"Old Sir, was that large piece of trash you just threw out?" Iri suppressed her anger when she saw the old man in the center of the dojo. After all, she had to maintain her persona when outside.
"Hmm?" The old man heard an unexpected voice and turned his head to see two young girls standing at the entrance of his dojo.
He was still a bit puzzled… When he finally reacted, he realized that the "large piece of trash" the leading young girl mentioned was referring to the idiot who had just come to ask him to take him as a disciple, and then threw a tantrum after being rejected.
"Did I throw that thing out? What's wrong?" He didn't expect that kind of person would actually make two young girls stand up for him. Young people these days! the old man thought.
"The large piece of trash you just threw almost hit my friend. Please be more careful when you throw trash outside the door from now on, okay?" Iri said with displeasure.
Looking at the old man's location, it closely resembled a dojo she had seen in manga – vast and empty, with wooden floors and many weapon racks filled with various wooden weapons nearby. Was the guy who was just thrown out someone who came to challenge the dojo?
"Oh? Is that so? Judging by your attire, you must be Adventurers, right? If you can't even dodge something of that level, you should change professions before you get hurt. The Adventurers profession isn't suitable for you." The old man turned back to drink his small wine, completely ignoring Iri.
"Thank you for your concern, Old Sir. I'm always the one who makes others get hurt, and I've never been hurt myself. It's a pity, I've disappointed you." This arrogant old man! Iri's anger immediately flared up.
What I just said was "almost hit"! It wasn't "was hit," okay?!
I had already been polite enough to this old man, yet this guy dared to act superior and lecture me! I need to show him a thing or two!
"Hmph… Little girl, being overly confident isn't good. When you suffer losses, don't blame me, an elder, for not warning you," the old man said.
Iri became even angrier, but just as she was about to lash out, Arshe pulled her back.
"Iri-dono… Young Miss, let's just go. It's not worth arguing with a dojo master who doesn't even have a single disciple," Arshe said.
That's right, at this time, such a large dojo having no training disciples at all really speaks volumes. There's no need to bother with an old man like this who has no real skill yet likes to act superior. Let's go, let's go!
But Arshe, what you said was really too much. Is it okay to say something like that in front of the dojo master?
Just as Iri was thinking this, sure enough, the old man heard Arshe's words, turned his head, and put on an extremely displeased scowl.
"What do you know, little girl! I only take disciples I approve of. I'm too lazy to take in those without talent!" the old man cursed.
"Oh… so that's why there's no one. I can see that you are indeed very impressive in some ways, Old Sir, hehe! Let's go, Arshe." Iri chuckled with a sarcastic tone, then gestured for Arshe to leave.
"Hey! Little girl! What do you mean by that!" The old man was furious, as Iri's smile was indeed too provoking, and combined with what Iri said, it was clearly sarcasm.
It wasn't that the old man was too skilled to look down on others, but rather that his skill was too low, and no one came. Saying he looked at people's talent was probably just an excuse he made for himself.
"It doesn't mean anything, just that I sincerely think you're amazing, Old Sir," Iri said with a smile, then started to walk out of the dojo.
"You stop right there!" The old man stood up directly and walked towards Iri, extremely displeased.
"Hmm? What's wrong, Old Sir? Is there anything else?" Iri chuckled inwardly. So what if I mocked you? Who told you to look down on me first?
By the looks of it, do you want to make a move? Then don't blame me for demolishing your dojo under the pretext of self-defense!
"Young people these days need to be taught a lesson! You! Pick any weapon you like from the rack over there! I'll give you a free lesson!" The old man was clearly angry. He was holding a wooden sword, striking it hard against the dojo floor, then pointed to the weapon rack nearby and said.
Hmph! Who knows who will be teaching whom a lesson! I was hoping you'd challenge me, but since we're using wooden weapons, completely demolishing the dojo feels a bit excessive. So, I'll just demolish half of it! Iri thought to herself, then quietly walked to the weapon rack and picked a wooden sword.
Seeing this, Arshe wisely gave up. In this situation, she couldn't persuade Iri, so she quietly stepped aside to watch the match.
Given Iri's personality and character, at most, she would just teach this old man a small lesson and that would be it, so Arshe wasn't too worried about the old man's safety.
After choosing her weapon, Iri naturally walked to the center of the dojo. The old man also very consciously walked to the other side, opposite Iri.
"Little girl, if you get hurt later, don't blame me for not holding back!" The old man said with great arrogance.
"No, no, rather, if I accidentally injure you later, Old Sir, please don't blame me either!" Iri immediately retorted.
"…" The old man said nothing more, but raised his sword with one hand, pointing it at Iri.
Seeing this strange sword-holding posture gave Iri a sense of novelty. The wooden sword in the old man's hand, from its length, width, and shape, seemed to be a replica of a knight's two-handed broadsword. And he wasn't a two-sword style user like Ainz. Holding a two-handed sword with one hand? It was indeed quite novel.
The wooden sword in Iri's hand was the same model as the one the old man was using. Iri, however, held the hilt with both hands in a standard manner and took her stance.
"As a senior Adventurer, I'll give you a slight advantage. You can attack first!" the old man said.
"Oh! I appreciate the senior's kindness. As a junior, I should respect my senior, so please, senior, you go first!" Iri retorted again, and at the same time, she gained some information from the old man's words. Was this old man also an Adventurer? It seems he's retired due to age!
"Hmph! Don't make excuses if you lose! Then here I come!" The old man snorted coldly, then charged directly, attacking Iri with incredibly fast movements.
This was quite unexpected for Iri. She had thought this old man was quite old, so to have such astonishing speed was truly rare.
Moreover, when she blocked the old man's sword, the sensation transmitted to her hands was quite heavy.
The force was probably about one-tenth of Insect Lord Cocytus's serious mode? It was already very impressive for a human. I really did underestimate him. Even so, Iri easily defended against those few strikes. The old man took a step back and readjusted his stance.
The old man, like Iri, had intended to give this inexperienced young girl a show of force at the beginning, but she defended calmly.
The old man was also quite surprised. He didn't expect such a young girl could so easily defend against his attacks.
Although he hadn't been too serious in those previous few strikes, they weren't something a mere minion could casually handle. That's why he retreated. He needed to re-evaluate this young girl!
At this moment, another person's figure appeared outside the dojo, but neither Iri nor the old man had time to notice. Arshe, standing nearby, turned to look and was quite surprised.
"Warrior Captain Gazef Stroganoff of the Kingdom?!" Why is he here?
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