The battle began in an instant.
If anyone else had been watching, they might have thought Alicia was being a little underhanded. But in her eyes, the greatest benefit of a mock battle was that it helped the boy grow.
Striking first and holding nothing back was the only way to help Bell Cranel.
A sharp arrow pierced the air, flying straight for the boy's shoulder with a whistling rush of wind.
Bell had not let the girls' laughter distract him or lower his guard. He turned sideways and easily avoided the arrow.
"Phew. So you dodged it after all?"
Alicia knew very well how extraordinary the boy was. That sneak attack had only been a greeting to start the battle.
"Bell Cranel, I'm coming."
Anakitty held a shield in one hand and a sword in the other as she charged straight at him from the front.
The Cat People's nimbleness, combined with the [Agility] of a Level 4 Adventurer, turned the girl into a speeding bullet.
Clang.
The pale-blue dagger swept out in an arc, and with his thoroughly honed technique, Bell easily diverted her attack.
There was a full level between them. Judging by the force behind her blows, Anakitty had already spent a long time at Level 4. With a few more trials, she would likely reach the threshold of Level 5.
"Aki, looks like you're not just all talk."
Bell swung [Ice Hawk], and in the space of only a few moments, they exchanged several brilliant attacks and defenses.
When Adventurers gained experience points and Excelia, they usually chose to level up the moment one of their ability values met the requirement, increasing their combat power immediately. After all, compared to the slow accumulation of ability values, the improvement from leveling up was nothing short of a qualitative change.
But for Loki Familia, one of the strongest Familias in the city, its members did not pursue immediate combat strength. Lefiya's [Magic] had already been refined to B, yet she still chose to keep accumulating ability values. There were plenty of others like her, and Anakitty was one of them.
With the qualitative change brought by her level, the accumulation of her ability values, and the speed advantage granted by her race, the Catgirl could face the young man head-on.
Bell found that deeply impressive. Even though this was their first meeting, he could feel the effort Anakitty had put into climbing step by step from the dance of her silver blade.
For the Catgirl, however, it felt rather different.
"Call me by my name properly. Don't act like you've already won. If you're trying to distract me this way, you're making a huge mistake."
Anakitty was utterly shocked.
She might not be able to compare to Ais and the others of the same level, but she was still a Level 4 with plenty of accumulated experience. And yet the boy still had room to tease her during the fight?
She swung her one-handed sword. After Bell blocked it, she used the force of his counterattack to leap upward, then brought her shield down diagonally from above.
Her small round shield was forged from black steelstone, making full use of Anakitty's agility. It was both protection and a weapon for attack.
The fierce shield strike came crashing down. Under the cover of the sunlight, if the defender lost focus for even a moment, the glare would steal their vision and create a brief opening.
Bell naturally understood that. Even before the battle began, he had already noted the position of the sun.
"Sorry. I just thought Aki sounded much cuter. Did it upset you?"
Bell did not retreat. Instead, he drew another short sword and used offense as defense.
There was more than one opponent. If he carelessly opened up distance, he would only invite a surprise arrow attack. Since Anakitty had taken the initiative to engage him, Bell had no reason to refuse close combat.
"I think so too, but the fact that you can say it so easily in the middle of a fight is honestly surprising."
Anakitty instantly realized that if she recklessly slammed her shield down, she would only injure herself without knocking the boy down.
She quickly adjusted her posture, gave up on attacking, and used her shield to stop Bell's thrust.
"Aki, not only did you agree to this mock battle, but you've also kept emphasizing how uneven our combat strength is. In truth, you don't look down on me at all. You're thinking of me, aren't you?"
Bell swung his blade forward.
He stayed tightly in front of Anakitty, sticking to close combat and giving Alicia no chance to shoot.
"I told you not to call me that, nya…"
Anakitty unconsciously slipped into the Cat People's verbal habit.
She had not expected the boy to see through her intentions, so she panicked for a moment. On top of that, Aki was a nickname used because her full name was difficult to say. Only people close to her called Anakitty that.
Hearing the white-haired boy say it gave her a strange feeling. To describe it in Cat People terms, it was like someone stroking the fur on her tail. Getting angry was only natural, but the touch felt so nice that she did not quite want to run away.
Anakitty complained, but her movements were unaffected.
Her longsword and round shield crossed, forming a calm and elegant dance of battle.
"You didn't deny the rest."
The pale-blue dagger locked with the longsword once more, and Bell offered his guess from only a step away.
His scarlet eyes met her black ones for a moment, and Anakitty's fluffy black ears twitched despite herself.
"That's an interesting guess. Would you mind telling me why you think that?"
Anakitty followed the conversation.
She had not degraded the boy to the point of treating him as worthless, but the arrogance and disdain she had deliberately put on should have been obvious to him.
A provocative statement like the fight being decided in an instant should have been enough to keep the boy away.
Their figures crossed again and again, as though buying time for the conversation. Neither Bell nor Anakitty used Magic.
Behind them on the grass, Alicia and the others did not interfere. They simply waited for the right moment. With the Healer Line present, they had no need to rush. If signs of defeat truly appeared, they could all charge in then.
Their gazes were fixed on the young man. As her companions, they knew Anakitty's strength well. The fact that Bell could fight while talking and laughing so casually left them truly astonished.
"The reason is simple. Anakitty-san is beautiful, so your heart must be just as lovely and charming as your appearance."
As the blades danced, Bell gave his answer.
"Nya? ... Mm... Y-you're definitely going to get tricked by a bad woman someday..."
Anakitty used her tone to cover up the Cat People's verbal habit.
Her deliberately provocative words had indeed been meant to help the boy.
Anakitty could have suppressed her feelings with reason and greeted Bell with a smile, but Adventurers were mostly unruly by nature. No matter what the boy had been through with Riveria and the others, without knowing the truth, the other members of Loki Familia would inevitably have doubts.
If others made a few jokes when Bell interacted with Lefiya, that would not matter. But when it came to an expedition, doubts about the boy's combat strength were unavoidable. Anakitty was very clever. She placed herself in the role of the [villain] and occupied that position in advance to prevent conflict from arising.
Just how much had the boy seen through?
Were those words sincere, or was he deliberately sparing her embarrassment?
Anakitty hid the fluttering in her heart, and her elegant, calm, clear voice began to weave Magic.
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