Outside the Hostess of Fertility, Issei and Ais had a face-off. With Ais not having her own weapon at the moment, Issei lent her one of his rapiers. He asked what type of weapon she preferred to wield, and she replied with a rapier. Hence Issei showed her all his rapier and allowed her to choose her weapon.
The entirety of the people in the Hostess of Fertility and around the pub was watching the showdown. They didn't know who Issei was, but they certainly knew Ais, the Sword Princess.
Many people were banking on Issei making a fool of himself as they'd never heard of him. The exception to this rule was the people in the pub when Issei showcased his magic. However, the fight was about swordsmanship, not magic. Hence, people who knew Issei was strong still believed he would lose.
Loki, the Goddess of the Loki Familia, spoke to Raynare and Serafall. She was wondering about the chances of her child's winning ratio.
"Can you tell me one thing?" Loki asked. She looked at both Raynare and Serafall with a serious expression. "What are the chances of my Familia's Ais winning against your husband?".
"Zero!" Both Serafall and Raynare said at the same time.
Loki looked at Raynare and Serafall to determine if they were confident in their husband or if that were the actual chances of Ais.
"If you think that we're only saying that because Issei is our husband, you're wrong," Serafall said. She was one of the people that knew of Issei's full power. Serafall is one of the best people to determine Issei's opposition's winning chances. "Among the people that our husband knows, I'm among the three who know his full power. And let me tell you this, I am strong, so much so that people fear angering me.
However, even with my overwhelming strength, I am merely an ant in the face of Issei's full power. I still remember the day he released his full strength. I couldn't even breathe. It took all my willpower to keep my consciousness".
Raynare and Loki looked at Serafall. They saw her face go pale after recalling the day Issei released his full power. Curious. That's what the duo was feeling. Raynare has been with Issei for a while now. She knew that Issei was strong, but she's never seen him get serious in a fight.
"I know you're serious about your words," Loki said. She could tell that Serafall wasn't lying, just like every God/Goddess. But she didn't even know how strong Serafall was. "I have no reference point for your strength. So, I can't tell how strong you're saying Issei is".
"Put it this way. If I was to release one of my favourite magic," Serafall said. She then looked at Loki with a smirk. "I can freeze all of Orario several times over. I would still have enough magical power to continue decimating the whole world".
What Serafall said is true. Before she even got the True Magic conversion from the Wedding Ring. Now that she has the Wedding Ring, her magic is inexhaustible. Serafall would be able to continue casting her magic without limit. Well, as long as she doesn't get mentally exhausted doing so. However, thanks to Raising Heart, that wouldn't be an issue.
The Loki Familia was listening to the conversation of Loki and Issei's wives. They were shocked at the words they said. With Loki not refuting their words, it could only mean one thing. The words of Serafall weren't lies. One person capable of destroying all of Orario was shocking enough, but to hear that another individual can do the same? That's genuinely shocking to another level. They then looked at Raynare with fear. Could it be? This person also has the power to destroy Orario several times over?
Raynare saw the people of Loki Familia looking at her. So, she smiled. It was a warm, loving smile. However, to the people of Loki Familia, the smile was akin to a smirk. Why? Because their fear was changing their perception. To them, it was best not to mess with the sleeping Devil.
Outside the Hostess of Fertility, the fight was about to begin. Ais has gotten used to her borrowed sword. Funny enough, Ais liked the sword the moment she felt a connection to it through her wind. She tried her Ariel on it, and not a single issue came up. It was like it was built for her. The sword's name was Tempest, for its ability was akin to a tempest.
Ais made her stance, and Issei was standing straight casually. The moment Ais charged at Issei, all he did was move his head and body slightly for every thrust of the sword. Ais doesn't seem to be experienced in fighting people. Her movement was erratic and savage, not at all refined.
Against monsters, the fighting ability of Ais would be okay and be considered strong. However, to enemies that can think logically and have trained for years, her ability to wield her sword is nothing.
Seeing that her attack was not working, Ais decided to step it up. She used her Ariel spell to speed up her movement. From the start of the spar, Ais has forgotten that the match was about swordsmanship and magic was not to be used. However, that meant nothing to Issei. He didn't complain that she used magic.
Even with the increase in speed, Ais was far slower than Issei. A slight movement of his head and body was enough to dodge the attacks made by Ais. Not once during this entire exchange has Issei taken a step.
Ais was trying her best, but it wasn't working. After a few moments of attacking Issei, she finally realised that she had used her magic, something that was not allowed in the match, but she saw Issei gesture to her to continue. So, she decided to continue.
From Issei's gesture, she realised that Issei allowed her to use her magic as much as she wanted. This was true. So, she used Lil Rafaga. This was Ais' strongest magic variant of her Ariel. Her weapon was coated in a powerful wind enhanced by Tempest. Ais knew that her Lil Rafaga was much stronger than it usually was. She knew this was done by the sword in her hand.
Without hesitation, she thrust her sword toward Issei.
"Lil Rafaga!" Ais shouted. She thrust her sword with all her might.
Issei saw the attack. So, he brought out a single finger to block it and nothing more.
Shock! That's the reaction of everyone. They saw the power that Ais, the Sword Princess, showcased, but it was blocked by a single finger. How is that possible?! All the Loki Familia stared at Issei in awe. Then, they looked at Serafall and Raynare. No wonder they said that Ais' chances were zero.
Ais was exhausted. She was close to mind down after using her Ariel to boost her speed and using Lil Rafaga to the max. It was then that she heard Issei speak.
"The title that people gave you. Sword Princess, is it? I can tell that you aren't worthy of that title," Issei said. He wasn't being arrogant. Issei was stating facts. The title 'Sword Princess' can only be given to someone who has exceptional sword mastery. Ais doesn't have that. Sure, she was strong and could wield the sword. But her usage of it was crude and savage. Not worthy of the title 'Sword Princess'. "The way you used the sword, it's nowhere near refined enough for you to receive such title.
When you had the sword in hand, could you feel how uncomfortable the sword was? The way you used the sword made it hum in discomfort. It didn't like the way you were wielding it. Yet, it gave its best to amplify your abilities due to taking a liking to you".
Ais looked at the sword in her hand. It was true the hum of the sword whenever she thrust and swung it. It felt as if the sword didn't like her fighting style. Ais picked Tempest due to her Ariel ability and connection to the wind. She never considered her fighting style, whether it was fit for the sword or not.
"Teach me!" Ais said. She gave Issei a serious and determined look. From the fight earlier and the fight in the dungeon when she first met Issei, she could tell that she was nowhere near his sword master. "You can tell the problem with my fighting style. You could also teach me to refine and perfect the technique".
"I can, but why should I?" Issei asked. He looked at Ais nonchalantly. Issei didn't have a reason to help her. "I don't know you, and this is only the second time we've met. And that's considering the time I only saw a glance of you in the dungeon when you were in danger".
True, Issei didn't have a reason to help Ais. But she was not willing to give up that easily. But for now, she had to retreat in case she ended up pestering Issei.
In truth, Issei didn't mind teaching her how to wield a sword properly since he would have a month to stay in Danmachi. It would be a way to waste time. He was just teasing her. Issei wants to see whether she was someone that would easily give up upon rejection or if her determination is strong enough to bear multiple rejections and still continue to ask.
Issei wasn't doing this to embarrass Ais. After training Kiba in the usage of the sword, he realised that his training was very harsh, and no matter what he did to modify the training to be lighter, it would always turn out to be harsher than he imagined. Hence, he decided to give up modifying his training and instead train those that could withstand the intense training.