Semifinal, VS cat beastkin Misha

"Nyahahahaha!! I'm so lucky, nya! Instead of Barbaros-sama or General Garou, I get to fight this weak-looking female human, nyaa!!"

That's what Misha said, standing before me, the very person who had easily beaten both of those fighters.

Misha was a fairly human-looking beastkin, with just a slightly cat-like face along with cat ears and a tail. She wore light clothing: a tube top and a skirt with spats underneath.

And boots with striped knee-high socks.

STRIPED KNEE-HIGHS!!!

"Unbelievable… She's wearing knee-highs!! This is… a formidable opponent!"

"Nyahahahahaha! I have no idea what you mean, but tremble in fear, nya!"

Having made it this far in the tournament, she must be reasonably strong.

But even so, winning would be easy for me. If all I had to do was win.

… The question is how to steal her socks while maximizing her embarrassment…! That's the real challenge here.

This is definitely the toughest opponent in the entire tournament, just like Aishia said!

Well, Aishia's reasoning was "Master is too kind to women…" She didn't say anything about socks.

Incidentally, Misha is apparently a common name among cat beastkin.

"Match, start!!"

"First strike wins, nyaaaaaaaa!!!"

Misha charged at me, zigzagging at incredible speed to close the distance.

Right or left? No, above! A feint, it's below!! I caught Misha between my legs as she tried to slide under me.

"Ginya!?"

"Take this, Irregular Frankensteiner!!"

I leapt while still holding her between my legs, then did a midair backflip like a trapeze artist, using the momentum to slam her head into the ground.

"Pugeh! Th-that huuuuurt, nyaaaaa!!!"

"Oh, not bad. Tough enough to make it to the semifinals, I see."

"Aou… You kept up with my speed, too. You're pretty good, nya…!"

She escaped my hold and got back up, but her legs were wobbly and unsteady.

An obvious opening. But I deliberately just watched.

"Come on, hurry up and recover. I'll wait for you."

"Hah, that confidence will be your downfa—hey, why are you flipping my skirt up, nya!? S-stop, nya! Don't!"

"You're wearing spats underneath, so it's fine. It's not like anything's getting lost."

"Everyone's totally watching, nya!! My morale is dropping, nyaaa!!"

She swung at me, so I dodged and created some distance.

While I had the chance, I confirmed it. They really were knee-highs! Not fur patterned to look like knee-highs! Way to go, Misha-chan. You're my prey!

"First… maybe I'll pull down those spats of yours."

"You… wh-what are you scheming, nya!?"

She held down her skirt while backing away. —What am I scheming, you ask?

Isn't it obvious? Enhancing the flavor of your socks through embarrassment, that's what!!

"Karina. Fight seriously."

The referee called me out.

"… Come on, if I fight seriously, it'll be over in an instant, Referee-san. So I'm just livening things up a bit, you know? Right?"

"That's disrespectful to your opponent. If you continue to not fight seriously, I'll call a foul."

Grrr, curse you, Misha. Getting the referee on your side… What a formidable enemy…!!

Can I fight seriously while still humiliating her…? No, that won't work! The moment I try to steal her socks, I'll definitely get called for not fighting seriously!

"… Tch, consider yourself lucky, Misha. I'll fight for real from here on."

"Hah? You weren't even fighting for real, nya?"

Look, I don't want socks badly enough to risk losing 820 gold coins over it!!

"But I want them?"

Goddess! Don't just butt in like that! This money includes Dea-kun's and Mashiro-san's shares too, so it's not just mine to lose!!

"Oh, well then, I'll throw in 820 gold coins as a bonus for Misha-chan's socks. No, make it 1000 gold coins!!"

"Actually, circumstances have changed. I don't mind losing here…!"

"Wh-what's with this person, nya? Way too emotionally unstable… Is it that time of the month, nya?"

Well, Misha couldn't hear the Goddess's voice, so she wouldn't understand.