Chapter 606 - 818 – Kalifa, Show Us What You Can Do

"That's strange. Why isn't there a fountain?"

"Shouldn't one be appearing by now?"

Kalifa raised her head and wiped her mouth, looking puzzled.

"It's not that easy. You have to remember who your opponent is."

Raki smiled.

"Don't tell me you two haven't seen one either?"

Kalifa looked back at her in confusion.

"We have, but it usually takes a lot of time and effort. You've only been at it for a little over twenty minutes. How could you possibly see one already?"

"I see. So I just need to keep working at it."

Kalifa furrowed her brows.

Sure enough, seeing beautiful mountains and rivers and tasting delicious spring water was no easy feat.

"Let's save some time. Even if Captain is drunk, he'll still wake up eventually. Why don't we move on to the real battle?"

Raki suggested.

"Fine."

Kalifa nodded firmly.

She hadn't eaten or drunk her fill, but at least she'd gotten a taste.

Now that she had sampled the appetizer, it was time to properly enjoy the main course.

True, Kalifa had never experienced a real battle before, but in the derivative works where she was the heroine, she had certainly enjoyed herself.

That gave her every reason to believe that once she truly entered battle herself, she would enjoy it just as much.

And she wasn't wrong.

Once the real battle began, Kalifa immediately understood why the version of herself in Arton's works had always looked like that.

"Mm, are you all right, Miss Kalifa?" Conis whispered worriedly into her ear.

"Wonderful."

Kalifa answered in a trembling voice.

"Really? But your body won't stop shaking. And you're bleeding."

Conis's brows remained furrowed. She had thought Kalifa was merely forcing herself to endure it.

"It's just a little blood. For a CP9 agent like me, that's something I've long since gotten used to. Compared to the bleeding, what I care about more is the feedback the battle is giving me."

"Incredible, Miss Kalifa."

Conis breathed a sigh of relief after hearing that. She had originally been worried that Kalifa might feel uncomfortable because she wasn't used to this.

Now she felt she had simply been worrying too much.

"Looks like we can trust you completely now, Miss Kalifa. Would you mind showing us what else you can do?"

"Of course. Keep your eyes wide open and watch my performance."

Kalifa rose onto her knees, half-crouching as she assumed a battle stance all her own.

Conis's and Raki's eyes immediately lit up.

After all, that move had never appeared in any of the material they had studied.

Learned something new.

The exact same thought flashed through Conis's and Raki's minds.

Watching Kalifa stretch out both hands and begin accelerating her assault on the enemy's wheel, they both silently decided that they would have to try Kalifa's move the next time they fought an enemy.

"H-How was... that move? What did you two... think? Could you give me some pointers?"

Kalifa asked Raki and Conis while continuing her attack.

She knew she was a novice in this area. Since she was new to it, she naturally wanted the two veterans to teach her properly.

Although Conis and Raki hadn't been part of Arton's crew for very long either, Kalifa knew they probably hadn't accumulated all that much experience fighting alongside Arton.

Even so, the fact that they could stay so close to him—and even get Arton to willingly spend time with them while drunk—was proof enough that he trusted them immensely.

Taking it a step further, the two of them had most likely done many of the things Kalifa was doing now with Arton.

That meant that as a newcomer, Kalifa could surely learn a great deal from Conis and Raki.

"You're amazing, Miss Kalifa. You really are talented."

Conis clasped her hands together and praised her sincerely.

"Definitely. I can sense an incredibly fierce, almost beast-like aura coming from you."

Raki nodded.

Her eyes swept over Kalifa's entire body.

Kalifa stood with her legs spread apart for support, deliberately exposing her own weak point to the tip of the enemy's spear.

Not only that, she held both hands high, looking as though she intended to fight the enemy with her back against the water.

In fact, that was exactly what Kalifa was doing.

Despite having no actual experience fighting an opponent, and despite only possessing theoretical knowledge, Kalifa was now charging forward like a veteran who had survived countless battles, constantly weaving between the enemy's weapons.

Raki lowered her gaze and saw the enemy's weapon repeatedly appearing at Kalifa's weak point.

Yet Kalifa continued confronting the enemy as though nothing were wrong.

If Raki herself hadn't already experienced plenty of battles, she really might have mistaken Kalifa for a seasoned veteran.

"Hearing you two say that puts me at ease... Hm?"

As Kalifa spoke, her gaze swept over Arton's face and suddenly froze.

"...Begonia..."

"What is it?"

Conis and Raki looked at Kalifa in confusion, then followed her gaze and froze as well.

Arton, who had originally kept his eyes closed, had now opened them.

And his eyes were staring directly at Kalifa, who was currently bent forward before him.

"..."

"Kalifa?" Arton raised an eyebrow. "Why are you here?"

"I... I..."

Kalifa pursed her lips.

How was she supposed to answer that?

There was simply no answer she could give him.

Just as Kalifa was struggling to figure out what to say, Arton's voice reached her again.

"Am I dreaming?"

"Huh?"

Kalifa blinked and stared at Arton curiously.

If Arton was saying that, didn't that mean he still hadn't fully sobered up?

Her eyes immediately lit up, and she quickly got back to work.

For a while, the only sounds in the room were the repeated noises of washing and scrubbing.

...

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