Not a Fighter

The next day, under the brilliant afternoon sun, the village grounds buzzed with an electric excitement. A literal sea of onlookers had gathered, packing every corner of the open field. Eager eyes were fixed on the chalk-lined dirt ring where the much-anticipated exhibition match was about to unfold. Clustered tightly together near the front row, the children from the orphanage stood on their tiptoes, their faces lit with innocent enthusiasm, thrilled to witness the spectacle.

Shirou stood beside Alicia at the edge of the clearing, a mixture of intense curiosity and analytical anticipation swirling in his sharp, crimson eyes. Alicia, completely casual and confident in her leather armor, casually stretched her arms behind her head, limbering up her muscles for the fight ahead.

"Why are so many people gathered here just to watch a training match?" Shirou asked, casting a wary glance around the roaring crowd.

Alicia smiled, a clear hint of local pride lifting her voice. "Well, it's your first time seeing them, but Chris and Cherry... they are the ones who protected this entire village during the war. Everyone here absolutely admires them. They’ve all shut down their shops today just to see the 'Village Wall' back in action." She twisted her torso, checking the fit of her wooden sword.

Shirou’s eyes shone with a dangerous excitement. "So, that means they’re the real deal. You’ve fought them before, haven't you? How strong are they compared to Sarah?"

Alicia’s expression softened, a deep shadow of absolute respect creeping into her eyes. "I don't know exactly. To be honest, I've never actually fought Mom in a real match. And even if I did, I don't think I could even land a breath on her. She can defeat me in the blink of an eye."

Shirou nodded knowingly, his jaw tightening. "I've faced her. Twice. I couldn't touch her either. And the worst part was, she wasn't even taking the fights seriously."

"Wait, really? You actually fought Mom?!" Alicia’s voice cracked, a volatile mix of burning curiosity and a sudden spike of jealousy twisting her features.

Shirou shrugged, his tone calm but dead earnest. "Yeah... but like I said, I couldn't land a single hit."

Alicia puffed her cheeks out, quickly reclaiming her smug demeanor. "Well, obviously! She’s the strongest warrior in the entire world, after all. She’s the legendary hero who defeated that evil Demon Queen all by herself!"

Shirou’s expression instantly darkened, a cold, violent shadow passing over his eyes. "No... you're entirely wrong about my mo—"

He abruptly cut himself off, his fists clenching so hard his knuckles turned white. He forced his breathing to slow, holding his explosive emotions steady by sheer force of will.

Before Alicia could question his sudden outburst, Sarah stepped forward into the center of the field. Her commanding, effortless aura instantly silenced the roaring crowd.

"Today's match," Sarah announced, her voice carrying cleanly across the grounds, "is an exhibition between Cherry and Chris—rightly known to you all as the Wall of this Village—and our challengers, Shirou and Alicia, a duo who should certainly not be underestimated!"

A heavy murmur rippled through the crowd, dozens of eyes shifting to the white-haired newcomer.

"Hey, who's the boy with the weird hair and red eyes?"

"I heard he's the orphan the hero Sarah brought back from the borderlands."

"But is it really a good idea to let a scrawny kid like him fight against our Village Wall?" someone whispered from the stands. "I get it with Alicia—she’s the daughter of a hero and she's been training for years—but that boy? He doesn't look like a warrior at all."

The doubts floated thick in the afternoon air, but the challenge was locked in. The match was about to begin.

On the opposite side of the clearing, Cherry and Chris stood quietly checking their gear, their playful household demeanor completely replaced by sharp, battlefield focus. Suddenly, Cherry spotted Shirou standing in his stance. With a sudden burst of dramatic excitement, she broke formation and rushed forward to wrap him in a giant hug.

But Shirou’s survival instincts were too sharp. Predicting the trajectory, he smoothly stepped to the side. Cherry completely missed her target, losing her balance and falling flat on her face into the dirt.

"Waaaah! Why did you dodge me?!" Cherry pouted from the ground, spitting out a piece of grass, her cheeks flushed with playful disappointment. "I just wanted to give you some pre-match affection!"

"That is exactly why I dodged you, you idiot!" Shirou shouted back, his voice a mix of genuine irritation and begrudging fondness.

Chris and Alicia burst into simultaneous laughter at the ridiculous display. Chris grinned, slinging his heavy wooden spear over his shoulder as he looked across at Alicia. "So, are you actually ready, Alicia? We haven't had a proper sparring session in months. Do you really think you can keep up with us today?"

Alicia caught the taunt, her stance instantly shifting into a textbook aggressive guard. "Don't treat me like a kid anymore, Big Brother Chris. I’m going to win this."

Cherry pushed herself up from the dirt with a teasing smirk. She pulled a small, worn leather diary from her pocket, flipping through the pages with mock innocence.

"Oh, really? You say that literally every single time we cross blades, Alicia. Let’s check the official record..." Cherry ran a finger down the page, smiling sweetly. "Ah, here it is. The lifetime score between you and me is currently twenty-five to zero. And against Chris, you're sitting at a comfortable sixteen to zero."

Alicia’s face flushed a violent, burning crimson.

"I hate you! I hate you both!" she screamed, her embarrassment exploding into raw, blinding fury. "I swear to God, I am breaking that streak today!"

Determination burned like wildfire in her eyes, completely erasing the sting of her losing record. As the fighters returned to their designated starting marks, Sarah approached Shirou and Alicia, gently placing a hand on each of their heads. "I know how strong you both are," she said softly, her eyes full of maternal warmth. "But this is training. Don't let yourselves get hurt, okay?"

Alicia beamed warmly under her mother's touch, finding immediate comfort. Shirou, however, swatted Sarah's hand away with a deep blush, looking thoroughly embarrassed by the public display of affection.

Sarah chuckled and stepped back to the sidelines, raising her hand as she surveyed the arena.

Shirou quickly analyzed their opponents. Chris was locked behind a massive, heavy wooden tower shield, a blunt practice spear resting in his right hand—the ultimate defensive vanguard. Cherry, conversely, was armed with a weighted wooden knife attached to a long, heavy iron chain. It was a terrifying, mid-range weapon built for entrapment and assassination.

The crowd fell dead silent. The collective weight of the fighters' energy made the air feel heavy.

"Everyone ready?" Sarah’s hand dropped like a guillotine. "START!"

Alicia didn't hesitate for a fraction of a second. She exploded forward, kicking up dirt as she charged directly at Chris, who remained perfectly stationary, lowering his center of gravity behind his massive shield.

"I'll handle Big Brother Chris! Just be careful with Big Sis Cherry, she's—" Alicia yelled over her shoulder, but her warning came too late.

Shirou’s eyes widened. Cherry was gone.

She had completely vanished from his field of vision. Confused, a cold prickle of danger flared at the back of his neck. He instinctively took a rapid, cautious step forward and spun around with his wooden sword raised—but there was absolutely no one there.

Thwack!

A heavy blow suddenly struck him from the blind spot on his left flank, sending a jolt of pain through his ribs.

"What...?" Shirou muttered to himself, spitting a trace of saliva as he stabilized his stance. A tense, feral smile began to spread across his face. She's entirely masking her presence... So that's why they call them the Wall.

Meanwhile, Alicia was unleashing a relentless flurry of rapid strikes against Chris's defense. Her wooden sword clattered violently against his tower shield, but Chris effortlessly absorbed the kinetic force, parrying her angles without breaking a sweat.

"Ah... that stupid, oversized shield!" Alicia snarled, feinting high before driving a hard thrust directly toward his exposed stomach.

Chris anticipated the movement flawlessly. He rotated his shield to deflect the point of her blade, stepped into her guard, and gently tapped her abdomen with the weighted pommel of his spear.

"Sorry, Alicia... but that didn't hurt too bad, right?" Chris asked, his voice genuinely laced with older-brotherly concern. "I'm trying really hard not to hit you with any real force."

Alicia pushed herself back, her eyes flashing with absolute fury. "This is a battlefield match! You shouldn't be holding back! If you take me lightly..."

With a scream of frustration, she charged again. This time, her swings were twice as heavy, her velocity reaching dangerous speeds. Chris’s casual expression vanished; he actually struggled to block the sheer, emotional weight of her relentless assault. Realizing his shield was slowing him down against her speed, Chris forcefully dropped the heavy barricade into the dirt, gripping his spear with both hands to parry her blade. The duel instantly intensified into a blur of clashing wood.

On the other side of the field, however, the situation was brutal.

Shirou was already covered in dark purple bruises. He was being systematically dismantled by Cherry's invisible, lightning-fast stealth attacks. The weighted chain whipped through the air from angles he couldn't predict.

Crack!

A clean, heavy strike slammed directly into the back of his knee. Shirou's leg buckled, and he crashed heavily onto one knee, gasping frantically for breath as pain flared through his lower body.

Seeing him fall, Cherry immediately broke her stealth camouflage, rushing toward him with genuine panic and maternal worry flickering in her eyes. "Shirou! Are you okay? I didn't mean to hit that hard—"

"Don't come near me!" Shirou roared, his voice raw and predatory as he glared at her through his messy bangs. "You cannot afford to worry about your enemy on the field!"

Gritting his teeth, he forced his trembling leg to lock, pushing himself up through pure grit.

"My mother always taught me... the most horrific wars are the ones where your loved ones take up weapons against you," Shirou growled, his crimson eyes burning with an intense, unyielding survival instinct. "If you hesitate out of pity for even a single second... it will be the end of your life."

He wiped a smear of dirt from his chin, his stance dropping low. "So don't you dare look down on me. Come at me with everything."

Cherry froze, completely struck by the sheer weight of the aura radiating from the boy. Respecting his indomitable spirit, her expression turned entirely serious. She vanished into the shadows once more, resuming her high-speed assassination style.

Watching the simultaneous battles, the villagers and the orphans cheered at the incredible display of martial spirit.

"Alicia is unbelievable!" Jack shouted, leaning over the wooden barricade, his eyes glued to the clashing figures. "Look at her! She’s actually forcing Big Brother Chris to fight on his back foot!"

But as Sabrina and Dake turned their heads to the other side of the field, their excitement turned to deep dread. Shirou was completely incapable of making an offensive move—he was entirely pinned down, barely managing to reactively defend against Cherry’s relentless, whipping chain attacks.

"But for Shirou... this match is going to end in disaster very soon," Sabrina said, her voice trembling with worry.

"Don't worry. The real match is actually about to begin right now," Sarah said from beside them. She was smiling softly, her eyes locked onto Shirou’s movements.

"Mother Sarah... really?" Jack asked, thoroughly confused. "But look at him, he's completely overwhelmed. Does that mean Shirou and Alicia are about to fall?"

"No," Sarah explained, her tone analytical. "Alicia's growth has completely outpaced Chris's expectations, which is why she can hold her own against his spear. But her style is still entirely too reckless—she blunders the moment she thinks victory is within her grasp. But Shirou..."

Before Sarah could even finish her sentence, a strange thing happened.

In the midst of absorbing another brutal impact from Cherry's chain, Shirou suddenly burst into a wide, defiant grin. With an explosive burst of movement, he didn't counter-attack—instead, he turned on his heel, sprang out of his defensive crouch, and ran completely out of the designated arena.

"What...?!"

A collective gasp echoed through the village crowd. Everyone was completely stunned and confused. Had the boy simply given up and fled the match?

But because Sarah’s initial rules never explicitly stated that the match was confined to the chalk lines, he hadn't broken a single protocol. Sensing a trap, Cherry immediately pursued him, her chain rattling violently as she disappeared into the surrounding treeline after him.

"Yes," Sarah murmured, her smile widening as she watched them disappear past the boundary. "The match is about to end very soon."

"What do you mean, Miss Sarah?" Jack and the other orphans asked simultaneously, completely baffled.

Sarah turned her gaze toward the forest, her eyes full of profound pride.

"Shirou is not a trained knight, nor is he a master swordsman. He knows exactly how weak he is in a direct clash of power. And on a real battlefield, that specific knowledge is the greatest blessing an individual can possess—because it forces you to abandon pride in order to survive."

She crossed her arms, her voice echoing with absolute certainty.

"Shirou is not a fighter. He is a survivor. And Cherry just chased him into his natural territory."