091: Silvio's Robust Defense

“Are you doing sword practice in your room?” Silvio

“No, no. It’s a game, just a game.” Al

I explain the game to Silvio, who says things like ‘Oh’ and ‘That’s right’.

“That’s a long name, but I can get it. So the winner of the rock-paper-scissors hits with the stick and the loser tries to block with the bowl?” Silvio

Silvio looks at the stick and bowl with interest, he figured out the game by just hearing the name.

“Oh, yeah. You have to aim at the head, do you want to try it?” Al

If Silvio and I fight, then I can setup Eleanora and Silvio for the next match. I’m content since I was able to hit Eleanora on the head already. I can let them start a match, then disappear while they’re playing. That way Eleanora won’t be suspicious of me leaving. This isn’t a good time to play against Eleanora, she’ll hit my head over and over again. It’s convenient that Silvio came by.

“Yeah, ok. Let’s play.” Silvio

Silvio and I sit down and face each other. We face each other like Eleanora and I were sitting earlier. Eleanora is standing diagonally behind me for some reason.

“By the way, when does the game end?” Silvio

Oh, Silvio has a legitimate question. When I was playing with Eleanora, I forgot to decide the victory conditions. So we were playing until Eleanora got bored of it. That was dangerous! I am eternally grateful for Silvio.

“Oh, right. If you hit the opponent’s head three times, you win. Will that work?” Al

“Ok, fine by me.” Silvio

“What is the person who dodged earlier saying? If someone dodges, I get to hit him instead of the normal opponent, ok?” Eleanora

Eleanora picks up a towel and makes a whip sound. I feel danger from behind me. Does Eleanora not want me to dodge anymore? Any hit from her would be a painful one.

“Well, then?” Silvio

I’m scared of the reaper behind me, but I nod in agreement.

“Rock, Paper, Scissors!” Al & Silvio

I’m Paper, Silvio picked Rock. Great! I’ve got the initiative first!

Just like with Eleanora, I use a little bit of Psychic magic to grab the stick and swing it at Silvio’s head with a flowing motion, but Silvio was already in a defensive position with the bowl on.

“Wha?” Al

Silvio is so fast, he covered his head like a turtle, I was so surprised I made a sound.

“Is the Silvio Barrier active?” Al

“That’s right. I wonder if I’m on edge?” Silvio

Eleanora clicks her tongue, is she annoyed at us?

“I just focused on covering my head” Silvio says as he removes the bowl with a bitter smile.

When I tried swinging the stick, Silvio re-covered his head at a crazy speed.

“Hey, what are you playing at?” Silvio complains with a glare.

Is he part shellfish?

“Sorry, I wanted to watch you cover your head, you’re really fast. I won’t do it out of turn again.” Al

“Did you do it just because you were surprised?” Silvio

I put the stick on the floor, then Silvio put the bowl on the floor after I had let go of the stick.

“Rock, Paper, Scissors!” Al & Silvio

Silvio chooses Scissors as I chose paper.

Considering Silvio has lightning defense, he may be hitting my head at a similar pace, I race for the bowl and bring it to my head. I closed my eyes and hurriedly covered my head with the bowl. When I was wondering if I made it in time, I heard a light impact on the bowl.

“What are you doing, Silvio? Are you serious about playing the game?” Eleanora

When I opened my eyes, I heard Eleanora’s dissatisfied voice, did she want me to be hit that badly?

“No, didn’t I swing it efficiently?” Silvio

“No, swing like this!” Eleanora says as she shakes the towel to encourage Silvio.

“This?” Silvio

“No!” Eleanora

Silvio swings the stick to imitate her, but it seems something is off. Apparently Silvio put all his points in defense, as expected from the wielder of the Silvio Barrier. This game could run long…

Will I get exhausted and have my defenses broken, or will I break through the Silvio Barrier? I may be at a disadvantage, I can’t beat Silvio’s defense. If I lose, then my next partner would be Eleanora. If I win, I might be able to disagree when she wants to play against me, the loser can’t object like that. In other words, I can’t be defeated.

“I understand, I’ll try to focus on it.” Silvio

While I was contemplating my situation, it seems Eleanora concluded her lesson with Silvio. Silvio looked tired as he put the stick back on the floor.

“Ok, are you ready?” Al

“Rock, Paper, Scissors!” Al & Silvio

Silvio picks rock when I choose paper. Alright, I have the initiative. Eleanora may see through this, but it can’t be helped. I’ll cheat a bit by using Psychic magic to grab the stick. But by the time I held the stick, Silvio was already wearing the bowl.

“What? What’s going on?” Al

I even cheated, how did you beat that?

“Did the stick move strangely that time?” Eleanora asks with a suspicious tone.

Eleanora is crouching behind me, I’m worried. I tried to cover the manuever with my hand, but the timing was a bit quick. From Eleanora’s view, the stick may have looked like it moved before my hand could reach it. Nord and Elna would definitely have noticed it. I took the risk and cheated, but my opponent was able to defend even quicker.

“Hah!” Al

“Haha, you barely hit” Silvio

I was filled with regret and only made a small tap to the bowl. I hate Silvio’s assured voice. Next time, I need to think of a new strategy.

The next two rounds I lost, but was able to defend in time.

“Rock, Paper, Scissors!” Al & Silvio

I’m scissors and Silvio is paper. Finally, I’ve got the initiative. While I reached for the stick, I activated Psychic magic. I’m using it on the bowl this time, so as Silvio reaches for it, I give the bowl a bump as if he fumbled the grab. Then I sent the stick into Silvio’s head, which had no protection.

“Lucky!” Al

This way I suggest that Silvio mishandled the bowl, to distract from my strategy.

“I missed the bowl, that kind of hurts.” Silvio

Silvio rubs his head while laughing, it hurt my conscience a little, but I had to protect my life. It seems Eleanora didn’t catch the trick, it’s probably because it’s a possibility. In fact, the bowl is sort of hard to grasp at times.

I can’t have her be suspicious, so I’ll have to use this trick sparingly. It will take a while before I could win. Without the trick, I can’t break through the Silvio Barrier. Silvio doesn’t have enough offensive power to break through my defensive power, and that’s how more than a dozen rounds went by with no change in score.

“Both of you are taking too long, next person to score wins” Eleanora says as she gets annoyed by the lack of progress.

“Understood” Al

Silvio and I looked at each other and nodded. The Silvio Barrie is too strong for me. It’s been a few dozen rounds since I cause Silvio to miss the bowl, is it about time? If you’re fired up, you might miss the bowl, especially for Silvio who isn’t the best at offense. Now is the chance!

“Rock, Paper Scissors!” Al & Silvio

I’m rock, Silvio went scissors.

I activate Psychic magic again to bump the bowl. It shifts slightly as Silvio’s finger hits the bowl and skitters away.

“Oops!” Silvio

“Curse your luck, Silvio!” Al

When I was convinced of my victory, a voice sounded from my door.

“It’s noisy in here, what are you doing with magic?” Nord

Our father came to see what was happening after hearing the noise.

“Ah…” Al

“Magic?” Eleanora & Silvio

I’m stuck halfway through the swing as two gazes look to pierce me. Then those gazes look to Nord.

Hey, uhh, Nord. Don’t say what I think you’re about to say…

“Hmm? I felt some magical energy from Al?” Nord

Ah! That’s why he’s a Dragon Slayer. He was able to notice it when I was just a baby, and now he noticed it again. What? Is this the skills of a top-ranked adventurer?

“So when I thought something looked odd, Al was using magic? So when the stick moved oddly it was magic?” Eleanora

After hearing Nord’s explanation, Eleanora stomped on the floor. You can see the tremors showing up in her ponytail.

“Then was the bowl moving away from my fingers?” Silvio

Silvio looked over at me with a suspicious gaze, I’m desperate.

I try tapping Silvio’s head with a stick to win the round.

“Ah, this rounds is over. Silvio and Eleanora should play a round or two, I’ve got to visit the bathroom…” Al

“Wait, Al” Eleanora

When I tried to leave the room, my shoulder was grabbed. It’s not surprising who the other party is. I want to escape…

So it looks like I’ll be forced to play against Eleanora and will get beaten badly.

While I was thinking on how bad it was going to be, Eleanora said something surprising.

“Oh, I have an idea. Why don’t you play against Dad?” Eleanora

“Eh?” Al

“Hmm?” Nord

The Dragon Slayer was incredibly powerful…

Translation

Good Job!

Do Better!

Chapter

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