After her crushing defeat at Alto's hands, Alyse...isn't exactly a gracious loser. She is obviously bewildered by the forcefields, or 'strange magic', and the lack of incantations from Alto, and she immediately requests a rematch. Surprisingly, Alto agrees.
However, their second match is almost as lopsided as the first. Alyse charges in again, albeit more cautiously, but she is stupefied when Alto suddenly turns invisible. While Alyse is scanning her surroundings suspiciously, trying to adapt, Alto uses a small earth spell to briefly draw Alyse's attention one direction. Then, Alto quickly moves behind Alyse from the other direction while invisible, and places another dagger to her throat for victory.
To my further shock, Alyse asks for a third match. This time, Alto's use of her newly acquired spells is extra creative. Instead of turning invisible, she casts a small light- and sound-proof magic bubble around Alyse, who finally didn't charge her at the start. Then, she sends a merciless barrage of earth spells whizzing toward the blind and deaf Alyse from all directions. Alyse takes so much damage that I have to call the match before Alyse can forfeit.
After that, a despondent Alyse finally gives up. So, the final victory count is: Alyse - 0, Alto - 3.
Now, we're all walking back up the stairs, towards the main arena in the coliseum. Alyse hasn't said a word, though she did heal her own injuries earlier. Alto is remaining quiet as well, though that may be in part from how much those fights exhausted her. Still, I can tell that she's pleased with herself. Personally, I think she has every reason to be.
[Alto, I expected you to win, but...you really exceeded my expectations with your applications of the spells I taught you. Some of your techniques were downright inspirational. I thoroughly enjoyed watching you fight...you've gotten so strong!] (Mizuki)
Alto gives a subtle but appreciative nod in my direction, and I see a faint smile worm its way onto her face.
Good, my work here is done!
We finally make our way back to the door that opens into the main arena, and I lead us through it. I wait for the others to emerge behind me, then we all stop and scan the area for Nina. We've emerged near the targets of the archery area, and I can see that the place looks even busier than before. I wouldn't be surprised if that's partly Nina's doing.
"Mizuki, over there." (Alto)
I turn toward Alto's voice to see her pointing to the far side of the archery area. As I follow her gaze, I see Nina aiming her bow downrange. Nina releases her bowstring, and I see three arrows go speeding off. What a showoff.
However, it gets worse. The three arrows split away from one another in the air, then converge back towards the target from different angles, before all hitting home in the center ring of the target. I sigh outwardly.
What an excessive use of gravity magic...she's just being obnoxious at this point.
Unfortunately, the crowd near her erupts into cheers so loud that we can hear them from our position downrange. So, I guess I can consider her showboating tendencies to be officially rewarded. I let out another sigh.
"Nice eye, Alto. Let's go meet up with our Lady, shall we?" (Mizuki)
Alto nods and begins walking towards Nina's location, with Alyse and I following behind her. Soon after, I'm startled by something flashing across the periphery of my vision. Out of habit, I immediately slow time to inspect our surroundings for threats. My gaze settles on the object in question – a stray arrow.
Someone appears to have missed their target entirely, enough so that the arrow is now careening towards us. I quickly trace the trajectory its on, and...shit. It looks like it might hit Alto.
I assess my options.
Alto is in front of me, but doesn't seem to have noticed the threat. Similarly, a thought message for her to activate her magic armor spell ring wouldn't be fast enough in real time. So, she's effectively defenseless.
I could cast magic armor on her myself, or create a forcefield around her, but Alyse or maybe even others might ask a lot of questions if they notice the arrow just glance off Alto. Hmm...what to do. I think my best option is to use gravity magic to subtly change the arrow's trajectory. Just enough that it misses Alto. If I do it gradually, and it barely misses her, nobody should notice.
At this point, the arrow is about three meters away from Alto and still surprisingly high. It will probably hit near Alto's collarbone without my intervention. I apply my gravity spell to the arrow and start gradually lifting its trajectory as it nears Alto. By the time it gets to Alto, I've moved it probably eight centimeters off-course, and it passes barely above her right shoulder.
I drop my time spell, and the arrow whizzes past us harmlessly and clatters on the ground. Alto whips around, eyes wide and face pale, seeming to have realized her close call. I guess I should get to work reacting, too. I start glancing between Alto and the arrow with a shocked expression.
"Geez...was that an arrow!? You'd think there'd be some backstops behind those targets so stuff like that doesn't happen. You almost got hit Alto!" (Mizuki)
[Don't worry, Alto, I saw it before it got to you. I altered its course just enough to miss you. I'm sorry if the near-miss scared you, but I didn't want to draw unnecessary attention with something flashier. I promise, I was never going to let you be harmed.] (Mizuki)
Alto visibly relaxes at my thought message. I guess she was worried that something had nearly killed her even with me around. Honestly, maybe I should have let her keep thinking that, because it could have easily been the case if I hadn't noticed the arrow by chance. I'm not much different than the rest of them when I'm caught unaware.
I turn to Alyse, and I see her staring back at me in shock. Yeah, I don't blame her. That arrow passed fairly close to her as well after missing Alto, in addition to being generally startling. I direct a concerned expression at her.
"Alyse, are you okay? It seems like you didn't have as close of a call as Alto, but that arrow passed pretty close to you. You seem shaken." (Mizuki)
Alyse's eyebrows raise in surprise at my sudden inquiry, then her face immediately softens into a polite smile.
"U-Uhm, no, I'm fine. Thanks for your concern, Mizuki. I just...seeing that arrow coming towards us rattled me a bit. I had almost no time left to react, and..." (Alyse)
Alyse trails off and looks away from me.
So, it sounds like she actually saw the arrow before it passed by Alto, huh? Good thing I was so careful about dealing with it discreetly.
I nod sympathetically towards Alyse.
"Yeah, that makes sense, but don't worry! It all worked out, and it looks like we were lucky." (Mizuki)
Alyse nods, but stares at me silently for several seconds. She looks like she's about to say something, but we're interrupted by the sound of several sets of footsteps echoing from the direction of the main arena's center. I turn to see two men and a woman running towards us with frantic expressions on their face. The younger man is the first to speak.
"I'm so sorry, are you all okay!? I just...I saw the Blade Goddess appear behind the range while I was lining up my shot and got startled, then the string slipped out of my fingers! The shot went flying way higher than I'd ever intentionally aim!" (younger man)
"He's telling the truth! He's normally a much better shot, I swear!" (older man)
"You two cut it with the justifications. Mistakes and skill aside, your actions could have killed someone, Yurt. You can't lose focus like that when you're holding a deadly weapon...for any reason. Seeing a pretty girl is no excuse." (woman)
The younger man, presumably named Yurt, blushes deeply at the woman's comment about him getting distracted because he was gawking at Alyse. For her part, Alyse looks absolutely unfazed by the comment.
"Hey, Lena, no need to shame the kid! He's right to be nervous! We're just trying to make sure the Blade Goddess and the Elder Dragon's party know that we don't want any trouble!" (older man)
Lena sighs disapprovingly, and the trio looks to us questioningly.
Ah, so that's what all this bumbling is about. They don't want Nina or Alyse to smite them over this little accident.
"As long as Alto, who was the one nearly hit by the arrow, is okay resolving this matter, I see no reason to trouble Lady Nedonera. Of course, I can't speak for Alyse." (Mizuki)
I gesture at Alto as I address the trio, and they give me relieved expressions before turning to Alto. They direct nervous and pleading expressions at her, and in turn she cuts me an annoyed glance before responding.
"Ehem...nobody was ultimately harmed, so I see no reason to hold a grudge over the matter. However, please be more careful in the future." (Alto)
The younger man, Yurt, nods fervently at Alto.
"Y-Yes, mam, I promise I'll be more careful in the future! Thank you so much for being so understanding, and again, I'm so sorry!" (Yurt)
Yurt gives a quick appreciative bow towards Alto, then turns to Alyse with a sheepish expression.
"A-And y-you, Lady Alyse? A-Are we...good?" (Yurt)
Alyse is looking at me, without a shred of apparent interest in the trio, but she turns towards Yurt with a neutral expression when he addresses her. She gives a slight nod.
"Sure. Don't worry about it." (Alyse)
Yurt and the other man let out audible sighs of relief, and Yurt gives another appreciative bow to Alyse. The woman in the trio rolls her eyes.
"Tch...you're getting off rather easy, Yurt, so don't screw up like that again. Hell, the way Lady Nedonera has been talking about that human boy there...well. I suspect that if your arrow had hit him, she'd have killed us all in a fit of rage. Thankfully, you had more luck than bow skill this time." (Lena)
Damn, Lena...harsh. She's probably not wrong about Nina, though. Still, what's she talking about...Nina discussing me while we were away? Also, what's up with all this 'boy' nonsense lately? Is there something in the elves' water supply?
I sigh internally. Regardless, I hope Nina didn't say anything problematic about me while we were gone. I give a polite smile to the trio.
"Well, it seems everything is sorted out, then! If you don't mind, we should probably rejoin my Lady now. Have a nice day!" (Mizuki)
I nod my farewell towards the trio, and they give me puzzled looks. Probably because of my curt goodbye. However, I don't really want to be stuck pandering to a crowd during our limited time here. Without another word, I start walking towards Nina, passing the trio that came out to meet us. I hear Alto and Alyse start to follow me.