Since she had been wrong.
She had to admit it.
"..."
Ryu took a deep breath. Her hands, which had been gripping her daggers tightly, poised to strike, slowly lowered. Her combat stance, as though facing a formidable enemy, relaxed with them, replaced by an almost humble apology.
"I'm very sorry."
"Just as you said."
"For certain extremely personal reasons, I harbored some unnecessary and disrespectful suspicions about you."
"My own obstinacy led me to make that mistaken judgment."
"I deeply apologize for the trouble I caused you."
"If there is anything I can do to make amends..."
Though Ryu's voice remained cool, it had lost some of its earlier sharpness and gained a measure of sincerity.
"There's really no need to make amends."
"Someone already used that line today."
However.
Haimo did not want to hear any more of these clichéd apologies now.
Especially now.
Rather than a verbal apology.
Haimo wanted something more tangible.
So.
Haimo flicked his wrist.
"Humm-"
The silver spear he had been casually holding traced a cold glint through the air before coming to a steady stop at his right side, its tip pointing diagonally toward the ground with a clear, low hum.
"Come to think of it."
"Judging by your reaction, Miss Elf, you must have been an adventurer of a fairly high level."
"If you really want to make amends, Miss Elf."
"How about sparring with me?"
"Right here."
"As long as you give me a satisfying fight, Miss Elf."
"We'll pretend tonight never happened."
"In fact."
"If you can beat me, Miss Elf."
"I'll not only let you go, but also grant you one request that doesn't cross my bottom line."
"What do you think?"
"A pretty good deal, isn't it?"
Haimo said this.
He actually had a purpose in