The Hero Candidate's Holy Duel
I was about to marvel at the breathtaking scale of the Imperial Academy, realized with the same oppressive grandeur as in the game, when it happened.
“……”
“……”
The instant I stepped into the plaza, hundreds of pairs of eyes snapped toward me all at once.
The moment those murmurs slammed into my eardrums, I felt the string of reason in my brain snap clean in two.
…What? How much?
Thirty thousand gold? Thirty. Thousand. Gold?!
The family head had coughed up blood and trashed the entire reception room in rage over just two thousand three hundred gold. Yet they burned thirty thousand just to get this trash into the Academy?!
Why? Why the hell would they do that for this worthless piece of garbage Evan?
Ha! If they’d just given me that thirty thousand gold, I could’ve run away in the middle of the night and lived like a king for the rest of my life!
Instead, they shove thirty thousand gold into this dumpster fire and the result is getting my head chopped off by the “Hero’s Combat Power Meter” and the entire family meeting its destruction ending?
This is what it means to be utterly speechless and suffocated.
I couldn’t even force out a dry laugh.
“Ria… is that true? It can’t be real, right? It’s not, is it? Thirty thousand gold isn’t some random dog’s name, you know?”
When I asked in a trembling voice, Ria, standing beside me, silently turned her head away.
Don’t just stay quiet like that as if you’re agreeing!
But I saw it clearly. The flash of disgust that crossed her pupils for a split second.
Wait, she was calling me Master and kissing me just a little while ago! Why is she acting like this again all of a sudden?
It wasn’t hard to understand. Having just confirmed that I was the hopeless, family-destroying, bottom-of-the-barrel trash, it made sense that her affection would plummet.
Maintaining favorability with this guy is seriously brutal.
Anyway, that wasn’t important right now.
What mattered most was the fact that even though I’d written the annulment letter yesterday, the Illiana side still hadn’t made any public announcement about the broken engagement.
Why? Why the hell not? Shouldn’t they have done it already?
I’d expected the rumor to spread like wildfire. Yet not a single word had reached me.
Since Illiana was a heroine, she was obviously famous. There was no way such a scandal wouldn’t spread.
But if things stayed like this, I needed to run.
The moment I started inching backward, Ria grabbed my forearm in a death grip.
Where does that slender arm get such monstrous strength? Are you even human? Or are you an orc wearing a human’s skin?
“You mustn’t, Young Master. You said you would save the world. You cannot run away here.”
There it is again with the “Young Master.” Save the world my ass! I need to save my own damn neck first!
What drove me the craziest was that I had no idea what that damned “Hero” bastard even looked like.
You need to know a face to avoid it. What kind of lunatic would remember the male lead’s face while watching a hentai anime?
The male protagonist’s face had been completely erased from my memory. The only thing I remembered clearly were the heroines’ breast sizes.
Besides, 2D art and reality were completely different, so I couldn’t even tell who was who.
That was when it happened.
A bombshell rumor exploded from the center of the plaza.
Dragon and dung beetle? Isn’t that comparison a little too biased?
Can’t you see there’s a person standing right here? Where did all your noble etiquette go?
But more than anger, what I felt first was relief.
Thank god. The annulment news has spread!
Thank goodness. Thank goodness.
According to the standard possession tropes in most novels, this was the moment the First Princess should suddenly appear, grab the dung beetle me by the pants, and cry, “Evan! It has to be you!” while clinging desperately with “I can’t live without you even if I die!”
Then I would coolly reject her, and she would become even more obsessively attached. That was the golden rule, wasn’t it?!
But reality was a complete mess.
I was one step away from death.
At that moment, the murmuring crowd began to part like the miracle of Moses.
At the end of that path stood a man with hair so brilliantly golden it hurt the eyes. Perfect features as if carved from marble, and a uniform as dazzling as a holy knight’s.
Anyone could tell at a glance—this guy was the protagonist.
Ha. The Empire’s hope, the insane rutting dog who would later lift the skirts of every heroine in the world. The Hero candidate, Leon.
That’s him, alright. The alpha male bastard radiating main character aura from a mile away.
But then…
…Huh?
The annulment news had just echoed across the entire plaza. So why the hell was this crazy Hero bastard walking straight toward me, hand slowly gripping his sword hilt, radiating murderous killing intent?!
Hey! We broke up! Illiana isn’t my fiancée anymore!! You have no reason to kill me!!!
Maybe he didn’t hear because he’s deaf?
I cleared my throat and announced loudly, “The Balderck Count family has broken its engagement with the Crosswell Count family.”
Huh? He’s still walking forward. Does this bastard have bad hearing?
I cleared my throat again and shouted even louder, “The Balderck Count family has broken its engagement with the Crosswell Count family!”
But contrary to my hopes, Leon’s steps only quickened.
Fuck. I’m really screwed.
“Evan.”
It was Leon—the original protagonist and the one chosen by the Holy Sword. Strictly speaking, he was still just a “Hero candidate” who hadn’t fully become the master of the Holy Sword, but in this godforsaken world, the title of Hero candidate carried the weight of law and authority.
“I saw those filthy eyes of yours directed at Lady Illiana. How dare a piece of trash from a ruined family harass a noble lady? I, Leon, hereby challenge you to a holy duel in the name of chivalry!”
I already knew the outcome, but what the hell was this sudden bullshit development?
At Leon’s shout, the training grounds erupted into chaos. The surrounding students whispered furiously.
I could hear every single word. Am I a ghost? These noble bastards have zero manners. No etiquette education at all.
I swallowed a string of curses inside.
Just like the original story. This crazy, horny Hero bastard was trying to publicly execute me just to win Illiana’s favor.
The annulment didn’t matter to him at all.
What a naïve thought. So naïve.
Then, the System’s mechanical voice rang inside my head.
[Transcendent Grade Skill 'Heroine's Fragment of Fate' activates passively!]
[Condition Met: A branching point involving Illiana's fate has occurred.]
⟨ 200c forcibly consumed! ⟩
“……Huh?”
In an instant, the world froze in black and white.
A horrifying fragment of the future flashed before my eyes like a screen.
In the vision, my severed head rolled across the ground after being cut off by Leon’s sword.
And in front of my blood-soaked corpse, Illiana sat collapsed in shock.
Leon approached her, pretending to offer comfort, then at some point led her toward a secluded villa.
“Wouldn’t being the Hero’s wife be better than a ruined Count family? Your father has already given his approval.”
“…What?”
“Who do you think prepared this villa?”
“Father would never—!”
And then his eyes turned beastly as he violently tore her dress apart.
“Your fiancé is dead, my lady. Or should I say, your ex-fiancé. Now I will ‘save’ you. Hehehe.”
The screen cut off there.
A classic scene straight out of a hentai rape doujin.
This bastard’s goal wasn’t justice at all. His goal was Illiana.
No one knew about the Hero candidate Leon’s ugly true nature. That must be why the Crosswell family allowed it.
More importantly—my head gets chopped off and I die?
It’s only been one day since I possessed this body!
Why the hell is this dogshit plot happening?
There was no way to turn this around right now. No method to reverse it.
And to top it off, coins were forcibly consumed. I wanted to cry.
I already knew this outcome would happen!
But I had to endure. In the original anime Chronicles of the Fall of the Empire, Evan challenged the duel that very day and immediately got his head cut off.
I gritted my teeth.
“I refuse. I have no intention of crossing blades with a madman like you.”
Yeah, what are you going to do if I refuse?
There’s nothing you can do, right?
When I simply ignored him and turned around, Leon pulled out a golden emblem from his pocket with a twisted smile.
“A holy duel is invoked by the authority of a Hero candidate. According to the laws of the Goddess Church, the one challenged cannot refuse.”
What? There was a setting like that?
Are you kidding me? What kind of trash setting is this? Is the Hero some kind of sacred bone? Why does he get to do whatever he wants?!
Leon drew his sword and began walking slowly toward me. He looked ready to slice me apart at any moment.
Shit, this is terrifying. Terrifying.
Does this place not have any public order? Guards! Guards! There’s a guy waving a sword around, why isn’t anyone stopping him?!
This is a crazy world. A crazy bastard’s crazy world.
Leon could have stabbed me at any second, yet he was enjoying the crowd’s cheers like a cat cornering a rat.
With every step he took closer, I could hear the cheers of noble sons and daughters.
The only person cheering for me was Ria.
Was my reputation this bad?
There was no way to stop him. No way to block him.
If so, there was only one way to survive.
My silver tongue.
“Hahahahaha! To think there’s an idiot who dares challenge the Balderck Count family to a duel. You’ve got some serious guts. Very well.”
“…What?”
Leon made a dumbfounded face. Of course you’d be confused. I’m even more confused than you are.
But soon, the corners of Leon’s mouth twisted into a sneer.
I maintained a perfectly calm and relaxed smile.
“Then let the duel take place one week from now. The location shall be the official Imperial Duel Arena. How does that sound?”
“Bullshit. You’re just trying to buy time. Hahaha.”
How did he know? Was it that obvious?
But I smiled even more leisurely and continued in the most aristocratic way possible, even though it felt completely unnatural.
“Surely the Hero candidate, representative of the Goddess, and the descendant of the Balderck family—one of the Empire’s founding contributors—would not suggest we brawl like common thugs on this narrow, insignificant patch of dirt? How undignified. To a noble, nothing is more precious than honor. I am the young master of the Balderck family, one who lives and dies for honor.”
Suddenly the surroundings fell silent.
I said the right thing, so why isn’t anyone agreeing with me?
Is it because I’m a good-for-nothing?
Can’t a good-for-nothing talk about honor?
But I pushed even harder. Arguments are all about momentum. Once you seize it, you have to charge forward.
I looked down at him with my signature decadent gaze and mocked him.
“If this is to be a sacred holy duel for a Hero candidate, shouldn’t it be conducted properly in the official duel arena according to Imperial law? Splattering blood on the ground like this would make you the laughingstock of the Empire for life. The perfect material for bards to mock. And it would be recorded in history forever. The tale of Hero Leon who died fighting on the side of the road.”
My words must have carried some strange persuasiveness, because the murmurs around us began to change.
As public opinion shifted, Leon’s eyes began to waver.
Is it working? Just a little more. Shake a little more.
Maybe the spell didn’t take?
Leon bit his lip hard and readjusted his grip on the sword.
“Shut up! What does face matter in a duel? Right here and now, I’ll take your head—!”
Ah, shit. This kind of logic doesn’t work on him.
The only thing I could rely on now was the [Absolutely Slippery Banana Peel] I’d pulled from the gacha.
Should I somehow make him step on it and then run away without looking back?
My face stayed relaxed, but cold sweat trickled down my back.
That was when it happened.
“He is correct.”
A voice carrying both chill and absolute authority that froze the air of the Academy plaza in an instant.
Once again, the crowd parted like the miracle of Moses.
“This is the sacred grounds of the Academy entrance ceremony. If it is to be a holy duel, it should naturally be conducted in the official duel arena according to Imperial law. One week is also a reasonable amount of time.”
A dazzling golden dress. Brilliant golden hair as if the sun itself had been melted down, and arrogant purple eyes full of haughty dignity.
An overwhelming presence that stole the breath of thousands the moment she appeared.
The public opinion completely flipped.
Oh shit. I don’t know who you are, but my savior has arrived!
My heart pounded wildly.
I was saved. Or more precisely, I had bought one week of time.
But who are you?
The First Princess of the Empire, Eresia.
Another main heroine had made her entrance.