Chapter 311
Translator: crow
Chapter Title: Ten Years Later (12)
Beck let out a ragged breath after completing the lap around the training ground.
His chest swelled with overwhelming emotion at the fact that he had accomplished in one go something he could never do in his entire life.
“I really did it….”
The boy glanced back at the path he had run himself.
His footprints were clearly imprinted on the dirt ground.
“What’s this, Beck actually finished the whole lap?”
“His dad showed up a little while ago. That’s probably why he ran so hard.”
His classmates looked at him with curiosity.
However, among them were those who had previously mocked Beck and basked in a sense of superiority.
“What the hell… How did that guy suddenly pull it off?”
“It’s just five laps around the training ground. Anyone can do it—what’s the big deal.”
The classmates standing next to Yukal sneered.
However, Yukal himself showed no reaction at all.
He simply silently watched his cousin, who had begun to change on his own.
“He’s just gonna get utterly humiliated in tomorrow’s sparring anyway. Right, Yukal?”
“…”
The eldest son of Urus didn’t answer right away.
Then, he shot back at his cronies with a cold remark.
“Shut up. You might end up losing.”
In truth, the reason he had looked down on Beck was because he lacked any sense of responsibility as royalty.
Unlike himself, who always strove for his father’s approval, Beck seemed pathetic, sunk in depression.
However, now that he had finally seen him trying to change on his own…
For some reason, Yukal no longer found him pathetic.
Instead, he felt like watching over him and scolded his classmates.
“Hah, me? To that guy?”
Lutten, the crown prince of the neighboring Marton Kingdom who was scheduled to face Beck tomorrow, scoffed.
He was in the upper-mid ranks at 12th in their class, and he crossed his arms alone as he replied.
“No need to worry. It won’t happen. A perennial last place doesn’t change overnight.”
Lutten looked indifferently at Beck running toward his father.
Even he seemed inwardly tense now that the Grand Master he’d only heard rumors about had come to the school in person, and he subtly stepped back.
“Father…!!”
The boy with the beautiful face drenched in sweat threw himself into my arms.
I ruffled his hair wildly and showered him with praise.
“Yeah, you rascal. I told you, didn’t I? You could do it!!”
The little fox looked up at me with spirited eyes, full of vigor.
Completely different from the depressed look when I first saw him.
His sweat drops were passionate like any boy his age, and his eyes sparkled with fighting spirit.
But.
“Keep this up through tomorrow’s sparring.”
At the mention of sparring, the boy’s sharp eyes dulled again.
As if his fox ears had drooped flat.
“Sparring seems tough, though…”
Beck had never escaped being dead last his whole life.
Maybe that’s why he couldn’t imagine winning against anyone.
I racked my brain on how to resolve this.
At that moment.
“You practiced hard, didn’t you, Beck? You said you’d show it to your father for sure.”
A familiar yet haughty voice came from behind.
“Your practice volume isn’t behind anyone else’s. You just don’t know the trick to winning.”
Christina had arrived dressed neatly in slacks and a dress shirt.
With her ice-blue eyes embracing the snowy plains, she smiled brightly.
“Yeah, Beck.”
I placed a hand on my son’s shoulder, who had just regained his resolve.
“Practice volume is confidence. Just trust in that and go into the sparring.”
Then, as I kneaded his shoulders firmly, I said.
“Leave the rest to Dad. I’ll make sure you win tomorrow.”
“Really…?”
Beck, who had already tasted magic once, looked up at me intently.
To him, I replied with eyes gleaming with Grand Aura.
“Yeah. Definitely.”
「――――――」
The next day.
The sun rose over the Bakal Kingdom, located in the northern continent.
The Royal Academy was bustling from morning with preparations for the sparring matches.
Academy instructors hurriedly climbed onto the well-maintained sparring ground to check the floor’s condition.
Afterward, they signaled to the spectator stands that visibility was good.
“Looks good. Enough seats?”
“Yes, we’re paying extra attention since there are especially many guests today!”
The middle-aged swordsmanship instructor, having received reports from the new faculty, let out a deep breath.
“Who the hell is coming today for the higher-ups to pressure us this much…?”
Lost in thought alone, he suddenly recalled Beck’s father from yesterday.
Anxiety surged over him, and he swallowed hard without realizing it.
“No way… the Empire’s Knight Order captains are coming, right…?”
The instructor shook off the unease and turned his gaze back to inspecting the sparring ground.
In the meantime, students began filing in one by one to receive their evaluations today.
――――――.
However, it wasn’t just students entering.
Their parents and retainers had come in droves, as if the sparring evaluation was a full-fledged event.
“Long time no see, Prince of Marton.”
“You’re busy, yet you came, Chancellor.”
They sat in the polished spectator seats, chatting among the parents.
“Of course I’d come to my son’s match. He threw such a fit insisting I had to be here this time.”
“I heard his opponent is Princess Tina’s son?”
The silver-haired Marton prince nodded.
As a prince of the island nation alliance near Bakal, he had considerable recognition within Bakal.
He had already sided with Urus and seemed to think little of Tina.
“Yeah, Prince Beck. That explains why he insisted I come.”
The interior minister chuckled knowingly of the prince’s skills shown so far.
However, the chancellor couldn’t dare mock royalty alongside him and kept his lips tightly shut.
“Still, I hope my boy goes easy. Even the Empire’s Grand Master is here.”
The interior minister pointed to a black-haired knight visible in the crowd.
The man in his prime, just turning thirty.
“Was Bakal always this interested in student sparring?”
“Probably because of you. A chance to show off their kids to the continent’s strongest.”
Tina, standing beside me, patted my shoulder lightly.
However, unlike our relaxed demeanor, today’s protagonist Beck’s face was pale as a sheet.
Like a little fox amid beasts.
“Don’t be nervous, Beck. This isn’t the preliminary tournament to select the Sword of the Kingdom.”
I playfully grabbed my son’s tense shoulders.
He winced with a light groan.
“It hurts…!!”
“It’s to loosen you up. This is just an intramural sparring.”
In truth, it didn’t feel like simple sparring.
What school evaluation draws retainers from so many kingdoms to watch?
It was ruthlessly pragmatic, like scouting seedlings and deciding fates in advance.
Especially unfair for kids like Beck whose talents bloomed slower—not everyone grows at the same pace.
“Remember what I taught you? Once you’re on the sparring ground, just recall what Dad said.”
“Yes, I’ll keep it in mind…!!”
Beck gripped the hilt of the sword at his waist tightly.
Then, with serious eyes, he looked up at me intently.
“I’ll make sure to show a match worthy of Father’s honor.”
Tina gazed fondly at her son, brightened just from meeting his father.
However, she tilted her head at my head-shaking.
“No.”
I negated his pledge and entrusted him with one serious piece of advice.
“Don’t think about Dad. This isn’t fighting for someone else.”
I bent my knees slightly to meet Beck’s eye level.
Then, I wrapped his cold hands tightly in mine, warming them.
“Hold the sword only for yourself, Beck.”
Once a royal guard knight myself saying this, Tina pressed her lips together.
But at my following words, she couldn’t help but lift the corners of her mouth.
“Believe in yourself, who practiced so hard until now, and fight. When you can protect yourself like that…”
It resembled the moment ten years ago when I had saved her from the werewolves, the sight she faced.
“Then, protect Mom and Dad.”
Beck’s blue eyes trembled faintly at my words.
Then, as if resolved, he shook his head vigorously.
“Yes!! Got it!!”
「The first-quarter end-of-month sparring evaluation will now begin.」
The moment my ten-year-old son responded boldly.
The swordsmanship instructor’s voice rang out from atop the sparring ground, who had stepped up first.
「Matches will proceed from the lowest ranks upward.」
That meant our perennial last-place Beck would start first.
Who would his opponent be?
「Class A, 42nd place: Beck Mikhail Bakar.」
“Yes!!”
The young fox gripped the sheathed sword at his waist with all his might.
And he began ascending the sparring ground stairs with dignity.
“…”
Christina silently watched him, then cautiously linked arms with me.
Even she, so strong and cool-headed, seemed worried about her son’s match.
“Don’t worry. It’ll be different this time.”
Bakal’s princess leaned her soft cheek on my shoulder.
She nodded quietly, saying she believed.
「Class A, 12th place: Lutten of Marton!」
“Yes.”
Lutten, Urus’s crony from the opposing side, stepped up.
With each step he took, cheers erupted thunderously from the spectator stands.
「Woooh—!! Lutten!! Lutten!!」
‘Wait, our royal prince Beck is the opponent— is it okay to cheer that loudly…?’
I looked incredulously at the VIPs filling an entire row of seats.
Tina, noticing, replied flatly.
“He’s a prince of Marton’s island nation alliance. They sent their son to study in Bakal and came to watch.”
Sparring at the Bakal Academy wasn’t just kids fighting.
It was simultaneously a battle of nerves among adults.
“…”
Lutten, standing on the sparring ground, looked at Beck indifferently.
Emboldened by the thunderous cheers from behind, he smirked.
“Your expression’s different today, Beck? Because your dad’s here?”
“Yeah, he’s the Empire’s Grand Master.”
Grand Master.
Even before that dazzling title, the alliance nation’s eldest son showed no intimidation.
Instead, he leisurely eyed how I had come alone.
“The Grand Master came without a single retainer?”
“…”
I worried Beck might get emotional at his provocation.
But.
“Who knows.”
The rascal had quite the cheeky mouth, whoever’s son he was.
“Father’s retainers are busy. Unlike some, they don’t waste energy on kids’ fights.”
Beck’s long eyes narrowed slyly like a fox.
At his retort, Lutten’s relaxed brows furrowed.
“Hah, this punk thinks he’s hot stuff just ‘cause his dad is.”
In Bakal, which valued personal strength, Marton’s prince drew his sword.
Blue radiance swirled in his eyes, thanks to consistent high-end tutoring and premium elixirs.
“I’ll humiliate you properly in front of everyone.”
Beck drew his sword as well.
His slender wrist gripped it firmly.
No one would call it a strong image.
But.
He had tirelessly put in endless effort with those thin arms.
Thanks to that, even if his mana’s hue was faint, his eyes brimmed with vitality.
Just like watching Richard and me spar.
「Match start!!」
With the instructor’s shout, a solemn silence descended on the sparring ground.
Only the spectators behind each fighter entered their eyes.
The many Marton heavyweights seated behind Lutten.
And behind Beck, me and Tina.
Numerically overwhelming difference, but Beck no longer cowered.
Who was his father, after all?
The continent’s strongest.
“Here I go!!”
Lutten charged at Beck, apparently planning to end it quickly as usual.
At the sound of his heavy footsteps, my son’s eyes flashed.
Kaaang――――――!!
In the past, Beck had fled from swords despite his overwhelming practice volume out of fear.
But this time was different.
“What…? He blocked it?!”
He had kept his eyes wide open and parried Lutten’s sword outright.
Perhaps because it was the first time he blocked a sword he had always dodged his whole life.
Beck swallowed hard and shouted loudly.
“This time will be different…!!”
Clearly, Lutten was taller and bulkier than Beck.
But for some reason, he couldn’t pin my son down.
‘Of course not.’
The clash point of their swords was near the hilt.
When meeting the opponent’s blade closer to your weight center, you can defend with less strength.
That was my first piece of advice.
“This bastard blocked once and…!!”
Flustered, Lutten tried to swing his sword again at full speed.
But at that moment.
“Huh…?”
He couldn’t help but flinch involuntarily.
Because…
「What, the match already started?」
「Yes, Your Majesty. Please look at the crystal orb here.」
Behind Beck, where I and Tina sat.
Mages had approached with a massive crystal orb.
And on its smooth surface…
「Shall we watch our little son’s skills?」
The image of the current continent’s strongest nation’s emperor, Lea Andalusia, appeared as a projection.
“Technology’s gotten really good these days.”
“Yeah, magic from the Empire side sure has a lot of clever stuff.”
Remote visual meeting.
Ten years later, a magic born in the Empire allowed the emperor to appear at the academy sparring.
“Th-that’s the Empire’s Emperor Her Majesty…?”
Overwhelmed by the cutting-edge magic unfolding before him and the emperor’s beautiful visage, Lutten’s mouth fell open.
Dominated by her sensual gaze, he unwittingly staggered back.
“W-what… That’s Emperor Her Majesty?!”
Even the Marton prince, who had been fondly watching his son from behind, was the same.
At the continent’s ruler’s appearance, they hurriedly stood from their seats.
“My wives are really capable—.”
I chuckled slyly like a crafty fox.
And I cheered on the equally flustered Beck to show his skills.
“Go son, fighting—!”