"Ugh... but it's too far and I'm too lazy to run... but if I don't run, I can't beat him, and breaking the contract would make me seem untrustworthy... Hmm... wait, it doesn't necessarily have to be a fight..."
Seeing the young man beside her pick up an apple and start eating, a brilliant idea suddenly struck Paimon. She quickly spoke up,
"Um, I've been thinking, how about we compete in something different today~"
"Hmm? Different? How can we make it different?" The young man swallowed his food and asked with confusion.
"Hehehe~ Simple, let's compare our mastery of weapons!"
Upon hearing Paimon's words, the young man almost burst out laughing and looked at her with a playful expression: "Oh? Are you sure you want to compete with me on this?"
"That's right, I happened to bring quite a few weapons. How about we compete in our mastery of five different weapons?"
Hehehe... my bow and arrows are very powerful, and with the artifact, that's already two guaranteed wins. As for the remaining three matches, I just need to win one of them. With three chances, I don't believe I can't win a single one~
"Interesting, what are the rules?"
"Hmm... let's start with archery. See who can accurately hit an object from a distance. Although there are no targets, apples will do~"
The young man picked up two apples and stood up, saying confidently, "No problem. Tell me, at what distance should they be placed?"
"As for the distance... let me think... how about starting directly from a hundred meters?"
The young man blinked in surprise and said, "Oh? Are you sure you want to place them that far away?"
"Hehehe~ You think a hundred meters is far? If you can't do it, you can just surrender~"
"Hahaha~ Why would I? For me, the harder, the better."
The young man smiled, then ran a hundred meters away and placed the apple on a large rock.
Paimon took this time to pretend to eat something to stall. Seeing the young man return, she took out two three-star bows and handed one to him.
Of course, arrows were also provided.
"It's okay for me to go first, right?" Paimon asked confidently, planning to intimidate him from the start.
The young man nodded.
"No problem."
*Whoosh!*
As soon as she spoke, a slender silver feather shot towards the distance, accurately shattering the apple on the rock.
"Wow?!"
The young man looked at Paimon with some surprise, noticing that she had already proudly lifted her little head.
"Hehehe~ Say it again, if you're scared, you can surrender~"
"Hahaha~ Why would I? Watch me."
Saying that, the young man took a deep breath and shot the other apple, with a preparation time only a few seconds longer than Paimon's.
"Phew... you were a few seconds slower. I lost."
Seeing Paimon looking eager to continue, the young man smiled helplessly. From this single round, he already knew that he was no match for her in archery.
"Hehe, next is the artifact~" Paimon, having tasted victory, immediately said, and then took out a spellbook from her backpack to hand to him.
"Never mind, I admit defeat for the artifact. I can't use it at all. Let's move on to the next item."
"Huh? Alright then~"
Hehe... it's exactly as I predicted. From now on, I only need to win one more match~
Getting happier and happier, Paimon took out all the remaining weapons, wanting to quickly end this overwhelming battle.
The result...
One-handed sword, after dozens of rounds with the young man suppressing his strength, she was defeated.
Spear, after less than three rounds with the young man suppressing his strength, she was defeated.
Paimon looked at the man in front of her who was getting stronger as he fought and grumbled inwardly.
This... this isn't right...
Seeing Paimon's face gradually turn from sunny to cloudy, the young man said with some smugness: "Hahaha~ It seems I've caught up~"
"Damn it... don't get cocky. There's still the greatsword. Watch me... I... ahhh... Ow!"
Paimon gripped the two-handed sword with both hands and struggled to lift it to attack. As a result, with a "plop!", she was pushed down onto the ground by it...
"You wait for me... to get... up..."
Damn it, why is this sword so heavy? I should have used elemental power if I had known...
Paimon used all her strength to try and push the two-handed sword off her, but unfortunately, her strength was too small. She tried several times without success.
Incidentally, the two-handed sword Paimon casually took out was a specially weighted version, similar to Noelle's signature weapon~
"Hahaha... I should have won this round too, right?" The young man smiled and took the weapon off Paimon.
"Wuwu... this outcome isn't what I imagined... " Paimon sat up, tears welling in her eyes.
Seeing Paimon's dejected look, the young man shook his head helplessly, walked to her side, and reached out to ruffle her hair in comfort.
"Don't be sad. You're actually quite skilled. When it comes to archery alone, two of me combined wouldn't be your match."
Due to the sudden and rapid defeats in the last three rounds, Paimon didn't immediately notice the large hand on her head. Instead, she defended herself,
"Hmph... of course. Within 200 meters, I can hit anything I aim at..."
"Is that so? Then if you have time in the future, I'll ask you to teach me archery~"
"Teach you? And then you'll come beat us up?"
"Hahaha~ I'm not that kind of person who repays kindness with enmity."
"Hmph... you never know. What if your Queen orders you to attack us?" Paimon posed a tricky question.
Hearing Paimon's words, the young man couldn't help but ponder.
"Hmm... in that situation, I would indeed duel with you. But with my personality, I would definitely fight you head-on. And with your formidable leader there, I wouldn't be able to win, and I'd have to return to the Queen to be punished..."
"Tsk... in the end, only I would get hurt... But this is probably the only way that's good for both of you."
Paimon, who hadn't expected the young man to answer like this, blinked in surprise and said,
"I didn't expect you to have a bit of manliness."
"Hahaha~ I've always been quite manly, haven't I?"
"I couldn't tell... but that's not the point right now..."
"Oh? Then what is the point?" The young man asked curiously.
"The point is... are you done touching my head?! You've messed up my hair!" Paimon, who had finally realized what was happening, shook her head angrily and tried to pull the young man's hand away.
"Hahaha... honestly, it feels quite comfortable. Much softer than my brother's hair. It's quite addictive. No wonder that lady likes to style her hair so much."
"So, are you done touching?" Paimon, who had been shaking her head for a long time without success, asked him silently.
"Hmm... no~"
"Huh?! You dare say that!" Paimon clenched her fists, ready to send the man in front of her to the hospital for a few days.
"Hahaha~ Don't be angry. Just consider this as your punishment for losing."
"Pun... you win..." Paimon, who was about to throw a punch, froze in mid-air upon hearing the young man's words. After a few seconds of stiffness, she gritted her teeth and loosened her tightly clenched fist.