18 Luck or Fight
Shiro was so big that each of his hands was equivalent to two hands of a normal-sized person like the half-wolf, which didn’t necessarily mean that he had more physical strength, but it did mean that he had an advantage in a hand-to-hand fight.
Based on Luke’s knowledge, he could tell that Claymore, which Shiro carried, was very heavy. Because its handle should be sturdy to support the rest of the sword and the huge blade, which in the case of this Claymore of Shiro’s seemed even more special and heavy.
The two friends walked back to the large field behind the mansion. There was still some time left until lunch, they could settle that bet right now.
The fresh wind was blowing on the low grass, which was marked by every step of Shiro’s armor.
“Are you a tank?” Luke asked. Although he didn’t understand much about the guild class system, he knew that one of the main characteristics of a tank was to be big.
Shiro beat his chest and said: “After that day, I betrayed the nickname ‘The Protector’ and ended up becoming a Berserker. I don’t regret it. Now I can protect people by attacking, without them having to fight!” He said with a proud smile.
Luke wasn’t surprised. “And what Berserkers do on expeditions into Dungeons?”
“We just have to throw ourselves in the middle of the monsters and kill all of them, while being supported by paladins and mages.”
“Eeh? That sounds really dangerous.”
“No doubt it’s very dangerous, that’s why there are no Berserkers of rank higher than B.”
“Rank?”
Shiro looked with surprise at the half-wolf and, in a few seconds, understood: “It’s another word for Class. To keep people from confusing Classes like Archers and Mages with the level of an Adventurer.” At the Landford house, Shiro had the opportunity to start studying, but he noticed that it didn’t look like Luke had the same luck.
Since the field was huge and empty, the two friends knew there would be no obstacles, and it would be a straight fight to decide who would get the wages.
“Shall we begin?” Luke said, taking off his hood again and revealing his wolf ears.
Shiro nodded, pulled his sword from his belt, dropped it on the ground, and struck a base pose to receive attacks.
The game ‘Luck or Fight’ consists of three basic fundamentals.
First – No outside help.
Second – Weapons are prohibited because it’s a game to measure one’s techniques.
Third – The round is only over when one of the opponents says ‘Three-legged Smoked Lizard’ or faints.
Although the forfeit phrase may change from region to region, these are the three main known rules. Since there are several ways to play ‘Luck or Fight’, there are also many different rules.
The three most popular types of ‘Luck or Fight’ are Martial Arts, Thumb Fight, and Card games.
After seeing Shiro drop his sword, Luke walked back a few steps while he thought about what he would do to immobilize this giant because this was the most effective way to win.
“Ready?” Shiro asked.
The half-wolf just nodded so he could come.
Shiro started running towards Luke at an absurd speed, but the half-wolf managed to block his advance with a good technique. Their forearms collided, and the metal of Shiro’s armor caused Luke some pain.
Meanwhile, Nathalia was bored, and while walking around the house, she saw the two guards fighting. For a second, she thought that the half-wolf had picked a fight with Shiro; however, when she realized that the two were smiling, she stopped to watch them.
‘They are strong…’ Nathalia thought while she watched the confrontation from afar.
However, the conversation she had with the half-wolf earlier, was still bothering her, and that hardly let her pay attention to Shiro and Luke’s fight.
‘What do you mean the problems in the Dungeon are not just the monsters? What did he mean by that?’ she wondered, leaning over the fence on the back porch.
That phrase from Luke struck the young lady, who thought she could kill many monsters, but other problems inside the Dungeon that weren’t those creatures? She doubted that was true.
Tump~
The thud of Shiro’s large body falling to the ground made the girl snap out of her trance and look at the fight between the two guards.
Luke was twisting hard on one of the big guy’s arms and also had his knee resting on Shiro’s spine while pressing down.
“Three-legged Perfumed Lizard!” Shiro shouted.
“Hahaha! That’s not the right phrase.”
“Hmph! I don’t g—” Luke twisted Shiro’s arm even more. “Ouch, ouch! How are you so strong?”
“I trained buddy, I trained…” Luke said with a sadistic smile.
“Three-legged Smoked Lizard!” Shiro exclaimed, but in a much lower voice than when he bluffed.
Luke promptly got off him and helped him to stand up.
While they were walking back to the mansion, Luke heard quiet breathing coming from the porch. When he looked, he saw Nathalia, who blushed as she looked into his eyes and went back inside the mansion. The half-wolf didn’t understand the reason for that behavior, but Shiro understood perfectly.
“Are you her bodyguard or her lover?”
“L-lover? N-No, she is a Strogueher, and we have nothing in common.”
“Ah, I see… And in the end, you fell in love with Meredith then?” Shiro wanted to gather more information about his friends, he didn’t want to believe that Meredith and Matthew were dead.
Luke got serious and said, “Why do you want to know?”
Shiro understood the message not to touch those names anymore and stayed quiet.
Martha, who saw them approaching from inside the house, welcomed them with some towels to wipe off the sweat.
Although it wasn’t midday, the valley around Vasconcelos made the heat even more intense, which made Luke ponder whether he hated the most, the cold, huge amounts of rain, or the heat more. These hot days made his skin sticky and his fur wet.
“Lunch will soon be ready, Mr. Luke. The Lady Ayumi has asked that you accompany the family at the table today since it’s your first day,” Martha said.
“But I was planning to have lunch with Shiro…”
“It’s okay, man. She’s the Matriarch, you can’t refuse an invitation from your employer.”
“Guard Shiro is right, and the Matriarch wishes to give guidance about how to proceed with your application to the Guild, scheduled for this afternoon. Since you haven’t presented any official documents, she wants to make sure you get one.”
Even Shiro shivered for a second because only mercenaries were hired without official documentation, which shouldn’t be the case for a fixed employee like Luke, who would be Nathalia’s personal guard. ‘What Miss Ayumi is planning?’ he wondered.
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Discord for illustrations of the characters:
https://discord.gg/qz2vDAn7Kb