I finished communicating with Commander Anne and headed to where Tina and the others were.
When I got there, I saw Yulina-san and Helu sitting down, as if they had just finished a game.
Tina and Nina were standing next to them, talking to the four of them.
''''Ah, Eric. Have you finished contacting Commander Anne?
Yeah, for now.
Tina is the first to notice me approaching and speak, but Helu immediately interrupts.
"Hey Eric-kun, let''s fight! It''s fun to fight with Yulina, but Eric-kun is the strongest of all.
''''Well it hurts when you say it so clearly. No, I know that Eric is stronger than you.
I think they were fighting while I was gone.
I don''t know how many times they fought, but I''m glad they seemed to be getting along.
''I''m good, but will Helu be able to fight soon? I thought you were fighting earlier?
''We were discussing how to fight on the break, so we''ll be ready to fight soon. And I''d like to try out some of the fighting techniques I''ve been talking about with Jurina.
''I''d like to try it too. Eric, after Helu, you can fight me too.
...I''m glad to hear you guys are really getting along.
I''m a man, too, to be asked out by two women at the same time.
........I wish it hadn''t been an invitation to fight.
The two of them said they had taken a break, but they were still worn out as far as their faces and body movements were concerned.
I, on the other hand, have barely moved and am in perfect condition.
''''Then let''s fight one on two.''''
"...Eric, what''s going on here?
''Just as you said. It means you''ll be dealing with both Helu and Miss Yulina at the same time.
''Eric, that''s a bit of a lick, isn''t it?''
They were laughing lightly, but the look in their eyes was amazing.
Just by glaring at them, the average person would be made to faint.
''''If it was the two of you who are moving slower, it would be just about right.
Hmmm, fine. Eric, take care of yourself, okay?
Eric, let''s give it everything we''ve got.
...did we miss it?
I started to regret it a bit when I saw that they were more motivated and willing to kill than I thought they were.
We were a few meters apart, with Tina and Nina standing in between us as referees.
''You three, make sure you don''t get hurt.
So let''s begin.
At the same time as Nina''s signal, Helu approaches at once.
I expected Helu''s character to make a fast attack, so I swing my wooden sword sideways to match it.
''''Hmph!''''
It should be hard to avoid as he swung to hit the body, but Helu kept his speed the same and crouched down further to avoid it.
This body language is really unusual...!
Helu slid to my feet, and without killing his momentum, he jumped and threw a knee kick at me.
A direct hit is indeed hard, so I guarded it with the side of the wooden sword and pushed it to the side to break Helu''s stance.
''''Oops........!
I had a lot of momentum and if I lost my stance a little bit, I couldn''t get back up quickly enough.
I wish I could have gone for that........
''You can''t forget me.
There''s no way Yulina-san will allow that to happen, and she immediately approaches me and swings her wooden sword at me.
I catch it from the front and flush it out.
And I attack.........!
Whoa...!
Yulina''s face suddenly came close, and then it was a headbutt.
I was thrilled because the neat face was so close, but more than that, my heart was beating hard now.
Well, I didn''t expect Yulina-san to head butt me........
I shifted my face to the side just in time to avoid it, but it was really close.
If that one hit me morosely, I would have broken my nose at worst.
''''d*mn, I thought I had taken you by surprise........!
I''m so tired, I''m really surprised.
Startled now, I stepped back to regain my stance.
Before I could catch my breath, Helu came to attack me from the side.
Furthermore, at the same time as Helu, Yulina-san also came to attack in places.
''''How, Eric-kun! I made it two against one, and I think you''re starting to regret it!
Helu laughs and says so in the midst of a fierce attack.
But yeah.....
''''I might have regretted it, I should have done it one at a time.
It''s too late for that, Eric!
Yes, so I''m sorry--I''ll let you win.
They attacked me at the same time, and I crouched low to avoid them.
While crouching down, I gave Yulina''s leg a foot sweep just as payback for what I did earlier.
She didn''t seem to fall down, but when she stumbled, she flashed a wooden sword to her stomach.
''''Kucha...!
First one.
He didn''t hit hard, but if he gets slashed in the gut, it''s a mock fight.
Helu was one-on-one, and he would attack all the time.
However, he was still tired, and his movements were becoming monotonous and slow.
He took advantage of the opportunity and attached the wooden sword to his throat.
''''Yes, it''s over.''''
''.........Hmmm, Eric-kun is strong after all!
Helu sat down with his hands up, as if to say, surrender.
''I can''t even beat you two against one - Eric, you''re awesome!
''Well, two against one seems to give you an advantage in numbers, but it''s hard to fight when you don''t breathe well together.
It''s easy to think that the two of them would be stronger, but from the point of view of not being able to launch attacks at their own timing and not being able to fight the way they''re good at, if they don''t breathe together, they''re likely to be weaker than the other way around.
Especially this time, since Helu would attack without thinking, Yulina-san would have had a hard time fighting.
''''But Yulina-san''s head butt really surprised me.
''Yeah, that''s the strategy I got from fighting Helu. I thought it worked, but it''s not quite there yet.
If it had been rather one-on-one with Yulina-san this time, it would have been a close call.
That''s how surprised I was.