to most people's movements.
So, it’s not impossible for me to do this with rock-paper-scissors, right?
Wait a second.
If that’s the case...
<"There was a madman among my subordinates who practiced rock-paper-scissors all day long. Whenever the knights needed to settle something, we sent him, and he would always win.">
Rock-paper-scissors is a skill-based game?!
This is insane.
I’m in trouble.
I’ve never tried to win rock-paper-scissors with skill before.
In short, I’m a total newbie in this field.
Naturally, I don’t know any of the advanced techniques involved in this so-called skill game.
If it were purely luck-based, I might have had a chance. But in a skill-based game, knowing or not knowing the techniques makes a huge difference.
In this world, it’s no accident that humans can defend themselves against monsters.
They don’t understand martial arts, but we do—that’s why we can fight them.
The same principle applies here.
I don’t know rock-paper-scissors, but Frey does.
Judging by how she nodded without hesitation, she’s definitely familiar with the game.
Why did my opponent have to be Frey?!
If it had been someone like Joey or Faybi, I could have used my strength to overpower them, but that won’t work against Frey!
In terms of reflexes, she’s already better than me!
Damn it!
I’ve been tricked!
I’m the one who’s been caught!
What do I do?!
There’s no backing out now.
I was the one who suggested this. If I refuse now, I’ll look pathetic!
"Shall we?"
Frey, looking down at me slightly, made me bite my lip.
No.
It’s not over yet.
Frey’s reflexes might be a little better, but they’re not that different.
Our physical abilities are equal.
And as for technique...
This sword-obsessed maniac—there’s no way she knows any rock-paper-scissors techniques, right?
If everything is equal, then what I need is luck!
Luck is all that matters!
"Alright!"
"Okay, loser swordswoman. Get ready to lose."
"Sure."
"I’ll give the signal."
Karl, who had apparently been watching us the whole time, naturally stepped in as the referee.
"Ready? Rock."
Alright, Frey.
What are you going to throw?
Her fist is clenched, so it’s hard to tell.
"Paper."
Her hand is coming down.
It’s opening.
Is she going for scissors?
Alright, I’ll throw scissors too.
At worst, we’ll tie.
If I’m lucky, I might win.
"Scissors."
Just as I decided and reached out my hand, Frey’s hand clenched back into a fist.
What?!
Was she faking me out?!
Did she pretend to open her hand, expecting me to react?
Frey, the sword-crazed maniac, knows psychological tricks like this?!
By the time I realized what was happening, it was too late to withdraw my hand.
My two fingers, extended for scissors, were met by Frey’s clenched fist.
"I won."
I lost.
Do you know how much proficiency I could’ve gained with that orb?!
That one orb could’ve saved me a month of hard work, and now I’ve lost it!
And what makes it worse is that this loss is 100% my fault, which makes me even angrier.
I can’t even blame anyone else!
I want to channel this anger somewhere, but there’s no one to blame but myself!
Ugh.
Ughhhh.
Calm down.
It’s fine.
I can still get stronger without that orb.
Sure, I’ll lose out on some—okay, a lot of proficiency, but I can make up for it with hard work.
Yeah. Let’s just think of it as giving Frey a gift.
She’s going to stay in the party for a long time anyway, right?
Her getting stronger benefits me too.
Yeah. That’s the way to look at it.
"Lucy, do you want this?"
What? Is Frey teasing me now?
If that’s what she’s trying to do, she picked the wrong target.
I’m incredibly petty, you know.
I’ll remember this and get my revenge later.
"I might give it to you."
Seriously?
...No.
Calm down.
There’s no way she’ll give it to me.
She’s probably just messing with me to see my reaction.
It’s like how she gets annoyed whenever I call her a loser swordswoman and tries to provoke me back.
This is just more of the same.
If I get my hopes up, I’ll only be disappointed.
But...
What if?
"What do I have to do?"
"Loser swordswoman, what do you want?"
"Two things. First, you have to bow your head to me."
The sourc𝗲 of this content is freēwēbηovel.c૦m.
Oh. So she wants to see me bow my head for once, huh?
If I can get a proficiency orb in exchange for swallowing my pride, that’s a pretty cheap price.
Besides, it’s not like I have much pride to begin with.
I’d even kneel down and lick her shoes if it meant getting that proficiency orb!
Okay, maybe not that far.
Anyway, I have no problem bowing my head.
The real problem is the Mesugaki skill.
Can I really force myself to bow in front of this stubborn woman?
Well, I’ll give it a shot. If I act submissive enough, it might just work.
‘Oh, great and legendary swordswoman, Frey Kent, who is destined to become the Sword Saint. Please grant me the honor of receiving the orb you are bestowing upon me.’
"Loser swordswoman. Hand it over. I’ll put it to better use than an idiot like you ever could."
Wow. Where did all those fancy words I thought of go?
And why am I holding my head high when I’m supposed to be bowing?
Are you the boss here?!
Are you the boss, you crazy woman?!
I knew this was going to happen, but actually experiencing it makes me even more annoyed.
At least Frey doesn’t seem too bothered by it.
"Alright. Now for the second thing."
...
Is she satisfied with just that?
Frey, how low must you think of me if that’s enough for you to feel like I’ve bowed down?
How much of a lowlife do you imagine Lucy Alrn is?
Well, thanks for letting it go so easily, I guess, but I still feel weird about it.
"Keep sparring with me after the dungeon clears."
I stared blankly at Frey after hearing her second request.
Huh?
‘Weren’t we going to do that anyway?’
"Loser swordswoman, what are you talking about? Of course, we’re going to keep sparring, you idiot."
"Really? You’ll keep doing it?"
‘Yes.’
"Okay. Wow, you’re such a loser."
"Sure."
Frey nodded to herself and handed me the orb.
Wait. She was serious about that?
Watching Frey hand me the orb while tilting her head in confusion, I couldn’t help but laugh.
Ah, damn it. I never thought I’d find this sword-crazy maniac cute.
‘Thanks, I’ll use it well.’
"Make good use of it, loser swordswoman."
"Yeah. Keep sparring with me, alright?"
You don’t have to keep confirming it; I’ll spar with you as much as you want.
There aren’t many people at the academy who can keep up with me in close combat, you know?
So don’t worry.
I’ll keep training with you until you stop calling me a ‘loser.’
A few days had passed since we cleared the dungeon.
Apparently, it was unheard of for a first-year student to earn the title of First Clear in the first-semester dungeon at the academy. After the announcement was made, the place was abuzz with excitement.
Joey came to complain about why I didn’t take him along.
Arthur declared that even though I won this time, he’d be the one to win next time.
Vishy and Jacob came by to congratulate me and chat for a while.
Avery cautiously approached and offered congratulations.
While I was eating, Luca showed up out of nowhere, saying, "I knew you had potential," and wouldn’t let me finish my meal.
Even Benedict contacted me.
"This father is so proud to have such an outstanding daughter. I always knew you had it in you! When you were young..."
I don’t know how he heard the news, but just as I was about to go to bed, he contacted me via crystal orb and rambled on for nearly an hour about the old days.
If I hadn’t cut him off, I would’ve had to listen to his rambling all night.
Thanks to this achievement, my reputation has improved significantly.
I’ve been maintaining good relationships with several young ladies, so according to Avery, who always knows the latest gossip, it seems that while people still don’t care for me personally, they at least acknowledge my skills.
In other words, I went from being the "talentless and rude bitch" to the "skilled but still rude bitch."
They’re both rude, right?
Of course, but the latter is better.
A talented bitch is tolerable, but a talentless bitch is unbearable.
While I was thinking about this, the classroom door opened, and the professor appeared.
He stood at the podium, looked around the students, and began speaking in a quiet voice.
"As you all know, in a week, the field trip will begin."
Finally, the moment has come.
Even as I listened to the professor, I had no concerns.
I had already made all the necessary preparations for the field trip.
My party would be me, Frey, Joey, and Faybi.
The items needed for the field trip were already packed in my inventory.
I had even prepared bribes to win over the guardian of the forest we would visit.
In other words, I was all set and ready to go.
Great. During this field trip, I’ll raise Faybi’s favorability to 70!
I may have lost some points clearing the academy dungeon, but that’s fine.
I’ll make up for it.
We’ll be together throughout the field trip, so I’ll just have to show her how capable I am.
I can do this.
I’ve done this Saintess route so many times I could do it in my sleep.
"The location is the Sytill Forest, south of Soul Academy. Some of the professors have already gone ahead..."
...Wait? The Sytill Forest?
What did you just say, professor?
The forest we’re supposed to visit in the first semester is the Sylph Forest.
The one where the guardian is a centuries-old wolf.
Sytill Forest is for the second semester of the first year, though?
There must be some mistake.
Confused by the professor’s change of plan, I raised my hand to ask, but the professor shook his head.
"No, Lady Alrn. It’s the Sytill Forest."
What?
No.
Wait.
Fuck.
I’m screwed.
The difficulty of the field trip itself doesn’t matter.
The professors will adjust that as needed.
Different supplies? Not a problem either.
I can always get more from Alsetin.
But the issue is this:
Because of that damn quest from our lousy god, I need to meet the guardian of the forest. But if the field trip is in the Sytill Forest, I won’t be able to meet the guardian!
Fuck. What do I do?
What do I do?
I don’t want to be penalized!
I don’t want to know what the humiliating thing is!