Chapter 258
Chapter 258
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: The Consort Examination (3)
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Belair's grand plaza.
The circular arena, capable of seating thousands, was packed with Southern citizens.
They had flocked there in droves at the news that they could catch a glimpse of the Empire's famed knights, filling every seat to the brim.
Most were ordinary folk.
Yet among them were plenty of lords, just like those from the conference hall, eager to gauge the Empire's might firsthand.
And so, now that the alliance had been forged.
Our Leon Empire needed to demonstrate some solid "skill" to put the Hawson Kingdom at ease.
The Kingdom, too, had to properly showcase its power to the allied nations and crush their spirits.
Well aware of this, Grand Duke Luke from the Kingdom side and Leah from the Empire met at the royal box, the highest seat overlooking the arena.
"Have you been resting well, Your Highness?"
"Thanks to you, quite comfortably, Grand Duke. The guest quarters were spotless."
Leah stood with her hands clasped behind her back, uniformed cap in place.
She extended just one hand lightly, demanding a handshake.
"We paid extra special attention. Ha ha..."
The Grand Duke shook her hand politely.
Then, with a courteous gesture, he invited her to sit.
"Please, have a seat. We've prepared a lavish lineup of matches for today."
"Indeed, I'm looking forward to it."
Leah leaned back into the ornate royal chair and removed her cap.
She elegantly brushed aside her radiant golden locks, half-closing her eyes.
With every sway of her hair, a rich pomegranate scent seemed to waft through the air.
"Hold my cap for a bit."
"Yes, Your Highness."
I took it from behind her and gently set it on the table at the back.
Then, I gazed out at the vast "Southern-style" arena unfolding before the leaders of each nation.
"Now, let us enjoy the opening ceremony together."
Grand Duke Luke withdrew the deferential glint from his eyes.
In its place came the stern expression befitting a nation's military commander as he extended his hand.
"Begin."
At his curt command, the arena filled with thousands fell silent.
In the expansive open space, only the Hawson Kingdom's eagle flag fluttered proudly.
Soon after, the sound of bold footsteps drowned it out entirely.
――――――.
Emerging from the Southern alliance's waiting passage came men in blue uniforms.
They marched in perfect formation, lining up in the arena.
At first glance, they appeared to be ordinary knights wielding mana.
But what set them apart from the Empire's knights were the peculiar bracelets adorning their arms.
"You look curious."
Grand Duke Luke regarded Leah and me with a relaxed smile.
The princess, too, rested her hand on her soft chin, showing keen interest.
Ever the powerful mage and operations commander, her intellectual curiosity took precedence.
"Indeed, what are those bracelets? They seem to hold considerable power."
"Think of them as compact weapons that replace wands or staves."
Hodrian, the emperor's son who oversaw all Southern military supplies.
As he introduced his guards, he glanced at me—dressed in simple uniform, unadorned.
"All artifacts. Top-grade ones, at that."
Leah immediately recognized their value.
The ability to cast magic without cumbersome wands or staves.
Even as a mage herself, she found it intriguing and nodded.
Noticing the princess's reaction, Luke.
He closed his eyes briefly, a satisfied look on his face.
"My guards are talents who blend magic and swordsmanship—what we call 'magic swordsmen' these days."
The Grand Duke tweaked his tousled forelock, sweeping it aside.
His sharp, eagle-like gaze flashed as he spoke.
"They're the pinnacle of my escort units."
"Truly, the South boasts fascinating talents."
Luke smirked at her belated interest.
"Now that we're allies, I figured it was time to reveal a secret weapon or two."
"Did you train them personally?"
Leah slowly crossed her legs.
She folded her arms, scrutinizing the magic swordsmen intently.
"Yes, I trained under the emperor in both magic and swordsmanship myself."
The Grand Duke spoke humbly, rubbing the back of his head.
Then, as if for my benefit, he declared confidently.
"Ordinary knights probably wouldn't even know what hit them."
"..."
Leah went expressionless for a moment at Luke's pointed glance my way.
She stared at the Grand Duke—her contemporary—and adopted a soldier's icy demeanor.
"So, you're saying no one in this world could stand against them in a duel?"
Luke's smile faltered at the princess's blunt question.
He hesitated before the extreme query.
"For instance, could they threaten my father?"
"Your father... you mean His Imperial Majesty the Emperor."
Luke grimaced at the sky-high benchmark.
He forced a laugh and deflected.
"They'd likely struggle against the great conqueror king. He's a grandmaster, after all."
Leah peered down at the Grand Duke's magic swordsman escorts.
But her initial intrigue had already faded.
Fighting while holding back against opponents was an instant disqualification in her book.
"Sir Mikhail."
The Empire's First Imperial Princess tilted her head up to look at me.
Her crossed arms concealed the beautiful curves of her figure.
"Yes, Your Highness."
"Could you defeat those knights?"
At the princess's long-awaited opening salvo, I stood at attention beside her.
I impassively looked down at the three black-haired men and one woman in navy uniforms.
For a mere three seconds.
"Yes."
Grand Duke Luke's eye twitched at that.
His meticulously trained elite knights, empowered by artifacts, dismissed by a mere escort.
But his composure wouldn't hold.
Leah's follow-up drove the wedge deeper into his heart.
"Your confidence never fails to impress."
The princess propped her chin on her soft hand's back.
She extended her other hand, granting permission to engage.
"Go on, then. You'll be this duel’s first and final contender."
I met her gaze and dropped to one knee.
Then, I slowly pressed my lips to the back of her hand.
"I shall obey."
Rising silently, I descended the steps.
There, in the vast arena, I faced the four magic swordsmen alone.
"Now, hold on a moment, Your Highness Leah."
Luke seemed flustered that his grand escorts would face just one ordinary knight.
He leaned urgently toward her, half out of his seat.
"You're saying this one man will take on all my knights?"
"Precisely. Is there a problem?"
The Grand Duke shook his head firmly.
Pointing at me, standing alone, he declared.
"Confidence is fine, but he's no match for them."
Beyond dismissal, Luke sounded almost concerned for me.
Leah chuckled softly, then fixed him with the unfocused, chilling blue eyes she reserved for the battlefield.
"What do you think is the purpose of this duel, sir?"
Luke flinched at the shifted atmosphere.
Regaining his wits, he repeated her words.
"The purpose...? To reveal our nations' strengths and foster exchange, no?"
"Correct."
The princess raised the hand that had been supporting her ample curves.
Pointing firmly at the magic swordsman unit, "Aegis," she stated.
"One 'escort knight' is more than enough to match them."
"..."
The Hawson Kingdom's Grand Duke fell silent at Leah's cold words.
He was simply dumbfounded that his escorts had been so undervalued right before his eyes.
"If you're so dissatisfied, see for yourself."
Leah held her head high.
With a queenly, haughty, and sensual gaze, she surveyed the vast arena.
"Our Empire's power."
Luke matched her resolve, hardening his expression.
Maintaining his ducal chill, he replied.
"Very well. Let's properly gauge each other's forces before sealing the alliance."
He rose from his chair.
Through the ring artifact on his finger, he cast an amplification spell.
「Begin the match.」
At the command of the South's top military overseer.
The Aegis unit bowed in unison to the Grand Duke and Leah.
Then, they turned their eyes solely to me.
"..."
I toyed with the two swords at my waist.
Hector's and Irina's prized blades.
Caressing their sheaths, I silently awaited their techniques.
But.
No matter how long I waited, they made no move.
As if expecting someone themselves.
In response, I let go of the sheaths.
That instant.
――――――――.
From another passage in the arena emerged a group of shamans.
I knew them.
Rize, the origin of all this turmoil, and her disciples.
The half-elves glanced at me before averting their eyes, as if reliving trauma.
Cautiously, they placed both hands on the arena floor in unison.
Soon.
As the potent mana from two elves and a human poured into the ground, the earth trembled violently.
As if the floor itself were alive.
The stone tiles rippled like waves, and the arena's center began to sink.
Kwaaaaa――――――!!
A massive jet of water erupted from the depression with tremendous force.
It cascaded into the center, forming a vast lake.
But the grand shaman's power didn't end there.
Where there's a lake, there's a mountain—as the lake took shape in the arena's heart, jagged hills rose at either end.
Symbolizing peaks.
A completely unfamiliar battlefield, as if fighting amid nature itself, unfolded before our eyes.