In an NTR Game, the Childhood Friend Is a Bitch Worse Than the Demon King (6)
When Jaxx and I stepped out onto the training grounds, the nobles from the banquet hall came pouring out after us in a noisy swarm.
A fight between two heroes—anyone could tell at a glance it was pure entertainment, the kind of match no one would dream of missing.
The only problem was that far too many of them rushed out at once, creating a brief stretch of chaos. The duel was delayed for a moment because of it, and that delay let me catch snatches of the nobles' idle chatter.
"Whoa... two heroes fighting each other? That's unexpected."
"But why are they even fighting?"
"I don't really know either. I heard Hero Jaxx picked the fight, though."
"Still, Jaxx is going to win, right?"
"Obviously. And it's four against one."
"Even if it were one-on-one, it'd be the same."
"Didn't Hero Jaxx thrash Hero Ronan pretty easily back in the day?"
"Even so, I heard Hero Ronan took down one of the Four Heavenly Kings."
"Who actually believes that pathetic Ronan took down a Heavenly King cleanly on his own? Even if he did, he must have leaned hard on his party members."
The nobles held all sorts of opinions about the duel, but one thought ran through every single one of them like a common thread.
Ronan is weak, and Jaxx will win. That was the foundation every conversation was built on.
Well, I can understand them thinking that.
Apparently the nobles weren't expecting me to win at all. Fair enough. Ronan had never really shown them anything worth noticing, while Jaxx had been steadily stacking up achievements. Word that I'd taken down a Heavenly King still hadn't fully spread, so of course they were betting on Jaxx.
What a bunch of clueless talk.
I let out a quiet sigh. How could they think so cheaply? I'd hoped at least one noble might recognize Ronan's true worth, but the complete absence of even a single one left me feeling oddly disappointed.
Well, that's just how the Empire's rotten nobles are.
So this was the state of the Empire's talent pool... If there had ever been a noble who could see Ronan's real value, the Empire never would have fallen apart like this in the first place. The Empire was already riddled with serious internal problems. Those problems simply hadn't exploded yet because everyone was busy fighting the Demon King's army. Look closely and the Empire was far from healthy—a place where every kind of insane nonsense flourished. There was a perfectly logical reason the nobles were this pathetic and foolish.
The Third Princess was somewhat decent, but even she had almost no chance of inheriting the throne... The whole situation was bleak beyond words.
"The friendly match between Hero Jaxx's party and Ronan will now begin."
While I was sighing over the Empire's future, the preparations for the duel finally finished. Once the crowd had been sorted out, the Second Prince, who was overseeing the match, stepped forward and explained the rules.
"You may use any methods you like, but killing is strictly forbidden."
So no killing, as expected. They couldn't very well have corpses rolling around the sacred grounds of the Imperial Palace.
"I hope you will show us a match worthy of heroes. Begin."
The Second Prince tossed a coin high into the air. It spun end over end against the sky, and the moment it touched the ground, the battle began.
"Shall we put a little strength into it?"
I drew my sword in time with the start. Across from me, Jaxx and his party members readied themselves for combat.
Who should I wreck first? I was still deciding when someone stepped forward with perfect timing.
"Ronan, you bastard!!!"
It was Jaxx, of course. Fine. I'd clear him out first.
Enchant
Silver light began to radiate from my blade. Time to test Ronan's power.
Ronan, you fucking bastard.
Until now, Jaxx had always been the predator. His role had been to steal other men's women and humiliate other men—a privilege that belonged to the strong, and therefore something that felt completely natural to him.
You dare put me through that kind of shame?
That same Jaxx had just been thoroughly wrecked by Ronan. He'd gone over intending to mock a depressed Ronan who'd lost his party members, only to get beaten instead and end up on the receiving end of the humiliation.
He used to crawl around in front of me.
It was something Jaxx had never experienced even once. Hell, this was the same hero he'd crushed so easily in the past. Of course he was furious.
I'll wipe that relaxed look right off your face and leave you crying.
And what made it even worse? The way Ronan wore that attitude so casually. Even after having every single party member stolen, Ronan still looked completely at ease. Even now, in the middle of a duel, he wasn't focusing on Jaxx at all—he was off thinking about something else.
I'll tear you apart for sure.
As if women like that were free for the taking. As if Jaxx himself meant nothing. After suffering this kind of disgrace, there was no way he could just stand there. He had to make up for it.
Before the fight even started, Jaxx was glaring at Ronan and steeling himself when Charlotte the mage and Tricella the priestess spoke up.
"Um, Hero Jaxx."
"Hero Jaxx."
Both of them looked a little anxious. Why were they talking to him with eyes like that?
"What?"
"We should set up a plan first."
"Yes. If we're going to face Hero Ronan, we need a proper strategy."
The two of them were asking him to fight strategically—to win cleanly if they were going to fight at all.
"Ronan is... stronger than he looks."
"That's right. You mustn't underestimate him. He might even be stronger than you, Hero Jaxx..."
They knew exactly how strong Ronan was at this point. He was a hero who had already taken down one of the Four Heavenly Kings. They wanted to warn Jaxx that charging in carelessly would be a disaster.
"Ha. Even you bitches are looking down on me now?"
But Jaxx had no intention of listening to his party members. Ronan stronger than him? That was the talk of people who didn't know a thing about him. Showing them the truth right here wouldn't be such a bad idea.
"You two don't need to step in. I'll finish this myself."
The moment the prince finished speaking and the duel began, Jaxx charged straight at Ronan.
Swift
He activated his skill and used his specialty—dagger techniques—intending to end Ronan in a matter of seconds.
"Ah—no!"
"Wait!!! Hero Jaxx!"
Even with his party members trying to stop him, Jaxx charged in with full confidence. At the sight of him, Ronan raised his sword high. A blade radiating silver light—the Enchant skill?
"Ronan, you're dead."
He'd probably try to meet the attack with a big vertical slash. If Jaxx dodged that and spun around to the side to stab him, victory would be certain. Someone like Ronan, he could handle alone without any trouble—
Bang!
"Huh? What?"
His body wouldn't move. What the hell had just happened?
"What do you think? You just got your ass beat."
Common sense says there's no way Ronan loses to a guy like this right now.
Normally, the stronger the protagonist gets in an RPG, the more at ease you feel. But playing The Hero and Party Members was different. The stronger the protagonist became, the more anxious you got. Why? Because every time Ronan grew stronger, it meant he had that much less lifespan left.
He gets stronger by paying with his lifespan, after all.
Ronan was a man born with tremendous talent. He started out pitifully weak, but if things had progressed normally, no one would ever have caught up to him. Even so, time was always too short. He never had enough time to grow stronger. Left alone, he would have become stronger than anyone—but his enemies wouldn't wait, and his party members wanted him to get strong fast. In the end, Ronan had no choice but to walk the path of sacrificing his own lifespan. Because of those fucking slutty bitches, he was doomed to a tragic fate.
At this point in time, there's no one who can beat Ronan.
With only eighty-nine days of lifespan left, just how strong was he? This was still only the mid-to-late stage where he'd taken down a single Heavenly King. Crushing someone like Jaxx so easily was the natural result.
Jaxx's attack looked slow enough to be in slow motion, and the difference in power was like an adult man against a child.
"You little shit, you gonna let go or what?"
I twisted one of Jaxx's arms and pressed my foot down on his back. He was completely subdued.
"Let me go right now."
"This guy's loud as hell."
As long as I didn't kill him, it was fine, right? I considered what to do with the screaming Jaxx and decided something needed to break.
Crack.
"Gyaaaaaaah!!!"
"Look at this little prick crying over a twisted arm."
Was it really that painful? Watching him blubber with tears and snot over a simple arm twist was almost funny.
"You bastard. I'll make sure—"
"You're too loud. Go to sleep."
That should be enough. I stamped down on Jaxx's head with just the right amount of force.
"..."
Whether I'd judged the strength correctly or not, he blacked out instantly. I dumped him off to the side and turned my gaze forward again.
"Ugh... never listens."
Barely ten seconds had passed since Jaxx was subdued. There hadn't even been time for the party members to step in. They were just staring at Jaxx and letting out long sighs.
"The nuisance is gone. How about we have a nice little chat among former comrades?"
Sword in hand, I walked slowly toward the party members.