"..."
Ryu said no more.
She kept her eyes fixed on the spearhead, which rested barely a finger's width from her throat.
The silver blade glinted coldly under the moonlight.
With just a gentle thrust forward,
it could easily pierce her throat, turning the "Gale" who once struck terror into the hearts of the Evilus into nothing but the dust of history.
"It's not over yet!"
Ryu growled low.
The pride deep in her elven bones was at work.
She refused to admit that two years of endurance had resulted in such a pathetic regression.
In the next second,
Ryu moved without warning.
Ignoring the threat at her throat, she lunged at Heimdall.
The spearhead grazed her neck, leaving a trail of blood.
This was a life-for-life style of fighting!
Since she couldn't match him in technique,
she would gamble with her life!
Though her daggers were gone, an elf's body was a weapon in itself.
With protruding knuckles, she aimed straight for Heimdall's ribs.
However,
facing this almost frantic counterattack,
Heimdall merely sighed helplessly.
"Too impatient."
The moment the words left his lips,
Heimdall did not pull back his spear to defend.
Instead,
he simply leaned to the side, letting Ryu's fist graze his clothes and miss.
Immediately after,
his left hand reached out.
In that awkward moment when the power of the fist was spent and new strength hadn't yet gathered,
he precisely caught Ryu's wrist.
Then,
he pulled her forward.
"?!"
Ryu felt an irresistible force, and her center of gravity instantly collapsed.
Before she could react,
the world spun.
"Bang!"
A dull thud.
Ryu's back slammed hard against the stone wall.
Her hands...
were pinned firmly above her head against the wall.
She couldn't move.
"Huff... huff..."
Heavy panting echoed in the narrow alley.
Ryu's azure eyes were filled with resentment.
She had lost.
Lost completely.
She didn't even have the qualification to make him get serious.
From beginning to end,
this god's breathing hadn't skipped a single beat.
"Are you calm now?"
Heimdall looked down slightly at the elven girl he had pinned against the wall.
By the faint moonlight,
he could clearly see her cheeks flushed from exertion beneath the hood, and her pointed ears trembling under the short hair she had dyed green to hide her identity.
It had to be said,
even while pinned to the wall,
this elf was still as stubborn as a little lioness.
Her eyes glared at him intensely, as if trying to bore two holes into him.
"Kill me."
Ryu gritted her teeth and turned her head away.
Outmatched in skill.
Nothing left to say.
"Kill you?"
"I have no interest in taking the precious lives of the children of the lower world."
Having said that.
Heimdall released his grip on Ryu's wrist.
As the restraint vanished.
"Ugh..."
Ryu's body went limp, sliding down the stone wall until she sat at its base.
...
Heimdall took a step back, looking down at the stubborn elf.
"..."
Being stared at like that.
Ryu bit her lower lip, the humiliation of defeat mixing with the powerlessness of being completely under his control.
It caused her once-clear sky-blue eyes to appear somewhat dim.
If he wasn't going to kill her... then what was he going to do?
At this point, Ryu had already prepared for the worst.
As long as it didn't involve the pub, and didn't involve Syr.
She had nothing to say.
...
"Since Miss Elf has lost."
"Then let's proceed according to our agreement."
"Miss Elf needs to grant me one request."
"But please, rest assured."
"Gods keep their promises. Since I said I wouldn't cross the line, I won't."
"Miss Elf has seen that house of mine."
"I just bought it."
"I certainly can't handle all the dirty work there by myself."
"Besides, those children are warriors who have to fight in the Dungeon after all; I can't have them wasting their energy on trivial matters."
"So, since Miss Elf happens to be a waitress at The Hostess of Fertility pub."
"Starting tomorrow."
"Miss Elf, report to my Familia's residence in the morning."
"The tasks aren't heavy."
"Just help me clean the courtyard, trim the plants, and tidy up the house."
"To put it simply."
"It's being a maid."
"Until I find another maid to my liking."
Actually, when Ryu was tailing him and the others, she hadn't been noticed by the sharp-eared Inaba Tsukiyo.
Because of this.
Heimdall actually wanted Ryu to serve as a sparring partner for Inaba Tsukiyo and the others.
As for...
Making this silly elf do the cleaning?
-------------------------------
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