I Finished Saving the World, But Then I Picked Up a Girl With Amnesia - Chapter 18

I wanted to ask her about the details and enjoy catching up a bit more, but it seemed we didn’t have the luxury of time.

“Master.”

“Hm.”

The golem began its attack again. With nothing in her hands, Master took a calm step forward.

In this era, where monsters run rampant and conflicts are neverending…

The presence of magic, along with magic items and weapons that could be acquired with a decent sum of money and connections, had led to hand-to-hand combat often being underestimated.

And rightly so. A sword has longer reach than a fist, and magic has even longer reach than a sword. Knights facing high-level magic users typically have to start by closing the distance. Even I naturally picked up a sword as my first weapon to fight with. And Knight-chan? She’s gleefully swinging around her dual holy swords most of the time.

That’s exactly why.

I hold her fighting style in the highest regard, with both respect and awe.

“Step back.”

A short command was all she said. With just that, Master took another step forward to shield us.

Her right hand extended forward, her left hand drawn back. With just that simple stance, the atmosphere around her completely shifted.

However, the massive golem didn’t notice the tiny ant at its feet preparing to intercept its attack.

“Hero-sa—!”

Before Red Hair-chan’s scream could fully form, the golem’s fist rushed toward us. The wind pressure alone swallowed her voice.

Master’s tiny palm touched the massive stone fist.

“Huh?”

Along with Red Hair-chan’s bewildered voice, the massive hunk of rock froze for a moment. In the next instant, its trajectory was deflected, and the fist punched through empty air. The golem, having lost its balance, toppled over backward.

Gravity, kinetic energy, common sense—all ignored. As though it were the natural course of events, Master turned to me and asked:

“The core—where is it?”

“Probably the head.”

“Got it.”

With just that answer, her small body launched itself like a bullet.

“Hero-san! That person—!”

“It’s okay. Just watch carefully.”

I knew my response was painfully ordinary, but I couldn’t help but say it to Red Hair-chan, who was gaping wide-eyed next to me.

“After all… watching an ant take down an elephant is always thrilling.”

In mid-air, where footing should be impossible, she took her stance again. A single beat. She coordinated her breathing, her distance, and her entire being to unleash the strike.

Her fist struck the giant’s head.

The small, concentrated impact spread silently from the center of the golem’s head, trembling and rippling outward.

And with that, the giant made of stone was reduced to rubble, shattered from its upper body down, all in one blow.

There isn’t just one “strongest.” The world is vast, and there are as many “strongests” as there are people.

But in this impossibly wide world, when it comes to hand-to-hand martial combat, the phrase “peerless under heaven” must surely exist for her.

“Hm. It was weaker than I expected.”

Master muttered as she landed softly.

No, no. That’s not true. You’re just outrageously overpowered.

“A, awawawawa…”

Red Hair-chan’s mouth was left hanging open, as if her jaw might drop, so I gently supported it from below.

“Hero-san… I don’t even know what’s what anymore…”

“Ah, sorry, sorry. I forgot to explain. Master is a martial artist.”

“That doesn’t explain anything!”

“And she’s unbelievably strong.”

“All your acquaintances are ridiculously strong! But I never imagined someone so small could take down a golem that huge…”

At Red Hair-chan’s remark, Master gave a dissatisfied grunt.

“One correction. I’m probably older than you.”

“Uh, how old are you?”

“1,023 years old.”

“…What?”

Red Hair-chan’s blank expression said she had nothing left to be surprised about.

—

“Tch… This sucks. My perfect chance to swoop in heroically and save the day was completely stolen.”

“What are you talking about? You wouldn’t have made it in time to help from here.”

Sage Shana Granple muttered in frustration as she watched the scene through the scrying crystal. Her words weren’t exactly… sage-like. She sounded no different from some random thug.

“Martial Artist-san is still alive, huh? I thought she must’ve dropped dead somewhere, since we hadn’t heard from her in so long.”

Sitting nearby, Aria Linage Aiaras chimed in casually. Her comment wasn’t princess-like at all.

This knight says the most awful things so casually, Shana thought, though she didn’t voice it. After all, she had no chance of winning against Aria in a war of words or close combat.

“That person wouldn’t die so easily. She couldn’t die even if you tried to kill her.”

“Yeah, fair enough. Unlike you, who kept getting killed one after another no matter how many copies you made, Martial Artist-san really is invincible.”

“Are you picking a fight? Because if you are, I’ll take you up on it!”

“Looks like they’re moving. Come on, we know their location now, so let’s head out. That remote observation tracking spell of yours doesn’t last forever, right?”

“Tch…”

“Geez, don’t get so worked up. Here, want some candy? You can duplicate it with your ability if you like.”

“I don’t want it!”

This knight princess, Shana thought, is so brazen and shameless—it’s impossible to keep my cool around her.

“Still, with Martial Artist-san back, it really feels like the old days again, doesn’t it?”

“Whether that’s a good thing or not is highly debatable.”

“But it’s reassuring.”

Aria narrowed her eyes, as though reminiscing about something dear and familiar.

“In a fight where tactics and tricks matter, it might be different, but… in a pure one-on-one battle, that person is the strongest in our party.”