Thank you for all of your hard work in scanlating this work.
"If you don't have the strength to wield a longsword with one hand, then just use both of them"
Women are physically weaker than men. No amount of weight lifting will ever overcome this. I'm glad that the author addresses this natural handicap, and how Elizabeth compensates for it. She has the unique, self taught sword fighting style from her father. And she wields her sword in both hands. However, that still leaves her at a disadvantage. If a male swordsman is holding a long sword in both hands, he'll be able to swing it with more force than her. "A shield which never gets hit is unnecessary!" I'm glad they address this aspect. It sounds like her fighting style will focus on dodging attacks, instead of blocking. I appreciate that the author put this much thought into this.
The story addresses Elizabeth's disadvantage again later on: "Range, power, stamina. Physical traits far superior to what I, as a woman, have... Meanwhile men..." I like that the story is addressing this, instead of just giving Elizabeth magical strength, like so many other manga give female character, to overcome the gap.
Lionel defeating Elizabeth, due to brute strength. Lionel even acknowledged that she has better technique than him. The author is doing a good job of making Elizabeth's disadvantage realistic.
I like that Elizabeth's main rival has respect for her skills. And I like that he is currently more skilled than Elizabeth. He's a real rival for her to overcome. I'm also reading the manga "This is Screwed Up, but I was Reincarnated as a GIRL in Another World!" What annoys me about that manga, is how the author makes almost every male character seem silly or an idiot. It's a sign of a poor writer, if they have to constantly make almost everyone else incompetent, in order to make the main character look better. I'm glad the author for "The Brave Do Not Fear" seems to be avoiding that pitfall.
And then we come to the duel. The story at this point, takes a huge tonal shift. The guys that seemed normal previously, suddenly become cartoonishly evil. Before this point, the author stroke a balance between the real physical differences between men and women, and how they would disadvantage a female sword fighter. And the men were reasonable in how they treated Elizabeth. And then, out nowhere, two of them become mustache twirling villains that give villain speeches about how women should behave. I want the author to make the villains more believable than this. I'll let it slide for now, but we'll see where this heads.
At first, it seems like Beaubert's a good guy. He acknowledges that he'll never beat Elizabeth and gives her his assignment, so she still has a chance to become a hero. Humility, self sacrifice, and kindness. But that turns out to be a lie. Beaubert is just setting up Elizabeth to die. I like yuri. But I don't like it when authors create worlds where every single guy is bad in their world. Can't we get just one guy that isn't evil? You don't have to make all the men scum, to make the women look better. Give us a good male character. And give us an evil female character. Otherwise, the story becomes predictable. When you see a new male character, you'll know immediately that they will be bad.
I'm shocked that Elizabeth died. I was not expecting that severed head. Props to the author for having the balls to kill off the main character like that. Lesser authors would have had her miraculously kill 13 guys, with a broken arm and fever. I'm curious as to whether Elizabeth got sent back in time, or if she simply got resurrected with a new body. Very strong start to this series.
? Or she goes stabby-stabby on anyone she perceives as 'unjust'. That last page sure gives food for thought.
