Chapter 18

Chapter 18: A cold sweat battle

The duel is set to begin 2 hours later.
We will move to an empty field inside the capital during the evening.
Although the capital is a modern city, there are still some empty patches of field.
It reduces the injuries caused by fighting on the soft soil surface. Well, Misha is unlikely to be injured anyway so all is fine.

We spend our time by loitering in a small alley nearby.
As Misha is now more eye-catching in her human form, it is better for us to remain in the alley to keep out prying eyes.

[Well~ then~, how far should I send them flying?]
Misha is already sure of her victory. It naturally became this way since she holds overwhelming strength.

[Is it fine to standout so much?]
[There is no harm for an adventurer to show having strong abilities but it will be troublesome if others know that I am Lv 71]
[That’s right, as long as you understand . Speaking of which…]
There is something that I would like to confirm.

[What did you choose to wager?]
The duel stated that each party can propose something stake.
For example, even something like [Honor] could also be used as the stake.
[We each wager 3 million coins]
I immediately tried to refute that statement.
[That, isn’t that almost all our money after purchasing the grimoire!?]

[But looking from another perspective, we can earn another 3 million coins after winning the duel]
[It seems that is the case. As expected, their party also has considerable income]
[Although we already managed to obtain the grimoire, we still need to have more money. We need to save more money in order to buy our love nest]
[Ahh, I definitely like to have a place to live in]
[That’s right. If we managed to get another 3 million coins, we can buy an even better love nest] (T.L Vomiting in progress)

Misha’s voice then suddenly became softer.
No, it is not just her voice only.
Even her body began shrinking —

All that remains is her long robe.

[Misha!]
I screamed out loudly in surprise.

Don’t tell me, the side effects of the magic will cause Misha to melt…

[Nya~]

Misha appears in her black cat form from underneath of her robe.

[What! Please don’t surprise me so much!]

[It seems, there is a time limit to the transformation magic. As yesterday was my first time using it, it seems the time limit is 12 hours. It is impossible to achieve 24-hour transformation] (T.L Noooooooo, Misha core is still a cat and not a human)
[Maa~, it will be fine as long as you use it again]

[However, there is something troubling]
This statement is bad for me heart.
[I am more tired than expected. If I do not rest for another 2 hours, I do not have the confidence to perform another transformation]
[Maa~, just slowly rest in your cat form… Ah!]

Isn’t that the time for our duel!?

————————————————————————————————————————–

2 hours later.
Misha still has not recovered from her fatigue.
Since there is no other choice, I carried Misha in her cat form and headed towards the battlefield.

[Are~, where is that beastkin girl?]
Of course the one who spoke up is the man with the largest build.

[That, she is currently missing…]
[Hey hey, don’t tell me she ran away]
It seems the other party is slightly surprised.

[As expected, it is impossible for her to face all of us alone so she chickened out]
A youth within the team said so.
[Th, that might be the case… but I do not know the details]

In any case, I tried stalling for as much time as possible.

[In that case, would you substitute on her behalf, Onii-san? We would also accept this arrangement]
[N, no way. I am someone who is against violence between fellow human beings]
It is impossible for a Lv 15 to take on 5 people in one go. Furthermore, there are 2 rank Bs within them and their level surely must be above 20.

[Aria-jouchan, so what should we do?]
The man with large body build asked Aria-san who came here to check.
[I see… the rule in this case is…]

Aria-san showed me an apologetic look.
[If the wager is something that could be surrendered, the side that failed to turn up need to give up the wager]
We will lose 3 million coins!!!

[S, sorry! I need to go to the washroom!]
I ran into the washroom and spoke to Misha.
[Oi, we have an emergency! What should we do now!]
[I know… Although it is slightly risky, I managed to come up with a strategy. Let’s go out now]

After confirming the strategy, I headed towards where the other adventurers are.
[So what now? We were the side being humiliated so pay up the bet. Although I felt sorry for you being abandoned by your companion]
The man with huge build said this.

[Hahaha! I did not ran away!]
The group of men looked over us strangely.
It seems they are trying to confirm whether the cat is actually speaking.
In actual fact, she is currently speaking right now.

If a talking cat became a commotion, at that time it will —
[I am the magician Misha. I will be fighting in this cat form as your opponent]
Yup, the scenario we created is that Misha transformed into a cat.

[No, there are 5 of us here as your opponent. It is better for you to fight as a normal magician]
[I am g, giving all of you a chance. No matter what, I will be fighting in this cat form]
[I understand. Don’t come crying!]
It seems that the opponent accepted our story.

[Ano~… she might receive heavy injuries in that form. Is that still alright?]
Aria-san came over to confirm.
[Yes, there is no problem! That magician is extremely strong]
[I understand… Well then, let the duel commence!]

[Neko punch!]
Misha shouted her technique.

The man with the huge build is immediately sent flying.

The enemy mage attempted to use a fire spell in the meantime —
Misha approached at high speedl before this,
[Neko punch!]

All the remaining enemies were sent flying by neko punch.

[M. magic… not using?…]

The man with huge build retorted despite being knocked down. Just how much do you want to retort?
A Lv 71 physical strength alone is tremendous.
The spectators viewing the duel were praising Misha with [Amazing!].

And with this, Misha obtained a flawless victory in her cat form.

[Congratulations]
Aria-san talked to Misha in her cat form while squating down.
[Nya~]
This means [Thank you]. Although it would also be fine speaking in human language.
[Ano~, could you return to your human form and say a few words to all the spectators?]
Aria-san, what are you saying all of a sudden?

[I, I understand…]
I entered a nearby washroom together with Misha.

And 3 minutes later…

[With my power, of course it is easy to obtain this victory!]
Misha waved to the spectators while wearing her long robe in human form.

As it will cause further fatigue, Misha swiftly returned to her cat form in a nearby toilet after this.

[It is extremely tiring today… The transformation magic cost more power than expected. After this, the fatigue will kick in]
Misha then nimbly climbed and rode on my shoulder.
[Maa, we now understand the limitation of the transformation magic]
[However, we also obtained a huge loot today]

Ahh, she is referring to the wager.

[Tomorrow, let’s go find a good house!]

T.L End of chapter 18