Chapter 260
Chapter 260
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: Husband Examination (5)
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“…”
Even after dispatching the magic swordsman, my calm demeanor left Luke with a dazed expression.
He glanced briefly at Leah.
“What are you doing? My knight here wants three opponents.”
The Empire’s First Imperial Princess made her demand in a flat tone.
Wounded in his pride, he let out a deep sigh and fell into thought.
No matter how he thought about it, having three face one was absurd.
Losing would be a problem, and winning would be too.
A loss would brand the Southern Alliance as a weak nation unable to handle even one imperial knight.
A win would invite accusations of cowardice for ganging up on a single foe.
The grand duke squeezed his eyes shut.
He only opened them again after Dyke, seated in the VIP stands, climbed up and whispered a strategy in his ear.
“…”
Borrowing the old lord’s wisdom, the grand duke nodded in agreement.
Then, alongside him, he stared intently at Leah’s side.
More precisely, at ‘Mago’ standing beside her.
“It seems we’ve underestimated that man’s abilities.”
Luke regained his composed tone befitting a grand duke.
“However, even so, having three assail one is unbecoming of knights.”
He politely pointed a finger at the petite witch.
With a sly smile, he continued.
“Since it’s a matchup between escort teams, why not have your shaman join in for a 2-on-3? It seems fairer that way.”
The singled-out Mago’s golden eyes widened in surprise.
She pointed at herself, stammering.
“M-Me too…?”
Just one petite shaman who looked harmless and lacking in combat prowess.
Adding her wouldn’t hurt their side much, or so they figured.
Whatever the outcome, a 2-on-3 would at least salvage some honor.
Leah, sensing their ploy, kept her relaxed expression.
Treating Mago like one of her escort mages, she asked kindly.
“What say you, Mago?”
“I…”
Cornell’s witch had never experienced a formal spar before.
Shamans weren’t well-regarded in the Empire, so she’d never had occasion to step forward.
But this was the Kingdom of Hawson, where shamanism was wielded on a national scale.
And the Empire’s renowned First Imperial Princess was offering her a chance.
Mago swallowed hard.
And then…
“I’ll step up!”
She gripped her staff tightly with both hands and declared boldly.
Leah, finding the sight adorable, chuckled softly.
With graceful elegance, she extended her hand.
“Take the field.”
Mago boarded her staff following the princess’s gesture.
Before thousands of spectators, she floated up and descended into the arena.
“Mago…?”
“Yeah, Veil. They told me to join!!”
I gazed steadily up at Leah.
She met my eyes while holding her teacup.
To avoid exposing myself as more than an ordinary escort knight by crushing three alone, she’d brought Mago in.
“One more now.”
The magic swordsmen stared at me and Mago, standing rigidly on the rock.
The platinum-haired leader, who seemed their representative, gauged the size of the boulder I’d cleaved in one stroke.
An overwhelming mass that could fill a vast lake and still overflow.
Glancing at it, he spoke flatly to his juniors.
“That guy’s hiding his strength. At least an advanced Expert, maybe a Swordmaster.”
He’d noticed I was concealing my mana.
From then on, he maintained even greater composure.
“Don’t get careless. Handle him rationally, at full capacity.”
Hearing this from afar, I grinned.
My signature sly, crescent-moon eyes curved as I spoke.
“Handle? Since when do escort teams use such brutal talk? Right, Mago?”
“Yeah, scary.”
The red-haired female swordsman bristled, about to retort.
But the platinum-haired middle-aged leader shook his head firmly.
“A fox of a man. Don’t engage, keep your cool.”
“She looks like she’ll use fire magic. Judging by her hot temper—”
I pointed at the female swordsman.
She made an unpleasant face, hit right on the mark.
As her leader ordered, she fell silent again.
“So, what about the girl beside me?”
“She might be hiding power like him. Spread out and attack from multiple angles.”
The leader spoke with cold, piercing eyes.
Drawing his sword, he added.
“Lucy and I take the knight. Jack, you handle the shaman.”
“Got it!!”
The magic swordsmen’s full assault began.
Two young swordsmen scattered to the flanks like unfolding wings.
First, the young male knight charged at the seemingly weaker Mago with all his might.
――――――!!
Mana-reinforced legs propelled the magic swordsman swiftly over the rock.
Mago’s golden eyes flashed as his shadow loomed, blotting out the sun.
She swung her gripped staff lightly.
Water scattered on the ground churned along its arc.
Soon, a jet of water surged up between the swordsman and Mago.
Like a massive curtain.
This was merely the same water manipulation the first magic swordsman had shown.
Knowing this, the knight plunged through the water jet in his enhanced state.
Poised to cleave her as he broke through.
But the moment his body touched the water veil…
“…!!”
Mago’s eyes sharpened like a great witch’s as she swung her staff.
Her gaze turned feral, proving her past as a mercenary captain in the Empire’s roughest city.
Just as the swordsman emerged…
The water jet froze solid in an instant, binding him like tree roots.
“Veil! Now!”
With one foe sealed midair, Mago shouted.
In response, I leaped up and swung at him simultaneously.
But his scattered comrades vaulted powerfully, blocking my strike in his stead.
‘Better than the first one, at least.’
The red-haired female knight and the platinum-haired middle-aged escort leader.
They parried my blade precisely, holding firm together.
Kiiing―――!!
Sparks flew between the grinding blades.
They barely deflected my sword before landing shakily.
But they couldn’t even catch their breath.
I twisted mid-fall and charged again.
After splashing through pathetic puddles, two who actually knew their blades had appeared—stirring my interest.
Kaaang!!
I targeted the impatient red-haired female knight first.
A swift one-handed swing; she gripped her sword two-handed and clashed.
Blade-to-blade, I pressed relentlessly.
Her body wavered, lacking the strength to match.
“Urgh…!! What power…!!”
Spotting this, the middle-aged knight joined swiftly, aiming for my back.
I twisted, slicing her sleeve clean off.
“Fall back!!”
The leader roared at his junior, whose reinforcement shattered instantly, and charged.
He wrapped his two-handed grip on his sword in flames.
And as he swung at me…
“…!!”
Frowning at the blaze obscuring my vision.
Thanks to it, the female knight gained distance, leaving me in a one-on-one with the leader.
“Fine leadership. Buying time for your junior to retreat.”
“You too.”
His meaningful reply made me tilt my head.
The enemy nation’s leader said flatly.
“Just now, you could’ve severed her arm if you’d wanted.”
The middle-aged man had instantly read my subtle power control.
He raised his flame-wreathed blade and charged again.
‘Definitely different.’
Swordplay refined as the grand duke’s closest aide.
Each swing whistled crisply through the air.
And upon realizing his disadvantage in raw strength, he shifted to speed with keen insight.
In respect, I upped my own pace.
Chaeeang!!
Blades locked, I stomped his boot.
He withdrew his foot; I pressed, crumbling his stance.
“Urgh…!!”
But he didn’t lose his wits.
As I charged, he unleashed a thrust with explosive energy.
A stab risks leaving you open if it misses.
Yet in admiration of his boldness, I twisted aside.
The veteran swordsman spun swiftly, regaining balance.
He barely matched my follow-up’s speed, clashing blades.
But that was his limit.
Facing alone what had taxed two.
Instinctively sensing defeat, he gritted his teeth.
“Leader…!!”
The female swordsman began conjuring intense flames in one hand.
As she formed a fireball aimed at me…
“No you don’t.”
Watching Mago tapped the ground lightly with her staff.
The ice binding the male knight aloft melted back to water and poured down.
“Kyaa!!”
The female knight below was drenched.
Her palmed flames extinguished, leaving thick smoke.
She collided with the falling man and tumbled.
“Stay down if you’ve lost.”
Mago swung her staff down.
The pooling water surged again, engulfing them before…
Freezing once more into a white cocoon.
Luke, watching, twitched beneath his eyes.
He glared resentfully at Dyke, who’d advised sending Mago.
“What is this, Lord Dyke…?”
“My apologies. I didn’t expect that one to be hiding power too…”
Even Luke, adept in magic, knew manipulating elements was tough.
Freely controlling water’s temperature to freeze and thaw?
Only a Liz-class grand shaman could manage it—or so he knew, cradling his forehead.
“Like playing piano and violin at once.”
Leah described Mago’s display in her own elegant terms.
“Isn’t it, Grand Duke?”
“Y-Yes…”
The Empire’s First Imperial Princess exhaled deeply.
Her vibrant curves shifted subtly.
“Looks like it turned 2-on-1 in a flash. You seem uneasy?”
“…”
The Southern Kingdom’s grand duke fell silent.
The imperial eldest sipped her tea and smiled leisurely.
“No need to worry. Mago won’t join the attack.”
“Pardon…?”
Luke furrowed his brow at the princess’s claim they’d take the easy way back.
“Veil’s sharp—he notices things.”
Leah eyed the fidgeting Dyke steadily.
In a queenly tone, she declared.
“He knows you sent Mago to save face.”
The princess removed the teabag from her finished cup.
“So he’ll fight fair, one-on-one…”
And dropped it on the table like trash.
“Then cook your champion as pathetically and miserably as possible.”
Luke’s spine chilled at the princess’s doll-like icy expression.
He tensed so rigidly he nearly forgot ever harboring feelings for her.
Realizing she was a lioness beyond his grasp.
“A jest, of course. Veil wouldn’t go that far.”
As the mood darkened, Leah offered a soft smile.
Toying with his heart, she reverted to feminine charm and refocused on the match.
“…”
Before all eyes, I’d demonstrate the Empire’s superiority over the kingdom.
To that end, I faced the escort leader alone, with Mago watching blankly behind.
Decisively.
“Hoo…”
He’d parried evenly at first.
But now his breaths grew ragged, his sword hilt trembling.
The crowd, solemn as in a cathedral, fell utterly silent.
Only the knight’s gasps echoed in the arena.
“Urgh…”
When the leader aimed for my throat, I shoved, forcing him toward self-decapitation.
If he fell evading, I waited languidly for his rise.
The jeering populace now averted their eyes entirely.
‘This should etch the gap in levels deep enough.’
To end it, I channeled blue mana into my final strike.
Poising humbly for the escort leader’s throat.
That instant.
A dense, rock-like mana from behind made me glance back.
A young man ascending to the arena caught my eye.
Around thirty.
Brown hair slicked back, dressed in a white shirt.
“So you’re the South’s Greatest Sword.”
Seeing him, I recalled the window view and spoke flatly.
He eyed me with lusterless white irises.
A monocle over one eye stood out.
“Indeed. Arthur Archimond.”
Intense golden mana pulsed at his left chest.
Not Camilla’s red, nor Echina’s green.
Pure gold, forged through insane basics and bone-grinding effort.
“And you’re the Empire’s Greatest Sword.”
None but the Emperor had pierced my concealed strength.
Yet he knew me at a glance.
“Stand down there. I’ll take over.”
The Greatest Sword regarded the defeated escort leader indifferently.
Then dismissively turned away.
“I’d hoped you would. I’ve been waiting for you.”
I held a blank expression at his reply.
Then lifted my lips in a genuine smile.
“Waiting for me?”
The South’s Greatest Sword tilted his head.
Stiffening at the implication I’d already sensed him.
“Yes—the South’s star is you, after all.”
From the royal stands, Leah untwined her voluptuous thighs.
Her gaze fixed intently on me facing Arthur.
“Interesting.”
Fingering her red lips in intrigue.
The princess, ever enraptured by my power’s display, unwittingly curved her mouth in a faint smile.