The Wandering Sword Saint's Audacity
Adela, the Wandering Sword Saint.
In the original game, she was one of the few female characters who served as an ally. Though, for some reason, she was currently cross-dressing as a man.
In the original story, she often disguised herself as a man, so I didn't think much of it. I assumed she probably thought it was more convenient to be a man if she wanted to join the Knights Order.
Anyway.
“You want to spar with me?”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
Her tone was polite, but the content was anything but. I felt like I could practically hear the blood pressure of the Vice Minister of Military Affairs skyrocketing.
Personally, it didn't bother me much. Perhaps it was because I tended to be lenient toward characters from the original work, but beyond that, Khalid von Aquitaine was the type of person who was satisfied as long as things were entertaining.
A stranger appearing out of nowhere and demanding a duel? Honestly, it was fun.
Logically speaking, who would dare say such a thing to the Emperor? Part of me wanted to just accept it right there.
“Y-Your Majesty.”
The problem was the gazes stabbing at me from all directions, as if to say, "You aren't actually going to accept that, are you?"
If I accepted, I had a feeling Elizabeth would nag me to death later.
I settled back into my chair, having been halfway to standing up.
“What is your name?”
“Ade… I am Alto, Your Majesty.”
Seeing her almost blurt out her real name, it seemed she wasn't quite used to her male disguise yet.
“The skill you displayed is excellent; it was a pleasure to behold.”
“Thank you.”
“However, that alone is not reason enough for me to grant your request.”
“……I understand.”
“Can you provide a reason why I should personally take action?”
Adela rolled her eyes. I had essentially said to her: "I want to grant your request, but I lack the justification. Don't you have a reason?"
It didn't matter if she had one or not. If she didn't, the Imperial Palace would be turned upside down by the story of a foolish knight who dared to challenge the Emperor to a duel without any standing. Thinking about the pale faces of the bureaucrats was amusing in itself.
And if she did have one?
Well, then I’d just spar with her. It had been a while since I’d used my strength, so that would be enjoyable, too. The only question was whether Adela had such a justification.
She probably did. If she was the Adela I knew.
After hesitating for a long while, Adela pulled a glittering token from her robes.
“What is that?”
“The Protector of the Realm’s…!”
The elderly bureaucrats who recognized the token Adela held gasped in shock.
“……I am a disciple of the former Protector of the Realm, Sir Roland. I humbly request this of Your Majesty.”
The Protector of the Realm.
The title of a legendary knight who saved the Empire from crisis during the reign of the previous Emperor… that was the setting. It never appeared in the original work, and even in Khalid’s memories, he was an old man I had never met personally, so I didn't know the details.
However, I knew Adela well. Adela was the granddaughter of the Protector of the Realm, Roland. That was the reason the wandering knight Adela was called a Sword Saint.
A self-taught Sword Saint? That wasn't easy. It was only possible because she had a solid foundation built on authentic training.
“If you are a disciple of the Protector of the Realm, well then.”
The atmosphere shifted toward acceptance. It wasn't quite to the point of viewing Adela favorably, but the tension had certainly eased. That was how great the prestige of the Protector’s name was.
“My grandfather, no, my master always said.”
Adela, sensing that playing the Protector’s name was getting a good reaction, began to speak with even more vigor. She was a shrewd woman.
“If one must serve a lord as a knight, no matter what that service entails, one must serve someone who makes them feel, from the very depths of their heart, a desire to learn from them.”
Now she was practically acting. She wasn't a wandering Sword Saint for nothing. The experience she’d gained while drifting from place to place was no joke. Before I knew it, everyone in the room was focused on her words.
…Was her initial rudeness calculated, then?
As I stared at her, Adela let out a sharp, “Ahem!”
“I am a fool who has learned nothing, so all I can do is wield the sword I learned from my master.”
That was a lie. She was an extremely talented individual, with better document-processing skills than Serena, who had received decent grades at the Academy.
“Therefore!”
Adela spread her arms wide.
“Knowing that Your Majesty’s heroic tales have reached the heavens, I dare to make this request despite my rudeness…….”
And then, she finished by slowly, elegantly bowing her waist.
The situation, which had started with a knight’s rudeness, had somehow transformed into a romantic confession of a knight seeking a lord to whom she could pledge her loyalty. She had completely seized the atmosphere in just a few minutes.
Truly capable.
“Oh, ohhh.”
I could even hear sounds of admiration and applause from somewhere.
Adela’s lips twitched. It looked like she was desperately trying to suppress a laugh that was about to burst out.
“You, Alto.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
Adela bowed her head respectfully.
“I accept your request.”
I rose from my seat. Countless eyes were looking up at me. Among them, the most radiant were Adela’s eyes.
I stepped down from the dais and stood opposite Adela. She—or rather, he, since she was cross-dressing—spoke.
“Your Majesty.”
“Hmm?”
“It may sound disrespectful, but may I go all out?”
“Do as you wish.”
Adela beamed. She pulled out a new sword, not the one she had used during the test.
“That is!”
“Is that one of the master-crafted sword series by the artisan Luthal?!”
Between the Protector’s token earlier and this, the reaction from the gallery was intense today.
Who is Luthal, anyway?
“Hmph.”
Adela’s lips curled up. Could it be?
“I’ll ask just in case.”
“Yes?”
“Are those shills you hired?”
“…….”
Is this for real? Was she worried people wouldn't recognize them?
“……That is not the case.”
Adela mumbled. As if.
Blushing as if embarrassed, Adela raised her sword.
“Sir Alto.”
“…Yes?”
“Three times.”
I raised my hand and held up three fingers.
“I will concede exactly three opening attacks to you.”
“…….”
Adela nodded with a serious expression. Usually, a swordsman with pride in their skills would be offended, but she showed no such sign. I suppose that’s what it means to be a wandering Sword Saint.
“Then, here I go.”
Adela said. She took her stance and lunged at me.
An intense gust of wind. She was likely trying to show off the most powerful strike she could muster first.
“A powerful strike from the very first move, I see.”
Very well. Then I should receive it head-on. Avoiding it wouldn't be difficult, but this was a spar, not a battle of life and death.
I lifted my foot.
“W-what?”
I heard the panicked voice of a royal guard. I slowly pressed my foot down toward the floor.
BOOM!
The moment my foot touched the ground, a shockwave erupted through the floor.
“Ugh!”
Adela’s sword strike was blocked by that alone. Adela, having had her first strike offset by the shockwave, spun in place. Her movements were fluid and elegant, as if she were flying through the air.
“Oh, it’s different from the Protector’s swordsmanship.”
“I can subtly see traces of the Protector’s style, but it feels like she has completely reinterpreted it into her own.”
“She is truly a genius.”
…Are those guys all shills, too? Seeing as some of the Imperial bureaucrats I recognized were mixed in, I didn't think they were all plants. More importantly:
“You introduced yourself as a man, yet you have no intention of hiding your swordsmanship at all, do you?”
“Hick…?”
Adela, having landed on the floor, was startled.
“D-did you find out?”
“It seems I’m the only one who noticed.”
For some reason, even though anyone could tell she was a woman in disguise, no one would ever notice unless she revealed it herself.
“……Anyway, second strike, coming through!”
Adela steadied her stance and lunged again. If the previous strike had been a straightforward, powerful blow, this one was different.
“A rapid-fire sword technique so fast it’s invisible!”
“Unbelievable!”
The gallery was noisy. Regardless, it was a flashy sword technique that was incredibly fast and filled with skill. It looked light, but perhaps because the foundation was the Protector’s swordsmanship, it was unexpectedly solid with no openings.
Indeed.
Then, how do you attack when there are no openings?
Well, there are many ways. The easiest is just to watch, dodge, and then quickly close the distance.
“……?!”
The distance closed in an instant. Naturally, a counterattack should have followed, but since I had promised to go easy on her for three strikes, I subtly moved my feet to widen the distance again.
“…H-how.”
Adela had a dumbfounded expression. It was understandable, as I had literally dived into the flurry of sword strikes and dismantled them.
“The next one is the last.”
One left. When I said that, Adela, who had been gaping, changed her expression back to a serious one.
“For the last one, I will receive Your Majesty’s attack.”
Adela raised her sword.
“That is the state of the Protector’s ‘Offense and Defense as One’!”
Thanks for the detailed explanation. I don't know who the shills are, but she certainly found some excellent ones. Thanks to them, I understood.
This must be the sword stance she was most confident in.
“I accept your request.”
My honest impression? She had prepared a lot. It felt like a stage she had constructed, believing that my personality would allow me to go along with it pleasantly. Showcasing the first and second strikes flashily, and finishing by receiving my attack on the third.
She might not have planned everything from start to finish, but it was clear she had intended the broad strokes. In reality, it was fun to watch, and it was close enough to a passing grade.
That said.
“Sir Alto.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“That sword. It’s not a sword that shouldn't be broken, is it?”
“Yes?”
“Like a keepsake from your master.”
“Ah, the sword my master passed down is separate, but why do you ask…?”
Why, indeed. Because she was a bit cheeky, and I wanted to teach her a lesson.
I gripped my fist tightly.
“Ehh…………?”
Adela made a blank face.
“Block it properly.”
I swung my fist straight ahead.
──!
There was light.